"The central front is down, and we don't have much time." Napoleon looked at the Don River in front of him and shook his head helplessly.

"The rain came just in time, and we still have time to prepare.

After every battle, the Ming army would take a long break to recuperate. This time, they threw their reserves into the central theater and also divided their forces to the Crimea.

Their rest will only be longer, as long as we repel the enemy in front of them. You can calmly retreat to Kiev without fear of being pursued by the Ming army.

This is also the only option that can guarantee the retreat of the army! Leclerc pointed to the map and said to Napoleon.

"The Central Front is finished, but the Poles have closed the hole.

Your Majesty the Emperor, we can intersperse to the north, straight behind the Kursk Ming army.

At this time, they had just finished fighting, and it was a matter of sleepiness.

Leclerc also said just now that the Ming army usually rests for one to two months after a major battle.

This is because his tank can't actually support a long period of battle, and if they fight continuously, the failure of the tank alone will be unbearable for them.

According to the information obtained from the interrogation of the prisoners, the tank commanders of the Ming army would obey a constraint called the motorized hour.

In other words, after a certain period of use, the tank has to be stopped for maintenance.

Similarly, this is the case with Daming's aircraft. After each flight hour, a lot of time is also needed to maintain the equipment in good condition.

We just want to take advantage of this gap to catch them off guard. With superior forces, the Ming army was annihilated at Kursk. ”

"Ney, stop talking stupid. God knows if the main forces of the Ming army are still in Kursk, and if they are not in Kursk, we will pounce.

When the time comes, what do you say to do? ”

Marshal Bernadotte, commander of the Third Army, said with a sneer.

"Then we shouldn't retreat like cowards!" Ney roared loudly.

Leclerc stood helplessly in front of the map and did not speak, although he was nominally the commander of the Second Army.

But these people here are marshals who have been with His Majesty the Emperor for a long time, and his military rank is now only a lieutenant general.

"Ney, your voice is louder than His Majesty the Emperor!"

"Sirte, what are you talking about......!" Ney screamed angrily, but did not dare to refute, and could only look at Napoleon.

Napoleon frowned and waved his hand helplessly.

"Holding a meeting is to let everyone say what is on their minds. Since there are differences, it is nothing.

Let's all go back and get the troops ready for battle. Whether it's attacking or retreating, we're going to fight. ”

Napoleon knew that talking about things with these rough men would not lead to anything.

"Leclerc, you stay." Napoleon said to Leclerc.

"Yes, Your Majesty the Emperor!"

Seeing that the marshal's eyes were not good, Leclerc could only stay hard.

Originally, he was already going to leave for South America, but he was only going to return to the Second Army to hand over command.

Unexpectedly, Marshal Bessière, who was sent over, was killed by a Ming plane.

Therefore, the delay was delayed, and as a result, this delay caught up with the Ming attack.

The Ming offensive never existed alone, and when the main attack on the Kursk salient was carried out, feints were also launched on the southern and northern fronts.

So that the coalition forces do not have the strength to support the Kursk battlefield!

Leclerc was directing the attack, and of course it was impossible to get out of the way.

Now that the Ming attack had stopped, and was about to leave, Napoleon came again.

"Leclerc, I would love you to go to South America. Yes, ......, but I have to bring more troops back to France.

This time, we had to attack. Only by defeating the Ming army in front of us will we have more time and space to retreat to Romania.

Kyiv will be abandoned, and all of Ukraine will be abandoned.

We will pass through Romania, Hungary, Austria and finally return to France.

If we want to defend, we will have to build a defensive line in the Alps from now on.

Perhaps relying on the mountains of Switzerland can stop the footsteps of the Ming tank forces. ”

Napoleon spoke with some underconfidence, and it seemed that he was pessimistic enough about the prospects of the war.

"Your Majesty, you are right. Only by fighting in the mountains can the Ming people be delayed and blocked.

The only thing in trouble now is the Germans, and if we retreat like this, the Ming will definitely pursue.

Within a few months, Romania, Hungary and Austria would fall.

It is likely that the Ming army will stab the Germans in the stomach, and at that time the Germans said that they would not surrender.

You know, now Ribbentrop is in Athens and the Ming people are eyebrow-raising. ”

"So, I need to bring the troops back to France. That way, we won't be constrained by long supply lines, and we'll be able to stretch long supply lines in the same way.

Maybe this will buy us a year, or two years.

By the time we put down roots in South America, we would have to gradually abandon the French mainland.

Leclerc, this attack is led by your Second Army. ”

"Yes, my Imperial Majesty!"

Leclerc knew that was the only way to go.

Torrential rains have been blowing along the Don River for four days and four nights, and it has rained for four days and four nights.

Heavy rain caused the river to swell just over a foot from the bridge deck.

As long as there is a swell, the head of the wave can hit the bridge deck.

The day after the rain, the Ming army left its positions on the banks of the Don River.

Tanks, armored vehicles, these things are heavy equipment.

Once it falls into Zeguo, it will be an iron coffin one by one.

You don't need to be beaten, and you can lie on your stomach.

Seeing that the situation was not good, and a large number of French troops were killed and wounded, the Ming army retreated decisively.

It belongs to the standard and runs away after taking advantage!

The French troops who were surrounded on the east bank of the Don River, except for more than 10,000 people who escaped, all the rest were buried on the east bank of the Don River.

Only 30% of them were killed by the Ming army, and most of the remaining people died in the low temperature caused by the heavy rain.

The French troops, who did not receive orders, were luckier than them.

Because they were not ordered to retreat, they remained in their positions. Although it was also cold inside the underground bunker, it definitely didn't freeze to death.

When the Ming army retreated, they naturally didn't have time to clean up these leftovers.

These people have now become heroes who stand their ground.

"It's not good that we are blatantly deceiving His Majesty the Emperor like this......!" Seeing Leclerc's report to Napoleon, Ebbock's hands trembled.

Our army defeated the Ming army headquarters that attacked the Don River Bridge and successfully recaptured the Don River Bridge.

And overcame the heavy rain and muddy conditions, continued to attack the Ming army on the east bank, and finally restored the pre-war position a few days ago.

Due to the heavy rain, the number of annihilated Ming troops is being counted, and the rest will be reported later!

"General Abbot, if you don't put it nicely, how do you get rid of the guilt of losing the first battle?"

“……！” Leclerc's words made Ebbock lose his temper and obediently signed his name.

"In fact, we are not wrong, the front is back to the state it was before the war.

And we also took back control of the Don bridge, and we didn't lie.

Even if His Majesty the Emperor himself came to inspect it now, we would be able to lead him to the position and to the bridge.

No one can deny this. ”

Leclerc looked at Elbock and smiled!

Ebbock's face was ugly, and in theory, Leclerc was right.

But ......, but how to explain the more than 100,000 corpses on the east coast?

Those people died so miserably, trapped in the muddy water layer upon layer. The hands and feet that were propped up were like reeds that had just sprouted.

Most of them were frozen to death, and they should not have died if they were not ordered to leave their positions and advance with all their might towards the Don bridge.

This is a major mistake in command!

Seeing Ebbock's form, Leclerc felt the need to make him more explicit.

"General Ebok!

Since the beginning of the war, we have fought so many battles, and not a single one has been won.

Look at the soldiers out there!

Their morale was so low that not only our troops, but almost the whole of France.

Can such an army win a war? ”

Obock glanced at the muddy, dejected soldiers outside, and sighed helplessly.

How can the morale of the army be high when the battle is always lost.

Even he, a general, had no hope for the prospects of war.

"France needs a win, a win that can be said.

Not only France, but all of Europe needs a victory.

Only with a victory can the coalition continue to fight and overcome the phobia of the Ming army.

Ebok! Look at me, there are times when some lies have to be told. ”

Leclerc looked at Ebbock with clear blue eyes.

"Okay!" Abbot sighed.

The morale of the army should be improved by lying.

What is this called...... thing!

While Leclerc was talking to Ebbock, Leclerc's messenger was standing beside Napoleon.

"There's no one here, you name it!" Napoleon noticed that the staff officer's eyes were always on the guards not far from Napoleon.

Obviously, this distance is not enough to prevent what he says from being heard.

Since His Majesty the Emperor said that there was no problem, the staff officer had no choice but to say it.

"Of the dozen divisions on the west bank of the Don, only more than 11,000 people escaped.

Of the rest, most of them died.

The victory we achieved on the west bank was actually the voluntary retreat of the Ming army.

This battle ......" the staff officer hesitated.

"Say it!" Napoleon took the leather gloves and flicked them on his hands.

It rained in Ukraine, and the weather is cold!

"We actually lost this battle!

And to lose very badly, General Leclerc, I beg for your punishment.

However, in order to boost morale, the general still sent a telegram reporting the victory.

The general said that we had lost too much and could not afford to lose any more. ”

"I can't afford to lose anymore!" Napoleon raised his head and glanced at the sky.

It rained for four days in a row, and now the clear blue sky was cloudless, and the air was scaryly fresh.

A breath of fresh air will make you moan comfortably.

But Napoleon did not feel this way, he felt very depressed, and even felt a little stuffy in his chest.

The morale of the army is actually maintained by a fake victory.

This battle has come to this point......!

Concentrated the military power of the whole of Europe, up to five million troops.

Napoleon felt that he could fight to the edge of the sky with so many troops.

But when it really came to the battlefield, because of the addition of Israel, the strength of the coalition army was even larger.

Can......!

But the war has been fought for a year, and victory is still in the mirror.

Throughout the winter, the French army went on the offensive as best they could.

In the Battle of Tsaritsyn, the French army was almost burning their own marrow.

But in the end, it still failed.

Correspondingly, the Prussians, who had an army of more than two million people, had been fighting soy sauce on the northern front for a long time.

An army of more than 2 million people lost more than 300 casualties in a whole winter.

As for the ...... of losses inflicted on the Russian army and the Ming army, then only the fuck God knows.

Seeing that His Majesty the Emperor seemed to be depressed, the staff officer did not dare to speak again.

His Majesty the Emperor's coercion was still very deterrent to him, a small major officer.

"Go down!" Napoleon let out a long sigh and said softly.

"Yes!" The staff officer departed with a salute as if he had been pardoned.

"Tell me what you know." Napoleon looked at the scenery of the Dnieper for a long time and finally spoke again.

The intelligence staff officer who was waiting on the side dared to come over and salute.

"Forget it, free of all that red tape. Tell me what you know! Napoleon waved his hand.

"What the major said just now is basically the truth, our army on the east bank of the Don River has basically been wiped out.

The troops who escaped, lost all their heavy weapons, or rather, they lost all their weapons.

The troops on the west bank also took the initiative of the Ming army to retreat, not our army to repel it.

At this point, General Leclerc is not lying. ”

"Where is the main force of the Ming army?"

"The heavy rain has covered all the ruts, and it is not yet possible to detect them."

"Find out as soon as possible!" As a brilliant master of tactics, ignorance of the battlefield was something Napoleon could not bear.

But there was no way, the French army did not have an air force.

It is impossible for airships to carry out such a mission, and battlefield reconnaissance can only be carried out by those light cavalry, risking their lives.

Of course, they will also buy the Russians to do things for them.

However, with the intervention of the Ming Dynasty's supervisory forces. It is becoming increasingly difficult to succeed in buying Russians, or the informant is arrested and then publicly executed.

Either that, or all the information you get is disinformation.

On several occasions, the generals at the front mistrusted the intelligence and inflicted very heavy losses on the French army.

"Your Majesty the Emperor, I just got another piece of information ten minutes ago."

"Say!"

"It is reported that the Prussian delegates went to Athens and came into close contact with the Ming there.

Moreover, the great Honglu of the Ming Dynasty's chief diplomat, also went to Crete after a short stay in Athens. ”

"Is there such a thing?" Napoleon frowned.

Prussia was in civil strife recently, and Frederick was actually killed by an unknown guy.

Bismarck was also in the sand, and now, a group of people who are active in Prussian politics are all small fish and shrimp, guys who didn't know before.

Napoleon had already sent Mula to visit Berlin to see the quality of those hairy boys, but he did not expect that there was no news from Berlin, but from Athens first.

Did the Prussians want to make peace with the Ming people?

If this is the case, then it does not make sense of the offensive that the Prussians found on the Northern Front.

As of today, the Prussians have received war reports that they have advanced thirty kilometers.

It is said that there are more than 50,000 people who wiped out the Russian army plus the Ming army!

Thirty kilometers forward, Napoleon believed. Because Davout, the most powerful marshal under his command, went to see it himself.

But he did not believe in the annihilation of 50,000 people.

After all, Davout's telegram said that he hadn't seen that many bodies.

At most, there are three or two thousand corpses of Russian troops.

The Russian army and the Ming army, those are completely different things.

The former is the belly of the fish, and the latter is steel.

It is very easy to bite a bite of meat on the Russian army, and if you want to take a bite of meat on the Ming army, the result can only be a mouth full of teeth.

"Send capable men to Athens at once, and be sure to get things straight."

"Yes!"

"Send a telegram to Mula, and ask him to come to Kyiv after his trip to Berlin."

Napoleon pondered whether to leave a way back for France and for himself.

After all, the Prussians were probably already doing this.

In times of war, peace of all kinds has always existed.

It's just that most of these reconciliations lack sincerity.

It's basically a fool of each other, and if you really take it seriously, you lose.

In fact, everyone is thinking about getting what you can't get on the battlefield at the negotiating table.

But what you can't get with all your life on the battlefield, how can you easily get it at the negotiating table?

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In the jungle of Belgorod, Zu Kuan was inspecting his tanks one by one.

From time to time, I would say hello to the tankers and tell a joke or something.

Zu Kuan knew that a cigarette handed over by the commander at this time, a smile, or a laugh and scolding could boost the morale of the soldiers for a long time.

Marching north from the west bank of the Don River, Zu Kuan finally made contact with the 1st Cavalry Division.

The heavy rain for four consecutive days caused certain difficulties for the march, but it also perfectly concealed the traces of the armored forces after the operation.

At least, the French will have a hard time finding them until the water dries up on the ocean-like roads.

The damn rain had been raining heavily for four days in a row, and Zu Kuan felt that he was going to get moldy.

Today, the weather is so sunny that the branches in the woods are full of soldiers' coats.

The sky was so blue that I couldn't see a cloud.

Especially in the forest after the rain, the air is outrageously fresh.

Take a breath and it's a treat.

This kind of thing can only be enjoyed in the grassland after the rain.

It's a forest in the middle of the battlefield!

When the 1st Cavalry Division arrived here, it was the first day of rain.

They were in this forest, drenched in the rain for three days.

But the tank crew is good at this, and he will not be doused wherever he goes.

It was raining heavily, but inside the tank was the sound of laughter.

Tank crews generally carry much more than infantry, and they have the means to get a lot of canned food, biscuits, and all sorts of good food.

Some of the strong ones even brought sheep.

It's just a pity that the wartime was rigorous and lit fire.

You can't light a fire in this wet forest!

Otherwise, I'm afraid these guys would have already held a battlefield bonfire party to eat roasted whole sheep.

Very good, the equipment failure rate is not high.

The only faults are being eliminated by the personnel of the repair company.

Last night, the airship sent a lot of supplies.

In the middle of the forest, a place has been carved out.

There is a huge stockpile of fuel and ammunition that airships bring in at night!

While the airship brought supplies, it also brought Li Xiao's latest order.

Be sure to take out the French First Army on its way through Belgorod!

Every morning, Air Force planes hovered over the heads of the French First Army.

This made the commander of the First Army, Ney, very irritated, and the planes either dropped bombs or strafed.

But those damn anti-aircraft guns didn't even shoot down.

Angry that Ney gave a death order to the anti-aircraft artillery unit, and he couldn't shoot down the Ming plane, so he came to see him.

Halfway through Zukuan's inspection of the troops, he received an order from Man Gui.

Order him to be ready for battle!

At the same time, a report on the enemy situation was sent!

Heavy rain also halted the French First Army, which moved much slower than originally planned.

Now that the weather is clear, they began to speed up their rapid march.

It is expected that Belgorod can be reached this evening.

This time, the Ming army was not ready to attack in the middle of the night.

Because of the dark conditions at night, it is not conducive to the deployment of firepower of armored forces.

No one could see it, and they unfolded the firepower of a woolen thread.

Mangui set the time for the attack to be seven o'clock tomorrow morning, when the vanguard of the French army should have already set out.

Zukuan's mission was to block the way of the French army to the south and crush the French vanguard.

The troops had just participated in the Crimean campaign, and it was a time when people were sleepy. Participating in the next phase of the battle without getting a break was a big test for the troops.