"Your Majesty, the results of the Battle of the Marne have come out. The German 1st Army and 2nd Army lost more than 200,000 people. However, the losses of the British and French allied forces were almost twice as much. The Germans have achieved tactical success.
Victory, but strategically, it still failed. The German army still failed to capture Paris and end this war quickly. The war is bound to develop into a protracted war!" Cai Yun, the new Chief of General Staff, said to Wang Yuze.
At the end of August, Xiong Wu, who had served as Chief of General Staff for more than 20 years, resigned and went home to take care of his old age. Cai Yun, Minister of Army, took over as Chief of General Staff, and the post of Minister of Army was Deputy General Secretary.
Chief of Staff General Zhao Bowen took over. However, General Zhao Bowen is still in Germany, and Cai Yun is still in charge of all the Army Department for the time being.
"The core of the Schlieffen Plan lies in a time lag. The German army takes advantage of its superior mobilization mechanism to quickly assemble its forces, defeat France in the shortest possible time, capture Paris, and force France to withdraw from the war. Then it liberates the forces on the Western Front and uses them to improve
railway network transportation
Go to the Eastern Front and defeat Russia. By then, the Germans will almost occupy the most elite areas of the European continent. In that case, they will have enough strength to maintain a stalemate with the United Kingdom, or even defeat the United Kingdom. However, Xiao Maoqi will not
It’s time to make adjustments to the Schlieffen Plan to weaken the German army
The right wing! Otherwise, the German army will have enough troops to take Paris this time!" Wang Yuze sighed. This battle is undoubtedly very regrettable for the German army. However, for China, it may not be
Not a good thing. If Germany is defeated quickly
France, then China's intention to consume Germany's national power in the war cannot be realized. Fortunately, although the British and French coalition forces have suffered heavy losses, they can still persist. Coupled with the containment of the Russians on the Eastern Front, Germany will
Inevitably falling into the quagmire of war!
"Yes! Little Maoqi was too cautious, which caused the German army to fail in this battle!" Defense Minister Jiang Xingguo also sighed. "The Schlieffen Plan is undoubtedly a very perfect plan. It targets France, which is not ready for war.
It is very possible to defeat France. You must know that in this Battle of the Marne, the German army was only fifteen kilometers away from Paris. If the German army's right wing had not been weakened, Paris might have been captured!
After the French border battle in August 1911, the French 4th and 5th Army and the British Expeditionary Force withdrew to the south of the Marne River at the end of August and deployed defenses along the line from Paris to Verdun. General Joffre, commander-in-chief of the French army, formed the 6th
The 9th Army was deployed outside Paris and between the 4th and 5th Armies to prepare for implementation.
A counterattack was launched. In order to pursue and annihilate the French 5th Army, the German 1st and 2nd Army deviated from the original attack direction and went to the east of Paris, exposing the right wing of the 1st Army. The German Chief of General Staff Moltke learned that the French army was about to counterattack.
Later, on September 4, the 1st and 2nd Army were ordered to shift to defense east of Paris, and the 3rd Army was
4. The 5th Army went south and cooperated with the 6th Army attacking from the east to encircle the French army south of Verdun. However, the commander of the German 1st Army, General Crook, refused to carry out the order and continued to lead the army south, forming a favorable situation for the coalition counterattack.
Situation. On the same day, Xiafei ordered the French 5th and 6th Army and the British Expeditionary Force to attack the German 1st and 2nd Armies.
The French 9th and 4th Army Corps carried out the main assault to contain the enemy's 3rd and 4th Army, and the French 3rd Army carried out auxiliary assaults west of Verdun. At this time, on the line from Paris to Verdun, 66 divisions of the coalition with 10.82 million people were attacking
The German army has 5 divisions with 900,000 men; in the main direction of attack, the coalition strength is twice that of the German army.
On September 5, the leading troops of the French 6th Army encountered the German 1st Army on the west bank of the Ourc River. For the first time, the French army used a total of 1,200 vehicles to transport part of the 6th Army from Paris to the front. Crook discovered that the right wing and rear
After being threatened, the command department
On the 8th, they all withdrew to the north bank of the Marne River, and a 50-kilometer-wide defensive gap appeared between them and the 2nd Army. On the 6th, the French 5th Army and the British Expeditionary Force crossed the German defense gap and approached the Marne River on the 8th, forming a confrontation.
The encirclement situation of the German 1st Army.
At the same time, the exposed right wing of the German 2nd Army was also in danger of being surrounded. On the 9th, the German 1st and 2nd Army were forced to retreat. Although the German army had a slight upper hand in other areas, in view of the challenges faced by the 1st and 2nd Army,
Due to the situation, Moltke ordered the entire offensive to be stopped on the 10th and retreated to the line from Noyon to Verdun.
The battle ended with the defeat of the German army. The British and French forces advanced 60 kilometers on a 200-kilometer front, suffering more than 400,000 casualties, and the German army lost more than 200,000 people. Both sides made mistakes in this battle: Moltke was far away from the battlefield and had no idea about the situation on the front line.
The lack of clarity, improper command, and lack of coordination among the various group armies led to the bankruptcy of the quick victory plan; the British and French allied forces were slow to act and missed fighter opportunities, allowing the German army to preserve its strength.
"Your Majesty, will the failure of the German attack have an impact on the empire's strategy?" Prime Minister Wu Tingfang asked with some worry.
After all, China and Germany signed a secret agreement. If Germany loses, then China will be at war with the whole world!
"Don't worry, Germany's full strength has not yet been unleashed. Moreover, they also made the British and French forces pay twice the price in this battle. Now, it is not easy for the German army to defeat France. But if the British and French forces want to defeat the German army,
, it’s even more difficult!” Wang Yuze said with certainty. Now the German army has only mobilized two million troops, and Germany’s limit is to mobilize more than 4.5 million troops. In the end, Germany’s defeat was not due to military reasons.
It was because of the extreme lack of strategic materials that Germany's national power was almost exhausted after several years of war. This time, although World War I broke out three years in advance, the German army was much better prepared for the war, and there was also China.
Germany shares the pressure from Russia and the United States. Therefore, Germany's situation is much better than in history. This will also make European countries pay a greater price for this war, and this is exactly what China hopes
Saw it!
"Your Majesty, the German Ambassador to China August von Klind made an appointment with me yesterday. The German side hopes that China can participate in the war as soon as possible." Foreign Minister Tang Shaoyi said.
"Tell Germany that China has its own war plan. We will do our best to hold back the United States and prevent the United States from having the energy to participate in the European battlefield. At the same time, the Imperial Army will also hold back part of the Russian army for Germany. In addition, we will pass
Maritime transportation continues to transport strategic materials for Germany. If the sea route is blocked, we can continue to transfuse blood to Germany through the Baghdad Railway." Wang Yuze said.
"Your Majesty, should we send troops to capture the Suez Canal and seize this opportunity?" Chief of General Staff Cai Yun asked.
Wang Yuze hesitated for a moment and shook his head: "It's not necessary for the time being. The Suez Canal is too important. If we capture the Suez Canal at this time, the British will definitely send troops to fight us in Egypt. Although we will definitely be able to defeat the British,
But wouldn’t it be better if the British could put these military forces into the European battlefield?”
"The empire's main strategy in this war is to first defeat the United States and then expand to the surrounding areas!" Wang Yuze said. In his mind, the United States has always been regarded as the biggest enemy. The current United States has not yet reached that point.
When it is at its strongest, we can use this war to completely kill the United States. Only in this way can we nip the crisis in the cradle!
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Everyone replied, everyone was very clear about Wang Yuze's strategic intentions. If everyone had doubts about this before, but with the United States' increasingly powerful industrial and military strength in recent years, this has become
Let everyone see the threat the United States poses to the empire!
"Are there any trends in the Americans now?" Wang Yuze asked.
"Your Majesty, the Americans are still preparing for war. They have recruited millions of new troops and are training new recruits. At the same time, follow-up mobilization is also continuing. Based on the current population and industrial strength of the United States, the Americans can eventually mobilize five
More than one million troops. In addition, the Americans have also accelerated the construction of Pennsylvania-class battleships. It is expected that
By the end of next year at the latest, six Pennsylvania-class battleships will be in service. At the same time, the Americans have six more Pennsylvania-class battleships that have begun construction of improved versions. However, it is estimated that these battleships will not be built until three years.
Only then can we serve. If the war goes well, we will have defeated the United States by then!" Cai Yun said.
Wang Yuze nodded and said: "Don't be careless when dealing with the United States. Although we have defeated the United States in the previous two times, this time is different. What we are going to fight is a war to destroy the country, and the Americans will definitely die with us.
Fight to the end. How is the war deployment going now?"
"Your Majesty, the Seventh Army of the Army has set off for Mexico three days ago and is expected to arrive in Mexico at the end of the month. In addition, the Second Army and the Eighth Army will also head to Mexico in the next two months. In addition,
The Ministry of the Army will also dispatch 20 divisions to Mexico from the 40 divisions that have been upgraded from reserve brigades to regular troops. In this case, the number of troops we deploy in Mexico will reach more than 800,000!" Cai Yun said.
"Your Majesty, the main ships of the Navy's Home Fleet will also complete their rest within a week, and then they will enter the East Pacific waters and prepare to launch an attack on the U.S. Navy!" Navy Minister Zhang Cheng also said.
China's war preparations are about to be completed, but the Chinese side does not know that the Americans' war preparations have also been completed, and they will start to attack first. The third Sino-US war is about to break out!