"Paris, the capital of France, has been completely occupied by our German Imperial Army!"

In the early morning of September 30, when the light of the morning light had not yet completely covered the land of Europe, the sonorous voice of the announcer sounded in the German radio station; Its excitement and excitement seemed to be no less than the previous news of the historic victory of the High Seas Fleet. Countless Germans jumped up from their beds, dressed in thin pajamas, and rushed straight into the streets, braving the cold wind of the autumn moon and early morning, like hungry wolves rushing to buy the special supplements in the hands of the newsboys. In a matter of minutes, the dark green satchel wrapped in the newspaper was empty; Facing countless pairs of red eyes around him, the newsboy who was surrounded by water issued a crying explanation: "I brought double the amount today, and now there is really no more, there is really no ......"

The red sun rises in the east, the glow is glorious, and the haze of the night is completely cleared. Strangers gathered in groups of strangers in front of a newspaper and eagerly soaked up the information on it—thanks to Prussia's centuries-old national policy of rejuvenating the country through education, the current illiteracy rate in Germany is less than one in 1,000. The walls of the jingling trams and the street buildings are covered with colorful posters about the conquest of Paris: many of them are high-quality works based on photographs from the scene, allowing people to appreciate the battlefield and express their excitement at the same time.

At the windows of each building, the red, white and black iron crosses of the empire are hunting and dancing in the wind, enveloping the entire city in a sea of celebration. Once again, the beer halls in the streets and alleys were overcrowded, and the radio was filled with the crisp sound of staggering and staggering. and intoxicating notes of wheat. Due to the fact that a large amount of material reserves were carried out before the outbreak of the war. and received food support from Romania; Even though the war has been going on for five months. There is still no food shortage in Germany, and all kinds of alcohol are always in open supply.

That night, the debilitated Kaiser held a grand celebration banquet in the Charlottenburg Palace, and all the other German military and political dignitaries attended the appearance, except for Moltke Jr., Chief of the General Staff, and Crown Prince Etter, who led the troops at the front. For the German Empire, proclaimed in the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles in 1871, nothing could be more decisive than the capture of Paris. Although the French fought more valiantly in this war than anyone had expected, none of them doubted that Germany would not be able to capture this long-cherished enemy: the French were already fighting a trap and it was only a matter of time before they finally surrendered!

Fireworks burst into discourse. The night sky is illuminated with colorful and bizarre light. On the dance floor in the main ballroom, a pair of dignitaries and ladies have finished their meal and danced a pas de deux to the smooth waltz played by the band. Faced with such an occasion, William, who was born with a congenital atrophy of his left hand, would never be involved in it; After using the excuse that he was too drunk, William left the bustling main ballroom and walked up the stairs towards the dome of the palace. The starlight flickered, the fireworks flowed, and the night breeze with a hint of late autumn chill soaked through the skin and body, making William standing on the roof feel refreshed. When he saw the night view of Berlin in the distance, which was more than a step brighter than usual, William's heart suddenly moved. I remembered something that had happened in the past.

Sixteen years ago, it was also a grand and grand celebration banquet. It is also a bustling and beautiful night view of the city; However, unlike that time, this scene is no longer the 60th anniversary celebration of his grandmother, the king of kings, in London, the world's first capital, but the glory of his empire's march to historic victory.

That year, the German tigers and wolves were around, and they struggled to move forward in the vast thorns. France, as always, glared at Berlin, and Russia, under the influence of the Russo-Austrian contradictions and the Franco-Russian alliance, was moving further and further away from Germany, and even his British relatives, whom he had always trusted, resisted and became hostile to Germany because of its growing industrial economy. At that time, Germany was still quite weak, and its grim shape was almost comparable to that of Prussia in the Seven Years' War; With the exception of one Austria-Hungary, Germany was already almost a faint enemy of all of Europe. Today, what is presented in front of him is a fantastic scene. The Germanic will stretched from Norway in the north, Suez in the south, Poland in the east, and Paris in the west, and its cultural prowess has long surpassed that of Frederick the Great, the legendary monarch in German history; And if you count the complete victory against the Royal Navy, he William is even more powerful Napoleon, becoming the first emperor of Europe in a thousand years! Even Great Britain, which had once made him so envious and longing for, could only be reduced to the twilight of Spain today under the force of German force; Its prosperity, its fleet, its wealth, will be led by his William's empire!

Speaking of which, on the dome of Buckingham Palace back then, it was still Etter's guy who said to his confused and depressed self that Britain is not afraid of and Germany will rise to replace him, right? At that time, although I was touched by my heart, deep down I still regarded it as a newborn calf, and I laughed it off; However, when his temples were gray today, the words of the problematic young man who ate less forbidden fruits became a prophecy. Today, the German Empire was able to achieve such a victory in the war, and he can be said to have contributed to it; Especially in this attack on Paris, he is both Long who sharpens his sword and Moltke who makes good use of it!

The only thing that was slightly flawed was that the decisive gas attack came too late. From mid-July to the present, the German army has also suffered nearly 100,000 casualties in the battle for and around Paris, and if it were not for the last wave of mustard gas, which killed and wounded tens of thousands of French troops, their own losses would have been more than their opponents. Although he has lived in the deep palace for many years, the Prussian royal family's centuries-old quality of diligence and thrift has also made William deeply understand how many families have suffered behind these cold figures. Sometimes William couldn't help but wonder why the French still didn't recognize the reality and negotiate peace with Germany when the total population of France was only 60% of that of Germany, but it suffered almost twice as many casualties as the German army.

Just as his thoughts were shirking, William suddenly heard footsteps on the stairs behind him. He froze and turned his head to look, only to see that it was Prussian Minister of War Falkenhein who had slowly climbed up, still holding a telegram in his hand. Seeing William's figure, Falkenhain took a few steps forward, handed the text in his hand to the person in front of him, and said, "Your Majesty, the latest battle report sent back by the Mezier command. ”

William took it with one hand and said a little nervously: "It can't be that the French are launching a counterattack on Paris again, right?" ”

Falkenhayne shook his head and said: "Although we are certain that the French will never accept the fact that Paris will be captured by our army, judging from the information collected so far, they are still focusing on accumulating strength and restoring their strength as their main task, and it is unlikely that the field army that they have worked so hard to build will be thrown into the counteroffensive in the direction of Paris in such a hurry." This time, it was our right-wing cluster that went on the offensive. Early this morning, after three hours of artillery preparation, the 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 10th armies on the right flank of our army launched an attack in northern France at the same time, and the various armies were now advancing smoothly, and they all advanced by a distance ranging from 6 to 10 kilometers. ”

Hearing that it was not in the direction of Paris, William decisively swallowed his hanging heart back into his stomach. He unfolded the telegram in his hand, and his words carried a hint of surprise: "Doesn't it say that the British have built a very solid line of defense in northern France, and how can our soldiers have such a considerable record in one day?" ”

"In order to prepare for this offensive, our army not only concentrated a considerable number of armored combat vehicles and heavy artillery, but also transported 10,000 rounds of domestically produced poison gas shells to the front line. And in the initial preparation of firepower, these shells played the role of surprise soldiers. ”

Falkenhayne replied respectfully, but there was a slight joy in his eyes: "According to one of the British colonels we captured, there was not the slightest breeze blowing on the battlefield this morning. The British, based on the experience of the French army in dealing with poison gas in the city of Paris, decided that we could not launch a gas attack without the help of the wind, and therefore did little to prevent poison gas. When our gas shells were fired at their positions, the British thought that these shells that did not explode were shoddy and inferior stinkers; And when the liquid mustard gas filled with it volatilized and spread, it was too late for them to take any measures. ”

William snorted, and a smile crept out of his mouth. Due to various reasons such as manufacturing processes and battlefield conditions, there will always be individual duds that will appear on the battlefield; When a shell hits the ground but doesn't explode, the defenders naturally think that they are the lucky ones favored by God. This time, however, the British turned out to be a complete tragedy. From the astonishment and ecstasy of a large number of German shells not exploding, to the fear and despair after the poisonous gas spread, the shock and shock of this sudden fall from the clouds to the abyss of hell was undoubtedly far stronger than a direct blow to the head!

"Sue Sù Helmut (Moltke the Younger), let him command well, and be sure to destroy the living forces of the British army as the core priority." After a brief moment of excitement, William quickly calmed down and asked Falkenhein. After the previous border battles, William had also realized that the core of the enemy was to annihilate the enemy's personnel, and if it was only to repel them rather than eliminate them, the French army's counterattack on the Marne was the best example!

Falken Heingong claimed to be. William paused, and then said, "Also, let Helmut order Ettel back." Compared to commanding an army group, there are more important things to be entrusted to him to do. (To be continued......)

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