The Voronezh salient, which the British defended on the southern front, was wiped out in just four days.

The British suffered more than 37,000 casualties, and nearly 20,000 were missing or captured.

Napoleon was very nervous, he knew that although the number of British troops was small, the quality was good enough.

Moreover, the British, in some equipment, were even superior to the French.

Even they were attacked by the Ming army, and they ate such a big deflate, the French army ......!

As a generation of military gods, Napoleon was keenly aware that the main problem of the Ming army was the shortage of troops.

The Prussians on the northern front, who were withstanding a large-scale attack by the Ming army.

And the Ming army on the southern front was also attacking, and in terms of the strength of the Ming army, this was already seriously beyond the ability of the Ming army.

There must be a direction of feints, but the question is, in which direction the feints will be made.

The way to crack the Ming army's offensive is very simple, as long as the southern and northern fronts launch a counterattack against the Ming army at the same time, you can know where the real main attack of the Ming army is.

And this can also quickly disintegrate the offensive of the Ming army this time!

But Napoleon didn't dare to do this, because it would be a gamble, and if the main force of the Ming army's attack was on the southern front, then the French army would have to fight the main force of the French army and fight to the death with the Ming army, without any leeway.

Really, if the Ming army is defeated, then the French army will inevitably be greatly injured.

The re-establishment of order in Europe after the war has not happened much.

The distribution of benefits after the war is not that whoever sheds more blood will get more.

It's about who is the strongest after the war, who says it, and who gets the biggest piece of the cake.

It was because of this that Napoleon thought about it for two days, but he didn't make up his mind whether to ask the French army to launch an attack on all fronts!

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While Napoleon was staring at the map of Russia in a daze, Li Xiu was also staring at the southern coast of France.

The Ming army launched a new offensive in Russia, and as a diversionary force, he also had to make moves on the Mediterranean coast of France.

But the question now is where to land in order to maximize Napoleon's energy.

"Second master, don't think about it, it's Marseille." Chen Laohu has been encouraging Li Xiu to attack Marseille.

His reasoning is simple: Marseille is a little closer to the port of Ajaccio on the island of Corsica.

This is a good reason, and the proximity means that the support is fast, and the supply is also fast.

Even, after the construction of the Corsica airfield was completed, the aircraft could take off directly to participate in the operation.

But the problem is that now Li Xiu can only send out one division to fight.

And this division is still a division of the Marine Corps.

The establishment of a Marine Corps division is much smaller than that of a normal army division.

Even if it is a provisional army division, it will be about 18,900 people when it is fully equipped.

But the Marine Corps division is generally only about 9,000 people.

Attack Marseille ...... with 9,000 men!

If you think about it, there are 100,000 militias in Marseille.

If you add the regular army, it is said that the number of people is more than ten times that of hugging.

Even if the Ming army can defeat ten with one, then there are several times as many regular troops as damn as well.

"I didn't fucking know that Marseille could involve the French army, but ......, how many soldiers do we have?"

Li Xiu looked at Chen Laohu dissatisfied.

In fact, the Ming army's Mediterranean strategy was very dangerous.

Because the Ming Dynasty in the Mediterranean only relied on the strength of the navy.

The land garrisons of the ports everywhere have reached a dangerous situation.

Several Marine divisions seem to be quite numerous, but after being assigned to a few islands, they seem to be a little insufficient.

There are many islands, which are said to be islands, but in fact, the area is not small.

It's like Crete, where 350,000 people are stationed to play.

Sicily, Corsica ......!

Looking at the map one by one, Li Xiu couldn't understand why there were so many big islands in the Mediterranean.

Sometimes, the French would take advantage of the night to send commandos to the island.

Engage in a little bit of terror such as assassination, capturing prisoners, etc.

So much so that Ajaccio has not lifted martial law until now.

Destroyers on the sea, cruising all day long, as long as you see the French ship.

Even if it's a small sampan, it has to be sunk directly.

The order given to them by Li Xiu was to sink any French ship he saw.

"Second master, we can pretend to attack Marseille.

You see, this place that sticks out is called La Ciotta.

The subordinates sent people to investigate, and there was a small fishing port in this place. In the past, small fishing boats were moored, but it is no problem to moor small boats of tens to 100 tons.

Let's occupy this place, not much, a Marine regiment is rich.

You see, this place is located in the center of Marseille. It's a little over twenty kilometers, and the road conditions in the middle are okay.

Besides, we're just putting on a show, and how can we really attack Marseille. ”

"La Ciotta?" Li Xiu followed Chen Laohu's hand and looked at a prominent seaside area on the edge of Marseille.

This place is a salient on the south coast of France, in the suburb of Marseille.

It is about 20 kilometers away from the city of Marseille.

The 120mm howitzer was a bit difficult, but the 155 howitzer had no problems at all.

Not to mention, the place chosen by Chen Laohu is quite poisonous.

"Have you scouted the defenders there?" Li Xiu nodded, and it was a preliminary approval of the location provided by Chen Laohu.

"After reconnaissance, the defenders numbered more than three thousand.

However, most of them were civilian troops, and the regular army consisted of only two or three hundred people.

Heavy weapons are nothing but mortars!

Now the French have also learned treachery, and the artillery is no longer on the coast, as before.

Instead, they are all hidden in depth, and on weekdays, our reconnaissance planes fly overhead, and the anti-aircraft artillery does not open fire.

As long as the bombers went, their anti-aircraft fire would open.

And it's still a shot to change places, and next time I go, I will definitely move the nest.

I don't think there is any problem for one of our regiments to take this small fishing port under the cover of naval guns. ”

Li Xiu stared at the map for a long time and nodded.

"!"

This small port was taken not to attack Marseille, but to scare Marseille.

Don't look at the Ming army's vigorous tossing in the Mediterranean, but this has little impact on the psychology of the French.

After all, the military boots of the Ming Dynasty have not yet set foot on their land.

But it was different if La Ciota was really captured, and the Ming position was placed on the edge of Marseille, which would put great psychological pressure on the French.

Get two more 155 guns up, and fire two guns if you can't do anything.

Then the psychological pressure of the French is even greater!

What satisfies Li Xiu the most is that this is an open sea area, and the draft is generally not deep.

Even if the French wanted to lay mines, they couldn't do it in such an open sea.

Minelaying in open water is not the same thing as minelaying in narrow waterways.

Li Xiu made a decision, this matter is a certainty.

After two days of reconnaissance and the formulation of an operational plan, the landing operation, codenamed Chunlei, officially began.

Midnight on the fifth day of the first lunar month!

The dark waters lapped against the French coast, and several militiamen patrolled the beach with guns on their shoulders.

Although it is still winter, the climate on the Mediterranean coast is very good.

Today's temperature is 19 degrees, which is a paradise compared to the cold of Russia.

"Hey......! When this battle ends, if it continues like this, we will starve to death. ”

"Yes!

In the past, you could go to the sea to fish, but now there are not many boats in the entire port of La Cileta. ”

"Damn the Ming people, they even hit small sampans.

A few days ago, my neighbor Nord Ang went into the sea to fish with a small sampan, and as a result, he ran into the Ming fleet.

When the corpse washed up on the shore, it had been gnawed by fish and shrimp.

On the chest, three large bullet holes, and the internal organs were punched out. ”

"No way, the war won't end for a while. Anyway, we still have a militia errand and can earn two loaves of bread a day.

My neighbor's man died in Russia, his wife became a widow and now has no income.

Last night, I saw someone knocking on her door with two loaves of bread. ”

"You're talking about Madame Jenning on Avenue de Lyon, she's been doing this kind of thing for a long time."

"Hey......! It's not about feeding the kids yet. ”

A few people talked as they walked, and from time to time they would crouch down and check the mines buried in the ground.

The mines are easy to identify, and each mine has a small palm tree planted next to it.

This ensures that the mines will be avoided by the people of the island.

These mines are considered to have fully absorbed the experience of the Ming people, and the power of the mines is very small, and the lethality is not great.

It can only injure and maim people, but it can't kill people.

There are often unknown critters that come across these mines and cause explosions.

Because the power is too small, and the location is remote, it will not even be discovered.

When they are patrolling, they come across a mine that has been crushed by an animal, and the patrol team will immediately replace the mine.

The roar of airplanes was heard in the sky again!

For such a thing as airplanes, the Maasai people are no longer surprised.

Every midnight, Daming's planes would always fly over and bomb the city of Marseille.

I don't know what they can look at in the dark.

"I don't know who will be unlucky!"

An old militiaman sighed helplessly, many houses in the city were bombed, and the homeless people were really pitiful.

But now it's a time of war, who can help anyone......!

"They don't care who they hit, they just drop the bomb."

"They can hit us, but we can't hit them.

God is really unfair to help his enemies. ”

"Shhhh Silence and be heard, and you will be unlucky. ”

"Huh......! What do you see over there? ”

In the grass by the sea, there was a black thing that looked like a boat.

Several people walked over curiously, and their behavior fully demonstrated the amateurism of the militia.

None of them had their rifles off their shoulders.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh......!" There was a series of soft sounds, and the darkness shot several crossbow arrows through the grass.

Several militiamen, some with arrows in the head and some in the neck.

At such a close range, not a single arrow missed.

The rest of the militia went to pick up the guns on their shoulders, but more than a dozen black shadows had already emerged from the darkness.

The bright blades reflected the moonlight, and lightning slashed across their necks.

The screams came and went, and the Ming soldiers were so fast that only two of them cried for help.

But in the silence of the night, no one heard the short cries for help.

"Company commander, they're all killed."

Gao Jiu walked over to a squirming guy and stabbed him in the neck again.

"Everybody has to get a knife on their neck to prevent a living mouth."

With Gao Jiu's order, the soldiers patched swords on the bodies of the French.

As for the tattered guns of the French, they were selectively ignored by the Ming soldiers.

Who loves the old-fashioned broken guns of the French!

"Quick, quick, quick......! Time is running out. ”

A soldier pulled a hair hose out of his pocket and pulled it against the sea.

The hair tube turned into a small ball of light in an instant, and the guy held the small ball of light and kept shaking it against the dark sea.

Soon, one small sampan after another.

Eight people sat on each small sampan, and the soldiers rowed with their sapper shovels as oars.

Soon, they waded ashore.

Time is urgent, and I can't bother to pull the sampan ashore again.

Gao Jiu took his company and rushed to the small pier in the dark.

The pier is very small, only more than thirty meters in appearance.

Ten meters away from the pier, there is a small house.

Gao Jiu tiptoed over and heard a burst of snoring coming from inside the house.

I was about to kick the door in, but the door was pulled open.

A Frenchman walked out without opening his eyes. Standing on the steps, he pulled his pants and began to pee.

Gao Jiu stood behind him, and the sharp shark knife stabbed him in the neck.

The shark knife directly cut his artery, and the sound of blood spurting out "hiss" and "hisses".

The Frenchman fell to the ground, clutching his neck with his hands, trying to stop the blood from spurting out.

But no matter how much he covered it, he couldn't cover it!

The soldiers rushed in, shark knives in their hands and slammed into the man on the bed.

Only a few short screams rang out, and there was no movement inside the house.

"Quick, send the signal." Gao Jiu commanded nervously.

It's three o'clock in the morning, and people are sleeping dead.

But a whole patrol disappeared, and sooner or later it would attract the attention of the French.

The soldiers searched around for some wood, poured two kettles of gasoline and a few matches, and three bonfires burned at once.

Gao Jiu looked at the small pier and took a sip helplessly.

Intelligence said that it could berth a 100-ton boat, but now it seems that it can also accommodate a 10-20-ton boat at most.

But it's all come to this point, and I can't regret it.

A signal came from the shore, and the sudden sound of a motor sounded on the sea.

Soon, a small transport boat appeared on the pier.

"Smack!" The dinghy had not yet docked, and a gunshot pierced the silent night sky.

Then, the gunshots rang out like popping beans.

"Oops!" Gao Jiu's heart tightened, but he still exchanged fire.

Look at the dinghy on the sea, there is still a distance of five or six hundred meters.

"Brothers, come on!" With a wave of his hand, Gao Jiu took his brothers and rushed towards the place where the gunfire was most intense.

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