After France and Germany declared war on each other, the Girondinists, although tough, were still somewhat hesitant to act. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 The more radical Jacobins, on the other hand, quickly mobilized for war, recruiting 60,000 young volunteers with little experience to participate in the war to "defend the homeland and defend the country".

French veteran Charles? Francois? Di Mourière first led 9,000 French soldiers, and quickly marched to Verdun in Lorraine. Since Germany did not annex all of Lorraine, Verdun, 50 kilometers west of the Moselle River, remained under French control, and this geographically important city became the headquarters of the French war.

In contrast, Germany had declared war on France, but there was no obvious intention of further expansion elsewhere, and Marnes's instructions to his German troops were clear, to actively defend Alsace (Alsace Lorraine in the German-speaking region) with the main aim of protecting Alsace.

Not long ago, the German Seventh Division, which was still the French Rhine Corps, was in the second line position and did not have a direct confrontation with the French army, but it was not appropriate to put it behind the German Fourth Division in the first line, so the German army transferred the Third Infantry Division of the Western Front to Alsace and formed a reserve force together with the Seventh Division.

In this way, the German army had 15,000 men in the Fourth Division, 15,000 in the Third Division, and 18,000 in the Seventh Division, totaling 48,000 men and having a clear advantage over the French army.

The commander of the 4th Infantry Division was Scharnhorst, a Hanoverian in his thirties. Born in a peasant family in Bodnau, Hanover, Germany. After graduating from the Samburg-Lipper Military Academy in 1777, he served in the army in Hanover. From 1786 he taught artillery at the military academy. He worked as an editor for a military magazine and wrote papers on military affairs. At the time of the German Revolution, Scharnhorst had no interest in internationalism, but he was attracted by the German army's bold and warlike style. Soon, his talent was appreciated by the German commander-in-chief Blucher. He immediately distinguished himself in the German War, and after the war he was promoted to commander of the 4th Infantry Division.

In another plane, Scharnhorst is credited with being the father of the German staff system, and played a major role in the military reform of Prussia and Germany, and later a German naval battle cruiser was named after him.

At this time, instead of joining the Prussian army according to the original trajectory, he became an officer of the German army, and Scharnhorst had a broader stage to play.

The German 4th Infantry Division was deployed along the river in the vicinity of Metz. Immediately after the French army entered Verdun, Scharnhorst made the decision to take the initiative. He led a German brigade across the German-controlled Moselle River and crushed the French when they were not gaining a firm foothold.

Originally, Di Mourier's troops were in flux, and they had just arrived in Verdun, and before they were even ready for military affairs, they were attacked by the fierce German army. The Germans, with their efficient combat orders and lightning speed, quickly crushed Di Mourieux's troops, and Di Mourieux had to lead the remnants of the army to retreat.

Scharnhorst after the capture of Verdun. The troops restraining him did not cause a nuisance to the local French population. Even when the French army first arrived, it caused a lot of trouble for the locals, but after the arrival of the Germans, it seems that they only walked around the city in a queue without any killing or looting.

Scharnhorst then led the withdrawal from Verdun.

Hearing that Scharnhorst had led his army out of Verdun, Di Mourière decided that the Germans had no intention of expanding the defensive zone and that it was a good opportunity for the French. The French general, who was unwilling and somewhat aggressive, packed up his troops again, and after receiving a volunteer force of 10,000 men from Paris, prepared to enter Verdun again.

Who knows at this time. Scharnhorst killed another rifle and circled around. Outside Verdun, another attack was made on the French army, which was preparing to return to Verdun.

The battle was fought more excitingly, and although Dumourieux's troops were routed after coming into contact with the Germans, the volunteers from Paris chanted slogans and were very excited. The Germans inherited the style of charging and striking taught by the Don instructors, and Scharnhorst took advantage of this, ordering his troops to take advantage of the superiority of automatic firepower to storm the French. But that's surprising. Although the French army composed of volunteers wavered to a certain extent in the face of the German surprise attack, it actually fought with the German army for a long time despite casualties, and it was not until Scharnhorst set up artillery on the edge of the battlefield to carry out fierce artillery bombardment, which completely defeated this French army.

After the war, the French army dropped more than three thousand corpses in this battle. Almost no one surrendered. However, the famous French general Di Mourier ran more thoroughly.

Although the German losses were not large, Scharnhorst was also very alarmed and realized that the French were in a state of frenzy after the Revolution. In the words of later generations, it is called a buff, even if it still can't compete with the German army, but it also brings some trouble to the German army.

Scharnhorst led the Germans in an orderly retreat, prudently keeping the German-controlled area far from the supply lines no longer than they could reach. Despite the strength of the German army, Scharnhorst knew very well that once the lone army penetrated into France, the difficulties faced by the German army would be further magnified, and it would be difficult for the German army, which had lost ammunition and supplies, to continue fighting. So although Scharnhorst dared to take the initiative, he did not break away from Alsace too much.

It was at this time that Dumouriere's corps was supported by General Lafayette, and the French army was supplemented by more volunteers, reaching an astonishing 50,000 men, outnumbering the entire German Western Front. However, after suffering two defeats in a row, Di Mourier, who was chased by the Germans, became more cautious at this time. At this time, Lafayette's main concern was not on the war, so under this influence, the French army marched relatively slowly.

Instead of pitting his troops against the superior French forces, Scharnhorst directed his troops in an orderly retreat towards Metz. It seems that it was the German retreat that gave Di Mourière more courage, so Di Mourieux regained confidence that he could defeat the Germans in Metz and save face.

Eventually, the Germans withdrew to the left bank of the Moselle, with Metz on the right bank, and by this time the rest of the German 4th Infantry Division had crossed the river and formed a build-up on the other side of the river.

(To be continued.) )