Doaumont, when almost the whole of France was shocked by the sudden outbreak of war in Verdun, the attention of the entire French political circle was focused here, on the top of Doaumont Mountain.

In just one day, with the help of the powerful power of the super cannon and the suddenness of the attack, and of course the unpreparedness of the French army for its attack on Verdun, hundreds of thousands of German troops quickly

After conquering the French field defense line, facing the German attack, France, which was unprepared, could only retreat towards the fortress. Although during the retreat of the main force of the French army, every French soldier and officer loyally made sacrifices for France.

Sacrifice, but these sacrifices could not stop the German attack.

On the morning of the 22nd, the retreating French army re-established a defense line on the mountain ridge near Doaumont. According to the plan of Langre de Cary, the commander of the Army Group in Verdun, the French army will rebuild here.

line of defense and stop the Germans in their tracks.

However, in just one day, the German Crown Prince Wilhelm Army advanced dozens of kilometers from the highest point of the French army's front. Contrary to the original expectations of the German army, the French army's front was quickly conquered. Those who expected to be extremely tragic

The battle did not break out in those front lines or field fortresses, but took place in villages near the front lines. In those villages, the scattered French soldiers displayed unimaginable patriotic enthusiasm. There were dozens of them.

One group of people and one team of dozens of people tenaciously blocked the German army.

When the stragglers relied on their patriotic enthusiasm to stop the German army's advance, thousands of refugees were caught in the retreating army. These refugees also greatly hindered the actions of the French troops. In the face of the German attack,

Civilians along the entire front were fleeing south. Although the French government had mobilized them to leave before, they were unwilling to leave their homes. Until now, facing the attacking German troops, they still chose to leave.

Among the retreating French troops, almost every soldier was talking about the "super cannon" that could level everything. Every time they mentioned the "super cannon", they would have a look of complete fear on their faces.

They were frightened, frightened by the unprecedented cannon, but they understood that they had to fight all the way. But because of the refugees along the way, they were unable to get any supplies at all, or to form a neat unit and retreat towards the rear.

.

According to the order, Doaumont became their destination, which was a mountainous area. At least in the mountainous areas, the power of the German super artillery would be weakened. For these French soldiers, they had to survive the encirclement formed by the German army.

They had previously retreated to Douaumont. At the same time, they had to fight for the road with thousands of refugees. The refugees along the way had greatly reduced their forward speed, and sometimes they could hardly walk.

Those poor refugees were walking outdoors in the cold. The fresh snow that had just fallen made the road very muddy. Although the army had orders, the officers and soldiers still had to help and comfort the chaotic crowd. Those who fled

Almost all the moving vehicles of the refugees were on the road. Their luggage and belongings were dragged on horse-drawn carriages, and without exception, every car was filled with frightened children, and their parents were beside these vehicles.

As they walked, the soldiers advanced slowly among the crowds. The soldiers passed some villages and towns. The people there were living a normal life a few days ago, although they knew that the Germans were not far away from them.

In the past two days, the elderly, women and children here thought that the war was still very far away from them, but now the news from the German army has still put these people who are accustomed to that kind of quiet life in a state of extreme shock.

, they looked at the haggard and hungry soldiers who had been withdrawn from the front line, and a thought emerged in everyone's mind.

“The Marne again!”

Yes, every French person knows what the Battle of the Marne in the early days of the war meant to France. It meant that France was freed from destruction. But now, it is another battle on the Marne. But the problem is, they

, can you stop the German army again?

"We must defend France!"

Almost every time they pass through a village, some soldiers will take the initiative to stay to prevent the German attack, even without the command and orders of the officers, while others are reluctant to leave the soldiers who are about to participate in the blocking battle. Those who are responsible for

The soldiers who blocked the German pursuit also knew that they would never come back alive.

"You must stop the Germans at Douaumont!"

Every soldier who volunteered to stay to hinder the German army would say this to his comrades. Within an hour or two after the large army left, intensive artillery fire once again razed a village to the ground...

The morning glow reflected the sky in the distance of Mount Douaumont. At this moment, the flames of war were burning here, but for the French officers and soldiers organizing defenses on the mountain, they ignored the sound of gunfire and were still busy with their daily lives.

Only in that simple trench can you feel the tense fighting atmosphere.

In the field hospital on the reverse slope behind the mountain, some lightly wounded people each told their own experiences. Doctors and nurses running back and forth were busy bandaging the injured for surgery. Now, the large German troops have not arrived yet, but they have already

The French army, which hastily organized a defense, caused heavy damage.

On the road leading to the anti-slope position, many soldiers and stretchers carrying the wounded shuttled back and forth. In a trench behind the mountain, an artillery officer showed great excitement.

"Damn bureaucrats!"

He was cursing and complaining loudly.

"Before the war, they always shouted for maneuver, but now? Every German shell is heavier than ours, and every cannon has a larger caliber than ours. We have eaten them all on the battlefield.

The trouble is over now. Those damn officers, in order to avoid the so-called super artillery, actually let us set up positions here. How can the artillery shells be fired from here? The "French Miss Cannon" is a field artillery, not a Chinese one.

Mortar!”

When he complained loudly, he obviously did not look at the poor artillery battalion with only four cannons left in his hands. During the retreat, his artillery battalion abandoned almost all the cannons. Even these cannons are still

It was temporarily supplemented. However, just as he complained, out of concern about the German super artillery, the headquarters requested that the troops' defense line be set up on the reverse slope of the mountain that is less susceptible to shelling, especially the important artillery positions, but this was not the case.

One thing that has been overlooked is that when the German artillery was unable to attack them, the casualties they caused to the German troops were extremely limited.

"Mr. Major, this is to prevent us from suffering greater losses!"

"That's right. If the German super cannon fires, maybe..."

What the soldiers were still talking about was the German super cannon. On the way back, the soldiers who witnessed the power of the super cannon's giant shells told others about the power of the super cannon in a sarcastic way to cover up their own panic. Perhaps,

They are not afraid of the German army, and they also have the spirit of sacrifice, but few of them are willing to pay their lives for "fearless sacrifice". Just as they are willing to actively join the covering force to hinder the German army. But at this time

, when the defense line was built again, they began to worry about the super cannon.

"With just one shot, the entire Douaumont Mountain can be leveled to the ground!"

In the trenches on the top of the mountain, soldiers were describing the "super cannon" from word to mouth. On this day, the super cannon became a nightmare for all French soldiers. In their view, the human body was obviously unstoppable.

"Super artillery" bombardment, the only thing they can hope for now is that the German super artillery cannot hit here, because they have retreated far enough.

Yes, they retreated far enough, almost thirty kilometers, which was beyond the range of artillery that anyone knew, but they didn't know that the huge cannon they were facing, except for the one with

In addition to its astonishing power, it also has a unique range in this era.

"still have a chance!"

Among the behemoths on the double-track railway between the forests, the German officer wearing an artillery officer's hat drew a line on the map. The line extended for nearly forty kilometers from their position.

This is the ultimate range of the "Alfred Cannon".

"General Hank, right now, the entire legion is talking about us. As long as one shot is fired there, the French defense on Mount Douaumont will collapse!"

Heisenberg, the former artillery expert of Krupp Company, is now the artillery control officer of the "Alfred Cannon". Brigadier General Hank von Schlien is the commander of this huge gun. He is responsible for commanding

This huge artillery unit has more than 4,000 officers and soldiers. Although this artillery unit only has one "Alfred", his inner pride now far exceeds that of the others.

"Can it hit that far?"

Brigadier General Hank von Schlien asked with some uncertainty. To be precise, his words were filled with extreme worry. What he was worried about was not the range issue but the body control issue.

"If you shoot such a long distance, the life of the barrel will be reduced. The "Alfred" has already fired sixteen rounds, and the next "Alfred" will have to wait until the end of the year..."

"But now, the most important thing is, we have to end this war!"

To end this war, for Heisenberg, from the beginning of operating this cannon, what he firmly believed was that this cannon could end this war. He never doubted this, just like now, it was "Al

Fred's performance moment.

"Okay! Order everyone to prepare!"

Brigadier General Hank von Schlien did not refuse. After agreeing to Heisenberg's request, he immediately picked up the phone and coordinated with the artillery troops. In order to assist the troops in the attack, the offensive troops used trailers to haul hundreds of 150mm guns.

Large-caliber field artillery to cooperate with the infantry attack, and now, the only thing he needs to coordinate is that he will start the attack on Mount Douaumont with "Alfred".

"...But the German 6-inch cannon was dragged in by a tractor and fired dense shells at the new position to form a sea of ​​fire. The troops mainly guarding the position completely collapsed. Especially during the German attack, the German "Alfred Cannon"

At the rate of one round per hour, it launches long-range artillery bombardment towards the Douaumont Mountain area. Each bombardment will flatten a large area of ​​defensive positions..."

Within the French General Headquarters, any staff officer would sound full of complaints when mentioning the German super cannon. Now, on the second day of the battle, they have learned about the "super cannon."

The code name of "Big Cannon" - "Alfred Cannon". The super cannon named after the founder of Krupp Company, just like the Franco-Prussian War in 1=871, in which year the Krupp cannon

The Second Empire was completely destroyed, and now the new generation of Krupp cannon is trying to destroy the Second Republic.

"Now, as long as the Germans continue to use the "Alfred" cannon to attack our defensive positions, any possibility of holding the position will be extremely slim and even extremely unrealistic!"

"Okay, I get it now!"

As always, these unexpected and unfortunate events did not panic General Joffre at all. Faced with the setbacks from the front line and everyone's fear of the 800mm cannon, he showed only calmness. If it was the same as during the Battle of the Marne,

, he had maintained an eye-catching and admirable composure from beginning to end, and now, in the face of the failure on the top of Douaumont, his attitude seemed even more extraordinary.

"Mobilize the 1st and 20th armies to reinforce Verdun. The Germans may have huge artillery, but France has the will to defend their country!"

After emphasizing his point of view, he took a look at the battle map and knew that just mobilizing two armies was far from enough to relieve the crisis there.

"Now, in the name of the headquarters, immediately send a request to Sir Douglas Haig of the British Expeditionary Force. Well... the content of the telegram is. The direction of Verdun is now in an unprecedented crisis, and France needs to mobilize its troops to coordinate with the British.

The French 10th Army, which fought together with the ** team, went to reinforce Verdun."

After issuing this order, Xiafei was silent for a moment. As the commander-in-chief of the French army, in the past two years, he has been using his actions to send a signal, a signal of belief in victory, from the Marne River.

From the beginning, no matter what situation he faced, he acted extremely calm and composed, while maintaining a regular diet and regular work and rest time, thus inspiring the confidence of everyone around him.

In his view, confidence, sometimes confidence is the most important thing, and as the commander-in-chief of the French army, the only thing he needs to do is to give everyone confidence. Only with the confidence to win can France win this battle.

war.

"General Castelneau, after you arrive at Verdun, you must hold on to Verdun at all costs. France must not lose Verdun!"

When issuing this order, Joffre turned his attention to General de Castelneau. Although he was only a major general, he was the chief of staff of the French Army Headquarters. This general who had participated in the Franco-Prussian War,

Perhaps there are fundamental differences with him in many opinions, especially in some strategies and tactics, but as a French veteran who participated in the Franco-Prussian War, in his heart, there is nothing

There are more important things than defeating the Germans and ensuring France's security.
To be continued...