Trench Bolts and Magic

Chapter 196 Do you two know what an assault battalion means?

Provisional command of the Fifth Gallic Army.

When news came that the Saxon armored airships had arrived in Charleroi and had utterly crushed the 9th Division with overwhelming force.

Army Group Commander General Langlezak locked himself alone in his command tent.

He had just learned half an hour before this news arrived that the 3rd Cavalry Division had lost contact.
The staff officers outside the tent could only hear the sounds of things being smashed coming from inside, as well as General Langlezak's roars filled with anger and despair.

"Xiafei! You damned butcher! You idiot!"

"You've destroyed my Fifth Army and all my soldiers!"

The cursing and smashing sounds continued for a long time before gradually subsiding.

The staff officers outside looked at each other, none of them daring to go in and risk getting into trouble.

August 11, night fell.

The streets of Charlerois South still reek of that nauseating stench.

Meanwhile, in the northern part of the city, across the Sambur River, the roar of an engine broke the silence of the night as it approached.

"came back!"

Both Kleist and Manstein showed joy on their faces.

Morin also stood up and quickly walked out of the command post.

A long convoy, escorted by a small number of cavalry, slowly drove into the camp area of ​​the southern city.

The lead supply officer jumped off the first truck, jogged up to Morin, and gave him an excited salute—he even forgot that he was actually a man temporarily assigned by Ludendorff.

"Battalion Commander! We have fulfilled our mission! We are back!"

"Thanks for your hard work."

Morin rarely smiled, but he punched Morin's chest with his fist.

"how is the situation?"

"Everything went smoothly! After reading your letter, General Ludendorf immediately approved double the ammunition for us without hesitation! He also sent two additional battalions of reinforcements!"

The supply officer pointed to the soldiers who were continuously jumping off the trucks behind them.

Morin looked in the direction he pointed and indeed saw a large number of unfamiliar faces.

"Master Lu, Master Lu, you've finally done something decent," Mo Lin muttered to himself.

In any case, the arrival of ammunition and reinforcements completely relaxed his tense nerves.

Soon, two officers wearing the rank of major found Morin in the crowd and saluted him.

Look, what a reversal of the Heavenly Gang!

"Captain Morin, I am Fritz, the battalion commander of the 1st Battalion, 11th Infantry Regiment."

"I am Heinz, the battalion commander of the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment."

"Welcome, officers."

After all, his rank was higher than hers, so Morin quickly returned the salute with a very sincere smile on his face.

However, as soon as the two battalion commanders and their soldiers got out of the car, they were made to frown by the strong smell in the air.

"God, what's that smell?" Major Heinz couldn't help but cover his nose.

"The smell of a corpse."

Morin answered calmly, just as he had answered Captain Mavits before.

Fritz and Heinz exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of seriousness in each other's expressions.

Although they also participated in the siege of Liège and the subsequent battle to block the 5th Flanders Infantry Division.

But the battles there clearly didn't present this bizarre situation.

Morin: "Have your men unload the supplies first, then go to the front and familiarize themselves with the position."

“Yes, Captain Morin. We captured a batch of large searchlights from the Liège fortress, which will come in handy. Set them up at the front line, and we will be in charge of the guard duty tonight.”

"Thank you so much, officers!" Morin smiled even more sincerely once again.

Upon receiving the order, the soldiers of the two battalions immediately sprang into action.

They unloaded boxes of ammunition and supplies from the vehicle, and then hurriedly carried out several huge searchlights.

In addition, there was a batch of equally bulky crystal generators used for power generation.

As the soldiers of the two battalions, guided by instructors from the assault battalion, laboriously carried these massive machines to the buildings behind the first line of defense, their expressions began to change.

The further they went, the more pungent the stench of the corpses became, and the streets under their feet grew increasingly muddy and sticky, the contents of which they couldn't tell was blood or something else.

"Ready, turn on the lights!"

At an officer's command, the switches of several searchlights were turned on simultaneously.

hum-

Accompanied by a slight crackling sound, several thick, almost tangible beams of light pierced the darkness, illuminating the street stretching hundreds of meters ahead as if it were daytime.

The next second, all the soldiers who came to reinforce were stunned.

Before them lay a scene they would never forget, a scene as hellish as hell.

Countless corpses dressed in red and blue military uniforms were piled up in layers on the streets, in front of barbed wire, and even hanging on the barbed wire.

The mutilated limbs, the distorted face, and the congealed blood appeared particularly gruesome and terrifying under the pale light.

"vomit"

A young soldier could no longer hold it in and began to gag violently, leaning against the wall.

Many others were pale-faced, trembling, staring blankly ahead, unable to utter a single word.

Battalion Commanders Fritz and Heinz were equally shocked by the scene before them. They had previously learned from Ludendorff that the Training Assault Battalion was holding off an attack by a Gaulish division in Charleroi.

At the time, they thought it was a bit exaggerated. How could a battalion possibly hold off a division?

But now, looking at this death zone covered with thousands of corpses, they realized how wrong they had been.

They didn't even need to take a count; just looking at the mountain of corpses and the sea of ​​blood, they could imagine how brutal the previous battle had been.

The two of them turned their heads at the same time and looked at the soldiers of the training assault battalion beside them.

The soldiers, their expressions blank, silently checked their weapons or rested behind cover.

The hellish scene before them seemed to be something they were already used to.

A mixture of awe, sympathy, and a hint of fear rose in the hearts of the two battalion commanders.

They couldn't help but ask themselves, if it were them, how long could they hold out here with their own battalion?

A day? Half a day?

Still one hour?
They dared not even think about that answer.

Major Fritz composed himself, walked over to Sergeant Klaus of the 1st Company, and offered him a cigarette.

"Sergeant Major, you...you repelled them like this?"

Klaus looked up, saluted him, took the cigarette, lit it, took a deep drag with relish, and then exhaled a cloud of smoke.

"What else? Sir?"

He pointed ahead, "If we don't kill them, we'll be the ones who die."
-

June 8, afternoon.

Sunlight pierced through the sparse clouds and shone on the ravaged city of Charleroi.

The soldiers of the training assault battalion, still in neat ranks, with weary steps, withdrew from the positions they had held for three days.

Their uniforms were no longer recognizable as their original color, covered in dust, bloodstains, and traces of gunpowder.

Every face bore the mark of weariness beyond words, yet their spines stood ramrod straight.

As they walked out of the southern city and passed by the vanguard of the Second Army Group, who were there to relieve them, these friendly soldiers spontaneously stopped and paid them the highest respect.

No words were needed; the lingering stench of blood and corpses in the air, and the palpable menacing aura emanating from the instructors of the assault battalion, were enough to explain everything.

The training assault battalion temporarily settled down on a grassy area outside the northern city of Charleroi.

The soldiers sat on the ground in twos and threes, some wolfing down their late-arrived hot meals, others carefully maintaining their weapons.

Others do nothing but lie on the grass, staring blankly at the sky.

Maureen did not disturb them.

He knew that these warriors who had crawled back from hell needed time to lick their wounds, both physical and psychological.

He was also exhausted and just wanted to get a good night's sleep.

However, whenever he has this thought, he often can't sleep.

A black sedan sped up and stopped next to the campsite.

Immediately afterwards, an officer got out of the car and walked quickly to Morin.

"Captain Morin, General Bilo and General Ludendorf request your immediate presence at the temporary command post."

Morin nodded; he had been waiting for this moment for a long time.
From the moment he was forced to lead the training assault battalion deep into enemy territory alone, he had already figured out how to 'communicate' with these two big shots.

He straightened his uniform, which still bore indelible bloodstains, and then followed the major into the car.

The car headed north and soon arrived at the temporary command post of the Second Army Group.

The area is heavily guarded, and the people coming and going are all high-ranking officers and staff officers, each of them in a hurry.

Morin was taken directly to the largest command tent.

He took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to throw the boots in, and then lifted the curtain.

Inside the tent, Bilo and Ludendorff were gathered around a huge map, engaged in a heated discussion.

Upon seeing Maureen enter, the two abruptly ceased their conversation.

"Captain Morin, you've arrived."

General Bilo spoke first, with a polite smile on his face.

"You and your training assault battalion fought exceptionally well in the defense of Charleroi, buying valuable time for the main force of the army group to deploy!"

"Yes, your heroic deeds will be recorded in the annals of the Saxon Army! His Majesty will personally award you medals!"

Ludendorff quickly echoed this, putting on the same polite smile.

Morin listened quietly, his face expressionless.

After he saluted, he remained silent without saying a single polite word.

He just stood there, looking at the two Imperial Army leaders in front of him with a calm that was unsettling.

The atmosphere inside the tent instantly became somewhat awkward.

The smiles on Billow and Ludendorff's faces slowly froze.

They all sensed the unusual aura emanating from the young captain.

It wasn't the humility or excitement one should show when facing a superior, but rather a calmness that bordered on questioning.

Finally, Morin spoke.

"Your Excellencies Generals, do you even know what 'Assault Battalion' means?"

(End of this chapter)