...He was calm, with a regular diet and a sound sleep, which inspired the confidence of everyone around him. The reason why Xia Fei was so calm was largely because once he made a decision, he would cooperate with his chief of staff, De Jean Steerno.

Every day, when Xiafei fell asleep safely, General Dejensteinau, the chief of staff of the French General Command, needed to stay in the headquarters, work day and night, and use his hard work to make up for the "rest" of the commander-in-chief. When Xiafei enjoyed honors, the chief of staff once participated in the French-Prussian War within the army, and the chief of staff also enjoyed a very high reputation.

On the 24th, at 10 o'clock in the evening, when Xiafei left the headquarters as usual, General Jean Stearno, as the chief of staff, took over the headquarters as usual. Just under an hour after he took over the headquarters, he received a telegram from the front line.

"The Duomon Mountain defense line collapsed!"

After receiving this report, Castelno immediately realized the seriousness of the collapse of the Duomon Mountain defense line, and he immediately called Xiafei.

"In addition to super cannons, the Germans also used tractors to drag a large number of 6-inch cannons into the front line, and shot dense shells into the new positions in Mount Duomon to form a sea of ​​fire, and the troops guarding the positions completely collapsed. The general responsible for commanding the Verdun area and the commander of the army group deployed in Verdun, Langel de Carrie, sent a telegram to Chantilly, suggesting that he retreat to the left bank of the Meuse River immediately, and then abandon the town of Verdun and the fortress."

The other end of the phone fell into silence. After a few seconds of silence, Xia Fei spoke.

"Verdon Town and the Fortress must not give up!"

The unexpected answer only made General Casteno silent with the formation. After thinking for a while, he spoke again.

"Yes, Marshal!"

The same was also expected answer. After hanging up the phone, he sent a telegram to Langle de Kari.

"Verdon Town and the Fortress must not give up!"

But less than an hour after he sent the telegram, Langle de Carri sent another telegram. In the telegram, he described the difficulties he faced, and then claimed that "Verdon could no longer continue to hold on, and the troops could fall into a complete collapse at any time."

Facing Langle de Cali's telegram, De Castelno decided to go to Villa Povare on the outskirts of the city to meet Xia Fei in person. Although he knew that the commander-in-chief had fallen asleep at this time, his almost unchanging habit of going to bed at 10 o'clock since the outbreak of the war.

Half an hour later, after de Castelno entered the villa by car, the officer on duty claimed that he could not disturb the commander's rest. Although the matter was urgent, Castelno still obeyed. The commander-in-chief didn't like others to disturb his rest. But just after he waited for a few minutes, another telegram was transmitted from the headquarters to Villa Povare by phone. Langle de Cali had ordered the two divisions to retreat. The news from Verdun predicted further news of the immediate evacuation of the entire army on the right bank of the Meuse River.

Castello, who received this report, dared not make any mistakes and immediately walked towards Xia Fei's bedroom. Faced with the obstruction of the attendant, Castelloer said directly.

"If I stop me now, then France will be destroyed tomorrow! I order me to knock on the bedroom of the commander-in-chief immediately!"

After receiving this clear order, the attendant hurriedly knocked on the majestic double lock door.

“…This news from Verdun indicates further news of the immediate evacuation of the entire army on the right bank of the Meuse River.”

Xia Fei, wearing pajamas, looked up at Casteelno and said after hearing Casteelno's report.

"General Castelno, do you have any opinions?"...

"Marson, I hope that I can allow me to go to Verdun in person as a plenipotent representative. Reiterate the order to everyone."

After a little thought, Xia Fei agreed to Castelno's request.

"Okay, General Castelno, I have received full authority from Ji. I hope Ji will set out immediately and go to Verdun to announce the order not to retreat one step!"

After making this decision, Xia Fei walked straight back to the bedroom to rest.

Before leaving Villa Povare, General Castelno called the headquarters to arrange a special train, and at the same time made other arrangements, he went directly to the train station. He went to the command center and the army group center of Avez in Langres de Kari.

A few hours later, when Castelno arrived at Langre de Cali's command and the Army Group Center Avez, what he saw was only that everyone in the city was panic, and panic spread across the city. In the Army Group Command, the staff members kept burning documents, sand tables, maps and other materials that were not in a hurry to take away. In response to this panic, Castelno immediately grabbed a major staff officer and questioned.

"What's going on? Why do you guys do this?"

"The Germans are coming, and I can't hold on here anymore!"

The major's answer only made Castelno's face look. Even Paris before the Battle of the Marne did not fall into the panic like this now. At that time, the whole of Paris was waiting, waiting for victory, and everyone, like them, was rationalized by defeatism.

On this clear morning, in the headquarters of Avez, Langre de Cali, who was lying behind the office, no longer had the confidence and superior attitude of being an old superior. After receiving Castelno's salute, he said with a wry smile:

"How is it? Castelno, it seems that Ji came yesterday. Ji has seen it and seen everything here. I believe Ji knows what is going on the way!"

"Yes, General."

Castelno nodded:

"When I came here, I only saw cowardice everywhere!"

Langel de Cali smiled bitterly and nodded, then signaled to let Casteno sit down.

"That's right, there is cowardice everywhere..."

Langel de Kari agreed and swallowed the last sentence back into her stomach:

"I can't see what's going on here in Paris..."

Although this sentence is not suitable, it is best not to mention these things for the Chief of Staff who is in the General Command of the Paris Army.

As a "loser: Langel de Carri certainly has a lot to say to Castelno. He lit his pipe nervously, then blew the smoke and wiped away the sweat from his forehead:

"I think you must understand, what are we encounter here? It's not just the super cannons of the Germans, but the super cannons of the Germans may destroy everything. But what I encountered here was the coldness of the entire headquarters... But what people unexpectedly thought that in the face of repeated warnings, the headquarters never really paid attention to it, and even just a month ago, one of my divisions was transferred. Now, the Germans kept bombarding our positions with heavy artillery. Every gun would lose their combat effectiveness. How could such a war continue?... Before the war, I once made suggestions to Paris. But they refused to adopt it...

"I think it's better to go to the Second Army immediately. Now, if the Second Army does not arrive as soon as possible, it will be impossible to hold the front position with the power here. Now, the Commander-in-Chief keeps sending telegrams to let us stick to it as far as possible... To keep here, we must stick to it for as long as possible. I know that this is mainly due to psychological and political reasons... I should tell you that our supply work organization is currently in place.

It's a mess! The Germans can continuously transport troops' supplies and recruits. But what about us? Until now, all the reinforcements are on the road? The battle has only started for three days, and I have lost three divisions... Well, Castelno, I don't need to say more. Now that Ji has come here, you can take a look first and come to your own conclusion. Ji should make your own judgment. Now, it's impossible to stick to it here!"...

"We must stay here!"

Castelno listened to Langel de Cali's reasons very politely. After emphasizing, he spoke again:

"Now, the whole of France is watching Verdun. If we can't stay here, then the whole of France will be shrouded in defeatism. In that case, France will fall into failure..."

"Of course, maybe Paris has its own considerations, but it must take reality into consideration..."

Langel de Carri emphasized.

"Just two hours ago, our reconnaissance plane discovered the Germans' "super heavy artillery". They were building a railway forward and would approach here soon. Any defense line is vulnerable in front of the super heavy artillery. The Germans have broken the stalemate of the war. What other actions can we take now? Persist? Well... I think this is unlikely,"

Langel de Kari pondered:

"If that happens, each of us will be bombarded into pieces by the Germans with cannons, and in the end, France will be defeated..."

"France will never fail, and will never taste the bitter fruit of failure again like the last war!"

Castelno, who had participated in the Franco-Prussian War, emphasized loudly.

"Maybe there will be such a danger of failure, but, there is no such danger yet."

Finally, Castelno asked:

"Maybe the battle is not good for us now, but as long as we stay here and as long as we defend until reinforcements arrive, France still has hope of victory. If we retreat, then France will surely fail!"

Langel de Cali, who was staring at Castelno, seemed extremely uncomfortable, stood up:

"Well, Mr. Chief of Staff, I am powerless to do anything about the current situation. If I retreat, I will become a sinner of the whole of France, but if I continue to stick to it, I will also become a sinner of 100,000 people. What I need to face now is the elite German team, especially the entire German military machine has been put into this war, and what about us? What have we obtained?..."

"General, what I need to reiterate once again is that Verdun must not be lost, and no troops must evacuate from the battlefield. Even if they are all killed in battle, they must die on the defense line!"

After meeting Langel de Carrie, Castelno calmed down the pessimism there, and called Verdun from there, announcing that he was about to arrive, and asked General El of Verdun to "according to the commander-in-chief, not to give up his position, but to hold it one by one." He also warned the other party that if the order was not implemented, "the consequences for him would be extremely serious." Then he immediately set off on a car to the Verdun front.

Unfortunately, in Verdun that night, he first discovered in Verdun that he saw a scene of chaos and turmoil that often occurred behind the defeated front. And in the command post in the rear. After meeting with General El, he reiterated the order that the commander-in-chief did not allow retreat, and at the same time told him that reinforcements were arriving. During the meal, an inconspicuous little thing cast a shadow on his already tense mood. It was not because of the quality of the dinner or whether it was for him.

The chief of staff from Paris, who was attracted by the tablecloths and tableware for serving food, was surprised by the tablecloths on the dining table: the diner of the commander of the Verdun War Zone was actually covered with dirty sheets as tablecloths, and the tableware for serving rice was the cheapest crock pot. Castello immediately thought that in the place where the high-ranking generals of the French team, who attached great importance to table etiquette, had such sheets and crock pots appeared. What did this mean?

It means that the army completely lost its sense of honor in this battle. Behind this phenomenon of generals being dodged, the low emotions of the officers and soldiers were hidden. Aware of the changes in the mentality of the officers and soldiers on the front line, Castello immediately got angry, even regardless of General El as a lieutenant general who was just a major general, and immediately ordered him to find someone. He replaced the ill-looking bed sheet with a tablecloth for a suitable tablecloth, and replaced the cheap clay pot with a decent porcelain...

However, what made Castelno unhappy was that during his inspection of the frontline troops in the following days, similar abnormalities continued to appear.

When he was on the way to patrol in a car, he asked the driver to stop the car and then walked down to talk to the young soldier. When the soldier looked at the general who walked out of the car, he did not make the soldier feel any emotion. Castello found that the young soldier's behavior was normal, and no matter what, his mental outlook was a bit abnormal. What about the nimbleness and stinginess in salute, the clever and stingy manner? The confident expression when grinning? Where did all this go?

And these are precisely the special symbols of the French soldiers he had already known in the past. Now, the symbols of the French soldiers who had made Baonun and Xia Fei proud of were gone on this battlefield... God...

During the inspection of the front line, Castello met many soldiers along the way. During the conversation, almost all the soldiers showed a loss of confidence in themselves and the commander. They did not believe that they could win, and they always hoped that the troops could retreat, and almost everyone did not believe. They could defend the defense line, nor did they believe that France could win. It seemed that after the Germans had super cannons, everything changed.

Not only the soldiers, but even those officers were not much stronger than the soldiers. All the division commanders and regiment commanders who met Castelno shook his head at his request for persistence and waiting for reinforcements, believing that no matter what kind of defense is implemented, they will fail in the face of the German super cannon. In short, from the soldiers or the officers, he saw a team that lost confidence and was looking forward to the front and back. How could such a team stick to this place?

All this was so angry that Castelno shouted at the attendees at the top of his lungs at a high-level military meeting:

"Listen, if Emperor Baonoon knew that the French army was now like this, he would be so angry that he would roll in the grave of the House of Invalides! Look at the Germans, what are they doing? They are attacking here, and they are preparing to attack Paris! And what about us now? Our soldiers have lost confidence, so are our officers. Can the super cannon change everything? No, the super cannon may change many things, but it cannot change the confidence of the soldiers. The confidence is gone, and the courage is gone,

What should we protect France? In a word, if this continues, each of us will become the sinners of France, and in the end France will be done with the cowards of the Jews! I want Jews to remember that Jews are Frenchmen! Jews should guard here, and guard here at all costs. As long as the Second Army arrives, the Tenth Army and the Twentieth Army arrive, then Verdun will be fine. Don’t forget that our grandfather defeated Prussia with Emperor Baolon and fought to Moscow together…”

No matter how much he scolded, no matter how angry he was, Castelno himself understood that he was really unsure whether he could defend this place when he was now trying to defend these troops.

After arriving in Verdun, Castelno continued to exert his influence and authority in order to bring the defensive battle back to life and temporarily restore a stable situation. Wherever he went, decisions and orders followed. He reiterated his order to guard the Meuse Highlands and prevent the enemy from advancing on the right bank at all costs.

The 20th and 1st Army on the battlefield followed this intention to enter the battle. While taking these urgent measures, Castello had telegraphed Betten, ordering him not only to command the 2nd French Army, which is now moving, but also to command all the troops in the Verdun defense zone.

Just as he was about to leave Verdun, he witnessed the power of the German super cannon for the first time. When the explosion that shocked everything in the world and the smoke that reached hundreds of meters high rose into the air, Castelno was stunned by the scene in front of him, and he even murmured to himself.

"Ah! Scoop Poron, scoop Poron, if he is here now, he can do nothing else..."

At this moment, he seemed to understand why the soldiers here lost their courage and there was no power in the world to stop all this... (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to (.) vote for recommendations, monthly votes, and your support is my greatest motivation.)
Chapter completed!