The clocks tick and the birds chirp. At some point, a huge map of Western Europe hung on the wall of the Kaiser's study, and Schlieffen stood under the map with a baton in his hand, and in his hoarse and deep voice, he carefully explained to the two of them his strategic ideas and how to implement them. As time passed, a very sophisticated blueprint slowly emerged in front of the two of them under Schlieffen's description.

Based on the international background of the German-Austrian alliance and the Franco-Russian Entente, Germany will inevitably be hit by the double blow of France and Russia on the eastern and western fronts in the future European war. Although Germany's industrial strength far exceeds that of France and Russia combined, it is quite inferior in terms of population, resources and other war consumables; In the event of a direct confrontation with France and Russia at the same time, it will be difficult to guarantee victory in the war. In order to break this unfavorable situation, it is necessary to adopt a strategy of various breakthroughs: that is, to temporarily abandon an adversary who poses little threat to oneself, to take a defensive position against oneself, and to concentrate forces to defeat the other side once and for all. After looking at the Gallic chickens and the polar bears for a long time, Schlieffen chose France as a priority.

This is not a temporary attempt of Nicholas II to slap the thigh, but there are real and profound reasons.

In 1870, the Kingdom of Prussia under the leadership of Hohenzollern won a resounding victory in the Franco-Prussian War, and the war-hardened sword instantly stabbed the Gallic rooster in an instant, capturing the French Emperor Napoleon III, and ushering in a new era of reunification of the German Confederation after a thousand years of division. The war not only brought about the establishment of a Central European empire that surpassed the European continent, but also gave 60 million Germans strong confidence in defeating France. In recent years, as Germany's economy and industry have grown wildly, German strategists have developed a sense of superiority over France; They think that once the war breaks out again. Germany will surely sweep through France as easily as it did back then. In one fell swoop, it ascended to the glory of European hegemony. Think about it too. At that time, Prussia was only a state, and it was still able to overthrow the Second French Empire at its peak; Now that Germany has been reunified compared to that year, it has made a leap and innovation that has changed the world, and its comprehensive national strength is absolutely crushing France.

In addition, the difficulty of defeating Russia, the other side of the Franco-Russian alliance, was also an important reason. The Russians had no shortage of room for manoeuvre, and they only had to keep retreating to plunge the German army into a never-ending campaign. In the end, like Napoleon, he faced defeat. What's more, due to Russia's vast territory and large population, its image as a behemoth has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and the fall of Napoleon's crusade is still vivid, and Schlieffen cannot afford to consider it carefully. "In a war on both sides, the whole of Germany must pounce on one enemy, on the strongest, most powerful, and most dangerous enemy, and this enemy can only be France." France, like Germany, could mobilize in just two weeks and launch a major offensive on the 15th day, much faster than Russia, which was much faster than Russia's poor railways.

Guided by this thought. Schlieffen set his sights on France, intending to solve the threat from the Western Front through a Franco-Prussian War-style victory in 1870. In order to achieve this. In a future war, a defensive posture against Russia should be adopted on the Eastern Front, and an all-out attack on France should be made on the Western Front, and the ratio of German land forces on the Eastern and Western Fronts should be roughly 1 to 8. When Germany was going all out to the west, the first part of the German army and the main force of Austria-Hungary resisted Maozi for a while, and after Germany finished cleaning up France, they quickly transferred their troops by rail to meet the stubborn enemy in the east who was slowly moving and gathering.

Schlieffen's calculations were remarkably fine: the Russians, with their vast resources and a huge army that trembled throughout Europe, were extremely slow to mobilize: a conscripted Russian soldier could travel 700 miles to the front, four times as many miles as Germany, when Russia's railroad density in Europe was only one-tenth that of Germany. At this rate, Russia's military operations on the Eastern Front would be extremely sluggish, with the entire strength of the German and Austro-Hungarian Empires as a barrier, enough to hold on the Eastern Front for more than two months. By that time, the war on the Western Front would have long since ended, and the German Army would be moving to the Eastern Front at a speed like a tsunami through dense railway lines extending in all directions in the country, and Russia would have nothing to take advantage of. Germany and Russia themselves do not have much hatred, and the royal families of the two sides have centuries of in-law blood; As long as France had fallen, and the main German forces had quickly returned to the defense, Russia would no longer stubbornly oppose Germany, and thus settle the war on the Eastern Front by peaceful means.

However, the French would not wait foolishly for the Germans to destroy them. After the Franco-Prussian War, the devastated French, in order to avoid the danger of extinction, built an extremely strong fortified line on the German-French border near Alsace and Lorraine, stretching from Switzerland in the south to Luxembourg in the north. This "Maginot Line" in the early stage of World War I resisted the German attack on France head-on, and became the biggest obstacle to the destruction of France. Therefore, inspired by Hannibal's annihilation of the Roman legions with a flank attack at the Battle of Cannae, Schlieffen decided to divide the forces of the Western Front into the left and right flanks in a roughly 1-to-7 ratio. Of the 72 divisions planned to launch an offensive against the French, 9 were deployed in Lorraine to confront the French fortresses, 10 were placed in front of Verdun as a "pivot between the two wings", and the remaining 53 divisions were to be deployed on the right flank along the English Channel. Once the button of war is pressed, this formidable and vast cluster will sweep through the Netherlands and Belgium like a razor-sharp blood sickle across northern France and as far as Paris.

Schlieffen believed that the cession of Alsace and Lorraine would be a great shame for France, so that France would gather a large number of troops at the beginning of the war and launch a fierce offensive against the two provinces that had been annexed to Germany in the Franco-Prussian War, and regain the lost territory in one fell swoop in order to wash away the humiliation of that year. As a result, the French Army, which was already weaker than Germany, would be even weaker on the northern border, and would be powerless to fight back against the strong right flank of the German army; After the German army annihilated these French troops, one part marched into Paris, and the rest of the main force turned south, and together with the 19 divisions that remained in front of Lorraine and Verdun, the French army on the southern front was again encircled in the style of 1870. If all goes well, then the Germans will be able to capture Paris and gather the main French forces in 40 days and win the war against France.

That's it!

"As of last year, the total population of our German Empire has exceeded 60 million, of which nearly one-fifth are young and strong of appropriate age; If effective training and mobilization can be carried out in peacetime, we will have an army of more than 1.7 million men at the beginning of the war, which is more powerful than ever. On the other hand, France, the total number of old and weak people in their country is only 38 million, and the number of troops that can be mobilized is far lower than that of Germany; As long as we can concentrate the absolute main force on the western front, then it will be impossible for France to withstand our attack, not to mention that nine times out of ten they will put the main force on the southern front to recover the lost territory of Alsace and Lorraine, and the strength of the northern flank is seriously empty! Schlieffen put the baton in his hand a little bit on the map, and his words were full of strong confidence in his grasp, "This time, we are going to give the French roosters a complete bloodletting, so that they will fall from the position of a quasi-first-class power to a third-rate situation, and they will never be a threat to our Germany." Your Majesty, haven't you always wanted to go to Paris? Loyal and brave Prussian soldiers will take it down in one fell swoop and present it to you in its entirety! ”

Looking at the thick black arrows on the map representing the direction of the German attack, William's gray eyes flashed, and a look of excitement gradually appeared on his face; After a while, he suddenly slammed his right fist against the wall and said loudly, "What a strategy!" The 1.1 million troops of the right flank campaign swept across the English Channel, and the wind and clouds were enough to defeat the frontal enemy in one fell swoop, and even the French might not be able to resist it with all their forces! My Count, has the General Staff drawn up a detailed strategy? ”

Shi Lifen smiled slightly and said, "Your Majesty, please rest assured. This plan has been a 13-year effort for me, and I will never let it be aborted because of the omission of details. Although this is only a general idea now, and no detailed implementation strategy has been made, but the backbone has been obtained, so why bother? In five years' time, with the help of the German staff officers, it will be able to be built into a perfect work of art, and there will be no problems with its implementation. In view of all kinds of accidents that may occur, the General Staff will also carefully prepare and formulate measures to ensure that they can cope with any sudden contingencies. Clausewitz's preface to the need to leave room for military planning admonishes the General Staff not to forget. ”

"It will take another five years to refine the plan?" William's brow furrowed, and a look of bewilderment appeared on his face. In William's view, Russia was at war with Japan in the Far East, and there were many revolutions and turmoil at home, and it was unable to take care of the changes in Europe. If an offensive against France could be launched now, it would be very likely that Russia, out of its own interests, would choose not to fulfill the provisions of the Franco-Russian Entente and take a neutral attitude towards the declaration of war by Germany and Austria on France. As long as Russia did not enter the war, Germany would be able to go westward with all its might, with great certainty that the threat from the Western Front would be resolved once and for all. And if it does not send troops at this time and delays it for a long time, it will be tantamount to missing a good opportunity and giving Russia an external opportunity to fulfill the terms of the Franco-Russian joint defense! (To be continued......)