The soldiers were excitedly discussing tonight's dinner when short, sharp bugle calls suddenly rang out all around them.
It was the signal for an enemy attack.
At once, the company commander hurried past the position with the Flag Bearer and drummer, shouting, "Everyone, pick up your guns, fit your Bulletproof Inserts, and form ranks!
"Keep your spirits up! This should be the Prussians' last attack of the day!"
The Sergeant hastily urged everyone to prepare for battle. Then he checked his pocket watch and said furiously, "Those dog bastards are attacking at half past four! Miss Delvaux's Banquet may end up going to another battalion!"
The soldiers' eyes instantly reddened.
The Field Dining Car could not cook after dark, because its firelight would become the best target marker for enemy Artillery.
The fighting on their side would very likely continue until nightfall, which meant the dining car could not come over.
André gritted his teeth. "Aim carefully and shoot! We have to drive the enemy back before dark!"
"That's right. If we hit hard enough, we should still make dinner."
"God bless us—don't let Miss Delvaux's Banquet leave..."
More than ten minutes later, over a thousand Prussian skirmishers rapidly approached from the south under the cover of Artillery fire.
Behind them were more than thirty infantry assault columns.
Yet the Prussians were astonished to discover that the French Army southeast of Eschdorf was unusually ferocious today. Every one of them seemed to have gone mad, utterly ignoring the shellfire as they desperately poured bullets upon them.
The Prussian Army's frontal assault was immediately checked. But thanks to their overwhelming numerical advantage, the encircling force on their eastern flank soon surged forward again.
That was the terror of numerical superiority in large-scale warfare.
Ordinarily, five thousand elite troops stood a strong