At noon, on the banks of the Somme, General Huthir and his staff looked at the city on the other side of the river. In just half a day, the ruthless war turned the historic Amiens into a bleak appearance with rubble everywhere. The Germans obviously would not be heartbroken about this, making these marine officers frightened. The casualties of their own troops. According to the estimated situation initially reported by various departments, in the process of conquering the French peripheral positions, the 1st Marine Brigade suffered more than 400 casualties. When they arrived at the Amiens defense line, the number of casualties exceeded 2,000. Next, they forced the crossing of the Somme River and attacked the main urban areas of Amiens. The casualties of the 1st Marine Brigade soared to 4,000. That is to say, from dawn to the present, the combat personnel reduction of the German 1st Marine Division was about 7,000, and the reduction rate was nearly one-quarter!

While achieving the results of the rapid attack, General Huthier, the commander of the 1st Marine Division, almost said nothing except for orders. His cold and resolute expression as steel made it elusive to understand his true thoughts. Natsuki was used to thinking silently during the battle. The collective silence of the two generals made the atmosphere of the division headquarters quite solemn. Many staff officers looked gloomy. Seeing this, the subordinate officers and soldiers all thought that the prospects for this battle were not optimistic.

This far-reaching battle has not yet ended. The naval infantry, whose training and equipment level is no less than that of the active army, has suffered such great damage. In Xia Shu's opinion, this does not mean that the marines cannot withstand the intensity of land combat on the Western Front. It can only be said that the land battlefield during World War I did not have the reputation of meat grinders.

The two naval infantry brigades that were on the front line assault mission experienced a major combat loss, and some battalions and companies had completely lost their combat effectiveness. However, when the commander of the 1st Marine Brigade called for the second time to confirm the combat order, Natsuki's reply was still simple and straightforward: to continue the attack. Not only because the 3rd Marine Brigade, which was fully equipped, was ready to go, but also because the chariot troops still maintained strong strength. During the battle, only 4 of the 30 Hubert-13s were destroyed by the French army, and although 11 were injured to varying degrees or had mechanical failures, with the professional maintenance team of Friedrich's shipyard implementing battlefield support, they would not take a long time to re-enter the battle.

Outside a clinic on the east bank of the Somme, the wounded German soldiers who had just received battlefield treatment were sitting in the shade of trees beside the road, waiting for medical vehicles to take them to the hospital in the rear. Among them, Hans-Felrich seemed very ordinary, and as the effect of the anesthetic gradually disappeared, he frowned and did not hum.

On the road in front of me, teams of naval infantry with neat appearances passed from time to time. Seeing these companions who were rushing to the battlefield, the eyes of the injured were very complicated. They envy their healthy and complete bodies, and were also nervous about their fate.

Felrich suddenly saw a familiar face and shouted loudly: "Hey, Dart!"

The tall soldier with a rifle turned his head and his eyebrows suddenly raised: "Oh, isn't this the invincible striker Hans of the First Brigade? This is your legs..."

"Two holes were punched by the Frenchman's machine gun." Felrich replied disapprovingly. His right thigh was wrapped in thick gauze thighs. The military doctor had already sewed the wounds for him. Fortunately, the two machine gun bullets shot into the thigh penetrated through them without hurting their muscles and bones. After healing, he should be able to restore normal exercise ability.

"With your dexterity, you didn't escape?" said the tall soldier jokingly. Among the three marine brigades, the 3rd Marine brigade was the latest. Although there was no difference in personnel arrangement, the weapons and equipment were not as good as that of the brigade. At present, the brigade still had two infantry regiments using the 1888 cavalry rifle eliminated by the front-line troops. Due to the short barrel, the shooting performance of this cavalry rifle is a certain gap compared to the Mauser 98az carbine. This gap can basically be ignored in the middle and close combat, and it gives officers and soldiers a psychological hint of different heights. In fact, from 1913 to 1914, the entire Germany was expanding its military preparations. Even if it was not counted as export orders, the rifles made by the Mauser factory were in short supply.

Felrich curled his lips, not knowing how to answer.

The tall soldier did not leave the team. He gradually drifted away and his voice increased.

"Okay! Let's avenge you! I wish you a speedy recovery!"

"Thank you!" Felrich replied, "I wish you good luck too! When the war is over, we will play another good game!"

The tall soldier smiled and waved.

Just after noon, the troops of the 1st Naval Infantry Regiment were gathering around the Amiens Cathedral. Dimir Hook sat on the steps in front of the church with a Madson light machine gun. Here, his mind, who became impetuous due to killing, found a moment of peace. In the past half day, he was not sure how many French soldiers he had shot, but it was almost certain that his ancestors had never had such a killing god, and the combat squad he was in also reduced from 11 people at the time of departure to 4 people. Because the former squad leader was killed in the battle, the platoon leader assigned him to take over the squad temporarily.

Soon, the military quarantine officer appeared at the intersection of the street with ammunition trucks. The naval infantry, sitting or lying, stood up and followed the officers to collect ammunition. Many people felt that the more bullet grenades, the higher the chance of surviving on the battlefield. After receiving the ammunition platoon, the soldiers' ammunition bags were bulging, and five or six long-handled grenades were hung on their belts. Hook took the soldiers to collect ammunition as the acting squad leader for the first time. Other infantry squads often received two or three hundred pistol bullets, four or five hundred rifle bullets and twenty or thirty grenades. When Hook arrived, he only reported six hundred rifle bullets and six grenades. The military officer with thick lips glanced at him with a strange look and asked his assistant to carry half a box of rifle bullets and the grenades he requested.

Hook did not explain, nor did he bother to explain. He chose the youngest among the remaining three riflemen as ammunition handlers, asked him to fill all the empty magazines with bullets, and then sent forty rifle bullets and three grenades to the other two, asking them to follow him no matter what happened. Although the riflemen were unclear, they also knew that Hook was thinking about them and agreed without any slightest words.

After the ammunition was allocated, the company and platoon officers immediately summoned the soldiers to arrange new combat tasks to them. Now, the main combat troops of the German 1st and 2nd Marine Brigades have crossed the Somme River, occupied the central urban area of ​​Amiens, and then launched an attack on the remnants of the French army guarding the west corner of the city. The 1st Brigade fought hard for a series of hardships, with the greatest casualties. At this time, the 2nd Brigade took on the main attack, and the 1st Brigade carried out reinforcements. If necessary, the 3rd Brigade troops entering the city would be put into battle.

The infantry company where Hook is located is served by the young Lieutenant Fick as the acting company commander. He announced to the more than 70 naval infantry that gathered together: "The French have been defeated by us. Our next task is to clean up the French soldiers hiding in a primary school and surrounding civilian houses. Please remember that according to international neutrality legislation, civilians in enemy countries are protected, wearing civilian clothing but holding weapons are not listed here. In the process of fighting, we must first protect ourselves from harm, and then comply with the so-called neutrality legislation. I hope you can understand."

The words were very vague, but the meaning behind this was not difficult to understand. Hook had heard earlier that some French soldiers took off their military uniforms and disguised themselves as civilians to fire cold guns on the side of the road, and some French civilians joined the volunteer combat troops. The army distributed weapons to them, but did not issue them with military uniforms. Because of these rumors, when passing through French villages and towns, German soldiers were always careful, fearing to be attacked by enemy armed personnel, but from Duran to Amiens, Hook and his companions had never encountered such a situation.

"After capturing Amiens, we will advance towards Paris. The main force of the French army is firmly stuck to the Marine River by our army. We are very likely to become the first unit to attack Paris in this war. At that time, the Marines will win the honorary title of "Royal". For victory, for honor, and for the motherland, advance!"

The German officers and soldiers were confident in winning the victory, and the situation of the French defenders was naturally not optimistic. Philippe Betton moved his division headquarters to Sale, a town about six kilometers from the center of Amiens in advance. He calmly and calmly commanded the battle on the front line, but many battalions were disbanded in the fierce stalemate battle, and the contact was intermittent. Judging from the existing combat reports, the German troops involved in the attack were about one and a half to two divisions, with heavy artillery and aircraft cover, and received a certain number of chariot support. However, half of the French 6th Infantry Division suffered casualties, so it seemed that there was no choice to retreat.

Betton's superior commander, General Ferdinand Foch, commander of the 9th Army, granted Betton the power to make decisions based on the situation of the war in the telegram, that is, to allow him to lead his troops to retreat, but Betton had other considerations. From the overall situation, the French team still had the courage to invest heavily in the unfavorable situation of retreating step by step. Although it had not yet repelled the German army, it had at least curbed their aggressive attack.

"The Army Command has been connected!"

Looking at the phone in the communications officer's hand, Betton made a little speech and picked up the phone: "Hello, sir, I am Philippe Betton of the 6th Infantry Division. My troops and I are still in Amiens, and the battle is still going on... The situation is not very good. The enemy has crossed the Somme River and occupied more than half of the city, but our soldiers have not been defeated, and the fighting will is still strong. General Petit and General Clermont have sent a regiment to approach me, and are expected to arrive in the afternoon. My soldiers and I hope to defend the honor of France in Amiens, just as the efforts made by the brothers of other armies on the Marne River..."

The voice on the other side of the phone was silent for a while, and then told Betten that the war in the Marne River had reached a point where the inch of land was fierce. Both sides put the reserve troops of the last battalion into the battlefield. All the troops that the 9th Army could transfer to the Marne River front line. Now he could not even send a soldier to Amiens. However, he was trying to negotiate with the British Expeditionary Force Command to see if the British could transfer an artillery squadron equipped with 18-pound field artillery (83:8 mm) that landed the day before yesterday to Amiens to participate in the war.
Chapter completed!