Königsberg railway station.
"Little Sasha, take care of your brother when I'm away, okay?" Chen Tian picked up his little princess and kissed hard.
"Punch, don't!" The 3-year-old Sasha turned to avoid Chentian's beard.
Lisa stood silently, tears already rolling in her eyes.
"A triumphant return soon!"
"Yeah! Waiting for me to come back!" Chen Tian held the little princess in one hand, and Lisa into his arms with the other, and Little Andres was sleeping soundly in the arms of the nurse.
On the platform, looking around is full of sad scenes of parting, and countless German soldiers carrying long guns are bidding farewell to their relatives or lovers.
The Panzer Corps and the 1st, 2nd, and 4th Infantry Corps of the East Prussian Regiment will set off from here to the Russian-German border, and they will cross the border and enter Russian territory to fight.
Two days ago, Chentian sent Ollie and his staff to the train here. As Turkey was about to enter the war, Kemal requested that Olli be sent there as the commander of the German-Turkish coalition forces. Therefore, as soon as the eastern counterattack was over, Olli hurried out with a group of staff.
At the same time, Lenin and his companions also boarded the train to Turkey, where they would enter Russia. Once the Russian army was completely defeated, Lenin led his Bolsheviks to start the Russian Revolution.
At this time, the 4 groups of the Russian army and the 3 groups of the Austro-Hungarian coalition were fighting fiercely in the Polish region. Since the East Prussian Army did not suffer any losses in the previous East Prussian counterattack, Chentian decided to quickly send troops to the back of the Russian army. One knife.
For this plan, neither the emperor nor the little Mochi were very supportive. Once the East Prussian Army had an accident, they would be unable to deploy troops from the western front to support them. They also expressed their trust in the combat effectiveness of the Austro-Hungarian coalition forces. More importantly, the East Prussian Grand Victory. Everyone thought that the Russian army could not withstand a single blow, so they thought that the Austro-Hungarian army was sufficient to deal with the Russians.
Chen Tian himself knew very well that if it hadn't taken advantage of the time and place, plus a large number of machine guns played a huge role in the defensive battle, he would not have eliminated the two Russian armies so easily. If he does not intervene in the Russo-Austrian War, if nothing happens, the Austrian-Hungarian coalition forces will soon be defeated. By that time, the situation on the Eastern Front will be very unfavorable for the Allied countries. Maybe then we really have to split troops from the Western Front to support the Eastern Front. Up. Therefore, Chentian repeatedly insisted on the dispatch of troops and argued with Xiao Maoqi on the phone for two days. Only then did Xiao Maoqi reluctantly agree to the East Prussian Army entering Russia to fight.
Due to the deep fighting in Russia, most of the tanks and aircraft did not accompany the East Prussian Army. They will strengthen the defense forces in the East Prussian region.
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Western Front, Belgium.
On August 8, the German Right-wing 1st Group Army captured Brussels, the capital of Belgium, and the King of Belgium and his army retreated to Antwerp.
Teams of German Lancers armed with flagpole spears appeared on the streets of Brussels. They were just an advance team showing the might of the German Army. The teams that followed were so powerful and mighty that it was almost unbelievable.
The main German forces began to pass through Brussels at 1 o'clock. The first to appear was a team of infantry in earth-gray uniforms. They were neatly decorated, their beards were brightly shaved, their leather shoes were brightly polished, and their bayonets were shining in the sun; Then the cavalry came, the same dusty uniforms, black and white pennants floated on the flagpoles, and the dense horse hooves stepped on the gravel road with crisp hooves; the artillery's heavy artillery wheels rolled forward with thunder; the drummers rumbling. As they beat the snare drums, the soldiers opened their hoarse voices and sang the triumphant song "I wish you a crown of victory forever".
The soldiers marched, the line was endless. The crowd watching the march was silent and could not help but be speechless at such a mighty army. The strong German army certainly awes the Belgians, and the truck convoy with shoe workshops and the four-horse-horse cooking convoy are even more surprising. In the shoe repair workshop car, shoemakers stood by the workbench and slapped their hands, the shoe repair soldiers stood waiting on the pedals, and the cooking car was full of fire and smoke.
The German army leaned on one side of the avenue, and the staff's car and the correspondent's bicycle shuttled in the middle of the road. Some of the cavalry officers were dangling cigarettes and staring at everything, some wearing monocles, and some holding English riding whips. They were of different shapes, but they all looked like noble knights.
The marching team walked for an hour and an hour, the whole afternoon, the whole night, all night, until the next day. In this way, Kluk's 1st Army 320,000 troops drove into Brussels continuously for three days and nights.
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Western Front, France.
General Xiafei, the commander-in-chief of the French army, who was nearly 6 years old, was burly, with a big belly, a plump face dotted with a thick beard and two thick eyebrows, a fair complexion, two blue and serene eyes, and a sincere and peaceful look, and he looked like a Santa Claus. Known as "Papa Xiafei". His strategy for the French army was to abandon the fortifications of the right wing and concentrate forces on the center and left wing of the German army. He and all the French hoped to retake the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine, which were lost in 1870.
On August 4, Paris, the French army set off. French soldiers in red trousers and dark blue tops with wide hem, walked neatly across the street, chanting. General Bo, who lost an arm, wore the blue and black ribbon of the 1870 battlefield veteran, and rode ahead of the team on horseback. The soldiers of the cavalry regiment wore dazzling chest armor and long black ponytails hanging from their helmets, marching with full of air. Following them are large wooden crates and flatbed trailers equipped with planes. On the car are slender 75mm field guns. This cannon is the pride of France. The horses and horses regrouped all day long, passing through the arched gates of the North and East Stations.
On August 10, 80,000 British troops equipped with 30,000 horses, 315 field guns and 125 machine guns crossed the strait to cooperate with the French after gathering in Southampton and Portsmouth. The commanding knives of the officers were all just polished and gleaming. They were ordered to send them to the repair shop for polishing on the third day before mobilization, but these sabers were of no use other than to pay tribute to the inspection. However, the British call this unit "the best trained, organized, and equipped of the British forces that have ever embarked on the journey."
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The western front, the border between Germany and France.
The strength of the 5 French army groups is similar to that of the 70 divisions deployed by Germany on the western front. The French 1st Army is on the right, and the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th Army to the left, and Verdun to the Turkish Defense Line. The two armies were assembled for the boundary, similar in number to the two armies of the German army on the line from Metz to Tionville as the dividing line. In Asalus and Lorraine, the French Army's 1st and 2nd Army Groups faced the German 7th and 6th Army Groups and formed the right wing of the French Army. Their task was to launch a powerful offensive and drive the confronting Germans back to the Rhine. .
On August 15, the French army began an offensive against the left wing of the Germans on the western front. General Boss launched an offensive against Alsace, and General Dubai's 1st Army and De Castelno's 2nd Army also crossed respectively. The two natural passages in the Lorraine area launched an offensive with the goal of the Morange Natural Fortress.
The German defenders in the Lorraine position were the 6th Army of Bavarian Crown Prince Ruprecht and the 7th Army of General Heilingen under his command. Their task was to contain as many French troops as possible on his front, so that they could not go to the main position of the French troops facing the right wing of the Germans. According to Schlieffen's plan, to complete this task, he must first retreat and introduce the French army into his pocket to lengthen the French army's line of communication, and then bite it. At this time, the decisive battle started elsewhere. The essence of this plan is to allow the enemy in this area to achieve a tactical victory and make it suffer a strategic defeat. In the first few days of the French offensive, the German army retreated slowly as planned. French troops in blue and red trousers came one after another from the wide and straight roads between the parasol trees and drove into the land once belonged to them.
However, since the day the French army launched the offensive, Xiao Moqi's determination to implement Schlieffen's plan to rely entirely on the right wing began to waver. He and his staff expected that the French army would mobilize the main force of its left wing to meet the threat of the German right wing. The French did not know that there was no movement. The French army is gathering the main force to prepare for a major offensive through the Lorraine region between Metz and the Vosges Mountains, making the German Command to consider whether it is necessary to readjust the entire strategic deployment. From then on, the German high command was tempted as soon as the left wing had an opportunity to take advantage of it. Little Maoqi is no longer ideologically opposed to changing the battle plan based on the enemy's movements. In this way, the Schlieffen plan devotes all its strength and one wing, regardless of how the enemy's actions must be strictly implemented, the plan is broken. The plan that seemed so seamless on paper is now shattered in the war, under the pressure of unpredictability, especially the pressure of emotional impulse.
Seeing that other troops were advancing with their heads high, while he was retreating, Rupresit felt very uncomfortable. He strongly demanded a counterattack. He believed that he should accomplish as many tasks as possible to contain the French army on his front. The good way is to attack. He and the German High Command had a heated discussion on the phone for three days. He said that his army had waited impatiently for the order to attack and could not control them. It was shameful to force the eager troops to retreat.
The German High Command was both overwhelmed and frightened. Little Mochi reminded Rupresit that there would be dangers in the counterattack. The main danger was that it would be a frontal attack, because there were undulating mountains and French fortresses, and it was impossible to outflank it.
Rupresit retorted that the danger of offensive is not great, but the more dangerous is to continue to retreat. He will be surprised and beat the enemy into a daze.
"Either let me attack," he finally shouted hoarsely, "or just give an order that explicitly prohibits the attack!"
Rupresit couldn't help it, and asked Little Mochi to answer bluntly whether he was okay or not.
"Oh! No, I will not restrain your hands and feet to prevent you from attacking, but you must take the responsibility and make your decision based on your conscience!" Xiao Maoqi still let go.
On August 18, the French commander-in-chief Xiafei issued an order instructing General Lufu's 3rd Army and General Decari's 4th Army to prepare to attack the Athenian area, and the 5th Army to attack the north of the Sambre River.
In Lorraine, on the morning of August 20th, the French 1st and 2nd Army were scorched as they attacked the German defense lines in Saarbour and Morangi. For machine gun positions equipped with heavy artillery, barbed wire and concealed bunkers, the defects of a large-scale charge were immediately exposed. The assault tactics of the French army are based on the estimation that the immigrant infantry unit sprints forward for 20 seconds and advances 50 meters, but the opponent has no time to deliver the gun, aim, and shoot. But the subjects that were practiced hard during the exercise proved to be stupid and unattainable on the battlefield. The German machine gun can be fired in just 8 seconds. Despite the setback, the two French generals ordered the troops to advance. The German counterattack began, and the French army was shattered by fierce artillery fire. The French 2nd Army was forced to retreat, leaving the 1st Army's right flank without cover. Xia Fei had no choice but to order the 1st Army to retreat with it.
The next day, Rupresit's heavy artillery roared like ten thousand horses, day and night. The French army retreated to the Schalm Pass between the Turk and Erbinar defenses in France.
On the 23rd, the German 6th and 7th Army Group launched a magnificent attack on the Schalm Gorge and fell into a fierce battle with the French 1st and 2nd Army in the following days.
The failure of Lorraine's offensive did not discourage Xiafei. On the contrary, he saw that Rupresit's fierce counterattack had plunged the German left wing into the quagmire of fierce fighting. This is a good time for him to let go and attack the German central road. He issued the order to attack in the Aden district. As the French 3rd and 4th Army Groups entered the mountains, the French 5th Army crossed the Sangbre River and attacked the enemy's right flank.
The terrain of the A mountain area is not suitable for offensive. There are dense woods and creeks. Despite this, it was chosen by the French as a breakthrough point. They believed that the German forces here were the weakest.
The German army guarding here is the 5th Army led by Prince Prince and the 4th Army led by the Duke of Württemberg. According to the plan, the German 4th Army will attack Nafschato through the northern part of the Aden area, and the 5th Army will attack Verton and the two French fortresses Longvi and Montmedy through the southern part of the mountain. Prince's headquarters will be located in Titian. Onville.
Confronting Prince was the French 3rd Army under the command of Lu Fu. Luf's task was to drive the Germans back from Metz to Tionville and encircle them there while regaining the Brière area as they proceeded. When he surrounded the right wing of the German central road, the 4th Army of the neighboring forces would surround the left-wing Germans in the central road. The two French armies will break out from the center, cutting off the arm of the German right wing from the shoulder.
On August 22, a large-scale battle began. In Verton and Tantini, in Rossignol and Naftosia, on various battlefields, the guns rumbling.
Before the attack, the French soldiers were equipped with bayonets on their guns, and countless flags were flying in the wind. The drum horn band with the unit as the unit enthusiastically played the "Marseillaise." The officers wearing white gloves, 20 steps before the band, stepped on the syllables of trumpets, and marched neatly and quickly, magnificent and magnificent, just like a military parade at the National Day. When the French infantry advances, their avant-garde troops are in order and the formation is neat, even when they fall down amidst the sound of gunfire, they are also very neat. They were like rabbits, and they couldn't get up after falling down, but they were brave and not afraid of it. The officers of the avant-garde team swaggered in front of the team. The avant-garde team fell in small groups, followed by small groups, and kept falling and advancing. The position where the follow-up troops fell and never exceeded the first. 50 meters in front of a fallen position.
In Rossignol, the French 3rd Colonial Division was surrounded by the 6th Army of the German 5th Army. It fought for 6 hours. The whole division was few and the commander was killed.
In Verton, the battlefield after the fierce battle is an incredible sight. Thousands of dead people are still standing, leaning on a 60-degree slope formed by batches of corpses.
On August 23, it became clear that the French army missed the shot and the arrow was broken. The French army did not "split the German army in half". The French army mustered up their proud courage, brandishing their sabers and shouting loudly. With "advance", they launched attack after attack against the German troops who were standing in the trenches and using machine guns and cannons, but the terrifying firepower of the opponent defeated their courage. The French army began to retreat from the Aden area, and the 3rd Army retreated to Fan. Erden, the 4th Army withdrew to Steine and Sedan.
At this time, the Fifth Army on the Sambor River was ordered to cross the river to attack. This was the first operation involving the British. The vanguard of the German Bilo Army arrived on the Sambore River on August 21 and made a forcible crossing between Namur and Charleroi. The 10th Army of the French 5th Army stationed in this area did not excavate on the south bank. The trenches did not erect barbed wire or construct other fortifications, but waited to rush the enemy physically, because the French military vocabulary did not have the word defense preparation. The French army rushed forward in this way, but the German machine guns were extremely powerful. On August 23, the French army began to retreat.
Far on the left, the British army and Kluk's subordinates have been fighting over the 18-meter-wide Mons Canal since the early morning. This is the first time that British soldiers have fought against a European enemy since the Crimean War, and it is also the first battle on the European continent since Waterloo. This battle lasted 9 hours from the beginning to the retreat. The British army plan 2 The division was 35,000, with a total of nearly 2,000 casualties, but they held back the advance of the German Kluk Army for one day.
The battle on the German-French border was over. The French army suffered more than 140,000 casualties in these four days, while the German casualties were minimal. The German-French border is full of broken walls, and the streets and lanes exude the stench of blood, medicine, horse dung and corpses mixed together. Among the corpses, there are scattered fragments of the dazzling French field regulations printed with the words "The French army should use offensive as the only law in the future, and only offensive can produce positive results."
The border has been breached, the door of France has been opened, and all the French troops have retreated. On August 24, the whole battle was clear, and the German army began to move forward with a long drive.
When this news was received, Chentian and his main force of the East Prussian Army were gathering on the German-Russian border. Hearing that the German army had successfully invaded the territory of France, the soldiers were full of joy, only Chentian frowned.
"The dream of'Schlifen' was thus shattered. The main force of the French army was not eliminated at the border and in the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine. Their vitality was almost completely preserved. Little Maoqi, there will be times when you regret it in the future!" Chen Tian sighed and sighed. Sooner or later, the Western Front will be in a deadlock again. He must solve the Russians who have fallen off the Eastern Front as soon as possible to free up to join the Western Front. He also hopes that the emperor can send his elite armored troops to the front as soon as possible. The tractor factory has made every effort to manufacture armored vehicles, and two new armored corps are also being formed, but it is still unknown whether they can rely on these weapons to defeat all the French and British forces.
"Student Lenin, don't let me down!"