Chapter 563: The Guest Takes Over the Host

The winter rain was continuous and silent, falling into the Somme River.

There were more than a dozen landing craft parked on the river bank, and soldiers were carrying supplies in the rain. After the battle, they were converted into transport craft.

Along the shore, the trenches twisted like ribbons, extending to the other side of the horizon, and finally disappeared in the rain and the pale sky.

Charles's headquarters had moved into the trenches built by the Germans.

The logs supported a spacious underground tunnel that was flat and clean, keeping the bedding and the ground dry. They even dug a stove for heating.

Charles looked at Christine who followed him in.

Christine looked ashamed.

After seeing the German trenches, I never wanted to go back to the French trenches. The latter were simply a doghouse.

"Do you know why the Germans have such strong fighting power?" Charles looked around and couldn't help but sigh: "They treat fighting as their life, while we treat life as fighting."

"Yes, General," Christine responded.

He understands the difference between the two.

In such an environment, the German army can conserve its strength and exert its full combat effectiveness once war comes.

As for the French army, the bad weather and harsh environment consumed most of their physical strength, and their supplies were often wasted due to moisture.

The orderly added a few pieces of firewood to the stove, and the flame, which had not yet gone out, soon jumped up happily with a crackling sound, adding light and warmth to the tunnel.

Charles took off his raincoat and his military jacket and sat in front of the fire to dry them.

When fighting in the rain, raincoats are often ineffective and the clothes underneath will inevitably get wet and dirty.

This is also the reason why many soldiers simply don't wear it. Raincoats are more often a burden that hinders their movements and makes them one step slower than the enemy.

In just a few minutes, the signalman had set up the radio and started receiving messages.

Soon a telegram was delivered to Charles: "General, most of the 6th Army has returned, with more than 200,000 troops, and the troops in other directions have also been controlled."

Ciel said "hmm" while holding the hot coffee.

This is one of the benefits of the Somme interlude victory.

Prior to this, all the mutinous soldiers, including the 6th Army, were worried about whether Charles could "avoid meaningless attacks as much as possible."

This negotiation condition is actually an empty statement that cannot be quantified.

What is a "meaningless attack"?

What are the standards?

From 100,000 sacrifices a day to 90,000 or 80,000 a day?

For this reason, the mutinous soldiers were still unwilling to compromise easily. They hoped that Charles could give them a definite answer or a guarantee.

However, Charles commanded the nearly collapsed 6th Army of 130,000 soldiers and easily defeated the 2nd German Army of 200,000 soldiers. At the cost of only more than 1,000 soldiers, he killed and wounded more than 10,000 German soldiers and pushed the defense line forward by 5 kilometers.

This is the best answer to the soldiers.

That's what they want in a "meaningful offense."

That's the fight they wanted.

If they could fight such a war, live with honor, dignity and pride, and not be driven like sheep in front of the enemy's guns and die meaninglessly in a no-man's land and rot and stink, why would they mutiny?

As a result, the morale of the French army on the Western Front rose sharply, and soldiers returned to their units and obeyed the orders of their officers.

Christine took the telegram and looked at it carefully, then frowned: "General, something doesn't seem right!"

"What's wrong?" Charles put the coffee cup aside and spread out the wet military uniform in his hand towards the fire.

Christine handed over the telegram, and Charles turned around and took it with one hand. He glanced at it in the flickering firelight. It seemed to be the statistical data of each division in the army group.

"The data does not include the 1st Special Artillery Division." Christine said, "The reason is that the 1st Special Artillery Division is in the best condition. Most of them returned to the team shortly after you arrived."

This is related to Christian's military discipline. In addition, he is a combat hero who often rushes to the front line in battles and is very popular among soldiers.

However, Charles still didn't understand: "What's the problem?"

"General," Christine explained, "The 6th Army has only 213,000 troops in total, and the total is 205,000, not including the 13,000 troops of the 1st Special Artillery Division."

Charles was stunned, and after thinking for a while, he understood: "You mean, there are thousands more people?"

Christine nodded, "Yes, General, about 5,000 more."

But after thinking about it, he felt that it was not right, so Christine corrected it: "It should be 6,000 more people. Our casualties of more than 1,000 people were not included in the calculation."

This made Charles confused. The more people fought, the fewer the fewer people there were, but he had never heard of more and more people.

Are the statistics wrong?

It's unlikely. This is reported by each unit level on a head-to-head basis.

Are there militias mixed in?

It is unlikely. The Belgians may have this enthusiasm, but the French will avoid it as soon as they see the conscription order.

That is...

Christine laughed: "General, they want to be part of the 6th Army!"

After being reminded by him, Charles said "Oh" and understood.

Soldiers from other units "defected" to the 6th Army for Charles.

Because only the Charles can launch this kind of "meaningful attack" and give them dignity, honor and victory.

“What should we do?” Christine asked, and then answered her own question: “For the sake of morale, I think we should pretend we don’t know.”

"No." Charles shook his head. "We must drive them back to their original units. There are more than 6,000 extra troops a day, and that's without permission. If we allow it, the soldiers along the entire defense line may sneak across the Somme River to join the 6th Army!"

Christine's face changed slightly.

This would be no different from a mutiny, and the Germans could easily break through the defenses and attack Paris.

Charles was thinking about more than just this.

If soldiers from other units were allowed to join the 6th Army, it would be military dictatorship.

The soldiers have nothing to do with the parliament or the commander-in-chief, they only listen to Charles' orders. Charles will face the parliament directly and turn against everyone else!

Now is not the time, Charles thought.

At this time, the signalman sent another telegram: "General, the parliament decided to let Foch be the commander-in-chief."

"Yeah." Charles showed a satisfied smile.

This is what he hoped for, that the cunning guys in Parliament had finally been fooled, along with the British.

"And," the signalman reported, "In order to reward your contribution to France and to give you some rest, the parliament has decided to give you a week's vacation."

Charles was stunned. Holiday? At this time?

Christine was equally puzzled.

Shouldn't Charles be allowed to stay at the front line now to stabilize the morale that has just been restored?

The next second, Charles figured it out.

They hoped to let Foch, the newly appointed commander-in-chief, take control of the situation.

If Charles continues to stay on the front line, he might become the main character!

(End of this chapter)