Half a month after the end of the Egyptian campaign, the Greek campaign also ended. The Ottoman, Bulgarian, Austro-Hungarian, and Italian armies defeated the Greek army, and the cruel reality made the Athenian government give in and submit a surrender to the Central Powers.

The defeat of Greece naturally faced punishment, first of all, South Macedonia, which was assigned to Bulgaria, and secondly, the islands near the Ottomans were assigned to the Ottomans, and the island of Corfu and the Twelve Islands were owned by Italy, and Greece also provided grain, coal, trains, ships and other materials worth 500 million lira as compensation for the defeat.

Greece was the first country to surrender in the Entente camp, which is of great significance, so the Allied camp hyped it up.

And this also gave the Allies a new ally, Romania, which was originally intended to be neutral, saw that the defeat of the Entente was revealed, and decided to join the alliance camp for its own interests. The condition of their entry was that the alliance would help them seize East Moldavia and complete the initial unification of Romania during the war.

In the face of such a request, in order to put more pressure on Russia on the Eastern Front, how could Germany, Italy and Austria refuse. So the accession of Romania is logical.

And in July 1915, the Suez Canal was finally dredged. The Combined Fleet finally entered the Indian Ocean from the Mediterranean, and at this time, Africa and Asia, which were the rear of Britain and France, were under the threat of the Combined Fleet.

It was also under this influence that the British army continued to withdraw from the Sudanese region. Surrounded on three sides (one of which is the Red Sea), the supply line is stretched out again, and if you don't withdraw quickly, do you want to eat sand here?

In fact, it was not only the British army in Sudan that was embarrassed, but also the British and French troops in British East Africa, because the sea was now the world of the combined fleet, and how could the nearly 200,000-odd troops replenish supplies.

Yes, the entry of the Combined Fleet directly reduced the power of the Entente in the Indian Ocean. What can be done about this, the strength is not as good as others, and you can only retreat one after another. Fortunately, the British's own Elizabeth-class battleships were about to enter service, and the Entente also had their own battleships with 380-mm guns.

However, while the Allies were saddened by the attack and defense of the Indian Ocean, the long-planned French offensive by Germany and Italy began. Germany and Italy, with a total of 1.97 million troops, launched an attack on Paris and Marseille from the north and south on 28 August.

At this time, Britain and France had gathered a total of 1.42 million troops in Paris and Marseille, and they were also facing the German and Italian armies, and the two sides fought to the death around Paris and Marseille.

It is a fight to the death, because for France, no one can lose Paris and Marseille, and if they lose, they will face the fate of defeat.

The reason for this is that France has been so weakened that most of its northeastern territory has been occupied by Germany, and the most prosperous region of Paris has been plunged into war, which has seriously affected the industrial and agricultural production of the region. These are the bustling regions of France, which has seriously affected the economy of France.

In addition, because of the two-sided attacks of Germany and Italy, the losses of the French army were much higher than in history, and they were almost equal to the casualties at the end of the war.

In addition, more importantly, there was a problem within France, and at this time there was a growing voice among the French people, was it worth it to retake the two regions of Lorraine and Alsace?

In addition, the French army's war weariness was gradually rising, and the soldiers' enthusiasm for fighting was also decreasing. If Napoleon saw that the current French army was so unbearable, I don't know if he would have risen from the Invalides.

Yes, fanatical nationalist sentiment was defeated by the dead and wounded and starved. At this time, whether the dignitaries of the French government regretted it or not, this is something that no one dares to say.

But the French dignitaries knew that if Paris and Marseille were to be occupied, they would be abandoned by the people and their aversion to war would be at their peak.

Britain and Russia also knew this, so in order to help France resist this wave of attack, Britain sent a large number of troops across the English Channel into France, and Russia launched another large-scale campaign from the Eastern Front.

Although there was the assistance of Britain and Russia, for Germany and Italy, the battle was a decisive battle, and it was necessary to win the war by France in one fell swoop.

So this time, Germany and Italy threw everything they had, and all kinds of new weapons such as tanks, airplanes, airships, and mortars were put into this crucial battle.

In the north, the Germans, with 62 divisions and more than 1 million men, attacked Paris from Beauvais, Crey, and Château Thierry.

As for the Italian army, with more than 700,000 troops in 47 divisions, it attacked Marseille and Toulon with Nice as the rear, and it was Marshal Simeone, the first man of the army, who commanded this force. Another 100,000 troops, led by General Baxter, rushed out of the mountains of Savoy and attacked Lyon.

The British and French armies fought fiercely in the Paris and Marseille areas, respectively, between the German and Italian armies. In the Paris area, the Germans in the center were to receive 150 tanks from Italy as a lead to attack Wialmer-sur-Oise, and the two sides fought for six days, and the 3rd Army in the center conquered the area.

On the Eastern Front, also with 96 tanks as a sharp weapon, the German 1st Army spent eight days overtaking Onago's attack on Soger.

On the Western Front, the 3rd Army, with 121 tanks, with the same tactics, captured Donptan and Montfocon and attacked along the Marne towards La Feté.

On the one hand, the Anglo-French forces also had their own ways to deal with the attacks of the German army. On the one hand, it was to resist the enemy forces on three lines in the Paris area, and on the other hand, to concentrate elite troops and try to attack the German 3rd Army in the center.

However, it was impossible to conceal such a large-scale army movement, and Britain and France used to conceal numbers. Part of the troops will be transported by means of transporting people, laborers, etc., they have already used it in the first battle of Paris, and they are familiar with the road.

However, the Germans were not stupid, and they still found clues, so the 150,000 German troops who had been in Reims and Lille as a reserve were divided into half and marched towards Compiègne. This is one of the main points of the French railways, which can provide support to the surrounding area more quickly.

And as for the situation in which the Germans sent reserves, the British and French soon knew. At this time, Buguo's combat preparations are almost complete, so this is an arrow that has to be sent.

The British and French officers and soldiers who launched the attack were soon met with German resistance, and by the time the British and French troops had moved, the Third Army had turned to a defensive position.

In the face of the British and French forces that launched a fierce attack, the Third Army put up desperate resistance and called for reinforcements. At this time, the German reserves rushed at once, and Compiègne's troops came first, followed by reinforcements from Reims and Lille. Under the command of Mackensen, the officers and men of the Third Army and the reinforcements withstood the British and French attacks, and the two sides fought fiercely on the line from Monsu to Rüzash, and both sides continued to send reinforcements, so the battle gradually turned into a war of attrition, to see who could not withstand it first.

While the Battle of Paris was fierce in the north, the Battle of Marseille in the South was much the same.

The Italian army was divided into three routes, of which the southern front troops successively conquered Fréjus, Saint-Tropez, La Mole and other places along the coastal strip, and reached Le Lawangdu, which was more than 30 roads away from Toulon.

The Italian army on the central line conquered Dragignan, Le Luc, Barnole and other places all the way from Montourtorous, all the way to Tourvo, which is more than 40 kilometers away from Marseille, and at the same time, it is only 30 kilometers north of Toulon.

The northern front, starting from Vergon, conquered Verdon all the way and attacked all the way to Saint-Til, a tributary of the lower Rhône, Durance-sur-Saint. Nearly 600,000 troops pressed on Toulon and Marseille.

And in addition to these armies, the armies that set out from the Savoy region to contain them also fought all the way to Chambéry, overlooking Lyon, the most important city in the middle reaches of the Rhône.

This put a lot of pressure on the French army, and there were no more troops to reinforce the Marseille Toulon area.

It can be said that the general offensive launched by the German and Italian armies this time made the British and French armies passive everywhere and put Britain and France at a huge disadvantage on the Western Front.

For such a big disadvantage, the first thing that Britain and France thought of was to increase their troops. However, now Britain and France have no reserve troops, and all regions in Asia, Africa and Europe need troops, which can be said to be difficult to defend everywhere.

This was the end of losing the Mediterranean, and the Allied forces could use it to attack everywhere. Britain and France can only take the Cape of Good Hope to detour, and the gap in distance and time is huge.

Moreover, in order to cooperate with this decisive battle, the Combined Fleet immediately returned to the Mediterranean Sea after showing its presence in the Indian Ocean, and blocked the Strait of Gibraltar directly after the battle began, so that Britain and France directly lost the use of the Mediterranean.

And this war lasted from August 28 to the end of February of the following year, which lasted for almost half a year. In this half a year, both sides invested heavily in fighting, but compared with the elite of the German and Italian armies, the British side was okay, and the army was okay in all aspects. On the French side, it is much worse, because its conscripted army has lost large industrial areas because of the large casualties, so that even if it buys from abroad, it lags behind the other three countries in terms of weapons and equipment and other support materials.

Therefore, the first breakthrough was made on the Southern Front, where the Central Line of the Italian Army and the troops of the Southern Front met at Toulon. After defeating the defenders of Toulon, they finally captured the most important and largest French military port in the Mediterranean. And after the outbreak of the battle, the French Mediterranean Fleet had already moved to Gibraltar and entered victoriously.

After conquering Toulon, the Italian army pursued the victory, fighting all the way to the city of Marseille. After half a month of fierce fighting with the Marseille defenders, Marseille was also captured by them. This was not the end of the story, and then the Italian army continued to attack the cities of the lower Rhône, all the way to Montpellier and Orange. It seems that if the French continue to be stubborn, then the Italian army, which has already broken through the mountains, will inevitably occupy the coastal zone and join the German army all the way north along the Rhône.

After the Italian army won the battle of Toulon, the German side also made a breakthrough in the Paris area, although the central line was still fighting with the British and French troops, but the German army on the east and west lines attacked all the way to Serge and Triboul, where Paris was only 23 kilometers away from the city of Paris, and the distance was also on Highway 29.

At this time, if the British and French troops continue to fight with the German army in the center, then it is very likely that the German troops on both sides will launch a forward pincer offensive and surround the British and French troops on the center line.

Faced with such a situation, Britain and France naturally did not want to see it. I want to withdraw my own army in the middle line.

However, it was not easy to withdraw, and at this time, the German Third Army, which had been implementing defensive tactics, launched counterattacks to contain the opponent under the leadership of Field Marshal Mackensen. The plan to let it retreat is not easy to implement.

However, it is difficult to implement, and for this reason the British and French troops can only forcibly carry out a retreat, because the German troops on the left and right are already attacking their rear.

Faced with the retreat of the Anglo-French army, Field Marshal Mackensen made a breathtaking decision to send all his troops out to attack the enemy. The complete absence of reserves violated military common sense and put his troops in a dangerous position. As long as the enemy launches a counterattack and defeats one or two troops, then it is perfectly possible to attack his commander and capture him, because he has no cards in his hand.

However, Mackensen was not a world-famous general, and his hand stud directly hit the soft underbelly of the British and French troops, because this was beyond everyone's expectations, and directly scattered the blocking troops left by the British and French. Wrapped in the defeated army, it rushed towards the retreating British and French troops.

A great defeat occurred outside Paris, and thousands of British and French troops fled back to Paris as if they had lost their formation. Not only did many people lose their weapons, but they also lost their boots.

By the time the Germans were approaching Paris, the British and French troops on the central line had only counted 120,000 men, which was a great defeat, and the defeated France could only declare Paris an undefended city again.

This time, the Germans did not stop after storming Paris, and continued to pursue the British and French troops. Versailles, Chartres and other towns were occupied by the Germans one after another, and the British and French troops retreated until Orleans and other places to get a respite.

In this series of battles, which was like a decisive battle, the German and Italian armies won a complete victory. At the cost of 380,000 casualties, captured, sick, and missing, he captured Paris, Marseille and other important French cities in one fell swoop. And the British and French paid 810,000 losses, of which 370,000 were captured alone, which was higher than the casualties of the German and Italian armies.

After this campaign, France lost 26% of its territory, 34% of its population was occupied, and 52% and 43% of its industrial and agricultural losses were respectively.

In this regard, the dissatisfaction of the French soldiers and the people has broken through the sky, and all kinds of ultra-left and ultra-right ideas have spread everywhere in France. At this time, the French government had also lost confidence, and despite the persuasion of Britain and Russia, it announced peace negotiations with the allied camp.

The idea that France wants peace talks shocked the whole world. After more than two years of war, there is finally the light of the end. Newspapers around the world carried the news with front-page headlines.

The alliance camp led by Germany, Italy and Austria was naturally ecstatic about the French peace talks, and immediately announced that during the peace talks, as long as the French army did not attack itself, then it would not continue to fight the French army.

As for the British army, France expressed to it its desire to withdraw from the country. And it is hoped that the other side will not start a battle against the Allied troops in their own territory.

In the face of the demands of the French, although the British were very angry, there were many opinions. In the words of Winston Churchill, the radical representative of the former Admiralty, the French chose to withdraw from the war as a betrayal of London, and we should see it not as an ally, but as a threat. Since it is a threat, then France should be disarmed. For the navy, the French battleships should be captured for their own use. For their part, the army should use the dispatch force to control the French government and force them to continue fighting.

This British die-hard, who is not to be deserved, if, according to his ideas, he completely forces France into the camp of the League. This is completely because he does not have enough enemies and has not kept up with the development of the times.

Fortunately, London did not consider his idea and chose to withdraw the troops from France. On the naval side, however, London listened to Churchill's idea and let Gibraltar and the British navy, which had retreated to the Indian Ocean, take control of the French warships.

It is clear that the British seized the French warships for their own use, which caused the French to be furious. For this, France accused the British of shamelessness, and relations between the two countries fell to a freezing point.

In any case, France has decided to withdraw from the war.

The French side, after the alliance camp agreed, sent Prime Minister Briand to lead a team to negotiate with the alliance camp.

There is one more chapter to end

(End of chapter)