Chapter 5 Reinvigorate, break through the defense line (1)
"I said, good-lucked fellow Penduas, you have been promoted by kind-hearted people." Silva looked at Penduas enviously and sewed two yellow stripes representing the rank of corporal on his forearm, while secretly regretting why he failed to fall from the trench and met the kind-hearted Lieutenant Colonel Desay.
Silva and Penduas are both from Marseille, and are of the same age, unlike the honest, thick and short Penduas. Silva, who is frivolous, has a tall figure, but the sunken scar (malo) of the smallpox on his face when he was young. At the age of 18, they were recruited into the military camp as volunteers and served in the Third Legion for almost two years. Penduas, who seemed cowardly on weekdays, became his boss because he was the first to sing the Marseille song.
"It's up. Silva, don't be jealous! I will promote you if I have the chance, haha!" Penduwas smiled proudly, without hiding his good mood after the promotion, and casually opened the gourd filled with clear water and drank it hard.
"Hmph, let's talk about it when you become a real officer." Silva said angrily, his eyes still stuck with two yellow striped armbands, thinking in his mind whether he would borrow some money from his fellow villager. He should know that the corporals would have 30 francs of military salary per month than the private. Silva had a fancy to a red-haired girl (similar to a military prostitute) from the military merchants, hoping to end his ** career.
Corporal Penduwas bluntly refused the private and fellow villager's attempt to borrow money. It was Penduwas who needed help from his mother to support his lame father who was unable to move, and five underage siblings.
The chat between the two fellow Marseille fellow villagers did not last long. A few minutes later, the sound of the military horn sounded, and the officers who received the mission ordered the sergeants. The sergeants then shouted loudly at the soldiers sitting on the ground resting. The third battalion of the regiment was in the unit of the company to make a melee formation that combines horizontal and columns.
With the support of Marshal Rana, Lieutenant Colonel Desai completed his team in just 30 minutes and re-appointed the missing officers and non-commissioned officers. The third battalion of the regiment has 1,013 soldiers and 41 officers, including more than 100 lightly wounded officers who had just been added from the ambulance station. He promised that after the battle, the Military Law Department would forget the previous defeat records and promote and reward meritorious personnel. The morale of the infantry regiment seemed to have returned to the pre-war level, but Desai still felt unsatisfied.
The previous Marseille incident was just to gather the soldiers again, cheer up a little, and recall the strict military discipline. But as time goes by and the resurgence of the battle, the soldiers continued to face the threat of death. War songs are not the best medicine for everything. One or two times are easy to say, but if there are too many, it will not work. If the battle continues to be unfavorable, the courage the soldiers had just mustered will be shattered again, whether it is retreat or defeat, it is unacceptable to the new regiment commander.
The Zaragoza defenders, composed of fanatic believers, cruel peasants, barbaric women and British spies, are not civilized European troops. Although these people are poorly equipped and lack training, they treat the French invading army in a jihad manner under the call of the priests. Even the elderly and children can rush to the enemy with their bare hands, use their bodies as weapons, bite with their teeth, dig with their fingers, and bump with their heads. All the defenders of the city of Zaragoza believe that killing the French can save Spain, and after ascending to heaven, the martyrs will receive endless honors and benefits.
Desai believed that in order to fight against these Spanish madmen and win, to some extent, they must be more crazier than them. "What should I do?" the lieutenant colonel repeatedly asked himself. Suddenly, he thought of a good idea that could make the soldiers full of wolfishness and become predatory beasts.
A young trainee lieutenant came over and brought Lieutenant Colonel Desay a white Andalusian horse, which was sent by Marshal Rana, and also included the trainee lieutenant named Charles, a junior from Desay, who had just graduated from Saint-Sil's Military Academy, two months ago. The blond, blue-eyed, handsome, and slightly shy-looking lieutenant, wearing a brand new and straight uniform and shiny military boots, looked superior and well-educated. If he returned to Paris, he would definitely be the favorite of the ladies in the salon.
According to the combat practices of the Black Powder Age, whether it is a marshal or a regiment battalion commander, any front-line commander must ride a tall horse before the war so that every soldier can see that his commander is at the forefront of the entire team. This requires great courage and spirit of sacrifice. Time travelers miss the fighting style a hundred years later. At least middle and senior officers can hide in bunkers to give orders, and sacrifice will not be the first to be the first to sacrifice. But now, they do not have such good luck. They must face the enemy's bullets and artillery fire with the soldiers, and they should not be like their two predecessors, the unfortunate Colonel Pierre and the unlucky General Mondell.
Lieutenant Colonel Desai thanked the fellow St. Ciel's military academy for his kindness. Although the road to the enemy's position was full of corpses and rubble and was not suitable for cavalry movement, Desai hoped that he would be more mighty, at least when he was talking to the entire regiment.
"Lieutenant Charles, are you a Parisian? Have you lived in Florence and Rome?" Desay asked casually.
"Yes, sir!" The blonde trainee lieutenant did not turn over and ride the horse, but he still followed the horse with the reins.
"Then you should have seen the most magnificent and gorgeous church furnishings, golden, silver, and many valuable things?" Lieutenant Colonel Desay showed his demonic fangs.
"Maybe yes, sir!" Charles felt a little nervous and didn't quite understand what Lieutenant Colonel Desay meant.
"Okay, my dear junior. Now, I will give you a glorious task. I will speak louder in my conversation with me later. You can use the most straightforward and exaggerated words to describe the inner scenes of the church or monastery behind the city wall. Let the soldiers believe that it is full of golden magic weapons and silver candlesticks, which are very valuable things. Do you understand?" The demon Desai raised the inciting weapon.
"But this is a violation of the regulations..." The trainee lieutenant instinctively resisted. The motto of St. Sier Military Academy is "training for victory", not for promotion and wealth, or for plundering God's wealth on earth.
But Lieutenant Colonel Desay rudely interrupted the intern lieutenant's defense, and as the leader of the regiment, he ordered without any explanation: "Let the rules all go to hell, that's it. If it goes well, I can sign your intern comments tonight in a monastery in Zaragoza, and tomorrow you will become a real officer!"
Five minutes later, all the officers and soldiers of the regiment were discussing the "conversation" between Lieutenant Colonel Desay and the trainee lieutenant.
Chapter completed!