Chapter 551 Those who flatter their superiors will be arrogant to their inferiors

The "mutiny" of the front-line troops occurred two days ago, on the third day of Nivelle's offensive.

Perhaps inspired by the victory on the first day, Nivelle ordered his soldiers to continue charging the enemy's defenses, even at night.

In his opinion, commanding a battle was not difficult. It was just a matter of transferring troops from other places and pushing them onto the battlefield.

As for whether soldiers fell in large numbers under the enemy's guns, he believed that was how the battlefield should be.

However, the subsequent attack was not smooth.

The Germans used the Charles' reverse slope fortifications in the Battle of the Somme, and all high ground, even small hills, were used by them.

Mines were buried between the high ground, and even directional mines appeared.

This made it impossible for the British and French forces to take advantage of their artillery firepower, the tanks instantly became useless, and the defense line was once again in a stalemate and unable to move.

(The picture above is a real shot of the Volunteer Army's reverse slope position. The ridgeline is the junction of the positive slope and the reverse slope. There are usually tunnels nearby, where a squad of soldiers hide and prepare to throw grenades. The position of the ridgeline is very special. Grenades can be thrown directly from the reverse slope to the positive slope to kill the enemy. Scouts will also observe the enemy at the ridgeline and report the enemy's movements with flag signals.)

Even so, Nivelle, eager to gain further victory and prove himself, still ordered his soldiers to attack, one group after another.

Since when, when officers blew the whistle and gave the order to attack, some soldiers no longer shouted, grabbed their bayonets and charged towards the enemy as they did before.

Instead, they bleated and slowly moved toward the enemy.

This was a protest against the order, referring to themselves as poor lambs being sent to the slaughterhouse. Some people even carried rifles on their shoulders and put their hands on their heads to make the shape of horns.

We're all going to die anyway, so what difference does it make whether we have a rifle or not?

The officers could not blame these soldiers because they were following orders and charging. Besides, these guys who complained would die on the battlefield and never come back, so let them be!

However, what the officers did not expect was that the situation deteriorated much faster than they had imagined.

This method soon spread throughout the army, so that every charge was heard with a series of "bleating" sounds.

It is no longer a cry of grief, but a way for soldiers to communicate with each other and unite together: those who make the "bleat" sound and pretend to be sheep are one of them, that is, the soldiers who oppose the meaningless charge; otherwise, they are "enemies".

Originally they didn't know how powerful they were, but now they know, and almost everyone is against it, including the junior officers.

If any officer objected, he would be immediately isolated and his orders would be ignored.

After a night of preparation, the soldiers ignored the officers' orders to attack the next morning and shouted at them:

"We refuse meaningless charges. Our lives are not meant to be used to consume German bullets."

"We want peace, to hell with this war."

"If we want to attack, let the commander-in-chief lead us himself!"

…

The troops were completely out of control. Many soldiers got drunk and fell asleep somewhere, ignoring the officers' scolding and urging like logs.

What's even more terrifying is that this phenomenon has a tendency to spread from the Somme River to the entire defense line.

Christian is highly respected in the 1st Special Artillery Division because of his consideration for his subordinates, but he is also affected and unable to effectively command his subordinates.

Feeling that something was wrong, he could only send a telegram to Charles for help.

…

Palais Bourbon Chamber of Deputies.

Nivelle tried to remain calm under the questioning gazes of the crowd. He replied expressionlessly: "It's not as bad as you say, Major General. I have handled it properly. Mind your own business. I know how to handle mine..."

"Really?" Charles interrupted Nivelle. "What do you mean by 'proper handling' is to execute a group of 'mutinous' representatives and then force the troops to enter the battlefield?"

Nivelle was used to dealing with superiors and not subordinates.

As the saying goes, "Those who flatter their superiors will be arrogant to their subordinates."

As submissive as he was in front of Parliament and the British, he was as arrogant in front of the soldiers on the front line.

Therefore, he took tough measures to suppress it without any hesitation.

Nivelle didn't understand the situation. The soldiers knew they were going to die, so how could they be afraid of being shot or suppressed?

This will only further exacerbate the situation.

Charles turned to the councillor and raised his voice:

"The commander-in-chief didn't tell you that at least ten divisions of troops on the front line have refused to fight, and the number is still increasing."

"We should feel lucky that the Germans are 'profiting' well on the defensive, which makes them more willing to remain on the defensive."

"Otherwise, you know what will happen."

The meeting room was in chaos. Members of the parliament changed their expressions and whispered:

"Massive mutiny? Ten divisions refusing to fight? If the Germans counterattack at this time, the Western Front will collapse completely, and the Germans may once again attack Paris."

"No, Andre, you are still thinking about Paris. Then France will have no choice but to surrender!"

"Yes, we will lose all the soldiers who can fight and will no longer be able to organize a force that can stop the German army."

…

Gallieni poked his head out from behind, his face horrified and his voice panicked: "Is this true? But we haven't received any news at all!"

Nivelle wanted to deny it.

Charles stared at him and shook his head to stop him: "It's useless, Your Excellency the Commander-in-Chief. They can easily find out the truth."

Nivelle was stunned, then sighed.

Charles was right. Gallieni was the Minister of War, and there were also parliamentarians and government officials. They had hundreds of ways to investigate, and it was impossible to conceal the truth.

"That's true." Nivelle answered with difficulty: "But the situation is not as bad as I thought..."

"Is there anything worse than this?" Gallieni's eyes were filled with anger. "There are already ten divisions. Even if you can control them now, it will be an unprecedented tragedy!"

The councillor yelled at Nivelle:

"You're a liar and murderer! It was a mistake to make you the commander-in-chief!"

"We've had enough, and you are responsible for this!"

…

Nivelle was still defending himself: "I had no choice. I couldn't let this get out..."

But Nivelle's defense was weak and everyone knew that if he really took this "mutiny" seriously, he should at least stay at the front instead of slandering Charles in parliament.

At this time, the conference room fell silent. Everyone looked at Nivelle quietly, with mockery, sadness, and pity, but not anger, as if they were watching a joke.

Nivelle looked pale.

At this moment, he realized that his political career had come to an end.

(End of this chapter)