However, there is some truth in what William said. Due to the massive annihilation of the French army in the border battle and the halt of the advance of the German right flank, the German army's superiority over the Anglo-French forces on the Western Front was far greater than that of the Battle of Verdun in February 1916. In this case, it is indeed possible to take some more proactive campaign actions to shed more blood for Britain and France, which are at a disadvantage. If we leave it alone and allow the British and French troops to get a respite, it will be an act that is not in line with the principles of war.

In addition, the German army took a defensive position on the Western Front and had the greatest disadvantage, that is, it would have an extremely negative impact on Germany in the international game.

As of June 14, only the five major European powers were involved in the war that broke out over the colonial conflict between Germany and France. Italy, which was also part of the Triple Alliance, Ottoman Turkey, which had been vigorously courted by Germany, Serbia, a Russian protectorate, Greece, Britain's younger brother, Romania, which was powerful and had abundant oil reserves, and even Japan, which had an alliance with Britain, were still in the situation of watching the fire from the other side and staying out of the situation. In the war in which Germany and Austria were two against each other, and their population, troops, and economic aggregates were inferior, the reason why these countries did not stand on the opposite side of Germany was entirely due to the previous victories of the German army in France and East Prussia.

If Germany were to take the defensive on the Western Front, it would certainly calm down those countries that were eager to try because of the strength of the German army at present. No longer rush into the arms of the Allies and make enemies of the Entente. For Berlin, this will undoubtedly be an extremely unfavorable situation.

Romania's wait-and-see situation left Germany with no oil supplies and a 700,000-strong army on the Eastern Front. Although Germany had stockpiled a large amount of crude oil before the war, its army was strong enough to defeat the Russians; But the loss of this support will undoubtedly deprive the German war machine of an excellent lubricant.

Italy's expedition would put the power of the Central Powers in the Mediterranean in a suppressed position. At present, even after the enhancement of the Qing Dynasty, the Austro-Hungarian Navy has only 6 dreadnoughts and 6 standard pre-dreadnoughts, and the overall lineup is only 60% of the French Navy, which is not the armored cruiser that has an overwhelming advantage in the country. As of now. By Anton? The main force of the Austro-Hungarian fleet under Admiral House had been cruising only in the narrow Adriatic Sea. Only a few destroyers and torpedo boats sailed out of the Strait of Otranto to harass passing British and French transports. In addition to the lack of a line-up, an even more important factor that prevented the Austro-Hungarian fleet from taking active action was the elusive attitude of the Italians.

Because of the decades-old feud between Austria-Hungary and Italy. There is no guarantee that the Italians will not do anything mad. Know the way. The Strait of Otranto, which connects the Adriatic Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, is only 65 kilometers wide. A few ships will be able to pull up a cordon. Once the Italians suddenly turned back after the Austro-Hungarian fleet attacked, and cooperated with the French to cut off the Austro-Hungarian fleet's return route and attack each other, then this Austro-Hungarian fleet took 15 years to build the sixth fleet in the world. To say the least, it will be a loss of more than half of the rhythm!

As for the importance of Turkey's position, it is self-evident. Not to mention that the two dreadnoughts they currently possess are the bargaining chips that the Allies desperately need in the Mediterranean, and their blocking of the Bosphorus alone can greatly accelerate the process of Germany's defeat of Russia.

In addition to the fact that these potential allies might remain neutral, the cessation of the German offensive on the Western Front would also prompt her potential enemies to turn to the Allies.

Although Serbia and Greece are small countries, they are located in the center of the Balkan powder keg, but they have long been tempered into a strong army in the years of tense confrontation and even war. The Balkan War two years ago proved this to the fullest. Once they declared war on Germany and Austria, they could even contain the forces of 2 Austro-Hungarian armies on the southern front. Japan's declaration of war on Germany would directly threaten Germany's colonial bases in the Philippines; Thousands of miles away from the mainland, the Germans could barely hold on to the land they had taken so hard to capture!

War is never something that exists alone, and every war is bound to serve politics. It was only at this point that Qingying really understood the meaning of this sentence.

Compared with the victory on the Western Front, Germany's smooth advance in the war against Russia is far from touching the sensitive nerves of these politicians of the current era. In their opinion, how many kilometers Germany advanced on the Eastern Front, how much land it occupied, how many Russian officers and soldiers it annihilated, it didn't matter at all. With the overwhelming strength of Napoleon's army that swept through Europe and the vastness of the Russian land, how could the Germans do it now? Russia, with its inexhaustible human resources and unimaginably vast depths, is simply invincible!

In fact, if it were not for the fact that the revolution would break out in Russia, it would not have been as easy for Germany to win the war as Qing Ying imagined. However, the people of this era knew little about the low quality of the Russian army, let alone the plague-like red tide. Even though the German army, which defended the west and attacked the east, was able to achieve continuous victories on the Eastern Front, foreign politicians did not think much of the Germans because of this. And their attitude played a decisive role in the next war situation in Germany!

"If the Empire must continue its offensive on the Western Front, then choose Paris." Qingying was silent for a long time, and then slowly spoke.

"Huh?" William raised his eyebrows, and a hint of inquiry was revealed through his gaze.

"At the moment, our army has advanced to a position only 15 to 25 kilometers from Paris, which gives us an opportunity to capture it. If we can take Paris in one fell swoop, we will not only be able to uproot this junction of railways and reduce the ability of the French to fight war, but also increase the prestige of Germany internationally. Qingying's mind turned, and the coherence in her mind gradually became clear, and she said, "War is a means to serve politics after all. If we can use this victory to occupy the capital of the enemy country, drag those countries that are still waiting to see the situation into our camp; Then even if we suffer some casualties under the city of Paris, it will be totally worth it. He immediately told William all his previous political considerations.

William's body shook, and two bright lights suddenly bloomed in his gray eyes.

"From a military point of view, an attack on Paris is also a good option. On this small battlefield, we can concentrate and use powerful but relatively small technical weapons such as empty ships, airplanes, tanks, and train guns. In this way, they can be used as much as possible, so that they will no longer be able to change the outcome of a particular battlefield, but cannot determine the overall victory or defeat. ”

Qing Ying's thoughts had suddenly cleared up, and the speed of her speech had become faster and smoother: "If the French do not choose to entangle us too much in Paris, but simply abandon the capital, we Germany can take advantage of this great victory, draw Italy, Turkey, and Romania into the group, and greatly increase our strength from both the sea and the land." And if the French choose to hold on to Paris, then we can swallow up the French in another head-on battle when there is no way to carry out a large-scale outflanking and encirclement. With a large number of intensively used technical weapons, even in this offensive battle, our army will definitely be able to create a satisfactory exchange ratio. And I can almost conclude that in the final case my Germany will be able to take Paris, and in this battle will be able to annihilate the French army defending it in large numbers. ”

"If, as you say, Germany finally reconquers the city, as it did 42 years ago, will the French choose to surrender?" William asked, with a hint of anticipation on his face.

"Then it will depend on how many French troops we can fight in this battle. If our army could inflict unbearable losses on France, they would naturally withdraw from the war, but the probability of such a happening is extremely low. Qingying shook her head slightly, but she first gave a preventive shot to William, who never forgot to end the war on the Western Front quickly. In the protracted war of history, the French army, which had lost 1.25 million casualties, did not collapse: this was the result of the complete mobilization of the whole of France and the conscription of more than 6 million troops, but the war capability of a large country is enough to show a glimpse. As for the argument that the fall of Paris would have deprived the Gauls of the will to resist, it does not apply at all to France in the pre-World War I: the French, who had been "idealistic and sword-in-hand" for forty years, could not have laid down their arms on the spot because of the fall of a mere capital, without suffering the great pain of the almost death of a generation of young people!

William nodded slowly, his face already calm. His lips twitched, and he said lightly, "I see what you mean." You've been serving on the front line for a month and a half, and when you come back this time, you'll have a good rest for a few days. It's midnight, so go back and rest. ”

Qing Yinggong claimed to be. The moment he turned to leave, a trace of doubt suddenly appeared in his heart; Didn't William say that he wanted to take the exam for himself, how could he still be noncommittal at this most difficult moment? (To be continued......)

PS: Thank you for the reward of the book friend zhouyu1976~~~ Anyway, today's subscription has fallen to the bottom again, and the author's heart is (╯_╰) cold and cold