Chapter 309 Only Ten Minutes Have Passed
The news of Charles' successful landing soon reached Paris.
The Merit newspaper once again took the lead, using a large section to report Charles’ success in occupying corner “A” and its strategic significance, and exclaimed:
"The entire battle lasted only two hours and ten minutes, with only over three hundred casualties, and the troops completed the occupation of the 'A' corner defense line."
"The straight-line distance of the entire defense line is 6.1 kilometers, and the actual distance of the winding trenches may be 8 kilometers, which means that the troops' advancing speed is nearly 4 kilometers per hour."
"That's about as fast as we can walk."
"It's like they're walking from one end to the other and telling the enemy that this place belongs to us."
"Only Ciel can do this, and Ciel's troops!"
…
The French people didn't care much about this.
Their expectations for the Shire had become higher, so victory was already within their expectations.
Their idea was that if Charles went there, the only way to surprise the French people would be a defeat.
They were more concerned with the landing craft and landing ships that the Shire had used in this battle.
But La Merit and other newspapers did not mention it at all. Needless to say, this was another result of Gallieni's wartime control of the media.
Gallieni said this when he submitted his application to the government: "They are still playing a role in the battle in corner 'A'. If we expose them now, the enemy will immediately know what they are, how they perform, and even analyze their shortcomings. This may have a negative impact on the war and may even be dangerous. Control is imperative!"
This made sense, so the government agreed readily. Moreover, the control was not only aimed at the media, but also at the shipyards in Wales.
However, people did learn bits and pieces from other sources, which aroused their curiosity even more:
"I heard that Charles developed a 'tank' that can be used both on sea and on land in this landing battle?"
“Yes, it was reported in the Ottoman newspapers, and they blamed it for the defeat.”
"It's also in the German newspapers. I heard there's a landing ship that can take soldiers directly to the shore?"
"If 'tanks' can be driven both in the sea and on land, wouldn't landing ships be a piece of cake?"
…
People were discussing excitedly and using their imagination to guess what this tank that could travel both on sea and on land would look like.
Only Djokovic and Camille were worried.
Camille read the newspaper over and over again, hoping to find every word about Charles so that she could analyze whether Charles was on the island.
"He should stay on the ship, right?"
"For a battle like this, he only needs to command from the warship, just like he commanded others in the city defense headquarters."
"What a staff officer means is to make plans. He doesn't have to lead the troops into battle himself, right?"
…
Djokovic just kept agreeing and trying to comfort him, but he knew that was not the case.
The news that Charles had gone to the battlefield in person had been widely reported in the newspapers. Everyone knew about it and praised Charles's bravery. Neighbors were discussing it privately:
"Char has made so many contributions. He doesn't need to go to the battlefield. No one will blame him."
"Yes, and Charles is a wealthy capitalist. He has more money than he can enjoy for the rest of his life, but he still went to the battlefield."
"This is a heroic act. He didn't stay away from the war because of his 'specialness'. He is different from others!"
…
The reason why Camille didn't know was that Dejoka spent a hundred francs to "specially" make a newspaper and sent it to Camille, and also asked the neighbors not to talk about this in front of Camille.
Charles has the ability to solve his own problems, Djoka thought, he will defeat all his enemies and come back alive!
…
However, Charles on the battlefield was not so optimistic at this time.
After the 105th Regiment successfully captured the "A" corner defense line, it was extremely dangerous for at least a period of time.
"This is like pulling a tooth out of a tiger's mouth." Charles foresaw this when making the plan: "This is something the enemy cannot tolerate. They may concentrate all their forces to attack us and try to wipe us out before we gain a firm foothold!"
It turned out that Charles was right.
The battlefield was silent for only over half an hour before the sound of artillery fire rang out. At least a hundred large-caliber howitzers bombarded the "A" corner defense line.
Those were the guns that the Ottoman army had deployed to blockade the Dardanelles. Not long ago, they had used these guns to bombard the Allied battleships, and now they were using them to bombard the "A" angle defense line.
This was the most impressive and terrifying thing that Charles had ever experienced. Many years later, every time he recalled the feeling of this moment, he would shudder.
The sound of the cannon was deafening and the entire ground was shaking.
In the dark and damp tunnel, the air was gradually replaced by the choking smell of gunpowder from the shells. The dirt above the head was shaken down with a rustling sound. It fell along the military cap into the collar, and then drilled into the space between the clothes and the body like insects.
But Charles had no time to pay attention to all this. He felt like he was pressed into an upside-down bell, with dozens of bell hammers outside constantly hitting each other.
At first, you could hear one sound after another and you could detect the gaps between them, but soon the sounds became one and the same.
Soon, Charles could not even hear the sound of cannons. He only felt a buzzing sound in his ears. His consciousness seemed to be struggling to break away from this body, and his hands and feet were numb and uncontrollable.
Finally, the gunfire stopped.
Charles thought the bombardment lasted at least an hour. He stumbled out of the tunnel, touched his face, and made sure he was still alive.
Tijani followed behind. He coughed a few times in the smoke, carefully poked his head out of the trench and said, "We are very lucky. The enemy launched a general attack on 'S' Beach a few days ago. They must have used a lot of shells in that battle!"
Charles' head was still dizzy. He seemed to have heard what Tijani said, but also seemed not to have heard it, as if he was talking to someone else.
It took Ciel a moment to react.
"S" Beach?
Yes, the Ottomans wanted to take out the isolated "S" beach first and then besiege the other beaches.
They used a lot of shells in this battle...
etc!
Charles looked at Tijani in astonishment: "You mean, if there had been no attack on 'S' Beach, the bombardment would have lasted longer?"
"Of course!" Tijani nodded calmly: "Otherwise, how could it be possible that the bombing lasted only ten minutes!"
"Ten minutes?" Charles' expression was stiff and his mouth twitched. Are you kidding?
He took out his pocket watch and glanced at it. The smile on his face disappeared. Only ten minutes had indeed passed.
(End of this chapter)
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