Chapter 551 Those who flatter their superiors will be arrogant to their inferiors

The "mutiny" of the frontline troops occurred two days ago, on the third day of Nivele's offensive.

Perhaps inspired by the victory on the first day, Nivel ordered the soldiers to continue charging against the enemy's defense lines, even at night.

In his opinion, commanding a battle is not difficult. It is just a matter of transferring batches of troops from other places and pushing them onto the battlefield.

As for whether soldiers fell in groups under the enemy's guns, he believed that that was what the battlefield should be like.

However, the subsequent attack did not go smoothly.

The Germans used the reverse slope fortifications of the Shire in the Battle of the Somme, and they used all the high ground, even just a small hill.

Landmines were laid on the high ground again, and even directional mines appeared.

This prevented the British and French forces from exerting their artillery superiority, the tanks instantly lost their effect, and the defense line was once again in a stalemate and unable to move.

(The picture above is a real shot of the Volunteer Army's anti-slope position. The ridge line is the junction of the forward slope and the reverse slope. There are usually tunnels nearby, hiding a squad of soldiers preparing to throw grenades. The ridge position is very special, and the grenades can directly Throw it from the reverse slope to the front slope to kill the enemy. The scout will also observe the enemy at the edge and report the enemy's movements with semaphores.)

Even so, Nivele, eager to gain further victory and prove himself, still ordered his soldiers to attack, batch after batch.

I don’t know since when, when the officer blew the whistle and gave the order to attack, some soldiers no longer shouted, grabbed their bayonets and charged towards the enemy as before.

Instead, they slowly walked towards the enemy while making "baaaah" sounds.

This was a protest against the order, referring to the poor lambs who were sent to the slaughterhouse. Some even had their rifles slung on their shoulders and their hands on their heads in the shape of sheep's horns.

It's all about death anyway, what difference does it make whether you hold a rifle or not?

The officers could not blame these soldiers because they carried out the order and charged. Besides, these complaining guys would die on the battlefield and never come back, so let them be!

However, what the officers did not expect was that the situation deteriorated much faster than they imagined.

This method soon spread throughout the army, so that every time a charge was launched, there was a lot of "baa baa" sounds.

It is no longer a mournful cry, but a way for soldiers to communicate with each other and unite together: if they make a "baa baa" sound and dress up as a sheep, they are one of their own, and they are against soldiers who are making unnecessary charges, otherwise they are "enemies."

Originally they didn't know how powerful they were, but now they know that almost everyone is opposed, including junior officers.

If any officer objects, he will be immediately isolated and his orders will be ignored.

After a night of brewing, it developed early the next morning that the soldiers ignored the officer's order to attack. They shouted at the officer:

"We reject meaningless charges. Our lives are not used to consume German bullets."

"We want peace and to hell with this war."

"If we want to attack, let the commander-in-chief personally lead us!"

…

The troops were completely out of control. Many soldiers got themselves drunk and found a place to fall asleep, ignoring the officers' scoldings and urgings like wooden logs.

What’s even more frightening is that this phenomenon has the tendency to spread from the Somme to the entire defense line.

Christian was well-known in the 1st Special Artillery Division because of his compassion for his subordinates, but he was also affected and unable to effectively command his subordinates.

Feeling that something was wrong, he could only send electricity to Ciel for help.

…

House of Bourbon Palace.

Nivele tried to remain calm under the questioning eyes of everyone. He replied expressionlessly: "The matter is not as bad as you said, Major General. I have handled it properly. Mind your own business. I know how to solve mine." thing……"

"Really?" Charles interrupted Nivelle: "What you call 'proper handling', do you mean executing a group of 'mutiny' representatives and then forcing the troops to enter the battlefield?"

Nivelle is used to playing up and down.

As the saying goes, "Those who flatter those above will be arrogant towards those below."

As deferential as he was to the Parliament and the British, he would be arrogant in front of frontline soldiers.

Therefore, he did not hesitate to take strong measures to suppress it.

Nivele didn't understand the situation. How could the soldiers be afraid of shooting and suppression when they knew they were going to die?

This will only worsen the situation.

Ciel turned to face the congressman and increased his volume:

"The commander-in-chief didn't tell you that at least ten divisions of troops on the front line have refused to fight, and the number is still expanding."

"We should be lucky that the Germans 'gained a lot' on defense, which made them more willing to stay on the defensive."

"Otherwise, you know what's going to happen."

The conference room became chaotic, and the members of the council changed their expressions and whispered:

"Large-scale mutiny? Ten divisions refusing to fight? If the Germans counterattack at this time, the Western Front will completely collapse, and the Germans may reach Paris again."

"No, Andre, you are still thinking about Paris. France will have only one way to surrender!"

"Yes, we will lose all the soldiers who can fight, and we will no longer be able to organize the troops that can stop the German army."

…

Gallieni poked his head out from behind, with a frightened expression on his face: "Is this true? But we haven't received any news at all!"

Nivele still wanted to deny it.

Charles stared at him closely and shook his head to stop: "It's useless, Your Excellency Commander-in-Chief, they can easily know the truth."

Nivele was stunned for a moment, then sighed.

Charles was right. Gallieni was the Minister of War, as well as congressmen and government officials. They had hundreds of investigation methods and it was impossible to hide the truth.

"It's true." Nivel replied with difficulty: "But the situation was not as bad as I thought..."

"Is there anything worse than this?" Gallieni's eyes were filled with anger: "There are already ten divisions. Even if you can control it now, it will be an unprecedented tragedy!"

The congressman yelled at Nivelle:

"You liar and murderer! It was a mistake to make you commander-in-chief!"

"We've had enough and you're responsible!"

…

Nivele was still defending himself: "I had no choice but to let this situation spread..."

But Nivele's defense was weak. Everyone knew that if he really valued this "mutiny", he should at least stay on the front line instead of slandering Charles in Parliament.

At this time, the conference room became quiet, and everyone looked at Nivele quietly, with ridicule, sadness, and pity, but no anger, as if they were watching a joke.

Nivele looked pale.

At this moment, he realized that his political career had come to an end.