The straight line distance from Longwei to the banks of the Maas River is only 20 kilometers.

After a day and night of battle, the 5th German Army commanded by Crown William successfully repelled the 3rd French Army in front of him and sounded the trumpet on the next day, August 22. In addition to leaving a part of the troops to surround the two strong French fortresses, Longwei and Monmedi, the main force of the army unstoppable crossing the French front and rushing towards the Maas River along the mountains from high to low.

Near noon, an advance force of the 6th German Corps arrived at a place called Oval. A tributary of the Maas River passed by here and flocked to the Maas River 5 kilometers away.

In midsummer, the sun was scorching in the sky. After several hours of trekking, the German soldiers who were marching on foot were exhausted. But before they could stop to wash their faces and drink water, a burst of artillery fire suddenly came from the other side of the river. The shells fell like a storm, killing these German infantry, who had chased the French defeated soldiers not long ago, were confused and had no temper.

After more than ten minutes of bombardment and the sound of cannons stopped, Oval had become the burial place for hundreds of German soldiers. These dead men had different postures and expressions of horror. Some were sitting in the corner of the wall, while others were lying on the side of the road, as if they were taking a break and would continue to rush forward in a while...

At this time, the French army had retreated on its entire line and even showed signs of collapse. However, his troops were inexplicably slaughtered in such an inexplicable place. The German commander was furious. While sending correspondents to the regiment headquarters for help, he also sent a "sharp knife platoon" to cross the river to reconnaissance.

The narrow part of the curved river channel is only more than ten meters wide. At this time, the water in the river is shallow and the flow rate is slow. The German combat reconnaissance personnel easily crossed the river. These ingenious Prussian infantry rolled up their sleeves high, exposed their furry arms, held long Mauser rifles in both hands, pressed their heads down, bent their backs, and moved forward carefully in a scattered battle formation. They quickly occupied the stone mill close to the river channel, thus gaining a good lookout and combat stronghold, and then advanced through the open farmland to the woods more than 2,000 meters away from the river bank. In the previous artillery bombardment, flame light and gun smoke appeared in the woods. Deploying artillery positions here can not only avoid the rapid reconnaissance of the air and cavalry, but also facilitate defense and effectively weaken the killing of enemy artillery fire.

On the outer edge of the woods, the German reconnaissance infantry were attacked unexpectedly. For French riflesmen hiding in the bushes, these German soldiers wearing pointed steel helmets and gray uniforms were very eye-catching targets in the harvested fields. Accompanied by the crisp gunshots of the Berhtiye rifle, the German infantry crossing the river were ruthlessly hunted one after another. Those who survived either crawled on the ground or were on the ridge of the field and could not move under the pressure of the enemy's close fire.

Seeing the tragic situation of our reconnaissance personnel through the telescope, the commander of this German army, a burly and fierce-looking German major officer, gritted his teeth at his opponent hiding in the woods. When he learned that reinforcements were coming, he ordered his subordinate officers to lead a company of troops to cross the river with machine guns in advance, and organize the front line based on the bank and embankment.

Unlike the French team, which was obsessed with attack and despised defense, the German General Staff not only attached importance to the traditional military skills of the troops, but also learned a lot of useful experience from the examples of the Russo-Japanese War and the two Balkan wars, and added new subjects such as field defense to the German combat regulations. The soldiers not only added subjects to digging trenches and building positions in daily training, but also equipped with shovels to facilitate digging and setting up bunkers anytime and anywhere.

More than a hundred German soldiers crossing the river quickly used the dirt on the river bank to dig out individual bunkers and machine gun positions, and the reinforcements who came to receive the war report also arrived in Oval. Seeing a large group of German troops, the French artillery on the other side took the opportunity to open fire. Their shooting was very accurate, and the dense artillery fire fell to the road. The flying shrapnel instantly swept down one after another. The long marching column immediately lost control. The soldiers quickly left the road and entered the fields. The frightened horses ran wildly on the road with artillery carts. The ignited ammunition trucks occasionally made earth-shaking explosions, and there were dead and injured people struggling and groaning...

The reinforcements were dispersed before they could enter the battle, but the attack schedule did not allow the Germans to wait without restrictions. While gathering the troops, the officers met and discussed the war. They decided to launch an attack without howitzers support. After a while, the two German troops, advance and support, pieced together six or seven hundred soldiers. They did not crowd into a group like migrant wildebeests, but crossed the river in a dispersed and ordered formation. The soldiers in the rear team carried mg08 water-cooled heavy machine guns and advanced forward. The artillery company placed the surviving three 77mm field guns on the south side of the highway, relying on the hills to cover and fired at the woods on the opposite bank. Since most of the accompanying ammunition trucks were damaged, their shooting lasted only 5 minutes. The German infantry who were putting the attack crossed the river bank and stepped into the farmland.

Whatever you are afraid of is what you come from, it seems that this is not just a psychological effect. As soon as the German artillery stopped, the short and powerful roar of French field artillery came from the woods on the other side. The light shells fell into the fields with sharp roars. Although the range of killing for each shell was very limited, they fell one after another. In a blink of an eye, they swept across a huge area. The casualties of German officers and soldiers who were put into the attack increased rapidly. Driven by great courage and firm will, the remaining people continued to advance. When they entered the farthest position they had reached, dense gunshots suddenly sounded at the edge of the woods, the Berhtiye rifle and the Hachches machine gun echoed each other, and played a farewell song for the German infantry in front of them!

The last German soldier fell from the gunshots, and lasted for only two or three minutes. The German officers and soldiers watching the battle on the south side of the river bank felt as if they had spent a long decade. Seeing their companions' young lives falling in the war, even though they were indignant, their hearts were burning with anger, but they had nowhere to exert their strength, and they could only endure the pain of suffering while waiting.

After a long time, another gray wave finally appeared at the end of the road in Germany and Luxembourg. Compared with the previous reinforcements, the waves were one after another, as if they were endless. The power contained in it made the officers and soldiers excited, making the enemy personnel frightened.

The advance troops learned a bloody lesson. This division-level main force did not marching. Some companies crossed the river early, and the m96 type 77mm caliber field artillery also wades to the other side by wiggle. The infantry columns that advance side by side were also divided into multiple single-row squads, some walking under the shade of the trees, and some walking in the fields. On the flat road, only the interval between each vehicle of the baggage transport vehicle was widened to twenty or thirty meters, thereby reducing the damage possible by enemy artillery fire to the lowest level.

Faced with the march of tens of thousands of German troops like locusts, the French artillery in the woods across the river may feel guilty and fear that death will come, but instead of evacuating the position, they chose to face it bravely. The dense and precise shooting came as scheduled, and when the gun sound continued, the well-equipped and well-trained German team was bleeding every moment, and dead gray military uniforms could be seen everywhere beside the road and in the fields...

The French artillery fire was like a vicious dog on the street, and it was unreasonable to bite randomly. The German soldiers were deeply excited and furious. The limited circumstances made them unable to determine whether the enemy in the woods was an artillery unit or a powerful counterattack force of the French. Detours not only mean passive avoidance of war, but also may leave endless hidden dangers for their own military operations. So, the German division commander made a choice without any reason: the troops turned on the spot and rushed towards the French artillery positions across the river!

With the support of howitzers and field artillery, the German infantry of the two regiments launched the attack in one breath, and pointed helmets and gray uniforms surged on the farmland on the north bank of the river. Although the German attacking team did not pursue visual effects one-sidedly like the French team, the offensive methods did not differ in nature. The Hatchcais heavy machine guns equipped by the French team were only less than those of the opponent, and the ability to slaughter infantry was not inferior. The terrifying explosive rapid-fire ability of the 1897 75mm cannon was the king of field battles in the early days of the war. Whether the dense projection of ordinary shells or the close-range flat shooting of shotguns, it was a nightmare blow to the uncovered attacking personnel. On this battlefield where stray bullets were flying and shrapnel, the German infantry fell in groups, with residual limbs flying in the air, and fragments spread all over the ground. The dead were speechless, and the living were sinking.

Silently, the gray wave moved forward slowly and firmly. Some infantry stopped to cover their companions with shooting. The mg08, which was improved based on the Maxim heavy machine gun, screamed violently, and the dense rain of bullets shot into the woods. After several adjustments, the German artillery fire began to find the target. The French gun fire was immediately suppressed. Although the blocking fire only stopped for a brief period, the German offensive rhythm suddenly accelerated. Accompanied by the sharp whistle of the charge, the infantry let out a low roar and rushed forward with bayonets. The distance was closer step by step, and the originally hazy enemy positions gradually showed their true appearance. The French dug simple fortifications on the edge of the woods, and the infantry shot hidden in individual bunkers or potholes. The machine guns were set up behind large tree stumps and sandbags, and the French field artillery was scattered behind this line of defense.

Judging from the number of fortifications, the French soldiers who carried out blocking operations here are at most battalion-level.
Chapter completed!