"According to the confessions of the prisoners of war, directly opposite us was the French 3rd Army, which was commanded by Lüf, a French commander whom his colleagues called 'Canon poets'. The reason why the pen & fun & pavilion www.biquge.info was given such a nickname is probably because he paid more attention to the use of cannons, but the main generals of the French army did not seem to like heavy artillery. According to our inference, Lüf's army group had 8 to 10 divisions of front-line troops and several divisions of reserve troops, with a total strength of more than 250,000 troops. ”

"On the right flank of the French 3rd Army, southwest of the legion's defense area, about the line from Saint-Miel to Neufsciatto, deployed the French 4th Army commanded by De Langer, a veteran of the Franco-Prussian War, who had reached the age of 64 years of French service, but was still retained as commander. As far as I know, this man, like Napoleon, was small, energetic and eager to attack. In Alsace, his cavalry unit rushed the hardest, as a result of which it was bleeding in the face of the artillery and machine guns of the Bavarian regiments, and in the worst battle, the French cavalry lost more than two thousand dead in an hour, and the corpses of knights and horses were covered in the fields. ”

Colonel von Carson, Crown Prince Wilhelm's chief of staff, was born into a traditional Prussian military family and had just turned 40 at the time of the outbreak of war. At the miniature sand table at the Legion Headquarters, he briefed Natsuki in fluent language on the enemy situation he was currently holding, while the sharp-eyed, tall and thin Prince William sat nonchalantly on the sidelines, sipping a refreshing iced white wine. When Colonel Carson had finished speaking, he said nonchalantly:

"I think Luff was frightened by the casualties of the Battle of Alsace, and he was afraid to bear the cost of the attack, and we were on a high position in the terrain, and if we attacked decisively and quickly, a few charges might be able to drive the enemy across the Maas."

"And then?" Natsuki asked.

"And then?" Crown Prince William's reaction clearly told Natsuki that he didn't have a long-term battle plan, just thinking about winning a battle and getting rid of the embarrassment of standing still, and that's it.

Natsuki looked at Colonel Carson, that year Crown Prince William was ordered to preside over the Army's autumn parade, Carson was in his staff team, and the two had a brief experience working together, but the step-by-step drill obviously can't be compared with the ever-changing actual combat, how high the level of a think tank really is, war is the best touchstone.

Colonel Carson pondered for a moment and replied: "Unite with the friendly army to annihilate the French troops on the east bank of the Maas River, and then echo the attacking troops on the right flank, force the Maas River, outflank the main force of the French army, and reproduce the glory of the Battle of Sedan." ”

Crown Prince Wilhelm immediately interjected: "With the strength of our and the Bavarian Army and the Württemberg Army, it is a waste to play the role of luring the enemy to feint!" Hmph, the French army is still as illusory today as it was 45 years ago, and we are much stronger than it was then! ”

From the objective point of view of history, the French army has never really risen since the Franco-Prussian War, whether it is World War I or World War II, they are not the opponent of the German army in the case of fighting alone, but the French officers and men during the First World War were at least more combative than the Second World War, and their tactical quality is not much different from that of the German army of the same era, and they still have a slight advantage in field warfare.

"Colonel, at a normal offensive pace, we will probably be able to hit the banks of the Maas River in a few days?" Natsuki asks Carson directly.

Carson thought for a moment, and replied without looking at Crown Prince William: "If it goes well, three days is enough." ”

Natsuki shook his head: "As far as I know, the French Army is equipped with a powerful secret weapon - 75mm field rapid-fire guns, which are not good for dealing with fortresses, but they are very powerful for field attacks and position defense. Objectively speaking, the firepower of one such gun is worth our two 77-mm guns......"

Before he finished speaking, Crown Prince William sneered: "Ha, this is all an old rumor! If the French really had such high-performance artillery, why didn't they beat our Bavarian regiment in Alsace, but were beaten to the head? ”

In Alsace, the German 6th Army, which was dominated by Bavarian soldiers, adhered to the operational arrangements of the German General Staff, and after the battle, relied on the fortress defense line to resist the French attack. Compared with the German 77 mm caliber M96 standard field gun, the French 1897 rapid-fire field gun has a long range and fast rate of fire, and has amazing power with the "hurricane tactic" of rapid advance and fierce suppression, but it is helpless against the defensive position of the German 6th Army equipped with heavy artillery, barbed wire and machine gun bunkers.

In order to clarify the facts and not embarrass Crown Prince William, Natsuki smiled mischievously, and then shrugged his shoulders and said, "This is not a rumor!" I can vouch with honor that the field rapid-fire guns of the French army were extraordinary...... The captured British officers did not dare to play tricks on us on this issue. ”

The smiles kept their conversation in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere, and Crown Prince William said confidently: "Even if it is not a rumor, we will destroy it with howitzers from outside the range of the French field guns, what is there to worry about?" ”

"The biggest concern is really not the enemy's field artillery, but timing." Natsuki said as he moved his gaze back and forth between Crown Prince William and Colonel Carson, "The terrain of the Ardennes Mountains is conducive to our defense, and similarly, the Maas River is a natural trench for the French army, once the war is unfavorable, it is easy for them to organize a tight defense on the west bank of the Maas River, and when we clean up the French troops on the east bank of the Maas River and then want to cross the river, I am afraid we will have to pay a very heavy price." ”

Colonel Carson turned his head to look at the sand table and nodded in response, "That's true." ”

"Let's look at the whole front." "From Belgium in the north to Alsace in the south, our seven legions were lined up, with Luke and Bilo on the right flank being the strongest, but they encountered the strongest resistance and the longest route. After a period of fighting, the soldiers needed time to rest, so they were not necessarily the first to arrive in Paris. In the middle, the forces of Hausen and the Duke of Württemberg were weaker, and their offensive areas were easily coordinated by the main French forces, and the advance was no faster than on the right flank. So, the best attacking opportunity is actually on the left wing. ”

As soon as he heard this, the eager Crown Prince William suddenly cheered up, he came to the sand table with his cup, pondered it decently, and asked Natsuki for advice: "In this case, we should break through the Maas River as quickly as possible, and then attack Paris." ”

Natsuki didn't answer directly, but asked rhetorically, "You must remember the second plan we discussed before that autumn meeting!" This is the true essence of tactics! ”

Remember, or not, Crown Prince William's eyes have been firmly attracted by the bright color representing Paris on the sand table. After a while, he asked Carson, "What do you think?" ”

"Together with the Bavarian Corps, we have 10 well-equipped corps and 5 cavalry divisions, 4 supplementary divisions and 5 reserve brigades as reserves, and as long as we cross the Maas, nothing on the French plain will stop our advance...... But the only thing I can't be sure of is that the road to Paris is 300 kilometers long, so how can we protect our logistical supply lines from being cut off by the French army? ”

This time, without waiting for Xia Shu to speak, Crown Prince William said confidently: "Put a division every 20 kilometers and use the cavalry division as a maneuver, then we can also put at least 10 divisions to attack Paris, as long as we are faster than the enemy, Paris will be an empty city!" ”

Carson looked at Natsuki with a calm expression, and the two made eye contact with the crown prince's battle strategy and came to the same conclusion:!

"A thin needle piercing the heart is enough to kill a person - even if our 'needle' is only pierced to the heart of the enemy, the fear of death will naturally make the enemy recklessly withdraw his arm to protect his chest." Natsuki used a simple metaphor to explain the intent of the offensive plan.

Colonel Carson quickly grasped Natsuki's intentions, and he said quickly, "I think His Royal Highness Prince Joachim means...... We broke through the line of defense on the Maas River with an unexpected speed of the enemy, laid siege to the fortress of Verdun, and then occupied the important strongholds of Saint-Merouurd, Champagne Chalon, and Château-Thierry, so that even if our troops were still a hundred kilometers from Paris, the French army on the northern front would have to withdraw quickly, and we would have to turn it into a second Sedang with the right flank if we had to turn abruptly forward to the area of Compiègne, northeast of Paris. ”

Natsuki nodded approvingly: "Although the final route of the march needs to be determined according to the progress of the battle and the movement of the enemy army, the overall plan is basically like this. ”

Crown Prince William was still a little foggy at this time, he looked at Natsuki, and then at his most effective staff, and saw that they all felt that this offensive plan could defeat the French army - and most importantly, it could turn himself from a supporting role to a protagonist, what reason did he have against it?

Colonel Carson certainly thought that this was a very attractive plan, but he did not blindly follow Natsuki's thinking, and he pondered it with the caution of a professional soldier, and then said to Natsuki: "That's right, Your Royal Highness, when I said that I had arrived on the banks of the Maas River in three days, I meant that the battle was going very well. In fact, our knowledge of the Army Group Luve is not particularly sufficient, and many of the situations are mainly our judgment and speculation, and the key depends on the speed with which we break through the French Longvi-Montmedy line. Moreover, when we reach the banks of the Maas, it is still very uncertain whether we will be able to successfully seize the bridge so that the army can pass quickly. If the French blow up the bridge and build a defensive position on the opposite bank, we will also need to raise equipment for crossing the river, and the speed of advance will inevitably be greatly affected. ”

Natsuki had already taken a countermeasure, and he replied unhurriedly: "Since this is the case, I have two suggestions: the first is to send reconnaissance troops to carry out fire reconnaissance on the French defense line, and the second is to request the General Staff to send airships and planes to participate in the battle. ”

Without hesitation, Crown Prince William replied, "These two are not difficult to do. ”

Natsuki continued: "In addition, the Navy formed an experimental assault force in Danzig, equipped with combat vehicles and land and sea assault boats. Through training exercises, we found that these combat vehicles have a strong ability to break through the defense line, and the sea and land assault boats are also suitable for river crossing operations. I can convince the Naval Staff to call in this force, but it will require the cooperation of the quartermaster department to transport them to the front line by rail line. ”

Crown Prince William thought about it for a moment: "It's not a problem either. ”

Carson asked curiously, "Is the Navy's tank any different from ours?" ”

The tanks of the German Army were only cars draped in armor plates, which were available in many great powers, and the Italian army also put them into real combat in the war against Ottoman Turkey, which had some effect, but it was far less powerful than the appearance of real tank fighting vehicles.

In response to Carson's question, Natsuki just smiled slyly, "I'll know when the time comes." ”

(End of chapter)