At six o'clock in the morning on April 16, Nivile finally launched an attack.

This battle is a confrontation between tradition and innovation.

Surprisingly, Germany, a traditional imperial state, used new tactics, while France, the first country in Europe to overthrow the monarchy, was still using the old tactics.

The so-called "old tactic" was to prepare fire for a week before the battle began, and then the warriors who were as dense as ant colonies began to advance to kill or be killed by the enemy.

The Germans had adopted new tactics, and their defensive line was in the hills behind the Aisne River, condescendingly occupying favorable terrain. If the French wanted to attack, they had to cross the Aisne and then attack up the steep, wooded slopes.

The Germans dug a large number of ravines on the hillsides, installed a large number of barbed wire, and built a large number of bunkers made of reinforced concrete. Although the dense trees blocked the Germans' firing range, they also provided the best cover for the bunker, which was hidden under the trees and could never be found without getting close, and the French could not destroy it even with Schneider 320mm 1870/93 railway guns.

The Schneider 320mm 1870/93 railway gun is the largest caliber artillery in France today.

Although Shermandedam is French territory, the Germans are more familiar with it than the French, who have occupied it for nearly three years and are familiar with every plant and tree here, while the French come from all over the country and even from all over the world, and they are very unfamiliar with the Shermandedam area.

In this situation, the difficulties faced by the French can be imagined.

But first of all, this difficulty belongs to the 2nd brigade.

In just one morning, the Second Brigade sent three batches of nearly 9,000 people to attack, and the result of the battle made Qin Yunpeng want to cry without tears, 4,400 people were killed in battle, and almost everyone was wounded.

It cannot be said that the soldiers of the Second Brigade did not have a fighting spirit, but they were not afraid of death, went forward one after another, and showed stubborn combat effectiveness and amazing will.

During the battle, a battalion of the 2nd Brigade attacked the top of Dacornier Hill under the indiscriminate bombardment of the artillery of the positions placed by the Germans on the anti-slope, and the crazy fire of MG08 rained down, but in the end, the reinforcements came up too slowly, and the Germans finally recaptured the position.

The German reserves were behind the lines, out of range of the French artillery, but not so far that they could not be put into battle in time.

When the battalion returned to its starting position, only 13 wounded and disabled soldiers remained of the battalion's 504 men. There were no officers, and all the officers were killed in the battle.

Niveler used tanks in battle, and 120 FT-17s appeared on the battlefield for the first time. Nivelle did not have the slightest study of the use of tanks, and he certainly did not read the report on the exercises of the 1st Brigade of the Foreign Legion issued by the War Department the other day, and although the tanks were used for the offensive, they were scattered, on average, less than 10 per kilometer along the entire front.

The Germans already had a way of dealing with tanks, and Crown Prince Wilhelm stipulated that each gun position must have a gun to strike at tanks that came into view, and this tactic worked well against dispersed tanks, 52 of the 120 tanks were blown to pieces, 28 were blown up, and the rest were in the German anti-tank trenches, or in the Aisne River.

The weather was also favorable to the Germans, and from the 16th onwards a drizzle turned into sleet, a rarity in the Shermandame region, and the side effects of bad weather were clearly greater for the French than for the Germans hiding in pillboxes.

Tormented by bad weather and German artillery machine guns, many French units did not rush to the German positions at all. But in some places, the French soldiers advanced between two and three miles with heroic courage.

It is more likely that the Germans will retreat voluntarily in the face of superior French forces, as they did in the later period of Verdun.

Throughout the morning, the French had made some progress despite great sacrifices, but that progress had been lost by the afternoon.

The distance of the advance of the French troops was determined by the large defensive posture of the Germans, and in the afternoon the German reserves marched into the battlefield and launched an attack on the French troops, who had just suffered heavy losses and were exhausted, and the French troops had to retreat to their starting positions.

Throughout the day, when the battle was over, Nivelle counted progress, and all the French troops advanced an average of 600 yards, about 550 meters.

In Niveller's projections, the French troops should have advanced six miles on the first day, or about 9,700 meters.

The difference between these two figures is about 17.6 times.

Then, Niveler's psychological gap is also about 17.6 times.

Qin Zhiyuan learned all this through the battle report in the evening.

Or in the back room of the Great Weaver Restaurant.

"It looks like your troops are about to leave Paris." Leotai waited for Qin Zhiyuan to finish reading the battle report, and looked at Qin Zhiyuan with a hint of apology.

Qin Zhiyuan just got engaged to Julie yesterday, and it is really a bit cruel to tell Qin Zhiyuan the news today.

Fortunately, Qin Zhiyuan doesn't have to set off now.

"It's okay, we're ready." Qin Zhiyuan suppressed the anger in his heart by himself.

If Qin Yunpeng stood in front of Qin Zhiyuan now, Qin Zhiyuan might shoot him with one shot. Although Qin Zhiyuan had expected that the Second Brigade would suffer heavy losses, when he saw the numbers on the battle report, Qin Zhiyuan still couldn't accept it.

As soldiers, Chinese people should have the consciousness of dying in battle, and they should have written suicide notes and prepared to die in battle, but they should not die so rashly, so cheaply, and so worthless.

Perhaps Qin Yunpeng was forced by the order of the Beiyang government to choose to unconditionally obey Niveler's order. But Qin Yunpeng shouldn't be so dedicated, even the French troops suffered more than three casualties and were replaced by a recuperation in the back, Qin Yunpeng's hard work really made Qin Zhiyuan angry.

"Tomorrow there will be a new batch of tanks to replenish your troops, get familiar with the equipment as soon as possible, I have a very bad premonition." Leotey never looked favorably on Nivelle.

"Thanks, I'll get the most out of them." Qin Zhiyuan was grateful.

If you want a horse to run, you must first be fed, and Leothai still understands this truth. Qin Zhiyuan also understands, so even if he can run fast, Qin Zhiyuan is ready to pull the reins at any time.

Qin Zhiyuan will not be as dead-eyed as Qin Yunpeng, even if he wants to attack the German position, Qin Zhiyuan will fill it in his own way, instead of taking the lives of soldiers.

This is France, where the Chinese are a rare race.

"Be mentally prepared, the weather hasn't been very good lately, and your tank may not be able to run fast." Foch points from the side.

This is not fast refers to the distance from Paris to the starting position of the French army after entering the battlefield, the tank will be transported by train, if you want to drive over directly, not to mention the speed, the loss on the road can make Qin Zhiyuan feel distressed to death.

(To be continued.) )