Chapter 196: , Verdun meat grinder (5)

As the sun went down, the already noisy battlefield gradually quieted down. There was no moon in the middle of the night, and only the night wind quietly blew over the entire battlefield.
Between the French trenches and the trenches, there is a traffic trench. These trenches can not only ensure the retreat of the French army, but also can be used for the troops behind to come forward for reinforcement. In the evening, these traffic trenches are strictly guarded by both sides, the enemy's possible attack route.
Soldiers on both sides threw a torch for lighting into the traffic trench from time to time, so that if someone were to pass by, they would definitely be able to spot it. The ground on both sides of the traffic trench was originally a minefield.
In this darkness, the French engineers quietly left the trench with a basket full of mines. Came to the minefield.
During the day, the French minefields were basically cleared by Prussian and English mobilizers. The British and Prussians ran over from the minefield, ran over, ran over, and ran over, and they had effectively destroyed the minefield quite thoroughly. Now taking advantage of this moonless first half of the night, the French went out to bury landmines.
But this job is also a very dangerous job. Although the British and Prussians did a very good job in mine clearance during the day, it is difficult to say whether their work was missed. In the darkness around, the French engineers can only rely on the faint starlight to see something vaguely. Naturally, they can't find those mines that haven't exploded. Whether they will encounter these things depends entirely on fate. arranged.
So throughout the first half of the night, the battlefield was very quiet, but very often, there would suddenly be explosions and flashes of light. It was the French engineer who came out to bury the mines and accidentally met and survived under the iron hooves of the British and Prussians. Landmines coming down.
But as the moon rose, the French engineers retreated. In the second half of the night, there was gradually another movement on the battlefield.
Some British soldiers, and Prussian mobilizers selected by lottery. After about half an hour of assault learning, they all had a shovel and a probe stuffed in their hands, and they were kicked into the minefield-just now from time to time in the minefield The sound of the explosion had told them that those French guys must have done something despicable in the dark.
As for the despicable things the French did, the Prussians and the British were worried at first that they would attack themselves in the dark. Although it is very difficult to launch an attack on such a moonless night, it may even be a waste of ammunition. But the French are always cunning, and God knows what they are doing. So the British and Prussians stayed in battle for most of the night, but the French did not launch a night attack.
Since the French did not come out to engage in night attacks, it is impossible for them to come out for a walk under the stars and think about life. So the question of what the French were doing in the middle of the night was immediately answered: "These despicable and cunning Frenchmen just buried mines in the minefield while they were in the dark!"
The French can dig mines at night, so the British and Prussians can naturally dig mines at night. So the British engineers and those drawn by the Prussian lottery were driven out of the trenches and crawled towards the minefield under the moonlight.
So this night, in the first half of the night, the booming caused by the French, coupled with more booming caused by the British and Prussians in the second half of the night, passed slowly.
The next day, just before dawn, the British and Prussian troops launched a new offensive as usual. The way of offensive is still heavy artillery bombardment, heavy artillery bombardment, and the infantry charge (this time it was a real charge). However, there are still some changes. The change is that when a group of Prussian mobilized soldiers rushed up to clear mines with bayonets, there was also a group of soldiers with live ammunition in the trenches under the command of an officer, holding their guns and aiming at them. vest.
Yes, after a whole night of thinking, the Prussians finally figured out a good way to increase the enthusiasm of the soldiers with the supervising team.
Under the guns of the supervising team, the Prussian mobilizers indeed showed exceptional bravery. They have no scruples about the mines that may exist under their feet (after all, did the guy who went out to sweep the mines last night watched the team, God knows if they were paddling there in the minefield?) rushing forward, because they know the ones behind The guy really can shoot.
Accompanied by the rumbling explosions of the mines, the Prussian army roared into the barbed wire fence that the French had repaired overnight.
As usual, they were first shot by French platoon guns in front of the barbed wire, then shot by shotgun shots from French cannons, then bombed by the French with "melon", then swept by the French with "broad sword", and then left. All of the Prussian mobilizers were killed by the Prussian Superintendent team.
Then the next group of Prussians rushed up again. Because, if they can capture a trench every day, they will be able to take the high ground in a few days, and once the high ground is taken down, the gate of Verdun will be opened.
This kind of story is also staged on the British side, except that the British are embarrassed to get a supervising team out, there is almost no difference.
After fierce fighting, by noon, the Prussians broke through two more trenches. But it was soon driven back by the anti-impact French army, supported by more artillery. Then they rushed back, and then they were driven back...It was only when the sun was fading that they were able to stand firm in the position of the third trench.
After breaking through this trench, the Prussians stopped their offensive and began to consolidate their defenses on the spot. It seemed that they were planning to come every step of the way.
The British fought more fiercely, and the fight for the third trench continued until the sun went down. When the British defeated the French's last counter-attack, the sky was almost dark.
The British, like the Prussians, should consolidate their position today and continue tomorrow. Although the casualties of the British and Prussians in the past two days have been a bit scary, Mao estimates it. More than 30,000 people have been injured or killed in two days. Such losses are really rare in the previous history of Europe. But now they are also very close to the "key goal". If you work harder, it seems that you will be able to reach that high ground. Therefore, both the British and the Prussians feel: We can hold on a little longer.
However, they didn’t know that there was a big difference between the third trench and the first trench. That was the connection between the third trench and the fourth trench. Not only was there a traffic trench, but it was also very well hidden. Authentic.
These tunnels were originally traffic trenches, but they were covered with wood, then covered with thick soil and the exit was camouflaged. The repeated counter-attacks by the French army also made Prussians unable to check these things at all.
The gunfire on both sides gradually stopped after the sun set, and then naturally the old repertoire of the previous night continued: in the first half of the night, the French came out to bury landmines, and then bombed and bombed; in the second half of the night, the British and Prussians came out to dig mines. , And then "boom boom boom boom..."
Just when the British and Prussians triggered the plot of "Boom Boom Boom Boom...", a group of French troops were passing through the tunnel and struggling towards the third trench.
As the day dawned, the story of the British and Prussian "boom boom boom boom..." basically came to an end, but at this time, the French artillery suddenly turned towards the British and Prussians. The third trench occupied by humans opened fire violently.
Even the French artillery's damage to the trenches is still very limited, but the sound of the artillery is also a signal. As soon as the cannon sounded, the French soldiers pierced their bayonets and jumped over the wire fence along the traffic trench.
The British and Prussian troops did not expect that this day’s battle would actually start with the French offensive. They quickly prepared to organize a counterattack, planning to play a defensive counterattack first, and then... but did not want to, in the trenches on their own side, suddenly there was Many pieces of soil collapsed, revealing many tunnel crossings, and then a large group of French soldiers rushed out with bayonets from inside.
Under the combination of the inside and the outside, both the British and the Prussian troops soon collapsed, and then the French army counterattacked, and even regained the second trench, and dragged the British and Prussians with a lot of effort~www .EbookFREE.me~ Many artillery pieces that were prepared to support today's offensive operations have also been destroyed.
And the firepower of the French army became stronger again. Even bigger, obviously more than 12-pound artillery also began to join the French camp, and the grenade shells also appeared on the battlefield of Verdun for the first time. When the British and Prussians launched a counterattack, their soldiers were killed in large numbers by such shells on the battlefield.
After paying huge casualties, the British took back the third trench that had just been lost. As for the Prussians, they almost lost the second trench.
When the battle on that day was over, the British counted their losses. In these three days, the British army's losses had reached 20,000. Even considering the fact that 30,000 British troops who could not speak English had just been brought in from Hanover, the losses were all real elite troops. Such losses cannot be supplemented by the mobilized troops.
But depending on the number of Prussians, the loss is even greater. Especially in today's battle, a Prussian lost 20,000 people. After all, Prussia has lost 40,000 in these three days.
Although that "important goal" doesn't seem to be far away, many people are already thinking about whether it is necessary to continue fighting like this.