Somme.
October 18, 1916, replenishment camp.
Beginning in mid-October, the British and French allied forces suddenly stepped up their offensive. Countless artillery shells hit the German positions like crazy, and a large number of enemies launched attacks one after another regardless of life and death.
German casualties suddenly increased.
Starting from the 16th, the supplementary battalion suffered countless attacks from the enemy. The third company, which is sometimes placed at the forefront, is undoubtedly under tremendous pressure.
Although the soldiers of the third company still firmly controlled the position in their own hands, they always felt a little uncomfortable, as if someone was missing.
Ernst Brahm!
Orders from acting battalion commander Ernst had been sent to the supplementary battalion, but the captain had not returned. The soldiers always felt that they were missing some backbone.
Another wave of attacks was barely repelled, but Sean's ammunition hand Aikein fell...
Sean's mood is sad. From the outbreak of the war to now, he has lost too many comrades. To some extent, he was even numb to death.
But this time it made him angry.
Hall, who had been promoted to second lieutenant, became the acting commander of the third company. His bravery and loyalty to Germany were beyond reproach, but he was too mechanical.
The task he was given was to stick to this place, and he could complete it to the letter, but he refused to make any changes.
During the British army's previous attack, there was a huge gap on the left wing. Bunkerere once suggested to Hall that he send a force to attack to reduce the pressure on the frontal defense line, but Hall refused without hesitation. .
"Our task is to hold on, not to attack!" This was Hall's only answer.
So the third company had to passively hold on here...
If he could take the initiative to attack, maybe Aikein would not have died; if he could be more flexible, maybe there wouldn't be so many casualties.
If Captain Ernst was still commanding here, maybe he wouldn't have to fight so hard at all...
"It would be nice if Captain Ernst was here." Bunkerere sighed and lay down on the position: "We lost twelve more people today, Sean, you said the captain would allow such a large number of casualties here. ?"
"No." Sean answered without any hesitation: "The captain is brave and will never be so rigid. I doubt Hall's ability to command a company."
"I miss Captain Ernst too." Stike said listlessly: "Do you think Captain Ernst will forget us? Berlin is a good place."
"Hey, don't say that about Captain." Sean looked very dissatisfied: "No one can doubt Captain."
Steck sighed: "How could I doubt the captain? It's just that I really want him to come back and take command again..." At this point, he lowered his voice a little: "The only thing the entire third company doesn't want is the captain. Maybe the only one who came back was the Jew."
Everyone knew that the Jew he was talking about was actually Hall.
Is Hall bad? He is not bad, on the contrary, he cares about the soldiers. But the feeling he brought to the soldiers was always a little strange, completely different from the feeling Captain Ernst had when he was here.
Veterans of the Third Company all knew that after the previous company commander was injured and left the battlefield, Hall was the most promising candidate to be promoted and directly take over the Third Company, but he did not expect that a new company commander would be sent from above.
From that moment on, Hall's feeling changed somewhat.
He became unwilling to talk much and became slightly depressed. Promotion is not everything, but it is recognition of a soldier's honor.
"Everyone be more alert!" Hall's voice came over: "The British's new attack will start soon. Don't stand here stupidly. Use some energy. Damn it, it's all being wasted."
The soldiers didn't seem to be very willing, and they got up from the ground one by one with their guns in hand...
Routine shelling quickly covered the position, and the German artillery was also fighting back desperately. Amidst the huge gunfire, there were waves of terrifying air waves.
The German soldiers hid silently in the trenches. They had long been accustomed to shelling and were completely indifferent.
Some people closed their eyes and were thinking about something, and some people were praying silently. God determines everyone's life and death, and God knows whether cannonballs will explode around him.
"Hey, enter the position, enter the position!" Hall's words rang loudly in the ears of all the soldiers.
The enemy has begun to attack!
Bunkerere picked up the gun in his hand and stared straight ahead without blinking. In several days of fighting, he had killed more than ten enemies, which was an amazing number except for heavy machine gun shooters.
Bunkerere really couldn't figure out how Captain Ernst accomplished the miracle of killing hundreds of enemies!
British whistles began to sound...and then dense enemy forces came up...
Bonkrere adjusted his breathing, and his muzzle had already locked onto an enemy...
The moment Sean's heavy machine gun fired, Bunkerelei also pulled the trigger.
The sound of gunfire was drowned in the roar of heavy machine guns, but Bunkerere could see his target falling under the bullets...
When humans invented thermal weapons, and when heavy machine guns, airplanes, and tanks came out one after another, it meant that every war would turn into the most brutal massacre.
Thousands of people will die in the war, and the blood will pool into rivers and flood the battlefields filled with corpses.
There is no need for sympathy or pity here, only endless killing...
There were too many enemies, and even the crazy roaring heavy machine guns couldn't stop the enemies coming up layer by layer.
People kept dying, either from the enemy or from one of our own people. The sound of shouts, gunfire, and whistles mixed together, turning the battlefield into a terrifying hell.
No one knows who will fall next minute...
Fierce fighting is taking place on every battlefield. No one can help the third company. Now the only one who must rely on it is himself.
Casualties are gradually increasing, and the British seem to be crazy in this attack. It was pushed back one level, and then another level roared up.
They seemed to be relying on the human sea tactic to completely submerge this place.
"Second Lieutenant, the left wing has been breached!"
"Second Lieutenant, we can't hold on here any longer!"
"Hey, no, Man Rui is injured, someone can help!"
The voices kept coming and going, making Lieutenant Hall upset.
Damn it, can the position really not hold any longer?
It will be your own shame!
What would Captain Ernst Brahm do if he were here?