Chapter 523 An Easy Battle
The bombing lasted for a whole week, and a total of 1.738 million shells were poured onto the German positions within 7 days, an average of nearly 250,000 shells per day.
This was one of the most intense bombardments in history, with a total intensity even exceeding the German army's concentrated bombardment of Verdun with 2,000 artillery pieces.
The British and French forces made adequate preparations for this bombing:
Large amounts of ammunition and various supplies were continuously transported to the front line and stored in underground warehouses at various artillery positions.
In addition to building working roads and railways, they also carried out all-round reinforcement of the roads.
Dozens of miles of shallow trenches were then built for telephone lines and deep trenches for transportation lines.
The most important thing is that trenches were built for troop assembly and raids.
(Note: It is mainly a raiding trench built for cavalry. Cavalry can gather in this trench. Every section of the trench has a slope for attack. Through it, cavalry can ride horses to quickly rush to the position and then rush to the enemy.)
However, the British and French forces only saw their own preparations and had no interest in gathering intelligence on the German positions.
…
The German army had long noticed the Allied actions on the Somme.
As Charles said, building a large number of roads and railways leading to the Somme River is clearly telling the enemy of our strategic intentions.
Therefore, the German army spared no effort to strengthen their fortifications. They carefully constructed a network of underground tunnels in the solid chalk soil, the deepest of which reached 12 meters below the ground.
The tunnel is fully equipped with kitchens, laundry rooms, first aid stations and huge ammunition reserves.
They even equipped diesel generators to provide electricity, thus achieving electric lighting in the tunnels.
Most importantly, the Germans built forward and concealed positions.
When the enemy launched artillery bombardment, they retreated along the communication trench to the hidden positions in the rear, leaving only a small number of observers to guard.
When the enemy launched an attack, they would move from their hidden positions to the frontline positions to fight back.
Haig and Nivelle had no idea of this. They only saw their own strengths but were completely unaware that their artillery shells were constantly bombarding the almost unmanned frontier positions.
Of the more than 1.7 million artillery shells, most of them are actually useless.
…
It was the first day of December and the shelling finally stopped.
The rising sun illuminated the battlefield where the smoke had dissipated, and the German positions, which had experienced a week of shelling, were dead silent.
This made the British and French forces very excited.
For seven days, they could feel the noise and vibration of artillery fire exploding on enemy positions as they slept at night.
Although it is noisy, it makes them feel at ease.
Because every shell that explodes in the enemy position could reduce your own danger.
During the cavalry assault on the trenches, the 12th Cavalry Regiment was making final preparations for the charge.
"My ears are almost deafened, and they are still buzzing!" Colonel Albert, the regiment commander, soothed his horse and comforted his nervous subordinates who were pale: "Guess what the German situation will be like?"
Without waiting for his subordinates to answer, Colonel Albert asked himself and answered: "I'm just worried that they can't hear me shouting."
Then he started a double act:
"Hey, drop your rifles and put your hands up in surrender!"
"I'm sorry, what did you say?"
"Bang, bang, now they can't hear anything at all!"
The subordinates were amused by Colonel Albert's performance, and the tense atmosphere was instantly eased.
"Don't worry, boys!" Albert concluded. "Look at the German positions. It's impossible for anyone to survive there. This was an easy battle. We are lucky. We can get a medal without much effort!"
"Yes, Colonel." The subordinates agreed.
They believed this, and the evidence was right in front of them: the land opposite had been completely plowed and was full of craters, just like the craters on the moon squeezed together into a bunch of strange shapes.
At this time the order came: "Prepare for battle!"
"Prepare for battle!"
…
Colonel Albert gave the order: "Get on the horses!"
The cavalrymen mounted their horses one after another. Some of them checked their equipment, some loaded bullets into their lances, and some gently comforted their horses.
"Attention." Colonel Albert reiterated: "The infantry will advance first, and it will be our turn after they break the breakthrough!"
"Yes, Colonel."
Time seemed to stand still. The cold wind was howling in the trenches, bringing with it clouds of gunpowder smoke.
Suddenly, a sharp whistle sounded, and countless British soldiers climbed out of the trenches shouting. Wearing hat-shaped helmets, khaki uniforms, and holding rifles, they rushed towards the no-man's land between the enemy and our trenches like ants.
(The picture above shows British soldiers and equipment in the Battle of the Somme)
They rushed forward at the speed of a 100-meter sprint towards the German defense line several hundred meters away. If nothing unexpected happened, they would occupy the German defense line in a few minutes and lay wooden boards on the trenches to allow the cavalry to pass smoothly.
Albert continued to shout to his men in the trench:
"Hold on!"
“Hold… steady!”
“Keep it light and stay focused!”
…
Suddenly, the dense sound of machine guns startled everyone, and even the war horses started neighing in shock.
Colonel Albert's face changed. What happened?
Didn’t you say there are no more enemies?
Why are there such dense gunshots, and they are all heavy machine guns!
But Colonel Albert did not panic. He immediately found an excuse to appease his men: "This is our heavy machine gun!"
The subordinates were half-believing and half-doubting. They clearly heard the sound of machine guns coming from the direction of the enemy's position, and bullets whistling past their heads, accompanied by the screams and wails of British soldiers.
The troops became noisy, and several cavalrymen stuck their heads out to try to see what was going on outside.
Seeing that the situation could no longer be suppressed, the whistle for the cavalry attack was blown.
There was a hint of fear in Colonel Albert's eyes. This was different from the plan. It was not yet time for the cavalry to attack.
There is only one possible reason for this situation: the infantry has determined that it is impossible to capture the enemy trenches, and the superiors hope to rely on the high mobility of the cavalry to rush through the enemy trenches and create opportunities for battle.
This means that this will be a bloody battle, not the "easy victory" as previously thought.
Without thinking too much, Colonel Albert yelled, "Attack!"
Then Colonel Albert quickly added: "Across the enemy trenches, attention, across the enemy trenches!"
The cavalrymen, who had long wanted to find out what was going on, shouted, spurred their horses, and rushed out on their horses.
The sabers were drawn out of their scabbards with a "swish" sound. The veterans knew that in close combat on horseback, a lance was far less useful than a saber.
However, just as the first batch of cavalrymen rushed out, they were hit back by a hurricane of bullets, carrying pieces of blood and minced meat...
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
