On the road leading to Verdun from the east and southeast, four or five German infantry columns were in waves, and the troops of the 22nd, 29th, and 30th Prussian Infantry Divisions rushed to the Verdun front day and night. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 By the early morning of 30 August, the attacking force under the command of Lieutenant General von Gels had increased to 96,000 men.

After breakfast, General von Gels summoned the commanders of the divisions and brigades and announced the launch of an attack on the fortress of Verdun that night. With the crushing defeat of the 19th Infantry Division in the forefront, the generals were most concerned about how to capture the French fortifications. After all, at this time, only 260 artillery pieces arrived at the front line, 77 mm field guns accounted for the majority, and 105 mm and 150 mm howitzers were only 19, which was difficult to effectively suppress the French fortress firepower.

"From the morning, all the Zeppelins will be bombed on Verdun, that is, the eyes of the whole army and even the whole country will be focused on Verdun. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had just called, and His Majesty the Kaiser had personally inquired about the offensive, and he had assured His Majesty that we would win at Verdun and open the door to Paris. So...... Ladies and gentlemen, no matter how difficult this battle may be, we must win! ”

With that, von Gels introduced the generals to the "big guys" who were on the front line: the Hohenzollern royal family, His Royal Highness Joachim, chief of staff of the German High Seas Fleet.

"As you should know, the naval chariots brought by His Royal Highness Prince Joachim have made a great contribution to our breach of the French defense line on the Maas River, and these chariots will be used today to attack the French fortress. In addition, His Royal Highness the Prince's genius had helped the German Navy defeat the mighty British Home Fleet, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had been entrusted with the development of a plan for our attack on Verdun in one fell swoop, and Colonel von Carson would assist His Royal Highness in overseeing the battle. ”

Regarding Natsuki's arrival, everyone present had mixed reactions. It can be seen that many generals are also as skeptical and more or less resistant as von Gels's initial attitude. To Natsuki's surprise, the commander of the 22nd Infantry Division, Ernst Poulz, stepped forward and praised the new infantry tactics he had created, citing the example of Camp Ottezig, and the atmosphere in the conference room suddenly changed dramatically.

"In the run-up to the Battle of Jutland, when the whole nation had great expectations for the High Seas Fleet and feared that it would be defeated by the British Navy, we won this vital naval battle with a decisive attack with an unforeseen speed, and the key to victory was the right time and determination. In my opinion, the Battle of Verdun is as significant as the Battle of Jutland, and I am honoured to have the privilege of witnessing yet another strategically important victory. ”

Natsuki gave confidence to the generals who were about to enter the battle in his usual way, and then Colonel von Carson deployed the upcoming offensive in his capacity as chief of staff of the Corps Headquarters.

"According to the information we have obtained, the French army currently has more than 20,000 defenders in the fortress of Verdun, nearly half of which are colonial troops who have just been transferred from Algeria, who are responsible for defending the field fortifications on the perimeter of the forts, and the French mainland troops who are actually stationed in the fort fortress groups are only about 10,000 men. Our target for today is the Poyoslin Battery, located in the southeast of the fortress. Two days earlier, the 19th Infantry Division, having ventured into an attack on this battery with very poor preparations, had been thwarted. After two days of preparation, we have a more detailed understanding of its defensive deployment, which consists of three fortresses leaning on each other, equipped with 9 to 10 large and medium-caliber fortress guns, about 150 small-caliber guns and machine guns, and about 20 machine guns. The outer garrisons have been basically cleared, and the fort guards are about 2,000 people. This is a photo taken by the zeppelin from the air, the structure of the entire battery is triangular, we think that its defense in the northeast and southeast directions is the strongest, and the defense on the west side is relatively weak, so today's attack will be launched from the west. ”

Speaking of the impending offensive, Colonel von Carson showed the ruthless side of the Prussian soldiers, and the casualties of the troops were clearly not among his top concerns. In order to maximize their chances of victory, the newly arrived German units in the Verdun area were preparing for the attack, and only two infantry regiments were sent to the blocking line west of the fortress. There, the officers and men of the 1st Brigade of the 7th Prussian Light Infantry Division had successfully held back French reinforcements for 18 hours. The French attacked in turn with superior forces, and launched a strong attack in the early morning, but the main position of the German army relying on the dangerous mountain terrain remained immovable, and when the dawn shone on the earth, the slopes below the mountainside and at the foot of the mountain were covered with blue shirts and red trousers.

In the interval between the French offensive, the German troops on the position seized the time to consolidate the fortifications and replenish the ammunition, and watched the groups of wounded retreat to the rear, and the few remaining reserve troops were pushed to the front line, and the brigade commander, Major General Joseph Prier, had extremely mixed feelings. For their stubborn resistance to the repeated attacks of the French army, Prince Wilhelm sent a telegram of commendation in the name of the commander of the corps, awarding Major General Plier the Iron Cross of the First Class and encouraging them to continue to hold on here. The brigade staff headquarters has just made statistics on the casualties and ammunition consumption of various battalions and regiments, and the brigade has more than 1,000 dead and more than 2,000 lightly and seriously wounded.

"Sir, I received a telegram from the division headquarters." A staff officer came to Prieer, and from the second half of the night, the telephone line to the division headquarters was in a state of intermittent condition, and the communications troops sent to repair the line twice encountered the French combat detachment, and a German unit transporting ammunition and supplies was also attacked by the French on the way, and the division headquarters had to send additional combat troops to escort supplies, which barely ensured the combat supply of the 1st Brigade.

Prill closed his tired eyes: "Read." ”

The staff officer read it in a straight voice: "After receiving a telegram from the front-line headquarters, our army's offensive is imminent, and your troops must hold their positions and prevent the enemy from reinforcing the fortress." I have sent an additional 4th Infantry Regiment to reinforce you. ”

Plier was silent, and the staff officer had to stand by with him, until the whistling of French artillery fire hit and the German position was once again shrouded in continuous explosions, that Prill opened his eyes and looked at the crowded and dense French attacking troops in the valley, and his expression was gloomy - he commanded in a resolute tone: "Order all departments...... Hold your ground at all costs. Without an order from the brigade headquarters, a counterattack must not be launched without authorization. ”

The fierce fighting lasted for more than half an hour, and the valley slopes in front of us were already filled with gunsmoke, and most of the murderous French attackers were lying corpses. Suddenly, a colonel under Plier came to his brigade headquarters.

The old colonel, with his thick beard, exclaimed: "These French are simply a bunch of rabbits with rifles, and what could be more pleasant than such a summer hunt?" Aha, sir, why don't you take advantage of the situation and launch a counterattack? Keep it so that those French soldiers will lose the courage to attack again! ”

"Uh-huh, Colonel Albrecht, haven't had enough fun?" Prill groaned with his head down.

The old colonel didn't care what expression was on Prier's face, he pulled his voice and said, "Give the order to fight back!" Sir, let those French see how powerful the First Army in Europe is! ”

With his hands behind his back, Priell asked gloomily: "Of course it is easy to counterattack, chase the enemy's ass and hit it hard, but where will the troops lost because of the counterattack come from?" Mr. Colonel! The enemy troops are rushing here! ”

"Fight manpower, how can the French be our opponents?" The old colonel's original intention was to express his consistent contempt for the French army, but after thinking about it, he immediately reacted: "Can't the troops behind us be reinforced in a short time?" ”

Prieer nodded helplessly: "The corps headquarters is preparing to storm the fortress of Verdun, and we are responsible for blocking the French reinforcements. ”

"Just our 7th Division to stop the enemy?" The old colonel's eyes rolled.

Prill smiled wryly: "To be exact, our brigade, plus the 4th regiment that is coming. ”

The old colonel's smile just now disappeared, and he frowned and said, "The enemy has already invested two or three divisions, and if they want to relieve the siege of the fortress of Verdun, they will definitely invest more troops in this direction." ”

Prieer lowered his voice: "So we must preserve our strength as much as possible, at least for another three days." ”

"Three days is definitely fine." The old colonel replied without thinking.

"My expectation is three days," Prill said. ”

The old colonel thought for a moment with a serious expression: "General, although our task now is to hold our positions, I still feel that we need to launch a counterattack, at least mentally to give the French soldiers an extra blow, so that they will not only not have confidence in the attack behind, but even fear and cowardice." ”

Prieer folded his hands and thought about it for a moment, then replied, "Your suggestion does have merit. Now, Colonel, I grant your regiment a counterattack at the appropriate time with two battalions, and let the chariot units of the Navy fight with you. As for the specific arrangements for the counterattack, I would like to ask you to consult directly with the commander of the naval tank unit, and if there is any problem that cannot be solved, come back to me. ”

Hearing this, the old colonel's eyes suddenly lit up, and he said: "Can we get all those naval combat vehicles to be thrown into a counterattack?" ”

"I'm afraid it depends on how their commander decides, if he doesn't have an opinion, I think these 7 tanks can be put into a counterattack together, but you must remember to let your soldiers cover them, and never let any of them fall into the hands of the French, understand?"

The old colonel grinned and replied confidently: "Totally understood! ”

After the old colonel left, Prill picked up the telescope again. In the valley to the west of the railway line, beyond the range of the German field artillery, the French troops were regrouping their attacking forces, and in the distance, a train could be seen from the west, if nothing else, full of French soldiers, and there were two roads in front of them: either to cross the mountains and hike to Verdun, or to break through the German line of resistance and rush to the Verdun front by the railway line and the road parallel to it!

(End of chapter)