Barcelona, in northeastern Spain, has become the seat of the Imperial Army's Western European Theater Command. Lieutenant General Liu Zhongming, who commanded the million-dollar Imperial Army, has moved his headquarters from Madrid here. From now on, a qiē Western European theater of operations, will be released here by him. In addition to the 9 armies of the Imperial Army deployed to Western Europe, more than 1.6 million people. The Spanish Army and the Belgian Army were also under the command of Lieutenant General Liu Zhongming.

Of course, the Spanish Army can put into combat troops, and hundreds of thousands of people. The Belgian Army, on the other hand, has only more than 200,000 men left. In the course of the war, both countries paid heavy losses. Belgium, in particular, is even more so. The total population of the Kingdom of Belgium was originally only about four million, and the mobilization of an army of half a million was already their limit. The loss of 300,000 men made the Kingdom of Belgium much less young and strong. It is foreseeable that even if the Kingdom of Belgium wins this war, they will still suffer heavy losses, and it will be difficult for them to develop their national strength.

With the end of the last campaign in the northern part of the Iberian Peninsula, the Anglo-French army lost more than two million troops, and all of them were elite troops, which was undoubtedly an extremely heavy loss for the Anglo-French army. Not to mention anything else, those elite troops alone already account for about half of the combat power of the Anglo-French coalition army. If it weren't for the fact that in the last war, both the Imperial Army and the Spanish Army had expended a lot of strength and all kinds of war materials needed to be replenished, they might have already attacked the Pyrenees and invaded France.

During this time, the French were not idle either. They frantically mobilized their troops to the south. A defensive line was built in the Pyrenees, and he wanted to use the Pyrenees to block the Sino-Spanish coalition forces. But. Because of the lack of troops, even those troops who were still in the new barracks were pulled to the battlefield. France can only use more than 3 million troops.

Deducting the millions of troops deployed in northern Belgium to defend against the Sino-Belgian coalition and the Prussian army, the hundreds of thousands deployed along the western coast, and the hundreds of thousands deployed elsewhere in the country to stabilize the situation in France. The French army was only able to use more than a million people. This also includes more than 400,000 people who belong to the army.

The French army in the northern Pyrenees only deployed 500,000 men. Also, at both ends of the Pyrenees. Several hundred thousand people were also deployed as second-line defense units. It can be said that the defense line of the Pyrenees is very weak, which is not very difficult for the Imperial Army to break through this defense line. As long as the follow-up war materials can keep up, it will not be a problem at all to enter the territory of France.

Barcelona, as well as the rest of the cities of northeastern Spain. There are also coastal cities in the western Pyrenees, which are very busy right now. Having eliminated the main force of the British navy and blockaded Britain on a few isolated islands, no country's navy could pose a threat to Chinese transport ships. A large number of merchant ships and transport ships flying the Chinese flag. Deliver all sorts of war materiel to coastal cities in northeastern and northwestern Spain to replenish the Imperial Army's attrition on the battlefield.

With the arrival of supplies, the Imperial Army's pre-war preparations were nearing completion. Liu Zhongming, a lieutenant general of the Imperial Army, summoned the commanders of the various army groups of the Imperial Army. The military bigwigs of the Spanish Army, holding a pre-war meeting in Barcelona.

"Ladies and gentlemen. There is only one topic for this meeting, and that is that when our preparations for war are completed, the Imperial army will cross the Pyrenees and invade France, defeating France in one fell swoop! Lieutenant General Liu Zhongming said solemnly.

"Hooray, kill the French, defeat them!" The Spanish generals present couldn't help but cheer. They undoubtedly hated France more than the Imperial Army. When the Anglo-French forces invaded Spain, the entire northern part of the Iberian Peninsula was almost devastated. Countless towns and villages were reduced to rubble, and a large number of Spaniards were killed.

"Ladies and gentlemenes, the Pyrenees have become the most important obstacle standing in our way. According to the information we have obtained, the French army has deployed heavy forces in the east and west of the Pyrenees. In the central region, not many troops were deployed. Of course, this was mainly due to the terrain, and even if the French army was undefended, it was difficult for us to pass through the mountains. Therefore, the Imperial Army decided to use the eastern part of the Pyrenees as the main direction of the offensive. The 1st Fleet of the Imperial Navy will send a few warships to assist us. Lieutenant Liu Zhongming will continue.

The eastern coast of the Pyrenees is suitable for launching landing operations. Under the circumstance that the French Navy had already cowered in a military port on the Atlantic coast and did not dare to go out, the Imperial Army landed under the cover of the Navy and was undoubtedly more able to break through the French defense.

After all, the terrain of the Pyrenees limits the use of troops. Even if you have the advantage of troops, I am afraid it will be difficult to give full play. In this way, the empire can fully use the strength of the navy and the strong maritime strength to give full play to the advantages of landing operations.

"If everyone has no objections, then I will arrange the next operational deployment. First, the 15th and 16th armies of the Imperial Army, as well as the 4 infantry corps of the Spanish Army, attacked north from Figueres and broke through the French defenses. The 17th Army and six Spanish infantry corps then entered French territory and launched an attack on Toulouse.

Secondly, the 18th Army of the Imperial Army, and the Spanish infantry corps of both countries, under the cover of the navy, will land in the port of Lanuville, cut off the retreat of the French army, and strive to encircle and annihilate all the troops that have discovered your deployment on the southern front. The 19th Army and the Spanish infantry corps of the two countries, under the cover of the navy, landed directly in Marseille and advanced all the way to the heart of France!

In the west, the 13th and 14th armies, as well as 8 Spanish infantry corps, broke through the French defense line from the western Pyrenees, invaded French territory, and cooperated with the troops on the eastern front to encircle and annihilate the main force of the French army. 、

Finally, the 20th and 21st armies of the Imperial Army, deployed in the Kingdom of Belgium, as well as the Belgian Army, were to attack Paris from the north. The campaign is expected to end within two months. My goal is to completely defeat the Hair Army within these two months. Even if France cannot be completely destroyed, it must be so that the French will not have much combat power left. In this way, in the next stage, we will be able to completely destroy France. Fight for the destruction of France before the cold winter arrives! ”

Lieutenant General Liu Zhongming laid out his plan in its entirety. No one raised objections, and naturally no one would oppose him on the part of the Chinese Empire, and even more so on the side of the Spanish Army. After all, in the previous campaign in the northern part of the Iberian Peninsula, Lieutenant General Liu Zhongming had already used his strength to conquer everyone. What's more, the future Lieutenant General Liu Zhongming, after this battle, will also become the chief of the general staff of the empire. In such a case, a fool will go out to find trouble.

"Since there is no problem, let's implement it according to the predetermined plan! Half a month later, the attack officially began! We will fight for it, to crush the French in one fell swoop! Lieutenant General Liu Zhongming said.

"Defeat the French and destroy them completely!"

On the morning of April 27, 1855, the 15th and 16th armies of the Imperial Army, mobilizing thousands of artillery pieces, launched a fierce attack on the French positions. At the same time, the four 'Eastern Han class' battleships of the 1st Fleet of the Imperial Navy also rushed to the battlefield and frantically poured shells on the French positions with 305 mm naval guns less than five kilometers from the coast.

Under heavy artillery bombardment from the Imperial Army and Navy, the French positions were shaken. In less than half an hour, the French positions were densely packed with craters. In particular, the craters of the Navy's 305-millimeter naval guns, each several meters wide, were often blown to pieces by the French soldiers who were hit.

After the bombardment, the 15th and 16th armies of the Imperial Army dispatched infantry and launched an offensive against the French lines. Perhaps, because behind them is their own homeland, these French people are very heroic. Even though the weapons and equipment could not be compared with the Imperial Army, these French troops were resisting the attack of the Imperial Army, even if they paid with their lives for it.

Although the French army fought very bravely and completely, the difference in strength between the two sides was too great. They still can't compare with the Imperial Army, so that the final result is still that their defense line is constantly broken through by the Imperial Army.

After three days of fierce fighting, the Imperial Army had already torn a two-kilometer-long hole in the French position. A large number of Spanish troops also followed the hole torn by the Imperial Army and entered the territory of France.

Although the Spanish Army's ability to attack fortifications was not comparable to that of the Empire, they were often able to perform at a higher level when fighting with the Imperial Army. This makes their combat effectiveness much stronger than these French troops who have just come out of the new barracks. The result was that the eastern part of the French Pyrenees' line was broken through after only a week.

While the Chinese and Western forces attacked from the east, the Chinese and Western forces also gathered hundreds of thousands of troops to attack from the western Pyrenees. The British Army, far from the motherland, was in charge of garrisoning here, and the repeated defeats in the previous battles made the morale of the British Army continue to decline, and finally, in less than ten days, the Chinese and Western forces broke through the defensive line. (To be continued......)

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