Chapter 313: French Cannon (Ask for Recommendation, Ask for Monthly Pass, Ask for Reward!) )

At the same time that the United States, Britain, France, Germany, and Italy landed in Parret one after another, the German army dispatched three independent brigades to assist the German 53rd Engineer Division in the overnight construction, providing the five-nation coalition forces with a field camp area capable of stationing 600,000 troops at one time.

On the afternoon of the third day, the armies of various countries arrived at the designated camps one after another, and raised their national flags and field camp tents, and the Italian logistics department, which moved quickly, was the first to arrive. While the British were still advancing, the Italian camp had already begun to light fires for cooking, and some soldiers came out of the bathhouses with buckets. As Eric had told Hoffman, chief of the General Staff of the United Front Work Department, that each country had training grounds, temporary ammunition warehouses, and concealment of heavy weapons.

After receiving the notice, the German 53rd Engineer Division and three independent field brigades immediately entered the Paret construction site, and the entire allied army camp area surrounded by mountains and rivers stretched for more than 100 miles with deep ditches and high fortifications. In a very short period of time, and under complicated conditions, the construction was carried out in a very short period of time, and the facilities such as roadblocks, iron nets, open posts and secret posts needed by the field troops were readily available. After the project was completed ahead of schedule, the operational headquarters of the United Front Work Department carried out on-site acceptance and then handed over to the troops of various countries to be stationed.

Looking at the orderly and well-defended barracks, military experts from various countries praised the efficiency of the German army and called it "awesome."

In fact, only the German and Italian armies, which had been "bitter enemies in the sea of blood" not long ago, came together again because of common interests, and after charging side by side on many occasions, they turned enemies into friends.

The four field infantry divisions of the Italian army were the troops with the largest number of participants and the highest frequency of combat among the five-nation coalition forces, and the British actively supported the front with more than 400 large and small ships, ranking first in the logistics of the crusade against the Greek coalition forces. The troops sent by the United States to participate in the war were very strange and inscrutable in nature, and when you look at the archives, they are basically non-commissioned officers, and the proportion of officers is very staggering compared to the armed forces they have sent, and in the eyes of the Germans, these people seem to have come to catch a big gun song and dance, rather than to fight.

France, as a large country bordering Germany and Italy, is also one of the forces of the five-nation alliance, which seems to be nothing brilliant, but it is the main artillery force in this attack on Greece.

The command of the Five-Nation Coalition was set up close to the front line, as the Chief of the General Staff Hoffmann was accustomed to pre-war reconnaissance. As early as the First World War, Eric had reminded him that before the two armies faced each other, he must know the other, and slowly, it became his habit to command from the front.

The Italian army organized mobilization as quickly as possible, and in less than two days of rest, the four field infantry divisions, mainly small steel artillery, advanced nearly 30 kilometers. The Greek army saw that the five-nation alliance was huge, but because the national interests were above all else, the Greek army had to stick to its position. When the main force of the Italian army drove straight in, some of the weapons and ammunition of the Greek army were not fully in place, and under the orders of the commander, the troops hurriedly met the Italian advance. The two armies fought very fiercely, a large number of soldiers fell on the position, and soon, the Italian army occupied an absolute advantage in momentum, and the Greek army was forced to abandon its position and slowly retreat westward.

The French army quickly occupied the high ground on the left side of the Greek army, and dozens of artillery pieces were condescending, however, it was almost evening, and the troops had to temporarily set up camp on the spot to extend the guard.

The impact of Germany's disarmament plan on the French army was enormous, and in addition to the wave of anti-war voices in France over the past few years, the French government had to begin to conform to the will of the people, gradually reduce the number of army personnel, and reduce military spending. As a result, many barracks were left vacant, and surplus munitions became a burden, even the artillery that had been so popular during the First World War was useless. On the contrary, before the pace of German disarmament began, Eric was calculating how much foreign exchange he could get back from his surplus old weapons. For this reason, the arms exhibition centered on Berlin was held in many parts of the country, and the 100-nation summit economic and trade promotion meeting, environmental protection meeting, resource sharing meeting, and scientific and technological exchange meeting presided over by Stresemann were dismissed.

France also wanted to sell off the obsolete stockpile, but because Germany had already fed the surrounding countries, they really didn't want to spend any more money to buy scrap metal and dismantle it. In this way, the cannon that France once regarded as a treasure is now the price of cabbage, and no one wants it anymore.

Taking advantage of this punitive war against Greece, France is happy to do its best to transport the expiring shells here, and is eager to use them all at once, on the one hand, to show the prestige of France, on the other hand, to take the opportunity to train the troops, and more importantly, to make the arms dealers of those countries who are unwilling to pay a high price for French cannons regret their bowels.

In the long run, relations between Germany and France have eased, military mutual trust is increasing, and the two sides will not consider the possibility of war at all, so those weapons can only become commodities.

A large part of the reason why the five-nation coalition responded positively to Germany's initiative was not that Greece was at fault, but to put it bluntly, it was like a group fight of street thugs, bullying the weak with the strong. Among the five major powers, the United States is the most obvious, they want to use the war to sell arms to the outside world, France only wants to dump its ammunition stockpiles, the British want to take advantage of the opportunity to make some political capital in Europe, Italy wants to eliminate military pressure in the Mediterranean, and Germany wants to diversify.

If France does not seize the opportunity of this war, I am afraid that it will be difficult to see the spark of artillery for decades. While all nations were struggling to increase their forces for their intentions, French follow-up troops arrived at Parret one after another.

Maurice Gammerin was a major general in a French artillery unit and the highest-ranking commander in the French Expeditionary Force. Just as he was confidently preaching to the front-line commanders about the pre-war deployment, the new German second-line troops arrived.

"The commander of the 11th Division, Friedrich Paulus, paid tribute to the commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force."

"The deputy commander of the 11th Division, Ferdinand Schellner, salutes the commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force."

Paulus and Schellner's arrival this time was actually based on the decision of the five-nation coalition meeting that the German 11th Infantry Division would be the main force of the attack, and fire support was also instructed by the German Ministry of Defense, but the artillery support was expanded.

The main warships of the British army and the Italian Mediterranean fleet were constantly patrolling the four major sea ports, and when the army launched a large-scale attack on Greece, the navies of the two countries needed to ensure that the warships in the major ports of Greece did not dare to rashly go out of the port to attack the supply lines of the coalition forces, so as to ensure the victory of the war.

"Two generals, please be seated. This operation is a large-scale offensive jointly launched by the five-nation coalition forces, and it is of great significance; before the general offensive begins, you must know in advance the location and tasks of your troops, and at the same time, strengthen the positions of the first and second lines in advance and wait for the attack to be launched. "Maurice Gammelin convened an emergency meeting before the general offensive.