Trench Bolts and Magic

Chapter 207 The Armored Knight's Toy (Bonus Chapter 23)

These legends, some true and some false, circulated from the Second Army Group and spread rapidly among soldiers and junior officers in various army groups.

This also imbues the title 'The Butcher of Charleroi' with a strong sense of mystery—many people wonder whether 'The Butcher' refers to the strength of Morin's troops or his gluttony.

Now that this legendary figure is standing right in front of them, it's normal to feel a little excited.

Even Ludwig couldn't help but look at Morin with a strange expression, then leaned close to his ear and whispered:

"Hey, Morin, are those rumors true? When did you start eating so much?"

Well, it seems Ludwig believed the last one.

"puff--"

Morin almost spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Do you think that's possible? I'm not a pig. Even a pig couldn't eat that many pork knuckles in one meal!"

He rolled his eyes at Ludwig, annoyed. "If I could really eat that much, I wouldn't be a captain now; I'd be a 300-pound fatso!"

"Hahahaha!" Ludwig burst into laughter at his words.

The knights around them laughed along, and the atmosphere instantly became relaxed and lively.

Their gazes toward Morin shifted from initial shock and awe to a newfound warmth and curiosity.

It turns out the legendary 'butcher' isn't so scary after all; he's actually a young man who knows how to joke around.

"Alright, alright, stop standing here grinning like an idiot." Ludwig stopped laughing and waved to his men. "Go back to your own work and stop crowding around."

After seeing the other knights off, Ludwig put his arm around Morin's shoulder and said warmly:

"Come on, don't rush to the command post. They're very busy right now and definitely won't have time to receive you. Let's go to my camp first and have a seat. I'll have someone take you there after the command post is done."

"Isn't this a bit inappropriate?" Morin hesitated.

"It's okay!"

Ludwig said nonchalantly, "I'll just send someone to tell the command. They might even be happy that I received you. Besides, this offensive mission came very urgently. Even after we marched here, they still have a lot of preparations to complete."

Without waiting for Morin's agreement, he half-dragged and half-brooked him toward the armored knight camp not far away.

The armored knights' camp was significantly larger than that of ordinary infantry camps.

Next to rows of well-made and exquisite field tents, there are familiar 'Siegfried 1' armored knights parked.

These pure war machines, even when stationary, exude a suffocating sense of oppression.

The afterglow of the setting sun shone on their heavy armor, reflecting a cold metallic luster.

Morin was led by Ludwig into a spacious command tent.

Inside the tent, the orderly had already prepared hot coffee and snacks.

See, Knight is indeed a master.
After the two sat down, Ludwig dismissed everyone around him, leaving only him and Morin in the tent.

"Honestly, Morin, you did an absolutely fantastic job in Charleroi this time!"

Ludwig handed a cup of coffee to Maureen and exclaimed sincerely:
"One battalion held off an entire division for three whole days! Nobody would believe such a feat! Now, everyone on the Western Front knows the name 'Charleroi Butcher'!"

"What 'butcher'? That sounds awful, like someone who slaughters pigs."

Morin shook his head and then explained, "It was all out of necessity. If I had a choice, I wouldn't want to fight that kind of meat grinder war."

"And while it's said to be equivalent to a division, in reality, because we can't deploy our troops inside the city, the enemy I'm facing on my position at the same time is probably only a little over a regiment. You've fought in Seville, so you'll understand what I mean."

"Ah, now that you mention it, I understand. But this record is still outrageous!"

Ludwig nodded, his smile fading slightly, and a hint of seriousness appearing in his eyes. "And that's how war is; many times, we have no other choice."

He changed the subject and laughed again: "Seriously, Morin, I'm really glad to see you again! Not only our friendship, but also the new gadgets you've come up with, which are shining brightly on the battlefield."

Ludwig stood up, walked to the tent entrance, lifted the curtain, and pointed to the armored knights parked outside.

"Did you see their new equipment?"

Morin looked in the direction he was pointing and then noticed that when he observed these 'Siegfried I' armored knights up close this time, he discovered some things he had never seen before.

Morin's gaze fell on the weapon racks around the backs of the armored knights.

Besides the melee weapons and artillery weapons we'd seen before, these armored knights were all equipped with a weapon that Morin was completely familiar with: a piercing grenade.

Besides the spear-like piercing lightning, many armored knights also carried a short-handled hammer-like weapon on their backs.

However, the hammerhead was replaced by a component that was similar in structure to a piercing mine.

"Looks like you guys have mass-produced and put this shaped-charge armor-piercing round into practical use."

"That's right!"

Ludwig nodded, his face showing excitement, and then pointed to the two weapons, explaining them to Morin in detail:

"'Armor-Piercing Lance'. It's similar to your original design. It uses the impact force of the armored knight to 'poke' the bullet directly into the enemy armored knight, detonating the warhead and using a metal jet to penetrate their armor!"

"And this 'armor-piercing hammer' was developed by our knights ourselves based on our fighting style!"

Ludwig pointed to the 'short-handled hammer' on the back of the armored knight.

"Its warhead is larger, has more explosive charge, and is more terrifyingly powerful! It's also more flexible in combat; you can suddenly pull it out after close combat and smash it open a hole in the opponent with one blow!"

"Furthermore, the warheads of the armor-piercing spears and hammers are designed to be replaceable, allowing them to be reloaded without completely leaving the battlefield with the assistance of our technicians!"

Ludwig became more and more excited as he spoke, and he walked over to Morin and patted him hard on the shoulder.

“Morin, I must thank you on behalf of the entire Teutonic Knights! You know what? Because of this new weapon you created, the battle we fought to annihilate the Golden Fleece in the United Kingdom of Flanders was easier than ever before!”

"The Knights of the Golden Fleece!"

Morin certainly recognized the name; he had previously seen the Teutonic Knights' battle report on that fight.

"That's right, it's them!"

Ludwig's eyes gleamed, as if he were still recalling that battle:

"Their armored knight technology all comes from the Britannians, so their armored knights are indeed slightly better than ours in terms of performance. But this time they ran into our new toy and were completely stunned!"

"Less than half an hour into the battle, their lines were shattered by our assault. Our wedge-shaped formation easily pierced through their lines!"

"In that battle, every knight who participated achieved the feat of defeating an enemy armored knight on average!"

Ludwig's tone was full of pride and self-satisfaction.

"The Grand Commander was incredibly fierce; he single-handedly took down twelve armored knights and even beheaded their commander! It was a complete massacre!"

To be honest, just listening to Ludwig's description, Knight Morin couldn't help but get excited, and even felt a little regretful that he couldn't witness this great battle where hundreds of armored knights fought each other.

However, he also knew that as the war continued, there would only be more and more scenes of real men in armored knights fighting each other.

With Ludendorff's battle group joining forces with those of the First Army in the area between Arras and Cambrai, this 8-strong flank attack force, designed to penetrate the junction of enemy lines like a dagger, finally completed its assembly.

On the morning of August 20, after a night of rest and final pre-battle preparations, the order to attack was officially issued.

In fact, the commander in charge of this battle was General Alexander von Linsingen from the First Army.

He originally planned to launch an attack on the afternoon of August 19, after Ludendorff arrived with his battle group.

However, considering that most of the soldiers in the battle group were exhausted after an 80-kilometer forced march, the attack was ultimately postponed until the morning of August 20.

At 6:00 a.m., eight artillery regiments, comprising a total of 432 77mm field guns and 96 105mm howitzers, deployed on various artillery positions, simultaneously unleashed a deafening roar.

Countless shells, trailing sharp whistles, ripped through the sky like a dense rain of steel, crashing heavily onto the outermost positions of the Brittany Expeditionary Force, located southeast of Arras.

The earth trembled violently, explosions rang out one after another, and huge fireballs and black smoke columns shot into the sky above the enemy's positions.

This artillery preparation lasted for half an hour.

At 6:30 a.m., as artillery fire began to extend into enemy territory, signal flares, signaling the start of the attack, rose into the sky.

"The whole army attacks!"

Accompanied by the hoarse roars of commanders at all levels and the sharp whistles of the charge whistles, the Saxon soldiers, who had entered their starting positions and lay in ambush under the cover of artillery fire, leaped up and charged like a tidal wave toward the enemy positions that were still shrouded in smoke and flames.

The two divisions responsible for the first wave of attack deployed a six-kilometer-long assault line southeast of Alaska.

Meanwhile, the main positions of the Britannian Expeditionary Force north of Alaska were also attacked by the main force of the First Army, and heavy artillery bombardment completely covered the positions there.

The 4-to-1 numerical advantage put the Brittany Expeditionary Force on the defensive from the very beginning.

(End of this chapter)