At noon on May 1, 1913, after learning the news that France had declared war on Germany, the commander-in-chief of the French army, Xia Fei, who was on the front line, was full of fighting spirit and infinite self-confidence. The thought of the outflanking strategy of the Germans along Belgium made a contemptuous and sarcastic smile appear on his fat face.

As an old rival of the Germans for so many years, the French could not ignore the danger from their own left flank. In fact, as early as 1904, before Schlieffen's plan was fully formed, this intention was leaked: an officer of the General Staff who deeply hated the Kaiser's government (the author could not imagine how this gentleman could have been mixed into the core decision-making echelons of the German officer corps) sold his "core intelligence" to the French War Ministry at a high price. It's also quite dramatic, in the meeting with the French, the mysterious man always wears a sleek look that is "shrouded in a wizard-like black trench coat, without a trace of facial skin exposed, and even the eyes are covered with thick black sunglasses"; And after he asked for a large sum of money, the information he provided was also worth every penny. He revealed to the French intelligence officers that the German army in the next war would attack Paris from the right flank through Belgium and achieve the outflanking of the French army - this was the general outline of Schlieffen's plan, and the information obtained by the French was completely correct!

Although the way this information was obtained is somewhat jaw-dropping, and its elements are more magical than military, the French generals are not stupid. After a little thought, they immediately concluded that this was not unfounded: if not to be fully believed in it, it must have been one of the many war strategies of the Germans! Feeling that it was worth the money, the French Army immediately began to formulate the right medicine for this plan, but the battle strategy they worked out after the last was even more shocking: on the Franco-Belgian border of the main offensive line of the German right flank. There will not be a single French soldier stationed here; And their full strength. All were concentrated on the center and left flank of the German army. This means: The French, knowing the intentions of Schlieffen's plan, were willing to let all their strength go headlong into the German encirclement!

It is clear that these French generals could not all be German spies. The reason why they did so was because of the special historical reasons that arose from the humiliating humiliation of France's defeat.

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In 1871, at Versailles, France signed an alliance with Germany at the behest of Germany, suffering from the dismemberment of the country, military reparations, and enemy occupation. For decades, the defeat of Sedang has haunted the minds of the French and has become a lingering and eternal shadow. For more than forty years. Preventing a repetition of the past is a fundamental element that is unique to French policy. In the early 70s, France, which had just smashed the pot and sold iron to collect a huge war reparations of 5 billion francs, was forced to implement a strategy of building fortifications and defending itself out of the instinct of the vanquished and the weak military strength at that time; However, more than ten years later, by the time William ascended the throne, the situation had changed dramatically.

Relying on the two magic weapons of "monopoly monopoly" and "deformed regional business development" in the vast overseas colonies, France, which had been exploited by the colonies, was quickly reborn like an immortal bird, and re-squeezed into the ranks of the world's first-class powers as if nothing had happened. As strength was restored, ethnic hatred began to burn even more in the hearts of the French, especially in the army. Whether it was the old Praetorian Guard or the republicans, whether it was a Jesuit or a Freemason. What unites them is the "mystery of Alsace". Everyone's eyes are on the blue of the Vosges Mountains. And for the admonitions of leaders year after year about self-help and survival. It also breeds boredom. With the turn of the old and new centuries, the grievances that have been on the defensive for 30 years, as well as the inertia implied in it, have been regarded as "old world realms" by the French, who have recovered their strength and are eager for revenge, and thus "completely smashed".

France knows that its constitution is inferior to that of Germany. With a small population and a low birth rate, it lagged behind its long-cherished enemies in the congenital war factor of the time. Therefore, it needed a weapon that Germany did not have, so that it could save itself and take revenge. Victor? Hugo's impassioned post-war "Ideals in mind, sword in hand" met this urgent need in the hearts of the French. France believed in the impulse of its infinite power, its will to win, its "impulse to life", enough to enable France to defeat a powerful enemy. Its peculiar endowment lies in its spirit, in its glorious spirit, in the spirit of the French Revolution of 1792, in the spirit of the incomparable La Marseillaise. It was this spirit that restored France's faith after 1870. With its banners flying high, its trumpets and its warriors' morale high, this spirit will surely lead France to its peak glory once the day of "the past repeats itself" returns.

To be sure, bravery is undoubtedly a valuable quality, and it is certainly excellent for the French to use it to build their country and restore their confidence and strive for strength. Sadly, however, the French brought this philosophical and subjective stuff to the war.

Obviously, the "impulse of life" cannot be squatting in the rear trenches and shooting black guns, and "having ideals in mind and a sharp sword in hand" is translated into military terminology and becomes an offensive theory. This kind of military philosophy, which can defeat the enemy with morale alone, is like a volley of metaphysics; However, it is this kind of mystical theory that has touched the heartstrings of countless French listeners, stirred them up, and made them fall for themselves. From the French generals to the ordinary soldiers, every French officer and soldier burst into tears with excitement after hearing this idea: France has finally found a weapon that can defeat the German enemy, and has found a way to defeat the enemy, and its meaning is "desperate attack"!

In the 20th century, the entire French Army set off a fierce offensive boom. In the deduction and induction of the French General Staff, this extraordinary life impulse has also been transmuted, and it has become a kind of spiritual atomic bomb that everyone is fanatical about and regards as the supreme magic weapon. As the top European power, France, with extremely high-quality personnel, should also appear in such a magical state as if the foolish people have been brainwashed, which really has to be said to be an aggressive thing. "All commanding decisions must come from the will to seize the initiative and grasp the initiative, go all out, fight to the end, and completely defeat the enemy in front of you through a desperate decisive battle." In the strategy of the French army, the defensive strategy has been forgotten, abandoned, and thrown out of the clouds; The only thing that would give it a foothold was to "conserve forces in certain locations for the purpose of increasing the strength of the attack."

Decisive battle, determined to attack, brave and ferocious, decisive and persevering, crushing the enemy's fighting spirit and ruthless pursuit...... Words such as these form the entire nucleus of the French Army's 1912 Field Regulations. The military order did not mention the safety of materials, firepower, and soldiers, and trampled the defensive war under its feet and disdained it, and its eagerness was tantamount to the Red Guards of the Cultural Revolution wanting to rid all the reactionary dross in one fell swoop. It declared that only an offensive war could achieve positive results. "All wars are a contest of military morale, and victory does not belong to the side that suffers the fewest casualties, but to the side with the strongest will and the strongest morale." After these words, the example of the Russo-Japanese War immediately came to life. The French, who were inspired by the superficial victory of the Japanese monkeys over the Russian giants, and who were convinced of the might of the desperate attack, apparently forgot the objective fact that Japan was fighting against a corner of the Russian army with the strength of the whole country. If Japan is put in Europe, the Russian giant bear will be able to let the Japanese know why the chrysanthemum is so red in a month!

Against the backdrop of a nationwide frenzy in France, a handful of far-sighted generals who advocated defensive warfare to keep the enemy out of the country were undoubtedly regarded as heretics and swept out of the center. In 1911, General Michel, who was appointed commander-in-chief of the French army, made one of the last attempts, to make France follow a defensive strategy and concentrate the main forces on the Franco-Belgian border to defend against the German invasion. And this strategy was sent to the War Secretary Messimi, who at the time considered it "like an idiot's dream". Not long after, Michel, the "cowardly heretic" who dared to advocate defensive warfare, was kicked out of the core decision-making bureau of the French army by Messimi, and replaced by Xia Fei as commander-in-chief of the army. And after carefully studying Michelle's plan to dominate defense, Xia Fei gave a comment that was "stupid". After that, the French army no longer had the voice of defense, and Xia Fei also formulated a corresponding war strategy according to the concept of offensive supremacy.

In the event of war, the French army would spread out all five army groups on the Franco-German border in the south, right in the middle of the Germans' intended pockets. Xia Fei's thinking was clear, the more troops the Germans invested on the right flank, their forces on the left flank and in the center would inevitably weaken accordingly, and the French army would be able to break through in this area! As soon as the Germans dared to outflank the French flank, the French launched a pincer offensive, breaking through the German defenses on both sides in one fell swoop, and taking advantage of the victory, to cut off the German right flank from its rear bases. In this way, the main force of the right flank of the German army will be deprived of supplies, and it will be easy to annihilate it again. You want to outflank me? I'll smash your frontal defense to shreds, and then I'll smash the Yellow Dragon and sweep the Rhine!" With the unique skill of "desperate attack", the French army was full of confidence from top to bottom, and they couldn't wait to hope that the main German army would move north, and then they would recover Alsace and Lorraine in one fell swoop!

On 6 May, the day of the fall of Liège, the French launched their long-awaited offensive from the south. (To be continued......)

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