Chapter 285: Doomed Darkness

The entry of the United States into the war actually meant that there would be no suspense in the war, and any action by Germany could only be regarded as a struggle. Of course, this was Fang Jianxiong's point of view, and the German General Staff did not think so, and they were fully confident that they would defeat Britain and France before a large-scale landing in the United States.

Speaking of which, the U.S. Army was indeed not strong before and after World War I, but the country's industrial capacity was too strong, and after the mobilization was issued, the war machine began to operate. Large quantities of military supplies began to be shipped across the Atlantic.

From April to May, France can be said to have experienced a dark peak. When the French offensive gradually weakened, on April 28, the Germans, who had completed the preparations for the battle, began a fierce counterattack with 1,500 artillery pieces and 1,100 aircraft.

The German counter-artillery fire was overwhelming, and 500 large-caliber guns were concentrated, and a section of the French defense line in Soissons was about five kilometers long. Concentrating superior fire on one of the sections was an advance in the preparation of artillery fire by the Germans. In fact, the preparation of artillery fire in the real sense was still used by the German army.

The heavy shelling and aircraft bombardment lasted for a full twenty-four hours, and even at night, the German artillery fire did not stop. The French army was unprepared in the face of the sudden counterattack of the German army, and the process of switching from attack to defense appeared very chaotic.

Epernay, the headquarters of the First Army of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, as a strategic reserve, where the Expeditionary Force is stationed. At the beginning, the French army was firmly defended and waited for a large amount of German consumption, and at the first time learned that the Germans began to counterattack, and the artillery fire was quite fierce. This news was not reported by the French, but by telephone from the aviation brigade stationed in Reims.

Although there is no intention of sending additional infantry in the country. But ten brigades were added, a hundred aircraft and associated ground combat crews. How so? There is no better training ground than in the European War, and Fang Jianxiong, who attaches great importance to the Air Force, took the initiative to dispatch an air force at the end of last year, and with his high-performance aircraft, he made a name for himself in the French sky.

When the French liaison officer, Major General Alain, hurried to the door of the war room, there was a heated discussion going on. Alan subconsciously stopped and glanced at the translator next to him, a Chinese American.

"Soissons is between Compiègne and Reims and is strategically important. Once the breakthrough is here. The Germans are likely to repeat the same pattern of encircling and annihilating the Russians on the Eastern Front, advancing quickly along the road with chariot units to Fort-Thieri. ”

"It's not a good road from Soissons to Château Thierry, and the area has long been dug with trenches. It's hard to get up to speed up the tank. ”

"Trenches are not a problem, as long as the sappers are well prepared. At this point, the German army accumulated a lot of experience on the Eastern Front. In my opinion, the commander's reminder is to be earned, and we must be prepared in advance to prevent the German army from cutting off the road from Reims to Paris and encircling and annihilating the defenders of Reims. ”

"Pine slope. Even if your judgment is correct, the problem is that we, as a strategic reserve, need to be ordered by the French General Command. before you can act. Otherwise, the French would have had something to say, and would have been dissatisfied with our refusal to participate in the offensive. ”

"Hua Shuai, you didn't see the style of the French army on the first day, wait for them to make a move. The daylilies are cold. We are responsible for the safety of the expeditionary force and the safety of the entire line of defense. ”

"Runnong, Hua Shuai. Don't get excited. Now we have three options, first, stand by and prepare to withdraw to the east to converge the French Second Army. Second, take the initiative, gather all the cars, and transport an army to Fort Thierry first. When Cai Ye said this, Alan couldn't help but walk quickly into the gate, not noticing at all that the guards at the door had looked at him with unkind eyes for a long time.

"I'll send a telegram to the commander-in-chief at once." The Alans were still at the door, and they were already speaking loudly.

When Cai Ye and the others saw him come in, their faces did not change, and they were not afraid that he would hear it.

"No, it will be too late. According to the telegram sent by the air force, the Germans concentrated more than 1,000 artillery pieces in Soissons, and countless planes concentrated on bombing the French artillery positions. The air force made one hundred and fifty sorties in one morning. What does this mean? I think it will be difficult for the army to hold out in Soissons for too long, forty-eight hours at most. Such a little time is not enough for the French command to make a decision. They may still be immersed in the thinking of trench warfare. Zhang Xiaohuai said in a word, the French army was very unbearable. In fact, the French army was really not wronged, and it was really lucky that the French army in World War I was able to win.

"It has now been a full ten hours since the Germans began artillery preparation and bombardment, and every minute of time is precious to us. Can't wait any longer, let's vote. Cai Ye said and glanced at Alain, this French major general looked very dazed, the French army has always been a bit clumsy, and it is not as good as the squadron in front of him.

"Okay, I agree with General Cai's opinion, and immediately send troops to Fort Thierry, and I will go with me, so that I can explain it clearly to the local garrison." Alain didn't know where he got the courage to take the initiative to take this job. Subconsciously, he thinks the Chinese are right. The spring offensive in the Reims direction, which was already a failure in essence, had been fought for a month and a half, and the fact that the Germans launched a counterattack so quickly shows that it was premeditated.

"General Alain, your main task is to quickly contact the French General Command and tell General Sù Nivelle what we mean. I think it's a little bit more appropriate that way. Although he admired Alain's courage to carry the black cauldron, Cai Ye still declined his kindness. Besides, you also need someone to liaise with the French at the headquarters.

"Alright, I'll go and telegraph to the General Command." Alain was in a hurry, he was not a fool, if it was really as judged by Cai Ye and others, the next move of the French army could be described as a matter of life and death.

Alan didn't go for a while, and Liu Mingzhao, Cai's personal staff officer, came in, holding a paper clip in his hand, and said loudly: "Report, General Nevelle of the French army command is in an emergency." ”

"Read!" Cai Ye had a premonition that something might go wrong, and Liu Mingzhao said: "The three generals of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, Cai, Zhang, and Feng, our Second Army and the German army have been fighting fiercely for a month and a half, Verdun is the gateway to Paris, and our army is bound to win." I now order your troops to quickly reinforce the Second Army. Attack Verdun strives to make a breakthrough within a week. ”

The three people in the war room thought that they had heard it wrong, the Germans were counterattacking in Soissons, and they were menacing, and they actually threw strategic reserves into Verdun on the Eastern Front, is there an order more bastard than this?

"Call back, General Neville, as an Allied force, it is obligatory for our troops to propose the establishment of yì. Despite the fierce counterattack of the German army at Soissons, your army has been fighting hard for more than a month, and has become a tired army. According to investigations, the German army had 1,000 artillery pieces and more than 1,000 aircraft, which was obviously a long-term preparation for the campaign. I hope to be cautious, and please transfer our troops to the front line of Château de Thieri to strengthen the defenses. ”

Liu Mingzhao had just gone out, and Alan came back, with an ugly face, and handed over a telegram. Cai Ye didn't look at it and said: "If we still want to reinforce Verdun, don't look at it." ”

"Those bastards in the French General Staff, will they fight? Obviously, the German army has already overwhelmed the border, what else is Verdun reinforced? Zhang Xiaohuai slapped the table angrily and stood up.

"Generals, General Nivelle emphasized in his telegram that the French were able to hold Soissons, and that they had sent reinforcements to Soissons by an additional corps. General Nevelle judged that the existing forces could completely withstand the German attack. ”

What to do? The three of them looked at each other, this order obviously could not be carried out, once the Marne River was crossed, it would be difficult to retreat. When the French army is defeated, who can take care of the squadron?

"General Alain, I have telegraphed to General Neville to express our opinion. Now, you'd better communicate again. General Sù Nivel told General Sù Nivel that the German counterattack was the result of a long period of preparation, and that it was a premeditated campaign. ”

Many things are predestined, although Cai Yi and others argue for reason, and repeatedly build yì. But Nevelle was clearly stubborn, believing that the French could hold on to Soissons. After repeated telegram struggles, Cai Ye finally said that an army could be sent to Fort Thierry, just in case. Nivelle still insisted that Verdun must be recaptured, and after a month and a half of fierce fighting, the German casualties were not small, and at this time, the squadron would definitely be able to recapture it.

After five or six hours of thirty or thirty minutes of telegram exchanges, nothing changed in the results. Nivelle is still very persistent, and the squadron is put into the Verdun direction as a reserve. And asked the squadron to arrive within 72 hours.

The military order is like a mountain! How to choose between fighting in a foreign country?

After a night of deliberation, the expeditionary force decided to carry out the order. However, the flexibility of the Chinese has been brought into full play at this time.

The command of the expeditionary force ordered the sappers to build a number of pontoon bridges over the Marne, and sent the First Army to garrison at Champagne Beach to cover the retreat of the expeditionary force, and at the same time ordered the special operations division to rush to Baledique.

Cai Ye and others also reported the plan to China, and Fang Jianxiong was stunned after receiving the telegram. Call back: Cai, Zhang, and Feng, the three commanders-in-chief, the French army is unconscious, and Suissons is afraid that they will not be able to defend it, so they should be prepared to retreat and try to avoid casualties of our army.

On the morning of the 29th, Cai called back Nivelle to carry out the order. And at seven o'clock in the morning, the First Army crossed the Marne, and the Special Operations Division then crossed the river and rushed to Baledik.

At noon on the 30th, the expeditionary force crossed the Marne in its entirety, and on the 31st, the Second Army reached Saint-Meneurde and made contact with the French Second Army. Neville expressed his satisfaction with the call and wished the squadron victory.

On May 1, the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Armies of the Chinese Expeditionary Force arrived on the banks of the Meuse River and began preparations for the attack.

On the eve of the preparation of the Chinese expeditionary force to launch an offensive, news came from the Reims direction that the Soissons line had been breached.