"General, the 12th Army Corps lost more than fifty thousand men in today's battle! A great many soldiers have been frightened out of their wits—they're hiding in the rear like quail and don't dare go to the front lines anymore. How are we supposed to fight this battle?" General Robert, commander of the British 12th Army Corps, complained to General Haig.
"General, the 13th Army Corps has also suffered enormous losses. The German offensive is too fierce, too powerful! We simply can't hold them back!" General George, commander of the 13th Army Corps, wore an equally grim expression.
If, before clashing with the German military, they had believed the Germans were all bark and no bite, then now they finally understood just how formidable the Germans were. Indeed, they had performed even worse than the troops they had once mocked.
"I know! But we still need to hold on for as long as possible!" General Haig said.
The battle had only begun a day ago, yet these two army corps were already unable to endure. The Minister of War, Richard Haldane, had previously wanted them to hold the southern defensive line for a month. How could that possibly happen?
"General, if possible, it would be best to give us some reinforcements! Otherwise, we truly won't be able to hold out," General Robert said.
General Haig did indeed have reinforcements at hand—more than two hundred thousand men, a full army corps. Moreover, this army corps could be considered fairly elite. However, its soldiers had been selected and reorganized from the routed troops of the Southeast War Zone. After suffering a crushing defeat there, the soldiers' fighting spirit had been severely affected. Getting them to pick up weapons again and resist the Germans would undoubtedly be extremely difficult. Even General Haig himself