The endless historical battlefield that began with World War I

Chapter 97 Reverse Infiltration

“Yes,” Joseph said. “I’ve been to the German side. There were no soldiers or listening posts in the southern section; that section of the tunnel was basically abandoned. They’ve put all their manpower into the northern work area. As for the British side,” he pointed to the northernmost point of the British map, “the engineers have probably never dug in this direction either, because there’s no reason why they wouldn’t know that there are only four meters left before reaching the German tunnels.”

He paused, then pointed to a coordinate on the map: "After going through the German tunnels, you can come out from here."

Lieutenant Colonel Chatterley bent down again, located the coordinates on the tunnel map, and converted them to their ground location. He paused for a second.

That location was in the trenches occupied by Joseph's company.

He found an icon for a water collection well near that coordinate on the tunnel map, and then glanced at the drainage direction marked next to it, which sloped upwards and connected to the ground.

He looked up at Joseph: "There's a drainage pit in the trench."

“Yes,” Joseph said, “go down from there, through a drainage slope, and you’ll find it here.”

Inside the tunnel was a secluded water collection well, and on the surface was a drainage pit filled with mud. Neither end was particularly noticeable, and no one would give either end a second glance.

Joseph continued, "The front is currently facing an ammunition crisis. If we were to deliver supplies by ground, the open areas would be under heavy German artillery fire, and the cost would be too high."

He pointed to the British tunnels on the map: "But if we go through the tunnels, the British tunnels are only a few meters away from the German tunnels. If we can clear this passage, and the engineers have the tools, it won't take long. After clearing it, we can enter from the British position, go through the tunnels, go up the drainage slope from the water collection well, and come out from the opening of the drainage pit, which will allow us to directly enter the trenches on the front line. This way, we don't have to brave the artillery fire to walk through the open area."

He paused for a moment.

"The three of us walked through that tunnel today, and it was passable. It's about 1.5 meters wide and 2.5 meters high. Ammunition boxes and stretchers can fit through it."

Lieutenant Colonel Chatterley slapped his palm on the map, looked up at the doorway, and said, "Notify the supply team that in thirty minutes, ammunition will be supplied through the tunnels. Take two companies with you. Solve the ammunition crisis in the trenches first, then we'll talk about other things. Also, notify the engineers to dig a tunnel north from this coordinate."

The messenger went out.

A staff officer nearby spoke up: "Sir, Lieutenant Alfred's side..."

"I know," Lieutenant Colonel Chatterley said. "We'll prepare ammunition while we wait for their news."

The staff officer nodded and said nothing more.

Joseph glanced at the staff officer: "Alfred?"

Lieutenant Colonel Chatterley looked up at him, paused for a moment, and then spoke: "We saw the distress flare you sent earlier, but communication with the rear command was lost, and the division's reinforcement order hasn't come through yet." He paused again, "Second Lieutenant Alfred volunteered to take a platoon and ammunition to reinforce from the ground, across open ground."

Joseph did not speak immediately.

Walking through open ground meant walking the road that was being shelled and blocked by the German army.

"How long have they been gone?"

"About forty minutes." Lieutenant Colonel Chatterley's gaze returned to the map, his voice calmer. "We haven't received any news of their arrival yet."

After listening, Joseph did not speak immediately. He looked down at the map and searched for possible locations of Alfred.

"I understand," he said.

The engineering liaison officer returned, strode in, and went straight to Lieutenant Colonel Chatterley. He unfolded his communication book and placed it on the map. "The cut-off team has already gone in. Reed is leading the team. He's taking the third branch of the British tunnels. He should be there in about five minutes." Then he paused, looked at Joseph, and asked, "About how deep is that attack tunnel you mentioned? Is it in the chalk or sand layer?"

"The soil is chalky, the support frame is spaced five meters apart, and the depth is estimated to be at least nine to ten meters. The tunnel faces north-northwest."

The engineering liaison officer stared at him for a few seconds, then turned to Lieutenant Colonel Chatterrick and said, "His data is more accurate than our intelligence."

Just then, McDonald walked over from the corner.

He stood in the corner, leaning against the wooden wall, without saying a word.

At this moment, he walked to the map table, opened the inside pocket of his coat, took out a small notebook, placed it on the map table, and pushed it towards the engineering liaison officer.

The engineering liaison officer picked up the notebook, flipped through it for a few seconds, and then his expression became serious.

He held the notebook closer, carefully flipped through a few pages, then looked up at Joseph, "This is—"

"The tunnel sketches," Joseph said. "He drew them while he was inside."

The engineering liaison officer laid out his notebook on the map and began comparing it, matching the lines in the notebook with the contour lines and known underground fortifications on the map one by one, muttering something under his breath.

He suddenly stopped, took the pencil from behind his ear, and pointed to several points on the map. "Here, here, and here, we had absolutely no information about these places before. If the route in the sketch is accurate, then these locations all have potential loading points. We had no idea these side routes existed before."

The engineering liaison officer closed the notebook, held it in his hand, and walked up to McDonald. "Did you draw this map?"

"right."

"You were a combat engineer?"

"miner."

The engineering liaison officer flipped through his notebook. "Do you know how many lives these maps could save?"

McDonald thought for a moment, then said, "I don't know."

He paused for a moment, then added, "But I know that the section of the tunnel where I planted the explosives had the weakest supporting structure, so it collapsed quite completely. Those German soldiers to the north probably can't get out."

The engineering liaison officer turned to Lieutenant Colonel Chatterrick, "I'll deliver this map to division headquarters today."

Lieutenant Colonel Chatterley nodded. "Go ahead and do it."

The system notification sounded at that moment.

A string of animated text appeared in his field of vision, superimposed on the air in the command center. Joseph stared at it for a few seconds.

[Hidden Mission Completed: Disrupt enemy tunnel operations, preserve friendly artillery positions, and provide critical intelligence on the underground network]

The score is jumping, jumping faster than ever before.

Joseph closed the interface.

Points are just numbers.

Lieutenant Colonel Chatterley was still looking at the map.

"Sir," Joseph began, "I'm going in with the first batch of supplies."

Lieutenant Colonel Chatterley looked up.

"You just came from there."

“I’ve walked through that tunnel,” Joseph said. “I know where the forks are, where the floor is unstable, where the ceiling is low. I can lead the way faster than I can draw a map.” He paused. “There’s still no word from Lieutenant Alfred. My men are still at the front. Once the ammunition is delivered, they’ll need someone to command them.”

"Alright," said Lieutenant Colonel Chatrick, "you lead the way, the supply team will follow you."

Joseph nodded and walked towards the door.

Lieutenant Colonel Chatrick said from behind, "Lindon, bring him back."

Joseph paused at the doorway, but didn't turn around. "Understood."

The afternoon sun shone outside, and the intense sound of artillery fire came from the north; the battle was still ongoing.

The hot July wind in France, carrying the smell of gunpowder and earth, blew against Joseph's face. He squinted and continued walking forward, toward the still-ringing gunfire.