Arriving One After Another, Counterattack

As the reinforcing troops moved into their designated combat positions.

The Allied troops once again felt the familiar, dense web of fire.

Watching Liège Fortress from a distance, General Herbert saw this and let his hands fall limply to his sides.

He knew this offensive had failed.

With German reinforcements arriving, what awaited him was an even tighter defense and resistance to the death.

Before those reinforcements arrived, their Allied troops had still had their reorganized logistical supplies to fall back on.

Now the German reinforcements had erased those advantages.

Moreover, these German troops had a stronger will to fight than any German troops he had ever encountered. He could not understand why this army could endure such tremendous casualties and hold fast to a single Liège Fortress until now.

Just what was sustaining them?

He could not understand.

With the war having reached this point, not only his troops but the Allied armies as a whole had generally grown weary of war.

After four consecutive days without taking Liège Fortress, the soldiers under his command had grown deeply dissatisfied.

Now that German reinforcements had arrived, they no longer had any chance of taking Liège Fortress.

Meanwhile, behind Liège Fortress.

Troop trains sped toward Liège Fortress, one after another.

On either side of the trains, large numbers of cavalry rode their warhorses toward Liège Fortress alongside them.

The heavy thunder of hooves mingled with the sound of wheels rolling along the tracks, forming a symphony all its own.

The cavalry commander held the reins in one hand as he shouted.

"Up ahead is our destination, Liège Fortress!"

"Onward, soldiers, for the Kaiser's glory! For the glory of the German Empire!"

"Trample those British bodies beneath your horses' hooves! Charge into the French positions! Until the earth swallows their blood!"

The commander's voice echoed across the open country.

Riding their horses, the soldiers shouted in unison, "Fight for His Majesty!"

At four in the afternoon, the second reinforcing infantry division entered Liège Fortress, followed by the others.

At five in the afternoon, the third and fourth arrived.

At six in the evening, as the fifth division, a cavalry division, reached Liège Fortress, the once-empty fortress was garrisoned by one force after another, their ranks orderly and their presence formidable.

Ferocious artillery fire swept over the forward positions and plowed the Allied trenches flat.

The firing ports throughout Liège Fortress once again spat tongues of flame.

At last, this historic Liège Fortress entered its heyday.

Faced with such ferocious German shelling and such a dense web of fire, the Allied plan to break through Liège Fortress and diminish Germany's voice at the negotiating table was utterly shattered.

General Herbert slumped in his chair at headquarters, his eyes vacant as one battle report after another was handed to him.

But by then, he was in no mood whatsoever to read those reports.

The outcome was settled.

A staff officer slowly approached him and spoke softly. "Commander, we've lost."

Only after a long while did General Herbert speak quietly. "Failure on the very brink of success. On the very brink."

"Pull our soldiers back. Don't let them make any more pointless sacrifices."

"Yes, sir."

At seven that evening.

The Allied troops announced their withdrawal.

Inside Liège Fortress.

Model sat in headquarters, with Schörner and some of the other reinforcing troops who had arrived afterward beside him.

Looking at the officers, Model spoke slowly. "Gentlemen, we have honorably fulfilled the mission His Majesty the Kaiser entrusted to us."

"But this is the moment when our morale is at its highest."

"Are we simply going to watch them swagger away?"

At this point, Model's gaze hardened. "Those arrogant Allied officers took it upon themselves to bring the flames of war to our defensive line!"

"Now that they see there's nothing they can do, they want to withdraw unscathed?"

"Too late."

Hearing Model's words, the commander of the cavalry division that had come from the Western Front immediately stood.

"We absolutely cannot let them withdraw like this! Tonight, we'll launch a surprise attack on their lines."

"If they want to leave, they'll have to leave enough offerings behind first!"

The commanders of the other infantry divisions voiced their agreement.

And so, with the approval of every officer present, a plan codenamed "Operation Long Knife" was established.

At nine that evening.

The exhausted British and French troops, who had fought all day, had just lit their cooking fires.

Volley after volley of shells came crashing down on their heads.

"Enemy attack!"

Before the messenger could relay the orders, a dense thunder of hooves followed close behind the exploding shells.

Heavy gunfire erupted from the forward positions. An officer hauled on his reins, and the force pulled his warhorse's forelegs high into the air.

The officer drew the saber at his waist, swung it twice, and shouted, "Soldiers, open fire!"

"Unleash your fury for our fallen brothers!"

Cavalrymen kept racing past him on their warhorses, leveling their gun barrels at the soldiers who had just been preparing to rest and squeezing their triggers hard.

The warhorses moved swiftly, reaching the trenches in the blink of an eye.

The soldiers slung their long guns behind their backs and drew their sabers from their waists together.

They slashed savagely at the enemy.

Blood flew, and screams rose without end.

The charging cavalry plunged into the enemy ranks with unstoppable fighting spirit.

Only then did the troops in the area blanketed by shellfire manage to set up their machine guns, and just as they were about to pull the triggers.

The cavalry were already upon them, a horse's hooves slamming hard into a machine gunner's chest.

Blood spurted from the machine gunner's mouth as he was sent flying backward.

Once the cavalry had battered the enemy lines into scattered fragments.

The infantry following behind arrived, charging into the trenches together and pulling their triggers on the soldiers still alive.

The flames of war spread through the Allied defensive lines at tremendous speed.

The staff officer slammed open the headquarters door and shouted to General Herbert, "General, those German troops have launched an attack on us."

"Our troops are being driven back at every turn."

"Please withdraw with us as quickly as possible!"

At the staff officer's words, Herbert shook his head and remained standing where he was.

"You go."

"General!"

Tears filled the staff officer's eyes as he looked at Herbert.

But Herbert still showed no sign of turning around. Seeing this, the staff officer could only close the door silently.

After closing the door, the staff officer suddenly heard a gunshot from inside headquarters.

Hearing that shot, the staff officer held back the grief in his heart and issued the order to retreat to all the officers.

As the first rays of morning sunlight fell into the frontline trenches, German soldiers were carrying away countless bodies.

Flamethrower troops gathered them together and burned them.

The war was over.