Chapter 383 Infiltrating the Enemy Lines
During World War I, when the enemy and our side were stuck in a stalemate of trench warfare, the Allied approach was to develop tanks or open up new fronts in other directions, while the German army was considering whether it could use a strong infantry to open a gap in the enemy's defense line and thereby expand the results of the battle and win.
This "tough infantry" is the Storm Assault Battalion.
At this time, the Storm Assault Battalion had just been formed. It was led by its advocate, Major Willy Roll, as chief instructor. According to his own tactical ideas, he selected more than 500 elite soldiers from the German army to form a battalion and trained them in Berlin for three weeks.
When receiving the battle order, Major Willy was stunned for a moment, and handed the telegram to the battalion commander, Major Rico: "What do you think?"
Major Rico glanced at the telegram with some worry in his eyes: "We are not prepared, and many of them don't know each other."
"It doesn't matter." Willy replied with a firm look in his eyes: "As long as we know how to fight this battle, the battlefield is the best training ground."
This is Major Willy's real thought. He believes that the training ground is just exploring unknown theories, and the battlefield is practice, verification, and results. Only actual combat can perfect the theory and provide experience for the subsequent "Storm Commandos".
"There will never be a 'ready' moment, Rico," Major Willy said, "if we stay on the training grounds."
Major Rico nodded helplessly. He thought Major Willy's idea made sense.
What's more, as the battalion commander, he is only responsible for how to fight. Whether to fight and when to join the battle is decided by head coach Willy.
…
At three o'clock in the morning of the next day, the fully armed First Stormtroopers arrived in Cambrai by train.
Major General Nicholas, commander of the 1st Tank Division, personally went to the train station to greet him.
In the car on the way to the front, Major General Nicholas couldn't wait to shine a flashlight on the map and said to Major Willy:
"Military emergency, Major."
"The 1st Tank Brigade of the Shire is on its way to reinforce us. I'm not sure when they will arrive."
"I only know that we must break through the enemy's defenses as quickly as possible so that we have more time to prepare for battle!"
Willy didn't even glance at the map and answered directly: "In two hours."
"What?" Major General Nicholas looked up at Willy, his eyes full of confusion.
"We will attack in the early morning, General," Willy replied. "The plan is simple. We will sneak into the enemy's defense line before dawn and attack the enemy at the same time after dawn."
Nicholas was stunned for a moment, then nodded slightly. It turned out that the Storm Troopers were "infiltrating the enemy's defense lines" rather than "vanguard troops."
He was right, infiltrating enemy lines would have a much greater impact than leading the troops.
Finally, Willy glanced at the map in Nicolas's hand and concluded, "So, this is not the kind of map I need. What I need is a trend chart of the enemy's trenches."
…
The sky was dimly lit, and German artillery shells were exploding in front of and behind the French lines, adding a hint of gunpowder to the early morning mist.
Major Willy held up a telescope and carefully leaned his head out to look at the opposite side for a while. Seeing that the French army did not move, he raised his hand and waved it lightly. The First Storm Assault Battalion, which had been prepared long ago, set off amid the sound of artillery fire.
They wore M1915 Prussian military helmets, all of which had their peaks removed.
(The picture above shows the German M1915 helmet. Compared with the old helmet, the biggest difference is that the peak is now removable, which can easily expose German soldiers in advance during trench warfare, especially in the sun.)
Each of them had steel armor on their chest and grenades on their waists, and some even had a few grenades in their backpacks.
Holding carbines and lightweight Maxim rifles in their hands, they crawled out of the trenches like ghosts and disappeared into the smoke caused by the explosion of artillery shells.
(The picture above shows the KAR98AZ, a short-barreled rifle that is more suitable for mobile warfare in trenches and is the standard equipment of the Stormtroopers)
(The picture above shows the MG08/15 light machine gun, which is actually a lightweight version of the Maxim heavy machine gun. It was a helpless choice before the invention of the submachine gun.)
The breakthrough point was the choice made by Major Willy after repeated observations of the terrain. It was not the part closest to the enemy's defense line, but the concave area of the defense line.
On the left side of the advance route is a small hill, which can block the view of the French army in the south. There are several trees on the right side, which also makes it difficult for the French army to see this area clearly.
"What we need to do is fire a few shells over here," Major Willie said to Major General Nicholas, pointing to the map. "This, this, and this!"
But Major Willy emphasized: "Not too many, five to ten rounds is best."
Major General Nicolas nodded. He understood Major Willy's intention. Too many shells would make the French army suspicious.
Originally, Major Willy did not need to go into battle himself. He was a researcher of the tactical theories of the "Storm Commandos". He wanted to live to summarize his experience and continue training another batch of "Storm Commandos".
However, Major Willy chose to stay with the troops. He regarded this battle as an opportunity to practice his theory.
He led his troops cautiously, advancing on the battlefield, sometimes fast, sometimes slow, sometimes stopping in a shell crater for a while, sometimes crawling forward, and occasionally using gestures to command several snipers to occupy high ground to provide cover for the troops.
The whole process took nearly twenty minutes, including cutting through the barbed wire and passing through the gap, and finally sneaking to the French trench before daybreak.
The French knew nothing about their actions. Major Willy, who was lying in front of the trench, could even hear the French sentries talking in the trench:
"God, it's daybreak at last. They said the Shire reinforcements would arrive today. Is it about time now?"
"As soon as the Ciel's troops arrive, we will be safe."
"Charles is a good man, and it's unimaginable that he would join us in fighting the Germans. I mean, he really means it!"
"Yes, if the bombers had been a second late yesterday, we would have been finished!"
…
Major Willy didn't listen any further. He turned his head and gestured backwards.
The German soldiers understood and pulled out grenades from their waists and unscrewed the safety covers.
Major Willy waited for a while and waved his hand resolutely. The German soldiers pulled the ignition grenades one after another and threw them forward. The grenades with blue smoke rolled into the trenches.
First there was a burst of panicked shouts from the French soldiers, followed by a series of loud "boom" explosions.
Without any orders from Major Willy, German soldiers jumped up in groups, grabbed their rifles, jogged for a while, and then rushed into the trenches one after another.
The dense gunfire made it almost impossible to hear screams.
That was the assault battalion firing additional shots at the stunned enemy.
The assault battalion usually did not use bayonets. This was not only because the space inside the trench was too small to be used with rifles equipped with bayonets, but also because Major Willy believed that the assault battalion at this time needed to open up a living space for itself as quickly as possible: a trench controlled by themselves, a trench that could accommodate a battalion of troops.
(End of this chapter)
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