Crook's order to halt his advance was tantamount to saving the fighting power of his soldiers who were on the verge of collapse.

Since 30 May, the First Army, located on the outermost part of the German right flank, has experienced extreme fatigue among its soldiers. When they staggered to the camp, they fell headlong to the ground, muttering about their march and losing all the strength to move a finger. Even with the idea of entering Paris as a support, the great physical pain that was very unbearable still greatly weakened the fighting spirit of the officers and soldiers of Crook's department. An officer of the 10th Reserve wrote: "We marched more than 35 kilometers all day, and the soldiers were bearded and covered in dust, like a flock of walking flour bags. A sense of resignation governs us, that there is no point in living like this, and that it is nothing to die......"

However, in the early morning of 3 June, when Crook's order to halt his advance and move to the defensive was given to the whole army, the Germans finally found a respite and relief from their exhausting predicament. Although the main force, which had already crossed the Marne, needed to be redeployed to prevent the British and French troops near Paris, this short march still made the German rank-and-file officers and soldiers feel like paradise after the previous trek.

When the German troops arrived at the designated location, they began to build improvised bunker defenses with shovels - since the number of Allied troops near Paris was far greater than Crook had imagined, it was clear that the necessary fortifications were indispensable to keep the right flank of the First Army safe. For these operations, German officers and soldiers were also willing to eat. The reason is simple: when you are tired of digging trenches, you can rest, and let the people of the second shift continue to do it; And in the course of long marches. Every kilometer has to be walked on your own. Even in a state of extreme tiredness. It must also be continued. In comparison, digging trenches was clearly more acceptable to the German soldiers than marching.

Soil and rock were moved, trenches were dug. The tired soldiers sat or lay down on the ground, slowly recovering their strength. And as the advance of the main forces stopped, the poor transport convoys in the rear finally caught up with the forward army in the bumpy trek, and sent them all kinds of supplies that were urgently needed. With the fire rising, the cook in the cooking car began to stir the giant soup spoon in his hand; The thick aroma of sausage and potato soup wafted from the vats, making the soldiers roll their Adam's apples after five days without eating cooked food. Indulge in salivation.

In the afterglow of the setting sun, a long line formed in front of each cooking car, and the fragrance was thick and pervasive; Under the boundless starlight, the waves on the banks of the meandering Marne River rolled up, and the cool water washed away the dust and fatigue of the German soldiers after 20 consecutive days of fighting. In the vast field, well-established positions replaced haphazard tents, and cleaned gray military uniforms fluttered in the night breeze; In the vast darkness of the night, the German soldiers snored into the world of dreams, and they stepped onto the wide and magnificent Champs-Lières like their predecessors in 1871.

On the night of the day when the German First Army stopped advancing. The neighboring Second Army received the same order from the Luxembourg base camp. Unlike Crook's irascible impulses, Bülow, the commander of the Army, was a traditional Prussian officer; After verification with the base camp. He immediately carried out this order. As the center of the right flank cluster, the Büloh Army's itinerary was second only to Crook's, and the exhaustion of the soldiers was also extremely dangerous: during the previous day's march, the soldiers who had fallen in the ditch did not have the strength to get up and rejoin the group, but only lay on the ground and gasped. Since Bülow's troops did not undertake the task of attacking Paris, the soldiers no longer had even the slightest psychological burden at the bottom; When the order to halt the march was given, it was greeted with an almost fanatical welcome. The German officers and men began to use all means to recover their bodies, which had become extremely tired from the high-intensity march of the previous three weeks.

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The red sun hangs high and shines brightly, reflecting the meandering Seine like a jade belt, sparkling with waves.

In a two-story hut on the riverside, the commander-in-chief of the French army, Xia Fei, was standing under a huge map of the theater of war, staring and groaning; The glorious sun shone brightly, reflecting every inch of his face. There was no trace of tiredness, depression, or loss on that kind face like Santa Claus, and when the pale green eyes turned, a sharp light had already hit the face.

In the previous ten days of fighting, the French army was defeated by the German attack and lost ground and collapsed; Originally located in Belgium, they fled south in a hurry, and were chased all the way from the Samble River to the gates of their capital. Even Vitré-Le François, the seat of the original headquarters of the French army, was now under German bombardment day and night, forcing Chauffeur to move his base camp to Chartillon-sur-Seine, 80 kilometers to the south. The government moved south, refugees flowed, and the future of France looked the same as it had been in 1870.

However, in the face of such a grim situation, Xia Fei has always been calm and steady. He eats three meals a day and eats on time; Go to bed at 10 o'clock at night and never make an exception. Whenever he received a report of defeat from the front, he always quietly analyzed and discussed with the think tank staff officers, worked out a solution, and then promulgated and implemented it. His broad body, steady voice, solemn and calm expression, peaceful and deep eyes...... Like a lighthouse in the dark night, it burns and catches the eye, restoring the composure of panicked staff officers and rebuilding the confidence of declining generals.

If Moltke, who has a melancholy personality, will not be blindfolded by self-confidence, can see the dangers hidden under the surface of success, and is suitable for commanding a superior army to win steadily, then Xia Fei, whose personality is completely opposite, is undoubtedly more suitable for commanding an army that is at a disadvantage or even in danger. His rock-solid composure infected everyone, so that the French army, which had suffered heavy losses, could still devote themselves to the unyielding battle with high morale and enthusiasm. A commander who is more insightful and decisive than Xia Fei may have made a fundamental mistake in previous border battles; However, in the perilous situation of losing and retreating, what the French army needed was Xia Fei's calmness and firmness. It was his mainstay and fearlessness that allowed the French army to be saved in a series of retreats and maintain its combat effectiveness. If a different person were to occupy this position, then whether it was Petain, Foch, or Gallieni, the French army would most likely collapse in this catastrophic retreat!

However, it is clear that victory cannot be achieved by retreating. The French must hold off the German offensive and stabilize the current shaky situation. According to the plan booked by Xia Fei, the whole army withdrew to the Seine, about fifty kilometers south of the Marne, to establish a new and solid defensive line; On June 3, however, the situation on the battlefield changed in a way that he did not expect.

In the early morning of the same day, just as the French army was preparing to further shrink its ranks and retreat south of the Great Moran River, the troops in the rear who were responsible for blocking the German attack found that the German army had not appeared in front of them for a long time. A few hours later, reports from the armies at the front reached Xia Fei: from Vitre Le François to Le Bay, less than forty kilometers east of Paris, the three German armies on the entire Marne had stopped advancing!

Such a change made Xia Fei surprised. Since the end of the border battle, the French army has begun a great retreat like an avalanche; Although this army did not collapse as the Germans imagined under the leadership of Xia Fei, the overall situation was undoubtedly in an extremely critical situation. At present, every French officer and soldier is looking forward to stopping this nightmarish retreat; And today, when the pursuers behind them stopped advancing, their expectations were finally realized. After learning this news, the officers and men of the French Fifth Group in front of Crook rejoiced: the march from Belgian territory all the way to Paris had already exhausted them - while Crook's troops were pursuing at full speed, the French Fifth Army was also retreating in great strides, and there was no essential difference in the mileage of the two sides! The only advantage of the French army was that they could be supplied in a timely and effective manner on the interior lines, so that they did not become as exhausted as the Germans.

The sound of heavy footsteps suddenly sounded outside the door, and it was very clear in the silence of the room. Xia Fei gathered his thoughts, turned his head to look, and sure enough, he saw the huge figure of the deputy chief of staff, Betlow, who weighed as much as an 8-inch shell. He walked quickly into the command room, handed a telegram to Xia Fei, and said, "Your Excellency the Commander-in-Chief, General Gallieni, the commander of the Paris garrison, has sent an urgent telegram. ”

"Gallieni......" Xia Fei whispered the name, a complicated look in his eyes. As his former superior, the highly decorated Gallerien was undoubtedly the only general in the French army who could compete with Chauffeur; In front of Gallieni, Xia Fei not only could not show the tyrannical arbitrariness of his other subordinates, but also had to do a lot of things against his will - agreeing to defend Paris, prioritizing the newly arrived vital forces to meet the needs of the defense of Paris, and placing the Sixth Army under the command of the commander of the Paris garrison, all of which were compromises made by Xia Fei at the behest of Gallieni. Xia Fei had been trying to avoid direct contact with Gallieni, but this time, the other party came straight to his goal.

Xia Fei took the telegram and began to read it carefully. After a while, his brow furrowed: "He wants to immediately launch an attack on Crook's right flank?" This guy knows what this means? (To be continued......)

PS: Thank you for the reward of the book friend zhouyu1976~~~ Anyway, the number of subscriptions yesterday was extremely tragic, and the author's heart fell into the abyss