章節 10: The first trench warfare.
In the summer of 1916, the British offensive on the Somme River in France became the bloodiest battle in history, with each advance costing tens of thousands of soldiers' lives.
On August 30th, the first batch of 50 Mark I tanks was secretly transported from Britain to France. In early September, the desperate British General Haig believed that the trench deadlock on the Western Front had to be broken. He ordered the Mark I tanks, equipped as a new weapon, to enter combat on September 13th.
This marked the world's first use of tanks in combat. The British Army deployed a total of 49 Mark I tanks to the frontline. However, after the tank battalion set off on September 13th, 17 tanks broke down for various reasons before reaching the frontline battlefield.
As a result, nearly a third of the armored battalion lost its combat capability before firing a single shot. The remaining 32 tanks, after reaching a destination not far from the German positions, spread out along an 8-kilometer front and began a fierce bombardment of the German positions with 57mm guns.
In an attempt to achieve a surprise attack, General Haig ordered all tanks to break through the German positions on the morning of September 15th.
September 15th, 1916.
In the early morning, the battlefield was shrouded in mist. The British Mark I tanks began to creak towards the German positions, quickly disappearing from the view of the British commanders.
However, before the 32 tanks could reach the German positions, another 14 broke down: either due to technical faults, getting stuck in mud, or falling into shell craters. Thus, only 18 tanks remained for the world's first tank battle. These tanks moved towards the German positions like old cattle.
German soldiers waiting in the trenches suddenly heard strange metallic noises coming from the direction of the British positions. Without knowing what was happening, they peered out of the trenches.
German soldiers suddenly saw bizarre mechanical contraptions emerging from the foggy no man's land, advancing directly towards the German positions. Before the German soldiers could figure out what was happening, the "monsters" suddenly spewed fire.
Some German soldiers immediately fell in pools of blood. The rest of the German soldiers, in panic, fled from the trenches, rushing back towards the rear. As a result, the British quickly occupied the trenches.
Relying on the power of the tanks, the British rapidly advanced towards the third line of German defenses.
B Point, 7:00 AM.
Lieutenant Ernst Blehm - Lieutenant Weiyi Wang had to face the challenge from the British with his soldiers!
The soldiers of the third platoon had heard that the enemy was using a new type of steel weapon on the battlefield, but they were not worried.
Because before this, Lieutenant Ernst had already detailed to the soldiers of the third platoon the new type of weapon the British would use in the war and told them how to stop those damned monsters from advancing.
The sounds of cannons, guns, and explosions filled the air, including at the position of the third platoon.
"Attack, attack! The enemy is attacking!" Sergeant Hoer shouted loudly when he first spotted the British.
"Enter positions, prepare for battle!"
At Lieutenant Weiyi's loud call, all the soldiers entered their battle positions.
Let the damned British come, the brave and fearless German soldiers were ready for them.
The Maxim heavy machine gun, under the watchful eyes of the three "masters" of the MG08 Maxim heavy machine gun, Sean, Bivrey, and Aikin, breathed heavily.
Let the damned British come, soon they would learn how powerful we are!
Lieutenant Weiyi found himself a little nervous, it was his first trench battle, saying he wasn't nervous would be a lie.
A large group of British appeared, Lieutenant Weiyi licked his lips, then made a gesture. The rifles of the German soldiers were raised.
"Kill them! Kill them!"
This was almost a curse-like voice from Adolf Hitler.
Lieutenant Weiyi smiled inwardly.
The enemy was getting closer...
"Kill them!"
With Lieutenant Weiyi's roar, his hand fell.
The light and heavy weapons on the position opened fire together.
In an instant, with the roar of the Maxims, the British fell like wheat. The panicked British soldiers fell to the ground.
The gunfire of the Germans immediately became sparse.
These well-trained soldiers, they would not easily waste their bullets, Lieutenant Weiyi admired them in his heart.
Feeling that lying down like this wouldn't lead to a good outcome, the British soldiers quickly got up from the ground.
Looking over, all that could be seen were enemies, what great targets.
The first to fire was the submachine gun in Lieutenant Weiyi's hand. He saw a British soldier grimacing in pain, clutching his chest and falling.
He also saw this British soldier struggling in a pool of blood, grabbing his throat as if trying to say something, but he was helpless. In just one second, he died.
In fact, all the soldiers, whether German or British, were not wrong in this war; they were just fighting to achieve the goals of those politicians.
Banklei's marksmanship was superb, the Mauser rifle seemed to have a life in his hands, the bullets always found their way to the enemy, almost one shot per enemy.
Lieutenant Weiyi found Banklei's expression very serious, as if he were doing something very sacred. And after knocking down an enemy every time, he would mutter something.
Later, Lieutenant Weiyi asked Banklei about it, and this outstanding marksman told him that he was praying for the fallen enemy under his gun.
What brave and lovely soldiers they were.
Sean, the handler of the heavy machine gun, was completely different. He poured bullets into the enemy without hesitation, cursing all the while.
It was said that Sean would become a madman as soon as he entered battle, and it seemed true.
In Lieutenant Weiyi's eyes, Adolf Hitler seemed to be closing his eyes and firing, still unable to shake off his nervousness.
The bullets mercilessly struck the enemy, who fell in droves. The area in front of the position became a terrible meat grinder, mercilessly dragging in lives and grinding them to pieces.
This was the most real and terrifying battlefield!
The British clearly couldn't hold on any longer. Just then, there was a roar behind them, followed by the British soldiers scrambling to the sides.
Lieutenant Weiyi looked over and then shouted loudly:
"Tanks!"
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