Chapter 288

Before coming here, Petain's idea was to try his best to stabilize the entire new defensive line, the western battlefield was a little better, the British and French troops were actively retreating, although the organization was not very good, but the German troops on that line were not many, and it was difficult to pose a threat to the large number of British and French forces. The Northeast Battlefield is different, now it seems that the Chinese and French troops combined are nearly one million, and in fact, it seems that only the Chinese can immediately go into battle. It was not that the French army could not engage in battle, but according to Petain's experience, without more than a month of rest, the French army, which had lost its fighting spirit, could not carry out a counterattack at all, and the defense was barely enough.

There is also a counterattack plan, which does not seem to be very reliable. The counterattack of the Chinese Expeditionary Force ** is good, and the fighting spirit is commendable. The problem was that once the counterattack failed, Petain really didn't have any troops in his hands that could be taken immediately. And at this time, only the squadron remained in the blocking position. The counterattack failed, and was pursued by the Germans, and now the 600,000 French troops are still in a state of chaos, how can this battle be fought?

Petain now needs the support of the squadron, and it is not good to discourage the enthusiasm of the Chinese to fight back. After careful consideration, he asked very implicitly: "The distance from Saint-Dizier to Alsi sur Orb is only a day's journey. It was easy for the Germans to get close to each other, and once they did, it would be much more difficult to repel or encircle them. There is also a question, how to ensure that the reinforcements of the German army cannot be reinforced in time? ”

As soon as these words came out, the three Chinese generals exchanged glances with each other, and Cai Yi explained: "We have all considered these problems, and now the closest German army to the banks of the Orb River, at Champagne Beach, has about eight German divisions. Between the two places, Somersu is the only way to go. Two tank brigades to which our army belongs. After the battle began, it quickly passed through the German lines and penetrated directly into the Somersu behind the German army. There are five reasons why we plan to fight back. First. The Germans pursued for a long distance. Encountering repeated resistance from our troops, the troops were very tired. Second. The Germans are on the offensive and are not prepared for defense, and a counterattack at this time can have a surprise effect. Third. The timing of our counterattack was chosen at zero point, and after the artillery fire was prepared, the infantry launched a rapid assault to shake the German defenses. Tank units launched a surprise attack in the early morning and rushed through the weak points of the German troops. Fourth, a brigade of our special operations division, after the zero-point battle begins, will launch a night harassment and sabotage attack. Blowing up bridges and roads, delaying the reinforcements of the German army south. Fifth, and most crucially, our second and seventh armies. A counterattack will be launched twenty-four hours in advance to attract the attention of the Germans. Creating the illusion that the focus of our counterattack was on Saint-Dizier, at the same time a division of troops would be sent to quickly penetrate here, at the Fort of Brina, to block the possible convergence of the two arrows of the German army. ”

After listening to this, Petain fell into deep thought again. There is no doubt that this is a well-thought-out counterattack plan, and it should have been a long-awaited plan. That is to say, while still blocking the German army, the Chinese were already brewing a counterattack plan. What a surprising discovery, the offensive spirit and thoroughness of the organization of this army were admirable.

"Frankly speaking, my intention is to hope that the squadron can hold the current defense line and buy time for the French army to reorganize the defense line. This counterattack plan, in principle, can be executed. But there are two points I would like to emphasize, the first is that I can now order the Troyes side to send the equipment you need, and the three new heavy artillery brigades of the French army can be at your disposal. Second, after the counterattack started, once it encountered the stubborn resistance of the German army, the progress was unfavorable. I hope that you will take the initiative to stop the counterattack, defend on the spot, and buy time for the entire eastern theater to rebuild the defensive line. Petain said what he really thought, and it can be said that it was no different from what the command of the Chinese expeditionary force had thought in advance. At this time, the French army will definitely ask the squadron to insist on blocking.

The expeditionary force fighting in a foreign land endured many difficulties. First of all, we must face the discrimination of the Caucasian race and play the prestige of the Chinese. Secondly, we must fight under the terrible command of the French army, and how to protect ourselves from being used as cannon fodder.

Petain's meaning is not that he attaches more importance to the expeditionary force, but whether the expeditionary force can maintain its combat effectiveness at this moment means that the new defense line can be calmly constructed. In general, Petain's tactical thinking was still conservative and defensive. Compared with other French generals, they are not much smarter, and the difference is that other French generals advocate offensive ideas, which are not in line with the strength of the current French army.

"Okay, we'll fight back as you ask, and if something goes wrong, give up the attack immediately."

Petain was busy, leaving behind the adjutant and interpreter, and hurried back to his official post. In Petain's view, the local counterattack of the Chinese is difficult to work. However, under the premise of the current comprehensive retreat of the Entente team, a local counterattack is commendable, and a counterattack is indeed needed to boost the morale of the army. This was the main reason why Petain agreed to the counterattack of the Chinese expeditionary force.

June 25, 1917. The Seventh Army, deployed by the Chinese Expeditionary Force at Stanville, took advantage of the darkness to quietly move to the flank of the German assault force at Saint-Dizier, and at three o'clock in the morning the silent darkness was suddenly lit up by neat artillery fire. The Chinese Expeditionary Force concentrated one heavy artillery brigade, two heavy artillery regiments under the army, and six heavy artillery battalions under the division to violently bombard the German defense line. In order to cooperate with this counterattack, Petain personally ordered three French infantry divisions and two heavy artillery brigades to be commanded by the Seventh Army.

In fact, this was not a line of defense, because the Germans were already on the offensive. When the squadron launched a counterattack, the strength of the German army at Saint-Dizier was the number of six infantry divisions, and after successive attacks, the actual strength was about five divisions. The strength of the Chinese Expeditionary Force here was comparable to that of the German army. With the addition of three French infantry divisions, the advantage in strength was not obvious, but the counterattack of the Chinese expeditionary force was obviously beyond the expectations of the German army.

Because it was an attacking side, the German defense line looked a little simple. After the shelling, the Germans reacted quickly. The attacking forces moved to the defensive on the spot and requested reinforcements from the German army of Baledik behind them. Baledik was garrisoned four German infantry divisions that were being recuperated, and these four divisions were also exhausted divisions that had been pursued all the way from Verdun.

The Germans did not like to engage the squadron for the simple reason that it was not just a matter of will to fight. The main thing is that the tactics of the squadron are very annoying, the equipment is not bad, and the civil engineering ability is outstanding.

At five o'clock in the morning, just after dawn, the three infantry divisions under the Seventh Army began the infantry assault. Attack the line of two German divisions about five kilometers from the front. It was the first time that the Germans encountered a dignified attack by the squadron, and the last time the squadron attacked at night.

General Galieni, who led his troops to cooperate with the squadron in battle, was very interested in the squadron's tactics and took the initiative to come to the forward command post of the Seventh Army to observe the squadron's attack tactics. He didn't care that his troops were being treated as reserves. Unwilling to accept the command of the Chinese, Gallieni did not stay in his command post.

Gallieni can see the difference in this observation. The Chinese soldiers did not seem to be too heroic, they did not mean to charge in groups, the attacking troops rushed forward in a straggler formation, and the attacking Chinese soldiers attached great importance to group tactics, their machine gunners constantly designed to lie on the ground, and the sound of mortars was constantly sounding. This seemingly not too heroic attack tactic can only be understood when you see it with your own eyes.

The tenacious Germans did not seem to cause much trouble to the squadron. Three hours later, the Germans began to retreat, and the first line of defense changed hands. That's a lot of efficiency.

The Germans in Baledik were in great trouble during the reinforcements, and the road was badly damaged. Last night, a small detachment of Chinese infiltrated and blew up all the bridges. Many sections of the road have blown up holes for explosives, not to mention, the Chinese have also planted a lot of mines, and several gunshots have been fired from time to time on both sides of the road, and several soldiers have fallen. This is a Chinese sniper, hiding in a corner and hitting and running.

At noon on the 25th, the German reinforcements had only gone three kilometers away, and the German defense line at Saint-Dizier was only the last line of defense that was struggling to support. Fortunately, the five divisions of reinforcements that arrived from Champagne Beach had a smooth journey. A division of German reinforcements on the left was stubbornly resisted at Brinnenburg and forced to retreat.

As expected, the squadron's counterattack at Saint-Dizier attracted the attention of the German command. The commander of the German army in charge of the command was Crown Prince Wilhelm, and his judgment was that the counterattack of the squadron was a wrong move, and it was likely that the French army forced the squadron to carry out a counterattack, otherwise it would not have been such a counterattack.

After Crown Prince William gave the order for reinforcements, he did not forget to send a telegram to Ludendorff, who was in Reims, explaining the situation here. When Ludendorff received the telegram, he was deliberating with Bob about how to make the next big detour.

After the capture of Paris, Bob's assault group did not continue its eastward advance, not because he didn't want to, but because he couldn't. Now the performance of this tank is so bad that despite the improvements, the failure rate is still high. After completing the encirclement and annihilation of the fifteen French infantry divisions of Reims, Bob only had a hundred tanks in his hand that could still move. It will take at least a month to regain fù combat effectiveness. Bob thus saw the telegram from Crown Prince William, and after reading it, he fell into deep thought. Ludendorff's initial judgment was the same as that of Crown Prince William, if it weren't for the stupidity of the French army and the transfer of the Chinese expeditionary force, then Bob's assault cluster would not have been able to achieve the task so smoothly, and Paris would not have taken it easily.

Under the great victory, Kaiser Wilhelm II was already fantasizing about the surrender of France. At such a moment, the Chinese fought back. The Chinese, who had been holding back the attack, fought back. It's not a weird thing to be forced.

"Something is wrong!" Bob finally spoke.