CHAPTER 341: FRENCH VICTORY TURNS TIDE

After the continuous explosions of hand grenades, French soldiers quickly stood up and charged into the German trenches.

The German trenches were hastily constructed within a few hours, only a little over a meter deep, and the French soldiers, without losing momentum, leaped into the smoke-filled trenches, swinging their bayonets wildly, indiscriminately stabbing anything alive.

The advantage of the French soldiers’ needle bayonet was that it didn’t easily get stuck, but the downside was equally obvious: it created a small wound that often wasn’t fatal unless it hit a vital spot.

French soldiers, who had long used such bayonets, developed a habit of stabbing the same target multiple times in different places.

Hence, the battlefield was filled with the sounds of bayonets piercing flesh, "thud, thud," accompanied by the tragic screams of German soldiers, with some even crying out for mercy.

But the French soldiers didn’t hesitate; they continued to stab their targets over and over.

Then, covered in blood, they held their blood-stained rifles and continued charging towards the next line of defense, pursuing the collapsing and fleeing Germans.

...

The 105th Infantry Regiment’s attack formation was two infantry battalions at the front, a sniper company in the middle, and the last infantry battalion as the reserve.

Shire and Tijani advanced with the reserve unit.

However, Shen Bili always stayed by Shire’s side. After entering the German trenches, he couldn’t wait to take off his gas mask and throw it on the ground.

"I don’t like this!" Shen Bili said.

The lenses of the gas masks were made of ordinary glass, through which one could observe the battlefield or see the path, but aiming at a target through them inevitably caused refraction, affecting accuracy.

Shen Bili had already missed two targets, one of which was aiming at Shire.

Luckily, Shire hit him in time, preventing a big mistake.

How much impact would it have had on the army if Shire had fallen on the battlefield? Shen Bili didn’t dare to imagine!

Shire also removed his gas mask. The Germans here were not wearing any gas protection, which confirmed it was safe.

"Colonel," at this moment, Tijani called out.

Shire bent down and ran forward, coming to a collapsed section of the trench, where he saw Tijani squatting by a body.

It wasn’t entirely a body yet, because he was still alive, but barely—a chest full of blood, a face pale as paper, clutching his chest, breathing with difficulty.

God knows how many times he was stabbed by the ruthless French soldiers; it was too much!

"It’s a Major General." Tijani flipped over his epaulet to show the rank to Shire: "He’s also received a medal."

Saying this, he pointed with his chin to the "Iron Cross" Medal on the Major General’s chest.

"I’m sorry!" Shire squatted down and sincerely said, "They couldn’t distinguish officers from soldiers in the smoke; if they knew you were a Major General, they would have shown mercy."

Shire was telling the truth.

This wasn’t about the Geneva Convention or chivalry; those ceased to exist after the Germans used poison gas.

This was because a German Major General could provide some useful information under interrogation.

(Note: The Geneva Convention was first signed in 1864, and France was one of the first 12 signatories)

Shire and Tijani planned to leave him there, as the battles ahead were more important.

But at this moment, the German Major General’s eyes suddenly lit up: "You, you’re Shire? You’re Shire!"

"You recognize me?" Shire questioned, looking at him in confusion.

"No, no..." the German Major General answered with difficulty. He tried to reach out his hand, which was originally holding his wound, still dripping with blood: "I, I’m very, honored..."

Shire extended his hand in response but grasped at thin air as the Major General’s head tilted to the side, his hand falling back to the ground, lifeless like a kite with a broken string.

Still, there was a smile on his face; though devoid of life, one could still see a trace of contentment.

"Another one of your fans." Tijani teased, "I guess he wanted your autograph on his corpse!"

As he spoke, Tijani removed his epaulets and the Iron Cross Medal, evidence that the 105th Infantry Regiment killed a German Major General.

Before leaving, Tijani noticed dozens of unused gas canisters stored in the trench: "What should we do with these?"

Shire didn’t think much and replied: "Leave a company behind. If the Germans counterattack, open them!"

"Good idea!" Tijani nodded: "This will secure our rear."

...

The German forces, caught completely off guard, collapsed under the attack, and soon, the 105th Infantry Regiment ran into a reinforcing artillery regiment.

It was a German regiment with 105mm howitzers, advancing behind their troops to provide artillery support for the front line, never expecting a sudden French assault.

The German artillerymen, who were setting up their guns, didn’t have time to grab their rifles before being overrun by the 105th Infantry Regiment, adding 31 cannons and over 2000 shells to Shire’s spoils.

Shire and Tijani initially thought that this was enough—a stunning achievement.

In this battle, the 105th Infantry Regiment not only recaptured lost ground in the face of a German gas attack but also routed an enemy infantry battalion and overran a division headquarters.

They had killed a Major General and several Colonels still waiting to be counted, besides capturing the equipment of an entire artillery regiment, all while suffering minimal casualties.

Additionally, there were two more enemy infantry regiments ahead that were surrounded, cut off from supplies and retreat, destined only for annihilation or surrender.

For anyone, such a victory would be talked about for a lifetime.

However, Shire never expected this to be just the beginning.

When Tijani advanced 2 kilometers with his troops, charging into the trenches abandoned by the French just a day before, he was shocked to find them full of Germans.

The reason they were called "Germans" rather than "German Army" was because they weren’t regular German troops.

This trench, a well-constructed French position, had been turned into a German supply point: there was a field hospital here, plenty of food and ammunition, and most importantly, a military command post—the 26th Corps headquarters.

When the French soldiers jumped into the trenches and pointed their rifles at the medics and logistic personnel, the Germans were too bewildered to understand what was happening and were easily captured.

The German command post, upon realizing the abnormal situation, attempted to break out with the guard company in the ensuing chaos.

But they quickly realized that running out of the trenches exposed their backs to enemy gunfire.

Outside the trenches was a wide, open area with good visibility, mired in mud, impassable. The French soldiers set up machine guns and easily pinned them down.

In the end, they had no choice but to surrender, one after another.

Among the captives were a Vice Admiral, a Major General, and eight Colonels!