After the outbreak of the World War, the British government ordered a total of approximately 4,000 aircraft from southern Africa.
Initially, aircraft were only used for the defense of the British mainland. In fact, Germany did not begin air raids on the British mainland until 1915, the third year after the outbreak of the World War. At this time, the air force gradually appeared on the battlefield.
As the war progressed, the importance of the air force became more and more important. When Haig served as commander-in-chief of the British Expeditionary Force, he did not pay enough attention to the role of aircraft. There was little room for the air force to play on the Western Front.
After Rock became Commander-in-Chief of the British Expeditionary Force, the Air Force finally played its correct role. Starting from the late Battle of the Somme, the role of the Air Force became increasingly important, especially the Expeditionary Force bomber unit, which not only had to support frontline troops, but also
Strategic bombing of military targets in Germany was also required. After the expeditionary force invaded Belgium, the staff estimated that without the support of the air force, the expeditionary force would have to regain a large area of lost territory in Belgium, and the number of casualties among the troops would increase by more than 100,000.
After encircling the German troops on the Marne River, the air force began to enter combat mode and bombarded the German troops in the encirclement. In Treloux-sur-Marne, a retreating German baggage unit was discovered by a reconnaissance plane.
Hours later, the Expeditionary Force bombers swarmed in, dropping fifty kilograms of standard aerial bombs like raindrops. In addition to high-explosive bombs, there were also incendiary bombs and poison gas bombs.
The German army did not have anti-aircraft machine guns, and the soldiers could only rely on simple rifles to carry out meaningless resistance. An hour later, this 3,000-strong baggage force suffered almost all casualties, and only about 120 people escaped by hiding in a small river.
In Châtillon-sur-Marne, the Expeditionary Force bombers blew up the only bridge on the nearby 20-kilometer river. There were nearly 40,000 German troops on the other side of the river who had not had time to retreat across the river. Facing the tank troops of the British Expeditionary Force, they almost lost
All heavily armed German troops could only raise their hands and surrender.
In this battle, the British Expeditionary Force captured nearly 35,000 German officers and soldiers, including six generals, including 128 officers above the colonel level.
As of April 25, the British and French allied forces had eliminated 175,000 German troops and captured 140,000 of them. Otto von Bülow and Hutier led the remaining German troops of less than 200,000 to be surrounded by troops in the mountains.
Soissons, which is less than 50 kilometers away, has been close to two weeks since the encirclement was formed. The German troops in the encirclement have run out of ammunition and food. Many wounded died tragically due to lack of medicine. The American influenza became an accomplice, killing nearly 100 people in the encirclement.
The lives of thousands of German soldiers.
This influenza pandemic in the United States killed a total of 165,000 German troops and nearly 400,000 civilians.
Compared with the Entente countries, Germany and Austria-Hungary have been in a state of blockade since the outbreak of the World War. During the influenza outbreak in the United States, Germany was unable to receive sufficient medical supplies. Due to lack of nutrition, the Germans were weak and their resistance to the virus was reduced.
to an unprecedented extent.
On April 26, Otto von Bülow sent someone to contact the British Expeditionary Force, hoping that the British Expeditionary Force would accept the surrender of approximately 45,000 wounded German soldiers and provide medical treatment to these wounded German soldiers.
This "request" was naturally opposed by Pétain and Foch.
"The Germans are crazy. They want to dump these wounded soldiers who have become a burden on us, and then break out lightly. There is absolutely no way we can agree to such a request!" Foch's hatred of the German army was beyond words. His son and son-in-law both
Killed in World War I.
"Unless all German troops lay down their weapons and surrender, then we can provide medical treatment for the injured German troops." Pétain's hatred of the Germans is less, but not much less. If the German troops can be forced to surrender, then the casualties of the British and French coalition forces can also be reduced.
, this result is acceptable to Pétain.
"Why don't we look at this problem from another angle?" Rock and Winston unified their stance and did not want to weaken Germany too much, so Rock had no choice but to say: "We have been fighting the Germans for four and a half years.
, hatred can no longer be resolved, and the Germans in the encirclement are not sure of our attitude, so they will not lay down their weapons until they see hope."
One thing must be explained. There is no "International Law" to speak of in the war at this time. Although countries will talk about "giving treatment commensurate with their status" when persuading them to surrender, in fact, there will definitely be some problems when implementing it.
Deviation, let’s not talk about the Western Front. Germany captured nearly 600,000 Russians on the Eastern Front. These Russians were forced to work in exchange for meager food to maintain their lives. After the new German and Russian governments reached an agreement, less than 400,000 were released.
After the prisoners were returned to Russia, where did the remaining 200,000 people go?
neither knows.
Therefore, the Germans are also very worried about what kind of fate will be waiting for them if they lay down their weapons.
"Haha, if the Germans are unwilling to lay down their weapons, then we will completely annihilate them." Foch, the coalition general, is indeed ruthless. Now the British and French coalition forces can indeed eliminate the German troops in the encirclement at any time, but they have to eliminate nearly 200,000 German troops.
The British and French forces must be prepared to suffer at least 100,000 casualties.
This number is not just mentioned casually. According to past battles, even if the coalition forces surrounded the German armies, they would have to pay a price of almost 1:2 to eliminate the German armies in the encirclement. Sometimes it would even be 1:1. On individual battlefields,
There may even be extreme situations like 2:1.
If the German troops in the encirclement can be forced to voluntarily lay down their weapons, then it is the best choice for the coalition forces.
"Ferdinand, what we have to consider now is how to end this war, rather than letting hatred continue." Roque did not want unnecessary casualties, and the lives of soldiers also mattered.
"Locke, you just said that our hatred cannot disappear." Foch still disagreed. The dead Germans are the best Germans.
"So what are you going to do after the world war is over? Kill all the Germans? Or exile all the Germans to Africa? Be sensible Ferdinand, you definitely don't want another world war in twenty years." Roque added.
Inadvertently leaking the secret, the world war cost Britain, France and Germany an entire generation. Even if the Germans are forced to surrender now, when the next generation of Germans grow up, will they be disappointed with this period of history? Will they be reconciled?
Like the French after the Franco-Prussian War, they still remember the humiliation imposed on the French by the Germans after the Franco-Prussian War?
Definitely.
Foch finally stopped talking. His emotions made him want to kill all the German troops in the encirclement, but his reason told him not to do so.
"We made a bet that if we provide medical treatment to these wounded, other Germans will take the initiative to lay down their weapons and surrender. If this is not the case, then the British Expeditionary Force will be responsible for annihilating all Germans in the encirclement." Rock.
This bet was used to eliminate the last doubts of Foch and Pétain.
"Yes!" Pétain immediately agreed. It made no difference to the French troops whether the Germans in the encirclement surrendered or the British Expeditionary Force was responsible for annihilating the German troops in the encirclement.
That’s it!
As long as Roque and Pétain agreed, there was nothing Foch could do even if he disagreed.
In fact, while Roque and Foch Pétain were discussing, the British Expeditionary Force in Soissons had already begun to receive wounded German soldiers.
Surprisingly, there were very few seriously wounded soldiers in the German army, and most of the seriously wounded were officers. This shows that only injured officers can receive treatment. If ordinary soldiers are injured, most of the lightly wounded will have to carry it on their own.
The fate of the wounded was very tragic, and they were probably all abandoned directly.
Many wounded German soldiers were able to walk to the positions of the British Expeditionary Force alone without the help of others.
In order to ensure safety, the expeditionary force brought in tanks and armored vehicles to maintain order. Nearly a thousand doctors and nurses were on standby. Water and food were boiled in the open space next to the armored vehicles. Compared with the injuries on the body, nutritional supplements were equally important.
"Sir, the situation is terrible. Many of them have reused bandages and their wounds have not been treated in time. Some people's wounds have begun to deteriorate. Many people may need to be amputated. The surgery must be carried out immediately, otherwise
Many of them may not be able to see the sun tomorrow." Tim Michelson, the attending physician at the 16th Division Field Hospital, looked serious, and the 16th Division did not have many spare medicines.
"Then perform the surgery as soon as possible. You can save on medicines if you can-" The on-site commander is Zhou Bu, commander of the 2nd Brigade. Roque's orders must be implemented, but it is Zhou Bu who has the final say on how to implement them.
Besides, Rock didn't say that he would go all out to treat these wounded soldiers.
Because there were so many wounded soldiers in need of surgery, many newbies who had just arrived in France also got a valuable opportunity to practice medicine. Anyone who has studied medicine knows how valuable this opportunity is. If it hadn't been for the World War, I'm afraid they would have to do internships after graduation.
Only then can you get the opportunity to enter the operating room to observe.
At this time, the open space in the middle of the field hospital was filled with wounded soldiers. Several German soldiers carried a German officer over. They put the German officer down and turned around to leave. They were then stopped by soldiers from the expeditionary force.
"What are you doing?" The expedition soldier holding a shotgun looked serious.
"Sir, we just sent Major Miller here, and we are going back to Soissons now." Several German soldiers looked calm. Now it is the wounded German soldiers who want to surrender, and these soldiers have not yet laid down their weapons.
"So, do you want to go back and continue fighting?" The soldiers of the expeditionary force clenched the shotgun in their hands. The shooter of the heavy machine gun on the armored vehicle next to him put his finger on the trigger. The atmosphere immediately became tense. Not only the soldiers of the expeditionary force, but those who had just
The wounded German soldiers who walked into the prisoner-of-war camp were also concerned about how the expeditionary force soldiers would deal with them.
Shoot directly?
Or let them go back?
It seems like nothing is appropriate no matter what I do.