Unlike the confident Niveller, Ludendorff ordered the Germans to hide in the sturdy and safe Hindenburg Line, waiting for the Anglo-French forces to attack.

Roque did not want to see the tragedy of the Somme repeat itself in Reims, but under pressure from Paris and London, the British expeditionary force was forced to attack the Germans.

Winston overlooked the question that the Russian Empire did need confidence, but what if the Anglo-French coalition was met with a crushing defeat?

I am afraid that the consequences will be even more serious, and perhaps the Russian Empire will withdraw directly from the war.

At that time, the millions of German-Austrian troops released on the Eastern Front will pour into the Western Front, and that picture is too beautiful for Roque to imagine.

Roque and Nivelle agreed on a time of 25 March, and the reason for delaying it was to wait for the snow to melt on the front line and the roads to become dry, making it easier for the Anglo-French tank forces to attack.

Although there were hidden dangers in the Russian Empire, there was also a lot of good news, the British Expeditionary Force continued to build, and by mid-March, the British Expeditionary Force had 1.8 million men on the Western Front and counting.

Nivelle could not wait for the tanks and planes produced by France itself, and the French government had to order them from southern Africa, and the arsenal in Nyasaland was running 24 hours a day to meet the needs of the European theater.

On 15 March, the first American troops landed in Calais, they were not empty-handed, they were armed with a large number of machine guns and artillery, and the first group of American troops arrived in Calais with a total of 30,000 troops, although the number was a little small, but it would increase rapidly.

More than a million U.S. troops are being trained in 12 barracks on the West Coast of the United States, and they will arrive in France for war in the next six months.

Unlike the United States, which watched the fire from across the strait and made a lot of war profits, the United States in this time and space truly achieved "isolationism" and failed to obtain an arms order from the Entente countries, and if it continued, the United States would gain nothing, so the United States hurriedly entered the war.

I'm afraid that the Americans have not figured out what they want until now, the United States does not lack land, capital, or industrial strength, what the United States wants is the market, but the global market is controlled by Britain and France, and the Americans cannot touch it, and the United States also wants to expand its influence, but it is located in the Americas and is excluded from the "center of the world", so the status of the United States in this time and space is very embarrassing.

The commander of this American unit was General John Joseph Pershing, who also had the nickname "Jack the Terrible", and the reason for this nickname was that Pershing's requirements for military appearance and discipline were so strict that it was unbearable.

Pershing visited Roque as soon as he arrived in Calais and unequivocally expressed to Roque that he hoped that the U.S. military unit would have independent command on the Western Front, like the Southern African Expeditionary Force before it.

This requirement could not be met by Roque, nominally on the Western Front, the British Expeditionary Force should also be dominated by French troops, although the British Expeditionary Force had a better record, but the number of French troops was larger, and the Western Front was France's home field, and the criteria for determining the dominance of the battlefield were so nonsense.

Roque and Pershing went to London together for a meeting in the luxurious castle of Nivelle.

As soon as Pershing opened his mouth this time, he was directly vetoed by Niveler.

"With only 30,000 troops, what kind of autonomy do you want? Even if you are given a section of defense, will your troops be able to withstand the frantic attack of the Germans? I'm afraid it won't take more than three hours for your troops to collapse. Nivelle was very polite to Roque, that is the respect that Roque earned by his excellent record, to Pershing, Nivelle is a domineering Frenchman, the United States is synonymous with "nouveau riche" during this period, don't expect Nivelle to give Pershing much respect.

"We still have a million troops in the training camp, and starting next month, 120,000 troops will arrive in France every month, so it's not too much for me to ask for independent command." Pershing argued that the performance of the Allied generals after the outbreak of the world war proved that if the American troops were placed under the command of the French generals, then the American troops would become cannon fodder on the Western Front.

Before the United States entered the war, there was also a huge controversy in the United States, and some Americans insisted that the "isolationism" and "free trade" that the United States had always pursued should be adhered to, so that the best interests of the United States would be served.

Those who believe that the United States should enter the war believe that a world war may be the last opportunity for the world to divide its sphere of influence, and if the United States misses this opportunity, it will be locked in the Americas forever and lose the opportunity to expand its influence around the world.

In the end, those who insisted on participating in the war had the upper hand, but the United States was not prepared, and the training camps in the United States were still training troops in the same way as during the American Civil War, and they did not know how brutal the fighting on the Western Front had been, and they did not know anything about the new tactics of infantry and artillery coordination and infantry and tank coordination, and the US troops had not even received the baptism of poison gas bombs.

"Your troops are not yet able to adapt to the environment on the Western Front, and they are not able to take charge on their own, I suggest that you wait a little longer, and if you still think that the US military can fight independently by then, then I will give you a chance." Niveller also knew the situation of the US army, and at this point, Niveller did not deliberately create difficulties for Pershing, thinking that even the Kingdom of Italy participated in the war, which made the Entente rejoice, so the United States entered the war, and Britain and France welcomed it.

Not to mention, the United States now has a population of 100 million, which is an unparalleled advantage, Britain has begun compulsory military service to recruit troops, and the United States quickly recruited 1 million troops after mobilization, all of whom volunteered to join the army.

Pershing agreed to Niveller's suggestion, and upon his return to Calais, he proposed to Roque that he wanted to observe the training of the British Expeditionary Force.

Roque wanted to give Pershing a dismount, so he gave the task to the 2nd Cavalry Division.

Although Pershing is the only army general in American history, the current Pershing is not enough, and Roque has no time to accompany Pershing, and finally he accompanies Pershing into Don Juan, the commander of the Second Cavalry Division.

Don Juan opened the training ground to Pershing, and the troops were in step with each other.

The tank, made entirely of steel, immediately caught Pershing's attention, and with Don Juan's permission, Pershing and other American generals personally sat in the tank and experienced what it was like to get off the tank.

"How does it feel?" Don Juan has already experienced it, and it must be said that the feeling is not good.

"Great weapon, tank - why the name?" Pershing was interested in tanks.

"To confuse the Germans, you haven't seen another tank, and in comparison to this light tank, another tank is a real behemoth." Don Juan was referring to the "Little Nomad" developed by the British Admiralty, and after the "light cavalry" tank arrived in France, the "Little Nomad" tank had been completely abandoned.

"Light tanks, then that means there are also heavy tanks - another?" Pershing drew inferences from others, he was a good soldier, never rejected new things, and contrasted sharply with some people.

Of course, Pershing also has shortcomings, his requirements for military appearance and discipline have reached an almost harsh level, perhaps because he just rubbed some engine oil on his clothes in the tank cabin, and Pershing frowned; When he jumped out of the tank, Pershing's leather shoes got a little mud, which was also unbearable for Pershing, and he immediately bent down to wipe the mud spots clean.

"Yes, but it's not necessary yet, unless the Germans also have tanks, we need to develop more powerful tanks." Don Juan did not tell the truth, the "heavy cavalry" has actually been successfully developed, but it has not yet been installed on a large scale.

"What is the role of a tank? Cover for soldiers in the offensive? Or is it a tactical fulcrum when defending? "Pershing has a lot of problems, and these details are not difficult to find, behind every tank on the training ground, there are infantry who cooperate with the tank in battle.

However, the task of the tank in the offensive is not to provide cover for the infantry, but to protect the tank and not allow German soldiers with explosive packs or anti-tank grenades to get close to the tank.

"Yes, we are also trying more, for example, what is being done now is the coordination between infantry and tanks in the offensive." Don Juan introduced in detail, no matter what the future holds, at least for now, the US military is an ally of the British Expeditionary Force.

"So let's get started, see what the tank is really capable of-" Pershing was excited, but as soon as the tank started, Pershing immediately had another problem.

"Why did the infantry line up in two columns behind the tanks?"

"The tracks of the tank provide effective protection for the soldiers accompanying the attack—"

"The caliber of the tank gun seems to be a bit small-"

"This is determined by the power of the tank engine."

"Aren't the artillery units involved in the offensive?"

"Of course you have to participate, but you don't have to actually pull the cannon out during training."

——

In the evening, Pershing followed Don Juan to experience the food of the British Expeditionary Force, which opened Pershing's eyes again.

Relatively speaking, the food of the expeditionary force is still very rich, traditional pickled eggs and luncheon meat are essential, the richness of various canned foods is beyond Pershing's imagination, like other British troops, the officers and soldiers of the second cavalry division also have unlimited coffee and wine, Don Juan as the division commander, equipped with professional chefs, Pershing also tasted delicious traditional Chinese food, but this did not make Pershing very happy, for the luxury of the expeditionary force, Pershing was shocked.

It is indeed a luxury, Britain itself is almost unable to eat potatoes, but the expeditionary force has unlimited coffee and wine here, and only Britain can support this level of logistics.

If this is 120,000 troops, don't forget that there are millions of officers and soldiers on the Western Front, so it is no wonder that the British government spends 15 million pounds a week on supplies from southern Africa.