Strictly speaking, Moltke accepted Schlieffen's basic ideas almost completely without any modifications, which can be enumerated as follows: 1. Germany must fight on both sides in a future war; 2. Adopt the principle of defending in the east and attacking in the west; 3. The main forces of the offensive on the Western Front were directed to the right flank; 4 The Germans had to pretend to pass through Belgium, that is, they had to undermine the country's neutrality. The above four points did not change at all in 1914, so Moltke Jr. was actually carrying out the plan drawn up by Schlieffen 10 years earlier.

But what changes did Moltke make to the Schlieffen plan? There is only one point, which can also be said to be fatal, and that is the distribution of forces. The most important feature of the Schlieffen plan was that its forces were very unevenly distributed: the ratio of forces on the eastern and western fronts was 1:8; On the Western Front, its right flank accounted for 7/8 of its total forces, leaving only 1/8 of its forces deployed on the left flank. The planned total strength of the Western Front consisted of 72 divisions: 53 on the rotating right flank, 10 facing Verdun, forming the pivot of the entire deployment, and only 9 divisions along the fortified line (left flank) in the province of Lorraine.

According to Wu Chenxuan's analysis, this was a very shrewd calculation, reducing the strength of the left wing to a minimum so that the right wing could reach unprecedented strength. Even if the French army entered Lorraine and pressed the German left flank to retreat, it still could not stop the offensive of the German right flank, and the deeper it went, the more dangerous it became. It's like a revolving door. If the French push this side forward, the side behind them will be reversed and hit on the back. The heavier the pressure, the more severe the counterattack.

Of course, later Duan Zhiquan and Duan Da also pointed out that the main points of Schlieffen's plan were:

1 The right flank fought in areas favorable to the offensive, and its forces were sufficient to encircle Antwerp, Namur and Paris. 2 The left flank fought in areas favorable to the defensive, and the strength of its forces was limited to the extent that it could lure the enemy into depth.

This distribution of forces was the key to the success or failure of Schlieffen's plan. Without such distribution, the Schlieffen plan would not be able to be effectively implemented. Moltke Jr., on the one hand, changed the ratio of the distribution of troops, and on the other hand, proceeded according to the original plan, and the result was, of course, not pleasing to both sides. To be sure, it was not unreasonable for Moltke Jr. to change the distribution of forces, but if he did, his plans would change with him, and in short, they could not have it both ways.

By 1914, Russia had long since recovered from the wounds of the Russo-Japanese War, and its forces and the rate of mobilization had exceeded Schlieffen's estimates. At this time, due to the increase in the population of Germany, the available troops also increased slightly, and Moltke Jr. used them to strengthen the Eastern Front, and as a result, the strength of the Western Front was relatively reduced, according to the original plan of about 1.8 million troops on the Western Front, but now it has been reduced to 1.4 million. One might argue for Moltke the Younger, arguing that if he had not strengthened his forces on the Eastern Front, not only would the victory at Tannenberg be impossible, but even the birthplace of the Prussian crown (East Prussia) might not have been secured. But this is clearly contrary to Schlieffen's original intention, for he quoted Frederick the Great as an explanation: "It is better to sacrifice a province than to disperse your forces in the search for victory." ”

While it is understandable to strengthen the Eastern Front, changing the distribution of forces on the Western Front is tantamount to directly undermining the Schlieffen Plan. Moltke Jr.'s distribution of troops on the Western Front was roughly 300,000 on the left flank, 400,000 on the center, and 700,000 on the right flank (a total of 1.4 million). The original plan was to have a left-right ratio of 1:7, but now it is about 1:3. Of course, these figures are not necessarily accurate, but it is an undeniable fact that the right wing has not been strengthened, as Schlieffen has called for, but rather weakened.

There are many different explanations for why Moltke distributed his forces in this way, but these are all hindsight, so there is no need to elaborate here. Some people pointed out that even if the forces of the right wing were not weakened, the Schlieffen plan might not be effective, but this is another matter, and it has nothing to do with Moltke's merits. Strictly speaking, Moltke's biggest mistake was perhaps not to weaken the right wing but to strengthen the left. Schlieffen's plan was to attack the right and defend the left, and try to lure the French army deeper to the left, so as to indirectly help the success of the right flank. Moltke not only strengthened the left flank, but also allowed the left flank to launch an offensive, which resulted in the French being driven from left to right, which in turn strengthened their ability to resist the German right flank.

Moltke the Younger, although he accepted the Schlieffen Plan, changed its nature entirely, but between 1906 and 1914 Germany added several new armies. On the Russian side, he roughly followed Schlieffen's old plan, keeping a total of four corps (active and reserve), a reserve division, a cavalry division, and a number of national militia units, totaling about 200,000 men. However, on the Western Front, he not only made a thorough adjustment of the ratio of forces between the two wings, but also strengthened the right wing, and his thinking became "Canny" type instead of "Lüzen" type. (Note: Schlieffen also seems to have changed somewhat in his thinking in his later years.) He seems to have begun in 1912 to consider the idea of attacking simultaneously along the entire front, from Belgium to Switzerland. But it wasn't until his deathbed that his mind returned to his great plan. His last words were: "You must pay attention to strengthening the right wing. Colonel Taben, Germany's chief of operations, once said that the little Mowkie was forced to make this change because of technical reasons, such as railways. This explanation is questionable, as the real reason seems to be that the princes oppressed Moltke the Younger in order to strengthen their legions.

In fact, he doesn't care about the victory or defeat of Germany, but hopes to make this world war more bloody by sending some fresh blood to the Germans, of course, it is the blood of the noble whiteskins.

With the help of the General Staff, Germany? The military procured a batch of grenadiers and infantry guns, and secretly purchased a batch of "chemical raw materials". Of course, these spies can't hide from Britain and France, but the order catalog of the Standard Arsenal was also sent to their Ministry of Defense, plus orders from the United States and Japan, it seems that there is no way to accuse Wu Chenxuan of supporting Germany.

"Krupp and Hamburg United Industries signed a reciprocal cooperation agreement with the Qing Consortium, is it possible that the Germans are hungry for food in search of allies?" The Times's usual meanness was reflected in the headline, but the British did not know what kind of products and technologies Wu Chenxuan was selling to the Germans.

Reactive armor plate technology and surface passivation carburized steel made the German thick-skinned ships so stout that in the later Battle of Jutland, almost all German ships returned scarred, but few of them broke with a single stab like the British high-mobility warships. The Royal Navy had to use three-quarters of its strength as a nanny for the High Seas Fleet to prevent this problem, and the children repaired the ships and then went back to the Atlantic to mess with the flowers.

And those chemical raw materials, after catalytic treatment, can easily become the filling of mustard gas shells. After extremely secret live-fire experiments, the German military top brass understood the power of this shell. The Germans avoided the low-level stage of chemical warfare, which initially used chlorine* gas cylinders to release smoke, and directly entered the mature stage of using mustard gas and light* gas shells. It is conceivable that once the French defense line stops the German fierce advance, in order to maintain the speed of the attack, the German generals will inevitably choose this cheap weapon to harvest life, and when the French want to buy gas masks and weapons to counterattack, it seems that there is only one Qing profiteer to choose.

But the arrogance of the Germans was not inferior to that of Britain and France, they did not see the real thing, so they refused the order for the aircraft, and in a few years they would pay dozens of times the price for this stupid decision, and they would have to take the lives of hundreds of pilots, because the British and French air forces were the first to be equipped with Chinese-made Swift A fighters.

"The ground temperature is 17 degrees Celsius, the wind speed is 15, the altitude is 740, the ground speed is 170, and the field is ready."

"Understood." In the command vehicle on the ground, two flight team officers in dark blue uniforms were calculating, and the command officer was already transmitting information through the radio.

Soon, thirty kilometers away in the sky, the liaison officer in the back seat of the No. 1 long plane of the four planes was already receiving the code, and the Morse code was translated extremely quickly, and a series of numbers were passed to the pilot in the front seat.

"Dapeng, it seems that the environment in the UK is very good, and there are not many disadvantages for our landing." The shrimp head in the back seat said with a grin.

"Well, it looks like the wind speed is average, I don't know the strength of the crosswind, but the plains shouldn't be too bad. Notify the other crews to land once at an altitude of 500 and land in a predetermined order. ”

"Obey, boss" took off the headset of the shrimp head and quickly pushed the radio under the cover of the cabin, the antenna has been disguised as a tension line, no one can see from the outside. The shrimp head took out the flag and began to flag the other planes. Soon the two wingmen and the second long plane shook their wings to signal receipt.

"Look, it's the Qing planes again, one, two, three, four, it seems that they arrived first." A guy in a plaid suit shouted that he had already seen the first planes arriving in Dover from the lookout through his binoculars. Looking at his pocket watch, "Oh my God, it took them less than forty-five minutes to cover a distance of one hundred and twenty miles, it's unbelievable." Could it be that they were not flying on a plane but on a magic carpet? "Just like in the last stop of Canterbury and the first stop of Maidstone, these four stupid-looking black guys of Qingguo actually led the way from the beginning of takeoff, with an average speed of more than 200 kilometers per hour, so that they only need to fly for less than an hour a day, and then they will light a fire and cook together, and after eating and drinking, they will wait for the other planes to arrive in almost three times the time. God knows, if anyone else knew that these Standard Flying Team guys were actually flying at half throttle, they would die of shame.

"Mr. Winston, it seems that your bet has once again been taken care of by God." A middle-aged man in a hand-cut Simon suit casually signed a check and handed it to the smiling Count of Montagu. "If you can introduce this kind of aircraft for the British Empire, I think you will get more benefits."

"Of course, as an earl of England, it is my privilege to serve my emperor." Winston leaned into the gentleman's ear and explained softly.

"The key is their aero engine, which is highly reliable, lightweight, has great potential for power improvement, and is good for maintenance and survivability." Count Montague took out a document and handed it to the middle-aged gentleman, "I believe that the conditions given by my partner will be very reasonable, please Mr. Lord give this to the Chief of Ordnance Jericho of the Navy Headquarters, you are sorry." ”

"Uh, okay. We will be happy to serve you, Your Excellency the Count of Montagu. ”

"For the good of the Empire." Montague took two glasses of wine from the waiter's plate and handed them to the gentleman.

"For your health." The crisp collision of the cups, the Count of Montague smiled and took a sip, and the gentleman, the initiator of the competition, Lauder?? Ron was also smiling, and there seemed to be a hint of bitterness in his mouth, which made him pout.

"God, could it be that the pigtail pigs of the Qing Kingdom can also be the object of cooperation of us gentlemen of the British Empire? What a crazy idea. ”