It was dawn, and the rumbling of artillery rang out again. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 InfoLieutenant Colonel Ottezig, who had been waiting for the night on the outskirts of the Verdun fortress, still had not received the order to attack. The stout infantry battalion commander stood on a mound with his waist crossed, watching as the soldiers of the other units rushed to the Boyoslin Battery, where the German battle flag had been planted.

Just a dozen hours earlier, the German troops in the attacking formation had been largely filled with fearful pessimism, and officers and soldiers feared that the nightmarish experience of the 19th Division would be repeated on them. No, the 16th Infantry Division, which took the lead this time, actually captured the Boyoslin battery in one go, and all units of the division immediately stationed in the fort fortress to prevent the French troops from other batteries from launching a counterattack. The 29th Division entered the outer positions of the battery as a reinforcement of the second echelon of attacking troops, and the 30th Division was ambushed on the road leading to the Boyoslin Battery, and the three divisions were busy all night, except for the 22nd Division, which was included in the mobile reserve, which had nothing to do. It's not that it's not strong, you must know that this unit is the first-line standing division of the Kingdom of Prussia, and its weapons and equipment are first-class on the European continent, and its combat effectiveness is equivalent to one and a half or even two Russian divisions. Of course, when the Franco-Prussian War began 44 years ago, Prussia had only 200,000 standing troops, and there were no divisions at that time. After nearly half a century of military development and armament expansion, Prussia's standing army more than doubled, and together with the three kingdoms of Bavaria, Saxony, and Württemberg, as well as the major principalities, duchies, and pro-kingdoms, the entire German Empire had a total of 79. 10,000 standing soldiers, and after a week of war mobilization, the German combat force was immediately expanded to nearly 2 million men, organized into 29 corps, each corps under the jurisdiction of 2-3 divisions.

From the Ardennes to the banks of the Maas, the 22nd Prussian Infantry Division did not perform particularly well, but it demonstrated the capabilities of a well-trained unit on defense, offensive and long marches. According to the battle plan of the 5th Army Corps Headquarters, the 22nd Division, together with the 19th Division, the 7th Light Infantry Division, and the 3rd Cavalry Division, was supposed to storm the fortress of Verdun in an effort to take it before the French could complete their defensive deployments, but many unexpected circumstances arose along the way - the rash actions of the 19th Infantry Division greatly shook the morale of the army, and the advance of the French field troops threatened the fragile lines of communication of the German attacking forces. As a last resort, the 22nd Division divided its troops on the march and fought many fierce battles with the French in one day, although the French threat was temporarily eliminated, but the cost was heavy. Because of the reduction of more than 7,000 troops, the combat effectiveness of the division was greatly weakened. If it weren't for the fact that the battle to attack the fortress required as many troops as possible, the 22nd Division would probably have to stay behind and continue to protect the lines of communication.

With a violent explosion, there was a slight tremor under his feet. Lieutenant Colonel Ottezig looked into the distance, and the Verdun fortress was filled with smoke and dust, and there were flashes of fire everywhere, and it was impossible to distinguish which ones were the fireworks of artillery fire and which were the fireworks of shell explosions. The German artillery group was moved to the south side of the Boyoslin battery overnight, and those field guns, limited by range and ballistics, had to "stand by and watch" from the sidelines, and the few German howitzers were thrown into a new battle. The Boyoslin Battery, which stood on the top of the hill, became a cover barrier for the German artillery, and the French could not penetrate the direct artillery fire, and the curved artillery fire could not be corrected, and the counterattack effect was greatly reduced. Not only that, but some of the French guns in the Pojoslin battery had already turned their heads and opened fire on "their own people". Those 152 of the 1910 model. The 4 mm howitzer is particularly powerful, and the maximum range reaches 12 km, which is almost twice that of ordinary field guns. In order to prevent the siege of the enemy fortress, the French built many of the artillery mounts here to be able to rotate 360 degrees, so that in the hands of the Germans, they could bombard any battery in the fortress of Verdun at will, and the French had to shoot at them to see who was killed.

Lieutenant Colonel Ottezig had no intention of watching the battle, his battalion still had 460 officers and men, and the two battalions that attacked the French with him combined were less than that number. Through this victory, the morale of the officers and men was restored, and their confidence was increased, and he himself benefited a lot. For his outstanding performance on the battlefield, he was commended by the division headquarters on the same day, and by taking the opportunity of a direct phone call with the division commander, General Ernst Balz, he pushed the new tactics proposed by Prince Joachim, which immediately aroused the general's curiosity and attention. After a face-to-face presentation, Ottzig's idea was affirmed by the general, who agreed that this flexible infantry offensive tactic could be used not only in the field, but also in storming fortified positions.

In order to prove their vision, the use of new tactics is more convincing. Three infantry companies from another disabled unit were transferred to Ottzig's command, and four additional machine gun crews were transferred, which increased the strength of Ottezig's troops and gave him an unprecedented thirst for meritorious service and honor.

After the sun rose, the artillery battle between Germany and France at Verdun gradually showed signs of abating, including the Boyoslin battery, many batteries in the fortress were clearly ignited, and billowing black smoke gradually formed a strange smoke cloud over Verdun. If our artillery could destroy most of the fire points controlled by the French, the 16th Infantry Division might be able to take the remaining four batteries with a single charge, Ottzig thought with some reluctance. However, the number of howitzers of the German attacking troops was too small, and there were no heavy siege guns of more than 200 mm caliber, so the damage to the fortifications of the fortress was very limited.

It didn't take long for the German field artillery group to suddenly burst into force, and after more than ten minutes of fierce fire, the dark smoke that permeated the forts began to replace with white smoke. Ottzig vaguely saw the infantry of the 29th and 30th Divisions advancing towards the batteries east of the fort, and they quickly burrowed into the smoke field, where there was a heavy burst of gunfire.

At this moment, the communications officer of the division headquarters appeared, and their voices immediately changed the atmosphere here.

"Attention! Note! The battalions set off in turn, ready to enter the forward attack position, and when passing through the open area, be sure to disperse the formation and speed up the pace! After arriving at the attack position, the divisions were organized into an offensive echelon according to the plan! ”

Battalion after battalion of troops in front of him moved in the direction of the Boyoslin battery, and although Ottzig had a few minutes to give an inspiring short speech, he chose unpretentious language: "Soldiers of the 259th Prussian Infantry Battalion, the time for the offensive is coming, get ready...... Heaven bless me! ”

The soldiers silently took up their weapons and put on their helmets, some looked at each other and wished each other good luck, some looked forward to see when it was their turn to leave, and many others drew crosses on their foreheads and chests with solemn faces and prayed silently.

The last wait passed for a moment, and seeing that a battalion in front had moved, Lieutenant Colonel Ottezig shouted in a slightly trembling voice: "Go!" ”

Regardless of generosity or apprehension, the soldiers embarked on a new journey.

At this time, the French guns were clearly focused on defending against the German attack, except for the occasional sporadic artillery fire falling aimlessly in the fields, and the Ottzig and their roads were unimpeded. Half an hour later, they were on the outskirts of the Boyoslin battery.

From a distance, the three forts that make up the Fort of Pojoslin resemble children's houses made of stone, rough and ugly, and when you get closer, you realize how tall and imposing they are, and the holes in the outer walls are like rat holes. If you go back to the era of cold weapons, it is difficult to imagine how the soldiers could break through such a fortress.

After many repairs by the German troops, the original fortifications dug by the French were no longer mere battle lines, but there were trenches for two people to run side by side, and the bifurcated trenches communicated to various places, in addition to ammunition storage points dug downward. When the troops from the rear arrived here, they did not immediately go on the attack, but waited for the order to attack from the higher command.

"Officers, pay attention, each company is an offensive wave, be sure to keep up with the pace of the troops in front, don't get too close, don't fall behind! Each knife platoon receives five explosives packs, and as in normal drills, they have one minute to find a place to hide after lighting the fuse! May God bless you all! ”

Several lieutenants shouted aloud as they walked through the trenches, and except for the last greetings, the rest of the content was clearly conveyed in the attack order of the previous day, but the more the battle came, the more nervous the mood became, and the easier it was to forget what should be remembered.

As the battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel Ottezig was not huddled in the trench with the ordinary soldiers, but was summoned to the operational headquarters set up in the position along with the battalion officers. There, a general whom he had never met pulled his old and hoarse voice: "Listen, everyone, the enemy's eastern battery consists of four fortresses, a standard square, clockwise marked as Forts 1, 2, 3, and 4 from the northeast corner. The troops of the 29th Division had already stormed Fort No. 3 in the southwest corner, but the French blew up its passage to Forts No. 2 and No. 4 and blocked the perimeter with heavy machine-gun fire, and the troops of the 30th Division were blocked outside Fort No. 2 in the southeast corner...... They failed to blow up the façade. Your mission is to attack the fortress in the northwest corner from the south and storm it at all costs. Lads, beware of artillery fire from the northern batteries, the French are cunning, they know that shrapnel will not help us blow up the outer walls of the fortress, and shrapnel can inflict a lot of casualties on us. Alright, you'll be attacking in 5 minutes, and hopefully you'll see your banner on that fortress. Come on! ”

The officers left the operational headquarters with the nervousness of being about to enter the battle, just in time to see a group of infantry retreating from the front, disheveled, disheveled, and many of the wounded, whose faces were covered in blood, and who could barely walk with the support of their comrades, and such a bleak scene was reminiscent of the 19th Division.

Suddenly, there was a loud, eardrum-piercing explosion in the smoky fortified area, and the ground trembled so strongly that it seemed as if an entire explosives depot had exploded. It didn't take long for the news that the French No. 2 fortress had been breached, and the German soldiers waiting to attack the position were jubilant. Although they were about to storm a fortress they had never seen before, which was bound to be a hard and bloody battle, the breakthrough of the friendly forces gave them an important boost of confidence and spirit before they set out, and it was almost certain that the battle was going in their favor.

(End of chapter)