Chapter 90 The New Direction for Earthwork Employment!

At 11:30 that night, Morin was woken up from his sleep by a messenger and rushed to the Battalion Headquarters.

This was the final pre-battle meeting, primarily for synchronization and to confirm the ultimate time of attack.

Inside the tent, Major Thomas’s expression was already in full ‘combat mode.’

“Gentlemen, we have just received orders from Division Headquarters.”

He pulled out a golden pocket watch and placed it on the upper left corner of the map.

“The unified start time for the entire Division’s assault is set for 7:15 AM tomorrow.”

“The Field Artillery Battalion attached to our Regiment will begin 15 minutes of artillery preparation on the outer defenses of the target town, starting at 7:00 AM.”

This time was right around dawn, which was convenient for the artillery to observe and calibrate their shots.

Major Thomas’s gaze swept over everyone: “This means the only time left for us to conduct earthwork is tonight.”

“Excluding the 4th Company, which is the reserve, the other three companies will depart after this meeting and simultaneously begin earthwork operations in their respective sectors to shorten the assault distance.”

“Yes, Major!” Morin and the other two Company Commanders responded in unison.

“Oh, right, have your men come and take these back.”

Major Thomas pointed to a pile of burlap sacks stacked outside the tent.

“The Battalion Quartermaster managed to procure these for you. They were previously used to hold flour and other supplies, but now they can be used as sandbags to reinforce your positions…”

Continuing, Thomas directed everyone’s attention back to the map. As he marked the map, he said:

“There’s one more thing. The Regimental Headquarters organized another close reconnaissance mission before nightfall, and the intelligence has just been delivered.”

“The defenders had already dug a line of trenches around the town… and the elevated position of the town undoubtedly made them aware of the Division-level troop movements. Therefore, during the last reconnaissance, the enemy was observed setting up defenses outside the town.”

“This means we will be facing a prepared enemy.”

As Major Thomas described the situation, Morin saw the information update on his system map. A trench symbol appeared around the town, and two company-sized unit markers also showed up.

Major Thomas looked up at Morin and asked:

“First Lieutenant Morin, is it still safe to proceed with the earthwork under these circumstances?”

Hearing Major Thomas’s question, Morin pondered for a moment before shaking his head.

“Major, I have tested the soil here. It is easy to dig and has good cohesion; the trench walls will remain vertical or near-vertical after digging, so our earthwork will be fast.”

“Secondly, when working at night, it is actually very difficult for the enemy to notice digging a few hundred meters away in a low-visibility environment. As long as we ensure the depth of our excavation completely shields the soldiers, digging to a distance of two to three hundred meters is absolutely fine.”

“Furthermore, as you said, the enemy is prepared. A surprise attack is impossible, so the companies just need to dig forward diligently. As long as we restrain the soldiers and prevent them from peeking out, trust me, the enemy’s defensive fire will have a hard time harming us.”

“I also suggest that each company set up a security team, placing soldiers with good night vision near the earthwork teams. They will be responsible for watching the town. If the enemy is foolish enough to try a night charge, we can simply defend using the trenches.”

Morin patiently explained these details, and the others listened very attentively.

In truth, the principle was simple: in this era without night light pollution, nighttime visibility was very poor.

Even the modest streetlights in the small town were concentrated inside the town itself.

The area outside the town was entirely covered by darkness, with only a thin, hazy moonlight on the ground.

In such conditions, estimating the visibility range for the defending soldiers at 100 meters would be a generous overestimation.

The meeting concluded. Morin rushed back to his company, then immediately sent men to retrieve the sandbags.

After the three platoons were woken up and assembled, he personally led the 3rd Platoon, the main digging force, and the 2nd Platoon, designated for rotation, quietly out of the encampment and toward the town.

The 1st Platoon, reinforced with heavy machine guns, advanced quietly under the command of Klaus, carrying the two heavy machine gun teams to provide forward security for the upcoming earthwork.

Tonight, only a crescent moon hung in the sky, casting a faint, hazy light that barely allowed visibility of the path ahead.

Morin personally led the soldiers of the 3rd Platoon, maintaining a tight formation as they advanced silently across the uneven wasteland.

Every soldier had wrapped their canteens, mess kits, and other noise-prone items with cloth. Rifles were cradled in their arms to prevent the clatter of slings and metal components.

Although it was difficult to read a military map in this light, Morin’s system map was unaffected.

Morin halted his men at a position approximately eight hundred meters southwest of the town.

This was a relatively flat, open area. Beyond this point, the terrain would gently slope upward toward the town.

This was the ideal starting point for the operation.

“3rd Platoon, deploy in place!” Morin commanded in a lowered voice.

3rd Platoon Leader Lahm immediately commanded his soldiers to spread out according to the plan they had drilled countless times.

Morin personally planned the excavation route for them based on the actual terrain and the rough outline of the enemy’s defensive line shown on the system map.

He divided the 80 soldiers of the 3rd Platoon into eight digging points along a planned parallel trench baseline, with exactly 10 men at each point.

Then, everyone dropped to the ground.

“Alright, commence operation!”

As Morin gave the command in a hushed voice, the soldiers at the front of the line in the eight points simultaneously plunged their entrenching tools into the ground directly in front of them.

“Pfft…”

“Pfft…”

The soil of the Meseta Central plateau in the Iberian Peninsula was, as Morin had said, suitable for earthwork.

Not only was it fast to dig, but there was no worry of hitting rock and sending sparks flying, which would carry the noise far away…

The soldiers of the 3rd Platoon, having undergone intense training over the past few days, had a decent grasp of the prone digging motion.

They first dug a shallow depression in front of them, piling the excavated soil to form a rudimentary cover, then gradually excavating a basic prone firing position.

Following that, they continued to dig deeper, upgrading the prone firing position to a kneeling firing position that offered better protection.

And finally, completing a standing firing position that could accommodate one man.

Once the individual positions were complete, the real challenge began.

The soldiers started from their individual foxholes, digging narrow approach trenches toward the town, following the zigzag route planned by Morin.

This ‘zigzag’ digging path effectively prevented enemy artillery shrapnel and machine gun fire from causing penetrating damage along the entire trench line.

Morin lay prone, watching the approach trenches continuously extend forward on his system map, occasionally sending men to correct the direction.

Time passed slowly.

After digging for about one hundred meters, the eight independent, zigzagging approach trenches finally reached their predetermined positions.

Upon receiving a new command from Morin, the soldiers changed their digging direction, moving laterally instead of forward, digging to the left and right.

Finally, just before 1:00 AM, the eight independent approach trenches were fully connected, forming the first parallel trench line, which was crooked but complete.

“Alright, 2nd Platoon up! 3rd Platoon withdraw and rest!” Morin commanded again.

The 2nd Platoon, which had been waiting in the rear for a long time, immediately used the four left-side approach trenches, led by Platoon Leader Barrack, to enter the newly completed first parallel trench, taking over the excavation.

The exhausted soldiers of the 3rd Platoon quietly withdrew using the four right-side approach trenches, rushing to rest and rehydrate in the rear.

The soldiers of the 2nd Platoon used the first parallel trench as their starting point and soon began a new round of excavation, advancing with the same zigzag path.

Their task was even more arduous, requiring them to dig a longer distance.

The soldiers of the 2nd and 3rd Platoons rotated in this manner, alternating their work.

When one person tired, another immediately took over.

The others continuously filled sandbags with the excavated earth and piled them onto the side of the parallel trench facing the enemy.

The only sounds at the excavation site were the muffled noises of digging and the heavy breathing of the soldiers.

The soldiers of the 2nd and 3rd Platoons operated like a tireless machine that had not yet been fully broken in, stumbling forward under Morin’s command.

This time, after advancing approximately two hundred and fifty meters, the second parallel trench was also successfully constructed.

At this point, the distance to the town was less than four hundred meters.

A tense atmosphere began to permeate the air.

Everyone instinctively moved more softly, and the digging sounds became fainter.

They dared not be careless in the slightest, afraid of alerting the enemies so close by.

But in reality, based on Morin’s experience in countless night cover construction drills before his transmigration, he knew that at this distance, as long as they weren’t hitting rocks, the noise from simple earthwork wouldn’t carry very far.

Finally, at a position approximately one hundred and eighty meters from the enemy’s outer trench around the town, the earthwork soldiers completed the construction of the third parallel trench.

This parallel trench also had a name: the Assault Initiation Parallel Trench.

Looking down from the system map’s God’s-eye view, the three parallel trenches and eight approach trenches dug by the 1st Company in the night were actually crooked and far from standard or aesthetically pleasing.

Especially the final parallel trench, which was about one hundred and eighty meters from the enemy’s line, further than Morin had hoped for (one hundred and fifty meters).

But Morin knew this was the absolute limit his company could achieve at this stage.

After all, it had been less than a month since they began adopting these new tactics and training.

To quietly construct a rudimentary but structured trench system like this right under the enemy’s noses in such a short time was an impressive achievement in itself.

The defenders inside the town remained completely motionless throughout, and Morin’s system map showed no enemy troop movement.

So, he was temporarily unsure whether the enemy had noticed anything amiss.

After leaving a few observation posts to watch the town, Morin had everyone retreat to the first parallel trench to rest in a cramped manner.

The night passed without incident. The sentries deployed around the town were unable to spot the approach trenches dug so close under the cover of darkness.

Or rather, before the sun rose, they simply couldn’t see very far.

As the sun cast its first rays from the east, the time reached 6:50 AM.

Only ten minutes remained until the scheduled artillery preparation time.

In the 1st Company, excluding the 3rd Platoon, which was waiting in reserve in the rear in the first parallel trench, the remaining two platoons of the first echelon were all positioned in the foremost Assault Initiation Parallel Trench.

The two MG08 heavy machine gun teams had set up their guns on platforms constructed at both ends of the Assault Initiation Parallel Trench and covered them with a canvas tarp.

And in the rear of the battlefield, three observation balloons, unlike the usual deployment, were simultaneously being launched.

In the basket of one of the balloons, Imperial Crown Prince Georg and General Mackensen were using a bulky optical observation instrument to watch the town gradually being illuminated by the sun.

“It’s about to begin,” Georg said.

(End of this Chapter)

You can support the translator and get advanced chapter by join his patreon at https://www.patreon.com/c/caleredhair