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Here, the Imperial Army was equally shocked by these results.

As mentioned, not all generals agreed with the Yulia Doctrine. In fact, nearly half of the officers were unhappy with this unmanly Yulia Doctrine.

As soon as the war began, they made various excuses to deploy the main forces ‘unevenly.’ Then, after barely managing to fend off the enemy’s attack just once in an engagement with the French army, they argued that it was difficult to maintain the current position with trench lines alone. They were planning to start a mobile war right away.

And their idea was spectacularly wrong.

Common sense dictates that the French army would not attack a defensive line where many troops were stationed, right?

Through prior reconnaissance, they launched an offensive on the weakest point, namely the area defended by generals who were dissatisfied with the Yulia Doctrine.

The generals who were unhappy with the Yulia Doctrine were pleased that they could make excuses to start a mobile war, and the French army was pleased that they could easily break through the front lines. Thus, a world where everyone was happy was about to be completed. Or rather, it was supposed to be completed.

In the first engagement, in the second engagement, and in the countless engagements that followed, the Imperial Army ground the French army to dust. Literally. Completely.

Soon, the commanders on both sides realized that the era of defense overwhelming offense had arrived. The era of winning wars with a single decisive battle was over.

However, Joffre could not order a halt to the offensive.

The allied nations far to the east were waiting for their salvation; to falter here was absurd.

But Joffre had no choice but to shut his mouth in the face of the backlash against sacrificing the lives of French youths for the sake of foreigners, and the spectacle of reports filled with zeros.

“We’ll dig trenches too.”

In the end, the French army also began digging long trench lines from the Alps to the North Sea, imitating the Imperial Army’s trench lines.

Thus began the trench warfare.

However, the reason why trench warfare was called hell was not simply because defense overwhelmed offense.

Trench warfare also provided the worst experience for those stationed in the trenches.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

“Ugh…”

French Army Major La Rocque opened his eyes slightly amidst the loud shelling.

“Major. Are you awake?”

“Yeah. Another goddamn morning has dawned.”

La Rocque ran a hand down his face, trying to clear his head. His hand, damp with mud, was smeared with yellow eye mucus.

“Go to the rear and wash up, sir. It’s been almost a week since you last washed.”

“Haa… If I had my way, I’d do that right now…”

It’s unbearably uncomfortable. It feels like my whole body is soaked in a mud pit. Of course, this is not a lie.

Since the French army’s trench lines were located in relatively low-lying areas, they often turned into mud pits.

“But how can I leave you guys and wash up comfortably in the rear by myself?”

“Isn’t it because no matter how much you wash, you’ll be covered in mud again in less than 10 minutes?”

“That’s why I hate perceptive kids.”

Splish. Splash. No sooner had he finished speaking than the water filling the trench came into La Rocque’s view. He frowned deeply.

“Haa… I heard that the Imperial Army’s trenches don’t have water accumulating in them… I’m so jealous of that.”

“Huh… Is that true?”

“It’s true, sir. My close friend who went on a reconnaissance mission and came back alive told me so.”

If that’s the case, then the Imperial Army guys are living in trench lines like hotels compared to this place.

“Indeed. I’m really jealous…”

He muttered and sighed deeply.

Splash. La Rocque’s adjutant stepped into the muddy trench first. Then, he held out his hand to him.

“Do you need an escort, sir?”

“No. Wake up the lazy bastards sleeping in the support trench.”

“Yes, sir!”

He saluted La Rocque and then ran to the support trench where the soldiers were taking a nap.

La Rocque waved his hand at him and then walked through the mud towards the firing post at the front line.

And as soon as he arrived there, he couldn’t help but grimace.

“Damn it… Another idiot…”

The head of the new recruit who had just arrived yesterday had a gaping hole in it. He didn’t know how many times this had happened. He probably carelessly stuck his head over the trench and was shot by an Imperial Army sniper again.

“Haa… Darwin, you were right.”

Natural selection was happening here in real time. In just a week, the idiotic commanders and soldiers had all turned into lumps of meat before his eyes, and only the ones with some know-how had survived.

And the survivors had evolved. From a group that fought fairly in the vast plains to a group that built long trenches and endlessly aimed their guns at each other.

This was a change that had occurred in just over two weeks. In just over two weeks, the French army had changed this much.

“But why the hell don’t they change the uniforms? Damn it.”

It was obvious how our army’s colorful uniforms would look in this mud pit.

Like a circus troupe, they were very, very conspicuous.

Some subordinates even deliberately smeared mud all over their uniforms. Of course, if this fact was discovered by a superior, they would be punished for ‘abandoning the pride of France!’ But that was a price they were willing to pay, as the saturation of the French army’s uniforms was severe.

“Hey! Is anyone there?!”

La Rocque shouted loudly. Because of the shelling, he had to shout loudly for others to hear him properly.

“Private! Joffre!”

“Oh. Commander Joffre. Are you here?”

Of course, he wasn’t actually a commander. He just happened to have the same name as that damn Joffre.

Well, he didn’t seem to dislike his nickname that much either. Lucky, isn’t it? Anyway.

“Joffre. From today, you’re the lowest-ranking soldier again.”

“Ah…”

He chuckled at his short sigh. The moment he first saw a corpse, his face pale and vomiting, was still vivid in his mind. Now, he was just making a slightly regretful expression.

Why is that? I’m reminded of the moment I first saw a corpse. The offensive that started with Joffre’s damn order. The feeling I had then… Hmm. Nothing comes to mind. When I think back to that moment, I just want to go home. Only that one word fills my head.

KWA-AA-AA-NG!!!

“God damn it…”

A shell struck the ground, shaking the earth. Thanks to that, La Rocque’s thoughts were cut off.

He quickly covered his head with both hands.

The Imperial Army soldiers on the front lines were also in a terrible situation.

Of course, the situation was relatively better for units stationed in the existing border fortresses, but the soldiers stationed in the trench lines newly built under the Emperor’s orders were spending days like hell.

You might ask if it’s not better than the French army here… Well. You could say that there are grades in hell.

“I’m thirsty…”

Corporal Adolf Hitler looked up at the sky and muttered in despair.

Since the Imperial Army’s trench lines were located in relatively high-lying areas, there was ‘less’ water accumulating compared to the French army’s trench lines, but in return, the Imperial Army suffered from a chronic shortage of supplies.

This was because virtually all sea routes had been blocked by the Allied forces as soon as the war began.

“Corporal Hitler… When is the next supply coming…?”

“I don’t know either… I’m just going to aim for the next leave. I’ll buy some paint and food.”

The problem is that I don’t know when that next leave will come.

“Wow. Corporal Hitler. You can paint too?”

“Didn’t you know? Our Corporal Hitler was a fine arts college entrance exam student.”

At the heavy voice coming from behind, the two quickly turned around and saluted. It was Sergeant Major Max Amann. He was a popular figure in the unit thanks to his unique, easygoing personality.

“Salute!”

“At ease. So Hitler, are you painting well these days?”

“I paint sometimes on weekends, sir. But this…”

“It would be strange if you could paint well in a place like this. But it’s good to see you painting steadily.”

He said that and patted Hitler on the shoulder.

However, those in the rear did not know what hell the soldiers on the front lines were experiencing.

The war that those living in the rear thought of was not something barbaric like trench warfare, but a ‘romantic’ duel where fair and square fights took place.

Even if you tried to make them understand the horrors of trench warfare, they did not understand the horrors of trench warfare.

The soldiers in the rear and the front lines lived in different worlds.

Of course, I knew the horrors that were happening on the front lines well. That’s why I understood how to bring about terrible results for the enemies, and how to turn as many enemies as possible into fertilizer for the Gallia plains.

And now, the result was placed before my eyes.

“How… unfortunate.”

I looked down at the report on the French army’s large-scale offensive that took place at the beginning of the war, the so-called ‘Joffre Offensive,’ and made a pitiful expression.

‘Of course, I can’t let my guard down.’

Although it is true that the defense of the trench lines is strong, it is not as if the trench lines are invincible.

Someday, they will find a way to break through this hell called trench lines. Both they and the Empire.

‘Of course. I have no intention of waiting until they find that method.’

I contacted the Ministry of War.

“Stockpile as many supplies as possible by November 15th.”

Thud. An arrow was drawn on the map. The direction that arrow pointed to was the vast plains of Gallia.

“…Heh.”

We will be the ones laughing in 1915.