By now, the strategic objectives of Germany and France had become clear.

Under the influence of the military ideology of both the German and French armies, both countries fought on a large offensive front.

It's just that the two countries are going in opposite directions, Germany going west, passing through Belgium and detouring to Paris. France went east, via Lorraine, and went straight to the Rhine.

In order to achieve their respective strategic goals, the Franco-German rivals, starting from August 20, launched four battles in Alsace and Lorraine for four days, namely the Battle of Lorning, the Battle of the Ardennes, the Battle of Charleroi, and the Battle of Mons.

These four battles are collectively known as border battles, and the French and German sides each invested hundreds of thousands of combat troops, and in just four days, a total of 100,000 casualties were generated.

Although the death toll was only more than 10,000, the number of those who were moderately or seriously wounded and incapacitated by Germany and France combined exceeded 40,000.

Because in these border battles, both Germany and France used a lot of artillery and heavy machine guns.

The casualties caused by such heavy weapons to the other side are enormous, especially the heavy machine guns, as long as they strafe, at least they are seriously injured.

This also allowed the German and French railway lines to transport troops to the border while also undertaking a large number of tasks to transport the wounded to the country.

Fortunately, the railway construction in Western Europe and Germany is still very developed, and after expedited transportation, the transportation environment in Germany and France can also keep up.

When millions of troops gathered on the German-French border and began to fight in a frenzy, the inferiority of French military uniforms was also highlighted.

The French military uniform with a blue shirt and red pants looks very personal in peacetime, but on the battlefield on the German-French border, such a brightly colored French military uniform is undoubtedly a talisman to send French soldiers on the road.

The blue and red French uniforms were almost impossible to camouflage in the border areas, and the French army looked very conspicuous to the German soldiers.

It is conservatively estimated that such a French military uniform with a peculiar color has increased the death rate of the French army by at least 30% and the injury rate by 40%.

It stands to reason that the combat effectiveness of the well-equipped French and German armies is not so exaggerated, at least the battle loss ratio will not reach 2 to 1.

But the reality is that under such conspicuous uniforms of the French army, the battle loss ratio between French soldiers and German soldiers is basically about 2 to 1, and even 3 to 1 in serious cases.

Of course, in addition to such conspicuous military uniforms of the French, the main reason for the current war is that France is attacking and Germany is mainly defensive.

On the German-French border, there is such a small episode.

A group of French soldiers patrolling a dense forest on the German-French border.

The area had not yet been visited by the German army, so the patrols of the French soldiers were haphazard, and even more often mere formalities.

Because in the west of this area, not far away, the French army had already marched more than 20 kilometers.

These were French troops in the rear, and they thought that they would not see the German troops at all.

The patrol ahead was normal, but the French troops on patrol went deeper into the dense forest when they suddenly heard the sound of a German minor in the distance.

It stands to reason that having heard the minor tunes of different languages, especially in war zones, the French soldiers should at least be vigilant and ready to open fire on the enemy.

But this group of French soldiers actually took the lead in asking for the other party's password, which also made the German soldiers who had not discovered the French army instantly vigilant.

The German soldiers were not so outrageous, and after hearing the other side speak fluent French, they did not say a word, and directly fired with machine guns.

Only then did the group of French soldiers realize that the opposite side was their enemy, and hurriedly launched a counterattack.

But the German and French armies, which had become cautious on their own, faced a different situation. The German troops, dressed in gray uniforms, hid in the dense forest, were not so easy to spot.

But the French army is different, the military uniform of the French army is too conspicuous, even if it is covered by dense forests, it cannot hide the personality of the French military uniform in the slightest.

This also led to the fact that the hidden French army was easily detected by the Germans, and the French army had lost its chance.

Because of the suddenness of the encounter, the troops on both sides used heavy machine guns and rifles to fire indiscriminately, and also frantically threw grenades and other weapons.

Some of those who were relatively close and had no way to hide rushed forward to engage in hand-to-hand combat with rifle butts and bayonets.

However, the combat quality of the French army, from marksmanship to hand-to-hand combat skills, was basically inferior to the German army.

Coupled with the lack of training of the French army in mountainous areas, this patrol was quickly wiped out by the Germans in such mountainous areas.

Although the subsequent French reinforcements came quickly, the French reinforcements also suffered heavy losses under the bombardment of German artillery and had to withdraw from the mountainous area.

Although the intention of the German sneak attack was discovered, the German army also entered the French border by taking advantage of this opportunity.

Taking advantage of the chaos of the French army, the German army took the opportunity to storm the border cities of Nafsciato, Verton, Montmedy, Longvi, etc., in an attempt to open a huge opening in the French border.

The French troops who reacted also put up very stubborn resistance, they charged very neatly, and of course, they fell under the guns in a neat manner.

A large number of French soldiers charged at the German army, and then turned into corpse after corpse, accumulating.

Soon, piles of corpses were accumulating on the edge of these towns. These piles of corpses provided good cover for latecomers, and at the same time, a large number of corpses continued to accumulate on them.

The strong French soon understood that the spirit of heroic resistance alone could not withstand the German artillery, and although the French army was superior in numbers, it was still defeated quickly in the face of the superiority of the soldiers' individual combat ability and military uniforms.

After losing a large number of corpses, weapons and ammunition, the French troops hastily withdrew, leaving the border area in disarray.

At this point in the war, General Lang Rezak had realized that the deployment of the main forces in the central region was not the right choice.

General Lang Rezak tried to suggest to the commander-in-chief, Xia Fei, to mobilize the main French forces in the center to the border between the north and Belgium, in case the German army could move south from Belgium and threaten the Paris area at any time.

But at this time, Xia Fei naturally could not agree with Lang Lei Zack's opinion, and General Lang Lei Zak had no choice but to make his own decisions, move the elite back, and prepare to turn the army north to meet the enemy at any time.

Fortunately, Xia Fei's order was also changed in a timely manner.

The day after General Langrezak withdrew his troops, Xia Fei sent an order for Langrezak's Fifth Army to move north with all its strength and be stationed on the northern border with Belgium.

The Fifth Army, numbering more than 400,000 soldiers, marched 120 kilometers in three days under the leadership of Langrezak and finally reached the border between France and Belgium.

At this time, the Second Army led by General Pilov of Germany was also strengthening the Sambur River near Charleroi, approaching the French border with the strength of three corps, and finally engaged in a fierce battle with Langrezak's Fifth Army.

It is worth mentioning that the artillery of the French Fifth Army was armed with M1897-75 mm guns, which is also known as Miss France.

The artillery equipped by the German army is the GA1902-75 mm gun jointly developed by Germany and Australasia.

This gun is based on the modification of Miss France, and the rate of fire is increased compared to Miss France, which can reach 20 shells per minute.

This also led to an exaggerated artillery bombardment on both sides, with the army attacking from day to night and from night to day.

And the artillery bombardment has not stopped for a moment, quite like you can't consume my logistical supplies, I will exhaust your logistical supplies.

Thanks to the spirit of the French army who were not afraid of death, at the beginning of the encounter, General Langrezak pushed the German army back more than ten kilometers.

The artillery between the two sides collapsed buildings, burst pipelines, and damaged fortifications in Charleroi and the border area.

Because the artillery of both sides fired at a high rate, the rate at which the armies on both sides consumed shells was also very exaggerated.

Under the high-intensity bombardment of the two armies, the German and French armies consumed at least 200,000 rounds of artillery shells per day on average, which was a huge pressure on the logistics of both sides.

With the sharpening of the German offensive and the arrival of German reinforcements, most of Belgium has been occupied by the Germans, and the French border area is also somewhat unbearable.

As early as the beginning of the war, the French requested assistance from Australasia and the British.

Soon, the British Expeditionary Force reached the vicinity of Mons and joined forces with the French Fifth Army against the German corps to the north.

As for Australasia, Arthur also said that he would firmly fulfill his promise and send at least 150,000 combat troops to Europe within three months.

In order to support France, an ally with heavy casualties, Arthur decided to send an expeditionary force to France as soon as possible.

In fact, after the occupation of Germany's Pacific colonies, the Australasian army was left with nothing to do.

Because of its location in distant Oceania, Australasia did not have many wars, and most of its enemies were weak and small countries like Portugal and the Netherlands.

And this battle is the best training opportunity for Australasia.

It can not only temper the combat strength of soldiers, but also temper the command ability of middle and high-level commanders, so that soldiers and officers can go hand in hand and make progress together.

Even though the Australasian army is not weak in surface combat ability, an army that has not experienced many wars still cannot be called an elite army.

Only by allowing soldiers and commanders to experience many wars and make progress together can they not be afraid of danger and better enhance the combat capability of the army.

In addition to the 300,000-strong colonial army, Arthur chose the more elite 4th Division in Australasia, the main force that was the first to be sent to Europe.

The Fourth Division is the latest army to be formed among the regular troops, and it has been training for several years.

As for the more elite 123 Divisions and Guards Divisions, their combat missions to Europe were relegated to the repertoire.

After all, Australasia also needs to be defended at home, and coupled with the problem of colonies, it is still necessary to keep a sufficient number of combat troops in the country.

After all, after all 300,000 colonial troops were sent to Europe, Australasia's army was left with just over 100,000 men.

These armies had to garrison the whole of Australasia, including the colonies, and the actual task was very heavy.

3200 words for the second update, ask for a monthly pass, ask for support!

(End of chapter)