In the days that followed. The southern flank of the French army launched a number of attacks in Moranges and other places.

Although the French changed from their initial recklessness of courage to the coordination of infantry and artillery, every French attack was as futile, as was their previous disaster at Salbul. Historically, the two major groups have not resolved the problems that have not been resolved in the confrontation on the Western Front for four years, and it is obvious that the French, who have just woken up from the desperate offensive, will not find a real way out. When the gunfire on the battlefield subsided, there would always be a large number of French corpses lying on the field, scattered with broken limbs and broken flesh, all showing what kind of bloody massacre had taken place here.

At the same time that the French First and Second Armies were launching suicidal attacks in Alsace and Lorraine, news came from the Northern Front that was unfavorable to the Entente.

After the capture of Liège, the German assault forces under the command of Emmisi began to advance deeper, to the area of Louvan, where the Belgian army base camp was located. Although the German army was slightly smaller in number than the entire Belgian army, it still succeeded in breaking the backbone of the Belgian army in the Battle of Louvan by virtue of its absolute crushing superiority in soldier quality and firepower. As of May 12, more than half of the 100,000 troops of the six divisions of the Belgian Army had been lost; King Albert was leading the remnants of his army to Antwerp, and the capital Brussels was already defenseless to the German front. The German right flank, numbering more than 800,000 men, was rolling into Belgian territory along the road opened by Emmisi; The Dutch border guards who were close at hand were so frightened by this excellent army that they did not dare to close their eyes for several days.

The repeated defeat of the Belgians undoubtedly greatly affected the British expeditionary force that came across the sea. According to the previous agreement between Britain and France. The British Expeditionary Force was to march to the Franco-Belgian border after the outbreak of war. and marched into Brussels when Belgium was attacked by the Germans. Stand shoulder to shoulder with the Belgian army. And in the current situation, it would undoubtedly be suicidal for the British to go to Brussels again. Before leaving, the commander of the British Expeditionary Force, who had been entrusted by War Secretary Kitchener, was even more afraid of giving all the British army fire to the French battlefield at this moment, and immediately issued an order to change the target. The British army began to advance towards Malplatz and Mauborges on the Franco-Belgian border, placing itself behind the Belgian and French poles.

The rapid defeat of Belgium and the shift of course of the British army exposed the entire left flank of the French Fifth Army deployed near Mezières to the German right flank. The commander of the army group, Langlezak, was strongly asking Xiafei to allow him to spread his main forces along the north to counter the enveloping German clusters. Since the threat from the left could no longer be ignored, Xia Fei had to reluctantly accept Langlezak's request. The Fifth Army was ordered to advance to the triangle between the Sambre and Maas rivers, and this meant that the 17th Plan, which was used to attack the German center, was deprived of the help of a large army group!

However, even in the face of this series of bad news, Xia Fei, who is determined to say that it sounds good and stubborn when it is difficult to hear, is not discouraged. He realized that since the Germans had a strong presence on the northern flank and a strong garrison on the southern flank, the French would definitely have an advantage in strength in the middle! As long as the French army can make a heavy blow here and directly smash the "door axis" of the German revolving wing door, then the immediate difficulties will definitely collapse, and the unfavorable situation on the northern flank will be reversed at the very least!

In fact, the wisest thing for Xia Fei to do now was to immediately switch from offensive to defensive and quickly transfer the main force of the French army on the right flank to the north. Heavily garrisoned along the Franco-Belgian border. However, the enthusiasm for the concept of desperate attack, the persistence of the seventeenth plan he created, and the thirst for the humiliation of the snow wash color, made the stubborn Xia Fei decide to continue to attack the German army in the middle according to the original plan. In the face of the obvious situation in which the main German army was advancing wildly in Belgium and the Southern Revenge Army was holding back. Xia Fei still refuses to admit that he is now being led by the nose by the military giant Schlieffen who has died. He would rather dig up all the old ground to deal with the attack of the German right flank, rather than the attack in the middle that he had been obsessed with going down the drain or even reduce a single soldier. No matter how dangerous the French left flank was, it could not alter Chauffy's unwavering primary belief that the greater the strength of the German right flank, the better the prospects for the French army to break through the middle and seize the initiative.

On 14 May, Brussels was declared to have fallen. The French intelligence officers in the city saw with their own eyes that the German First Army under the command of Crook drove through the city in a continuous stream, and the 320,000 troops marched in the main city of Brussels for three days and three nights; Its military strength is vast and exquisite, and it can be described as a crying ghost. Based on this, Xia Fei judged that all the main forces of the German army must have been invested in the right flank, and the middle was already in a state of extreme weakness in defense. He immediately issued orders to the commander of the Third Army, Luff, and the commander of the Fourth Army, Dranger, who were deployed near the Ardennes mountains, to reorganize their troops and attack immediately. On the same day, Xia Fei sent a report to the Minister of War Messimi, who was far away in Paris, saying that "there is now reason to look forward to the development of the war situation with full confidence." ”

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Germany, northern foothills of Lorraine, Theonville.

The Moselle River, which is verdant with green trees and green tapestry, flows like a meandering jade belt around the main city. In the fields within a radius of dozens of kilometers, a large number of marching tents are densely dotted on the land like stars in the summer sky; German officers and men in gray uniforms were patrolling and training in order, and the sound of shouting and running resounded in the sky. War horses neighed, wheels rolled, and countless German officers and soldiers were stationed in the middle, and there was no end in sight.

In the simple and simple two-story cabin, Qingying, who was in a straight military uniform, was listening to an officer's report in detail. The summer sun shines through the window, illuminating the face of the person in front of Qingying. He was nearly fifty years old, tall and thin, with a monocle on his withered face and bright green eyes. With a gesture, a solemn and rigorous temperament belonging to the purest Prussian officer was revealed.

"After a month and a half of intense mobilization and regrouping, the entire Fifth Army has now completed all preparations for war. According to the operational schedule drawn up by the General Staff, we will advance with the Duke of Württemberg's Fourth Army in two days to attack Klonvi through the Ardennes Forest ahead. The middle-aged officer whispered, and there was a hint of expectation in his words. Being able to participate in this war against France, which is a long-cherished hat, is undoubtedly something that a middle-aged military officer who is a traditional aristocratic Juncker from a military background has been looking forward to all night.

"These days, thanks to Hans, you've helped me dispatch and command. Whether it is the formation of military divisions that mobilized troops in the early stage, or the material storage that came later, your efforts have played a far better role than mine. I am fortunate that General Helmut (Moltke Jr.) can appoint you Chief of Staff of the Fifth Army. In the coming war, I also hope that you will be able to help me as much as I have done for the past half month. Qingying looked at the middle-aged officer in front of him who seemed to be the reincarnation of Schlieffen back then, and said with some emotion.

Before Tionville took office, Qingying was actually quite bottomless in his heart. Although, based on the experience of his previous life, the German Army, which had introduced a large number of new weapons in this plane, would undoubtedly have an absolute tactical advantage in the battle with the French army; However, he himself had only worked in the General Staff after Moltke Jr. took over for a few years, and he lacked the actual experience of leading troops in battle. However, when he arrived at the headquarters and saw the chief of staff who had come to greet him, all the hesitation in Qingying's heart disappeared. Because Moltke Jr. sent his chief of staff to assist him was none other than Hans, the father of the German army in World War II in history? Feng? Sickert!

Born in Prussia in 1866 into a family of generals, Sickert is one of the finest in Germany. In another plane that Qing Ying is familiar with, the "100,000 Army" created by him laid a solid foundation for the German Army to re-emerge and sweep across the European continent. However, his talent is by no means limited to simply training the army, and he also has extremely high extraordinary attainments in military warfare. During World War I, as Marshal Mackensen's right-hand man in staff, Sickett single-handedly formulated and participated in almost all major battles on the Eastern Front; The reason why the German army was able to achieve a brilliant victory on the Eastern Front in an almost devastating manner was that Sickert definitely played a role that could not be ignored.

After a few days of contact, Qingying was completely impressed by Sickert's shining quality. His taciturnistic and cautious nature, his modest and reserved style, and his chiming bell-like precision in his decisions all show that he is almost entirely the perfect example of the Prussian officer who said less and did more as his core principle. Previously, Qingying did not understand many things about being in charge of the army, but he became more and more familiar with Sickert's auxiliary and gradually understood it. Compared to Ludendorff, who showed the spirit of war in the midst of homeopathy, but was depressed and anxious in the face of adversity, and needed Hindenburg's help to get out of the emotional shadows of his heart, the solemn and tenacious Sickert was obviously more suitable to become the core master of the German General Staff.

"Your Highness is serious. But if Your Highness asks, I will do my best to serve Your Highness. Sickert gave Qing Ying a standard military salute and said respectfully. In fact, Sickert is undoubtedly full of gratitude to Qingying, if it weren't for the fact that the crown prince was going to the front line to gild, he would have to stay in the position of chief of staff of the army for at least several years, how could he have the position of chief of staff of the group army so quickly? (To be continued......)

PS: Thank you for the reward of the book friend Long Fengpo, and the breath in the depths of the soul, and the monthly ticket support of Xiaobai who doesn't want to die~~~