[Titanic] I can't help myself

At the beginning of August, we and France assembled 22 half-armies and seven and a half cavalry divisions to form the Anglo-French Allied Forces, and went to the French-Belgian border, and launched a battle in the four theaters of Etin, Montmedy, Charleroi, and Landreux. , along the centrifugal direction, using the No.17 combat plan formulated by the French army, to face the main right wing of the German army.We were assigned to the Mons area.

The usual method of combat is to use the cavalry as the vanguard to disrupt the enemy's formation and destroy its command system. After the opponent is confused, the infantry of one's own side rushes to the battlefield to kill the enemy more effectively.In this era when the command can only be passed on by waving flags, whistles and slogans, all the way to several team leaders, and the combat communication is extremely backward, this style of play is very common, or it is the usual practice.

But this style of play encountered a completely different situation in the mountains on the French-Belgian border.

There are many noble children in the cavalry battalion. They are excellent in horsemanship, and the cavalry is a symbol of gentlemen. Before the battle begins, they are full of enthusiasm and fighting spirit, just like every autumn during the fox hunting season, waiting for the whistle to sound , you can immediately take your hounds to hunt down the fox that is sure to die.

However, when the slogan for charge sounded, it all turned into a massacre.

Under the intensive fire attack, the cavalry had no protection and could only bite the bullet and rush forward.Many of them were killed on the battlefield before they could reap the life of an enemy.

The generals and I stood in the safe headquarters behind, watching the battle with binoculars.Those people I was familiar with were hit by bullets one after another, fell off their horses, and some even got half of their heads blown off by bullets, splashing blood and brains.The grenade exploded around the cavalry, and people and horses were lifted up. I even saw the bodies and limbs that were blown away.

I suddenly put down the binoculars, my whole body began to tremble, the stomach wall began to convulse and twist, and the desire to vomit was churning upwards.I covered my mouth with my hands and took a deep breath.

"What are you doing!" Major General Mosley reprimanded in a low voice when he turned his head to see the move, "Don't be a useless little girl, pick up your binoculars and observe the battlefield carefully!"

I swallowed hard several times before I replied softly, "Yes, sir."

The cavalry on both sides were struggling to move forward under the intensive fire attack of the other side. The cavalry was like a living target to attract the firepower of the other side, and they sacrificed terribly.

This was the first time we had a frontal exchange of fire with the Germans, and it lasted until night before stopping for a truce.We counted and established the names of the dead and wounded, then searched through the thick night for the bodies of our fallen comrades and dragged them back.A simple funeral was held for them. After praying, they were buried collectively in the woods behind the war zone.

After that, the civilian staff will start to sort out the relics of these sacrificed soldiers and send them home, and write letters to inform the family members of the conditions of the sacrificed soldiers when they died.

I followed Major General Mosley and attended the meeting on the summary of today's battle and the future combat plan, which didn't end until early in the morning.

At this time, except for the night patrol and the soldiers on duty, everyone in the camp had already fallen asleep, and the sound of beeping, beeping, and beeping echoed from several bonfires in the silent night.

At the same time, there was a faint cry.I walked all the way and listened all the way.I don't know where it came from, maybe it's more likely somewhere.

Since the end of this battle, I have been busy, almost without stopping, and I try to fill my brain with other things instead of leaving any space to think about the pictures that happened on the battlefield today.But now, all those things that I have been avoiding all this time are brought out by the cries, those dead people, blood and broken bodies, as well as the fear and sadness in the eyes of the surviving soldiers, all of a sudden overwhelmed my emotions up.

I participated in directing part of the work of cleaning the battlefield, and saw the remains of seven or eight former classmates.Most of their bodies were incomplete, and the most complete one lost half of his head, some were damaged by bombs, and some were trampled by horseshoes and infantry behind.There was a classmate, he was two years at Eton and my senior at Trinity College, he was very tall, almost seven feet, but when we found him, his legs were gone and his eyes were big wide open, full of fear.

When we found him, a classmate was seriously injured, but he was still alive and could even call out my name. When we happily carried him back to the tent of the wounded and called the doctor, he suddenly He died without warning, and before he even had time to close his eyes, his face was full of tears.

In the tent of the wounded, there were more seriously injured soldiers.Before the meeting, some generals went to visit the wounded.I saw a classmate I knew, he lost his right eye, one hand was blown out, the metacarpal bone was pierced, and there were many gunshot wounds on his leg.I secretly asked the doctors, and they said that he could no longer hold a gun with his right hand, and that he might have difficulty writing, and he would be sent back to China to recuperate in a few days, and he would never be able to return to the battlefield.

He also chatted with me for a few minutes yesterday, envious of my military rank, but said very confidently that he would win the military rank by virtue of his military exploits, and he would definitely become my superior in the end.And now I see him lying on the bed expressionlessly, looking at the tent above his head, one eye is tightly wrapped by white gauze, and the other eye is also dim as if he has lost his vision.At that moment, I didn't know whether I should go over to comfort him and cheer him up, or turn around and leave without hurting him a second time.In the end, I just stood where I was, and finally followed Major General Mosley out of the patient's tent and went back to the meeting.

Thinking about it all, I have little control over my emotions.I could only cover my mouth and nose with my hands, and try not to make a sound. Major General Mosley was walking in front of me. I didn't want to be called a useless little girl by him again.

But even though he held his breath, there were still a few choked sobs.Major General Mosley stopped and turned to look at me.

"Sorry, sir." I put my hands down and stood up straight, "Sorry, I..."

I can't finish a short sentence smoothly.Everything I see today is more terrifying than the Titanic I have experienced, at least there is no blood and mutilated young people.

Tears trickled down my face, blurring my vision.I took a deep breath and explained in confusion: "Sorry, sir... I'm just... my classmates... they all... I... sorry..."

Major General Mosley sighed, walked over and took off his hat, like a brother, patted my shoulder lightly, and finally put his arms around me.

"It's okay, it's okay, cry." He whispered, "Henry, you've done a good job. Cry if you want."

I bit my lip, not wanting to give too much away.I rested my head on his shoulder, closed my eyes tightly, and sobbed softly.

Major General Mosley patted me on the back and said softly: "I understand that even the bravest people can't help being afraid and sad when they see this scene for the first time. But you have to understand, War is such a terrible and cruel thing, we are men, after crying, we have to face the reality more bravely. We cannot bring the dead back to life, what we can do is to defeat the enemy as soon as possible.”

I nodded, the tears still couldn't stop flowing out.

Major General Mosley didn't rush me, he waited until I regained my composure.At that time, his shoulders were already full of my tears and snot, and maybe some saliva.

I looked there in embarrassment and apologized to him again.

"It's okay, I can understand." He waved his hands indifferently, "The first time I went to the battlefield was in India, and I was so scared that I cried for several nights, and it took a long time to get used to it. We are human, Seeing your own kind die in such a cruel and terrible way in front of you, it is very normal to feel fear and fear, unless you are a cold-blooded animal, so there is no need to be ashamed of crying for yourself. As long as you remember your responsibility and Obligation, don't back down, just go forward."

"I see." I blinked my red and swollen eyes and replied.

"Go back and rest." Major General Mosley patted me on the shoulder, "Tomorrow will be another bad battle, and you will suffer."

The battle situation did not change much on the second day, with heavy casualties.The expressions of the generals are becoming more and more ugly. Even someone like me who doesn't understand anything can see the bad things about the situation.

During the truce in the evening, the first incident of desertion occurred in the army.

The deserter was a 15-year-old boy. He refused to advance on the battlefield, and even tried to run back, but was caught by the team leader in charge of him and escorted back.Deserters, no matter what the reason, were shot to deter the army and maintain discipline.

The child was tied up tightly and thrown into the prison where the army held discipline violators.When he was taken to prison, he kept screaming in horror: "I am only 15 years old! I am not an adult! I cannot be a soldier! Please let me go back! Please! Let me go back! I am only 15 years old!" Others gagged him.

After the assembly was completed the next morning, the child was dragged in front of everyone and executed.His mouth was sealed, he was crying all the time, his eyes were swollen high, his face was covered with dust, tears and snot.

An officer loudly announced his charges, warning everyone not to make the same mistake, deserters have only a dead end.

Next, we unfastened his mouth and asked him what last words he had.The child's emotions had already broken down. He cried loudly and mumbled, "I'm only 15 years old...I want to go home...I want to go home..."

I couldn't bear to lower my head.Everyone began to pray for him, and after the prayer was over, there was a gunshot.

I feel very sad, but there is nothing I can do.Deserters will greatly affect morale, and there are tens of thousands of underage soldiers in the army. If we let this one go, what about the remaining tens of thousands of underage soldiers?Send them home?Then the rest of the battle needless to say, in terms of numbers, it will undoubtedly be defeated.The situation is already like this, we can only bite the bullet and move forward.

The author has something to say: It really is horrible. . .But I will stick to it!

Thanks to Lei, who swore to be a classmate who wears cannon fodder~ Memmada~~