Chapter 558 Get the Answer at the Lowest Cost

Wilhelm Street in Berlin was dark at night, with only the lights of the General Staff still on.

Since the Battle of the Somme began, the lights of the General Staff have not been turned off. The staff members were divided into two shifts to monitor and command the battle situation on the front line day and night.

For Germany, the Battle of the Somme was a victory, a veritable victory. They exchanged several square kilometers of defense for the lives of hundreds of thousands of Allied soldiers, and their own casualties were less than half of the enemy.

Even Kaiser Wilhelm II lamented:

"We originally wanted to drain the blood of the French in Verdun, but we didn't expect to do it in the Somme, including the British."

"It's unbelievable. Why did they attack the Somme, where our defenses are the strongest, instead of other places?"

"Is it because we attacked Verdun?"

Verdun is the strongest defense of France, and the Allies seem to be making a counterattack in kind.

But the difference is that under Joffre's order, Verdun's defenses were withdrawn in a stalemate, while the Germans were on high alert at the Somme.

If it weren't for Charles's surprise attack on Namur, which made the German situation in Belgium more severe, the German army's recent performance would be perfect.

Falkenhayn had been commanding the battle for several days without sleep, and now he finally couldn't hold on and fell asleep in the lounge.

However, he felt that he had just closed his eyes when there was a gentle knock on the door.

Falkenhayn was suddenly awakened and sat up from the bed. He was stunned for a while, and his mind was stagnant. I don't know what's going on.

At this time, a report from Colonel Moritz came from outside the door: "General, the intelligence from the front is about Charles."

"Charles?" Falkenhayn got out of bed and hurriedly put on his military boots to open the door. Before he went out, he asked anxiously: "Charles launched another attack?"

If there is anything to worry about, it's only Charles.

"No, General." Colonel Moritz replied: "Charles was transferred to the Somme River as the commander of the French 6th Army."

"What?" Falkenhayn was stunned, and after reacting, he quickened his pace to his desk and glanced at the Somme River on his desk: "What about Belgium? I mean Charles' troops, have they also been transferred to the Somme River?"

"Not sure." Colonel Moritz handed Falkenhayn a telegram: "But I think you need to know this more."

Falkenhayn took the telegram and glanced at it, with an unbelievable look on his face.

Soon, the tired look on his face was swept away, replaced by ecstasy: "Is this true? A large-scale mutiny in the French army? Including the 6th Army on the Somme?"

"I think it's true." Colonel Moritz nodded: "I heard that they have dismissed Commander-in-Chief Nivelle, and a new commander-in-chief has not been elected yet. The French army is in chaos."

"Yes." Falkenhayn paced excitedly: "That's why they transferred Charles to the Somme, because only he can stabilize the defense line and the morale of the army."

Then he cursed again: "Damn it, we should have taken action earlier, he may have been there for a few days."

This is determined by the lag of intelligence.

But the next second Falkenhayn hesitated again, he stood there staring at the map thoughtfully.

Colonel Moritz seemed to see through his thoughts and asked cautiously: "General, do you suspect that this is another trap set by Charles?"

Falkenhayn nodded slowly:

"This seems too obvious."

"Could it be that Charles wants us to launch an attack?"

"You know, the British and French forces suffered heavy losses in the attack on the Somme River, but we always maintained a defensive position and left them no room for maneuver."

Colonel Moritz agreed: "Charles is too cunning. Everything he shows us and lets us know may be a false impression."

Before, because of the gasoline incident, Colonel Moritz had been deceived by Charles and had a psychological shadow.

Falkenhayn frowned, which made him very embarrassed.

If the large-scale mutiny of the French army is true, there is a great opportunity for a counterattack in front of us, which may even completely defeat the French army and end the entire battle on the Western Front.

But if this is Charles's lie, the German army's full counterattack may suffer heavy casualties.

At this time, the German army is seriously short of troops due to multi-line operations. If there are a large number of casualties, it may not be able to fill the gap and cause a full-line collapse.

Falkenhayn sighed and fell into anxiety. Which one should he choose?

"General." Colonel Moritz suggested: "Why don't we target the Somme River?"

"Target the Somme River?" Falkenhayn looked at Moritz in confusion, and then he understood what Moritz meant: "Launch a local attack targeting the Somme River and get the answer at the lowest cost?"

"Yes." Colonel Moritz replied: "We can prepare for counterattacks in other directions. Once we have the answer, we can make the right choice."

Falkenhayn nodded slightly, and thought for a while before ordering: "Order General Bellow to prepare for counterattacks immediately!"

(Note: The German 2nd Army, commander von Bellow, defended the Somme River.)

...

Five o'clock in the morning, one hour before dawn.

The Somme battlefield, which was originally in a state of war, seemed very calm today. The strong wind swept back and forth on the battlefield with rain, as if washing away the bodies and blood left on the battlefield.

The French soldiers stayed up all night.

Their trenches were not as complete as those of the Germans. The Germans had already taken into account the rainy season and dug drainage ditches in advance. Even the underground fortifications that were more than ten meters deep did not often experience backflow.

The trenches of the British and French armies were not so good. It was common for their fortifications to accumulate water. Sometimes when it rained heavily, the entire tunnel would be flooded. Soldiers were often drowned in the trenches before they could get out.

That night, the French soldiers scooped water all night long.

Fortunately, they were now using iron helmets, not just red cloth hats as before, otherwise they would not even have the tools to scoop water.

Captain Jeremie was also among those scooping water.

While directing his men to work, he shook his head and sighed: "These bastards, just because they were lazy and did not do a good job of drainage, they lost another batch of precious supplies."

Those were the supplies sent by Charles, which Charles bought at a high price with his personal funds.

Many things were only distributed to the soldiers a few days ago, but they were immediately flooded.

Flour, quilts, bread and winter clothes, all became waste!

Captain Jeremie looked towards the German army in the rain. In such weather, the Germans should not launch an attack!

However, as if in response to him, several red flares suddenly rose into the air.

Then, in the horrified eyes of Captain Jérémie, the sound of artillery suddenly came from the direction of the German army.

"Prepare for battle!" Captain Jérémie shouted, and quickly put the helmet on his head.

This was the artillery preparation before the attack. Jérémie felt something was wrong. The Germans must have known something. They were going to launch an attack!