on the battlefield

The setting sun was as bleak as blood, and the battlefield within a radius of more than ten kilometers was full of charred shell craters, and the corpses of French soldiers in red pants and attacking Prussian soldiers could be seen everywhere, and a strong killing atmosphere enveloped the area.

After most of the day's fierce fighting

The Seventh Army, led by General Douai of France, retreated in an orderly manner with more than 6,300 corpses, and seeing that it was getting late, His Royal Highness Friedrich Wilhelm, commander of the Prussian Third Army, had to order to stop the pursuit, clean the battlefield, and end the day's fierce fighting.

The French army deserved to be a veteran powerhouse, and in the face of fierce attacks by the Prussian army 10 times its size, it showed great resilience in the battle, and was defeated but not defeated.

The French officers and soldiers relied on the manors, monasteries, highlands and woods to fight very bravely, and the small French troops in charge of pinning down always fought to the last man.

Such a performance won the respect of His Royal Highness Friedrich Wilhelm, who said with emotion; "They are respectable soldiers, worthy of the glory they have received. It's a pity...... The French did not have a single qualified commander-in-chief. ”

General Mace, the head of the British Observation Corps, who was standing next to him, agreed, nodded and continued; "The French are still brave and good at war, but the commander who leads them is a politician, and I wonder what Napoleon III will do next, maybe it will surprise him?"

British, you have to be the one who derogates the French!

His Royal Highness Don-Li Kun, head of the Tang Military Observation Mission, held back the complaints in his heart, and commented with a serious and objective expression; "I don't know if there will be any surprises, but judging from this battle alone, the Franco-Prussian and Franco-Prussian armies have shown a world-class level, which is impressive.

The resilience of the French army in defensive operations is inseparable from the command of high-quality junior officers, and it is perhaps the most valuable asset of the French army.

The Prussian officers and men were well-trained and disciplined.

Here I would like to congratulate His Highness Wilhelm, the army that every commander dreams of, who will bring back to Germany the glory of victory. ”

"Thank you for your pertinent comments, Your Highness." His Royal Highness Friedrich Wilhelm turned his head and smiled politely, he was quite satisfied with the performance of the Third Army in the battle today, and touched the upturned Prussian beard with a reserved expression, and said;

"I'm not surprised by the French team's performance and hopefully they will continue to perform at a high level in the future.

I am already excited that Duke McMahon's army is heading into battle under the stars, and that the Third Legion will have a sufficiently heavy opponent.

Competing with a truly strong opponent is the glory that a true Junker military aristocrat craves all his life. ”

"It's true, I fought alongside Marshal McMahon in the Crimean War, a traditional and strong-willed old-school soldier, and I'm looking forward to seeing each other again." General Mace said with deep emotion, with enough respect in his tone.

Listening to their discussions, His Royal Highness Don-Li Kun did not speak.

He adhered to his father's teachings to talk less and see more, and remained silent no matter what the Prussians did right or wrong. The occasional comment is only a glimpse, showing a composure far beyond his actual age.

Looking at the battlefield after the bloody battle, the soldiers of the Prussian army were resting, cleaning the battlefield, helping the wounded, and some troops were returning to the temporary camp in a neat line under the command of the commander, and everything seemed to be in order.

I have to say

The high obedience and discipline of the soldiers of the Prussian army made a very deep impression on His Highness Don Li Kun.

This is an army with an iron will, and it is as terrible as a thoughtless war machine on the battlefield that is not afraid of sacrifice, and it is worthy of the reputation of "fighting nation" in the mouth of his father.

My father had a very high opinion of the Prussian army, and now it seems that there is no vain in the fame.

The fierce collision between the British and French armies in the Battle of Wissanburg can be called a dialogue between the world's top army powerhouses, and the highlights are worth savoring.

Standing in the position of the Tang Empire

Of course, it was hoped that the Prussian army would achieve a final victory, and that the close relations between the two transatlantic countries would hopefully further expand the Empire's commercial influence in Europe.

For this war for hegemony in Europe, the Tang Empire's position is relatively detached, and its interests are more reflected in the economic and trade fields, and its political and military influence is negligible.

Traditional European countries generally held a more vigilant and scrutinistic eye on the Tang Empire that rose in North America. One is enough to represent the European psyche, he said;

"It's a new industrial power that's very different from the traditional European powers, and in our eyes, it's more like the Ottoman Empire in North America, with a unique religious and cultural history, and it's hard to understand what they're thinking?"

What the Tang Empire is doing now is to persistently develop trade with Europe, expand all-round exchanges with European countries, and try to eliminate estrangement and unease, which will be a long-term process.

The next day, more than 20 kilometers west of Wissanburg, the vanguard of the Prussian army, which was in hot pursuit, once again caught up with the retreating French Seventh Army, and a major battle broke out between the two sides.

The French army fought and retreated, leaving the whole regiment of officers and soldiers to stick to the bridge near noon, blocking the Prussian army from crossing the river in pursuit, trying to break the tail to survive.

Most of the French Seventh Army fled westward in panic, leaving behind a large amount of baggage along the way.

Wagons, tents, and other supplies were discarded everywhere, but not a single artillery piece was lost, and it remained effectively organized in the retreat to the west.

The Prussian pursuers rounded the upper reaches of the river, swam across the river, and spent some time outflanking it. Annihilated the 7th Infantry Regiment of the French Royal Lyons entrenched at the bridgehead, killing 776 men and capturing 451 people.

It was this delay that allowed the remnants of the French Seventh Army to join up with the vanguard of the First Army, which had arrived day and night, to stop at the Walter line and begin to urgently construct field breastwall fortifications in preparation for the coming big battle.

Seeing that the other side was meeting with reinforcements, the Prussian pursuing troops also slowed down the pace of pursuit, and appropriately distanced themselves from the French army. To prevent being bitten by its cold and unguarded, after all, the large army of the Prussian army behind has not yet come up.

August 6

It was a gloomy day, and there was a light rain after dawn, which lightly wet the sun-exposed land, and then stopped after a while.

After dawn

Large groups of Prussian troops marched into the battlefield in a long and invisible queue, carrying rifles, and the sound of warning horns echoed in the air, adding to the atmosphere of pre-war slaughter.

In the face of the aggressive offensive of the Prussian army, the French Marshal McMar adopted a-for-tat military deployment, sending all the main forces to meet the enemy several times his own, thus opening the prelude to the Battle of Walter.

In the face of the pressure of the Prussian Kingdom, Marshal McMahon calmly commanded more than 40,000 people of the French First Army to meet the battle, while the Second Division of the French Royal Caursier remained on the flanks and could be put into battle at any time as needed.

See this scenario

The Prussian generals did not dare to slack off, and quickly mobilized more troops into the Volta area, which reached more than 80,000 near noon, and a steady stream of Prussian troops arrived.

The time is ripe

The Prussian regiments launched a resolute line infantry attack, the rumbling of artillery resounded across the battlefield, and the Franco-Prussian artillery was doing their best to deliver firepower, and the battle was at a fever pitch from the beginning.

Amid the roaring military music, the Franco-Prussian and Franco-Prussian infantry marched forward in the rain of bullets, and the battle situation was very anxious.

It can be seen that in the smoke of artillery fire exploding on the battlefield, large pieces of infantry queues were emptied, and the soldiers in the back queue were quickly replenished.

The two sides fired at each other several hundred meters apart, and after the "crackling" dense volley of gunfire, a large number of soldiers fell down like wooden stakes and died, and the fierce battle continued.

It's like two bloody strong men wielding fist gloves inlaid with sharp spikes in hand-to-hand combat, and each heavy punch will bring out a puddle of blood, a large piece of flesh, which looks shocking.

But these two giants are still fighting to the death, they are not afraid of pain, they are not afraid of bloodshed, they just want to knock each other to the ground.

The new artillery equipped by the Prussian army was more powerful, and the platoon guns of the French soldiers were more deadly.

The battle was unprecedentedly bloody and cruel, and His Royal Highness Tang Li Dian who was watching it frowned secretly, and felt a little unbearable to look at it directly.

The attacking Prussian army suffered no fewer casualties than the French army, but as time went on, the more powerful Prussian army gradually gained the upper hand, and the French First Army retreated step by step.

Perhaps seeing that the battlefield situation was unfavorable, the French army suddenly dispatched the 2nd Division of the French Royal Cuirassier Heavy Cavalry, which was pressed on the flank, and began a cavalry assault on the flank of the Prussian army.

I saw a great earthquake, and tens of thousands of cuirassier heavy cavalry rode like dark clouds to attack, quickly shortening the distance with the infantry of the Prussian army, as if a heavy hammer had struck.

At this time, the Brus army did not panic, and stopped the attack under the order of the commander, and formed a denser three-stage firing formation, waiting for the French cavalry to attack.

You can see it at this point

On the battlefield, the Prussian army had a strong reserve force, and while facing the enemy on the flank, the front still exerted strong attack pressure on the French infantry, and the dense rows and rows of queues made people's scalps tingle.

The 2nd Cuirassier Division led by General Bonaman launched a cavalry charge from 800 meters away, and the shining swords were like a jungle of knives, quickly sweeping through the field to close the Prussian column, shortening the distance between the two.

800 m ...... 600 m ...... 500 m ...... 400 m ...... 300 m ......

The Prussian commander's nerves were really tenacious, and he remained very calm when the overwhelming French cavalry rushed up.

It was only when the French vanguard rushed to within 300 meters that the order to "fire all together" was issued......

The ensuing scorching bullets that followed like flying locusts swooped down on the French cavalry, instantly detonating a huge chaos.

I saw the French cavalry who were attacking at high speed dismount one after another, and even the men and horses fell into rolling gourds, as if they hit an invisible wall head-on, and the attacking French heavy cavalry suffered heavy casualties.

However, the French heavy cavalry still charged bravely, trying to tear a large gap in the dense Prussian infantry array, but this courage was meaningless in the face of a hail of bullets, and only caused more casualties.

In the age of firearms

Even the cuirassiers could not break through the heavily defended infantry ranks, and the blood and bravery could only cause more painful damage, which was once again demonstrated in the Battle of Walter.

The mournful horn sounded, and the red-eyed French heavy cavalry retreated unwillingly, leaving only shocking corpses everywhere, telling the glorious era of the heavy cavalry that had passed.

This is the end of the fight

There was no suspense about the outcome of the battle, and Marshal McMahon was ultimately invincible to the large number of Prussian main legions.

The bloody battle continued into the evening, and the remnants of the sun were like blood.

On the battlefield of the Battle of Walter, which was more than ten square kilometers in circumference, the corpses of the soldiers of the Franco-Prussian army could be seen everywhere, and the scene was extremely tragic.

In the end of this battle, the Prussian army was greatly pressed, and the French army retreated as a last resort, and the second division of the French rearguard was divided and surrounded by the Prussian army, and more than 6,000 French soldiers were taken prisoner.

In the Battle of Walter in hindsight;

With 10,642 Prussian casualties, more than 10,000 French casualties, and more than 6,000 captured, Marshal McMahon led more than 24,000 remnants of the Fifth Army to move closer to the main force of the Fifth Army and was forced to give way to Alsace.

On the same day

The Prussian army crossed the Franco-Prussian border in a big way, and the main force of the Prussian First Army encountered the Second Army of the French Bazin Army head-on, and the two sides fought a hard-fought battle.

The Prussian 1st Army repelled the 2nd French Army with superior forces, occupied the Forbach area, and presented an aggressive attack on the interior of France.

The successive defeats at the front triggered a violent upheaval in French politics.

When news of the defeat reached Paris, it caused great social upheaval, and the French government of Emile Olivier immediately collapsed, which would inevitably affect the front.

On August 10, Charles Kuzan Montauban was urgently ordered to form a cabinet, this man was already 74 years old, belonged to the main battle faction headed by the queen, and was just an old and mediocre echo worm.

However, due to the pressure of the enemy's army, he had to retreat

The Regency of the Empress of Paris, out of the political need to maintain its own rule, repeatedly intervened in the operational deployment of the front-line generals, preventing the front-line troops from retreating deep into the theater of operations, and seeing the French heavy army group surrounded by the enemy's superior forces.

Still sticking to the rules and demanding to fight to the end, never allow retreat.

And the French Emperor Napoleon III, who commanded at the front, did not have the slightest idea, let alone inherit the military genius of his ancestors, and even attached to the stupid tricks of the Paris government and ordered the front-line troops not to retreat.

In this hot August, France made a series of stupid moves to deal with the war, so that the front-line generals could not adapt, and the orders came back and forth contradictory, and they didn't know who to listen to?

As a matter of fact

At this time, the French army did not fall behind, some losses were completely bearable, and the main force of the French army was not seriously damaged.

The casualties of 20,000 or 30,000 were only minor wounds for France.

If the commander-in-chief can assess the situation, the retreat of the French army corps, which was heavily besieged, will be gathered together with the reinforcements, and the war will drag on to the tug-of-war stage.

France, which is based on fighting on its own soil, does not lack courage, funds, and troops, and it is not impossible to turn the tables against the wind.

It's a pity that all this is hypothetical, and the French emperor Napoleon III himself has panicked and is ready to slip away......