Chapter 484 Douaumont Fortress
Fort Douaumont is an extremely important support point on the Douaumont Line of Defense. It is located right in the middle of the trench and the terrain within a few miles is flat.
As long as Fort Douaumont was captured, the artillery and machine guns there would be able to suppress the firepower of the trenches within a radius of several kilometers on the east and west sides.
Whoever captured Fort Douaumont owned the Douaumont Line.
(The khaki line in the above picture is the Douaumont Line)
This is also the reason why the German army immediately sent an infantry battalion and an artillery battalion to garrison Fort Douaumont after occupying the fort.
Colonel von Genaten was the commander of the fortress. After taking over, he immediately ordered the artillery to dismantle the artillery and transport it into the fortress for defense.
But he soon discovered the problem: "You idiots, the 150MM artillery should be placed on the flanks instead of the front."
The artillery battalion commander objected: "But the enemy is in front, Colonel!"
"Use your brain." Gnaton glared at the artillery battalion commander: "What can the enemy have that can pose a threat to us? Rifles, machine guns, or their 75mm cannons?"
The artillery battalion commander immediately realized that he was wrong.
The artillery battalion hid in the fortress, and the 77 guns were enough to suppress the French 75 guns in front, and they could ignore all attacks from the enemy.
The 150MM artillery with a longer range is placed on the flanks, which can not only provide cover for friendly forces more than ten kilometers away in the east and west trenches, but also bomb the enemies who have entered the trenches from a high position once the trenches are lost.
"Yes, Colonel!" The artillery battalion commander responded and quickly ordered the 150MM artillery to be placed on the flank.
Colonel Gnaton was very satisfied with his deployment and believed that this line of defense was impeccable.
Fort Douaumont was a knot that the French army could not untie. They did not have large-caliber, long-range cannons, and all they could do was charge in dense formations, only to be knocked down in large numbers by the German machine guns and artillery!
However, the situation that night made Colonel Gnaton uneasy.
On this day, Gnaton was standing outside the fortress, observing the attack of the Seventh Army in front of him with a telescope. He felt that tonight's offensive was unusual.
Before, the artillery fire should have extended deep into the enemy's territory, but now it is always flashing near the offensive line and has not advanced an inch.
Is the attack not going well?
Colonel Gnaton was puzzled.
"Colonel!" The signalman reported, "They said there are too many wounded soldiers retreating from the front line, and some of them need to be transported to the fortress."
Gnaton said "hmm" without thinking.
There is a large space outside the fortress, the land is flat, and there are sufficient supplies, making it a good place to temporarily accommodate wounded soldiers.
Especially since these wounded soldiers were only "a part", Gnaton had no reason to refuse.
However, when this "part" of the wounded soldiers were brought up, Colonel Gnaton was dumbfounded.
There were at least more than 500 of them, plus stretcher bearers and medical staff. In the blink of an eye, they had blocked the fortress, and more people were still pouring in.
"No, no." Colonel Gnaton stopped several soldiers who were about to carry the wounded into the fortress: "You can't go in. This will cause trouble for our defense."
But a military doctor came up and said, "They are seriously injured, Colonel, and need immediate surgery. Do you want us to use flashlights to cut open the wounds outside?"
Colonel Gnaton was stunned. This was indeed not appropriate. There was smoke and dust everywhere outside, and the bright light from the flashlight would expose the target.
but……
Seeing that Colonel Gnaton was still hesitating, the military doctor added: "One day in the future, your troops will also suffer casualties, Colonel."
There was a hint of threat in his words, as if he was warning Colonel Gnaton: Don't offend the military doctor if you want to offend anyone else.
Colonel Gnaton nodded helplessly and let them in. Anyway, the fortress did not need much defense at the moment and the French were still far away.
However, once this door is opened, it cannot be stopped.
All the seriously injured who needed surgery were carried into the fortress, and soon the fortress became a makeshift hospital. The wounded went in one by one and were carried out one by one. However, some of them were alive when they went in, but most of them were dead when they came out.
Colonel Gnaton hopes that all this will end quickly and return to normal.
Although he had sympathy for the wounded, the casualties had seriously affected the defense of Fort Douaumont.
The artillerymen in the fortress were even used by the military doctors as assistants in surgery. What they held in their hands were not shells, but buckets of severed limbs and arms cut from the wounded.
Colonel Gnaton reported the matter to his superiors several times by phone, but the response he got was: "Don't worry, Colonel, that's just a temporary resettlement point, they will move away soon."
Colonel Gnaton hoped so, but he did not see the number of wounded decrease at all. Instead, it increased and became more complicated.
Some of the stretcher bearers were carrying Lebel rifles.
Wait, a Lebel rifle?!
Colonel Gnaton's pupils dilated, he took a few steps to chase after the rifle and shone his flashlight. Yes, that was the Lebel rifle that only the French had!
"Hey, catch him." Colonel Gnaton shouted, "An enemy has sneaked in..."
Before he finished his words, a gunshot was heard behind him. Colonel Gnaton was shocked all over and stared blankly at the blood oozing from his chest. Then his legs went limp and he fell to the ground.
While Colonel Gnaton was still conscious, he heard gunfire inside and outside the fortress. The German army was in chaos, and there were screams and cries everywhere.
…
This was a raid arranged by Ciel.
He originally did not want to capture Fort Douaumont because that was unrealistic. It would have been good enough if he could stabilize the French defense line. How could he want to capture Fort Douaumont, which was heavily guarded and had a good geographical location?
It's no different from a moth flying into a flame.
However, it became possible when directional mines came into play and caused heavy casualties to the German attacking forces.
"Major Jules." Charles turned his head and called out.
Major Jules was sorting out intelligence while chewing on bread. He hadn't eaten for the whole day.
He always felt guilty, feeling sorry for Colonel De Leon and his comrades. The 19th Infantry Regiment had a 90% casualty rate, with only 94 survivors.
In such a brutal battle, he actually quarreled with Joffre in Lagden and almost failed to successfully convey the information.
He was a shameful deserter and should have gone to the battlefield and died with his comrades.
It would be better if he had such an opportunity now, otherwise he would never forgive himself in his life!
Hearing Charles' call, he immediately put down the bread and ran to Charles: "Yes, General."
"Are you familiar with the terrain of Fort Douaumont?" asked Charles.
"Of course, General." Major Jules answered confidently: "The 19th Infantry Regiment has been stationed there for almost a year, and we can't wait to give every stone there a name."
"Yeah." Charles nodded and asked, "If I give you an infantry battalion, can you take it back?"
Major Jules was stunned for a moment, tears suddenly welled up in his eyes, and he answered with a choked voice:
"Yes, General, I promise!"
"Thank you, General! Thank you very much!"
(End of this chapter)
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