After the bombardment, a British officer held his command knife high in his right hand and a pistol in his left hand, shouting the slogan of attack, and was the first to step out of the trench.
Rows of British soldiers followed the officers with weapons in hand, shouting and rushing out.
"The enemy is attacking!"
At this time, the observers on the position roared and blew their whistles.
The German officers and soldiers who were in the anti-gun cave also came out one after another, preparing to meet the enemy's attack.
Koppel also took his Mauser 98 to his position. At this time, his heart had calmed down. With the blessing of God, he was not hit by the shell.
Koper, who was a primary school teacher before the war, was drafted shortly after the war. After a period of training, he became a qualified soldier. In February of this year, he was sent to the 7th Army and became its subordinate 31st Division.
A soldier from the 2nd Brigade, 1st Regiment, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Company, 2nd Platoon, 1st Squad. And there were several others assigned with him.
At that time, I heard veterans say that the battle they fought before was so brutal that only more than 80 people were left in one company to capture Paris, with more than half of the casualties. Later, many more troops were added one after another, and when their new batch of reinforcements arrived, their 3rd company
Only then did I reply that it was full.
At this time, when he was waiting for the enemy to come up, he heard the voice of the platoon leader, Second Lieutenant Hans. "Bartley took your squad to the third row position. The previous three rows of anti-gun holes were attacked by large-caliber artillery shells.
"
Soon the enemy launched an artillery bombardment. After three consecutive days of artillery bombardment, their company suffered a lot of casualties, more than thirty casualties. They suffered too many casualties. He heard others say that some companies lost more than half. The main reason for their casualties was from
Heavy artillery, especially large-caliber artillery of 150 mm and above, does not need to hit as long as it is within a certain range, it will cause casualties.
"Gather as a class."
"We're the only ones in the same class?"
Although it was not mentioned later, all the soldiers present knew that there was no one in the third row.
Although the Western Front campaign did not achieve the goal of directly withdrawing France from the war, Moltke did not lose all trust in the Kaiser's heart because of the capture of Paris, so he still served as the Chief of General Staff.
Faced with General Kluck's request, Moltke of course sent reinforcements as soon as possible. In fact, the British and French were preparing to launch an offensive in Paris, and the German intelligence agency had long been aware of it. After all, they had to gather an army of millions of people, and the personnel and supplies were so high.
As long as the Germans are not blind, they will definitely be able to see any big movement.
"The first platoon has also sent a squad. You should hurry up and take people there, otherwise Captain Otto (company commander) will be angry."
"Yes, I will take people there right away."
At this time, seeing that the enemy had entered the shooting range, squad leader Bartley gave the order to fire. Koppel aimed at a British soldier and pulled the trigger. The man fell. At the same time, intensive gunfire rang out throughout the trench, and the Germans
Soldiers are shooting from the trenches.
Later, with the help of veterans, they learned a lot of battlefield knowledge. For example, when suddenly encountering artillery fire, they should squat on the ground instead of lying down or standing. Also, be sure not to smoke when on duty at night, otherwise you may not be able to
Who will be the opponent's victory, etc.
Through the teachings of the veterans, Koper grew up very quickly. In more than two months, he already looked almost like other veterans. What he lacked was the consideration for a real battle.
Because the number of troops is limited, even Germany, which is well prepared, can only form a limited number of troops. After all, soldiers need to train for three months, not to mention that the formed troops need sufficient equipment, which all takes time. It is not always possible.
Maybe form a rifle division, isn't that a crime?
And Britain and France did not think of completely concealing their intentions, because they could not hide it at all.
Facing William II's words, Little Moltke saluted and replied, "Thank you for your majesty's support. I will definitely not let your majesty down."
At this time, Moltke thought of his allies, the Italians, and there was no better ally than Italy.
However, although he could not give Admiral Kluck much direct support, he could still give a lot indirectly, and the most effective one was to put pressure on Britain and France from the other side.
The attacking British officers and soldiers continued to rush towards their position with their backs bent, even if people kept falling, they did not care.
Koper saw with his own eyes that one of his comrades was killed by a 170mm artillery shell fired six meters away from him at a distance of ten meters. He was also affected, but he was not seriously injured.
At this time, Xiao Maoqi understood that this was the emperor's last tolerance for him. If Paris was lost, he, the chief of general staff, would also be done with it.
However, the mistakes of the intelligence department harmed Xiao Maoqi, because he only prepared an army reserve of 150,000 people.
Considering the military and political importance of Paris, Moltke has given it the highest attention. Its troops are the largest in the German army, and weapons and equipment are also given priority to be replenished.
"Fire."
At this time, the crisp sound of a machine gun rang out. This was the company's only suppressive weapon, the Revelli light machine gun. I heard it was imported from Italy, but the caliber was not the Italian's 6.5mm, but their German 7.92mm caliber.
It is obvious that Paris holds great importance in the heart of William II. No matter in terms of military, diplomacy or politics, occupying Paris can satisfy the subjects of the empire and make other countries carefully consider their attitude towards Germany, so Paris must not be lost.
Moltke received the telegram, which showed that Russia was ready to move on the Eastern Front and was expected to launch an offensive within a week.
"Very good, I'm waiting for your good news."
Some people may say that since we know that the opponent is going to launch an offensive, why not prepare more reserves.
At this time, Moltke told the Kaiser about the current difficulties encountered by the German Army.
As a result, when faced with the British and French, who had done their best to hide their secrets, the German intelligence agencies were much worse. At least they did not find anything wrong.
So now, apart from giving the 150,000 reserves in his hand to Admiral Kluck, there are not many cards he can play.
After hearing Moltke's story, William II thought for a moment and replied. "I will send my country's request to Italy, Julius. I can agree to all your requests, but I want Paris in our hands. I understand."
?”
When soldiers from Britain, France and Germany were fighting a bloody battle around Paris, General Kluck, as the supreme commander of the Paris area, had already sent a telegram asking for help to the Chief of General Staff, General Moltke.
"Your Majesty, we have now found out that Britain and France have assembled nearly a million troops to attack the Paris area where we are stationed. However, our army here only has more than 400,000 people, and including our reserves, it is only nearly 600,000.
, now the Paris garrison is under too much pressure, we hope to allow our allies the Italians to put pressure on France from the south."
Therefore, Germany currently has only 1.78 million troops, which needs to deal with problems on the east and west fronts. In addition, people must be stationed along the North Sea coast. There are still some troops left in the country, and the occupied areas also need troops to maintain law and order.
After all these zeros are finally settled, it is impossible for Little Maoqi to have too many reserves left in his hands.
Koper quickly followed his squad leader to the third row on the right. At this time, the British were almost within shooting range.
At this time Bartley expressed his doubts.
"Chief of the General Staff, this is a telegram from the Eastern Front."
However, Britain and France are concealing another aspect, and they are very successful, that is, they are concealing the number of people. German intelligence agencies and aerial observations estimate that Britain and France have prepared 650,000 troops to attack Paris. In fact, the German intelligence agency estimates
Yes, there are indeed 650,000 uniformed soldiers assembled.
At this time, Koper observed another wave of soldiers rushing out of the British position in the distance. Why is this British man so crazy? He is attacking with all his might. I am afraid it will be difficult today.
But there were still 150,000 people who did not wear military uniforms at all. They entered the assembly area wearing labor uniforms. This was something that the German intelligence agency did not expect. The British and French troops actually slipped in as laborers. And in order to prevent exposure, these pretenders
The laborers actually dug trenches, built roads and bridges, etc. The British and French took great pains to conceal the number of troops.
When Xiao Maoqi finally returned to the staff headquarters from the palace, he saw his secretary anxiously running to him with a telegram.
At this moment, Xiao Maoqi almost went dark. The disadvantages of fighting on these two fronts were now clearly demonstrated.
"Call the staff officers immediately, I want to hold a meeting."
"As you command!"
I didn’t write the third chapter yesterday, but there are too many things going on today, so I can only write one chapter. I’m sorry to keep you readers waiting for so long.
