Chapter 325: Night Reconnaissance

In the following days, while the instruction unit gradually completed assembly, they also conducted emergency training for the officers and non-commissioned officers sent by various units of the First Army Group.

The elite non-commissioned officers and grassroots officers from various divisions of the First Army Group were like “starving young beasts,” trying their best to learn as much as possible in a short time.

After all, this training content related to the success rate of their subsequent attacks and how many people could survive the cruel trenches.

At the same time, the frontline war situation also fell into a cruel and monotonous cycle, just as Morin expected.

The Britannian commanders seemed determined to fill this gap with human lives.

Every dawn or dusk, several companies of colonial soldiers would launch wave after hopeless wave of probing attacks.

Their purpose remained the same as before—to lure the Saxon machine guns and artillery to open fire.

In the observation posts of the second defense line opposite, those Britannian staff officers holding high-power binoculars would calmly mark one red circle after another on the map.

Every red circle meant the passing of dozens or hundreds of fresh lives.

“They are exchanging human lives for coordinates…”

In the temporary headquarters of the First Army Group, Morin, who had summarized and reported these attacks, pointed to the situation map on the wall and said to Mackensen and the others: “At this frequency, in at most three more days, the firepower configuration of our first defense line will be thoroughly figured out by them.”

General Mackensen sat in the main seat, his fingers tapping rhythmically on the table, making “thud-thud” sounds.

The old general’s face was very unpleasant because this felt like being stripped naked little by little.

“Then what is your suggestion, Lieutenant Colonel Morin?” General Seeckt asked from the side, “Order the frontline troops to stop firing? That’s suicide…”

“Of course not… let them shoot normally.”

Morin walked to the map, picked up a red and blue pencil, drew a few circles at the locations of several firepower points in one section of the trench, and then drew a few crosses at places nearby.

“Except for those concrete machine gun emplacements, we can have other machine gun positions adjust more often, instead of fixing them in one location dead.”

“Fire from here during the day, and move the machine gun position horizontally fifty meters at night, or switch to a backup bunker…”

Morin’s strategy of randomly adjusting positions was quickly adopted, but the evolution of war always exceeded everyone’s expectations.

Just on the third night after this “relocation” order was issued, a small incident happened on the front line.

It was a moonless night. The sky was covered by thick clouds, and visibility was very poor.

In a section of the forward trench, Private Hans, wrapped in his somewhat damp overcoat, leaned against muddy sandbags to keep watch.

The cold wind poured in from the firing port like a knife, making one’s face hurt.

Hans hugged his rifle to his chest, drawing a bit of metallic chill to prevent himself from falling asleep from drowsiness.

“Damn weather…”

He mumbled, rubbed his somewhat dry eyes, and habitually leaned close to the observation slit to take a look outside.

Outside was pitch-black no-man’s land. Occasionally, a few flares rose in the distance, the pale light pulling the incomplete tree stumps and corpses into long shadows, like a group of ghosts baring fangs and brandishing claws.

Just as Hans was about to retract his gaze and continue to endure this long night in this muddy pit, his peripheral vision seemed to catch a hint of strangeness.

At the edge of a crater about fifty or sixty meters from the trench, a dark shadow seemed to move.

An animal?

Hans frowned. There were many dead people here, and indeed some nearby animals would come to forage at night.

But the next second, that shadow didn’t scurry around like an animal, but squirmed forward slowly and extremely regularly for a bit.

Immediately following was a second group, a third group…

Hans’s heart suddenly shrank, a cold feeling rushing straight from his spine to his skull.

That’s absolutely not an animal foraging!

He violently shrank back, lifted his foot wearing heavy military boots, and kicked fiercely at the curled-up figure under the firing platform.

“Ugh… which bastard…”

His comrade Fritz, who was drooling in his sleep, was almost kicked out of breath. Just as he wanted to open his mouth to curse, Hans covered his mouth.

“Shut up!” Hans’s voice was extremely low but carried a tremor, “There are people outside! A lot!”

Fritz woke up instantly, that bit of bed temper frightened away without a trace by the words “there are people.”

He grabbed the rifle leaning against the wall and moved close to the firing port together with Hans.

By the faint moonlight just scattering through the clouds, both saw clearly.

It was a group of figures crawling in the mud, using craters and corpses as cover, inching their way towards the Saxon trench little by little.

They made no sound, like a group of silent ghosts.

“Enemy attack—!”

A shrill cry instantly tore the silence of the night.

Immediately following was a crisp gunshot.

This shot was like pouring a ladle of cold water into boiling oil; the entire position exploded instantly.

The Saxon soldiers who were still sleeping almost reflexively jumped up, grabbed their weapons, and rushed onto the firing platforms.

“Flares! Fire flares quickly!”

“Bang!”

A flare rose into the sky with a whistle, exploding into a ball of blinding white light in mid-air.

Under that pale light, the scene in the no-man’s land was completely exposed.

At least dozens of Britannian soldiers wearing khaki uniforms were lying less than forty meters away from the Saxon trench!

Some had even reached the gap in the barbed wire, the pliers in their hands ready to cut the last obstacle.

“Fire! Beat them back!”

The dull roar of MG08 heavy machine guns sounded again, dense bullets weaving into a fire net in front of the position.

The opposite Britannian position also started returning fire after hearing the gunshots. The two sides exchanged frantic fire in the dark across a distance of over a hundred meters.

This chaotic night battle lasted for about half an hour until there were no more moving figures in the no-man’s land.

Early the next morning, when the first ray of sunlight fell on this section of the position, all Saxon officers who saw the situation outside broke out in a cold sweat.

The bodies of those Britannians closest to their trench were less than thirty meters away—this was the closest bodies had appeared since the trench was built.

If it weren’t for the alertness of that night-watch soldier, if they were allowed to crawl a bit closer, even just throwing in a few grenades, the consequences would be unimaginable.

This report was quickly sent to the First Army Group Headquarters.

“It seems the Britannians are not all fools either.”

Looking at the report in his hand, General Seeckt’s expression was somewhat solemn.

“They realized attacking during the day is just suicide, so they started trying night infiltration.”

“This gives us a reminder.”

A senior staff officer of the headquarters spoke up. He looked at the map, his finger sliding across the blank area between the two sides’ positions.

“Since they can crawl over, why can’t we crawl over?”

“You mean… night raid?”

“Not just a night raid…” This staff officer corrected, “Also reconnaissance.”

This proposal was quickly approved.

After all, for the First Army Group, which wanted to become the attacker later, mastering information about the opposing position was also crucial.

Soon, various frontline units began selecting capable personnel to form night operation squads.

And after Morin learned about this, he also made a decision at this juncture that no one expected.

“What did you say, sir? You want to go personally?”

In the regimental headquarters tent of the instruction unit, Kleist widened his eyes, watching Morin, who was putting on an ordinary soldier’s uniform.

“Don’t make such a fuss, Kleist.”

While putting on the military overcoat properly, Morin smeared soot on his face.

“I’m just going to take a look, stretch my muscles along the way.”

“No! Absolutely not!”

Kleist directly took a step sideways, blocking the tent door, looking like a wall.

“You are the Regimental Commander! The core of the entire instruction unit! If something happens to you, how do we explain to the superiors?”

“Don’t worry, I know my limits!”

“Sir, what limits do you have!”

The usually calm Kleist rarely swore, his face flushed red with anxiety.

“At the last meeting, who said company commanders must stay at their command positions? This is a serious disciplinary violation! If you insist on going, I will call General Mackensen right now!”

Saying so, he really reached for the telephone receiver on the desk.

“Hey! Don’t don’t don’t don’t don’t!”

Morin was quick-eyed and deft-handed, pressing down on the phone.

“My good regimental adjutant, let’s talk nicely. Can you not report to superiors at every turn?”

“Sir, this is non-negotiable.” Kleist kept a straight face, not giving an inch.

“Listen to me, Ewald.”

Morin sighed, put away his playful smile, and his expression became serious. “In the upcoming general offensive, the instruction unit is the sharp knife… If I don’t figure out what tricks are in the opposite trench, and just fill my brothers in like this, that’s the biggest crime.”

He pointed to his own head and continued: “You look at those maps, they are dead… Only by personally stepping into the mud and slipping over can I know how this battle should be fought.”

Seeing Kleist still hesitating, Morin increased the stakes: “Also, don’t forget, I am a spellcaster… If I really encounter danger, no one can stop me from running!”

“I promise you, as soon as anything goes wrong, I will withdraw immediately and absolutely not play the hero.”

Kleist stared into Morin’s eyes for a long while and finally conceded defeat.

He knew this commander too well. He looked easygoing but was actually as stubborn as a mule in his bones.

Even if he didn’t agree today, Morin would secretly slip out by himself at night.

“Alright, sir…”

Kleist released his hand holding the phone and sighed helplessly.

“But you must bring your guards.”

“Taking them there is going to our deaths. Four plate armor canned goods crawling in the mud, the noise will be so loud it can be heard a mile away.”

Morin waved his hand.

“I’ll go by myself, with the soldiers of that company… You can rest assured.”

2:00 AM.

This was the darkest, coldest time of the day in this position, and also when people were most drowsy.

Morin wore a soldier’s overcoat without any markings, his face painted pitch-black, revealing only a pair of eyes shining in the darkness.

He carried no other weapons, only a Luger pistol and an entrenching shovel tucked into his waist.

In front of him, the Captain company commander who had received him before was now rubbing his hands nervously, his forehead full of sweat.

“Your Excellency Lieutenant Colonel, this is really against the rules…” The Captain even stuttered when speaking, “If the superiors find out, I will be court-martialed…”

“If you don’t tell, and I don’t tell, who will know?”

Morin patted his shoulder and helped him straighten his helmet.

“Tonight there is no Lieutenant Colonel, only a Private named Friedrich… By the way, who do we listen to for the operation later?”

“Listen to Sergeant Fischer.” The Captain pointed to a stocky veteran with a stubbly face nearby.

That veteran named Fischer obviously also knew Morin’s identity. He was so nervous he didn’t know what to do with his hands and feet, wiping his rough big hands on his trouser legs again and again.

“Don’t be nervous, Sergeant Fischer.”

Morin smiled at him, revealing white teeth.

“Just lead me as one of your own. If I mess up, you can kick my ass.”

Several soldiers around who were somewhat restrained after learning a Lieutenant Colonel would participate in the operation couldn’t help laughing in low voices upon hearing this, and the atmosphere instantly relaxed a lot.

“Alright, time’s up.”

Morin glanced at the time by the light in the trench and restrained his smile.

“Let’s go.”