Using this means, the attacking French troops quickly broke through the minefields. At this time, the French artillery began to use shrapnel to carry out suppressive fire on the first trench simulation of the defending side - because the French soldiers were already approaching the barbed wire. Of course, at this time, the defending side also began to shoot constantly - empty cartridges, of course - and then there were constantly French soldiers who were randomly forced to withdraw from the exercise according to the proportion of the director.

The French soldiers who had withdrawn from the exercise took off their shirts, revealing their white shirts, and then swaggered away from the "battlefield", went to a grassy place not far away to sit down, put the guns in their hands aside, and then took out sausages and small bottles of brandy from the cowhide bag on their waists, which was used to hold bandages, triangular scarves, or something, and then ate them while laughing proudly at the comrades who had not yet "died".

However, the comrades-in-arms who were not lucky enough to "die" could not care about these happy "dead people", and they quickly approached the first barbed wire. A few soldiers shoved an iron rod-like thing in their hands under the barbed wire, then pulled the fuse sharply, then turned around and ran - the bullets on the exercise ground were virtual, and most of the shells were also virtual, but the barbed wire and the smoking blasting canisters stuffed under the barbed wire were real!

With a series of explosions, dozens of gaps were blown out of the barbed wire fence. At the same time, from the trenches on that side, a barrage of training grenades was projected, and then another group of French soldiers joined the sausage-eating procession.

The French also returned fire with grenades and quickly rushed into the trenches. Then, a large number of soldiers of the Rhine Confederation also happily walked up to the French soldiers who had died in battle, sat down, exchanged food, wine, and various tobacco products with each other, and then watched the play together.

"No, why is the exchange of belligerents in the trenches so favorable to the French?" The Austrian standing beside Bagration was dissatisfied, "Even if the French army is braver, the exchange ratio should not be like this." ”

Bagration's mind was filled with doubts, but he felt that the French would not make such a mistake in the military exercises that were open to the public and smelled of demonstrations. So he didn't express his opinion immediately, but continued to watch with a telescope.

Soon, Bagration discovered what made the French army different.

"Alyosha, help me remember." Bagration continued to hold the binoculars, staring at the "battlefield" in front of him, while speaking to his adjutant.

"Okay, General." His lieutenant brought out a notebook, and a pencil, both of which were also French.

"The French troops who broke into the trenches formed a battle group of every five men. Two of them were armed with rifles with bayonets, and the other three were armed with a shorter gun - probably a weapon specially prepared for combat in the trenches. Bagration said.

Bagration's guess was quite right, and the French soldiers were holding pump-action shotguns specially prepared for close-quarters combat in the trenches. Compared to the average Mini rifle, its range is a big hole, but in the trenches, this is not a problem at all. It can be loaded with eight rounds at a time, and can be shelled and reloaded with each pull of the front handguard, which makes it almost as fast as a revolver. And the characteristics of firing shotguns make them far more effective when firing than revolvers. In the trenches, this thing is simply an artifact.

In trench engagements, most of the soldiers who used rifles had already fired their last bullets again, so they had to rely on bayonets or multi-purpose sapper shovels made in France for hand-to-hand combat. At this time, two fighters with rifles with bayonets stopped the enemy in front of them, and the shotguns in the back hit them with their heads and faces, and then the Fritzes on the opposite side took off their shirts with great joy, jumped out of the trenches, and went to the grass next to them to eat, brag, and watch a play.

Almost in the blink of an eye, before the spectators had finished their beers for a picnic, the first trench had changed owners, and the tricolor was already flying here.

"Long live France!" The onlookers shouted one after another.

"Cheers to France!"

"Whoever doesn't drink is a!"

"What's wrong with the? Have the ability, let's compare? Cup for cup, dare? Occasionally, a girl from the Montmartre high ground shouted like that.

"Margaret, there's always a bet on the game, right? What is the stake? ”

"Otherwise, if Margaret loses, tonight, Margaret will listen to Denis for everything; If Denis loses, tonight, Margaret will let Denis sleep with whoever Denis wants, what do you say? ”

In the midst of such laughter, the French artillery began to extend their firepower, and the French prepared to attack the two lines of defense behind.

The battle process in the back is almost not much different from the front, but the onlookers are still very happy to watch. As for the more stuff, the little roosters who crow the hardest can't understand it. But observers from all countries broke out in a cold sweat. The French army had a very short pause between the first and second attacks, and in such a short time they were ready to consolidate their existing positions, reposition their artillery, and prepare for a new attack.

"If nothing else, in battle, will our army be able to keep up with the pace of the actions of the French? This is still in the situation of defensive warfare, if in the field, how many divisions do we need to be able to compete with one division of the French army? ”

By evening, the French had managed to break through three lines of defense of their opponents of equal strength, and the day's exercises were essentially over. At least the part that can make the little roosters happy to watch is basically over.

All that remained was to invite the observers to visit the French army. However, it is getting late by this time, so this matter will be left until tomorrow.

The sun is already setting in the mountains, and the figures are scattered. After a day of play, the very happy little roosters got into the carriage and returned to Paris, exchanging opinions on what they had seen and heard today. Of course, what they say is basically "We're so good in France, hahaha......" or: "It's so fun to fight, hahaha......"

The next day, during a visit to the French barracks, the observers' doubts were gradually solved. First of all, why the French guns fired so fast was because they used rear-loading guns, and the reloading speed was faster than the front-loading guns. Moreover, they have a specially designed sighting system, which allows the gun to achieve quite good accuracy even in the case of indirect aiming.

In addition, Bagration noted that the wheels used in the French cannons were different from those used in general, and that they were not made of wood, but were made of a black material with a special elasticity.

"There may be a secret to the French army's ability to move artillery quickly." Bagration thought. But I heard someone in Beijing and Shanghai: "This gun, this gun can be like this!" ”

Bagration looked over and saw an Austrian officer exclaiming with a much shorter half-section rifle that he had noticed the previous day.

Bagration hurriedly walked over and asked, "What kind of gun is this?" ”

"Model 1801 shotgun." A French captain saluted him and replied, "This gun can carry eight rounds at a time......

As he spoke, the captain took the shotgun from the Austrian and began to show them how to use the guns.

"You see, this tube under the barrel is actually a magazine, which can hold a total of seven bullets, plus the chamber can also hold one round, up to eight rounds at a time."

As he spoke, the captain loaded the gun with bullets, which Bagration noticed were paper cylinders with a small piece of metal at the bottom. It didn't take much time for the captain to stuff them into the magazine one by one.

Then he pulled the handguard, and with a "click", the bullet was loaded. Then he raised the muzzle of his gun, pointed it at the sky, and said to the foreign generals who were watching next to him: "Look, this is a good bullet, and then you can shoot at the target." With each shot, you pull here and you're ready for the next shot. Hmm, does anyone want to try it? ”

"Me! I'm going to try! Bagration immediately exclaimed. At the same time, he stepped forward and used his wide torso to block the rest of the audience behind.

The captain handed the gun to Bagration: "General, the bullet is loaded. ”

Bagration took the gun, looked at the humanoid target about forty meters away, nodded, raised the gun and aimed it slightly, then fired a shot, and the target was immediately knocked down. Bagration tugged at the handguard again, fired again, and hit another target.

"How far can this gun hit?" Bagration asked.

"Sixty or seventy meters will still work," replied the captain, "and if it is farther away, it will not be very useful." ”

"Well," Bagration nodded, he had actually noticed that the French army was mostly armed with ordinary rifles, and I think it was because of this.

"Are your cavalry now using this as their main weapon of war?" Bagration suddenly asked again.

The French captain paused for a moment, then stammered: "General, on this question, well, this question, I can't answer your ......"