Chapter 471 This is the "French Tranquilizer"

Colonel De Leon was wrong about one thing: the Germans used not just "thousands" of cannons to bomb Verdun, but more than two thousand.

On the nearly 10-kilometer front of Verdun, the German army deployed a total of 2,000 howitzers, 500 mortars, and more than a dozen powerful 210MM howitzers.

(The picture above shows the German 210MM howitzer in 1910, with a range of 9,400 meters and a projectile weight of 120 kilograms)

During the period of preparation for the attack, the German army not only stockpiled a large amount of ammunition, but also deployed 30 engineering companies and more than 20 railway companies to improve transportation. The total number of construction workers reached more than 20,000, and there were more than 200 trains of artillery shells sent to the front line alone.

Ironically, while the German army was busy improving various facilities, the French army on the opposite side was busy dismantling artillery and transferring troops.

…

At nine o'clock in the evening on September 3, the bored French soldiers hid in tunnels and fortresses, preparing to end the day with sleep.

At this moment, three red flares suddenly rose in the sky.

The French soldiers who noticed the light came out curiously and looked in the direction of the light source. They hadn't seen this thing for a long time.

Was it the Germans' signal to attack?

They must be crazy!

This is Verdun!

The next second, the entire area suddenly shook.

All large and small caliber artillery pieces deployed by the German army on the front line and in depth opened fire at the same time. Countless shells fell on the French positions, and the flames illuminated the positions of both sides and the sky above them.

And this is just the beginning.

One shell after another flew across the sky with a sharp whistle, quickly flying from the German position to the French position.

There was another series of explosions, and clouds of smoke spread out radiating in the firelight, forming a dark cloud of smoke together with the dust lifted into the air.

The French soldiers were totally unprepared for this.

The only one who believed that the German army would launch an attack was Colonel De Leon, and Colonel De Leon was ordered not to spread statements such as "The German army is about to launch an attack" because it would "disrupt the morale of the army."

The soldiers were stunned by the sudden artillery fire. They stared at it all in a daze. After they realized what was happening, they screamed and looked around for cover.

But they didn't know where to hide in the darkness. The tunnels had either collapsed or were shedding dirt. They didn't look safe at all. Instead, they looked more like dark tombs.

Even those seemingly indestructible fortresses collapsed and became a mess under the bombardment of artillery shells.

Colonel De Leon was so shocked and dizzy in the fortress that he couldn't help but cover his ears and shout. The dim lights above his head swayed and flickered, and finally fell into complete darkness.

He stumbled open the door and came to the combat zone, where he saw soldiers setting up their machine guns at the gun ports.

"Get out of there!" Colonel Deleon yelled.

The German artillery preparation would not be completed so quickly, and it was impossible for any enemy to come up at this time. Setting up a machine gun would only put oneself in danger.

But the machine gunner couldn't hear his shouting.

Just as Colonel De Leon was about to go forward to pull them down, there was a loud "bang" with flames, and the two machine gunners were suddenly thrown to the back. They hit the wall behind them like wooden stakes, then slid down and collapsed to the ground.

When Colonel De Leon came forward and took a look, he saw that blood was gushing from their mouths, noses and ears, and their faces were covered with cracks, like a mirror that had shattered upon falling to the ground.

The lights came on again; someone must have turned on the backup power.

Colonel De Leon gritted his teeth, left the two wounded men behind and ran along the corridor towards the command post.

As soon as he entered the room, he ordered the signalman: "Send a telegram to the headquarters..."

"The radio was knocked out, Colonel."

"Then call." Colonel De Leon shouted angrily.

"The call is not going through!" The signalman answered loudly: "Maybe too many people are talking on the phone at this time!"

Then the telephone miraculously rang, and Colonel De Leon rushed forward and grabbed the phone, shouting into the receiver, regardless of who was on the other end:

"They opened fire, the fire is unprecedentedly fierce, report to the commander-in-chief immediately..."

The call was disconnected before I could finish my sentence.

Colonel De Leon stared blankly at the artillery fire outside with the microphone in his hand. He took a deep breath and ordered in a cold voice: "The final moment has come, gentlemen, prepare for battle!"

…

Joffre did not receive the news until an hour later. Major Jules found Deputy Commander-in-Chief Carnais and woke up Joffre through Carnais.

Kanais hesitated before waking up Joffre.

He asked Major Jules: "Are you sure the Germans are launching a full-scale attack? I'm more inclined to believe that it was a feint!"

"No, General, I'm sure." Major Jules replied anxiously: "I heard the sound of artillery on the phone. It was very fierce. Colonel De Leon said that at least a thousand guns were firing at Verdun!"

As he spoke, Major Jules felt a chill, as if he had suddenly drunk a glass of ice water, and the chill went straight to his heart.

They seemed to think that this military situation was not worth waking up Xiafei!

Shouldn't any military intelligence be worth reporting? Even if it's just a small battle!

And now the situation is urgent, such a big thing has happened on the front line, but they are still evaluating whether it is higher than Joffre's sleep!

What happened next left Major Jules even more stunned.

Kanais brought Major Jules to Joffre's lounge and knocked on the door carefully.

After waiting for a while and seeing no response, he knocked gently a few more times.

This time, Xiafei's voice was finally heard: "What's going on?"

"General," Kanais reported, "It's the staff sent by Colonel Derian. He said the Germans are already attacking Verdun!"

"It's Colonel De Leon again." Joffre complained dissatisfiedly: "Can't he just keep quiet? Tell him that it was a feint by the Germans..."

"General!" Major Jules suppressed his anger and shouted at the closed door: "Thousands of artillery are bombarding Verdun. Shouldn't you be concerned? At least you should think about the possibility that Colonel De Leon will report to the government without authorization like he did last time!"

"Major!" Kanais tried to stop Jules, but when he saw the murderous anger in the other's eyes, he swallowed the rest of his words.

The lights in the house finally came on.

Then came the sound of slowly changing clothes.

After a long while, Xiafei came out in a neat military uniform. He even wore his military cap properly, obviously having corrected it in front of a mirror.

He slowly nodded to Major Jules:

"All right, Major. Let's go see what's going on."

"But I should warn you."

"This is probably not what you think!"

The veins on Major Jules' forehead twitched. Is this the "French sedative"?

Why did he have the urge to pull out the pistol from his waist and kill this guy? !

(End of this chapter)