Summer in Silesia is anything but hot, with cool breezes rising in the valley of the Oder River and south along the Sudetenland, blowing through the already lush town of Leps. This gives a sense of immortal singing, and what is cooler than the breeze is that the Russian Kerensky offensive was defeated by the German counterattack last month, and Russia's last will to fight has disappeared, and victory has shown the light for the Allies.

While everyone was chanting for this, there was an indescribable silence in the German High Command. If the Americans' declaration of war was just a wayward nonsense of the outbursts, as long as the Anglo-French forces were quickly defeated before the American soldiers were put into battle, Germany would have gained a glimmer of life; China's declaration of war completely extinguished the last hope of the Allies -- as China's former 'ally' and a partner in military technology, the Supreme Command, when examining the tactical changes since the beginning of the war, miraculously found that Europe had fought for three years and still had not jumped out of the tactical trap of the Renaissance Army.

The tempering of the war made the German army from a pure infantry army to an infantry army centered on artillery, but this kind of army establishment and tactical thinking had been determined at the beginning of the establishment of the Revival Army. The artillery centered infantry corps relied on artillery for attack and defense, and the heavy weapon of artillery was difficult to move in the muddy and bumpy field, so the depth of the army's attack and defense was very small.

Under such tactical thinking and technical limitations, machine guns, barbed wire, aircraft, tanks, these are only supplements to the artillery-centric mode of operation. Just imagine, if there is no artillery fire cover, there is no counter-battery tactical suppression. No matter how many machine guns, barbed wire, tanks, planes, there are no defensive successes or offensive victories - when defensive. The barbed wire will be shattered, the trenches will be flattened, and the enemy will disarm the defenders while they are still unconscious; And the attack, there is no suppression of their own artillery fire. The opposing side does not need machine guns with barbed wire, just a covering meal involving the infantry is enough to deal with the impact.

The battle became bigger and bigger, the fighting became more and more tragic, and the caliber of the artillery became larger and larger. At the beginning, the German army learned from the experience of the Renaissance Army, abandoned the use of howitzers, and then did not even want 75mm cannons, and began to equip a large number of 105mm and 150mm howitzers, inflicting heavy casualties on the British and French forces who only used 75mm misses. Although the artillery fire is strong, the larger the caliber, the heavier the cannon. German artillery, lacking towing tractors, tended to use animal power, as in the last century. This may have been sufficient in previous wars, and in trench warfare on the Western Front, where few movements were made, but on the Eastern Front, and in the face of the impending Risorgath Army, it was not enough.

Think about the Chinese, under the protection of fully mechanized towed artillery, relying on combat vehicles, breaking through twenty or thirty kilometers in a day and night, then the original defense system of the German army will collapse. If they were to take a detour and intersperse as they did against the Russian Siberian Legion. Outflank, and the soldiers who have become accustomed to fighting on a fixed front will all collapse.

The arrival of the Chinese will break the existing trench defense system, and the collapse of the trench defense system will cause their own side to retreat like the Russian Siberian Army. This was the first judgment of the 'lazy and smart' General Ludendorff; and his second judgment was the new combat thinking brought by the Chinese. After the first taste of victory, it will become a learning object for the Anglo-French army, which will gradually free the commanders of the aging coalition forces from the predicament of trench warfare, and transform the stationary artillery infantry division into a mobile artillery infantry division. This outcome would be a nightmare for the Alliance.

Compared to the Entente powers, which had access to the world's resources and manpower, all the resources of the Central Powers were scarce. The Western Front is because in trench warfare mode. Defensive losses are much smaller than offensive losses to achieve stability, once the trench warfare mode is subverted. If the offensive losses are the same or even the offensive is better than the defense, then Germany will not be able to sustain the war, defeat is certain, and Germany will perish in the war!

"Report!" General Secretary Feng. Morality. Busher. Captain Ipenburg interrupted Ludendorff's musings. When Ludendorff came back to his senses, he was standing up straight, "General, Duke Wilhelm has arrived. ”

"Where is the marshal?" Ludendorff asked. Will be the front line of Leo. Wilhelm summoned the High Command, which was the same agreement between him and Hindenburg, so he had to be received with the marshal.

"The marshal is waiting for Duke William next door." Captain Ipengburg replied.

"Then inform the marshal first, and then invite Duke William in." Ludendorff replied.

Summoned from the front by telegram from the High Command, Leo was not in a good mood. Before the declaration of war on China, he already felt something bad, and after the declaration of war by China, on the way to the city of Lepps after receiving a telegram from the High Command, his face was gloomy, and only when he saw his daughter dressed as his adjutant, his eyes were gentle.

"Your Excellency the Duke, the marshal, please." Captain Ippenburg looked at Leo, who was sitting there in a daze, and said softly.

"No, please call me General William." Leo struggled to get up with Rebecca's support, but his tone was unmistakable. The duke was just a title given to him by China, and now he is fighting for the Motherland, so it's just General William.

"Yes, General." Captain Ippenburg replied humbly. Any soldier who knew General William with great respect for him, and his record was the highest of any general on the Eastern Front, and if there was any regret, it was that he was appointed too late - under the blows of the Duke's tactics (commando tactics with infantry and artillery), the Russians had to fight for their lives.

"Please sit down, Leo." Field Marshal Hindenburg, who had rarely woken up, said after the Salute of Leo, and when he saw Rebecca, dressed as an adjutant, about to step back, he suddenly said: "This is your daughter, right?" ”

Dressed in the uniform of the smallest untitled German soldier, Rebecca had short haircuts, and although she was only thirteen years old, she seemed to be an adult thanks to the German diet and Leo's strict education.

"Yes, Marshal." Without waiting for her father to answer, Rebecca replied that her military posture was no worse than that of Germany's most elite soldiers.

"Very good, this is the general's daughter." Hindenburg laughed, then tricked out a few pieces of candy from his body and said, "You know what." You should be in school, not on the battlefield. Do you like sugar? ”

"No, Marshal." Rebecca tightened. There was a smile in the seriousness: "You said that I am the general's daughter, so I should be on the battlefield." With that, he stood up and saluted and left the room.

I saw that the little girl didn't like candy. Hindenburg looked at Ludendorff and then at Leo, and said regretfully: "She doesn't like to eat sugar." Is she ......, is she German? ”

"She's..." Leo seemed a little difficult to say, but finally he whispered: "Her mother is Chinese, and her father, I think, should be a shameful Russian soldier." ”

"Oh..., God." When I first met Rebecca, her long hair obscured her appearance. And now, from her clean and unobstructed face, Hindenburg could see that the girl actually had some signs of mixed race. Except for being taller than girls of the same age, the high forehead, deep-set eye sockets, knife-cut cheeks, straight nose, and the exception of the eyes are not blue, everything else resembles a Germanic person. Hindenburg knew that she was just Leo's adopted daughter, and she didn't want to be so miserable. He shook his head and said, "God will punish that man." ”

"Marshal, I hope this matter will be kept secret and not told to anyone." Leo added. For their own straightforwardness does not save.

"Of course." Hindenburg and Ludendorff on one side both nodded, and in order to break the embarrassment, Ludendorff also smiled, "I think she is a good Germanic at all." I heard that she once gave the order on your behalf while you were asleep, and in the end the battle was won. General, under your education. She has turned into a genius. ”

Hearing Ludendorff's compliment, Leo's originally stiff face suddenly softened. He smiled embarrassedly, and then said, "Marshal." I want to ...... me from the front so urgently"

"Yes." The conversation finally returned to the topic, and Hindenburg retracted his smile, his forehead furrowed, highlighting the numerous ravines. He said with great heaviness: "Leo, the Chinese are coming." ”

"Really?" Although he had expected this result for a long time, Leo's words were soft, as if he would disturb something if he was too loud. "Now that the Russians have not withdrawn from the war, it cannot be so fast."

"Yes, I thought it was too fast, but they were already here, and the first fleet departed at the end of last month." Hindenburg lit his corn pipe, his lips curled and his beard squirming from smoking. "God seems to be too jealous of the will, and let us have an emperor who will incur all misfortune. Although His Majesty does not admit that the telegrams were from him, the fact is that Chinese fully believe that the Russian attack three years ago was the result of his instigation, just as he had done in the Russo-Japanese war twelve years earlier......"

With a heavy puff of his cigarette, Hindenburg said, "And then it turned out to be like this." China is not Russia, and its army has been fighting since its creation without any stop, and this experience is extremely beneficial for the growth of an army; Moreover, the Chinese army was created on the basis of a new mode of warfare, and there is no shadow of the old British and French armies at all, and in them, there are infinite possibilities. I think it would be difficult for any German general to adapt to them, so ......"

He took another heavy puff of smoke, and the smoke in the room made a short distance of confusion between Hindenburg and Leo, but unlike the last time, the marshal did not immediately say it after spitting out the cigarette, but Ludendorff next to him took over the topic: "When I went to China a few years ago to help the Qing Emperor formulate a battle plan to destroy the Fuxing Army, I thought this army was very, very difficult to deal with. And of all the German generals, only you are the most familiar with this army, so we want you to command an army group and fight them on the Western Front. It doesn't have to be to bring them down, just to contain their fierce offensive. This would not only make the Anglo-French forces hopeless, but would also prevent all the armies of the Entente from adopting their methods of warfare.

The last point is crucial, if all the armies of the Western Front fight like the Chinese, it must be them who will win, and Germany will perish in defeat. ”

Ludendorff's expression was more serious than Hindenburg's, the current Entente forces were just an elephant, large but indestructive, but if they became as cunning and sharp as wolves, then what awaited Germany was defeat. This is no longer the accumulation of war materials, but a radical change in the mode of warfare.

"General Hoffman will partner with you again, as your chief of staff, and I remember that he is also familiar with the Chinese army." After Ludendorff finished speaking, seeing that Leo was silent for a long time, Hindenburg spoke again. "And those officers you admire. can be transferred from the eastern front to the western front, and all kinds of supplies will also be supplied to you first. Leo. We must do everything possible to contain the Chinese and not allow them to exert their original strength. Only then can there be hope of victory in the war. ”

"But ......" learned that the Supreme Command was looking for him for such an arrangement, and Leo had mixed feelings in his heart. The Fuxing Army was founded by him and Yang Rui, and it was the proudest thing in his life, but now he gave himself an order that ......, "Will the emperor agree?" Also, if the Baath Army did not fight alone, but were scattered among the various army groups on the Western Front......"

"If it weren't for the tight control of the newspapers by the Political Division, which prevented the people from really understanding the reasons for China's declaration of war, I think His Majesty the Emperor would have been ousted by public opinion long ago. Right now. In Germany as a whole, his advice was useless. Ludendorff said rather conceitedly, "And according to the intelligence coming from France, the Chinese, like the Americans, will form a corps independent of the Entente and have a lot of command." The battle plans of the Anglo-French forces could only be negotiated with them, not directly commanded them. This is the best option for the Chinese, if not, but to split the revival army into battalions to supplement the British and French forces. Then there is no need for us to worry about them at all. ”

"Leo, please remember! You are first German, and then the former Chief of the General Staff of the Baath Army! Looking still a little trance-like Leo, Hindenburg said loudly. And we, not for that stupid, self-righteous emperor, we are fighting for Germany. If the war is lost. What awaits Germany will only be destruction, both in substance. Or spiritually, they will be completely destroyed. You know what I mean? ”

"Yes. Marshal! "The conversation has turned into a military model. Leo also replied loudly, although there was still a lot of helplessness in his voice.

"That's great!" Hindenburg put down his pipe and said with satisfaction. "As soon as you return to the troops, hand over the affairs to General Deshouse, and then pick the people you need, and they will be transferred with you to the Western Front."

"Yes, Marshal!" Leo said again, though he asked with some skepticism, "Are they back in Europe so soon?" ”

"I'm sure they'll be there before winter." Hindenburg said, "Before that, you need to familiarize yourself with your troops. ”

When Hindenburg said 'before winter', in the important town of Sens, southeast of Paris, Lieutenant General Zhou Sixu, chief of the General Staff of the Baissätt expeditionary force, also replied to the French chief of the general staff, Ferdinand. Lieutenant General Foch's inquiry about when the Baath Army would arrive in France.

However, the French were not too convinced by his answer, especially now that the United States, threatened by submarines, had cut off troop shipments. At the same time, the situation of the Chinese Expeditionary Force is actually very complicated, in the plan submitted by Zhou Sixu, among the troops that arrived in advance were the Russian Siberian Legion, which had been captured three years earlier, and two divisions of the Korean army.

Everyone knows what kind of combat level the Russian army is, and no one can be sure whether these 200,000 people will collapse like the current situation of Russia on the Eastern Front. It's just that for France, which 'has dried up its blood', as long as he is a man and can carry a gun, then no matter whether it is a white, yellow, or black race, he is welcome to fight in France. The only concern is whether the officers will be able to take full control of the army - not everyone will be able to be normal on the battlefields of hell.

"My only concern is," After Foch spoke, a Chinese translator found by the French army headquarters began to interpret, this person should be Cantonese, although he is more fluent in Chinese, but always has some Cantonese accent: "Whether your army can complete the order within the scheduled time is the most important thing in the battle of the armies." ”

The French who bubbled up in the cylinder did not seem to want to talk about it, and Foch was a practical man, although there were many rumors about the Chinese army in the Anglo-French army, but he thought that seeing was still believing.

"A lot of times, casualties are just numbers, victory is the goal. This most basic tactical literacy also reassures the general. "Zhou Sixu didn't understand why he was appointed as the chief of staff of the expeditionary force to Europe, he can only be regarded as a middle and lower in terms of talent, but since he has been appointed, he can only do his best to do things well." General, the requirements of our army are actually very simple, first, because it is an independent operation, it needs the command of the corps, although the final plan of the campaign will be jointly agreed upon by the various armies, but what kind of method to use to complete the task, our army has the right to decide. Second, because our army is coming from the direction of the Mediterranean, we hope that the three ports of Marseille, Seth, and Toulon will be placed under the jurisdiction of our army, and at the same time, the railroad connecting the right flank of the entire front from these three ports will also be planned for our army......"

The ports were also full of submarines in the Mediterranean, and the Allied supplies from the Americas were mostly disembarked from the Atlantic side. So these three ports are not too important; And the railway, wartime supplies are scarce. At the same time, because this is not the main material input place, it is also very idle. It is......

"General Zhou," said General Estica, deputy chief of staff of the French army, "the port and the railroad can be completely handed over to your army, but unfortunately, because of the war, the number of locomotives and carriages in the whole country is insufficient, and we hope that your army can bring in some locomotives and carriages, as the Americans are doing now." ”

"How many locomotives and carriages were there on these railways?" Lieutenant General Zhu Luhe of the General Logistics Department, who went to France with Lieutenant General Zhou Sixu, asked. When fighting a large army, logistics comes first. In order to supply the expeditionary force with sufficient supplies, he had to come to France himself two months ago.

Although Destika was the deputy chief of staff, he only knew that there were more than 13,700 locomotives, more than 370,000 wagons, and more than 44,000 passenger cars in France, and he did not know how many locomotives and carriages there were on the line from Marseille Toulon to Paris.......

"I hope that your army can hand over the original locomotives and carriages on this route to our army," Zhou Sixu followed Zhu Luhe's train of thought and made a request, "In addition, we also need the jurisdiction of navigation on the Rhône." The original transport vessels of the transport industry on this river and we would like you to hand them over to us. ”

The Rhône estuary of the Mediterranean Sea is right in Marseille. Three hundred and fifteen kilometres north of the river is Lyon, and one hundred and thirty kilometres north of the river from Lyon is the end of the canal, Chalon. It was only 280 kilometers from Chalons to Nancy, the far right flank of the front, and if supplies could reach here, it would be by rail or road. Getting to the front line is easy. However, like the railway, the canal has its share of troubles.

"Two generals. I'm glad you guys can see this canal, but I need to be warned. The water depth in the upper reaches of the Rhône is only 1.5 meters in winter, which is not suitable for large ship routes. Moreover, it was never dredged during the war, and we wanted to dredge it, but we didn't have enough manpower to do it. There were also very few ships on the river, and both of them should know that many merchant ships had been sunk by German submarines, and that we had to assemble sailing ships and river vessels to replenish the ocean-going vessels. General Estica said about France's current predicament, as if hoping that the Chinese would understand the current situation.

"The river can be handed over to you, and if you dredge it, I will ask the local people to cooperate with you, just hoping that you can help them with food, even potatoes or potatoes. As I said earlier, German submarines were rampant, more than half of the people in Britain were starving, and although France itself produced food, there was a shortage of labor and horses in the countryside...... By the way, if you need horses or fodder, please bring them yourself. We can't afford to provide these things anymore.

And the same goes for fuel. In winter, you had better stay in your tents, for the barracks available in the French villages were limited and dirty, and the soldiers were susceptible to all kinds of diseases. Wintering in the wilderness requires continental fuel, and coal is very scarce, and if we allow you to log in any forest, we will also mobilize the local population to help you, but in the same way, it will require you to provide food to the local population, or simply send soldiers to the forest to cut the wood. ”

If, according to history, the establishment of the escort system has greatly reduced the losses of merchant ships, the losses of merchant ships under the escort system can still be heavy with better radio and submarine tactics. On the eve of the severance of diplomatic relations between China and Germany and Austria and the evacuation of overseas Chinese, both Britain and France rioted because of hunger in Russia. In particular, Britain, which is more dependent on shipping, heard that the United States had suspended troop shipments due to submarine attacks, and the voice of domestic anti-war became stronger and stronger. George's cabinet will resign. It was for this reason that the legendary journalist Morrison, who was later found to have forged a photograph of the Kaiser's telegram to prompt China to declare war on the Central Powers, was knighted by King V.

"General, if the tonnage allows, we will bring in as much grain as possible." He had been in France for several months, and Zhou Sixu, who knew about the lack of food in the region, replied.

However, before he could finish speaking, Foch's adjutant hurried in, and after glancing at the two Chinese generals opposite Foch, he hurriedly whispered to Foch: "General, the Chinese fleet has an accident in the port of Marseille." (To be continued......)