Chapter 236 Doomsday Carnival

The Ypres front is already having fun.

They lit rows of candles at the edge of the trench, and cleverly set up engineering shovels to block the wind. Under the flickering candlelight, someone played the accordion, and a large number of soldiers gathered around them, including British, French and German troops. .

They sang popular Christmas carols from various countries to the rhythm of the accordion. Those who couldn't sing just hummed along to the rhythm. They danced and sang, and even took out the wine they had collected in their arms to share.

In the no-man's land between the positions, on a relatively flat piece of land, the soldiers drew a football field, used torches as the border, barbed wire stretched out the goal, and tied a straw ball as a football. Players from the two teams ran happily on the field. Scramble.

Captain Claude was the referee on the field, and the whistle originally used to order the attack was perfectly transformed into a football whistle. He even used paint to make red and yellow cards.

Seeing the "players" running with all their strength on the field and the "audience" outside the field cheering loudly, Captain Claude felt a little bitter in his heart.

He understood that such happiness was nothing more than a "doomsday carnival."

"Maybe you will die in fear and helplessness tomorrow, why not die from exhaustion now? This is actually a kind of happiness!"

This may be a reflection of everyone's heart.

Why would fate push them to this point!

At this time, Lieutenant Denis trotted over and stopped Captain Claude who was following the "player", and leaned forward to whisper a few words.

Captain Claude's expression changed and he raised his head towards the guard not far away: "Barre, come and replace me!"

Barre heard the sound and stepped forward to take the whistle from Captain Claude.

…

Captain Claude hurriedly got into the tunnel that served as the headquarters. He shook hands with a thin soldier and asked expressionlessly: "Is everything you said true? Are they planning to execute a killing order on us?" "

"Yes!" The soldier nodded: "The order has been issued to Dunkirk. They need to take some time to discuss this issue with the British, because the British army is also involved and must be rectified at the same time to be effective."

Then the soldier nervously suggested: "Captain, resume the battle..."

Captain Claude shook his head slightly and interrupted the soldier's words. He said sarcastically: "If we resume fighting, how many people will die in two days?"

Everyone was silent.

Based on the previous casualty rate, there would be at least dozens of casualties in two days.

As for the execution order, only a dozen people may be executed.

Judging from the numbers, it's a good deal. Of course Captain Claude will choose the kill order.

Lieutenant Denis was anxious: "But the killing order is a shame for soldiers, Captain, we will lose everything..."

Captain Claude saw clearly: "Does this still mean anything to a dead man?"

"But who should we choose?" Lieutenant Denis asked.

The most cruel thing about the killing order is that it allows the soldiers to choose those who will be punished.

"Count me in," Captain Claude replied, his tone calm.

Everyone was stunned, this was not a glorious thing, but the captain still rushed to the front as usual.

Just as the tunnel fell into a depressing atmosphere, a signal soldier suddenly entered the tunnel and excitedly reported: "Captain, do you know who is coming?"

"Who?" Lieutenant Denis asked, with a flash of panic in his eyes. Could it be that the infantry military police have arrived?

The expressions of other people in the tunnel also changed. Only Captain Claude silently took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it.

He seemed to have given himself a death ultimatum and didn't care about anything except dying a few days early.

"It's Charles, Charles is here!" The signal soldier said excitedly: "Can you believe it? Charles has come to inspect our place, and I heard that he will even send us turkeys!"

A flash of surprise flashed in the eyes of the people in the tunnel, but they remained silent. They all thought about a question: Could it be that they sent Charles to execute the killing order?

"You guys, what's wrong?" the communications soldier asked doubtfully.

"Nothing!" Captain Claude replied expressionlessly: "Where is he? Take me to see him!"

"Yes, Captain!" the signal soldier responded.

…

Charles did two things before coming:

The first is to ask Djoka to purchase roasted turkeys and contact transportation to send them to Ypres in batches.

The second is to get in touch with General Winter who is in Dunkirk and ask him to hold back the infantry gendarmes who are about to set off for Ypres.

General Winter was very successful, and the reason was very legitimate: "The British army also participated in the truce. If there is no joint punishment, the effect may not be obvious. In addition, although Ypres is the defense line of the Allies, it is Belgian territory, and we are Don’t you want to ask His Majesty Albert I for his opinion?”

So this is not just a French issue, but an international issue involving Britain and Belgium, and negotiations cannot be done so quickly.

Coupled with the fact that the situation at night was unclear and worried about triggering a mutiny, the infantry military police decided to take action after dawn after consulting the headquarters.

Charles arrived at Ypres at around five o'clock in the morning. Before arriving, he did not notify anyone on the front line and only brought a guard squad with him.

Ciel understood that this situation would be dangerous if he had known in advance that he was coming to the front line.

The German military will be overjoyed: the front line is undefended, and soldiers from both the enemy and our armies can walk into the enemy's trenches at will. At this time, Charles actually patrols the front line?

They just need to randomly send a few killers to wait on the front line, and when they see Ciel, they will step forward with their guns raised. Then they can not only kill Ciel but also restore the state of war...

Galieni also knew this, so he strictly ordered that all those who knew the news were not allowed to step out of the headquarters, and telephones and telegrams were also strictly controlled.

…

When Charles appeared at the Ypres front with Laurent and a squad of guards, none of the soldiers coming and going recognized Charles, and they even looked at this group of "uninvited guests" with vigilance.

Charles entered the front line along the communication trench. When passing a rest area, he saw a group of soldiers gathered near the accordion, singing and dancing under the candlelight. There were German soldiers and French soldiers, and rifles were casually placed aside or even mixed together.

A drunk German officer came up and invited Charles to the "dance floor". Laurent reflexively stepped forward and pushed him down, pulling out his revolver and pointing it at the German officer.

Other guards also rushed forward as if they were facing a great enemy and raised their rifles to protect Charles in the middle.

"Hey, relax!" A French soldier stood up in the crowd: "Merry Christmas, gentlemen, you just arrived, it's truce time, understand? Truce!"

Charles stepped forward and ordered Laurent and the guards to put down their guns.

The French soldier looked at Charles with incredible eyes: "Hey, Colonel, you look... a lot like Charles, I met him once in Paris. God, they are exactly the same!"

Charles didn't say anything, just stared at the signalman quietly.

The sound of the accordion suddenly stopped, and the noisy singing and dancing disappeared. The air seemed to solidify, and everyone focused their eyes on Charles, including the German officers and soldiers.