Chapter 383: Infiltrating the Enemy's Defenses

During World War I, when the enemy and us were stuck in a trench warfare stalemate, the Allies' approach was to develop tanks or open up new fronts in other directions, while the German army was considering whether it could use a strong infantry to open a gap in the enemy's defense line and expand the results to win.

This "strong infantry" is the Storm Assault Battalion.

At this time, the Storm Assault Battalion had just been formed. It was led by the advocate Major Willy Roll as the chief instructor. He selected more than 500 elite soldiers from the German army according to his own tactical ideas and formed a battalion, and trained in Berlin for three weeks.

When receiving the battle order, Major Willy was stunned for a moment and handed the telegram to Major Rico, the battalion commander: "What do you think?"

Major Rico glanced at the telegram with some worry in his eyes: "We are not ready, and many of them don't know each other."

"It doesn't matter." Willy replied with a firm look: "As long as we know how to fight this battle, the battlefield is the best training ground."

This is Major Willy's true thought. He believes that the training ground is just exploring unknown theories, and the battlefield is practice, verification, and results. Only actual combat can improve the theory and provide experience for the subsequent "Storm Commando".

"There will never be a moment of 'readiness', Rico." Major Willy said: "If we stay in the training ground all the time."

Major Rico nodded helplessly. He thought that Major Willy's idea made sense.

What's more, as the battalion commander, he is only responsible for how to fight. Whether to fight and when to join the war is up to the head coach Willy.

……

At three o'clock in the morning of the next day, the fully armed First Storm Commando took the train to Cambrai.

Major General Nicolas, the commander of the First Tank Division, personally went to the train station to greet them.

In the car heading to the front line, Major General Nicolas couldn't wait to shine a flashlight on the map and said to Major Willy:

"The military situation is urgent, Major."

"Charles' First Tank Brigade is on the way to reinforce, and I'm not sure when they will arrive."

"I only know that we must break through the enemy's defense line as soon as possible so that we can have more time to prepare for battle!"

Willie didn't even glance at the map and answered directly: "Two hours later."

"What?" Major General Nicolas looked up at Willy, his eyes full of confusion.

"We will attack in the early morning, General." Willy replied: "The plan is simple, sneak into the enemy's defense line before dawn, and attack the enemy at the same time after dawn."

Nicolas was stunned for a moment, then nodded slightly. It turned out that the Storm Commando was "sneaking into the enemy's defense line" instead of "the vanguard".

He was right. The role of sneaking into the enemy's defense line would be much greater than that of the vanguard.

Finally, Willy glanced at the map in Nicolas's hand and concluded: "So, what I need is not this kind of map, but a trend map of the enemy's trenches."

...

The sky was dim, and German artillery shells were exploding one after another in front of and behind the French defense line, adding some gunpowder to the early morning mist.

Major Willy carefully looked across the telescope for a while, and when he saw that the French army did not move, he raised his hand and waved forward gently, and the first storm assault battalion, which had been prepared for a long time, set off in the sound of artillery.

They wore M1915 Prussian helmets, and all of them had their spires removed without exception.

(The above picture shows the German M1915 helmet. Compared with the old helmet, the biggest difference is that the spires are removable, which can easily expose German soldiers in advance in trench warfare, especially in the sun.)

Everyone had steel armor on his chest, grenades on his waist, and some people had a few in their backpacks.

Holding carbines and lightweight Maxims in their hands, they crawled out of the trenches like ghosts and disappeared into the smoke of the shells.

(The picture above shows the KAR98AZ, a short-barreled rifle that is more suitable for mobile warfare in trenches and is the standard equipment of the Storm Commandos)

(The picture above shows the MG08/15 light machine gun, which is actually a lightweight Maxim heavy machine gun and was a helpless choice before the invention of the submachine gun.)

The breakthrough point was the choice made by Major Willy after repeated observations of the terrain. It was not the part closest to the enemy's defense line, but the concave area of ​​the defense line.

There was a small hill on the left side of the advance route, which could block the sight of the French army in the south. There were several trees on the right side, which also made it difficult for the French army to see this area clearly.

"What we need to do is fire a few shells at this side." Major Willy pointed to the map and said to Major General Nicolas: "This, this, and this!"

But Major Willy emphasized again: "Not too many, five to ten shells are best."

Major General Nicolas nodded. He understood Major Willy's intention. Too many shells would make the French suspicious.

Originally, Major Willy did not need to go into battle in person. He was a researcher of the tactical theory of the "Storm Commando". He wanted to live to summarize his experience and continue to train another batch of "Storm Commando".

However, Major Willy still chose to stay with the troops. He regarded this battle as an opportunity to practice his theory.

He carefully led the troops to advance on the battlefield, sometimes fast and sometimes slow, sometimes stopping in the crater for a while, sometimes crawling forward, and occasionally using gestures to command several snipers to provide cover for the troops in occupying the high ground.

The whole process took nearly twenty minutes, including cutting the barbed wire through the gap, and finally sneaking to the French trench before dawn.

The French knew nothing about their actions. Major Willy, who was lying in front of the trench, could even hear the French sentries talking in the trench:

"God, it's finally daybreak. They said Charles' reinforcements would arrive today. Is it almost time now?"

"As soon as Charles' troops arrive, we'll be safe."

"Charles is a good man. It's hard to imagine that he would fight the Germans with us. I mean, he means it!"

"Yes, if the bombers had been late by one second yesterday, we might have been finished!"

...

Major Willy didn't listen any more. He turned his head and gestured back.

The German soldiers understood, and one by one they pulled out grenades from their waists and unscrewed the safety covers.

Major Willy waited for a while, then resolutely waved his hand forward. German soldiers pulled the grenades one after another and threw them forward. Grenades with green smoke rolled into the trenches.

First there was a panic cry from the French soldiers, followed by a "boom boom" explosion.

Without the need for Major Willy's orders, the German soldiers leaped up in groups, grabbed their rifles and trotted for a while before rushing into the trenches.

The dense gunfire made it almost impossible to hear screams.

That was the assault battalion firing at the stunned enemy.

The assault battalion usually did not use bayonets, not only because the space in the trenches was too small to be used with bayonet-equipped rifles, but also because Major Willy believed that the assault battalion needed to open up a living space for itself as quickly as possible: a trench controlled by themselves, a trench that could accommodate a battalion of soldiers.