The undercurrents in Eastern Europe are surging, and the war in Western Europe is in full swing.

On September 30, no sooner had the Battle of Paris come to an end than the Germans launched another astonishing feat in northern France. On a front with a total length of less than 140 kilometers, they actually assembled a terrifying lineup of 4 army groups, which was even greater than the number of German right flank clusters that carried out Schlieffen's plan at the beginning of the war!

Defending the front of the German army was carried out by Johann ? The British Expeditionary Force under the command of French. At this time, the British Army's troops on the battlefield in France had increased from six divisions at the time of the Battle of the Marne in early June to 26 divisions -- the British Army's explosive growth in strength was inseparable from War Secretary Kitchener's precautions. Before the outbreak of war, the field marshal placed an order for 2 million rifles from American arms dealers without telling Congress, and his boldness was comparable to that of Japanese Minister of the Interior Shikinori Kayama, who was ready to kill ships in history; After the outbreak of the war, Kitchener took advantage of the boiling war enthusiasm in the country to quickly recruit more than one million volunteers and conduct high-intensity training as professional soldiers. Thus, from the third month of the war, a large number of trained British soldiers were armed and crossed the Channel by boat for reorganization, and thus the British Army increased dramatically by surprise to the German General Staff.

Judging from historical experience, the British Expeditionary Force at this time was enough to stand alone and compete with the Germans in defensive battles; In this plane, however, the situation has changed dramatically from the same period in history. The German army's ability to break through the simple machine-gun trench position has already been greatly improved with the expansion of howitzer artillery and the addition of tanks: the generally fortified trench position can no longer withstand the thunderous and lightning attack of the German troops. Battle of the Marne. The Qing Ying's 5th Army relied on a large number of railway heavy artillery and armored fighting vehicles. Forcibly tore the lines of the French 5th Army in the center. From Verdun am Maas to Franche-Goné on the border with Switzerland!

In addition, the Germans also used mustard gas shells in the offensive, which became the heaviest bargaining chip on the current scale. In history, when the British army was attacked by chlorine downwind, the most primitive poison gas attack, it was frightened on the spot and ran all the way back for more than ten kilometers; Now that the opponent threw a poison gas shell directly into his face, the extremely poisonous mustard gas was still spreading, and his will to resist was completely lost in a short time. Therefore, although the current defensive line built by the British army in northern France is quite solid, there is also a certain vigilance in advance of the movement and build-up of German troops in northern France. However, under the surprise attack of German poison gas shells and the bombardment of many heavy weapons, it was still like a soft sand bank under the spring torrent.

On October 5, after four days of fierce fighting, the headquarters of the German 1st Army in Crook captured the French port town of Le Havre, located in the middle of the English Channel. The other three armies also made their own gains, capturing nearly 10,000 prisoners of war in just a few days. In the previous border battle, the "long-legged general" French, who had rushed all the way from the Mons Canal in Belgium to the rear of Paris, at this time he was familiar with his strengths that were difficult for his German and French counterparts to match, commanding all armies to gather personnel and equipment in an orderly manner, and then turned westward like the wind. The British officers and men were equally appreciative of this order, and it was thoroughly carried out with absolute obedience.

Confronting the French people who had retreated with them. The British, who were on the verge of fleeing for their lives, had completely torn off their usual hypocritical gentlemanly skin. They shouted with the butts of their guns for the French civilians to get out of the way, and they didn't comply. When you board, you will forcibly resort to force as if you were crossing the border. Large and small vehicles loaded with various items were overturned along the way, refugees helping the old and young were driven away with fists and feet, and all kinds of colorful utensils, clothing, dry food, and soft were scattered in the fields by the roadside, leaving only the beaten and bruised French people crying out for the sky and the ground.

The sunset is dark and the night is deep. Under the starlight, the British soldiers were still marching on the dirt roads of France, and only at the middle of the moon were they allowed to set up their tents and rest on the spot. British soldiers crunched on raw potatoes in cold water, and curses with regional accents such as Welsh or Lancashire could be heard everywhere in the ranks:

"I've been crossing the Channel for more than four months since I pumped TMD milk, and I haven't had a day of relaxation during this time! Either walking 20 miles (32 km) in a day with 70 pounds (31.8 kg) of personal gear, digging for more than 16 hours in a trench that is wetter than a bitch's private parts, and often going under German guns to seduce death. If I had known that war was like this, that the Germans were so difficult, I wouldn't have said anything to be this damn volunteer! ”

"Vent, the recruiters swore to the priest before us that the German Army had long since degenerated and corrupted over the course of more than forty years of peace; With a slight touch, we can push it into a porcelain vase and shatter it with a bang. But what the hell does it know, but what we have to face is a group of hellish monsters that are even more terrifying than Andumalisi! I don't know how many deceived brothers died in vain in battle. If I had the life to go back, I would definitely tie up these shameless liars who blasphemed the Lord and stuffed them into the muzzles of the Germans and exploded into a pile of rotten meat! ”

"His Excellency Marshal Kitchener, too, was deceived by the politicians into sending us to fight in this French land; What does this war between the French and the Germans over the colony of Morocco have to do with my Great Britain? A peaceful and comfortable life would have allowed us to get involved in the bloody conflict between France and Germany, for we were all soldiers of England and were responsible for defending only the territory of Great Britain! In my opinion, Commander French might as well order the withdrawal to England at once, and we will turn around and go straight to TMD; This continental land of the French who have fought with us for hundreds of years, Prime Minister Asquith wants to keep, His Excellency the Marshal wants to keep, the French want to keep, and we British soldiers don't want to shed any blood for it to keep! ”

The British officers and men were boiling over, and the morale of the army had fallen sharply in the continuous defeat on the battlefield, and in Bordeaux, the French government, which had moved south, was even more shocked and angry at the breakthrough of the northern front. The British were not really guarding their own land, and there was no ambiguity in selling the cities and countryside of France to the Germans! The commander-in-chief of the French army, Chauffeur, even suspected that the British government was ready to abandon France and make peace with Germany alone.

If you think about it carefully, the British have already done it more than once or twice when they silently recited the seven-character mantra of "Dead friends do not die in poor ways" when they saw that the situation was not good, and left their allies in the bitter war to run away alone. Not to mention anything else, just in the Napoleonic Wars that will always be remembered by the French a hundred years ago, Britain formed seven anti-French alliances with European countries such as Prussia, Austria, Denmark, and Italy: However, in the first six coalition wars, Britain watched Napoleon's army level one country after another, but it shrank directly to the island and sold all its allies. It was only until the last time, when the countries could not bear it any longer, that they reluctantly sent an army and engaged in the only real bloody battle with the French army, which was already at the end of its power. Ten years ago, Britain also pushed Japan as cannon fodder to the forefront of blocking Russia's eastward advance, and only cared about waving its flag and shouting in the rear; If it weren't for the fact that the Russians were too uncompetitive, the island nation would have been completely sold and turned into powder under the slap of the Polar Bear.

Reminiscent of the fact that the British Expeditionary Force had dropped its chains at the beginning of the war, the angry Xia Fei sent three telegrams to French in a row, full of fierce questions between the lines. French, who received the telegram, was also very annoyed: in terms of power, Xia Fei had no authority over his British troops, and in terms of military rank, he French was even more Field Marshal, and Xia Fei had to pay tribute to him when they visited each other in peacetime. However, now he can only give in to Xia Fei on this issue: because the current Britain has lost the capital to be able to stand alone.

A century ago, Britain was able to walk away when it saw a bad situation on land, all because of the Royal Navy as a backdrop; Even if it was as strong as Napoleon, there was little that could be done about Britain, which was protected by the English Channel moats. But now it's different. The Great Continental Fleet, which had assembled all its elites, suffered heavy losses in the First Battle of the North Sea, and the British had lost all their reliance; In the current situation, they can only work together with the French to try to bring back this collapsed situation!

After some heated arguments, French promised the British Army to defend immediately and not to take a step back until they were gone. However, due to the strength of the German right flank and the British expeditionary force alone, the French army must also send a complete army group north to support in order to maintain the situation together. The British officers began to inspect the battalions, and threw out to the soldiers a great deal of the benefits of life-earning, and strictly emphasized military discipline; In the midst of cursing and cursing, the British soldiers finally began to dig the trenches again, defending along the way. Although the British soldiers were reluctant in their hearts, it was clear that the suffering they were suffering was not enough to lead to the historical French mutiny of 1917.

In response to the heavy artillery bombardment and poison gas attack of the German army, the British and French troops also found a strategy after racking their brains. They divided the defensive line into two layers, with the front layer being defended by fewer troops, and the main force being all cowered in the main fortified positions in the rear. Due to the limited range of the shells, poison gases and explosions were only used in areas with few people on the front line, thus driving a small number of people into cannon fodder in exchange for the safety of large forces. After a few battles, the German advance was indeed hindered by a considerable amount of time, and although the British and French troops also suffered heavy casualties, they had the confidence to defeat the German offensive again. (To be continued......)

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