Chapter 558: Find the answer at the lowest cost

Berlin's Wilhelm Street was pitch black late at night, with only the lights of the General Staff still on.

Since the Battle of the Somme began, the lights in the General Staff have never been turned off. The staff are divided into two shifts to monitor and command the battle situation on the front line day and night.

For Germany, the Battle of the Somme was a victory, a true victory. They exchanged several square kilometers of defense for the lives of hundreds of thousands of Allied soldiers, and their own casualties were less than half of the enemy's.

Even German Emperor Wilhelm II lamented:

"We wanted to drain the blood of the French at Verdun, but we did it at the Somme, including the blood of the British."

"It's incredible. Why would they attack the Somme where our defenses are strongest and not somewhere else?"

"Is it because we attacked Verdun?"

Verdun was France's strongest defensive point, and the Allies seemed to be making a counterattack in kind.

But the difference is that under Joffre's orders, Verdun's defenses were withdrawn to the point of being just a facade, while the Germans were ready to fight at the Somme.

If it had not been for Charles's raid on Namur, which made the German situation in Belgium even more serious, the German army's recent performance would have been perfect.

Falkenhayn had been commanding the battle without sleep for several days, and finally he couldn't hold on any longer and fell asleep in the lounge.

However, he had just closed his eyes when there was a gentle knock on the door.

Falkenhayn was suddenly awakened and sat up from the bed. He was stunned for a moment, his mind at a standstill, not knowing what was going on.

At this time, a report from Colonel Moritz came from outside the door: "General, the intelligence from the front is about Charles."

"Charles?" Falkenhayn jumped out of bed, put on his combat boots and opened the door. Before he even left, he asked anxiously, "Charles is attacking again?"

If there was anything to worry about, it was Ciel.

"No, General," Colonel Moritz replied, "Charles has been transferred to the Somme as commander of the French Sixth Army."

"What?" Falkenhayn was stunned. After he reacted, he quickened his pace and walked towards his desk. He glanced at the Somme River on his desk and said, "What about Belgium? I mean Charles' troops. Are they also transferred to the Somme River?"

"I'm not sure." Colonel Moritz handed Falkenhayn a telegram, "But I think you need to know this more."

Falkenhayn took the telegram and glanced at it with a look of disbelief.

Soon, the tired look on his face was swept away, replaced by ecstasy: "Is this true? A large-scale mutiny in the French army? Including the 6th Army on the Somme?"

"I think it's true." Colonel Moritz nodded. "I heard that they have dismissed Commander-in-Chief Nivelle and have not yet elected a new commander-in-chief. The French army is in chaos."

"Yes." Falkenhayn paced excitedly, "That's why they transferred Charles to the Somme River, because only he can stabilize the defense line and the morale of the army."

Then he cursed again: "Damn it, we should have done it earlier. He might have been there for a few days."

This is determined by the lag of intelligence.

But the next second Falkenhayn hesitated again. He stood there, staring at the map thoughtfully.

Colonel Moritz seemed to see through his thoughts and asked cautiously: "General, do you suspect this is another trap set by Charles?"

Falkenhayn nodded slowly:

“It just seems so obvious.”

"Could it be that Ciel wants us to attack?"

"You know, the British and French forces suffered heavy losses in the Somme offensive, but we remained on the defensive and left them no room for maneuver."

Colonel Moritz agreed: "Charles is too cunning. Everything he shows us and lets us know may be a lie."

Because of the gasoline incident, Colonel Moritz had been traumatized by Charles's trick.

Falkenhayn frowned, which made him very embarrassed.

If the large-scale mutiny in the French army was true, there would be a great opportunity for a counterattack, which might even completely defeat the French army and end the entire battle on the Western Front.

But if this was Charles's lie, a full-scale German counterattack would likely result in heavy casualties.

At this time, the German army was seriously short of manpower due to fighting on multiple fronts. If a large number of casualties occurred, it might not be able to fill the gap and would lead to a complete collapse.

Falkenhayn sighed and fell into anxiety. Which one should he choose?

"General," Colonel Moritz suggested, "why don't we aim for the Somme?"

"Take the Somme River as the target?" Falkenhayn looked at Moritz in confusion, and then he understood what Moritz meant: "Take the Somme River as the target to launch a local attack and get the answer at the lowest cost?"

"Yes." Colonel Moritz replied, "We can prepare for counterattacks in other directions. Once we have the answer, we can make the right choice."

Falkenhayn nodded slightly, and after thinking for a while, he gave the order: "Order General Bello to prepare for a counterattack immediately!"

(Note: The German 2nd Army, commanded by General von Bellow, defended the Somme.)

…

It was five in the morning, still an hour before dawn.

The Somme battlefield, which was originally in a state of war, seemed very calm today. Strong winds and rain swept back and forth on the battlefield, as if washing away the corpses and blood left on the battlefield.

The French soldiers stayed awake all night.

Their trenches were not as complete as those of the Germans. The Germans had already taken into account the rainy season and dug drainage ditches in advance. Even the underground fortifications that were more than ten meters deep did not often experience backflow.

The trenches of the British and French armies were not in good condition. It was common for water to accumulate in their fortifications. Sometimes when it rained heavily, the entire tunnel would be submerged, and it was not uncommon for soldiers to drown before they could get out in time.

That night, the French soldiers scooped water all night long.

Fortunately, they are now using iron helmets, not just red cloth hats like before, otherwise they wouldn’t even have tools to scoop water.

Captain Jérémie was also among those scooping water.

While directing his men to work, he shook his head and sighed, "These bastards, just because they were lazy and didn't do a good job of draining the water, they lost another batch of precious supplies."

Those were supplies sent by Charles, who purchased them at a high price with his own personal funds.

Many things had just been distributed to the soldiers a few days ago, but were immediately flooded.

Flour, quilts, bread and winter clothes all became waste!

Captain Jérémie looked in the direction of the German army in the rain. In such weather, the Germans would not launch an attack!

However, as if in response to him, suddenly several red flares rose into the air.

Then, in the horrified eyes of Captain Jérémie, deafening artillery fire suddenly came from the direction of the German army.

"Get ready for battle!" Captain Jérémie shouted, quickly putting the helmet on his head.

This was the artillery preparation before the attack. Jérémie felt something was wrong. The Germans must have known something. They were going to launch an attack!

(End of this chapter)