Port of Marseille, France

January 21, 1916.{http:

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After a year and a half of the war in Europe, France was full of scenes of nationwide mobilization for total war. Total war, a war model invented by the Germans, had gained success in this war involving almost all the powerful countries in the world.

With sufficient verification, it can be said that any country that does not carry out mobilization in industry, economy, military and other aspects will definitely face failure.

As for the French nation, they experienced the huge humiliation of the Franco-Prussian War and withstood the danger of national subjugation in the early stages of the war. After the country implemented full-scale mobilization and entered the general war, it vowed to carry the war to the end and completely defeat them.

The life-and-death enemy on the European continent—the country composed of Junker aristocrats with a military tradition—the German Empire.

In order to defeat this country, France mobilized almost all its forces. France is different from Germany. Most of Germany's coal, iron ore and other materials come from the mainland. To be precise, during the Franco-Prussian War, the French seemed to be ceded, and the Germans

The eyes are on the recovered Alsace and Lorraine regions, but France, which has lost these two places, mainly relies on its huge overseas colonies to provide resources for the mainland. This may be the "commonality" of the old powers.

After the war broke out, except for the French port cities in the English Channel, which had been completely transformed into huge barracks, warehouses, transportation hubs and combat bases in order to receive British supplies and British reinforcements, the port cities on the Mediterranean Sea also received

To maximize development, unlike the English Channel which receives mostly materials and equipment, the Mediterranean Sea is the receiving place for France to mobilize French North African colonial corps. Materials and raw materials also transported from overseas colonies are gathered here.

One after another, they headed to the French mainland and North Africa. The French colonial divisions in central and southern France all boarded and disembarked here to repair, assemble and replace equipment. After that, they boarded busy military columns and headed to the huge meat grinder-like battlefields on the front line.

The French Foreign Legion wearing white cylindrical hats and the dark-skinned French Central-Southern Legion wearing bamboo hats came to Marseille in a steady stream, coming and going in the city, and artillery, carriages and horse teams passed through the city streets.

The arrival of the first unit was a carnival for the Marseilles. Every window along the street hung a French flag, and everyone shouted "France, France"...

The whole city was filled with the strange charm unique to wartime. And in the cheers of "France, France", those colonial regiments took the train to the north after the military parade in the city, heading to the battlefield, like a slaughterhouse

Lambs waiting to be slaughtered are always lined up in rows and thrown into the meat grinder.

There are countless warships in the harbor of Marseille. The chimneys and masts of transport ships form a forest of steel. Outside the port, French destroyers and torpedo boats are on guard for German submarine attacks. They are constantly cruising, responsible for escort and anti-submarine missions in the Mediterranean.

Cruisers and trawler formations were constantly sailing in and out of the port. At the dock, those black people who were deemed "unsuitable for surrender" by the French were working as dock coolies there, just like they were in Africa, lazy.

They lazily loaded and unloaded mountains of supplies, always looking for opportunities to be lazy, while the French overseers often roared and insulted these lazy black people. They seemed to have become accustomed to this scene and had become numb.

In the past year, resources and industrial products from all over the world have been imported to France. This huge battlefield with millions of troops has been imported. Most of the industrial products appearing in ports along the English Channel are written

English, indicating that these materials come from the United Kingdom or the United States. In Mediterranean ports, although the packaging boxes of industrial products have French characters, the square characters in them remind people that these materials come from China. In the past,

During the year, various industrial products were shipped from China to Europe.

At this time, in Europe, the wealth accumulated over hundreds of years was continuously flowing out to the United States, China, Japan and other countries because of this war. Those precious...*1*1*even gold stained with the blood and sweat of weak countries were constantly flowing out.

In exchange for industrial products produced by various countries, most of these industrial products were quickly sent to the north and used on the battlefield where humans killed each other.

This is the world in 1916!

Europe may not be the world, but for this era, Europe is the world!

An army major general from the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur military district and several senior officers from the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur military district have been waiting in Marseille for a long time. They are all waiting for the arrival of the advance troops of the Chinese Expeditionary Force.

During this war, Britain and France had initially established a joint high command, but it was far from effective. The British Expeditionary Force, under the command of Marshal John French, maintained sufficient independence. The French

Under the command of Marshal Xiafei, the troops believed that they were undoubtedly the main force on the European battlefield. The troops of the Commonwealth were placed under the command of the British Expeditionary Force, while the troops recruited in the French colonial system were commanded by France. The two sides did not interfere with each other.

The dividing lines on the battlefield are clearly defined.

The two sides are far from being in harmony with each other as "allies". In fact, even though they are allies, they cannot accept the command of their allies. Regarding the first army of the 120,000-strong expeditionary force that arrived early, there are still expectations for the future.

A fierce quarrel also broke out between Britain and France over the ownership of the command authority of hundreds of thousands or even millions of squadrons.

The British, who were very indifferent to the issue of China sending troops at first, changed their attitude after China sent troops. For the British, they also did not "mind" and sacrificed the Chinese troops to reduce the number of British troops.

casualties, so he strongly expressed that this force should be placed under the command of the British Expeditionary Force. With this army, Britain's dominance in this war on the European continent will be greatly increased. This is for every pure senior military commander.

The temptation is irresistible. Who doesn't want to be the protagonist on the battlefield? Lord Kitchener sent more than ten long telegrams to France to discuss this issue. In the final analysis, he wants this army.

Naturally, France is not that stupid on their front. They also urgently need these hundreds of thousands of people to fill their trenches as a powerful auxiliary force for their attacks. What's more, France has spent a lot of money on this expeditionary force.

A large amount of money, hundreds of millions of francs in loans, were used to renovate China's arsenals, as well as tens of millions of francs in military expenditures, etc. When the French initially expressed their need for the Chinese Army, the British did not help.

Now France is losing thousands of young people every day and needs these new forces to replenish it! Any way that can save the lives of French young people is what they will strive for. It is for this reason that they will agree to those harsh conditions, of course subconsciously

There is no doubt that he is slightly wary of Britain. After all, the alliance between Britain and France only happened in the past ten years, but the hostility between the two countries has lasted for hundreds of years!

As for the British intervention, the French pointed out without hesitation that this Chinese expeditionary force basically purchased their weapons and equipment from Chinese arsenals with funds provided by France, and France also borne all of their combat expenses, although it was only

The "First Army" will still need France to provide their logistical supplies in future operations.

In this case, is there any reason not to put this army under French command?

Finally, in the face of protests from the British, the French pointed out that their agreement with the Chinese had stipulated that the Chinese Expeditionary Force enjoyed "private rights." "The Expeditionary Force will be under the command of the Allied Forces Command without division.

Put yourself on the appropriate front!" In other words, in order to avoid conflicts with the British over the ownership of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, the French used the treaty signed with China as a shield.

When this army arrived in France, the French, as landowners, paid far less attention to it. In fact, apart from instructing the commander of the military area to do a good job in reception, they did not even send any other welcoming officers.

As far as French senior officials are concerned, they may quarrel with the British over the ownership of the Chinese Expeditionary Force. However, it is obviously not necessary to send senior officers to Marseille to meet the Chinese Expeditionary Force. In the eyes of some people, only one military officer is needed.

A major general in charge of the area is enough.

However, the French Army Staff has already made a decision on the use of Chinese troops as a preparatory force for counterattack. After all, Britain and France have long promised Russia that they will launch an offensive to relieve Russia's pressure. But now,

The Chinese team that had just arrived in France naturally became the "reserve team for counterattack."

Therefore, arrogance returned to arrogance, and reality returned to reality. In order to show its generosity, it also appeased and won over this Chinese team. France allocated abundant supplies to the newly arrived troops, because the weapons and equipment of the expeditionary force were all imported from China.

Bring out, including all heavy artillery, the French only need to prepare other types of military supplies, such as the 300 million rounds of 6.8 mm rifle ammunition, 1 million 105 mm grenades, and 500,000 150 mm grenades that France ordered from China.

Wait, and now these supplies have been prepared and shipped to France a few weeks ago. The abundant supplies are now waiting for their arrival.

But even so, for France, this expeditionary force is still just a "counterattack reserve". The first wave of counterattack troops are the elites of Britain and France. Regardless of whether the first day's attack can succeed, the next

The battle will only become more brutal, and it is the perfect time to join the squadron at that time. However, for the expeditionary officers and soldiers who have just arrived in France, they are completely unaware of the hidden evil intentions behind the French high-level officials.

On the sea level, waiting for the huge expeditionary force fleet to enter the French port, the guard fleet set up a light cruiser to greet the warships, all of which were covered with colorful flags. This is a very high-level welcome method, regardless of white people.

How much innate discrimination do people have against yellow people? As for the navy, they will show their courtesy at all times.

At this time, when the war in Europe had progressed to its most intense and cruel moment, a country sent its own army to lend a helping hand, which also moved many ordinary French people. For them, they never thought that

How to "sacrifice the Chinese fleet", what they saw was China's generous helping hand. The telegram had been received at noon that the Chinese fleet would arrive at the seaside of Marseille port at 6 pm, and thousands of Marseille citizens were at the dock.

Waiting to welcome the Allied troops coming from afar, the winter in Marseille is mild and rainy, but today it is a bright sun. The sun shines through the clouds in the west and sparkles on the sea. Everyone is looking up on the deck.

Looking southwest.

On the French cruiser that welcomed the expeditionary force into the port, the French sailors with navy hats with red pom-poms were crowded on the deck. In the distance in the old port, fishing boats did not enter the port as usual, but

It was moored outside the harbor, and the fishermen were curiously waiting for the approaching squadron.

Almost all French people are extremely curious about the expeditionary force from the eastern country. In people's minds, that poor, weak and distant country also sent its troops to participate in the war in Europe? What do they look like? For this country in the world

In most people's minds, it is just an Eastern geographical term with a bit of mystery. As for that country's army and that country, more people know more about what is described in the novels and biographies of missionaries and businessmen.

People with braids.

But on the patrol ship, the captain standing on the bridge looked a little arrogantly at the squadron that had not yet appeared outside the sea, and then smiled softly at the first mate beside him:

"The world has really changed... We actually have to count on the Chinese to help us. Will the lights in Europe be completely extinguished after this war? Will the future world belong to these Easterners?"

There was a burst of good-natured laughter on the bridge.

In the minds of these soldiers, the arrival of the Chinese Expeditionary Force is just a diplomatic success of the French government and a trace of curiosity about this Eastern army. No one has any idea how helpful the Chinese Expeditionary Force can be on the battlefield.

Too high expectations.

"Actually, they're not bad either. The Japanese didn't even lower their defenses!"

"Okay, it seems they can still hold on for a while on the battlefield, as long as they die less and persuade others!"

At this time, dozens of smoke pillars could be seen floating in the sky in the distance, and the sound of the whistle could be faintly heard. The Navy Lieutenant Commander waved his hand and laughed loudly:

"Order, all off-duty sailors stand on the slope to greet these Easterners. Everyone must be polite. After all, they are coming to Europe to bleed for us...the first Allied country to send troops to Europe!"

He smiled and turned the telescope in the direction of the Chinese fleet.

First, a mast appeared in the sight of the telescope, and then there was a forest of masts. The first mast carried the flag of the Army Lieutenant General, and then the bridge of the warship jumped out of the sea. It was the flagship of the Chinese fleet, the "Yangtze River"

Escorts, French naval colleagues are somewhat curious about this 1,300-ton escort. In the past two days, they have sunk two submarines.

However, the most shocking thing next is the huge steel jungle on the sea composed of various ships. The scale of the transport fleet transporting 120,000 troops at a time is also very shocking! The transport ships made by China plus

Merchant ships from Britain, France, the United States and other countries as well as several British and French warships protected the fleet, completely occupying the entire field of view of the telescope.

Through the telescope, it can be seen that the officers and soldiers of the Chinese Navy are also wearing white navy uniforms. They are also crowded on the deck. They are not standing on the slope but looking towards the coast of Europe. And the deck of every troop carrier converted from a merchant ship is crowded.

There were all army officers and soldiers wearing dark green military uniforms and hats that looked a bit like German Alpine infantry caps. Although they were far apart, they could clearly see that the people coming were not opium ghosts as imagined, but a group of spirited soldiers.

As soon as these army officers and soldiers, who seemed to have no energy at first, saw the European coast, they all became energetic and packed up neatly and rushed onto the deck.

As for the French who were welcoming the reinforcements from these Chinese allies, they saw a scene that they would remember for the rest of their lives. This huge fleet was filled with black people. They were all wearing the same uniforms as all the soldiers.

Wearing uniform hats. When the troop ship gradually sailed in and finally docked at the pier, people on the pier could clearly see the hundreds of Chinese soldiers standing on the deck: they all had bronze faces under dark green cloth military caps.

Some were as expressionless as wood carvings, and some had smiles on their faces. The bulging canvas backpacks were slung on their shoulders. They also carried rifles on their shoulders. At this time, they were facing the people on the dock.

Everything pointing...

Once upon a time, boatloads of Europeans came out from here, bringing a new world to the Asian dynasty, as well as blood, fire and shame. But now, a Chinese team has finally arrived here and is about to set foot on the European continent.

land!

Tens of minutes later, Major General Geneye led a group of officers in the military area and looked at the army officers and soldiers rolling off the ship with pure military eyes. There is no doubt that this is a capable unit, and the age of the soldiers is not the same.

etc. However, most of them are around twenty years old, with only a few who are slightly older. Few of them are as tall as Europeans, but everyone looks very energetic, even though their faces are slightly tired from a long voyage.

However, looking at their neat and solemn movements when disembarking, you can tell that they have received strict military training. The faces of these soldiers are without exception, and they are also filled with pride for the army they belong to. They are also from the colonies in Asia.

The army was different. When the soldiers came ashore, the dock immediately resounded with their loud commands in Chinese. The soldiers quickly formed a square formation.

The Frenchmen and the people on the dock looked at these people curiously, but none of them looked around and stood as straight as a sculpture. The advance personnel who finally arrived here in advance took the army major general from the military area to greet Cai.

E, and the major general casually performed a military salute with an arrogant attitude as always.

"Welcome General and your army to Europe!"
Chapter completed!