Chapter 157: Charles' Elite Troops
The heavy rain was falling, and the raindrops were like bullets falling from the sky, hitting the ground violently. The rain mixed with mud and blood flowed on the battlefield, forming small streams into the trenches.
Inside the trench, the enemy and our own armies were already engaged in a fight, grappling in the mud so hard that it was impossible to tell who was the enemy and who was ours.
Bayonets, rifle butts, shovels, even stones and teeth were used; any weapon that could kill the enemy was considered a weapon.
Most of the German troops were veterans who had fought in many battles. They were of high quality and had a numerical advantage in the trenches.
The French army took advantage of the residual power of the grenade explosion and rushed in before the German army could react. They pulled the trigger and fired a bullet before engaging in hand-to-hand combat, gaining the upper hand in offensive skills and equipment.
The two armies had their own strengths and weaknesses and the battle was difficult to determine. Screams and fighting were heard everywhere inside and outside the trenches. The accumulated water was dyed red and it was impossible to tell whether it was rain or blood.
On both sides of the trenches, follow-up troops from both sides were trying to reinforce the front line.
If both sides succeed, the trenches on the front line will become a meat grinder, with both armies filling them with men and being constantly consumed, until eventually one side can no longer hold on and the entire front collapses.
However, this brief balance did not last long...
The tank came up with a "clattering" sound. Its 8-meter-long body easily crossed the 1.5-meter-wide trench, which was just a small ditch to it.
Then, his tracks continued to roll forward towards the German reinforcements.
The German army surged in like the sea, but the tanks were like a steel gate blocking them. They even pushed back towards the "sea" and stopped the surging waves in an instant.
Screams were heard and blood was splattered!
German soldiers were constantly crushed under the heavy tracks, making a series of "crackling" sounds like dry wood breaking, which was the sound of bones being crushed.
Everyone nearby was frightened by the sound. The crisp sound seemed to come from their own bones, and a tingling and trembling feeling arose spontaneously.
The tank's machine gun fired. A Vickers machine gun on the front of the tank made a "da da da" sound, and bullets poured down on the German army like a rainstorm. They were like the scythe of the god of death, reaping lives in the crowd.
Rows of German soldiers fell in pools of blood, screaming, without any ability to resist.
Someone tried to stop this steel behemoth with K-bombs.
However, the frontal armor of the Mark I 17MM could not be penetrated even at close range.
Someone tried to go around the flank of the tank.
But the sound of machine gun fire rang out from the side of the tank again...
On the side of the Mark I is a Hotchkiss. Although its firepower is not as sharp as that of the Vickers, it cooperates with the adjacent tanks to form crossfire and cover each other:
The side-firing machine guns of the Panzer I provided cover for the flanks of the Panzer II, and conversely, the side-firing machine guns of the Panzer II also provided cover for the Panzer I.
The German soldiers who tried to launch a surprise attack between the tanks eventually fell one after another in a pool of blood.
The tanks successfully blocked the German follow-up troops. Although it only took two minutes, the outcome of the battle in the rear trenches had been decided.
The French army poured into the trenches in wave after wave like a tide. They easily used bayonets to pin down or pierce the throats of those German soldiers who were still resisting and struggling. They were fighting so fiercely that they didn't even have a chance to surrender.
The soldiers who achieved a partial victory did not stop, but immediately climbed out from the other side of the trench and raised their rifles to provide cover for the tanks.
With a quick whistle, the French soldier immediately pulled out a grenade, lit it and threw it out.
“Boom boom boom…”
After the explosion, the soldiers rushed forward again, shouting and pointing their bayonets.
The battle seemed to have become simpler, with the battlefield repeating the cycle of tanks, grenades, and close combat over and over again, and then the enemy's trenches were broken through again and again, with almost no pause.
Colonel Klopp, who was watching the battle from behind, could hardly believe his eyes.
He had organized no less than ten attacks on this line of defense, and had replenished his troops seven or eight times. A group of soldiers died and then were replenished. There were at least three or four thousand French soldiers who fell on this land, but they had made no progress at all.
The same is true for the enemy's counterattack!
Colonel Klopp had made an assessment with his staff, and they all agreed that at least five times the number of troops would be needed to break through the enemy's defenses.
With about 15,000 men and a large number of artillery, victory is possible only after paying a heavy price.
Therefore, when he saw Colonel Estiny rushing forward with more than a thousand people and insisting that they did not need the cooperation of other troops, he thought for a time that these guys were crazy and that this was simply suicide!
But Klopp did not stop them, as this was an order from General Gallieni.
Colonel Klopp could only pray for these poor people in his heart: Forgive these ignorant people, they don’t know how cruel the battlefield is, and their commander is even an artilleryman...
However, before his prayer was over, the first stage of the battle had been won and the imagined death did not happen.
It happened exactly, but it was on the enemy side!
"What happened?" Colonel Klopp raised his telescope and observed carefully. Although he could not see clearly in the rain, he was sure that the troops were advancing at an astonishing speed.
"Colonel!" A signalman came forward to report: "They have broken through the second line of defense, and the Germans are fleeing!"
Colonel Klopp looked ahead in disbelief: "There were more than 3,000 Germans, and they were defeated by 1,000 people?"
When did the Germans become so vulnerable?
Does this make his troops appear incompetent?
But on second thought, this is an elite force commanded by Charles. Although this result is unexpected, it is also reasonable!
Colonel Klopp never realized that his assessment of this force had naturally and smoothly changed from his initial assessment of "a mob going up to die" to "Charles' elite troops".
…
The German army collapsed when the French army broke through the second line of defense.
They realized that nothing could stop the French attack, and all bunkers and fortifications would be ruthlessly crushed under the tracks of the tanks. Resistance was meaningless!
However, Astinhos had no intention of letting these deserters go.
German deserters are dangerous, this is the conclusion that Estiny came to after fighting them. They will reorganize their defense in a place you don't know, and even ambush you on both sides of the road, even though they are deserters.
Therefore, Estinni had no intention of letting them go. He sent out teams of three-wheeled vehicles equipped with machine guns to chase and kill these fleeing soldiers.
Being close yet distant, yet never in contact, yet everywhere, this is an old trick of the border tricycle troops, and they know how to play it!
In the end, the Germans realized that they could not escape, so they raised their weapons and surrendered in large numbers.
(End of this chapter)
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