In the bright sun, a light, small, dragonfly-shaped biplane flew from west to east over the Aisne Valley, its fuselage and wings were basically in primary colors, with only the blue, white and red flags painted on the side of the cockpit. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 The two pilots on board the Info plane appeared to be sitting in a canoe, most of their bodies exposed, and in this sweltering heat, they wore scarves, fur hats, windproof glasses, cloth face scarves, and leather jackets, almost the entire winter outfit.

It is not only the Aisne River that runs through the Aisne Valley, but also runs through it by an east-west double-track railway line that connects Comvlan in the heart of France with Metz on the Franco-German border, which was strategically important during the war, but which has now been cut off by a brigade of German infantry. In order to drive the German army out of the Aisne Valley, recapture the railway line, and then gallop to the Verdun front, the French army continued to attack day and night, and the attacking troops invested increased from the initial one and a half divisions to five divisions, and received direct support from four field artillery battalions.

After circling for a circle, the French plane changed to fly from west to east, only to see that it kept decreasing in altitude and appeared to be flying against the top of a tree. The hill on which the main German position was located was ahead, and the French troops were launching a new offensive, so the artillery was agitated and the smoke of gunfire rose. The pilot in the front seat made a throwing gesture, and the pilot in the back seat picked up a shell with only a warhead from under his feet and leaned out to search for the target. Directly on the back of the main German position, on which the Germans had set up auxiliary positions against French detours, and several bunkers and tents with the prominent Red Cross logo on the tops could be seen.

German officers and soldiers on the ground had apparently noticed the French plane, and although they did not have special anti-aircraft weapons in their hands, rifle shells were able to pose a threat to the low-flying Breguet-III aircraft at a speed of only 80 kilometers per hour. Seeing that the enemy's bullets kept flying by, the pilot in the front seat was a little nervous, he turned his head sideways and shouted something to his partner, and the pilot in the back seat decisively dropped the warhead equipped with the trigger fuse in his hand.

Without the scream of artillery fire on the ground, without the strange cry of high-altitude bombs, the warhead fell silently, between two infantry trenches, and exploded with a bang, and the damage was not added to the damage of an ordinary 75mm field artillery shell.

As the plane flew over the hill, the underwing of the plane suddenly became another world: the French infantry in blue shirts and red trousers rushed to the seawall, wave after wave, and everywhere they passed were those who had fallen from bullets. The attacking troops at the front had already approached the German positions, and the French field artillery was still firing at the German positions, which inevitably caused accidental injuries to their own personnel, but in order to suppress the German defensive firepower to the greatest extent, such a method was also a last resort.

From the bird's-eye view of the two French pilots, it is possible to see not only the hierarchy of the German defense line, but also the details of the deployment of troops and weapons, especially the heavy machine guns hidden in strong bunkers, which evaded round after round of bombardment by the French artillery, and killed and wounded the French infantry in large numbers with condescending strafing fire - the French pilots were eager to drop bombs directly into the German machine gun bunkers, but even if they were given a thousand aerial bomb drops, it was difficult to hit the target once.

The pilot in the back seat patted his partner on the shoulder and said a few words with an indignant expression, and the pilot in the front seat hesitated and spun directly over the battlefield.

In the midst of fierce ground fighting, the German troops had no time to pay attention to the French plane, which was able to maintain a smooth low-altitude flight. The pilot in the back seat took another warhead from his feet, aimed it in one eye, and dropped it.

Sometimes, experience replaces complex calculations, but if there had been sufficient experience, the French air forces would have used specialized aerial bombs long ago, instead of throwing warheads on the enemy's head.

The Breguet plane circled over the battlefield several times, dropping several bombs, but only one fell into the German infantry bunker, blowing up two German riflemen, and the rest of the bombs missed, and even two almost accidentally damaged their own attacking troops.

In a battlefield of great width and terrain conducive to defense, the German heavy machine guns were undoubtedly the formidable masters, and their constant cross-fire caused the French attacking troops to be killed and wounded in front of the German positions, and the bodies of the fallen were even piled up into small hills. In the face of heavy French fire, the German riflemen also fired desperately in the bunkers, running out of bullets and grenades, they decisively picked up bayonets and prepared to meet the enemy with their chests.

In the last few tens of meters, the French infantry rushed more than a dozen times in a row, and a small number of people arrived at the German position, but they were annihilated because they could not get backup. After a tense and suffocating stalemate, the French attacking troops finally withstood the heavy casualties and retreated.

Once again, the bayonet lost to the machine gun.

Looking at the remains of thousands of French soldiers killed on the hillside, the two French pilots were deeply shocked and speechless. They were so focused on the battlefield that they ignored the successive German units that had rushed in from the southeast, and this refueling replenishment, although not enough to match the attrition of the defenders at the front, kept the officers and men of the 7th Prussian Light Infantry Division stubbornly holding out.

At this time, if you observe the battlefield situation from a height of several thousand meters, you can see that the main force of the German 5th Army is continuously rushing to the Verdun front, and on its left and right flanks, the main forces of the other two corps are also rapidly advancing westward, especially the German 6th Army from Alsace into France, the fierce Bavarian soldiers under the command of Crown Prince Ruprecht day and night, they captured Tür, forced the Maas River, successively broke through the temporary defense line organized by the French 4th Army, and crossed the Aisne River south of Verdun. Then follow the west bank of the Aisne River and head north quickly. When the German 5th Army captured the eastern battery of the Verdun fortress, Ruprecht's advance force approached the flank of the French attacking forces in the Aisne Valley.

Upon learning of the astonishing movements of the German Bavarian Legion, the French high command was still reluctant to abandon the fortress of Verdun, giving the enemy the opportunity to drive straight into Paris. As a result, the two colonial divisions, who had just arrived in France, were quickly transferred to the Aisne Valley via the railway line, and these colonial soldiers, who did not know what to fear, launched an attack on the cavalry units of the Bavarian Army as soon as they got off the train, forcing Ruprecht's advance force to retreat to avoid the battle.

On the first day of September, German Crown Prince Wilhelm visited the Verdun front. Although several of the main divisions were exhausted from the eastern fort and the front-line troops were in urgent need of replenishment, the arrival of all the heavy artillery units directly under the corps led by Prince Wilhelm forced his troops to attack the Mar battery south of Verdun.

Based on the successful experience of capturing the Poyoslin and Eastern Batteries, the Germans still concentrated their artillery fire on the Mart battery before the infantry went into the attack, and then released a large amount of smoke, making it impossible for the French defenders to accurately block the attacking troops. However, the terrain of the Mar battery was more prominent than the previous two batteries, with a total of nearly 300 guns in the four forts, and the field troops abandoned the outlying fortifications and held the forts wholeheartedly.

Due to the attrition of the previous two battles, only 1 Hubert-13 was available at Verdun for the naval tank unit supporting the 5th Corps, which General von Gels carefully placed in reserve. In order to take the Mar battery in one fell swoop, he ordered the 19th, 22nd, 29th, and 30th divisions to each draw elite troops to form a combat reinforcement regiment of 6,000 men, and launched an attack on the four fortresses at the same time, and the 20th, 36th, and 39th infantry divisions that arrived later followed closely with the combat reinforcement regiment and went into the attack, while the remaining troops of the first four divisions were used as combat reserves to concentrate on one or two directions to carry out a general offensive depending on the battle situation.

Natsuki did not raise any objection to General von Gels's operational disposition, because he did not approve of storming the Mar Fort at this time - not because there was no hope of victory, but because it would be too costly. In the days he spent in Verdun, he had witnessed thousands of German soldiers under French fire, and the people in charge of the aftermath carrying corpses all day long, so he could not bear to stand on the side of the road after every battle. Although the four divisions that participated in the two battles in succession had a large number of officers and men with experience and courage, their troops were seriously reduced and their command system was incomplete. The three divisions that had just arrived at Verdun were well armed, but they did not know how to reduce unnecessary casualties in the brutal battle. If the offensive were to be launched a few days later, the four divisions, which had been replenished by reserves, would have been in a better operational position, and the follow-up units would have gained valuable experience and skills through exchanges with friendly forces.

When talking to Crown Prince William alone, Natsuki euphemistically expressed his thoughts, although the crown prince wavered, but weighing the pros and cons, considering the overall situation, he still chose to attack at any cost. After all, the Luke and Bilow corps on the right flank of the German army had crossed Belgium and entered the French border, and the Hausen corps had also crossed the Maas River and was storming the flank of the French 5th Army, intending to cut off the retreat of the main French army, blocking it in the area of the Maas River and the Sambu River, and joining forces with the Bülow Corps to fight a battle of annihilation. In addition, the 7th Prussian Light Infantry Division, which was holding off the French forces in the Aisne Valley, had long been in a hurry, and although they were able to continue to hold the line on the front of the valley, the flank line was crumbling under the repeated attacks of the French army, and it was difficult to hold it for a long time. As long as the French continued to launch a few more rounds of onslaught, they could be driven out of their positions, leaving the 1st Brigade deployed in front of the Aisne Valley without a way out, but both General von Gels and Colonel von Carson believed that the 5th Army's priority now was to concentrate its forces on the fortress of Verdun, and therefore sent only a few regiments to reinforce the 7th Light Infantry Division.

After nightfall, the German assault on the Mar battery began. As Natsuki feared, the Germans did not count casualties, so why were the French afraid of ammunition consumption? The scene in the Aisne valley was completely reversed here, with the defenders of the battery opening heavy fire with light and heavy weapons, and by the time the German combat reinforcements approached the fortress, the offensive road was already paved with a layer of gray.

(End of chapter)