Chapter 609 Marne River (top)

Compared with Italy’s petty fight in the Alps, ally Germany’s offensive is much larger. After defeating Belgium and the British Expeditionary Force, the revolving door project has entered a critical moment.

When millions of German troops crossed the Belgian border from Belgium and attacked France, the French army was extremely frightened. At this time, the No. 17 battle plan for attacking Germany was no longer mentioned. The most urgent task now is to block the German offensive.

So the French army organized several battles one after another, such as the Battle of the Ardennes.

In this battle, the French General Staff believed that since Germany was attacking from attacking Belgium, there must be a weak force in the Ardennes region in the central part, then the French army attacking this place will have a great chance to prevent the German army from continuing to advance to the French interior.

As a result, the French commander-in-chief Xiafei ordered Roof’s 3rd Army to march south of the Ardennes, drive the German 5th Army there back to Metz to Thionville, and then surround it and recover Briere at the same time. iron mining area. In addition, the French Fourth Army attacked from the northern part of the Ardennes, and the task was to encircle and wipe out the German Fourth Army.

From a strategic and tactical point of view, the French army has done a good job, cutting off the left and right flanks of the German army, then the revolving door will not be able to rotate, and will be broken by the French army.

But unfortunately, the French army wrongly estimated the strength of the German army. According to the French army’s estimation, the two German armies should have the strength of 6 corps.

The French estimates were correct, but their news was delayed because four German reserves joined two armies. As a result, the troops originally prepared to fight against the German army of 6 were forced to fight against the enemy of 10 armies. The number of people, weapons, and firepower are all higher than the boss, and it is a miracle to be able to win.

Obviously, the French army failed to create a miracle. After being beaten by the German army, the third French army retreated to Verdun, and the fourth army retreated to Sedan and Stena.

Subsequently, the British, French and Belgian armies suffered successive defeats in the Battle of Mons and the Battle of the Sambre. At this time, the three armies on the left flank of the French army had all been defeated, while the two armies on the right flank were still struggling to support them in Lorraine. At this time, the five armies on the right flank of the German army and in the middle were like a sickle, and they were cut from Belgium to France.

At this time, in order not to allow the British and French troops to gain a firm foothold and to reorganize the defense line, Kruger’s First Army and Bilo’s Second Army marched all the way to pursue the equally exhausted British and French troops.

In the face of the German army that was chasing after itself, the British and French troops could only continue to send troops to carry out arduous and dangerous blocking.

In fact, this is more like the constant blood loss of the British and French troops, because in this case, the blocking after the break is not easy to fight. After the tired and panic soldier hears that you let him take charge of the break, it is not bad that he does not point his weapon at you.

In the face of the millions of German troops attacking from the right wing, Xiafei, the commander-in-chief of the French army, is of course duty-bound. He then issued General Order No. 2, drawing troops from Lorraine to form a new 7th Army and deploy it on the German right flank.

At the same time, the three armies on the left flank, which were retreating, should also try their best to maintain a complete front, with short and violent counterattacks by the rear guards, blocking or at least retarding the enemy’s advance, and preparing to resume the offensive.

From Xiafei’s order, we can see that the French commander-in-chief still has the idea of ​​attacking.

Of course, this idea is not yet obvious, because the face of the German army swept in, causing the French capital Paris to fall into a panic.

Some people in the government called Xiafei an idiot and a fool, and some people threatened to strip the skin of the Secretary of the Army Mehmi, but in the end, the Secretary of the Army Mehmi stepped down and replaced him by Millerland. At the same time, General Michel, the commander of the city defense of Paris, was also relieved of his duties, and General Gallieni succeeded him.

One more thing to say here, Gallieni served under the condition that the government promised to transfer three troops to his command. Yes, the new Paris city defense commander is such a personality.

Of course not only that, the core of the new Seventh Army Corps, led by General Monouli and the Lorraine troops, arrived in Paris by train, and then set off on the front line.

At this time, the German army opened a 75-mile wide area on the right flank and marched in the direction of Paris. The first army led by General Kruger was at the forefront. The First Army was the end of the right flank in Schlieffen’s plan, and the curved tip of the scythe.

Of course, considering the arduous tasks and goals of the First Army, its troops, equipment and transport vehicles are also the most.

What Kruger’s First Army had been chasing was the French Fifth Army. There were also some sporadic battles during the pursuit, and this battle ended quickly with a German crushing attack. The French Fifth Army could be said to be running wildly all the way.

Little Mao Qi, who was far behind, learned that the distance between the First Army and the Second Army was too large, and ordered Kluk to slow down the advance to ensure effective cover and coordination with the Second Army. But at this time, General Kluck was eager to fight, and he ordered the German army to speed up its advance, and must not give the French army a chance to breathe.

When the vanguard of the First Army was only fifteen kilometers away from Paris and the Eiffel Tower could be faintly seen, he still ordered the troops to march southeast and continue to pursue the French Fifth Army.

In the face of the menacing German army, there was a panic in France, and people in Paris went to the bank to withdraw their deposits and rushed to the train station, starting a large-scale exodus. The French government and parliament also moved from Paris to Bordeaux in a panic.

There is a reason for the panic in France. Since the German army entered France, the French army has also organized several large-scale resistance under the guidance of the “17th plan”. However, the Battle of the Ardennes, the Battle of the Sambre, The Battle of Mons ended with the defeat of the French army, and the German offensive seemed to be invincible at this time. UU reading www.uukanshu.com The French people no longer have much hope for the French army.

Regardless of the previous victories, defending the capital is an urgent matter at the moment of the enemy. The French General Staff appointed a seasoned and prudent veteran Garrielli in the crisis to take charge of the defense of Paris. Garrielli was ordered in danger. He was building fortifications around Paris, and he was ready to pay close attention to the latest movements of the German army, looking for fighter planes.

He was overjoyed when he found out that the German First Army had no sign of attacking Paris, but was marching alone and continued to march southeast of Paris: “They have sent the flank to the door!”

His judgment was confirmed by the British and French pilots the next day. That is to say, the German army at this time has been carried away by the victory, and the impatience has made a big loophole in its front.

Garrielli recognized this rare fighter plane, and he hoped that the French army could seize this favorable fighter plane and deal a fatal blow to the arrogant German army.

Xiafei, who has always been known for his calmness, composure, and fortitude, has also been judging the situation to find an opportunity to counterattack, but he did not show much interest in Garrielli’s request at this time. Fighting planes are fleeting, and with the weak strength of Garrielli’s Sixth Army, it is impossible to stand against the well-equipped 200,000 German troops alone. More importantly, the attack must be approved by the General Staff.

While waiting anxiously, Garieli called Xiafei again, again stated his claim, and asked the General Staff to issue a counter-offensive order. During the call, Xiafei also realized the importance of seizing the fighters to organize a counter-offensive, and he agreed that Garrielli could attack the enemy north of the Marne River.

After putting down the phone, Xiafei said to the officers present: “Gentlemen, let’s fight in the Marne!”

A great battle was about to break out on the Marne at this time.