Moltke did not let William and Count Schlieffen of Berlin wait too long. On the second day of launching the attack on the Liège Fortress, he had already used giant siege guns to smash all the forts blocking him from crossing the river. Then the German engineers began
Several pontoon bridges were erected on the Maas River, and German troops in large groups continuously set foot on the land on the west bank.*
Immediately afterwards, his giant siege gun moved forward. This kind of giant gun has a range of 20 kilometers. Even without crossing the Meuse River, it can still cover all the Belgian forts within its range. The giant gun here continues
After smashing the forts one by one, the German troops in front stormed the Belgian defense line.
The poor Belgians have spent more than half a century singing and dancing in peace. How can those generals who have never seen blood and soldiers who also don't know what war is like resist the German soldiers who are like wolves and tigers?
What's more, the opponent also had those terrifying cannons. In just two days, this fortress, which was considered indestructible, completely fell. The Germans only used less than 10,000 casualties to completely open the door to France.
On the same day that the Liege Fortress fell, the first two divisions of the British Expeditionary Force arrived in Calais and then began to march towards Belgium. Their mission was to reach Brussels before the German army and fight side by side with the Belgians to hold on to the city.
, and at the same time occupy a foothold with enough room for maneuver for the main force of the subsequent British Expeditionary Force.
At the same time, Lieutenant General Hindenburg, who was famous for his raid on Washington, led a German army of his own into Luxembourg and occupied this small country almost without any blood. Then the German Fifth Army behind him quickly poured in.
Then, with Hindenburg as the vanguard, we headed southwest through the Ardennes Forest and penetrated into France.
However, Xiao Maoqi and his men who captured the Liege Fortress did not stop at all. They continued to rush towards the Namur Fortress in the eyes of the whole world in astonishment. Behind him, the three German first, second and third armies killed
Entering Belgium, they line up from south to north, sweeping across most of Belgium like a revolving door.
By this time, no matter how slow the French react, they still understand the German goal. The main force of 600,000 French troops on the German-French border instantly became a mess. The French, who originally wanted to try to attack again, did not hesitate.
They retracted their defense lines. Except for the two armies left to continue the confrontation with the Germans, the remaining armies all sent reinforcements to the west. At the same time, a large number of newly recruited reservists rushed north from all over France, preparing to defend their
Capital City, it is a pity that their opportunity has been lost at this time.
It took only three days for Moltke to clear the way with the 420 cannon, and then descended to the Namur Fortress. At the same time, the First Army led by Prince Leopold of Bavaria occupied Brussels, and then headed south to attack the French-Belgian border city.
Mons.
The British army that had just entered Belgium had to turn around to reinforce Mons under the repeated urging of the French. At this time, another division of British troops arrived in France. However, due to the change in the war situation, it was no longer possible to fight the German army in Belgium.
It was unrealistic. The British army landed in Amiens and then headed north to reinforce Cambrai in order to block the German army's southward path. However, it was obvious that the British army had a very difficult task because there was only one French soldier who had arrived in a hurry.
division, but what they will face is an entire army group.
Moltke, who smashed open the Fortress of Namur, also started a big march straight to France. Hundreds of thousands of troops were mighty. It was like swallowing all the African predatory ants sweeping across the land of Belgium. As he walked southwest along the Sambre River,
When crossing the Franco-Belgian border, the First Army led by Prince Leopold and the British Expeditionary Force that reinforced Mons began the first real battle on the Western Front since the war began.
Although they knew that they were not strong enough to launch an attack, the two British divisions that came with honor and mission still bravely launched a strong attack on the German flank with the cooperation of the Belgian division that had retreated here. They had to hold them back
It is no longer possible for this German army to set up a defensive line in front of them to block them. They can only adopt this seemingly tragic method to buy enough time for the British and French troops in the south.
The elite British troops who experienced the Boer War can be considered veterans of the battlefield. Although their tactics are still not very flexible, after all, their previous opponents were just guerrillas, and battles at the division level can be considered battles, but now they are not.
At the army level, those British soldiers carrying heavy backpacks and Lee-Enfield rifles, under the cover of machine guns and artillery, shouted and charged towards the German troops on the opposite side.
Of course, their ending was undoubtedly very sad. Under the intensive firepower of the German army, the brave British young men fell one by one in the mud of melting snow. The dignity and honor of the empire on which the sun never sets made them remain indifferent even in the face of death.
Backing down, their bravery even infected the Belgians. The Belgians, who had been frightened by the German army, now remembered that they were in their own country. These unlucky guys also joined the suicide ranks without hesitation.
Dead bodies piled up in waves on the cold ground.
Prince Leopold, who was equally arrogant, obviously thought that lying in the trench shooting like this had lost his noble status. After feeling that the British casualties had reached an acceptable number, he ordered one of his cavalry divisions to follow
An attack was launched from the flank.
The appearance of the cavalry caused the Belgians to collapse in an instant. These guys who had just plucked up their courage did not hesitate to abandon their courage and began to rout in a panic. Seeing this, Prince Leopold immediately ordered a counterattack across the board. The poor British
The first battle on the European continent ended in a tragedy. The two divisions of British troops suffered more than 10,000 casualties, and their gains were only to delay the German army for less than twenty-four hours.
But these twenty-four hours were actually extremely important twenty-four hours, because at this time another division of British troops arrived in Amiens, and then took the train north to meet with a British division that had just begun to set up a defense line there.
, a French division, and about 10,000 French militiamen gathered together. Although the strength was still insufficient, it was at least capable of fighting.
Of course, all they could stop was Leopold's First Army. Moltke, who had just been promoted to general, and the two armies following him were still piercing the heart of the French like sharp swords.
The French were driving westward like crazy at this time. The French General Staff had even given up on blocking the German army in the north. Their hope now was the Aisne River, the main force drawn from the German-French border, the hastily recruited reserves, and even
The organized civilians all rushed to the south bank of the Aisne River, preparing to rely on this natural barrier to defend their capital.
But at this time, another unfortunate news came. The German Fifth Army relied on construction machinery imported from China to cut a road through the Ardennes Forest and then marched to the Maas River in a fierce manner.
"Poor French, the sky fell in a blink of an eye!" Emperor Yang looked at the French joke unkindly in the newly opened General Staff Headquarters in Beijing.
Naturally, this building was built in the pentagonal shape according to his original style. Although it is much smaller than the Pentagon in the United States, it can basically satisfy the emperor's bad taste.
"With four armies coming together, the Germans are going to destroy France in one fell swoop!" Attendant Yuan said with emotion at the side.
"It's hard to say. Although the German attack speed is fast, if they continue, they may be out of touch with their supplies. With a 600,000-strong army plus additional reserve troops, I'm afraid the total will not be less than 800,000. Even with so many people
If the transportation is smooth, with their attack speed, the logistics personnel will be exhausted, not to mention that it is difficult for their supply lines to be smooth." Li Yuncong said with a frown.
"Ignore them, it doesn't matter if the Germans win or lose. If we win, we will laugh at the French. The best thing would be for them to have a decisive battle in Paris. In that case, I will treat you to a drink."
Even if the Germans cannot capture Paris, the current situation is nothing more than a tug-of-war in northwestern France. If we pull it hard, we will laugh to death if we pull it for three to five years." Emperor Yang said sinisterly.
However, judging from the current situation, the French will definitely not be able to stop the Germans. Even if they can establish a defense line on the Aisne River, they cannot mobilize too many troops before the Germans arrive, especially if Hindenburg breaks out of the Ardennes Forest.
Later, the situation of the French became even worse. If the German Fifth Army did not rush towards Paris, but headed south along the Meuse River towards the German-French border, and attacked the two armies on the opposite front and back, the twenty soldiers on the border would
The French army must collapse, and then not only Paris will be in danger, but the whole of France will be in danger of national subjugation.
Therefore, in Yang Feng's view, the Paris War is still very promising. After all, he still feels resentful that this city has experienced two world wars and did not suffer a few shells in the end. If Germany and France can fight in Paris,
A bloody battle of Stalingrad level, he will be very happy, even if it destroys his DreamWorks, anyway, this factory is just a cover for him now, most of the movies produced by DreamWorks
They were all copies he bought directly from Hyundai.
As for whether the German army will foolishly pass through Paris without attacking it like it did in the original history, there is no need to worry about this. Neither Schlieffen nor Moltke would make such a low-level mistake. Speaking of which, they have no respect for the original history.
The German generals were really baffled. Don't these guys know what it means to not chase a poor enemy, or why a rabbit will bite someone when it gets angry? They didn't even give the French a chance to escape, so they can't blame them for fighting for their lives. (
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