August 5, 1914, St. Petersburg, Russia.

The French ambassador, Paleolog, drove to meet the Tsar and demanded that Russia launch a swift attack on Germany. On the way, he came across a detachment of Cossack cavalry heading to the front.

When the cavalry leader saw the French flag on the ambassador's car, he warmly invited the ambassador to inspect his troops, to which the ambassador readily agreed.

During the parade of troops, the cavalry leader made an impassioned speech, raising his arms and shouting: "We will destroy those vile Prussians, Prussia will forget, Germany will die, and Wilhelm II will be exiled to St. Helena!" ”

After the review, he waved his saber and led his troops to gallop away on a prancing horse.

The high morale of the Cossack cavalry gave the French ambassador a sharp increase in confidence, and with the support and cooperation of the Russian giants, France would definitely be able to defeat the old enemy and win the war.

The Russian giant really had a magical power that bewitched not only the French, Europeans, but the whole world.

For many years, this most backward and reactionary military feudal imperialist country was not only the gendarme of Europe, but also the demon of the Eastern nations. Although its land forces are killed in piles and discredited; Although it was the cold winter that drove Napoleon out of Russia, not the Russian Army; Although in the Crimean War, the Russian Army suffered defeat from Britain and France on its own soil; Although Turkey had severely defeated the Russian Army in the defensive battle of 1877; Although Japan defeated the Russian army in China, the myth of the invincibility of the Russian army is still widespread in Europe. The Cossack cavalry was fierce and brutal, and it was well known in Europe. It was thought that the Cossacks, together with millions of strong, tame and obedient farmers, were invincible.

The Russian Army is staggering: 1.4 million troops in peacetime, which can be increased to more than 3.1 million once mobilized, in addition to a local army of 2.6 million men and a back-up force that can be called upon, so that the total number of troops that can be mobilized is 6.5 million.

Unfortunately, the ruler Nicholas II had neither intelligence nor virtue, and he obeyed the orders of the queen, who in turn obeyed a crook active in the court. Under the reign of Nicholas II, Russia was at peace, plagued by frequent disasters, slaughtered, defeated and poorly populated. The situation of the Russian army was not much better, the old and old generals were like carp crossing the river, and the officer corps was top-heavy. The appointment and promotion of officers do not depend on ability and military merit, but on their background and backstage.

Germany, East Prussia.

The recruits are training and exercising under the leadership of veterans, the Insterburg Gap defense line has been reinforced, and the troops in charge of the Masurian Lake operation are getting acquainted with every wood, every path, and everything is being prepared in an orderly manner.

After sending a large number of reconnaissance personnel to the east and arranging special intelligence personnel to closely monitor the opponent's radio communications, Chen Tian focused his attention on the battlefield on the western front at this time.

"Oh God! The emperor actually collected battleships and tanks as noble works of art! Chentian lamented that, according to Thomas's report, the armored units of the Emperor's Guards did not cross the border to participate in the attack, but were on standby in Berlin, and the High Seas Fleet did not make any moves for the time being.

"Belgians are nothing but chocolate soldiers, and you don't have to worry too much, Your Highness!" Thomas had already arranged for a group of military observers in the troops on the Western Front, who would transmit the situation on the Western Front back to East Prussia as soon as possible.

"Don't underestimate the power of a nation that erupts in the face of death!" Chen Tian hoped that the tanks and armored vehicles he provided to the emperor could play a role in the battle of the Western Front, after all, once this weapon was put into the battlefield, the enemy country would soon start researching and manufacturing similar weapons.

He picked up his pen and began to write quickly on the paper, but after a while he suddenly stopped again, and half of the letter was torn to shreds.

There are some things that he can't say.

Belgium, Liège, almost the eyes of the world are watching here.

Liège was like a castle gate, guarding the gates from Germany to Belgium.

It sits on a steep slope of 150 meters on the left bank of the Maas, and the river in this area, about 200 meters wide, is its natural moat, and is guarded by fortresses in a radius of 48 kilometers. It is one of the most impregnable cities in Europe.

The fortress complex of Liège is built on both sides of the river and consists of 12 fortresses, which are generally 6-8 km from the city of Liège, and 3-5 km from each of the forts. The six on the east bank all face Germany, and the six on the west bank are lined around and behind Liège.

These forts appear to be medieval castles built underground, with only a triangular top on the ground, with some arched canopies protruding from the top to conceal all the turrets, and everything else underground, with inclined tunnels leading to the basement and communicating the turrets with the ammunition depot and fire control room. The 6 large bastions and the 6 small bastions scattered between them had a total of 400 cannons, the largest of which was a howitzer with a caliber of 210 mm. In the top corners of the triangle there were small turrets, rapid-fire guns in the towers and ramps in front of the fortress of machine gun controllers. Each fort is surrounded by a 9-meter-deep trench and has a steel watchtower that, like its cannon, can be lowered below the ground, and is equipped with a searchlight. Each large fort was garrisoned by two companies of artillery and one company of infantry, a total of 400 soldiers.

Before the war, in order to maintain strict neutrality, six Belgian infantry divisions and one cavalry division were deployed in various directions to deal with any invading enemy: the 1st Division facing the British Ghent, the 2nd Division in Antwerp, the 3rd Division facing the German Liege, the 4th and 5th Divisions facing Namur, Charleroi and Mons in France, and the 6th Division and the Cavalry Division in central Brussels.

On 3 August, King Albert was officially inaugurated as Commander-in-Chief of the Belgian Army. He personally nominated the 63-year-old General Le Mans for the post of commander of the 3rd Division and military commander of Liège. The king demanded that he "hold fast to the position entrusted to you and fight to the death." ”

The Belgians relied too much on these fortifications designed by Brialmont, the defenders were outnumbered and all reservists, with only one officer per company, and it was not until 2 August that trenches and barricades with barbed wire began to be dug to defend the gaps between the forts and to clear houses and trees that hindered artillery fire. These measures were still in their infancy when the Germans attacked.

The German army totalled more than 1.5 million men in seven armies, from the 1st Army, which was deployed at the top of the right flank of the German front in front of Liège, to the 7th Army, which was deployed at the end of the left flank in Alsace.

The 6th and 7th armies formed the left flank of the German army, with a total of 16 divisions; The 4th and 5th armies formed the middle route, with a total of 20 divisions; The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd armies formed the right flank, with a total of 34 divisions, and it was planned that the right flank would cross Belgium, and an independent corps of 3 cavalry divisions was attached to the right flank. The three armies on the right flank were commanded by Generals Kluk, Bülow and Hausen, and the commander of the cavalry corps was General Mawitz.

In order to open up the passage to Liège, the 2nd Army transferred six brigades to form a "Maas River Force" under the command of General Emmi. If the Belgians surrendered without putting up their hands, the force could be expected to complete the occupation of Liège while the main forces were assembled.

Moltke Jr. considered Belgium's so-called "sheep's dream" to fight a war, so he did not send giant siege cannons to the front. The Prince, however, assembled his airship forces near Cologne, from where it would take only two hours to reach the skies over Liège.

"Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince, you are too worried! I believe that the Belgians are nothing more than a symbolic resistance! ”

Prince smiled and didn't speak.

"If it weren't for the Prince of East Prussia's bet with me before the war that my airship troops would not be able to blow up the fortress of Liège, I would not have bothered to come here! Hum! Gigi, just wait to shine my shoes! Prince thought as he watched his soldiers load bombs ranging from thousands of grams to half a ton onto the airship. Sixty-nine airships cover several hills on the western outskirts of Cologne.

Far away in East Prussia, Chentian sneezed heavily.

"Who's talking about me again!" He picked up Xiao Sasha and kissed him, "Isn't it you, my little princess!" ”

Sasha giggled.

The best thing you can do before heading to the front is to stay with your family. In the next few years, Chen Tian and his family will inevitably gather less and scatter more, perhaps, they will never see their families.

The road to Liege was crowded with groups of infantry of the Emmi assault force. In a monotonous earthy gray, only the red numbers of the regiments with the rubber surface of the pitch-black steel helmets were bright and dazzling. Behind them were horse-drawn field guns. Groups of soldiers on bicycles rushed ahead to seize intersections and villages, set up telephone lines, and cars carrying staff officers wearing monolithic eyes weaved through the crowd, honking their horns incessantly. Each regiment was equipped with a field cooking cart, on which the cooks stood on the march, stirring the saucepan incessantly over the roaring fire. The German army was perfectly equipped, and the soldiers marched in unison, as if they were on a military parade.

The soldiers sang "Germany Supremacy" and "Long Live the King's Victory" as if they were marching rather than fighting.

Emmishi's brigades marched towards Liège from three directions, north-south, south-east, and when they reached the Damas River, they found that the bridges there had been destroyed. When they tried to cross the river with a pontoon bridge, the Belgian infantry opened fire.

The German soldiers did not expect that there would be a real fight, and in the live ammunition they began to be wounded and killed. However, with the advantage of numbers, 60,000 German troops broke through the defense of 25,000 Belgian troops and successfully crossed the Visse River north of Liège.

On 5 August, the first battle of the war began as the Germans began their assault on Liège.

Emmich's infantry began to attack 4 fortresses at the eastern end of Liège. They began with a continuous bombardment of field artillery, followed by an infantry assault, and the light shells that fell on the fort did not help, while the Belgians poured out shells inflicted heavy casualties on the Germans, but despite this, the brave German soldiers rushed upwards one after another.

At 3 p.m., Emmich's troops stopped the offensive, and the fallen German soldiers were almost piled up into a terrible barricade, while the Belgians still held the fortress firmly. The intense sunlight made all the creatures on the ground want to find a shady corner to hide, and the dusty German soldiers rested on the side of the road lying or leaning on the ground, exhausted by hours of onslaught.

At this time, people heard a very soft buzzing sound overhead, as if someone had stabbed the honeycomb and attracted a large swarm of bees, and when they raised their heads, they were all dumbfounded.

In the sky, countless huge airships almost obscured the sky.

Prince sat inside the largest zeppelin, looking triumphantly at the terrified people on the ground. Receiving the news that the German offensive was blocked, he immediately asked Moltke Jr. to fight, and strongly demanded that Liège be bombed to crush the Belgian resistance in one fell swoop. In fact, he cared more about getting the Prince of East Prussia to shine his shoes.

The roaring motor stopped.

"Your Royal Highness the Prince, we have reached the sky above the Liege Fortress, do you want to drop bombs?"

"Hmmm! I order, start bombing! Let all the boats be on target, and give me a one-time scrap of this first fortress in Europe! ”

The German soldiers on the ground watched as the monsters, painted with a huge iron cross painted on the lower part, came to a halt over Liège, and then a large pile of black objects fell from the airship.

Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!

Explosions rang out one after another, and the entire city of Liège and the surrounding fortress were shrouded in the flames and smoke of the explosion.

"Hooray! Banzai! "The soldiers waved their weapons in their hands, and for a whole morning these abominable fortresses had taken the lives of countless of their comrades.

"Prepare to attack!" At Emmishi's command, all the soldiers who had been exhausted just now became vibrant, and everyone's faces were full of confidence and desire for victory.

The last bomb fell from a height of more than 2,000 meters, smashing through a turret and causing a massive explosion, before the airships began to move slowly, leaving the devastated fortress and turning westward.

"Rush!"

"Oh......"

Tens of thousands of German soldiers howled and rushed to the fort in front of them, bombs falling from high altitudes destroyed many turrets and bunkers, and in the evening the Germans occupied two forts west of Liège, and the fortress circle of Liège was breached. Later that day, the Germans broke into the city of Liège and engaged in a fierce exchange of fire with the Belgian 3rd Division, which was completely annihilated two hours later, with General Le Mans killed and the city of Liège declared its loss.

On 6 August, Prince's airships bombarded the remaining 10 fortresses around Liège twice, and dozens of large-caliber field guns arrived at the front line of Liège, and with their joint efforts, the entire fortress of Liège finally fell in the evening.

At 8 o'clock in the evening, Chen Tian received a call from Prince,

"Gigi, you haven't forgotten what we bet! Get your shoe-shine tools ready, I'll come to you anytime to shine your shoes, hahaha! ”

Chen Tian opened the calendar on the table, and captured the fortress of Liège in two days after the war, the German army on the Western Front had taken the lead, and what was the shoe-shine deal!

On the same day, Austria-Hungary declared war on Russia.

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