The Rise Of Australasia
Chapter 550: Chapter 431: Various Changes and Tense Battles_3

Otherwise, these native soldiers would learn from them, and in the future more soldiers would flee in panic, even directly affecting the fighting desire of the main French forces.

With the German Army's step-by-step strong offensive, they captured the main turret on the east bank of the Verdun fortress, as well as several highlands nearby.

French Central Army Commander Langley had to order the Second Army to retreat to the Mars Highlands, and the Waverly Valley where the Second Army had been stationed was occupied by the advancing German Army.

It was not until then that Cynthia realized that the Germans' main target was Verdun and decided to take emergency measures immediately.

In order to stabilize the morale of the Verdun Fortress, Cynthia sent French General Staff Kastel Ford personally to supervise the battle at the Verdun Fortress and sent new reinforcements to the fortress.

First Army, Thirteenth Army, Twenty-first Army, and several artillery divisions were assembled by Cynthia to the Verdun Battlefield, barely stabilizing the situation in Verdun.

It is worth mentioning that during Verdun's critical moment, Cynthia appointed Second Army Group Commander General Henry Philip Baudouin to serve as the commander of the Verdun War Zone.

Speaking of Bellamy's renowned name, it is well known in the history of World War I in later generations.

But now, Bellamy is a powerful Army Group commander who has just been appointed as the Commander-in-Chief of the Verdun War Zone. Find adventures on mvl

Upon receiving the appointment, Bellamy immediately went to the Verdun Fort Command.

Now nearly 60 years old, General Bellamy graduated from the famous Saint-Cyr Military Academy in France in his early years, but he had never fought a war before this one, only serving as a military instructor and regiment commander.

However, due to several successful commands in the war, Bellamy was appreciated by Cynthia and General Staff Kastel Ford, and in two years, he rose from regiment commander to brigadier, brigadier general, general, and now the commander of the Army Group.

After arriving in Verdun, General Bellamy realized that he must urgently address two imminent issues: one is to stop the unorganized collapse of the French army, and the other is to send reinforcements and supplies to the front lines as soon as possible, restoring the combat effectiveness and morale of the front-line troops.

First of all, Bellamy issued a death order, forcing all troops not to retreat past the designated red line.

In Bellamy's original words: "Rather sacrifice the lives of all soldiers, but never lose any inch of French land!"

Because the first and second lines of defense had all been lost, the outermost forts had become the support points for the forward positions.

Therefore, Bellamy decisively ordered that the outer forts would be the unified resistance positions for the French army, and all defenders must hold their positions with all available means, resisting the German offensive.

Each fort was only allowed to evacuate when completely surrounded by the German army and unable to fight.

Of course, Bellamy was not just a commanding officer who only oppresses but takes no action. Following this, Bellamy divided the entire Verdun garrison into four clusters, readjusted the defense of the Verdun region, and sent some reinforcements to the clusters that lacked troops.

Under Bellamy's operation, the French army barely held its position, but it was only temporary.

If the urgent need for reserves and ammunition supplies in the Verdun war zone cannot be resolved, this situation is only temporary, and the Germans may regain the upper hand at any time.

Verdun is located in a dead-end, its protruding part divided by the Mars River, with a standard-gauge railway and a narrow-gauge railway often cut off by German artillery fire.

Since the start of the war, the railway and highways leading to the Verdun region have been severely damaged by German artillery fire.

The railway from Obervey to Verdun is the main railway line leading from the French hinterland to this area, but it was completely within the range of the advancing German army's heavy artillery at the time, and the road from Verdun city to Saint-Miéyel was cut off by the Germans who had invaded France two years earlier.

General Bellamy discovered that the only transportation line that could be used at the time was a second-class highway, 7 meters wide and about 65 kilometers from Verdun to the southwest of Baldock City.

Since this highway was 20 kilometers from the front line and the range of most German artillery was limited at the time, General Bellamy believed that the rapid widening and reinforcement of this highway was feasible.

He immediately ordered that the 65-kilometer long highway in the war zone be divided into six sections, concentrated manpower to repair the highway, quickly widened and reinforced, and traffic was restored.

In order to urgently mobilize supplies, General Bellamy requisitioned nearly 4,000 cars, organizing all the cars into 200 groups, each with 20 cars.

At that time, as many as 9,000 French soldiers and officers were performing transportation tasks and on guard duty along this lifeline.

Using cars to carry out such a large-scale logistics transport task was unprecedented in the history of previous wars. This should mostly be attributed to General Bellamy's innovation in logistics work.

This highway was later honored by the French as the Sacred Road, and during the entire Battle of Verdun, about 500,000 troops and 170,000 domestic animals were transported to the front line along this Sacred Road, making an indelible contribution to France's victory.

Due to Bellamy's timely adjustment and effective measures for logistics, the resistance capacity of the French frontline forces was significantly strengthened.

A series of supplies and equipment transported on the Sacred Road, like the reviving fruit in the game, quickly restored the combat effectiveness of French soldiers on the Verdun front line.

Furthermore, due to the emphasis that the French General Staff placed on Verdun, within just half a month, the number of troops in the Verdun area doubled, greatly reducing the pressure on the French garrison in Verdun.

At the same time, the German army sent only about one-tenth of their forces to this area, which also gave the French garrison a numerical advantage in troops, laying a good foundation for the French to hold this fortress.

On December 20, the French army launched an offensive against the outer forts, attempting to retake the outer forts in the Verdun area.

After a period of adjustment, the French army had recovered some of its combat power and had high morale.

After an intense battle, the French army gained the upper hand and recaptured the Dumont Fort in one fell swoop.

When the French flag was raised again at this turret, many French soldiers cheered sincerely, "Victory to France! Long live France!"

After retaking Dumont Fort, Bellamy immediately strengthened the original defenders of the fort to prevent it from falling back into the hands of the Germans.