The moon was like water, and the blue sky shimmered with falling stars.

In a towering building in the city of Longvi, the commander of the French Third Army, Luff, who was nearly sixty years old, was silently staring at the huge sand table in front of him. The roads are unreveling, and the terrain is undulating. Numerous tricolor flags, symbolizing the divisions and brigades of the French army, are dotted with a large area west of the Ardennes; And under the city of Visoland, at the foot of the Ardennes, a black flag representing the German army was abruptly displayed in a bright red, white and blue.

"News from the Ardennes that the German 135th Division appeared on the mountain road yesterday evening and came into direct contact with the 17th and 23rd Brigades that we were ordered to march. Due to the Germans' superiority in strength and firepower, our troops were forced to retreat after a series of battles, and have now fully retreated into the city of Visoland. A lean French colonel's face was slightly solemn, and he said in a deep voice, "This 135th Division is a unit belonging to the German Fifth Army; Now that they have suddenly appeared in the Ardennes, it is very likely that the Germans are about to launch an all-out attack on us. ”

"Under normal conditions, it would have been impossible for the Germans to have a large force of integrated divisions in the mountains; And once it appears, it must be that they have to make a big move. I can safely assume that it will not be long before the German troops deployed in the Ardennes will flood in. Lu Fu snorted, and there was some resentment in his words, "Calculating the time, the Germans and our army actually launched an offensive at the same time; Yeter, this little guy, is so anxious, and he is not afraid that his father's William's army will be lost and buried? ”

"General, do we need to send troops to the rescue of Visoland?" The lean French colonel spoke again.

Lu Fu looked at the battlefield sand table in front of him, his brows furrowed slightly. Silent and silent. Judging by the current situation. It is quite possible that the German center was not only a small force in force, as the General Command said. Rather, there is a rather large amount of power hidden in it. Otherwise, the Germans would have been on the defensive, and would never have placed a whole division west of the Ardennes, which belonged to French soil, as they are now!

As soon as he thought of this, Lu Fu couldn't help but feel a sense of grievance and irritability in his heart. Whenever the wind is sunny and the weather is clear, the German airships will always appear on time above the heads of their own troops; And because of the lack of effective means of air control for their own troops, they have nothing to do with these swaggering German airships. Despite a lot of camouflage and deception by their own troops, the German airship hovered for so many days. The total number of troops and the disposition of the French Third Army were hardly a secret in the minds of the German generals. When the French army also sent small soft airships to the German airspace for reconnaissance, they were strongly intercepted by German ground anti-aircraft guns and aerial aircraft, and none of the reconnaissance airships were spared. Up to now, Lüff only knows that the enemy opposite him is the Fifth Army under the command of the German Crown Prince, and as for whether it is composed of 80,000 or 380,000 people, and where the troops are deployed, these key information are all smeared!

After a long silence, Lüf suddenly asked, "Bertrand, have you found any traces of German activities in any other places except for Visoland?" The French colonel, who was called Bertrand, shook his head and said: "When our army and the Germans encountered in the mountains, I ordered the troops stationed on the border to expand the scope of reconnaissance and keep them on guard. However, until now, nothing unusual has been noticed. ”

Luff's eyes flickered, but he didn't gaze back at the sand table terrain that had been deeply engraved into his heart. Instead, it began to be calculated in the mind. After a while, his wandering gaze gradually became condensed, and he said softly: "Bertrand, I seem to understand the German Crown Prince's intentions. ”

"Huh?" Bertrand's face flushed with joy and said, "General, you have already understood the enemy's intentions?" Lu Fu nodded slightly, but his face did not have the happy expression of Bertrand, and said: "From the perspective of the terrain, the Germans should want to force our army to transfer the main force here by attacking the city of Visolang, and then achieve a breakthrough on the flank, and cooperate with the frontal attacking troops to defeat our army's strength in one fell swoop." ”

"Two years ago, I went to explore the Ardenberg Forest myself. Although the forest is dense and the road is tortuous, it is completely possible for a large army to pass smoothly when the road is opened in front of it. It was for this reason that the commander-in-chief drew up Plan No. 17 for a breakthrough from the Ardennes and a direct attack on the base of the German right flank. ”

Lu Fu said lightly, and the main line of thought in his mind became clearer and clearer: "Therefore, the German 135th Division, which is currently stationed at the foot of the Arden Mountain, can be reinforced, and this increasingly strong force is the demonic bait that attracts our attention." If our army is desperate to eat this formed German main force, and sends a large army to entangle with this German army that can be reinforced, then it is very likely that the Germans will fight from the flanks on both sides and form an encirclement of our main forces gathered in Visolang. And we can't tell which way the Germans will take a detour: the Ardennes jungle on the northern flank, although inmobile, is able to hide a large number of troops in the woods silently; The southern flank, although less concealed, was out of the Ardennes and had a flat terrain, which was very conducive to the Germans to exert their superior firepower. ”

Bertrand said with some bewilderment: "But general, how can you conclude that the Germans are not breaking through head-on, but encircling our army from both flanks?" Now that the Germans have obtained a bridgehead in the foothills of the Ardennes, they can use this as a basis to advance without worrying that their combat power will not be fully utilized. ”

Lu Fu said: "Don't forget, the enemy in front of us is the young prince. How could a child of this age not have the impulse and ambition to fight a war of annihilation when he was in charge of a legion and had a certain understanding of our strength and deployment? The crown prince, who had never been in charge of the army before, naturally wanted to use this opportunity to make a name for himself and improve his political capital, so that he could command the Junkers officer corps like an arm in the future. If it is only a frontal push, it will inevitably fall behind. Speaking of this, Luff's tone carried a hint of hatred, and he gritted his teeth and said: "What's more, the German Sixth Army commanded by Bavarian Crown Prince Ruprecht has created a brilliant victory in the defense of Alsace, slaughtering the lives of tens of thousands of brave French officers and soldiers. As the prince of the entire empire, he would never allow his aura to be surpassed by the crown prince of a small state under his command! ”

Bertrand had an epiphany.

"However, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has really made a good move. If our army pounces on this German unit under the city of Vessolang, it will fall into his trap if it cannot be annihilated in a short time. After all, the setback of our offensive in Alsace has confirmed the great shortcomings of the current French army in the face of machine-gun barbed wire positions. And if our army does not take decisive action, the German army can completely pretend to be true, and launch a frontal attack with Visoland as the fulcrum. Whatever we choose, it will be difficult to recover from the passive situation in this region. Luff said with a solemn face, "The task of attacking the center given to me by the commander-in-chief was completely disrupted by this German force that suddenly appeared under the city of Visorang. This damn Etel seems to be a bit capable, and he's not some pure idiot. ”

The night breeze blew, insects whispered, and a solemn and contemplative silence fell in the command post.

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"Huh?" In silence, Luff suddenly slapped the edge of the sand table and said loudly: "If I don't swallow the demon bait under Etel, won't he just pull out his weapon and shoot himself in the temple?" ”

Bertrand was shocked, only to see that Luff's originally melancholy eyes were now shining. A smile appeared on Lu Fu's face, and his words suddenly became relaxed and pleasant: "Although I don't know how many troops this crown prince has, since he wants to outflank the main force of my Third Army, he must use all of his strength, at least most of his strength, otherwise this strategic goal will not be achieved!" The Germans' ammunition and baggage were all in Tionville, and when the whole army of Etel was dispatched, the bases in the rear must be empty, and this was our chance. If we can have a strong force from the Ardennes and sweep and burn the German base, then in the face of the German troops without follow-up, our France will definitely win! ”

"But General, at present, all the major junctions and passes in the Ardennes Mountains are controlled by both sides, and there are troops in the rear as backup, how can we complete the task of this surprise attack?" Bertrand asked suspiciously.

Lu Fu smiled slightly, planted a few small flags on the sand table, and said: "As long as our army enters this area and pretends to launch a counterattack under the city of Visolang, the Germans will definitely choose to outflank the southern plain from the closer distance after reconnoitring the situation with airships, and this will not lead the main force of the Germans away?" At the same time, our army crept in from the Ardennes Mountains to the north, marching day and night until the city of Tionville. Even if the Germans found out about our intentions later, they would not be able to put up an effective resistance! ”

"But General, in order to convince the Germans that we have taken the bait, we must also send a considerable number of troops to the area of which you have spoken. And in this way, this force, which was used to contain the southward movement of the main German army, was also in danger. Bertrand was still a little relieved, and said worriedly, "What's more, in order to outflank the Germans from the south and divert their troops stationed in the Ardennes, the positions of our troops are very easy to encircle. If the Germans were to march from the south, it would only take five days to get around the flanks and rear of our troops! ”

"It was totally worth the risk in order to be able to sweep away the rear bases of the German army in one fell swoop. Our army also has the strength of one corps stationed in the north of Lorraine, which is enough to hold out for a while after being put on the defensive. What's more, as long as Alvi in the rear is in hand, our troops deployed in this area can be quickly withdrawn. Lu Fu shook his head hesitantly, and regained his confidence in his words, "This time, the victory will definitely belong to the glorious France!" (To be continued......)

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