Reborn South Africa as a police officer

Chapter 965 Free France

At least seven weeks ago, Falkenhayn began to mobilize troops. The Germans laid five railways in their own control area, used 250 wagons, sent 30 million artillery shells and [-] soldiers, and the soldiers needed to survive the winter. Supplies were sent to the Verdun front.

In order to better organize the offensive, the Germans also mobilized construction machinery, including excavators, and about 150 aircraft participated in the Battle of Verdun. This is an unprecedented scale. In previous battles, aircraft have never been on the battlefield. main character.

In the past 1914, both sides suffered heavy casualties. The Russian Empire has lost 400 million people so far. In Gorlice and Tarnow alone, 15 people were killed, 68 were injured, and 90 were killed. captured.

The British and French allied forces also suffered heavy casualties. In the last two months of 1914, 33.5 French soldiers were killed in battle in Champagne and Artois alone, and countless people were missing. Since the outbreak of the World War, the total number of French casualties has reached 200. Ten thousand.

British casualties were slightly smaller, but since the outbreak of the World War, there have been more than 100 million casualties, of which nearly 40 were killed, most of which came from the Southern African Expeditionary Force.

At the beginning of 1915, the German army had a total of 120 divisions on the western front, and the British and French allied forces had 91 divisions on the front line, but at the same time there were 90 reserve divisions. At this time, Paris and London were no secrets to Berlin, and Berlin was to Paris and London. It is also no secret. Falkenhayn knew this situation. Considering that Germany's war potential was far inferior to that of the British and French allied forces with huge colonial support, Falkenhayn decided to act first and let France continue to bleed until the French could not bear to withdraw. war.

After experiencing the brutal battles of Champagne and Artois, Joffre and Haig were not intimidated by the huge number of casualties. They were planning a new offensive just after the battle ended. At the starting point of the battle, Joffre and Haig Haig is controversial. Joffre tends to break through the German defense line on the Somme River north of Paris. Haig still focuses on Belgium, which is closer to the English Channel, trying to capture the Belgian coastal port city of great strategic value.

Falkenhayn knew that the British and French allied forces would launch a series of offensives in 1915, but he did not know where the British and French allied forces would choose as a breakthrough.

In December last year, in order to plan a new offensive, Joffre transferred the troops stationed in Verdun to other areas. Verdun's defenses were gradually empty, so Falkenhayn chose Verdun as the breakthrough point of the entire front.

On the entire line of defense of the British and French allied forces, Verdun is a salient point. This is a small town located among many fortresses. Many important battles have taken place in history, and now it has become the focus of everyone's attention.

It was cold and wet in France around the New Year, and the roads were muddy due to continuous rain for a week. The German troops hid in well-equipped bunkers, and each bunker could house 500 German officers and soldiers.

The British and French allied forces were hiding in the woods. The defensive facilities on the front line of Verdun were not perfect. The previous military chief thought that the defense force in the Verdun area was weak and needed to be strengthened. However, he did not wait for reinforcements. Instead, he waited for Xia Fei's transfer order, now the old General Haier is in charge of defending Verdun. General Haier also noticed this problem and reported to Joffre and Secretary of War Gallieni respectively. This was hated by Joffre, but General Haier With Gallieni's support, Joffre was unable to dismiss General Haier this time, but General Haier also did not get the support he wanted.

After the New Year, it was sunny for three consecutive days, the muddy land began to harden, and the cold environment improved. On January 1, the German army mobilized 5 artillery pieces and launched a fierce attack on the army position on a 1200-kilometer-wide front. Including the 40 heavy artillery that captured the fortress of Liège in Belgium at the beginning of the outbreak of the World War.

Within eight hours, the German army fired about 10 shells, and the French army dispatched reconnaissance planes, but they could not find the German artillery positions, because behind the German defense line there were thick smoke and flames everywhere, and the concentration of artillery was surprising.

German bombers also participated in the bombing of Verdun. The French made a big mistake. Before the war, they did not pay enough attention to aircraft and did not have enough pilots. The French did not have the spirit of sacrifice like the Germans. The flying force takes time.

The German bombardment was so intense that German commanders thought it impossible for anyone to survive on the French positions.

However, the German commander was still very cautious. After the shelling stopped, he did not immediately deploy ground troops. Instead, he waited for the French army to enter the position and conducted shelling for two hours before deploying ground combat troops.

The German ground forces began to attack. The troops participating in the first wave of attack included three armies and nine divisions, all of which came from the Fifth Army led by Crown Prince William. The main task of these troops was to find the remaining French troops on the French positions and call for firepower Strike, attacking troops used flamethrowers, cleared trenches with flamethrowers,

The battle was very fierce. The French army experienced the brutal battle in 1914, but they did not lose their courage. The French troops who stood firm relied on the broken fortifications to shoot at the German army. They suffered heavy casualties and still fought to the death.

However, the Verdun defenders were weak. Before the Battle of Verdun, General Heyer had only two divisions left in his hands. Later in the day when the Battle of Verdun broke out, two new infantry divisions arrived in Verdun. However, the four divisions were still unable to stop the advance of the German army. On the first day of the outbreak of the battle, the German army captured the first line of defense of the French army.

After hearing the news of the German army's full-scale offensive, the topic of the joint meeting immediately became whether to cooperate with the French army to launch an offensive in the direction of Belgium to reduce the pressure on the French army in Verdun.

Haig insisted on attacking, but his purpose was not to relieve the pressure on the French army, but to regain the lost honor.

Everyone else was against the offense, Roque in particular.

"Why attack? During the third Battle of Artois, we were still fighting the Germans in Mons, but Joffre secretly stopped attacking Artois. This is already a betrayal of the alliance. Now the Germans have chosen the French army If the Germans choose us, will the French launch an attack to contain the Germans?" Rock firmly believes that an eye for an eye is an eye for an eye. Don't blame the British Expeditionary Force for being unkind.

"Then we just sit back and watch the opportunity sneak away? Now the Germans are putting all their energy in Verdun, which is our good opportunity." Haig was also resolute. He was dazzled by Rock's conquest of the Ottoman Empire , eager to perform and make some achievements, proving that he is more suitable for the position of Commander-in-Chief of the British Expeditionary Force than Roque.

"How can you ensure that Germany's strength in Belgium is empty? Do you think that Falkenhayn was not at all prepared for our possible containment when he organized the attack? I can guarantee that as long as our British Expeditionary Force launches an attack now, we will definitely We will be hit by the Germans head-on." Rock refused to give an inch, but in the past, anyway, the attacking force was not the Southern African Expeditionary Force, and Rock didn't care who he loved.

It's different now. Now Rock is a strong contender for the commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force. As long as Haig makes a mistake, Rock is very likely to replace him.

If you think this way, it seems that you should support Haig's attack, so that when Haig's head is broken, Rock can jump out and clean up the mess.

"How many troops do we have on the front line that can be used to attack, how many shells are stored, if there is strong resistance from the Germans, how can you defeat the Germans, or if the Germans launch a counterattack, do you have any way to withstand it? " Kitchener asked a series of questions, and it was obvious that Haig was unprepared for these questions, and couldn't answer a single word.

Now even Arthur Belfort and John Jericho were frowning. Haig, as the commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force, would be outrageous if he didn't even know how many troops there were on the front line that could be used to attack.

"We have 150 million shells in Dover, which were supposed to be sent to the Asia Minor peninsula. If there is demand on the western front, they can be shipped now." Winston obviously wanted to understand this joint, since Haig attacked If the desire is so strong, then try to create conditions for Haig.

After the surrender of the Ottoman Empire, the consumption of the Asia Minor peninsula immediately decreased. These artillery shells were no longer necessary, but they were very much needed on the Western Front.

"If there are 150 million shells, then I have the confidence to defeat the Germans." Haig issued a military order. Since the outbreak of the World War, at least half of the casualties on both sides were caused by artillery. He really deserves to be the king of war.

"Your confidence is groundless!" Rock and Winston chorused, driving Haig into a corner.

"It's nonsense. You are not the only one who can lead the expedition to victory. I will use the victory to prove that I am worthy of any level of trust." Haig was fooled again. mood.

At the end of the meeting, Kitchener and William Robertson still trusted Haig and gave Haig the authorization to take the initiative to attack.

Rock doesn't care, whether Haig wins or not won't affect Rock's honor.

And Rock showed that British interests are paramount, and won the trust of almost everyone.

George V soon found out what happened during the meeting. Although George V did not express his opinion, Rock knew that if Haig did not perform well this time, Haig would soon be in trouble.

On January NO.12, Roque returned to Cyprus. At this time, the French army had stabilized the line of defense after paying heavy casualties. The German Fifth Army advanced the front line by five kilometers. Now the commander of Verdun is Chambani During the battle, the French commander Pétain, in order to motivate the French army to fight, Pétain promised the French army that he would not let the French army participate in such a cruel battle in the future.

This promise really inspired the troops, but it also brought serious hidden dangers. Free France is not joking, promises cannot be given casually.

(Here I am, the punctual update at seven o'clock, isn't such a diligent fish head worthy of reward——)

(End of this chapter)