When the results of the Warsaw-Ivangorod battle reached the ears of the Western Front and Arthur, it immediately aroused greater enthusiasm for the Allies and anticipation of the upcoming campaign on the Western Front.

In the eyes of Britain and France, Russia can defeat part of the German army and the main force of Austria-Hungary in one fell swoop, and it should not be difficult for Britain, France, Australia and Italy to unite and easily destroy the main German force.

Because of this expectation, Xia Fei also proposed to change the battle plan, and after the three armies of the northern, central and southern fronts of the Western Front completed their respective battle plans, all the superior forces in it would advance eastward with all their might, and break through Berlin before the Russians arrived.

Perhaps, with the Allies attacking from both sides, Germany is indeed likely to be defeated.

Germany was now faced with a much more powerful Russian army than ever before, and a much larger combined Anglo-French-Australian army.

But this was not a good thing for Arthur, if the war in Europe ended too soon, Australasia's contribution to the war would not be very large, and Germany, which had suffered too heavy losses, would not allow the Allies to cut flesh and bleed on a large scale.

In this way, Arthur's plan to bring in equipment and technology from German factories and a large number of skilled workers will be frustrated.

Moreover, Britain and France, which did not suffer serious losses, would soon recover, and the position of Australasia would no longer be so important.

Because Britain and France, which are in good condition, can easily deal with the United States, then the world after World War I is the final say of Britain and France, and other countries are not qualified to intervene at all.

This is unacceptable to Arthur, Australasia has worked hard for so long, and naturally it is impossible to make a wedding dress for Britain and France.

Therefore, it is more important at present to delay the progress of the war as much as possible, or at least to make it not end so quickly.

The most effective way to do this was to suspend supplies to the allies of the Entente. Especially for Russia, after a super-large-scale campaign, there must be a shortage of weapons, ammunition and strategic materials that were already sufficient, and it is also very dependent on Australasia for replenishment.

If the supply of materials to Russia is temporarily slowed down, Russia will definitely have to reduce the scale of the Eastern Front campaign under the scarcity of materials.

Germany will also be able to take a breather on the Eastern Front and focus more attention on the Western Front, so as not to face the pressure of a super-large-scale battle on two fronts.

Of course, although the decision was made to suspend the supply of goods to Russia, the specific reasons used are a matter of debatable.

After all, Russia is one of Australasia's best allies, and it has a relationship with Australasia by marriage.

Russian immigrants are also the second largest number of immigrants in Australasia and make up a significant part of the Australasian population.

In this way, the suspension of supplies must find a good excuse to avoid the discontent of the Russian government and the population.

As for the Western Front, even if Australasia suspends the supply of materials, the impact on the Western Front will not be great.

Britain and France were not like Russia, because of the current poor situation at home, which had led to a significant reduction in Russia's industrial capacity.

Coupled with Russia's poor organizational and logistical system, relying on Russia's own industrial production capacity alone to meet half of the current front-line ammunition and material needs is not bad, let alone hoarding supplies to launch a large-scale offensive.

The industrial and logistical systems of Britain and France were in much better condition, and with a steady supply of supplies from the colonies, even if Australasia temporarily slowed down the supply of supplies, it would not affect the British and French war plans in the short term.

If the supply of goods is reduced for a long time, it will definitely attract the attention and suspicion of Britain and France, which will not be worth the loss for Australasia.

Therefore, reducing the supply of supplies to Russia is the best option, both to slow down the Russian tempo on the Eastern Front and to give the Germans a little breather, without allowing the allies to pay too much attention and inadvertently accomplish their strategic objectives.

Although this is equivalent to another pit of teammates, it is not unacceptable to pit the Russians a little more than to fulfill Australasia's own strategic objectives.

In any case, the revolutionary parties in Russia have been patronized by the Royal Security Intelligence Service, and at least they can guarantee that Russia will be able to stabilize the situation at home until the end of World War I.

This can be regarded as a gain and a loss, anyway, for Russia, which has enough manpower and thick skin, it is not unacceptable to consume a little manpower.

For the current war on the Western Front, what tactics to adopt to attack is the most important topic to discuss.

Before the outbreak of this war, the tactics of detouring from the flanks were common in countries around the world. Including many battles in this war, the commanders of various countries also adopted such tactics with considerable success.

But as more and more troops are involved in warfare, more and more troops are used in each battle, ranging from hundreds of thousands to even millions.

Just like this offensive on the Western Front, each of the three armies has at least 500,000 troops, and it is difficult to achieve such a large number of troops to detour back to the enemy's rear, which is a test of the army's obedience, and it is also a test of the degree of cooperation and tacit understanding between all armies.

On the Eastern Front, the German and Russian armies were already using the tactics of forcing a breakthrough head-on.

Thanks to the superiority of the Russian army, the Russian commanders had relied heavily on the tactics of a frontal breakthrough.

Although it will cost more casualties than before, compared to the roundabout flank tactics, a frontal breakthrough can often achieve good results, and the absolute crushing of forces can bring Russia a greater advantage.

But on the Western Front, a frontal breakthrough of a large army was also not so easy. First of all, there are a large number of planes and airships in the sky, and it is very likely that the enemy will detect it first if you choose to break through head-on, so you can arrange a tight defense.

At present, the two most practical and effective tactics have fallen behind, and this has also made it a major problem for the three fronts on the Western Front to adopt tactics.

After careful consideration, the Entente countries united and decided that the three major front armies would each decide on their own mission deployment, and that each group army would have sufficient freedom to choose the direction of the breakthrough.

To put it simply, under the premise of group mission, the Allied armies on the Western Front will be divided into group armies, or even army units, and will be broken into parts with smaller armies to achieve breakthroughs or detours.

First, the mission can be carried out in a smaller combat unit, which can be more effective in concealing under the enemy's airship.

Second, an army of hundreds of thousands of people on all sides is not so easy to command, not to mention that these armies also include soldiers from Britain, France, Australasia and Italy, some of which do not speak the same language, so it is undoubtedly better to act separately.

The 2nd and 3rd Australasian Guards Divisions were responsible for covering the flanks of the French Third Army, and an infantry division of the British Expeditionary Force and a cavalry division of the French Third Army had just been commanded by Martin.

This also led to the fact that Commander Martin had an army of nearly 70,000 men under his command, and his freedom in the war was still quite large.

The Central Front, part of the Australasian Expeditionary Force, was responsible for a breakthrough in the Alsace region of Lorraine, preferably to capture it, and to increase the desire of the French region to fight against Germany.

The Central Front had the French Third and Fourth Armies, the Australasian Expeditionary Force and a British infantry division, with a total of 850,000 soldiers, the largest number of soldiers among the three major fronts, and the heaviest combat mission.

Because the Central Front was facing the German First and Second Armies, and it was also possible to face the support of the German Third Army.

The German First and Second Armies, which had suffered more than half of the casualties of the previous wars, were regained their combat effectiveness after being replenished with a large number of new recruits.

However, compared with the previous army composed of veterans, the combat effectiveness of these two armies is undoubtedly much lower.

The more tricky is the German Third Army, which is mostly composed of German veterans, and its combat effectiveness should be the first gear in the current German army, and it is also the biggest trouble for the Central Front.

Combined, the German First, Second, and Third armies had almost 600,000 troops. However, the Third Army was located in the northwestern part of Alsace and Lorraine, and it was very likely that it would face a request for help from the German army on the Belgian side.

It also means that as long as the offensive of the Northern Front is a little stronger, the pressure on the Central Front will be less, and the difficulty of the task will be much lower.

On 8 May, the French Third and Fourth Armies, as well as the indigenous forces of Australasia, began their advance towards Alsace and Lorraine.

The mixed army under Martin's command marched in the rear of the two armies, guarding the flanks of the two armies at all times.

In the early morning of 9 May, news came from the front that the Third Army and the German First Army had met, and the two sides launched a fierce offensive.

The commander of the Third Army asked Martin to move to the left of the Third Army to guard against the outflanking of the German troops.

Commander Martin had no choice but to mobilize the mixed army to move to the left of the Third Army and build improvised fortifications nearby.

At noon on the same day, the Fourth Army and the German Second Army also met, and the war between the Central Front and the German army was in full swing.

Although the enemy was not discovered for most of the day, Division Commander Martin did not dare to be careless, and still ordered the army to carry out wartime patrols and watch out for possible enemies at any time.

At noon on May 10, 1915, as the sentinels in the distance reported the anomaly, Division Commander Martin finally discovered the traces of the German army.

It was an elite German army, numbering about 30,000 people, equipped with relatively advanced weapons.

But because of the fact that it was a force behind the rear, it was obvious that this army did not carry relatively heavy weapons, such as machine guns and large artillery.

You know, the transportation of machine guns and artillery also requires at least horse-drawn carriages and trucks. But this army was almost entirely infantry, which shows that the number of heavy weapons was not very large.

After determining the number of opponents and the number of heavy weapons, Division Commander Martin immediately decided that the Australasian army was responsible for the main attack, and the British and French troops were outflanked to ensure that not a single German soldier would be released.

Soon, fierce fighting unfolded on the left flank. The strong firepower of the Australasian army left the German army unprepared and suffered a large number of casualties.

The large number of heavy machine guns and artillery allowed the Germans to suffer thousands of casualties before they could see the Australasian soldiers.

But the German soldiers reacted quickly, finding cover on the spot and launching a counterattack. There was also a small detachment from the German army, which was supposed to be an attempt to get around the flank of the Australasian army and achieve flank detour tactics.

However, Commander Martin had already expected the reaction of the Germans, and the troops behind the German and the British and French troops met smoothly, and the two sides generally began to exchange fire on their condition, and the British and French troops had to be superior in terms of consideration.

Hearing the sound of gunfire from his side, the commander of this German army suddenly felt bad and wanted to give the order for the army to retreat.

However, the firepower of the Australasian army on the front was too strong, and it was impossible for the German army to leave the Australasian army on the back, which could lead to even more brutal slaughter.

You must know that the 2nd Guards Division not only has four infantry regiments and an artillery regiment, but also two cavalry regiments, which is not unluxurious.

These two cavalry regiments alone were fully capable of becoming the reapers of the blind retreat of Germany.

By the time the fighting on the flanks had died down and the German commander wanted to give the order to retreat, it was too late, and the roundabout troops had already come to the rear of the German army, which was already surrounded.

Bang!

With a piercing gunshot, if the commander committed suicide in a wood, the German army was also annihilated by the mixed army, and the flank defense was a complete success.

Division Commander Martin asked his men to count the number of casualties and equipment damage, while the communications corps reported the results of the skirmish to the Third Army.

Sure enough, the commander of the Third Army was greatly pleased with the victory in the flank defense battle, which also meant that the flank of the Third Army was very safe for a short time, and the Germans did not have too many troops to carry out the second roundabout tactics.

Of course, the mixed army is still unable to move at the moment. There was no guarantee that the German army would not be supported, but until the German army was completely annihilated, the flanks of the Third and Fourth Armies were very important.

The results of the mixed army also reached the French Command and the British Expeditionary Force Command, where they were highly praised by France and Britain.

Arthur's expression was also very happy when he learned of this military report, which actually proved that the Australasian army was not inferior to the German army in terms of firepower.

The fact that the Guards Division and the 3rd Division were able to fight the Germans with almost equal numbers also showed that the Australasian army was not weak in combat capability.

Having secured the flanks, the offensive of the French Third and Fourth Armies became more intense.

With an Australasian Aboriginal army of 450,000 men, the Central Front was a fierce attack.

In just two days, the front line was advanced by more than ten kilometers, which was not far from the pre-war German-French border.

Although nearly 150,000 casualties were also paid, more than half of them were indigenous to Australasia, the number of casualties was still within an acceptable range.

On the side of the mixed army, after more than an hour of counting, the results were reported to the rear and Australasia.

The mixed army faced a German army of more than 30,000 men, and after paying 10,000 casualties (more than 2,000 in Australasia, more than 4,000 in the British, and more than 3,000 in France), 12,000 German soldiers were eliminated, 18,000 prisoners were taken, and nearly 1,000 were missing.

Although more than 1,000 people were released, the results were generally very gratifying.

The German army, of more than 30,000 men, was no small one-twentieth of the defenders in Alsace and Lorraine, and was mostly some elite German veterans (with many old wounds).

The offensive of the Central Front was very smooth, and it also attracted the support of the German Third Army to the south, which greatly reduced the pressure on the Northern Front.

This was diametrically opposed to what was expected before the war, and I thought that it was the Northern Front that relieved the pressure on the Central Front, but I did not expect that the Central Front was the one that attacked more smoothly.

Relying on the fortification of the French border and part of the Belgian fortresses, the Northern Front blocked more than 10 kilometers within the border line.

Even with the heavy casualties of the Northern Front, the front could not move forward.

If the Northern Front was evenly matched, then the Southern Front performed somewhat unsatisfactorily.

The combat capability of the French army was quite good, and it undertook most of the combat missions of the Southern Front.

You must know that of the more than 600,000 fighting troops of the Southern Front, the Italian army is as high as 500,000.

The performance of the Italian army in the campaign can be described as a mess, only on the first day of the battle, 500,000 Italian troops were blocked by just over 100,000 Austro-Hungarian troops on the border line.

The Italian army was discovered and surrounded and annihilated by Austro-Hungarian reinforcements on the way to a roundabout tactic.

It also made Italy the only laughing stock in this campaign, paying nearly 50,000 casualties in the first three days of the war, and the army was still on its own soil.

If it were not for the fact that Austria-Hungary had experienced a crushing defeat on the Eastern Front, the number of troops would have been insufficient.

Arthur even had reason to suspect that Austria-Hungary would take the opportunity to invade Italy, occupy the most central northern region of Italy, and make Italy surrender directly.

You know, although Italy was unified earlier than Germany, it was only in the middle of the 19th century that it was united.

Before the unification of Italy, the country was divided into two major states and many regions, namely the Kingdom of Sardinia in the north and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in the south.

Because of the differences in development between the two countries, the development of the northern and southern regions of Italy is quite different.

The north is the more central industrial region of Italy, while the south is less important agricultural area.

This also means that if they conquer the northern part of Italy, there is a high probability that they will surrender according to the way Italy is currently doing things.

Fortunately, Austria-Hungary lost most of its main forces on the Eastern Front, otherwise Italy might have become the slowest and quickest country to surrender in the war.

Of course, Italy is no better now. Before the campaign, because of the crushing defeat of Austria-Hungary on the Eastern Front, the Italians were still dreaming of seizing more land, and even the whole of Albania.

But now, under the pretense of the surprise of the Italians, they have found that their borders have been urgent, not to mention foreign expansion.

Of course, Italy is not alone in the anxiety at this time. Russia, Germany, Austria-Hungary, at the moment one is more anxious than the other.

Now is a better opportunity to attack than in the previous campaign, and Russia has received bad news from Australasia, whose material reserves have bottomed out, and there is no capacity to transport more supplies to Russia for at least three months.

The Russians were not suspicious of this news, as Australasia was an ally of Russia and had also participated in the war against Germany.

At the same time, Australasia can also obtain a large amount of money for transporting supplies, and there is no need to make up reasons to interrupt the transportation of goods.

This also means that Australasia's supplies are indeed in short supply. Australasia's lack of supplies means that the Russian side no longer has enough supplies to launch a new offensive, and watching Britain, France, Australia and Italy fight chaotically with Germany and Austria on the Western Front, attacking the city, but they are powerless.

Nicholas II, who was in a hurry, directly rebuked Foreign Minister Alexei. Because Alexei had openly stated that Britain and France would bear all the costs of the Russian offensive.

But as things stand, Britain and France bear only 30% of the cost of the Russian offensive.

Fortunately, Australasia frantically transported supplies before, but Russia did not show the disadvantages of lack of supplies.

But now, with the lack of supplies in Australasia, the poor state of production in Russia is revealed.

Judging from the current production speed of Russia's domestic military industry, let alone satisfying the army's offensive, even if the current front-line army turns from offensive to defensive, it may not be able to gather enough materials and ammunition for the army's defense.

This also means that if the German army launches a counteroffensive on the Eastern Front, the Russian army is likely to spit out all the remaining areas due to lack of supplies, and the previous efforts will also be defeated.

Russian Foreign Minister Alexei also collapsed somewhat at this time. Unexpectedly, Australasia, which had been conscientiously transporting supplies to Russia, would face the crisis of running out of supplies.

And Alexei's boasting about Haikou in order to attract the government to start a war naturally became an excuse for Nicholas II to be held accountable.

In desperation, Alexei could only turn to the British and French ambassadors for help. Britain and France also did not want to see Russia suffer a crushing defeat on the Eastern Front, so they could only agree to urgently transport a batch of supplies to Russia to ensure that Russia could support it for three months on the premise of entering a defensive state, and wait for supplies from Australasia.

The British and French agreed to transport supplies, which calmed the anger of Nicholas II and allowed Alexei to keep his official hat for the time being.

Arthur also did not expect that his decision to restrict the supply of supplies to Russia would cause the Russian foreign minister to almost lose his official hat.

But that's not necessarily a bad thing. It is true that some high-level officials in Russia have become rotten, and if we can take advantage of this opportunity to purge the Russian high-level officials, perhaps the Russian government will be able to extend its life for a few more years.

Otherwise, Russia will eventually fall one day like decaying dead wood, devastated by a storm.

6000 words for the second update, successfully complete the task, ask for a monthly pass, ask for support!

(End of chapter)