Chapter 526: Chapter 526: They Attempt to Cover Everything Up
The casualty situation of the British Army had always been intermittently reported from Britain and even Germany to France.
But the French public was not very concerned about these reports.
What did the death and injury of the British have to do with France?
Many people did not say it aloud, but in their hearts they secretly rejoiced: it was best if more British died, as it would highlight the greatness and pride of France.
Of course, this was just the thought of a "small portion" of people; the majority and mainstream media believed this news was deliberately released by the Germans to undermine the morale and confidence of the Allies.
Even if the frontline had so many wounded sent back that the medical system was nearly collapsing, they still believed this.
They had their own sayings:
"How can there be no deaths in a war? If we have such large casualties, the enemy’s casualties must be even greater!"
"That’s what war is like, it’s the consumption of human lives, it’s a matter of who can hold out until the end."
"We cannot compromise, cannot give up, we must fully support our troops!"
...
In an era when television had not been invented and radios were not yet widespread, the media relied mainly on newspapers, and information spread more through word of mouth. If the upper echelons of the state intentionally concealed information, it was hard for people to know what was happening on the battlefield.
Despite the surviving wounded each saying:
"The frontline casualties are severe, there are dead bodies everywhere."
"The enemy’s firepower is fierce, we can’t make any progress."
"All the men in my unit are dead, only a few of us made it back!"
...
But they were just individual cases, all isolated incidents, not the whole and without any exact numbers, as the government had never released any precise figures.
If this continued, the "massacre" on the River Somme battlefield might be covered up until a few months later, when after paying the price of over 600,000 lives, only a negligible victory was achieved.
At that time, the casualty numbers would be overshadowed by the cheers of victory!
But this was disrupted by the appearance of the British Army’s new tanks.
In pursuit of news, newspapers spared no expense to buy the latest and most complete information from soldiers, and some journalists risked their lives mixing into the medical, logistics, and even stretcher-bearing units, aiming to get a photo of the new tanks at the frontline.
However, the facts they uncovered shocked everyone: there was no victory at all, all the tank wreckage remained on the original battle line, and there were countless corpses, with the British Army not advancing even one step, not even a small one.
French newspapers had no need to conceal this for the British, and soon battlefield photos appeared on the front pages of major newspapers.
Morning Paper: "Unbelievable, this is simply hell. The war has been going on for more than a year now, and we’ve taken many battlefield scenes, but this kind of massacre is the first time we’ve seen it!"
Accompanied by a photo of bodies scattered on the ground with tank wreckage in the distance.
Little Paris Daily: "It’s too horrible! Is this a war? Or is it a one-sided slaughter? Yet the soldiers still charge at the enemy’s lines under orders. I’m not sure if this is wise, nor do I know what the strategy is, but I do know it’s meaningless!"
Accompanied by a photo of British soldiers struggling to charge under a hail of bullets.
Le Figaro: "We would have preferred this to be a duel between gentlemen, but what we see is the fragility and insignificance of life. Thousands of soldiers are dying here without any dignity."
Accompanied by a close-up of a corpse lying in no man’s land, it was bloated and decomposing, with some of the flesh on its face eaten away by groundhogs, exposing the skull, and the stomach was highly distended.
Below the photo was a small caption:
After death, microorganisms in the body decompose and produce a large amount of gas. If this gas cannot be expelled normally, it accumulates inside, causing the abdomen to swell. Soon it will burst, and the decayed matter inside the abdomen will splatter everywhere.
Frontline soldiers refer to this phenomenon as "corpse blast," and they have become accustomed to it. In the dead of night, if there is no artillery bombardment, the sound of corpse blasts would rise and fall one after another.
Le Figaro is a newspaper for the aristocracy. Those aristocratic gentlemen, waking up in the morning, wearing pajamas, leisurely drinking coffee, and enjoying a delicate breakfast, would casually pick up a newspaper and see such scenes and annotations.
They could even feel the splattered filth flying into their food, the coffee and sauce were black, along with the thick, streaky, steaming chocolate.
Merit Newspaper wisely chose not to be the vanguard, instead continuing to provide scientific knowledge on how to avoid amputation due to "trench foot" in waterlogged and damp trenches.
But this seemed to be of little use, as many people intentionally got "trench foot" because the horror of the frontline far exceeded the fear of amputation.
Journalists were not fools, and they quickly thought:
If the British had such huge casualties on the same front line, did it mean the French Army had similar losses?
If the British were hiding the truth, was Nivelle doing the same?
So, naturally, the situation at the French positions was also photographed, and it was no better than that of the British Army.
The point was that despite such huge casualties, the front line showed no progress.
People understood:
"They are lying, they are trying to cover up everything."
"There is no German conspiracy, what the Germans said is the truth!"
"They are just trying to hide their incompetence. The soldiers are dying meaninglessly and without dignity; they are murderers!"
...
The public and celebrities demanded that the French Government disclose casualty figures and the real situation on the battlefield. The government organized parliamentary discussions, and under pressure, the parliament in turn pressured the military.
Ultimately, this ball was kicked to the feet of the French Army’s Commander-in-Chief, Nivelle.
...
On the southern bank of the River Somme, Nivelle, who was personally commanding at the frontline, was troubled as he looked at the telegram sent from the government.
This was not a matter of casualties for the French Army.
French casualties were not large, with only more than twenty thousand in the past week, which was insignificant.
(Note: The French Army did not commit many troops to the Battle of the River Somme; the main casualties were from the British Army.)
The problem was that he had told everyone before the battle that victory could be achieved in just a few days and had continuously boasted that the frontline was making progress, but now there was no slightest advancement.
He knew what the exposure would mean afterward.
The position of Commander-in-Chief, which he had worked so hard to obtain, would likely be lost, and he might follow in the footsteps of Xia Fei and be dismissed from the army, as someone needed to take responsibility for this futile loss of lives.
No, he must achieve victory, Nivelle thought, only then could he account to the parliament and the public!
But how to achieve victory?
This may be within easy reach for Shire, but for others, it was an unattainable dream!
Nivelle suddenly thought: I am the Commander-in-Chief of the French Army, why not let Shire come to the rescue? The British want to compete with Shire, that’s their issue, I must at least get through this hurdle!
A direct transfer might be too sensitive, compromising dignity and face.
Using the parliament’s hand might be a good choice!