Chapter 309 It Was Indeed only Ten Minutes

News of the successful landing in the Charles soon reached Paris.

The "Leader of Merit" once again took the lead. It reported at great length the success of the Shire in occupying "A" corner and its strategic significance, and lamented:

"The entire battle lasted only two hours and ten minutes, with only more than 300 casualties in total, and the troops completed the occupation of the 'A' corner defense line."

"The straight-line distance of the entire defense line is 6.1 kilometers, and the actual distance of the winding trenches may be 8 kilometers, which means the troops are advancing at a speed of nearly 4 kilometers per hour."

"That's about as fast as we walk."

"It was like they were walking from one end to the other and telling the enemy that this place belongs to us."

"Only the Ciel can do this, and the Ciel's troops!"

…

The French people cared little for this.

Their expectations for the Ciel have become higher, so victory is already within their expectations.

Their thinking was: With the Charles gone, only a defeat would surprise the French people.

They were more concerned about the landing craft and landing craft used by the Shire in this battle.

But "Le Merit" and other newspapers did not mention it at all. Needless to say, this was yet another result of Gallieni's wartime controls on the media.

This is what Gallieni said when he applied to the government: "They are still playing a role in the fighting at 'A' corner. If we expose them now, the enemy will immediately know what they are, how they perform, and even Analyze their shortcomings. This may have a negative impact on the war and may even be dangerous, and control is imperative!”

This was reasonable, and the government simply agreed, and the controls targeted not only the media, but also the Wells shipyard.

However, people learned a few words from other sources, which aroused their curiosity:

"I heard that during this landing battle, Charles developed a 'tank' that could be driven both at sea and on land?"

"Yes, it was reported in the Ottoman newspapers, and they attributed the failure to that."

"It's also in the German newspapers. I heard that there is also a landing ship that can directly send soldiers to the shore?"

"If the 'tank' can be driven in the sea and on land at the same time, wouldn't it be a piece of cake for a landing ship?"

…

People were discussing with high spirits and using their imaginations to guess what a tank that could travel both at sea and on land would look like.

Only Djoka and Camille were worried.

Camille took the newspaper and read it over and over again, hoping to find every word about Ciel so that she could analyze whether Ciel was on the island.

"He should stay on the ship, right?"

"For such a battle, it is enough for him to command from a warship, just like he commands others to fight at the city defense headquarters."

"The meaning of a staff officer is to make a plan. He doesn't have to lead the troops to the battlefield himself, right?"

…

Djoka just kept expressing his approval and trying to comfort him, but he knew that this was not the case.

The news that Charles personally went to the battlefield has been widely reported in the newspapers. Everyone knows this. They are full of praise for Charles's heroic actions. The neighbors are discussing privately:

"Ciel has made so many achievements. He doesn't need to go to the battlefield. No one will blame him."

"Yes, and Charles is still a rich capitalist. He will never have enough money to enjoy in his lifetime, but he still went to the battlefield."

"This is a heroic act. He did not stay away from the war because of his 'specialness'. He is different from others!"

…

The reason Camille didn't know was because Djoka spent a hundred francs to "specially make" a newspaper and send it to Camille. In addition, he asked his neighbors not to talk about it in front of Camille.

Ciel has the ability to solve his own problems, Djoka thought, and he will defeat all enemies and come back alive!

…

However, Ciel, who was on the battlefield at this time, was not so optimistic.

After the 105th Regiment successfully captured the "A" corner defense line, it was extremely dangerous, at least for a while.

"It's like pulling a tooth out of a tiger's mouth." Charles foresaw this when making the plan: "This is something the enemy can't stand. They may concentrate all their forces to attack us and try to take advantage of our foothold. We won’t be able to destroy us!”

It turned out that Charles was right.

The battlefield was silent for only more than half an hour before the sound of artillery started. At least hundreds of large-caliber howitzers bombarded the "A" corner defense line indiscriminately.

Those were transferred by the Ottoman army to block the Dardanelles Strait. Not long ago, they used these artillery to bombard the Allied battleships, and now they use them to bombard the "A" corner defense line.

This was the most impressive and scariest thing that Ciel had ever experienced. Years later, every time he recalled the feeling of this moment, it would make him shudder.

The sound of the cannon was deafening and the whole ground shook.

In the dark and humid tunnel, the air was gradually replaced by the choking smell of gunpowder from the shells. The soil above the head was shaken and "sand" fell down. They fell along the military cap and into the collar, and then got into the clothes and clothes like insects. between bodies.

But Charles had no time to pay attention to this. He felt like he was trapped in an upside-down bell, with dozens of bells and pestles outside constantly banging against him.

At first, you can still hear one sound after another, and you can also detect the gaps between them. Soon they become one sound.

Soon, Charles couldn't even hear the sound of the artillery, but only felt a "buzzing" sound in his ears. His consciousness seemed to struggle to get out of this body, and his hands and feet were numb and uncontrollable.

Finally, the sound of the artillery stopped.

Charles thought that the bombardment lasted for at least an hour. He stumbled out of the tunnel, touched his face, and made sure that he was still alive.

Tijani followed behind. He coughed a few times in the smoke, carefully poked his head out of the trench and looked, and said: "We are very lucky. The enemy launched a general attack on the 'S' beach a few days ago. They should have used a lot of shells in that battle!"

Charles' head was still dizzy. It seemed that he heard Tijani's words, but it seemed that he didn't hear them, as if he was talking to someone else.

After a while, Charles reacted.

"S" beach?

Yes, the Ottomans wanted to solve the isolated "S" beach first, and then besiege other beaches.

They used a lot of shells in this battle...

Wait!

Charles looked at Tijani in astonishment: "You mean, if there was no attack on 'S' Beach, the bombardment would have lasted longer?"

"Of course!" Tijani nodded calmly: "Otherwise, how could it only take ten minutes!"

"Ten minutes?" Charles' expression was stiff and his mouth twitched. Are you kidding?

He took out his pocket watch and took a look. The smile on his face disappeared. It was indeed only ten minutes.