If anyone who knew the Sauni Railway Station at this time saw it, they would never believe that it was a station they were familiar with. Because at this time, Sauni Railway Station had changed drastically. After two days of intensive work by the German engineering and railway troops, it
The number of tracks at Sauni Railway Station has been increased from three to eight.
Although the extra rails are simple, some rails even have no gravel under them, so they just add sleepers and lay them directly on the ground.
In order to increase the capacity of Sauni Railway Station, the German engineering railway soldiers were also exhausted. Now that they have reached their limit, they can just wait for the train to arrive.
At this time the train from Aachen also began to arrive.
"Woooooo~"
A train blew its whistle and entered the railway station. Its carriages were filled with heavily armed soldiers.
"Crunch~"
The sound of the train's brakes sounds, which means the train is about to stop.
"Wow~"
The compartment of the tank car was opened, and an officer stepped onto the platform.
"Quick, get off the car, hurry up!"
"Get off the car, everyone is getting off the car!"
"Everyone get out of the car!"
Amid the greetings of more than a dozen officers, the soldiers in the entire train stepped onto the platform one after another.
After the whole team was called and counted, under the leadership of a major battalion commander, they boarded the trucks that gathered from all over the country. Next, they will rush to the Marne River.
While they were still boarding the train, another train full of soldiers roared to the train station.
As this train arrived, the switchman immediately became busy, because there were six more trains behind, less than 500 meters apart, about to arrive in Sauni.
This is an officer from the Transportation Department of the General Staff Headquarters. He specially formulated the transportation plan according to the Shaoni Railway Station and grouped eight trains into one group. It happened that the Shaoni Railway Station had eight tracks.
Controlling a grouping as a unit can maximize the use of the station and allow more trains to arrive at Sauni as soon as possible.
Of course, this method is not without its shortcomings, the biggest of which is that it is more difficult for the train to return.
However, this difficulty is only for the Transportation Department, but its advantages cannot be rejected by the General Staff. That is, the speed is fast. With this kind of formation, the train can reduce the stop time and just rush all the way to Sauni. Of course, this
It is not without its disadvantages, that is, there will be enough trains parked on the section of railway after Sauni.
What kind of shortcoming could this be? Compared with the German troops on the front line and the entire plan, it was nothing, so the trains entered the station one after another.
In just one day, Shaoni Railway Station received more than 500 trains. Most of these trains were carrying soldiers, but there were also a small number of trains carrying artillery ammunition and other supplies.
Of course, no matter what they are loaded with, these trains have to stop here to unload personnel, materials and equipment. Among them, the logistics officers and soldiers responsible for loading and unloading are even more exhausted.
However, no matter whether it is personnel, materials, or heavy artillery, the F75 trucks waiting in a long queue at the station can transport them to the Marne River front line as soon as possible.
Since the afternoon, Fiat's F75 trucks have been plying the road from Sauny to the Marne River, transporting a large number of reinforcements that the First and Second Army were waiting for.
The arrival of this new group of troops gave the German officers and soldiers who were struggling to support themselves on the Marne River a chance to breathe. More importantly, it gave the hot troops hope.
People who have hope and vitality will naturally behave differently, at least they will work harder and work harder, and this is reflected on the battlefield as the defense line gradually changes from a precarious to a solid one.
The changes in the German position naturally made the attacking French army feel the difference.
Subsequently, the situation of the German army was immediately learned by the French army's top brass. Of course, in addition to getting the information from the frontline officers and soldiers, the French army also used airships and aircraft to conduct aerial reconnaissance. The reconnaissance pilots saw a steady stream of convoys from Sauny to the Marne River, and naturally
It also let the British and French senior officials know.
Faced with the situation where German reinforcements have arrived, the British and French forces, which still have the advantage on the battlefield, certainly need to find a way. After a short discussion, the British and French decided to invest more troops and must win the Battle of the Marne.
As for why we need to increase investment?
It's very simple. They didn't win a single battle on the Western Front. The continuous losses made the morale of the officers and soldiers of the British and French allied forces somewhat low. This was also the reason why Joffre wanted to retreat the army across the Seine River in the first place.
However, after the German army showed its flaws in the Marne River, the British and French forces thought this was an opportunity, so a big war started here.
Now, after the German army received reinforcements in the Battle of the Marne, the situation has shifted from the German army facing a defeat to the stage of a stalemate between the two armies. What matters now is who has more reinforcements and who can replenish supplies faster.
Well aware of this, the French army then began to collect troops from various places in an attempt to invest in the Marne River battlefield. In addition, it also collected transport vehicles, especially various types of trucks, which became even more important. And
Among these trucks, Fiat's F75 truck is the French army's favorite transportation vehicle.
Although it is only a civilian model and has not been strengthened in various supporting structures, the outstanding performance of the F75 truck has conquered the hearts of the French Army Logistics Department. However, there are not many F75 trucks in France. According to Fiat's sales statistics, its F75 truck is in
Sales in France were just over 20,000 vehicles.
At this time, the two armies were fighting on the Marne River, just like two red-eyed gamblers, desperately collecting the chips they could find and throwing them into the gambling table of the Marne River.
On the German side, Xiao Maoqi and other departments and reserve forces continuously mobilized various forces to reinforce the Marne River.
The same was true on the French side. Troops were thrown into the Marne River battlefield by Xiafei without hesitation.
The battle between the two sides on the Marne River lasted from November 28th to December 14th. In this battle, both sides invested all their energy and various weapons and equipment. In the end, with the help of the secret weapon poison gas,
Using it, the German army won this battle.
Moltke, who was red-eyed for victory, threw all the German army's only 340 tons of chlorine gas into the battlefield of the Marne River. The French army, who did not understand all this at all, was completely unprepared for the green-yellow mist that came.
.
When this cloud floated in front of them, many French soldiers began to suffocate and gasp in pain. Many fell down and suffocated to death. Their eyes, noses and throats felt as if they were being burned by acidic substances.
Burning pain.
The use of poison gas caused the French army to lose a large part of its key positions.
At this time, various rumors about poison gas were also spreading increasingly fiercely within the French army.
Some people claim that this is the mysterious gas obtained by the Germans sacrificing their souls to the devil, while others claim that this is the Germans using black magic. However, no matter which rumor is used, it is a huge blow to the morale of the French army.
In addition, the French army became increasingly disadvantaged on the Marne River. After some discussions with the British army, the French commander-in-chief Joffre reluctantly issued an order to retreat.
The French army gradually retreated towards the Seine River.
In this battle of the Marne River, the two sides invested a total of 2.3 million troops. Among them, the British and French lost 459,000 people, while the Germans lost 423,000. The total losses of the two sides were nearly 900,000, which can be described as casualties.
Quite tragic.
Therefore, not only the defeated British and French armies, but also the victorious German army did not continue to pursue them. They were in urgent need of some rest and recuperation.
However, before resting, the German army still had one more victory to gain, and that was Paris, the capital of the French army.
At the height of the Battle of the Marne, the French army invested all its mobilizable forces, including the Paris garrison. Naturally, the Paris garrison also participated. At this time, you have to let them stick to Paris, and be careful that these soldiers with heavy casualties will attack you.
Now Paris is like a ripe fruit, just waiting for the German army to take action.
The French government also announced its move to Bordeaux the day before Joffre ordered the retreat.
Finally, in the early morning of December 16, the German army entered Paris.
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－
Losses include casualties, missing persons, sick persons and other combat and non-combat casualties.
