Chapter 435: Poison Gas Warfare

From mid-March, the fierce battle on the west bank of the Meuse River reached its climax. In the last two days of fierce fighting, the German army deployed a total of five divisions on the west bank of the Meuse River. The German commander ignored the fierce artillery and machine gun fire of the French defenders and blindly ordered the troops to launch a strong attack on the east and west sides of the Morte-Om Heights, which eventually caused heavy losses to the German army.

After a few days of rest, the German army suddenly launched an extremely fierce artillery attack on the defensive positions on the northeast and northwest slopes of the Morte-Om Heights. Under the cover of artillery, an elite German army began to attack the northeast slope.

This army cooperated with the ordinary army that had moved to the northwest of the heights a few days ago to launch a fierce attack on the neck of the heights.

Because of the fierce offensive of this elite German army, the offensive and defensive battle on the heights quickly achieved results. After several rounds of guarding, the French defenders on the heights could only retreat to the top of the mountain helplessly, leaving only a part of the machine gun squad to defend.

The remaining machine gun squad was obviously unable to withstand the German attack. The German elite army quickly controlled the defensive positions halfway up the mountain and joined forces to attack the top of the mountain.

In addition, the German army also divided its troops, not only consolidating the defensive positions that had been captured, but also splitting its troops into two groups. On the premise of attacking the defensive positions on the top of the mountain, it launched an assault to the rear of the Morte-Om Heights.

The Germans originally wanted to outflank the French defenders and try to encircle and annihilate this French army.

But the French army was not stupid. Once the rear of the defensive position was outflanked, they had no room to retreat.

For this reason, the defenders took out all the machine guns and artillery, and declared their unyielding with dense and dense firepower.

Although the Germans' attack was relatively smooth, they also paid a lot of casualties for it.

Because the French army was located on the top of the mountain and occupied a relatively good defensive terrain, they were often able to achieve a better combat loss ratio.

If the German army wanted to launch a strong attack on the French army on the top of the mountain, it could only mobilize the artillery to the halfway point of the mountain, surround it on all sides, and launch artillery fire on the upper positions.

There was bad news for both France and Germany, because it was already the second half of March, and the temperature in the Verdun area had gradually become warmer.

As a result, the ice and snow in many places had melted, and the land near the Verdun Fortress had become very muddy, making logistics transportation more difficult.

With the melting of ice and snow, the problem of dealing with a large number of corpses on the battlefield was also difficult.

Before, because the temperature was relatively cold, the corpses of people and livestock could be delayed for half a month before being dealt with.

But now it is not possible. If these corpses are not cleaned up within a week, the stench and germs emitted by various corpses are enough to cause the armies of both sides to collapse.

In this regard, France and Germany have also formed a tacit agreement. After each round of offensive and defensive battles, the medical soldiers of both sides will deal with the corpses on the battlefield. During this period, France and Germany entered a temporary ceasefire.

It was precisely because of this unwritten rule that a large number of corpses on the battlefield of Verdun were eliminated, preventing the breeding of germs and plague.

Under the fierce bombardment and attack of the French army, the defenders on the high ground began to move to the south, and the European army occupied the fortresses and artillery positions on the top.

Although the positions on the top of the mountain were successfully occupied, the Germans also suffered a large number of casualties.

A brigade of the Buffet Army bravely charged against the machine guns and artillery of the French army, and in the end the entire brigade was almost wiped out, with less than ten survivors.

To borrow the tragic situation described by a retreating French officer in his diary: "The battles in Jacarès and Caronse were fierce, but I didn't expect the battles on the front line of Verdun to be more intense than those places. If you don't see it with your own eyes, it's hard to believe that the battle will reach such an intense level.

In this way, the previous military classics and the teachings of famous generals are useless. In this fortress battle, even if both sides were bombarded with shells, the army still forged ahead without fear.

The fighting will of the armies of both sides was terrible. Under the fierce artillery fire, they still did not slack off.

On March 20, the trenches and fortifications of our positions were destroyed by artillery fire. The German covering artillery fire permeated the first line of defense trenches and spread on the roads behind the front line, with a dispersion area of ​​more than 2,000 meters. The German large-caliber artillery often extended the shooting distance, Destroy our artillery positions and the communication trenches between positions.

At 8 o'clock that night, we took a car to the rear of the second and third lines. While riding in the car, several bullets hit the car body and some people were injured. We saw that our troops were in high spirits and had no fear. The German army was the first to launch the shelling, but our army's shelling was more intensive. The sound of the shelling was deafening. The closer to the front line, the louder the sound of the shells exploding. We could even feel the ground shaking and our hearts beating in our chests.

The scattered fields and communication trenches on the positions were completely destroyed by artillery fire, and the soldiers had almost no place to stay. The state of the ground surface was constantly changing due to the shelling. As we advanced, we sometimes lay down and sometimes jumped up quickly. The only shelter to protect our bodies was the shell craters. Most of the defensive troops hid in the shell craters, and the soldiers who could not find a place to hide hurriedly ran to the remaining parts of the trenches.

When the dense German artillery fire extended the distance, many of our soldiers who had been hiding took the opportunity to quickly climb out of the craters and rushed into the position. The attacking German army was in a dense formation, with 5,000 to 6,000 people in a column. When advancing, the infantry was divided into two shifts and leaped forward. At this time, our army only had machine guns and rapid-fire guns to play a role, and the 75-caliber artillery was no longer convenient for shooting. Fortunately, the field artillery on the side was able to suppress the German attacking force, and the German army that continued to attack was also not spared. The bodies of those killed and wounded by machine guns, rapid-fire guns and artillery fire were scattered everywhere. It can be seen that the German attack did not consider the cost of life. "

As time went by, the German front line and the French position were getting closer and closer. If both sides wanted to attack the enemy with artillery fire, they would have to consider the possibility of accidentally injuring their own troops.

In order to ensure the offensive in the Verdun area, Germany had to mobilize troops from Russia and the Balkans.

Even troops were drawn from various fronts in northern France to barely maintain the local advantage in the Verdun area.

For this reason, the French Paris News Agency also issued a special news report to announce to the French people that four of the seven divisions in the new campaign launched by Germany in the Verdun area were transferred from other places on the Western Front.

Although the German army has suffered heavy casualties in recent times, the bravery and discipline of the German army should never be underestimated.

No matter how many casualties there are, the remaining German soldiers They would still risk their lives to charge. The German soldiers firmly believed that only by passing through the dangerous area as quickly as possible could they advance into the trenches and render the French army's heavy artillery ineffective.

This also caused the German assault troops to charge at the French defensive positions again and again like a lake.

Even if the soldiers in front fell, the troops following behind would still step over their companions' bodies without any hesitation and continue to move forward.

Because the French army's artillery was not weak, and a large number of artillery were mobilized in the Verdun area, the German army's formation was often broken into pieces.

But this still could not stop the German soldiers from charging. After the French artillery bombardment, the German army quickly reorganized its formation and launched an attack on the French army's position.

Although the Germans who were able to rush into the French position suffered heavy losses, The number of French soldiers was obviously less than that of the French defenders.

However, the Germans adopted the strategy of throwing bombs. Once a commando entered the French line, the bomb team following closely behind would immediately rush up and throw a large number of bombs into the trenches, making it difficult for the French defenders in the trenches to defend themselves.

Because this kind of bomb attack was temporary, the French soldiers had no time to get into the fortifications. Under this kind of attack, the French army suffered heavy casualties for a while, and the defensive positions were also occupied by the German army.

As of the night of March 23, the Morte-Orme Heights had basically all fallen into the hands of the German army. Only the 304 Heights and several nearby artillery positions continued to fight until dawn.

Although the current situation of the defenders is already very dangerous, the French army has made preparations, and even wrote a suicide note under the organization of the commander, ready to die with the position In, live and die together.

When the sky was about to dawn, the French soldiers who had fought all night were finally able to rest a little. They snuggled up to each other and took a nap in the position.

On a spring morning, the breeze was a little cool, and the air was filled with the smell of gunpowder that the soldiers had long been accustomed to, mixed with a hint of burnt earth and blood.

Suddenly, a strange yellow-green cloud slowly floated along the ground towards the high ground. Most of the French soldiers had fallen asleep and did not notice the strange-colored cloud.

When the cloud floated to the position, the French defenders discovered the strange smell. Some people felt a burning pain in their eyes, noses and throats, and the pain became more intense when they opened their eyes.

Many soldiers began to roar in pain, tearing open their clothes with their hands, grabbing their throats, and rolling and stumbling desperately.

But such struggles would only make them more uncomfortable. Frequent and intense breathing would make them inhale more poisonous gas, and eventually shrink and suffocate or even die.

Germany released poison gas to the Verdun area again after more than a month. At a time when the French army was very tired, the sneak attack of poison gas had a very good effect.

During the entire Battle of Verdun, the Germans released more than ten times of poison gas, but due to the influence of wind direction, only three or four times caused effective casualties.

Obviously, this gas attack is also counted as one, and the killing effect is the best among the recent gas releases.

In less than half an hour, the French soldiers who held the positions and artillery positions had completely lost their resistance.

A few soldiers who were not greatly affected by the poison gas hurriedly struggled to jump out of the trenches and ran to the rear like crazy.

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