Trench Bolts and Magic

Chapter 250 The Boundary Between Life and Death
August 9, early morning.

The morning mist in the Kree region had not yet dissipated, sticky and cold, clinging to every inch of the muddy land.

The Saxon soldiers' attack yesterday afternoon was thwarted once again, and the surviving soldiers hastily retreated. The command also called off the attack and did not issue any new orders to continue.

After several days of continuous attacks, the First Army left behind more than 20,000 corpses on this trench position where the Gauls were almost 'all in'.

The high morale of the units in the First Army responsible for the first wave of attack had been shattered before the battle even began.

Although the First Army did indeed break through multiple trench lines after capturing Amiens, the area the defenders needed to cover decreased as they got closer to the city of Paris.

This meant that the firepower density on each section of the position was increased, and the attacking Saxon forces had to face the situation of not being able to deploy more troops at the same time.

Despite their numerical superiority, the First Army and the Second Army, which had caught up from the flank, had already formed a semi-encirclement of Paris.

However, due to the attackers' inherent disadvantages, their offensive was ultimately halted at the last stretch of defense, less than 40 kilometers from Paris.

The Gauls seemed unable to find a more suitable area for building trenches between Crécy and Paris.

Furthermore, if the Saxons were allowed to continue their advance, their artillery and armored airships would pose a direct threat to the city.

Therefore, this place became the last line of defense chosen by the newly appointed commander of the Sixth Army of Gaul and commander of the Paris defense.

Once this point is breached, the Gauls will only have two options left: abandon Paris or engage in street fighting within Paris.

The multiple temporary trenches and the Gallic soldiers' relentless defenses bought enough time that the last trench could be adequately repaired.

Three trenches, connected by multiple communication trenches, along with barbed wire fencing, blocked the vital transportation route of Kree.

Because this area was crucial for river crossings and railway transport, the Saxons had to capture it in order to continue their advance toward Paris.

Initially, even General Mackensen believed that it was only a matter of time before the First Army broke through this defensive line.

However, the hastily assembled Sixth Army and the colonial forces of the Gallic Republic displayed terrifying fighting resilience at this 'last line of defense'.

In addition, the pre-constructed trenches and large anti-aircraft devices caused the First Army Group, which had been advancing smoothly since the start of the war, to run into a brick wall.
-
Private Eric of the 42nd Infantry Regiment, 6th Infantry Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division of the Saxon Army, was currently crouching in a trench filled with the stench of corpses, nervously awaiting the order to attack.

He arrived at the Krei front last night on foot with the main force.

Unlike the Gallic countryside scenery he had encountered along the way, Eric gradually discovered that the entire war zone was becoming increasingly monotonous in color, filled with brown, gray, and black with no clear boundaries.

As a high school geography teacher before the war, he knew that Cree and the surrounding area should have some ups and downs.

Some steep slopes have a maximum drop of up to 40 meters, and the entire area is dotted with small groves of trees among the hills and fields.

But now, the only remaining landforms here are shell craters and trenches. The groves that could provide cover for troops or the high ground suitable for artillery positions have been almost entirely leveled.

The comrades who usually liked to sing during the march all fell silent and became extremely quiet.

An officer who came to guide them told them that they had entered the range of the Gauls' artillery fire, and that a reinforcement force had just been subjected to a large-scale artillery barrage the day before, resulting in the loss of nearly a quarter of its men.

Under the cover of night, the 3rd Infantry Division and the troops that had suffered setbacks and heavy casualties in their trench offensive completed their troop rotation.

Eric also felt that he would never forget the first time he entered the trench.
After stepping into the trench leading to the front line, the narrow passage was crowded with people, and the mud underfoot was ankle-deep. Every now and then, you would trip over the wounded lying on the ground.

Curses and groans rose and fell in the queue.

As Eric and his comrades traversed several long trenches and finally arrived at the attack trench in front of the position, the pungent stench of corpses and gunpowder began to assault everyone's nostrils.

After his company assigned positions in the trenches by platoon, Eric had just sat down on a relatively dry patch of ground to rest for a while when he felt as if he had bumped into something behind him.

He turned around to remove the foreign object from his back, but when he reached out, he grasped another cold hand.

Eric practically sprang to his feet, leaping to the opposite side of where he had just been sitting, even managing to touch the rifle with his hand.

By the light of the cold moonlight, he saw a hand protruding from the soil of the trench wall.

When he trembled and looked in other directions, he discovered that there were many corpses exposed on the earthen walls of the trench.

It has a head, hands and legs, and even half a body that looks like it's about to fall out of the mud wall.

Other comrades nearby quickly discovered the body in the earthen wall, and the commotion they made soon attracted other soldiers.

Several Saxon officers came to check the situation. After confirming that it wasn't an enemy attack, their expressions changed slightly, but they ultimately breathed a sigh of relief. They looked at the corpses on the trench wall without saying much, but warned the other soldiers, including Eric, not to make any noise at night, or they would attract Gallic artillery fire.

Then they summoned several fortified soldiers.

These army group fortification soldiers, who had been stationed in the trenches and were ready to repair and expand them at any time, took out entrenching tools and picks after a brief inspection. They carefully dug away some of the soil around the bodies and then stuffed the exposed parts of the bodies back in.

Finally, the excavated soil was filled back in, and some sandbags were brought in to reinforce it.

Seeing the somewhat surprised and uncertain expressions on Eric and his men's faces, an older fortified soldier spoke up: "Don't be afraid, these are not enemies, they are your comrades."

"Comrade-in-arms?" Eric asked, sounding somewhat puzzled.

"These bodies were once fortification soldiers. When we first arrived in Crey, we dug this trench under the bombardment of the Gauls with almost no cover."

"We lost many brothers in the process, and the Gauls kept firing to stop us, even organizing charges."

“In that situation, we survivors had no way to properly dispose of them, so we just buried the bodies in the walls when we were building the fortifications.”

The fortified soldier spoke in a very calm tone, as if he were talking about something trivial.

But Eric and his comrades knew what a hellish scene it was, and he couldn't believe how these fortified soldiers had managed to build such a position amidst the shelling.

At that moment, when Eric looked at the corpses that weren't completely covered, he felt no fear, but rather a deep sorrow and respect.

Inside the trench, the living soldiers and the dead soldiers stared at each other through a thin layer of soil.

It's as if this place is some kind of boundary between life and death.
-
The wait before the attack was undoubtedly agonizing. Eric, who had barely slept all night, could see many people holding guns and panting heavily.

The extreme tension made them unconsciously take deep breaths, but they still had the illusion that they would suffocate at any moment.

Soon, to divert attention, one soldier started talking about another group that had gone into the trench with them the day before.

"Hey, did you guys see that unit that came in with us yesterday?"

"Didn't see it. Maybe it's in another trench?"

"Their helmets are quite interesting, though; they've lost their pointed tops."

Eric knew they were talking about the Training Assault Battalion, a mysterious unit with many legends surrounding them, who seemed to have performed miracles in previous battles.

However, Eric's strongest impression of them was when they entered the trench together, noticing the helmets without pointed tops and the new weapons they carried.

But as the other soldiers said, strangely, this unit seemed to disappear after entering the trench. Even in the time leading up to the attack, no soldiers from the training assault battalion were seen in the trench.

"Isn't it going to launch an attack together with us? Or wait for us to go first?" This thought flashed through Eric's mind.

Just as the surrounding soldiers were trying to ease the tension by talking about this mysterious unit and the 'legendary tale of roasted pork knuckle' they had heard, a series of muffled cannon shots rang out from behind.

Everyone fell silent, as if someone had pressed a mute button in the trench.

Then came the whistling of shells flying over the trenches, followed by the thunderous crash of shells landing on the enemy positions a few seconds later, and the tremors that followed.

The continuous shelling caused all the Saxon soldiers in the trench where the attack started to instinctively open their mouths wide and cover their ears.

Eric didn't know how many cannons were raining fire on the Gauls' positions, nor how long the bombardment lasted. He only knew that when the world returned to calm, he was pulled up by a strong hand.

The sergeants of his infantry platoon were walking along the trench, pulling up the soldiers on the ground one by one, while shouting that they were ready to attack.

Soon, everyone was leaning against the breastwork, and Eric, who was trembling all over, saw his fellow countryman take out the cross from his neck and kiss it.

Then he kept muttering something under his breath, as if he were making a final prayer.

The battlefield returned to calm, and the smoke from the exploding shells drifted over on the wind.

As the pungent smell filled Eric's nostrils, the officers in the trenches blew their whistles one after another to signal the start of the attack.

"Angriff!!! Angriff!!!"

Even the sergeant's roar could be heard through the trenches. Eric, like the other Saxon soldiers, seemed to be pushed out of the trenches by an invisible force at the sound of the whistle.

(End of this chapter)