Reims, an important city in northeastern France. Pen ~ Fun ~ Pavilion www.biquge.info now, this place is under the control of the German army. The northern part of France had a convenient rail network and a dense road network, which allowed the Germans to use these transportation facilities to quickly mobilize troops and supplies. The headquarters of the German Western Front was set up in Reims. The Imperial Crown Prince Qin Tian and a group of generals arrived here on March 28.

Now Qin Tian is still the commander of the 8th Army Corps. However, the 8th Army Corps, both large and small, was in charge of the Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Ludendorff. Qin Tian only needs to be responsible in the general direction. Qin Tian valued Lieutenant General Ludendorff's ability very much, and intended to further train him. After the end of this war, it was planned to make him the commander of the corps or the deputy chief of the general staff.

Qin Tian stood in the war room of the headquarters, looking at the map hanging on the wall. The above is marked in red and black, and the situation of friend and foe should be clearly marked. The Germans consisted of 8 corps, which formed four clusters. That is, the right flank cluster made by the 1st and 8th corps, the central cluster made by the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th corps, and the left flank cluster made by the 6th and 7th corps. The central cluster has four army corps with a total strength of 820,000 troops, the most powerful. The total strength of the right wing cluster is 500,000, and the total strength of the left wing cluster is more than 400,000.

Compared with the German army, the Anglo-French alliance represented in red was more powerful. The French Army, the British Expeditionary Force, and the number of a unit were densely deployed on the south bank of the Marne, as well as in the area south of Amiens to the north of Paris.

"Manstein, our strength is only about 60 percent of the Anglo-French army. In this battle, it will be difficult to defeat them! Qin Tian said.

"Your Highness, we have fought many times to win more battles with less. I'm sure we'll be able to win this time too. Major General Manstein was confident in this.

"I'm also confident that I can win. However, the Anglo-French forces are not Russians after all, so we need to be cautious this time. Qin Tian said. In Qin Tian's view, the combat effectiveness of the Anglo-French alliance is undoubtedly much stronger than that of the Russian army.

"Yes, Your Highness." Manstein nodded.

"Your Highness, General Bilow, General Hausen, Duke of Württemberg and General Dimlin are here." A staff officer came in and reported.

"Let them all come in!" Qin Tian said.

Admiral Bülow was the commander of the 2nd Army Corps, Admiral Hausen was the commander of the 3rd Army Corps, the Duke of Württemberg was the commander of the 4th Army Corps, and Admiral Demling was the commander of the 5th Army Corps. If it weren't for the fact that Crown Prince William was thrown into a vegetative state, the commander of the 5th Army would have been his.

"Your Highness." Several generals saluted Qin Tian.

"You may be seated, gentlemen. Manstein, let the coffee be delivered. Qin Tian said.

"Yes, Your Highness." Major General Manstein immediately went to make arrangements.

"Generals, your army is ready, right?" Qin Tian asked.

"Your Highness, the 2nd Legion is ready for battle and ready to attack at any time!" Admiral Barrow said.

Several other corps commanders also expressed their positions.

Qin Tian nodded: "According to the previously planned combat objectives, the 2nd Army Corps is responsible for attacking Champagne Chalon, the 3rd Army Corps is responsible for attacking Epernay, the 4th Army Corps is responsible for attacking Fort Dijeri, and the 5th Army Corps is serving as a reserve, ready to reinforce all units of the front line at any time." ”

Several generals nodded their heads one after another, and they already knew about these combat missions at the last pre-war meeting.

"According to the information we have received, the troops opposite us include the French 2nd Army, 4th Army, 6th Army, 8th Army, 9th Army, and the 2nd Army of the British Expeditionary Force, with a total strength of more than 1.2 million men, more than 400,000 more than us. But, even so, I'm sure we'll be able to beat them. ”

"Your Highness, our troops have been strengthened. Armored units were formed in each regiment, and the divisions below, the firepower was also strengthened. Even if the Anglo-French army had 400,000 more than us, we would still be able to defeat them. Admiral Hausen said.

Over the past six months, the German Army has been making preparations. The weapons developed by Deutsche Munitium were tested by the performance of the 8th Army Corps on the Eastern Front. Plus Moltke Jr. was removed, and the new chief of staff, von? Falkenhayne was Qin Tian's man, so the weapons developed by Deutsche Arms began to equip the legions on the Western Front. However, due to the limited time, the regiments did not carry out a comprehensive rearmament like the 8th regiment, but in each infantry unit, machine gun fire and semi-automatic rifles were strengthened.

If it weren't for the heavier task of the right wing cluster, Qin Tiandu planned to transfer the 8th Army Corps to the central cluster. However, the right flank cluster had to run two hundred kilometers long distance, which required stronger combat effectiveness and mobility, which made Qin Tian put the 8th Army Corps on the right flank.

Seeing that everyone was confident in this, Qin Tian was still very satisfied. With the rigor of the Germans, he believed that the generals were not bragging. Besides, he is the Imperial Crown Prince, the future Imperial Crown Prince. If these guys brag in front of him, when he succeeds to the throne and becomes emperor, there is a way to clean them up.

"Tomorrow at 8 a.m., our central cluster will be the first to attack. The day after tomorrow, the left and right clusters will attack. I hope that we will be able to set an example and break through the Anglo-French line of defense on the Marne in three days. Qin Tian said.

"Yes, Your Highness." Several commanders replied. Everyone is confident in this.

Qin Tian talked with several generals about the current situation of the battle and the possible movements of the British and French forces after the battle began. From the conversation with them, Qin Tian could feel their confidence. Although, while the German army was resting, the Anglo-French forces were not idle, and were also making pre-war preparations. They mobilized a large number of troops and built strong fortifications on the south bank of the Marne, in an attempt to stop the German attack through trench warfare.

However, the generals of the German army were still full of confidence in this battle. Everyone believed that under the attack of the powerful German army, victory would definitely belong to the German Empire. The narrow Marne River could not withstand the attack of the German army.

In this battle, the German army not only strengthened the infantry firepower, but also received a large number of armored reinforcements, and the four armored divisions in the central cluster combined, there were thousands of tanks. In addition, the four air groups have thousands of combat aircraft. This will make their offensive even more violent.