It's May, and the early summer is hot, and Alsace, on the southern border of France and Germany, is at its most beautiful and colorful time of the year.

The clear lake is like a mirror, and the waterfall is snowy. The dense forest is full of greenery and brocade flowers, exuding a moist and refreshing fragrance. The mountains are bright, the woods are dense, and the meadows for grazing cattle and sheep are intertwined with the forests. The river is winding and lingering like jade, and the smooth flat boat does not leave a trace. The whiteness of the potato stamens, the blue of the cabbage furrows, and the brightness of the safflower beans...... Coupled with the pyramid-like haystacks, like the painter's embellishment, they constitute a magnificent scenery that is delicate and intoxicating.

In the early morning of the 6th, when the misty morning mist had not yet dissipated in the Vosges Mountains, the French army poured down from the mountains like a tidal wave and attacked the Alsatian border town of Artekich. After six hours of white-knuckle fighting, the French annihilated a company of German troops stationed in the town of 4,000 men. This bayonet fight was in full conformity with the finest style and spirit stipulated in the 1912 Field Regulations, and the fearless French army "attacked to the death" with the belief of victory, reaching the pinnacle of "glory".

"It's an indescribably exciting time." A French military correspondent recorded the scene in this way. The French army, which had been humiliated since 1870 and determined to take revenge, has finally fulfilled its long-cherished wish and planted the glorious tricolor on the land of Alsace! The reveling officers and soldiers pulled out the boundary pillars on their shoulders and marched through the towns to celebrate their victory. The German red, white, black and iron crosses were either thrown in flames or trampled by the frenzied French troops at the entrance of the town, and the captured German machine gunners were ridiculed with the most contempt by the French. Compared to the unparalleled will to attack. How can these defenses, which symbolize decline and depravity, be their own opponents?

The French cavalry galloped through the streets. They wear black horsehair feathers on their heads. The chest armor shimmered. The sudden arrival of the troops frightened the townspeople in place. After a long time, they finally let out the most enthusiastic and crazy cheers. The French army held a grand two-hour military parade on the town square, with a military band playing the "La Marseillaise". The cannons were covered with red, white and blue flowers, and the walls were plastered with Commander-in-Chief Xiafei's "Letter to the People of Alsace", in which he boasted in the most generous and enthusiastic terms that Xiafei's army was a pioneer in the "great cause of revenge". Soldiers scrambled to stuff chocolates, pastries and pipes filled with tobacco, every household waved handkerchiefs and makeshift French flags at windows, and even rooftops were filled with cheering people. By the end of the night, the 500,000 French troops deployed in front of Alsace and Lorraine were advancing rapidly. They all advanced between 5 and 8 kilometers, capturing border towns abandoned by the Germans. Everywhere they went, the French people, devastated by German rule, cheered with the warmest cheers.

In the headquarters of the French army, Xia Fei was in a happy mood and full of fighting spirit. The merchant's son, the new commander-in-chief who had been promoted by the director of the engineering corps, had already begun to point out the battle map with boundless confidence. Although Xia Fei, who is in his sixties, has always been famous in the French military circles for his calm and unsmiling attitude, when the capture of Alsace, the long-cherished wish of countless French people, was realized in his own hands, Xia Fei still couldn't help but show unusually excitement and joy. According to the report sent back by the Belgian side, the German army really transferred all the main forces to the northern front to prepare for an outflanking of itself; And you can take advantage of this opportunity. Smash the weak left flank positions of the German army in one fell swoop! At that time, it was not only the French who would be ashamed of the snow and retake Alsace and Lorraine, which had belonged for them. He will also be awarded the Marshal's Scepter for this immortal feat, becoming the second French god of war after Napoleon!

During the night, the French command received news of the fall of the fortress of Liège in northern Belgium. French intelligence officers were informed that a large number of German troops were massing along the German-Biden border: "There are very large numbers, no less than 300,000, maybe 700,000, or even 1,000,000." The news that Emmisi led his troops to continue to pursue and attack in the direction of Louvin clearly outlined the intention of the German army to carry out a strategic encirclement through Belgium in front of the French command, which was already familiar with Schlieffen's plans. Hearing this news, the steady and slow Xia Fei himself was still able to hold on, and the officers below were already jubilant, and they were so excited that they shed tears. "The enemy has just fallen into the trap of our army!" A French staff officer voiced the sentiments of everyone in the French command, "I wish the Germans had thrown a million men at the Belgian border, and if that was the case, it would be great!" ”

Over the next two days, the French army made rapid progress. Although they were swept down like wheat by German machine-gun fire during this period, they were able to liberate one town after another in Alsace and Lorraine with an almost constant replenishment of troops. By the night of 8 May, the vanguard of the French army had penetrated more than 15 kilometers into Germany, and the "desperate offensive" seemed to have achieved decisive results. The red, white and blue tricolor flags fluttered high, and the Marseillaise resounded throughout the marching route; The morale of the officers and men was at an all-time high, and they were convinced that they would win. In the field command post of the commander of the French First Army, Dibay, a place name called Salbull was abruptly marked out with a red pen. Tomorrow, they will attack this key area of the main German army.

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The summer wind is howling, the branches are shaking and the leaves are dancing, like a dancing enchantress, showing their moving posture to the fullest. The sun shone brightly on this vast wilderness, and countless figures gathered in it.

Simon, a burly German Army major, held a telescope and peered intently to the southwest from a relatively elevated sheltered command post. Salbul is bordered by the Vosges Mountains to the east, but the other directions are almost endless flat fields, which are ideal for large armies. Looking forward through the well-made Zeiss telescope on his chest, he could faintly see the dust rushing to the southwest, and it seemed that a large number of troops were sweeping towards the place.

Simon put down the lens barrel in his hand, and a look of excitement and anticipation appeared on his square face.

As the front-line town of Alsace and the intersection of three major railways, Salbul was naturally included in the Sixth Army, commanded by Bavarian Crown Prince Ruprecht, as an important defensive hub. On this winding defense line more than 10 kilometers long, a large number of German infantry divisions and infantry brigades were stationed, which firmly blocked the pace of the French army's continued advance into the heart of Alsace.

In order to keep the French out of the area and ensure that the southern defense of Schlieffen's plan was not broken by the French, the Bavarian troops began digging trenches in this area in 1911 and have now built a fairly tight defensive system. The nearly two-meter-high barbed wire fence is densely coiled and unwinded, and is firmly fixed to the flat field in the west and south by countless large columns of pig iron buried deep in the soil. As for the main body of defense, the trenches were also both wide and deep, they were reinforced with wooden stake beams, and the underground shelters used for anti-artillery were scattered. Above the position, the machine-gun bunkers buried in the ground showed only the holes of the guns and the arc-shaped roof, and were hidden by the branches and green leaves, and the divisional artillery brigades and other artillery units were carefully assigned to the various artillery positions. Since mortars have entered the German field units in large numbers, the defense line has created conditions for their firepower to play as much as possible.

Suddenly, a piercing alarm sounded over the entire defense area, and the German soldiers, who were still talking and laughing in the trenches, were startled and quickly entered their battle positions. After a short while, a small herald ran over and said loudly to Simon: "Sir, a large number of French troops have appeared in the southwest, General Henry has commanded all battalions, let us enter the highest combat readiness at once!" ”

"Understood!" Simon roared, grabbed his Luger pistol, and walked quickly out of the field command post. At this moment, the officers and men of his own battalion had already begun to quickly burrow into the underground shelter in the deepest part of the trench; Several periscopes protruding from the ground rotated around, monitoring the movement in front of the battlefield. Walking into the trench, the light was steeply dim, and Simon, who stayed with the officers and soldiers of his battalion, quietly waited for the French artillery bombardment to come.

After a short while, a little fire flickered in the southwest, followed by flying and whistling shells, and thunderous explosions resounded over the entire German position. The flames were spreading, the earth and rocks were exploding, and the fragments of shells and dust and gravel swept in all directions, and the noise was amazing. The bombardment of the French army, as was their will to attack, continued like a torrential rain; The rate of fire of the 75mm cannon of the 1897 was excellent, and its rapid fire seemed to wipe out all the robbers who had occupied their land for forty years.

Unfortunately, the preparation of the French artillery did not produce the desired results. The 75mm Schneider gun they were proud of was a long-barreled cannon type, which was of course unrivaled in field combat; However, in the face of this kind of battle, they lost most of their usefulness when they had a straight trajectory and lack of power. After more than an hour of artillery fire preparation, the German officers and men hiding in the trenches suffered almost no damage. As soon as the sound of the explosion stopped, Simon told his soldiers to step out of their shelters and take their positions, and then it was time for them to show their skills. (To be continued......)

PS: Thank you for the cold wind blowing away and the monthly pass support of one meter & sunshine & ~~~

Anyway, the number of subscriptions has been dismal recently, and the author is so unmotivated