Standing in front of a huge map of Europe hanging from the wall of his study, Jochen looked at the map and wandered around the world. More than a week into the outbreak of the war, Jochen in Berlin had little real feeling. When the outside actor spoke, he saw various war posters hanging on both sides of the street, when he inspected the factory, he learned that the three-shift system had been introduced, he heard a call on the radio for young people to defend his family and country, and Mary often appeared in public to promote that women should also contribute to the war. But apart from these, there does not seem to be a feeling that the country is at war, and the fact that war has broken out is like a joke. Only the battle reports on the front line kept reminding me that this war had indeed broken out.

East Prussia was now largely a no-man's land, with only German troops on standby, and the inefficient Russians not knowing when they would attack. The 6th and 7th armies have entered the territory of France, and the 10th Army of the Wehrmacht, which has been reorganized from the National Guard, has also been reorganized in Lorraine and is being taken over in the rear of the 6th and 7th armies.

If the deployment of the French army is no different from history, then the five armies composed of 79 infantry divisions and 10 cavalry divisions of the French army will be deployed in the rear, and the other four will become the current enemies of the 6th and 7th armies, and the strength of the French army in front of the two armies is more than three times that of their own, and whether the two armies can block the offensive of the French army. Whether he can withdraw to the territory and reorganize the defense after he can't stop it, Jochen is not very sure in his heart.

Outside the door, the sound of footsteps from far and near, the sound of hurried footsteps on the marble floor interrupted Jochen's thoughts, at this time he was still running in the Charlotenburg Palace, the person who came must have brought important news, good news? Or bad news?

Now the 6th and 7th armies are consolidating the front. There is no good news for the lack of offensive at all. So the bad news? Verdun French army launched a counterattack? The 7th Army's line of defense was broken through by the French? Or did the Russians finally come in? Suddenly Jochen's heart was lifted.

At the first knock on the heavy door of the study, Jochen impatiently shouted, "Come in!" ”

"Your Majesty! A telegram from the commander of the 6th Army, Lieutenant General Hindenburg! Jochen's Chief of Army Staff shouted as soon as he entered the door, but the joy on his face made Jochen's heart fall back again.

"Your Majesty! Great victory! The 7th Army inflicted heavy losses on the French 5th Army in Nancy! Goltz said excitedly, his uncontrollable voice that could be heard in the hallway outside the door.

Without waiting for Goltz to report, Jochen walked over and stretched out his hand: "I'll see for myself." ”

Goltz was stunned for a moment, then handed the message to Jochen respectfully with a smile on his face.

I just got the telegram and just glanced at it. Jochen's face froze, and the first sentence of the telegram read: "At 7 a.m. on August 22, the French 5th Army launched a fierce attack on the positions of our 6th Army, and the French army committed no less than 5 divisions head-on. ”

5 divisions! Such an offensive input was the largest offensive ever carried out by the French army in more than a week since the war began! There were only 10 divisions in one German army group! Moreover, it was impossible for the German army to spread 10 divisions evenly in a single line, so the German defense line was attacked by no less than 70,000 people in the front, although it was known that the offensive tactics of European countries in the early days of World War I were simply sent, but such a large amount of investment also made Jochen worry that the 7th Army would not be killed by the tactics of the sea of people.

However, as his gaze continued to sweep, Jochen's brow gradually relaxed, and the corners of his mouth slowly hooked. "After 8 hours of fighting. Our army repelled several French attacks, killing and wounding more than 20,000 French soldiers. Our army has repelled many tentative attacks of the French army in the past few days, and the total result of the battle has killed and wounded more than 30,000 French troops, and our army has suffered less than 500 casualties. ”

"More than 20,000 French soldiers were killed and wounded in a single day of fighting?" Jochen looked up and asked incredulously, "Didn't Hindenburg falsely report the results?" ”

Although it has always been known that countries were happy to send heads before and during the First World War, and the Anglo-French forces in the Somme were able to send out nearly 70,000 casualties in a day, the current 20,000 war reports are only a drop in the bucket. But after such a thing really happened, Jochen was still a little incomprehensible, is this really a decision that the human brain can make? As the saying goes: don't hit the south wall and don't look back. Now this situation has hit the coffin board at all, and I won't turn back!

"I have sent several reports to verify with the 7th Army. Based on feedback, this figure is still a conservative estimate. There will only be more, not less. Goltz couldn't hide the joy on his face: "More than 30,000 French troops were killed and wounded, and at least 3-4 divisions of the French had to withdraw to rest, so that the French would probably stop for a while, and the pressure on Hindenburg would be reduced a little." The French really have the most advanced weapons and fight the wars of the Napoleonic period. ”

For the words of Goltz. Jochen smiled slightly, the whole of Europe before 1916 was fighting the Napoleonic war.

"I would have liked the French to continue the offensive, 20,000 men a day, and the French 5th Army would be gone in 2 weeks. Our army can go on the offensive. Jochen said sarcastically: "The entire French army will be exhausted in three months." ”

"Your Majesty is saying that if this is the case. Maybe we haven't finished fighting in the east, and the west will win first. Goltz said with a smile.

Since the German army was now adopting a strategy of defending the west and attacking the east, the German army believed that it would be difficult to defeat the large Russian army in a short time, and the supporters of the Schlieffen plan also advocated that France could be defeated in a relatively short time, so that Russia, which was not a mortal enemy, would soon sit down and negotiate with Germany. If it weren't for the fact that Moltke Sr., who had the highest rating among the three Prussian heroes, had the original proposer of the West-East Offensive and had always emphasized that the next war could not be won quickly, it would have been difficult for Jochen and Gortz alone to suppress the dissenting voices in the General Staff at the beginning.

"Don't be careless, we have been able to achieve such results because our knowledge of the new system of warfare is far superior to that of other countries, the hatred of the French for us can make them burst out with forces that we dare not imagine, and our forces on the Western Front are at an absolute disadvantage, so we must not take the enemy lightly." Jochen nodded.

"Your Majesty, please rest assured." Goltz nodded: "There is another matter, the 6th Army requires all V-shaped airship battalions to be sent to the Verdun area for reinforcements, but since your order is now in addition to the airships deployed to the 6th Army, all the airships of the Army Aviation have been temporarily lent to the Navy, so ......"

"Lent to the Navy?" Jochen was stunned for a moment, and then immediately reacted: "Oh, yes, Alfred's action is more urgent, so I will borrow your airship for use first." ”

"Naturally, there is no problem with lending the airship to the Navy first, but what about the request from the 6th Army." Goltz pondered for a moment, and then said thoughtfully: "His Highness Reinhardt has performed well in the post of staff officer of the 6th Army Aviation, and this secondment of the airship battalion is also His Highness's suggestion, and he hopes to use airships for a large-scale operation. ”

"Oh? Is it? Jochen asked, somewhat surprised, "Wouldn't it be the credit that Ruprecht took care of him?" If you really did well, you should have sent me a telegram asking for merit, right? ”

"His Royal Highness, as soon as he arrived at the 6th Army, proposed to use aviation to launch an attack on the French transport lines, which successfully blocked the French reinforcements, and in the past few days our aviation has played a great role in intercepting the French reinforcements in the Verdun area. His Royal Highness Ruprecht had already mentioned this in the telegram. However, His Royal Highness Reinhardt believed that the interception was not very effective, and the most fundamental solution was to attack the assembly of the French army, so he suggested that the airship troops should be mobilized. His Royal Highness Ruprecht believed that if the plan was successful, it would be a great blow to the French reinforcements in the Verdun area, and such a feat would be enough to apply for the Order of Merit for His Highness Reinhardt. Goltz immediately explained.

"And you said you didn't take care of him? Ruprecht also had good intentions. Jochen laughed.

The order in which German medals are awarded is very strict, and some of them are prerequisite, for example, the Order of Merit must be awarded the Iron Cross of the first or second class before it can be applied, and after the higher rank of the medal is obtained, it can no longer be awarded a lower rank. As a result, the chances of the German royal family receiving the Order of Merit are very low, because they are awarded the Order of the Black Eagle, the highest rank in Prussia, at the age of 10, so it is almost impossible to receive the Order of Merit.

However, there are exceptions, and that is the fact that members of the royal family have outstanding military exploits. Due to the outbreak of war, the Iron Cross, which was only used in wartime, began to be reissued, and Reinhardt, who could be awarded the Iron Cross of the second class for "heroic performance during the war", was awarded one because he volunteered to go to the front, making him eligible to apply for the Meritorious Service Medal.

However, it is not a great feat to merely command the planes to attack and attack the French troops, but if the air raids on French cities, coupled with the success of blocking the reinforcements of the French army, and inflicting heavy losses on the French army, then it would be impossible for others to say anything to Ruprecht to apply for Reinhardt in the name of army group commander.

"Whether I give it to him or not, I'll talk about it then." Jochen waved his hand: "As for the airships, not only can they not be transferred, but the airship battalions in the Verdun area must all be transferred back." ”

"And what about the bombing plan of the 6th Army?" Goltz asked.

"Don't we have a KG wing, and it's not just airships that can carry out massive bombing missions." Jochen said with a smile: "Since Reinhardt wants support, then I, as a father, will give him more support than he wants, isn't there two KG wings in the army aviation that have been equipped with new aircraft, let them practice with the French first." ”

"Yes, Your Majesty." Goltz nodded, and then asked, "Forgive me for taking the liberty of borrowing so many airships?" ”

"They guess they're throwing rocks into the water right now." (To be continued.) )