The platform of the Koblenz train station was crowded with people, and field-gray overcoats merged into a flowing tide.
Although the scene seemed chaotic, every trickle was converging towards a predetermined direction.
Regarding returning to the battlefield, none of the officers and soldiers of the instruction unit actually felt surprised.
Those veterans who had rolled in the bloody mud pits of Charleroi, Amiens, and Creil, although they had long understood the cruelty of war, knew from the day they joined this elite unit that returning to the front line was only a matter of time.
They just silently wiped their weapons, checked their equipment, and used silence and action to welcome their impending fate.
And those reserve soldiers added later presented a completely different picture.
They hadn’t truly seen mountains of corpses and land plowed by artillery fire. Their young faces were written with romantic fantasies about war and the desire to establish merits.
Becoming a member of this elite unit famous throughout the army made their self-confidence burst even more.
One by one, they geared up, wishing they could go to the front line immediately and beat the Britannians to a pulp with the rifles in their hands.
Regarding this excitement of the recruits, the veterans and officers didn’t deliberately suppress or correct it.
On the one hand, letting soldiers maintain high morale wasn’t a bad thing; it was always better than everyone being downcast.
On the other hand, this naive idea didn’t need correction at all because the cruel battlefield is the best teacher.
Just one battle, one death close at hand, could make these young people grow up instantly…
Those who survive naturally understand.
Many veterans of the instruction unit looked at these chattering, excited reserve soldiers and felt like they were seeing themselves from a few months ago.
The former three platoon leaders of the 1st Company, 1st Battalion, now promoted to company commanders of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Companies of the 1st Battalion—Kane, Ballack, and Lahm—were currently directing their respective soldiers to board orderly at the Koblenz station.
When they saw those rookies in the ranks excitedly discussing the upcoming battle, they couldn’t help exchanging a glance across the noisy crowd on the platform, and then invariably smiled and shook their heads.
Within the twenty-four hours stipulated by the Operations Department of the Army General Staff, the Imperial Guard Instruction Assault Unit completed its final assembly.
Personnel, equipment, ammunition, and supplies were all methodically loaded onto three military trains so long that the ends couldn’t be seen.
The current instruction unit was no longer the assault battalion that could be stuffed into one train initially.
Even putting aside the 4,500 soldiers, just looking at those more than 300 Radiant Crystal Trucks, dozens of artillery pieces of various types, and those three Armored Knights and matching tractors and other supplies—these were the main factors occupying railway transport capacity.
Therefore, the unit could only depart in batches.
The first to depart was the Regimental Headquarters where Morin was, the units directly subordinate to the regiment, and the elite 1st Battalion.
Closely following were the 2nd Battalion, Ludwig and his Armored Knight detachment, and most of the supply units.
The 3rd Battalion and the remaining artillery units departed last as the rear guard.
The compartment carriages originally prepared for regiment-level officers were also replaced by ordinary transport trains by Morin—he initially even wanted to change to boxcars so more personnel and supplies could be loaded at once.
It was just that the station dispatcher refused to agree even to death… Are you kidding? Letting a Lieutenant Colonel sit in a boxcar, I wouldn’t need to come to work tomorrow.
Morin, who no longer needed to worry about trivial matters, sat in the carriage. Besides him, there were also four members of the “General’s Guard” specially transferred by the General Staff.
Since Morin’s current importance to the army was absolutely no weaker than an ordinary general, the General Staff specially equipped him with four “Plate Armor Supermen” for close protection.
Seeing these four “supermen,” who were still sturdy even after taking off their plate armor, sitting around him without relaxing their vigilance at all, appearing very cautious even when chatting with him…
Morin gave up the idea of continuing to chat with them, turned his head, and looked through the glass window at the final busy scene on the platform.
Kleist was loudly confirming the final details before departure with the station dispatcher. Manstein and Paulus held their small notebooks, checking the material loading status over and over against the lists.
His gaze swept over these capable subordinates and finally landed on those soldiers about to rush to the battlefield with him.
I am about to lead these soldiers into hell again…
Morin’s heart moved slightly. He subconsciously touched the ornate shotgun placed on the table in front of him, and the faces of Cecilia and others involuntarily flashed through his mind.
These concerns were his warmest comfort in this cold world and one of the reasons he had to come back alive.
“Sir, everything is ready. Departure exactly in ten minutes…”
Kleist finally completed the handover, returned to the carriage, and reported to Morin.
Morin nodded, withdrawing his thoughts. “Very good, let everyone settle down. The journey this time is not short.”
With a long whistle, the heavy train slowly started, carrying the fate of the soldiers on board, left the familiar Koblenz, and sped towards the west enveloped in flames of war.
The rhythmic “clack-clack” sound of wheels striking the rails became the main melody next.
Two days later, the speed of the military train gradually slowed down and finally stopped at a newly built temporary station.
This place was still twenty kilometers away from their final destination, Buchy.
Rather than a station, it was better to call it a huge unloading platform. Multiple railway tracks intersected here. Soldiers in gray uniforms and railway workers were busy like ants.
This station was also one of the railway extensions built by the Saxon Empire’s Railway Troops starting from Amiens.
Among European countries, the Saxon Empire could be said to attach the most importance to railways and also formed professional railway troops earliest.
So since the outbreak of the war, railway troops followed behind various attacking units, maintaining existing railways while building more railway extensions and auxiliary lines.
Allowing supplies and reinforcements from the rear to reach positions closer to the front line in one step, and also allowing armored trains to obtain better fire support positions.
As carriage doors opened, a gust of cold wind mixed with Radiant Crystal combustion products and chill poured in, accompanied by faint artillery sounds in the distance, refreshing everyone in the boxcars.
“First Battalion disembark! Companies count personnel and assemble in designated areas by platoon!”
“Priority to unload vehicles and artillery of regimental subordinate units! Move fast!”
Soldiers of the instruction unit poured out of the carriages like a tide. Although after two days of train travel, their mental state remained full.
Under the command of officers and non-commissioned officers at all levels, the entire unloading process proceeded methodically with astonishing efficiency.
Those “veteran drivers” who had scrambled in the previous exercise now all appeared adept.
They skillfully drove the Radiant Crystal Trucks down from the flatbed carriages and parked them precisely in the assembly area. That composure and confidence were like two different people compared to before.
This was also because after the previous full-regiment joint practice, the Radiant Crystal Truck drivers had undergone a lot of concentrated training, and the growth speed of the “veteran drivers” wasn’t slow either…
Morin stood by the platform, watching this busy but not chaotic scene in front of him, until Paulus walked to his side.
“Sir, the First Battalion and regimental subordinate units have been fully unloaded. Vehicles and supplies are being counted. Estimated to depart in one hour.”
Paulus’s voice was as steady as ever, as if no matter how chaotic the scene was, it couldn’t affect his judgment.
More than an hour later, a long dragon composed of a large number of Radiant Crystal Trucks and heavy-duty carriages drove mightily away from the temporary station, advancing towards the final destination, Buchy.
A 20-kilometer march was already familiar to the current instruction unit, just a matter of stepping on the gas.
Even if occasionally encountering some emergencies, as long as it wasn’t an extremely complex mechanical failure, general problems could be solved by the truck drivers themselves.
As the convoy continuously pushed west, the scenery outside the window began to undergo disturbing changes.
At first, there were lush woods and occasionally visible farmhouses. Gradually, trees turned into charred stumps, and farmhouses turned into ruins with only broken walls.
Shell craters by the roadside increased, the accumulated water shimmering with a strange oily sheen.
A special smell began to permeate the air—a mixture of gunpowder smoke, rotting mud, and some indescribable odor.
This was the smell of the front line.
When the convoy approached the third reserve trench of the front line, the field of vision instantly opened up—or rather… became desolate.
Looking around, the originally fertile Gallic farmland had completely disappeared, replaced by a pitted, muddy land like the surface of the moon, extending to the end of sight.
The recruits on the vehicles fell silent. They curiously sized up this hellish scene outside the window, the excitement and thrill on their faces replaced by a heaviness and unease.
This was the battlefield, completely different from what they imagined in the training camp.
The veterans appeared much calmer. They either rested with their eyes closed or conversed in low voices, having long been accustomed to all this.
Under the guidance of the Army Group’s guide, the vanguard of the instruction unit arrived smoothly and began to set up camp.
Since the troops hadn’t all arrived yet, the First Army Group Headquarters hadn’t assigned them any combat missions for the time being.
After leaving Kleist and the others in charge of the unit’s camping matters, Morin prepared to follow the old acquaintance specially waiting here—the liaison officer of the headquarters—to report to the Army Group Headquarters.
Before leaving, Morin also specially took a few things brought from the rear—several boxes of herbal supplements said to be prepared by high-ranking mages, several beautifully packaged cans of malted milk extract, plus several cartons of high-grade cigarettes that could only be bought in the rear, and a few bars of chocolate.
Carrying two paper bags full of gifts, Morin got into the liaison vehicle sent by the headquarters.
The liaison officer who came to pick him up was stunned upon seeing what Morin was carrying.
But after Morin stuffed two packs of high-grade cigarettes that were hard to buy even domestically into his hand, he immediately revealed an understanding smile.
“Lieutenant Colonel Morin, you are too polite.”
“It’s only right, it’s not easy for you on the front line either.” Morin’s face still bore an impeccable smile.
Originating from a certain “Mysterious Eastern Power” before transmigration, even in a military academy environment, he deeply understood the importance of “worldly wisdom” (Guanxi).
After all, this stuff also applied well to “Western friends”—or rather, it was even more useful~
The King of Hell is easy to deal with, but the little imps are hard to handle…
Building a good relationship with these staff officers and adjutants of the Army Group Headquarters would definitely make getting things done much smoother in the future.
The liaison vehicle drove all the way back, finally stopping in front of a semi-underground headquarters protected by layers of sandbags and canvas camouflage nets—this was also a product under the influence of the instruction unit’s “Earthwork Operations Guidance.”
“Sir, we have arrived.” The driver stopped the car and said respectfully.
Before getting off, Morin conveniently handed the driver two large bars of chocolate.
The driver was stunned at first, then overjoyed, thanking him repeatedly, looking at Morin much more affectionately.
And after the liaison officer helped Morin open the door, he also smiled and said to him: “The two generals are already waiting for you inside…”
Morin nodded, tidied his uniform, and walked in openly carrying the two bags.