CHAPTER 557: SHIRE’S UNEXPECTED TRIUMPH

Vice Admiral Avis pointed his baton to the map behind the German front line, his tone light:

"The focus is on the German artillery!"

"We all know the German artillery holds the advantage, and the French Army only has 75mm infantry guns. Their range is far from sufficient to compete with the German Army."

In the Somme River area, the Allies’ artillery gained the upper hand because the British concentrated thousands of cannons of various calibers.

The representatives nodded frequently, seemingly envisioning the horrific scene of French soldiers being blown away by the German 105mm artillery.

...

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh"

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

Amidst the whistling sounds, rockets streaked across the sky, heading straight for the German 105mm artillery positions.

These were landing crafts equipped with rocket launchers, drifting downstream along the Somme River, positioned at the rear of the formation yet attacking first due to their 8 km range.

The twelve modified landing crafts were equipped with 120 rocket launchers, firing all 1,440 rockets within a few minutes.

Rows upon rows of rockets, filled with the breath of death, roared through the sky, leaving long trails behind them.

Explosion after explosion erupted, earsplitting, with flames and thick smoke engulfing the entire sky. Blown-apart German artillery and bodies traversed through the lights and smoke.

Occasionally, shells would detonate sympathetically, forming clouds like mushroom clouds, with flames leaping like living creatures, licking everything flammable around them.

On the north bank of the Somme River, Haig, who was watching with schadenfreude, was taken aback by the scene.

"What is that?" Haig exclaimed, "Did the French blow up the German ammunition depot? But they don’t have artillery with such range!"

The staff officer saw clearly and reported, "General, those are rockets."

"Rockets?" Haig’s expression stiffened, he put down his binoculars and looked at the staff officer: "You mean the rockets Shire used at Namur? They actually have a longer range than the German 105mm artillery!"

"General," the staff officer pointed to the launch site of the rockets, where a large plume of smoke still lingered: "That should be the Somme River."

"The Somme River?" Haig was astonished that rockets could be fired from the river?

Then he understood, it was the boats, that bastard Shire loaded the rockets onto boats and launched them at the enemy!

...

Paris House of Representatives, Vice Admiral Avis’s baton traced leisurely along the German front line.

"The Germans will build anti-tank ditches here, their width and depth are enough to stop any tank trying to pass."

"Shire used bridge-laying vehicles to quickly cross ditches in Namur, but that won’t work here."

"The German Army has already aimed numerous artillery at the anti-tank ditches, they will destroy any vehicles approaching, including the bridge-laying vehicles!"

The representatives’ faces turned ashen, Shire must not know this, which is why he launched the counterattack so recklessly.

...

The "Shire A1" tanks clinked and clanked as they moved ashore from the landing crafts.

The German Army hadn’t noticed at all, the booming of cannons and the dense rocket barrage covered all sounds.

Due to the continuous heavy rain, the river was swollen, and the landing crafts had to reach firm ground before lowering the ramps. Twelve tanks disembarked one after another.

Around them were squads of French soldiers on amphibious landing boats, who, upon landing, jumped off the boats holding their rifles and stood by the tanks.

Major General Kristin personally led the team, after disembarking, he looked around cautiously, then drew his revolver and ordered: "Advance!"

The tanks rumbled forward, carrying the soldiers in an orderly advance, their speed increasing, soon they charged into the enemy artillery positions.

The German artillerymen, who had just been "washed" by the rockets, hadn’t yet recovered.

Some were running around helping the wounded, others were using phones to contact observers, and most were busy adjusting their gun emplacements under the officers’ commands, trying to launch a counterattack on the rocket launch sites.

Suddenly, in the dim light, a squad of enemies broke through, and they were equipped with tanks, charging into the artillery positions like wolves among sheep, wreaking havoc.

Hand grenades exploded, and bullets flew, knocking down artillerymen who didn’t have time to pick up their rifles into pools of blood.

The tanks violently collided with a cannon, their treads mercilessly crushing the fallen gun, emitting a wailing sound of steel fracturing.

The tank turret spewed flames, turning an ammunition cart ahead into a fireball, the nearby Germans were harshly thrown into the air amidst the brilliant flames.

...

Paris House of Representatives.

Vice Admiral Avis shook his head, his face solemn yet smiling at the corners of his mouth:

"Gentlemen, it’s too late."

"No one could have expected Shire to choose to attack, especially at this moment."

"Now, the only force that can save France is the British Army. Only if they cross the Somme River in time to reinforce the southern bank and fill the gap, can the Germans be prevented from sweeping through our lines like a flood."

The conference room was in chaos, the representatives whispering to each other.

Then someone stood up and called, "What are we waiting for? Make the decision, we should unite the command!"

"United command" meant handing over command to Haig.

The representatives nodded frequently, to them, this seemed the best choice.

Gallieni’s face was pale, he knew the representatives would pass this resolution, no matter how much he opposed, it was useless.

Because most of them already believed in Vice Admiral Avis’s narrative.

Staff distributed ballots to the representatives, collected one by one after they were filled out, finally tallying them while announcing the results.

The situation was as Gallieni expected, most representatives chose "united command," and the advantage was overwhelming.

However, just before the vote was finalized, Major Fernan burst through the parliamentary doors, shouting excitedly at Gallieni: "General, we won!"

The representatives all turned to Major Fernan in unison, even the staff counting votes paused.

"What victory?" someone asked.

Vice Admiral Avis was taken aback, then confidently said: "It must be the British reinforcements, they repelled the Germans!"

Gallieni involuntarily stood up and looked at Major Fernan, he too wanted to know the answer.

Major Fernan clenched his fists and nodded: "It was Shire, General, Shire’s counterattack defeated the Germans! The German Army has completely collapsed, and our forces have advanced 5 kilometers in one go, 5 kilometers!"

The venue was in an uproar, was this possible?

In such a situation, the counterattack actually succeeded, and they advanced 5 kilometers?

Vice Admiral Avis’s smile froze, no, this couldn’t be real, it didn’t make sense for this outcome!

Gallieni laughed heartily: "I knew it, this little guy wouldn’t let me down!"

He walked to the edge of the observation platform, proudly puffed out his chest, and looked down at the representatives with a crisp and powerful voice full of mockery: "Gentlemen, you may continue to vote and hand over command to the British!"