Battlefield Priest's Diary

Chapter 138 The Fox's Funeral (Part 2)
In Belleville, under the blood-red setting sun, a unique funeral is underway.

Outside the cemetery, twenty Renaults lined both sides, their sides wrapped with purple velvet to show respect for the deceased priest.

The wooden field cross, painted black, was held high, and the altar made of ammunition boxes was filled with flowers picked from the battlefield.

A truck crank, a first aid kit, a purple artillery signal flag, and a short sword.

The four categories of items represent the four merits of the deceased: clearing roads, healing comrades, destroying enemy positions with artillery, and fighting to the death to stop the enemy.

A deep bugle call sounded, and four soldiers carried a coffin adorned with red, white, and blue ribbons slowly forward—inside was no body, only a tattered black robe.

As the bugle sounded, Pierre carried the coffin, feeling his vision blurring.

He hates himself now!
He regretted not noticing anything amiss and leaving the priest's side.

Looking back now, the priest's expression was exactly the same as that of the old soldier; it was an expression of determination to die.

I've already learned my lesson once, so how could I make such a basic mistake again?
The priest kept his promise and let the soldiers around him go home to celebrate Easter, while he himself remained on the battlefield forever, without even leaving behind a decent set of belongings.

Quack! Quack! Quack! Quack!
Crows flew across the sky, cawing loudly as if searching for something, but received no response.

Black feathers fell from the sky, covering the coffin like a blanket of black snow.

Sobbing could be heard as the coffin was lowered into the grave, and people threw down the flowers they held.

A sudden change occurred!

beep - beep - beep -

Suddenly, a shrill whistle blared all around – a makeshift air raid siren!

"The German planes are coming!" someone shouted frantically, pointing to the sky.

Suddenly, four triplanes with different paint schemes appeared in the sky, rushing straight towards the crowd after breaking through the French defenses.

The crowd suddenly became chaotic.

"These damned bastards! Choosing this time! Don't these Germans feel ashamed?!" the officer in charge of the ceremony cursed.

"Damn it! How could you defile him at a time like this!" Pierre's anger surged, and he drew his rifle, pointing it at the sky. Other brave soldiers around him did the same.

However, compared to the opponent's massive aircraft, he seemed extremely small.

The red triplane fighter began its dive!
People felt their hearts pounding.

Something fell from the sky, but it wasn't a bomb.

A wreath woven from white wildflowers fell straight down onto the coffin on the ground, demonstrating the driver's exceptional skill.

The white wreath had the words "Goodbye, you cunning fox" written on it in German.

A red triplane fighter jet took off, the pilot gave a military salute to the ground above the base, and then turned around and flew back to his own position.

A moment later, the sound of soldiers firing shots into the sky came from behind.

Bang bang bang bang bang bang! ! ! ! ! ! ——
When the plane landed at the airport, the new captain, Oswald Polk, was already waiting there.

This father of German aerial warfare was known for his meticulousness and was regarded as an idol by Richthofen, but his appearance here at this time is probably not a good thing.

“Mr. Manfred, I heard you flew over to the French positions without permission? And you took your entire squad with you?” Oswald Polk stood there, his face unreadable.

"Yes, Your Excellency!" The young ace did not argue but stood at attention, awaiting his orders.

“I need a reason,” the commander said in a deep voice.

"Go and bid farewell to a respectable adversary."

"That's it?"

"Yes, sir, that's all." The brief exchange ended, followed by a long silence.

The commander adjusted his gloves and raised his left hand, while the young ace stood at attention with his chest puffed out.

next second.

Snapped!
A notebook was thrown at Lieutenant Richthofen's chest.

"Fill in the attack log, make it more reasonable, and I'll take care of the rest."

The young ace froze on the ground, speechless at his superior's attitude.

"I've heard about that fox. Although he's an enemy, he's a respectable fellow."

"The 11th Air Force is about to be established. I asked them to take you over. Pack your bags and get ready to go to the Somme battlefield with me."

"As for this matter..."

"This will never happen again!"

Seeing his superior leave, Lieutenant Richthofen stood there, lost in thought.

flap flap~~~
The sound of flapping wings interrupted his thoughts, and a gray-white pigeon flew to his shoulder.

???

Isn't this his carrier pigeon? It got lost on the battlefield and he thought it was dead after all this time.

Holding the pigeon in my hand, the grayish-white little creature looked very tired, but there were no obvious external injuries on its body, and the letter tube was still hanging on one of its legs.

Take the mailbox down, and a small note will appear inside.

Unfolding the note, I was surprised to find that my handwriting was familiar.

Now you'll never catch me again!

A white dove took flight, and the young lieutenant squinted at the sun in the sky. "Alright, you sly fox, you win!"

In the summer of 1916, the Battle of the Somme began. The German army did not commit any new troops to the Verdun direction. Faced with Pétain's impenetrable defense, Hindenburg was unable to make a breakthrough.

In October, the French army launched a large-scale counter-offensive, and the following month they recaptured Fort Douaumont and Fort Vaux.

By December, the German lines had largely returned to their pre-offensive positions.

For nearly a year, the two sides deployed a total of 200 million troops to fight each other, with nearly a million people killed or maimed, but neither side achieved any substantial results.

Among the key battles, the Battle of Bellville was the most intense, the most narrative-driven, the most heroic, and even mythical.

Many of these stories, passed down orally from eyewitnesses, became very popular bedtime stories in northern France.

Lieutenant Colonel Eugen was promoted first class and awarded the Legion of Honour for his service in the war. He was later transferred to North Africa. During World War II, his troops pledged allegiance to Free France and participated in many major battles in the later stages of the war.

Soldier Pierre was promoted to sergeant due to his outstanding combat achievements. He was respected by his soldiers for his bravery in battle. He was wounded in the Second Battle of the Somme-Somme and fell in love with a nurse from Nottingham in the hospital. He later moved to England.

Because he possessed crucial intelligence, the spy Cragg was not executed. He was later recruited by the French intelligence service to become a double agent. In the days that followed, he never touched a whiskey bottle and refused any brand of perfume for the rest of his life.

Chanel returned to Paris and revived her luxury brand. In just ten years, she became an internationally renowned super-rich woman. However, a tabloid once reported that this well-known "fashion icon" preferred to eat roasted potatoes alone on rainy days.

Manstein and Hitterhofen each headed towards their fates, which were beginning to falter...

In the unknown darkness, the sound of turning pages of a diary echoed.

Welcome back! This time, the reward is...

How about taking a vacation?

(End of this chapter)