In Ferontadennoy, the Germans had begun an orderly retreat, and an integrated infantry division was left in the German camp to build defensive positions to cover the retreat of the main forces.

After receiving the information that the Germans were going to run, Qin Zhiyuan immediately ordered the troops to pursue.

This was resolutely opposed by the staff officers of the 32nd Division, headed by Chief of Staff Armstrong.

"No, we can't leave the defensive positions, we can defeat the Germans in the pillboxes, but that doesn't mean we can defeat the Germans in the plains as well, if the main forces of the Germans turn around and return to the division, then we will inevitably suffer heavy losses." Armstrong was adamant, and the reason sounded quite good.

"We can do it, the Germans have lost their morale, and if we pursue now, the Germans will be defeated and will not have the slightest ability to resist. We were able to defeat not only the Germans, but also tens of thousands of German prisoners of war, which is important for France today. As Qin Zhiyuan's personal knight, Pierre argued with reason.

Now more than ever, France needs news of victory, soldiers in confusion need news of victory to boost morale, civilians in panic need news of victory to stabilize their emotions, politicians need news of victory to increase the cohesion of the government, and the top of the military department needs news of victory to enhance France's position in the Entente bloc.

"But at the same time, you can't deny that this plan is incomplete, there is a certain possibility of failure, and now we cannot afford to lose, if we are defeated, Paris will be an undefended city, and we cannot afford this consequence." Armstrong didn't think about winning before he lost.

This is also an old strategy, in fact, for the current 1st and 32nd Divisions, as long as they do not make mistakes, this in itself is already a great merit, and there is no need to take any more risks.

"I have already deduced this plan many times before with my colleagues in the General Staff, and the probability of success is very high, and now that the armored forces have returned to their positions, maybe they have already started attacking according to the predetermined plan, and if we hesitate, what will the armored forces do? They will be attacked from both sides. "Pierre understood the significance of the armored force to Qin Zhiyuan, so he did not give an inch.

"The sortie of the armored forces is itself a recklessness, and we should not bear this mistake." Armstrong blurted out.

These words were very offensive, not only did they successfully attract the attention of the generals of the First Division who attended the meeting, but even Bastian felt too ruthless.

"Excellent! That's your attitude, isn't it? We have no intention of letting you bear this outcome, and if you do not agree to attack, then our 1st Division will be responsible for it independently. As for whether this is a mistake or not, let time tell! Pierre was furious.

Armstrong still wanted to speak, but Bastian stopped him in time: "Enough, if your first division attacks, our 32nd Division will definitely not stand by, if we can win, let us share that glory, if you can't win, we can't hold the position alone." ”

In fact, regardless of whether Armstrong will agree to play or not, Bastian will take Qin Zhiyuan as the lead. After all, Armstrong was only the chief of staff, and Bastian was the commander of the 32nd Division. Unlike a certain big country, France does not have much power as the chief of staff, only the right to make recommendations, and the decision is up to the military commander.

A certain power here refers to Germany.

"Alright, then, let's attack according to the predetermined plan, and the troops will move at once, and we must stop all the Germans before they can open the passage back to Reims. In addition, send electricity to the pagoda, let him speed up and jam Tadnoy, and if there are Germans who slip in front of his tanks, then let him honestly come back with his infantry. Qin Zhiyuan was decisive.

Let Chen Kangjian, who has fallen in love with the armored force, continue to come back as an infantryman, it will really cost Chen Kangjian his life. If this order reaches Chen Kangjian, it is estimated that Chen Kangjian will go crazy, and everything that stops in front of Chen Kangjian will be torn to pieces by Chen Kangjian, whether it is the Germans or the mud, or this damn ghost weather.

So with Qin Zhiyuan's order, Xiang Dreadnought Regiment and Xu Sheng Regiment as the first echelon of pursuit, left the position and began to chase the main German army that had begun to retreat.

Before 1917, the German Army was the world's first army, and an average German infantry division was two brigades and four regiments, equipped with heavy machine guns and mortars down to the battalion level, with about six MG08 heavy machine guns and two or three three-inch (76.2 mm) mortars per battalion.

The German infantry division had four artillery battalions, three of which were armed with 18 77-mm field guns and the other with 18 105-mm howitzers, which were much stronger than the 36 75-mm field guns of its opponents, France, and slightly inferior to the 18 114-mm howitzers and 54 83.8-mm field guns of the British. As for the Americans, who later went to war, they received too much aid, a division with 24 155-mm howitzers and 48 75-mm howitzers.

Although the United States became the world's largest creditor country by relying on World War I, when the United States sent troops to participate in the European War, the Americans' weapons were all supported by the French. Don't think that the rich Americans are generous, in fact, the richer they are, the more stingy they are, the Americans are very good at calculus, and one of their divisions is equipped with more than 1,000 machine guns alone.

This was just before 1917, when after the Battle of Verdun in 1916, the Germans were unable to maintain a force of the same size, so a 77-mm field artillery battalion was cut and the size of the infantry was reduced.

The division that remains in charge of sniping is a reduced version of the German division, with about 15,000 men in the whole division, all the artillery has been destroyed, and the scale of the heavy machine guns has not changed.

Heavy machine guns are a sharp weapon against infantry, but in front of the first division, which has tanks as the lead, it has become a complete tragedy.

The Germans were so excited that they had finally waited for the solid defense of the 1st Division to leave their fortifications as they jumped out of their trenches and prepared for the pursuit. To tell the truth, for a moment, the German commander very much wanted to order the soldiers to leave the trenches and have a hearty battle with the troops of the 1st Division, so as to verify the strength and weakness of the German Division and the 1st Division, but thinking of the task given by Crown Prince Wilhelm when he left, the German commander resisted the temptation of the devil.

It was this difference of thought that led to the tragedy of the German troops who were responsible for the remaining.

After leaving the trenches, the soldiers of the 1st Division did not charge directly, but lined up in front of the position, as if waiting for something.

Soon, the last thing the German commander wanted to see happened.

More than 40 tanks and armored vehicles lined up in front of the infantry phalanx, and it seemed that tanks were the vanguard of the 1st Division. After the tank, out came self-propelled guns.

The German commander had never seen a self-propelled gun before, but that didn't prevent him from understanding the role of this thing, as long as he saw the stupid big and thick black barrel of the 194 powerful artillery, and then looked at the tracks under the gun truck, the German commander was like someone had poured a bucket of cold water on his head and face, cold from head to toe.

Because of the excessive losses in the previous artillery fire, the Germans no longer had artillery, that is, the Germans lacked effective countermeasures against the tanks of the 1st Division.

They're doomed!

(To be continued.) )