Chapter 126 Who can survive to the end?

After a quiet night, Ypres once again faced a cold morning.

The sun just showed its face and was tightly surrounded by gray clouds. They seemed to want to completely strangle the sunlight and return the world to darkness.

There were silver threads floating in the sky that looked like rain but not rain, and looked like mist but not mist, but they still made the Belgian soldiers who stood in the trenches and bunkers shivering with cold.

The soldiers' uniforms were already soaked through, but because they were worried about exposing their position to enemy fire, they did not dare to light a fire to bake and could only hold on.

Some people were so cold that their faces turned pale, some were coughing uncontrollably, and some even had fevers.

The soldiers couldn't help but complain:

"When will the reinforcements come? Shouldn't they have arrived last night?"

"Many of us can't even hold our guns!"

"Wait a little longer, it won't take long, they said that Ciel is commanding the reinforcements!"

…

In this cold and lifeless trench, Charles always allows people to see a glimmer of hope and a little warmth. After all, he is almost a symbol of victory for the Belgians.

However, Albert I in the headquarters was pale, and even the nobles' reserve could not hide the disappointment in his eyes.

"Flash flood? The reinforcements were blocked by flash floods?" Albert I asked in disbelief.

"Yes!" General Charles replied helplessly: "As you know, it has rained heavily in the past two days, and the floods have washed away the bridges and the rivers have surged. This has forced the reinforcements to take a long detour!"

"How long will it take?" asked Albert I.

"Seven to eight hours!" General Charles handed over a telegram: "General Gallieni said he was not sure, but fortunately the artillery regiment has arrived. There are four artillery regiments in total. They are deployed behind our defense line. About 5 kilometers away!”

"Five kilometers later?" Albert I had a trace of doubt in his eyes.

Although he didn't know much about military affairs, he knew that the French had always deployed artillery 1 kilometer behind the defense line. They believed that only in this way could artillery fire be used to fully provide cover for the infantry, and the advantage of the 75MM artillery's rate of fire could be used to break through the enemy's defense line!

(Note: Since the French army pays attention to offense, the artillery providing cover for the infantry is also an offensive concept rather than a defensive concept, that is, using artillery to bomb the enemy's defense line to cover the infantry attack and advance with the infantry)

However, Albert I had no hope of these artillery, not only because of the embarrassing supply situation caused by Ypres traffic, but also because he knew that the enemy's artillery had a much longer range than the French field artillery.

The German 105MM howitzer has a range of 12 kilometers, while the French 75mm gun has a range of only 8 kilometers. The 4-kilometer range gap is enough for the Germans to knock out the French artillery regiments one by one outside the range like they bombed Antwerp!

General Charles seemed to see Albert I's worry. He added at the right time: "Your Majesty, this is Charles's plan. General Gallieni asks you to trust Charles and the French army. In addition, if you have to open it as a last resort, Shuigate, please contact him!”

Upon hearing this, Albert I relaxed a little: "Then, let us continue to wait for reinforcements!"

"Soldiers..." General Charles asked: "Tell them the truth?"

"No!" Albert I shook his head helplessly: "Tell them that the reinforcements have arrived and are with the artillery regiment. The reinforcements need time to adapt to the battlefield and make preparations!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" General Charles responded helplessly. This lie could easily be exposed unless the French artillerymen said nothing in a unified manner.

…

Soon, the German General Cross received intelligence about the Bee Army, and it was true intelligence.

General Cross was quite surprised by this: "The enemy only rushed one British infantry division and four French artillery regiments?"

"Yes, General!" the staff officer replied: "The French reinforcements were blocked by flash floods. Only four artillery regiments came in time. It is said that they did not bring many artillery shells, so the artillery was deployed five kilometers behind the defense line!"

General Cross was overjoyed. He originally thought he would lose hope of capturing Ypres forever, but now God has created a perfect opportunity for him:

The enemy's reinforcements did not arrive, but the German army unexpectedly arrived with a Bavarian army with a strength of 36,000.

(Note: Among these 36,000 people, there is one art student who failed, and his establishment is the 1st Infantry Battalion of the 16th Bavarian Infantry Regiment)

Although most of this army is made up of students and young men who have never fought in a war, the important thing is that they have high morale and are not afraid of life and death. Such troops are very suitable for charging forward to consume the enemy's already scarce ammunition!

"Get ready to fight!" General Cross couldn't hide his joy and ordered: "Tell the soldiers, don't retreat under any circumstances, you must move forward, move forward! Do you understand? As long as you move forward, you will win!"

General Cross was worried that his offensive would once again be deterred by enemy aircraft as it had been the last time.

As long as Ypres is captured, one step forward can be used to control Dunkirk, an important port from Britain to France. By then, Britain's reinforcements to the French front will be seriously affected, both in quantity and speed!

What General Cross didn't know was that everything he knew was what Charles wanted him to know, only through the Belgian troops.

"We can't let anyone know the truth!" This was the secret conversation between Charles and Gallieni in the lounge: "Once the Germans suspect that this is a trap set by us, they will use another method to attack instead of If we charge in groups, our artillery fire may not achieve the desired effect!"

Gallieni nodded in agreement: "So, even Albert I can't tell you!"

"Of course!" Charles nodded firmly.

"But what if this affects the morale of the Belgian army and causes them to collapse?" Gallieni hesitated for a moment, a trace of worry flashed in his eyes: "They are on the verge of collapse, their only hope is reinforcements, and we told them Reinforcements were blocked by flash floods!"

"Then it depends on who can survive until the end!" Charles replied calmly: "There is no battle that can be won 100%, and no one knows the outcome until the end!"

Gallieni smiled, which was not something a seventeen-year-old could say.

But this is indeed correct, at least it is more reliable than Xiafei's victory all the time!

After pondering for a moment, Gallieni reminded: "The last attack has revealed that our planes are equipped with machine guns. The Germans may be prepared. Our planes are not invincible!"

"I know!" Charles said confidently, "So I am also prepared!"

(The picture above shows the defense map of the First Battle of Ypres. The failed art student was in the position of the 2nd Bavarian Army in the middle section, but he was in the 1st Bavarian Army. 36,000 people entered the battle but were beaten to only 6,000 people and were withdrawn soon after. .)