Dragon Raja: Lu Mingfei's War Journey

Chapter 95 Dumont Castle, History Changed

On the 23rd and 24th, Lu Mingfei and his men were not seriously damaged. On the 23rd, they attacked the town of Samonieux, but a large number of French soldiers died in the heavy artillery fire that came down from their own rear before they even had a chance to engage the Prussian infantry.

For the Prussian army, this was an easy victory; after the fall of Samonius, the French second line of defense collapsed almost instantly.

Originally, behind that defensive line, there was also an African division transferred from the colony.

Those troops were supposed to be used to plug the breach, but the French only ever thought of colonial troops when sacrifices were necessary.

Under normal circumstances, these African soldiers would be pushed to the front to wear down the enemy's firepower and ammunition for the local troops. However, this colonial cannon fodder force had just arrived at its new post when it witnessed the regular French troops being defeated in a short time, and at the same time, Prussian artillery fire began to be aimed at them.

Therefore, they made the most rational choice.

Before the Prussian army could actually advance to their positions, the colonial troops had already completely collapsed.

When Lu Mingfei led the third platoon to that position, all he saw was a messy, empty camp.

A large number of guns were carelessly discarded, ammunition boxes were opened but not taken away, and barbed wire was still standing there intact.

On the 24th, the pace of progress was almost unreal.

They encountered almost no significant resistance; scattered small groups of French troops withdrew before even making contact, and there was not even any symbolic suppression of fire.

The troops advanced, crossing areas that should have been fought for with bloodshed. By evening, Lu Mingfei realized that the distance they had covered in one day exceeded the total distance of the previous three days combined.

The soldiers began to whisper among themselves.

Some people think this is good luck, while others think it's the calm before the storm.

Lu Mingfei was well aware that this progress would not continue indefinitely.

Because the real doors to Verdun have not yet appeared.

On the morning of the 25th, the sky was still overcast and the air was damp and cold.

As the troops halted in the morning mist, the low but clearly defined massive building on the horizon gradually emerged from the gray-white fog.

That was neither a town nor an ordinary fortification.

That was a fortress, Fort Dumont.

This is the most solid, important, and symbolically significant core node in the Verdun defense system. It is also recognized as the world's strongest fortress, at least on paper.

Lu Mingfei put down his binoculars. Even from a distance, the massive concrete outline of the Dumont Castle, resembling a crouching behemoth, exuded a chilling sense of oppression.

The artillery fire seemed to have already begun to greet the fortress. A muffled, continuous rumble, like rolling thunder, came from the distant horizon as Prussian heavy artillery poured steel and fire upon the fortress. But Fort Dumont stood there quietly, its gray-white concrete walls appearing and disappearing in the flames of the explosions, like an unshakeable mountain.

"Is that Fort Dumont?" Otto asked, leaning closer. His voice was tense. After so many battles, he knew all too well what a fortress of this caliber meant. It was a tough nut to crack with courage and rifles alone.

"The world's strongest fortress, with an average concrete thickness of over two meters, and some key locations reaching over four meters. It has a complex network of underground passages and barracks, and its surface is covered with a thick layer of soil and vegetation that can effectively absorb the impact of artillery shells. To completely destroy it with artillery fire is almost impossible, at least not with artillery of this era." Caesar's voice rang out from the side.

Lu Mingfei nodded. He had known about this data a few days ago. The Prussian army had always regarded the fortress in front as the most important hypothetical enemy and had distributed the intelligence to the front-line officers in advance.

However, Lu Mingfei was not too worried. According to the memories he obtained from Philippe Laurent, Dumont Castle was captured by the Prussian army very easily in history.

Because French commander-in-chief Joffre had transferred all the cannons and troops from the fortresses of Verdun to other places in 1915, but Fort Doumont was still very powerful. In history, the French army paid the price of 300,000 men in the later stages of the war to recapture Fort Doumont.

If this fortress were fully armed now, Lu Mingfei really wouldn't be laughing at all. Fortunately, the French army always manages to pull off some amazing feats.

Just then, the messenger came to Lu Mingfei's side again.

"What are the orders from above?" Lu Mingfei asked the messenger who had just run back from the company headquarters.

"Reporting, Platoon Leader! After the shelling ends, the 24th, 20th, and 12th Regiments will all launch an attack. The company commander has ordered that we must be the first to seize control of Fort Dumont!" the messenger said breathlessly.

This attack will be carried out by three regiments attacking from three directions. Each regiment has about three thousand men. The Prussian army mobilized nearly ten thousand men for the Dumont da Prussian fortress, which shows how much importance they attached to it. Lu Mingfei's platoon is just an insignificant part of this attack.

So what followed was a competition between the three regiments and between every single soldier. Whoever was the first to capture the fortress would be a hero who would be recorded in Prussian history. Everyone was eagerly anticipating the next attack.

"Competition? Heroes?" Lu Mingfei's lips curled into a disdainful smile after hearing the messenger's words.

But he didn't say anything. That's how war is. The higher-ups need victories and heroes to boost morale, even if the price is mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

"Understood. Tell the company commander that our platoon will be ready to attack," Lu Mingfei replied calmly.

The messenger saluted and left.

Caesar leaned closer to Lu Mingfei and whispered, "Lu Mingfei, according to what you said, there shouldn't be many French troops inside that fortress. We might actually have a chance to take it."

Lu Mingfei did not answer immediately. He raised his binoculars again and carefully observed the fortress. The shelling continued, but the main body of the fortress remained unmoved, with only plumes of smoke and dust rising from the surface. He couldn't understand how the French army could just give up on such a powerful fortress.

"We shouldn't be aiming for first place; it's better to be cautious," Lu Mingfei said, putting down his binoculars.

It wasn't that he didn't believe in history, but what good would it do to be the first to capture Dumont and become a hero? He would eventually have to return to his own world, and he couldn't take any of the fame and fortune with him. So it was better to be cautious; only caution could allow them to live longer.

If he were to lose one of his men in a battle he knew he would win, that would truly make him want to cry.

"Understood, but we can't be too slow either, or we'll become targets for the overseers," Caesar added. He understood Lu Mingfei's caution, but also knew that in the Prussian army, blatant slackness was a serious crime.

"Once the shelling extends and the assault begins, we'll follow the main force's rhythm, maintain our mid-level position, utilize the terrain to observe the fortress's firing positions, and if there's an opportunity—we'll consider infiltrating," Lu Mingfei said.

The order was quickly relayed. Although the soldiers of the third platoon were also eager to fight, due to their long years of combat and Lu Mingfei's influence, they were more inclined to follow their platoon leader's teaching that survival comes first, and were not as fanatical as other units.

The prolonged shelling finally began to extend into the fortress and to its sides, and the dull whistles of the charge, like the urging of death, rang out on the positions of the three regiments.

"Forward!" At Lu Mingfei's command, the soldiers leaped out of the trenches, but instead of running like other units, they maintained a relatively tight formation, using shell craters, earthen slopes, and the figures of the charging soldiers in front as cover, and steadily advanced forward.

The gray wave instantly engulfed the open ground in front of the fortress. Fort Dumont remained silent for a moment, as if a startled beast was awakening. Fire ports hidden in every corner spewed out scorching tongues of fire, and machine gun bullets formed a crossfire network from above, mercilessly reaping lives.

The Prussian soldiers at the forefront fell in droves as if they had crashed into an invisible wall.

Not only that, the retractable turrets on top of Fort Dumont also began to roar. The topmost 155mm rotating turret can attack all surrounding targets from a 2-degree angle without blind spots, while the two 75mm retractable rotating turrets continuously bombarded the Prussian soldiers running ahead.

Because Lu Mingfei's platoon was positioned at the rear, they avoided the most intense frontal fire of the first wave. They could clearly see some Prussian soldiers running through the machine gun fire but being blocked by barbed wire, unable to advance or retreat, and eventually riddled with machine gun fire.

"Platoon leader! We can't get through! The firepower is too dense!" Otto shouted from a crater, bullets whizzing overhead.

Lu Mingfei was somewhat bewildered. Wasn't it said that Xia Fei had already transferred most of the garrison inside Fort Dumont? Why was there still such strong firepower? His caution had saved his life again. If he had rushed to the front to claim credit, his platoon would have been wiped out by now. No matter what kind of mixed-race people they were, they couldn't withstand the machine gun fire.

Just then, he remembered that Philippe Laurent had reported the course of the Battle of Verdun to the French high command. Could it be that some French high command still believed him? Was the history he knew about about to change?

The Prussian army continued its charge, and the French turrets and machine guns continued their slaughter. Soon, the open space in front of Fort Doumont was filled with corpses.

This is simply a one-sided massacre; is this the true power of the world's strongest fortress?

"Lu Mingfei?! What do we do?!" Caesar had already deployed the Kamaitachi and killed a French soldier on the machine gun turret in front of him, but the next moment the machine gun was taken over and continued to roar, constantly sweeping the ground in front of Caesar. The powerful firepower made him unable to lift his head.

"Wait! Everyone stay hidden!" Lu Mingfei shouted.

He didn't know what to do. The fortress was too powerful, far superior to any bunker they had seen before. To break through the crossfire of those machine guns, they would have to turn into tanks. They could only wait for continued artillery cover from the rear, or for the enemy to retreat after suffering heavy losses.

Lu Mingfei's judgment was correct. Facing the textbook-level three-dimensional crossfire network of the Dumont d'Or, a frontal charge would be tantamount to suicide. The Prussian infantry, lacking heavy firepower cover, were as fragile as ants in front of this steel and concrete behemoth.

After about twenty minutes, the wave of charging finally began to show signs of fatigue. It wasn't that the soldiers weren't brave enough, but the casualty figures had reached an alarming level. Under pressure from the supervising officers, the officers of each regiment were still shouting orders to continue the attack, but it was clear to everyone that this was just a pointless waste of lives.

"Retreat! Retreat!" Finally, the faint sound of bugles and the desperate shouts of officers could be heard from the front lines.

After suffering heavy losses and barely managing to get close to the core defensive perimeter of the fortress, the commanders of the three regiments were forced to issue a retreat order; continuing the charge would only lead to the complete collapse of the troops.

Lu Mingfei breathed a sigh of relief and immediately ordered, "Alternating cover! Retreat to the starting position! Quickly!"

The soldiers of the third platoon reacted quickly, forming pairs and providing each other with covering fire. Using shell craters as cover, they retreated in an orderly manner. Their losses were relatively small, with only two people suffering minor injuries and one person being grazed by a stray bullet. After all, once they rushed up, they basically stayed hidden in the shell craters without moving.

When they retreated to their starting trenches in a disheveled but relatively intact state, they witnessed a horrific scene of other units. Many companies were nearly decimated, stretcher teams were overwhelmed with work, and there were groaning wounded soldiers everywhere. The air was thick with the stench of blood and the frustration of defeat.

This was the first time Prussia had suffered such severe losses since launching the campaign.

Captain Henrik stared grimly as the new recruits who had recently joined his company were decimated again in just a few days. However, he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Lu Mingfei and the others return unharmed.

"Lieutenant Hans, report the situation!" Henrik said in a hoarse voice.

"Report to the company commander! The third platoon launched an attack as ordered, but encountered dense fire suppression from the fortress and was unable to break through. The fortress's defenses were observed to be extremely tight, with machine gun turrets and retractable turrets fully armed. A frontal assault would result in heavy casualties. Our platoon advanced cautiously and withdrew in time. No one was killed, and three were slightly wounded," Lu Mingfei reported, standing at attention.

Henrik nodded and said, "You did the right thing—preserving strength is the most important thing. The higher-ups probably didn't expect the fortress's firepower to remain so intact after the shelling. It truly deserves to be called the world's strongest fortress."

He had barely moved after seeing Lu Mingfei and his men lying in the trench through his binoculars. This kind of behavior usually results in punishment, and in more serious cases, even a court-martial. However, he turned a blind eye to it, since they were his trusted confidants.

At this moment, a messenger from the battalion headquarters galloped in on horseback with the latest orders: suspend the frontal assault on Fort Dumont, all units should rest in place, reinforce their fortifications, and switch to a siege posture while awaiting the arrival of heavier artillery.

The order was given, and the tense atmosphere on the front line relaxed slightly, but a new layer of solemnity emerged. A direct assault was not feasible, which meant that the battle to come would be longer and more brutal. Moreover, what they needed most now was time. If the French troops in the rear were to recover, their subsequent battle would be even more difficult.

Lu Mingfei returned to the third platoon's defensive zone. The soldiers silently checked their weapons, treated their wounds, and reinforced their bunkers. No one spoke. Only the occasional sporadic gunfire from the direction of the fortress in the distance reminded them that the enemy was right in front of them.

Caesar walked over to Lu Mingfei and whispered, "It seems history has really been changed. Philippe's intelligence worked, at least alerting some of the French high command and prompting them to strengthen the defenses of Fort Doumont."

He had already learned from Lu Mingfei what Philip had done.

Lu Mingfei nodded, his expression grave: "This means that the future we know is no longer reliable. Every step from now on could be subject to change. If we can't take Dumont d'Or, the course of the Battle of Verdun will be completely disrupted."

"If Prussia had lost at Verdun earlier than history has shown, would our original world have been affected?" Caesar asked after a moment of silence.

Hearing Caesar's words, Lu Mingfei was stunned. He quickly realized that if Prussia had lost at Verdun earlier, the resulting butterfly effect might have really affected their original timeline.

"So—we must take down Du Aomeng as soon as possible to minimize the impact," Lu Mingfei responded.

"Then what should we do?" Caesar continued to ask.

"We can only wait and see how effective Big Bertha is—" Lu Mingfei sighed. This was the first time he had felt so powerless since he had been on the battlefield. In front of a real war fortress, one or two hybrids were simply too insignificant. He could only hope that those super cannons could shake that super fortress.

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