I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France

Chapter 708: Propaganda Offensive

The Verdun front, the trenches of the German 5th Army were filled with a tense atmosphere.

But they were not worried about the current French attack.

The defensive capabilities of the 3rd Army under Petain might be strong, but their offensive could be described as "child’s play," unable to pose even the slightest threat to the German front line.

In the smoke, Major Kenin hunched and hurried along the communication trench to observe the battle situation. He lay down in front of the trench, carefully poked his head out from the sandbag parapet, and raised his binoculars.

Behind him, the war-torn and dirt-covered German soldiers exchanged glances and finally fixed their eyes on Lieutenant Paulino.

Sitting on a munitions box to rest, Lieutenant Paulino nodded lightly, discarded his cigarette butt, grabbed the rifle leaning beside him, and crouched, running to Major Kenin’s side along the trench, gripping his rifle and bracing against the trench, ready to provide covering fire.

However, Lieutenant Paulino had other thoughts.

After waiting a while, he whispered to Major Kenin, "Sir, don’t you find the French attack a bit odd?"

Major Kenin frowned, remained still, and asked softly, "What do you mean?"

"The French haven’t attacked in over a month," Lieutenant Paulino replied. "We know Petain emphasizes defense, and the French main force has been transferred to the River Somme. I don’t understand the point of their attack here."

The implication was that the French only wanted to hold Verdun. The main battle for both sides was at the River Somme.

Therefore, the French attack in the Verdun direction was illogical; there had to be a reason.

Major Kenin retracted his head, put down the binoculars, and turned to stare at Lieutenant Paulino with a warning look, asking word by word, "So, what are you trying to tell me?"

Lieutenant Paulino was startled by Major Kenin’s expression and hesitated for a while.

But he finally gathered the courage to answer, "It’s Shire, Major. I’m saying that Shire might be leading his troops to maneuver through Verdun, behind us..."

"That’s not something for you to worry about, Lieutenant!" Major Kenin interrupted Paulino, his tone turning stern. "You only need to focus on completing the tasks assigned by your superiors!"

"Yes, Major." Lieutenant Paulino replied.

"And keep your mouth shut," Major Kenin continued to admonish. "You should know how damaging your so-called ’guesses’ can be to the troops."

"Yes, Major!"

"There won’t be a next time," Major Kenin poked Lieutenant Paulino’s chest with his finger. "Unless you wish to end up in a military court!"

"Yes, Major!" Paulino replied, though his face showed reluctance.

This concerns the lives of the soldiers, how could it not be our concern?

Major Kenin glanced around the trench and realized it wasn’t just Lieutenant Paulino; the other soldiers shared the same look of doubt.

He quickly realized that Lieutenant Paulino was merely a representative of the concerns among the soldiers.

"Rest assured, soldiers," Major Kenin said confidently, his tone definite:

"Shire did capture Mezieres, but his traversing forces in the Arden Mountains can only number twenty thousand."

"We’ve already intercepted them at Bicangxi, I’m sure of it."

"Additionally, we’ve received reinforcements from the First Tank Division."

Upon hearing the name of the First Tank Division, the tense expressions of the soldiers relaxed a bit.

With this unit’s interception, it was unlikely that Verdun would face an attack from the Shire Armored Division from the rear.

But at this moment, several "Caproni" bombers suddenly appeared in the sky. Under the astonished eyes of the soldiers, the bombers dropped dozens of flaming bombs and left quickly.

The German soldiers were frightened.

Bombers coming from the north—that was deep behind German lines. Shire’s planes could fly freely now?

And the bombs, they had never seen such flaming bombs before; was it Shire’s new invention?

Someone muttered quietly, "Perhaps this is Shire’s way of indicating he is coming!"

The words quickly spread among the soldiers and were soon agreed upon.

The fear among soldiers quickly escalated; the bombers had no targets—it looked more like they were sending a message.

Major Kenin glanced around and issued a kill-or-be-killed order: "Anyone spreading such rumors, I will personally send them to attack the enemy’s front lines!"

The soldiers fell silent, no one wanted to step into no-man’s-land and become a target for either side.

However...

From the other side of the front line came continuous German shouts, amplified by multiple loudspeakers to ensure everyone could hear:

"Germans, put down your weapons and surrender, you have no hope."

"You may not know this, Shire’s First Armored Division has already recaptured Truk Town, only 5 kilometers from you."

"In an hour, or two, his troops will appear behind you."

"Your First Tank Division has already been wiped out."

"To be accurate, they weren’t just defeated, they were burned alive in the forest of Truk Town."

"Do you want to face the same fate?"

...

Panic quickly spread through the German lines, and the "rumors" were unstoppable:

"This must be why the French are attacking, they’ve surrounded us."

"The other units have retreated already, we’re just here to cover their withdrawal."

"Yes, we’re just sacrificial pawns, they want us to hold out until the very last moment, even if it means certain defeat, even at the cost of our lives!"

...

The German Army’s fighting spirit was the strongest in Europe, but their battlefield philosophy was to avoid senseless battles.

If defeat was inevitable, leaving them to perish, especially without knowing the truth, was seen as an insult, a betrayal, a mockery.

Many fought for honor, like the knights of the Middle Ages.

But now, their sacrifice seemed devoid of any honor!

The German high command responded immediately. Vice Admiral Valerik reacted and ordered artillery bombardment on the French lines, focusing on where the voices came from.

But this attempt to cover up was obvious.

Soldiers immediately thought: if it wasn’t true but mere rumors, why be afraid of soldiers hearing it? Just wait an hour or two for the rumors to unravel.

No one knew who started it, but in the deafening artillery fire, someone shouted, "Run, or are we waiting for Shire to come and take our lives?"

At first, there were only one or two deserters, then more and more, soon there were deserters everywhere.

The worst part was, the German deserters were smart. To avoid being executed upon retreat, they shouted at the bewildered comrades as they fled:

"Shire’s troops are here, we are defeated."

"We are doomed, run now!"

"If we stay, we only wait to die here. They want us to hold to the last moment, this is unfair!"

...

Major Kenin waved his pistol, trying to stop this, even shooting two soldiers, but it was in vain. The front line had collapsed, and was like a floodwater breaking through a dam, irreversible.

Meanwhile, under the cover of artillery fire, the French launched another attack.

This time, the French would not retreat after the first shell. They knew the Germans were fleeing, and now was their chance to shine!