Chapter 44 Influence (Two in One)
"Everyone listen, we must capture Fort Douaumont at all costs, no matter what the cost!"
Von Brandeis stood up and shouted to the Prussian soldiers around him. His voice echoed on the battlefield, mixed with the sound of artillery fire and gunfire, and was particularly loud.
But soon, the French machine guns were firing at him, and he reacted quickly and immediately lay down to avoid the bullets. The machine gun bullets kicked up a cloud of dust in the soil beside him, making a creepy whistling sound.
This time, he did not stand up again, but his bright eyes were fixed on Fort Douaumont not far ahead. The fortress looked particularly gloomy under the overcast sky, like a sleeping beast, waiting to prey on those who dared to approach.
His mind was filled with the great glory that he would gain by being the first to capture Fort Douaumont, and the strong desire almost swallowed up his reason.
He was the captain of another company that attacked with Lu Mingfei and his company. The Eighth Company led by von Brandeis attacked Fort Douaumont from another direction. The smell of gunpowder and blood in the wind made him feel excited and nervous.
On the way to attack Fort Douaumont, they were fiercely fired upon by the French machine gun positions, resulting in heavy losses. Many of their comrades' bodies were lying in the trenches and mud, and their blood dyed the snow red. However, the honor of being the first to capture Fort Douaumont still drove them to attack forward regardless of everything.
"Captain, look!" At this time, a Prussian soldier next to von Brandeis pointed at the top of Fort Douaumont and shouted.
Von Brandeis looked in the direction the soldier pointed and saw a huge Prussian signal flag fluttering on the top of Fort Douaumont. The flag fluttered in the wind.
The gates of Fort Douaumont were opened, accompanied by several gunshots. The machine gun position in front of von Brandeis suddenly stopped firing. The French soldiers retreated from the machine gun positions, obviously losing their will to fight.
Von Brandeis stared blankly at a group of French soldiers with their hands raised walking out of the gate of Fort Douaumont, followed by several Prussian soldiers with their guns raised. He felt dazed, as if all this was not real.
……
When the news of the fall of Fort Douaumont reached Prussia, the whole country was in an uproar, and the whole country was immersed in the joy of victory. The church bells in Prussia rang, schools were closed, and Prussian newspapers immediately began printing newspapers. The huge headlines on the newspapers read: "Victory of Verdun... The collapse of France..."
Even British newspapers were reporting on this event, calling it Prussia's highest achievement on the Western Front and the most important victory since breaking through the Marne River front. The eyes of all countries were focused on this decisive victory, and Prussia's reputation reached its peak.
Of course, France did not admit defeat. Their headquarters, the Press Censorship Office, immediately issued an official announcement:
"There has been a fierce battle near Fort Douaumont, an advanced position in the old system of defences of Verdun. The enemy, after several futile attacks at great cost, has seized this position this morning, but all his efforts have failed to repel our troops, having reached and outflanked Fort Douaumont during the morning."
They also claimed that Fort Douaumont had been blown up by the defenders inside and the Prussians had only captured a pile of ruins.
However, the French civilians did not believe the lies of the French Army Censorship Office. The French Army Censorship Office had a very bad reputation in France and was personified as an ugly old lady holding scissors named "Anastasia".
French civilians were greatly shocked when they heard the news of the fall of Fort Douaumont, which was only 150 miles from the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. This news filled the hearts of Parisians with anxiety and panic.
The Prussian army began to publicize this victory, sending planes to the French front to drop propaganda leaflets, which were scattered like snowflakes on the trenches and battlefields.
Dubrule picked up a leaflet on the ground. It read: "Fort Douaumont has fallen. Soon everything will be over. Don't make any more unnecessary sacrifices."
He read the contents tremblingly, and fell into despair. He was a sergeant in the reinforcement troops who had just arrived in Verdun. His face was covered with dust and fatigue, and his eyes revealed deep helplessness and confusion.
"We were defeated. They sent us into hell with no food and almost no ammunition. We were the last troops and they wanted us to die in vain..." Dibrule muttered to himself. His words were full of helplessness and despair.
He was exhausted now. In order to rush to Verdun for reinforcement as quickly as possible, his troops had not stopped for a moment, and even heavy weapons such as machine guns were left behind. Each soldier only had 120 rounds of ammunition. He had not eaten for more than twelve hours, and hunger made him feel dizzy and weak.
The temperature in Verdun was getting lower and lower. His thin military uniform could not withstand the severe cold of more than ten degrees below zero. He just wanted to find a warm place to fall asleep. But he knew that this was an impossible luxury.
Not only Dubrul picked up the leaflets, but also the troops stationed in Verdun, whose morale was already low after picking up these leaflets. Some of them could not bear it and began to flee, and panic and despair spread like a plague.
A French lieutenant ran around Verdun like crazy, shouting: "Verdun is going to be destroyed! Everyone run for your lives!" Although he was quickly captured, his words were still heard by some civilians in Verdun.
Panic began to spread, and residents who heard the rumors, saw that the bridge over the Meuse River had been buried with explosives and ready to be blown up at any time, and other signs that the army was about to retreat, began to abandon their homes and flee.
They formed long lines, desperately pushing carts loaded with mattresses and other items towards the outskirts of Verdun. More than 20 years later, this scene was repeated again and became a classic scene on French country roads.
Some residents who ran away from their homes were so hasty that they didn't even have time to finish the food on the table and threw it away. Others carried barrels of wine from their own underground wine cellars to the street, smashed them and threw them away, and the drainage ditches on both sides of the road turned red.
A food warehouse near the castle opened its doors to allow passing soldiers to take whatever they could, and looting, which inevitably accompanies any defeat, began to spread throughout the city.
The troops who had withdrawn became frightened and hid in the cellar of the house whose owner had already evacuated. They drank the red wine stored in the cellar and got themselves drunk. Then they took away the things left by the owner from floor to floor. The whole of Verdun fell into chaos and despair.
February 2th was the darkest day in France, as the Prussian army was only one step away from victory.
……
"What! Fort Douaumont was captured!" Falkenhayn was ecstatic when he heard the news.
Fort Douaumont, the most critical node of the Verdun defense line, was captured so easily, which meant that the entire Verdun could be captured soon. As long as Verdun was captured, Paris would not be far away. Falkenhayn could not imagine how much honor he would get if he defeated France.
"Report to the general! Yes! The Crown Prince called and said that reinforcements are needed. As long as two more divisions are sent, it will be easy to take Verdun!" Falkenhayn's deputy reported.
"Two divisions?" Falkenhayn happened to have two divisions in reserve. Just when Falkenhayn was about to agree to send these two divisions for reinforcement, a voice sounded in his ears.
"Falkenham, don't forget the killing field plan." The voice was hoarse and cold, making Falkenham shudder.
"What's wrong with the general?" The deputy saw Falkenham shiver and his originally happy face immediately turned cold, and he couldn't help but ask.
"Nothing. Tell the Crown Prince that the troops he has are enough to take Verdun. The reserve troops I have are also used to guard against the British attack on the Somme River." Falkenhayn said coldly, completely different from the ecstatic look on his face just now.
"But General..." The adjutant wanted to say something but was interrupted by Falkenhayn.
"It's decided. You may leave." Falkenhayn waved his hand to signal the adjutant that he could leave.
"Yes..." The adjutant retreated reluctantly. He really couldn't figure out what Falkenham was thinking.
"What on earth do you want to do!" After the adjutant left, Falkenhayn roared into the office which was empty except for himself.
A black figure suddenly appeared in the empty place. "Why, Falkenhayn, do you want to disobey the order of the Elders Council?" The black figure responded indifferently.
"You...you...you..." Falkenhayn pointed at the black figure, so angry that he couldn't say a word.
"Remember what you should do. If you dare to disobey the orders of the Elders Council, we don't mind replacing someone else to carry out the plan." After saying these words, the black figure disappeared again, completely ignoring the furious Falkenham.
"Ah!!!" After the black figure completely disappeared, Falkenhayn angrily swept everything on the desk to the ground and let out an unwilling roar.
……
French Army Headquarters at Chantilly
French Chief of Staff Castelnau came to Joffre's dining table with three generals to report to Joffre on the situation on the front.
"Castellno, how is the situation?" Although the news from the front had already arrived, the French commander-in-chief Joffre was still enjoying his luxurious dinner as usual. His table was filled with sumptuous dishes, as if the tragedy of the battlefield had nothing to do with him.
"Report to the commander, the situation at the front is urgent!" The short and fat Castelno reported. His face was full of anxiety and fatigue, and it was obvious that he had not slept for several nights.
"Can we hold Verdun?" Joffre put down his knife and fork, pondered for a moment and asked this question. His eyes were sharp and calm, as if he was weighing the weight of every word.
"Yes! Most of the fortresses are still in our hands. I believe the soldiers there can defend Verdun." Castelno said firmly. He had just returned from Verdun not long ago and was familiar with the situation there.
"But we need to give Verdun a new commander."
"Who?" asked Joffre.
"Philippe Pétain," said Castelnau.
"Just do as you say." After listening to Castelno's report, Joffre signaled that they could leave and he would continue to enjoy his dinner. His attitude was calm and confident, as if everything was under control.
At eleven o'clock in the evening, Castelnau received even more ominous news: the French army's defense line on the right bank of the Meuse River was about to collapse.
When he returned to Joffre's office, with a heavier heart than before, he was about to report the news to Joffre, but he found that the Sleeping Beauty Joffre had gone to bed according to her previous unshakable schedule.
He hurried to Joffre's villa in Poiret to wake him up, but unexpectedly he was stopped by Joffre's orderly.
"Get out of the way! This is a matter of life and death for France! Can you bear it?" Castelno shouted loudly.
"Sorry, the commander-in-chief has ordered that no one should disturb him when he is sleeping." The orderly shook his head after hearing Castelno's words and still stood in front of him.
"Go and pull him away!" Castelnau ordered his deputy to pull the orderly away, and he himself went to knock on Joffre's door.
Perhaps Castelno's words just now worked. The orderly did not resist and was pulled aside obediently.
Castelno knocked hard on Joffre's door. After knocking for nearly five minutes, Joffre finally came out of his double-locked bedroom door in his pajamas.
"What's the matter? Didn't I tell you not to disturb me when I'm sleeping?"
Castelnaud was so angry that he trembled all over when he saw Joffre's sleepy eyes and casual tone.
"Commander, the defense line on the right bank of the Meuse River is about to collapse. I need you to give me full authority to manage Verdun. I will go to Verdun in person." Castelnau said, suppressing his anger.
"Oh, whatever you want." Xiafei yawned and went back to the bedroom, closing the door heavily.
Castelnau's hands were shaking slightly when he saw this scene. He wanted to catch Joffre and beat him up, but now was not the time to be angry. He had to rush to Verdun immediately to stabilize the situation.
"Chief of Staff, can we hold Verdun?" Castelnau's deputy asked worriedly when he saw this scene.
"Whether we can defend it or not, the French nation would rather fight than accept German enslavement," Castelnau said firmly.
He was so determined to defend Verdun not only because he was a viscount, a French nobleman who was proud of France since birth, but also because his three children had given their lives for this country. He would never allow the country that his children had defended with their lives to fall into the hands of the Prussians.
"I will go to Verdun to stabilize the situation first, and you go to find Pétain. Only he can save Verdun now."
Castelnau didn't know that Joffre's sleepy look immediately turned cold as ice when he returned to his bedroom.
"Are you satisfied now?" Xia Fei's tone was cold, as if he was still suppressing his anger.
"Look at what you said, Commander-in-Chief. We are helping you. If it weren't for us, Verdun would have been captured by now."
The blond young man who had appeared in Falkenham's office before appeared in Xiafei's bedroom this time. His tone was still so frivolous as if he looked down on everything in this world.
"Don't worry, Commander-in-Chief. Our goal this time is to drain Prussia's last drop of blood. There's nothing we can do about it. Those Prussians actually dared to form their own mixed-race forces. What a shitty secret party. They are vulnerable."
………………
Prussian Front Command
"Damn Falkenham, what on earth is he thinking!" Upon hearing the news sent back by Falkenham, Crown Prince William slammed the table hard, causing the ink bottles on the table to fall to the ground.
"Your Highness, what should we do next?" asked the Crown Prince's deputy.
"Continue the attack according to the previous plan. Don't give any reinforcements! I don't believe that my soldiers can't take this city!" Prince William said angrily.
After a while, Prince William calmed down, straightened his clothes and said.
"Let's go and see our heroes who took over Fort Douaumont."
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(End of this chapter)
