The Germans built a trench offensive on the left bank of the Moselle River, set up several artillery positions, and had a large amount of automatic firepower. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 The Germans had hundreds of Maxim machine guns and more than 100 artillery pieces, including mortars and howitzers, and although they were weaker than the French army, they were quite strong in firepower.

On the other hand, the French army, although it maintained a good relationship with Datang a few years ago and bought a lot of military equipment from Datang, the military reform of the French army was relatively slow, and the main force this time was also newly recruited volunteers, so the equipment was not good. The 50,000 French soldiers, even a considerable part of them brought their own weapons to fight, and the rifles were also varied, including a small number of relatively new bolt-action rifles, as well as authorized production of SC-2 cartridge rifles, and the number of flintlock muskets could account for more than half of the entire army. In terms of artillery, the French army of 50,000 people had only 55 cannons in total, and its performance was completely inferior to that of the German artillery.

The Germans no longer retreated, and the French naturally began to attack. Di Mourier also felt a thrill when he looked at the dense tunnels and trenches built by the Germans, as well as the improvised pillboxes that towered over them. In the German Civil War a year ago, the Germans also defeated the Prussian and Austrian forces with a small number of troops, superior firepower, and textbook trench warfare, and finally achieved their current independent status.

On the morning of the first day of the battle, the French army launched a number of tentative attacks, which were not large in scale and naturally did not have much effect. Often at a distance of 200 meters from the first German trench, the French were repulsed. Dumourier then tried to use French artillery to fire heavily on the German troops in the trenches, but the German artillery returned fire. The two sides carried out a round of bombardment, because the French artillery chose a better position and was on the anticline of the heights, so the German artillery bombardment effect was not good. Some of the first trenches ahead were also affected by French shelling.

The French took advantage of the situation and launched a second offensive. However, this time the German artillery concentrated fire to suppress it, and the German soldiers in the first trench also fought against the French artillery, and the French finally retreated after four hours of attack. The Germans also fought hand-to-hand with the French in the trenches because the ammunition could not keep up, but in the end they were lucky to hold the first line of trenches.

However, on the first day of fighting, the Germans also suffered the greatest losses in many days. There were more than a hundred soldiers killed or wounded.

Scharnhorst, having judged the situation, took the initiative to withdraw from the first line of trenches. The French did not know until the next day that the Germans had withdrawn from the first line of trenches at night and went to occupy it in high spirits. However, the German artillery beat them again, and the French troops with high morale still occupied the first trench despite casualties, but they did not expect that the Germans actually buried explosive bags in the trenches, and after a large number of French soldiers entered, they detonated the entire tunnel, causing more than 400 casualties.

Although 2,000 men were lost in one day, Di Mourier was very happy. Because after so many days, he finally achieved a so-so victory that he can prove himself. Dumourier decided to continue his efforts and the next day continued to order the French to break through the German trenches.

However, the second line of trench defense, the French fought for three days and suffered four or five thousand casualties, but they still did not take it. By the time of the attack on the second line of trenches, the German counterattack firepower became more powerful, and the high-intensity war finally made the French volunteers who had not experienced much of the battlefield feel a little tired. In particular, the Germans had a large number of machine guns in the trenches, and the German artillery was also powerful, and the French often had to pay a lot of sacrifices in order to be able to break through to the German trenches. Arguably. Di Mourieux is filling it with human life. The Germans, on the other hand, suffered almost no losses during the three days of fighting. It's just that the consumption of ammunition is relatively large.

Dumourieux had to give his troops a little rest, halted the offensive, and sought other options. Unexpectedly, after only one day of ceasefire, the Germans attacked the unsuspecting French at night. Because the French lacked nighttime lighting, the Germans approached the first line of trenches at night. The French were stunned by a surprise attack on the French and hastily withdrew, and the Germans recaptured the first line of trenches.

This made Di Mourier angry, and he launched a larger offensive the next day. Scharnhorst had expected this. So the German troops in the trenches were strengthened, and bullets were poured out without money, and even the French volunteers, with a fiery revolutionary zeal, would have feared in the face of such death. After repeated unfavorable attacks, the Germans took advantage of the French withdrawal from the battle and jumped out of the trenches to launch a counter-charge.

Dumourier ordered the French to return fire immediately, and this time it turned into a real fist-to-heart struggle between the two armies. The bravery of the two armies for different reasons but with similar effect turned out to be extraordinarily bloody. Although Di Mourier ordered the French army to resist resolutely, after all, the German army came by stepping on the tail of the retreating French army, and the cover of the German artillery was indeed powerful. Scharnhorst's main force attacked, completely defeated the French army in the front, and broke through the French army's camp.

Di Mourier had to retreat in a hurry, and the volunteers who had experienced the brutal battle had almost lost their sharpness at this time. The Germans routed and scattered more than 20,000 volunteers, and Dumouriere and Lafayette had to retreat with the remnants of their army. Scharnhorst ordered his troops to pursue more than 20 kilometers before giving up.

Immediately afterwards, the German 4th Division began to retreat and returned to Metz on the other side of the river. The German 3rd Division, which had previously been in reserve, took over the position of the 4th Division and began to pursue the French. In the end, the pursuit resulted in the loss of almost all of the 50,000 French troops, and in addition to the 20,000 casualties, nearly 10,000 were captured by the Germans, while the other part lost contact with the troops and fled and could not return.

The Germans also fought all the way from Verdun to Champagne Chalons near the Marne, completely shaking France.

It was not that the French were left without other troops at this time, but the Germans had already reached a distance of 150 kilometers from Paris, and it would obviously take some time for troops from other places to return.

At this juncture, Paris was in chaos again. People who already had different political opinions and interests did not care about the Germans at this critical moment, but first pinched themselves in their own nests.

Lafayette, who leaned towards the royal family and was a constitutional monarchy, left behind the losing French army and returned to Paris ahead of schedule.

(To be continued.) )