Chapter 195: The Verdun Meat Grinder (4)

Now that the focal point of the attack was established, it was time to get to work overnight on essential tasks. Demining, for instance, was crucial to ensure a successful assault early the next morning, and that meant demining operations had to be carried out through the night.

Fortunately, the weather in Verdun had been clear for the past couple of days. Even late at night, there was a half-moon providing decent visibility. This moonlight allowed for some work to be done.

At this moment, Joseph had locked his paper on electromagnetic induction inside a safe and then locked that safe inside a larger one. It wasn't because Joseph enjoyed playing Russian dolls, but he believed that the safe containing the paper was valuable enough to be secured in another safe. The larger safe was a creation by a Bourbon-descendant master who had lost his head during the French Revolution.

Without the discovery of electromagnetic induction and the inability to acquire mine detectors in Ireland, the British were left with a rather crude method of demining. They had to crouch on the ground and visually inspect for mines, with their only auxiliary tool being a long steel probe.

This method of demining was slow, inefficient, and highly dangerous. During the day, it might have been manageable, but at night, with no lights allowed (the minefield was well within the range of Minié rifles), they had to rely on moonlight for illumination. This naturally slowed down the demining process, increasing the risk substantially.

As a result, occasional explosions from the British demining teams startled the French. Each explosion pained the hearts of the British because their elite troops, not the hastily mobilized Prussian conscripts, suffered the losses. Moreover, the explosions drew the attention of the French. The bright moonlight on this particular night favored demining but also improved visibility for the French marksmen. Consequently, the British demining teams suffered not only from accidental detonations but also from more direct hits by French fire. As they advanced deeper into the demining process, they got closer to the French trenches, raising the likelihood of French sightings and shots. Therefore, after dealing with most of the mines at a considerable distance, they had no choice but to wait for daylight when the British and Prussian conscripts would deal with the remaining mines more efficiently.

Demining forces were not evenly distributed; the well-trained deminers were sent to the actual points of attack, while more rookies were dispatched to the feint attacks, some with less than a month of training. These newcomers naturally had a higher probability of setting off explosions. However, this arrangement served a purpose—to emphasize that these points were the real targets.

Thus, the night was filled with constant rumbling, and the blood-red dawn finally broke in the east of the Verdun fortress.

The day's assault began, starting with the feint attacks. The previous night's demining efforts were effective, and with the efficient demining by the mobilized troops, both the British and Prussians quickly crossed the first minefield. In front of them was the first line of barbed wire and the first French trench. In these locations, the feinting forces initiated an attack, but they withdrew in the face of the French rifle fire and the shrapnel from cannons.

Of course, complete withdrawal wouldn't serve the purpose of distracting the French. In these areas, the tactics became artillery fire, artillery fire, and then infantry pretending to charge. Once the infantry had pretended to advance, the artillery resumed slow, steady bombardment.

Even so, the main focus of the British and Prussian attacks became evident. They had only managed to break through the first line of barbed wire and trench in these two directions. Between the first line of barbed wire and the first trench was a minefield, which had to be cleared by the mobilized troops. This naturally resulted in casualties, but, as expected, the French didn't have sufficient manpower or firepower in these two areas. So, after sacrificing a significant number of lives, the British and Prussians finally crossed the first line of barbed wire. What next? Then, the British and Prussians experienced an episode reminiscent of their encounter with the Russians in the French trenches in Italy. They were taught a lesson in hand grenades and artillery in the communication trenches and the main trenches.

However, perhaps due to the difference in troop strength and morale, the French did not launch an immediate counterattack. The British and Prussians managed to continue their advance after a brief reorganization. Still, as they advanced, they noticed that the firepower from the French on their front was noticeably increasing. While they didn't possess heavy artillery, the rate of 8-pounder cannons firing at them had risen significantly, and the frequency of enemy hand-thrown "sweet melons" and the use of "broad sword" landmines had also increased.

"The enemy is likely transferring reserve troops or troops from other areas to reinforce their defenses. We must act before them and secure the key objectives," the Duke of Brunswick immediately made this decision.

The so-called "key objective" referred to a hill approximately 200 meters high located behind the five layers of trenches. Capturing this target was like driving a massive steel nail into the heart of the French defense system. It posed a significant threat to the entire French defense structure. Conversely, failing to secure this hill would render the territory they had fought so hard to take rather ineffective in shaking the overall defense, and it remained vulnerable to potential French counterattacks and encirclement.

The key was to seize this objective as swiftly as possible, before the French could react.

So, the Prussian and British forces intensified their attacks from two directions on this "key objective." Mines were abundant in the enemy's path? There was no time to dawdle. A quick assault was needed; otherwise, the French would catch on. Hadn't they noticed the increasing strength of the French firepower across from them? It was better to press forward, or more lives would be lost. Let's employ the most efficient method – have the mobilized troops clear the way!

However, the Prussians were still stopped in front of the third barbed wire. The number of French troops across from them had noticeably increased, bullets were incessantly flying over, and to make matters worse, the "Bonaparte sweet melons" kept raining down. The Prussian army had similar weapons, but the French trenches were at least fifty meters away from the barbed wire, and unless you were a strongman, no one could throw a sweet melon that far.

Yet, the French somehow managed to easily throw the "sweet melons" over. It wasn't just one or two French soldiers tossing the sweet melons fifty or sixty meters away; it was as if they were raining down from the sky.

A barrage of "sweet melons" immediately cleared the Prussian soldiers near the barbed wire. The remaining soldiers were demoralized by this round of bombardment. Following those who hadn't been blown up, many Prussian soldiers, including junior officers, were so frightened by the casualties that they fled. Even some low-ranking officers were petrified and joined the retreat.

On the other hand, the performance of the British forces was somewhat better than the Prussians. They, too, endured a round of "sweet melon" bombardment in front of the third barbed wire. However, they surprisingly had the courage to continue the assault afterward. These "lobsterbacks" threw the bodies of the fallen over the barbed wire and attempted to pass it themselves. At this moment, a long burst of fire erupted from the opposite trenches, accurately reaching the "lobsterbacks" who were trying to climb over the wire. The British soldiers were engulfed in flames.

Those engulfed in flames writhed on the ground, attempting to extinguish the fire on their bodies. However, the flames couldn't be put out no matter how hard they tried. Soon, those British soldiers who had been set ablaze were burned to charcoal, and the rising flames prevented anyone else from advancing. Afterward, another round of "sweet melon" bombardment followed. The British soldiers also discarded their helmets and armor to retreat.

However, all in all, the British performed better than the Prussians. Although both sides retreated, the British stopped once they had retreated to the French trenches they had fought so hard to capture. The Prussians, on the other hand, had retreated all the way to their starting position. To the point where Joseph, who was overseeing the battle, felt some concerns, "Have we been too ruthless? Perhaps we've frightened them away, and if so, our plan to deplete their resources..."

The performance of the Prussian army infuriated both the Duke of Brunswick and General Bülow. Fortunately, it seemed the French weren't prepared for the Prussian retreat and failed to seize back the lost ground immediately. By the time the French responded and started deploying troops to reclaim the territory, the Prussians, or at least the higher-ranking officers, had regained their senses. General Bülow personally led a cavalry charge and secured the first trench, but the second trench was lost again to the French.

On the British side, the French reacted more swiftly. They took advantage of the British retreat to recapture the second trench. So, although the British hadn't retreated as far as the Prussians, the final outcome was not substantially different. They had fought the entire day to capture a single trench.

By this time, it was around three or four in the afternoon. Whether it was the Prussians or the British, who had performed better on the battlefield, they had lost the courage to continue their assault. The Anglo-Prussian coalition began to focus on consolidating the ground they had taken. The French, on the other hand, seemed to have exhausted much of their strength in the earlier battle and did not launch a counteroffensive during this period. Thus, this long and bloody day passed in this manner.