The Fifth German Army, in this war, was called the "Crown Prince William Army" because its commander-in-chief was Emperor William of the German Empire. At this time, there was a tense atmosphere in the command center of the "Crown Prince William Army".

The German army had a heavy price to conquer the front line of Suvietburg, but as long as the German army held it for a while, and even before it could heat up, it was attacked by the enemy. The complete defense system of dozens of infantry companies and artillery companies on the front was defeated by the enemy, and they were not even able to launch a counterattack while the enemy was not yet stable. The enemy on the opposite side took the initiative to launch an assault on the second-line position where the reserve team was assembled. However, in just one early morning, the German defense in the Suvietburg area was washed away. Not to mention counterattacks, it could not even be organized to effectively defend.

The short and fierce war lasted only a few hours. At 8 o'clock in the morning, the four regiments of the 32nd Division guarding Suvietburg were almost devastating. They suffered heavy casualties, more than 6,000 casualties, more than 5,000 were captured, and a large number of artillery and machine guns were seized by the enemy. Most importantly, the German outskirts of Suvietburg were originally beaten back. In the end, the remaining troops of the 32nd Division could only barely form a new line of defense before the opposite Suvietburg.

Before the reinforcements arrived, the 32nd Division had no counterattack power at all! The reinforcements were restrained everywhere in the front line and could no longer be used. They could only rely on the general reserve team of the Fifth Army, but would the French give him time to mobilize the reserve team? No one expected that a division's not-long defense line of Suvieburg was defeated so quickly by the enemy!

Perhaps the fortress had been completely destroyed during the German attack, but even the wreckage of the fortress could not be guarded for only a few hours! At this time, the German army in the Suvietburg area was low and the troops were weak and the firepower was insufficient. This was the situation facing the Fifth Army.

What's even more amazing is that according to the information feedback from the front, before dawn, the two German defense lines were conquered by a fierce offensive and occupied the deposed enemy of Suvietberg. It was not their old opponent's technique team. In fact, the Germans had already experienced the tactics of the old opponent and had no novelty at all. The Chinese Expeditionary Force attacked Suvietberg in an unexpected way!

In the pre-war enemy situation notice, the Fifth Army Command also knew that the French army had an additional Chinese expeditionary force composed of ten divisions of Chinese troops. However, in their consciousness, this unit was at best the level of the French colonial army, and could not even catch up with the British Indian army. But no one expected that the assault method of the elite infantry used by this unit in the fight immediately caused such a big loss to the front-line German army!

Moreover, their firepower is also very flexible. The initial impression is that the attack is fierce and not lacking in level. Its combat effectiveness is not only not inferior to the elite troops of the Allied Powers. It also has their own unique things! Especially, it is equipped with a large number of new weapons. According to the report of the 33rd Division, the Chinese team used a large number of light machine guns and a new type of light machine gun that fired **** bullets. At the same time, they also used new blasting weapons to explode the barbed wire that hinders its attack. The light flamethrowers carried by soldiers are even more of fortifications and nightmares fortress soldiers. They even mentioned in the report of the frontier. Suvietburg was not conquered by the Chinese infantry, but by the Chinese firethrowers.

"Now, we must immediately retake Suvietberg!"

While speaking, Crown Prince William turned his attention to General von Knobelsdorf. Crown Prince William was the commander of the Fifth Group, but the commander was the General Knobelsdorf.

In the fanaticism and propaganda of the war, the crown prince was harshly evaluated. He was portrayed as a fool and a tyrant, an immature young man and a Moro, accused of being irresponsible bypassers and commanders who could not resist the blame for major catastrophic military errors. The above-mentioned contradictory accusations were inconsistent with the actual situation. The German prince who commanded the army or the legion was strictly controlled. The actions were decided and managed by the General Staff, whether in the main affairs or in the local affairs. The unlucky successor's functions were mainly: to assume the infamous miscalculated by the staff and to accept their humble etiquette in the first two years of the war. As the long-term contradiction deepened, even these etiquettes became useless.

However, one thing is certain, no matter which general is in front of a high-powered general, he has the right to express his views, ask questions and ask for answers. He first knew the exact view of the emperor. He was the owner of the country. All the fighters in the war took risks for his life, body, and fate; but the inheritance of the imperial throne was obviously determined by the summation of the war, which warned and attracted his attention from the beginning of the war. It can also be said that no German team succeeded more consistently than the troops he led; there were signs that his personal influence—regardless of the influence—of his importance.

Originally, as the crown prince, he was uneasy about the attack on Verdun. He thought it would be wiser to settle Russia in the East first. Of course, he was eager to "re-lead the battle-tested loyal troops and the enemy's battle battlefield...", but he was suppressed for a long time. However, Frankingham repeatedly claimed that the French army would "flow all the blood" in Verdun, which made him feel uneasy; he did not believe that the shed blood only happened to the French army. This situation may happen to the Hohenzollern royal family. In addition, General von Knobelsdorf and his staff's views on offensive tactics may arouse the prince's doubts; their view was that if an attack was necessary, the offensive should be spread on a wider front, including attacking at the same time on both sides of the Meuse River. From the beginning, there should be a large number of reserve troops to take advantage of the favorable conditions for active and sudden attacks.

Zipak Nobelsdorf expressed the above claims to Fakinhan. Fakinhan insisted on his plan. He formulated plans based on the entire situation in his mind, and even insisted on his own opinions on the smallest details. Verdun would become an anvil iron, and to launch an attack on a narrow front, there must be an incomparable artillery team and just enough infantry to succeed. They would advance step by step, and every section of their way forward was leveled with cannons. Therefore, regardless of whether Verdun fell or not, the French army would be destroyed, and the French nation would be tired of war. This was originally a simple solution to major problems around the world, but now it has become Fakinhan's solution, and he has the highest control. Knobelsdorf was soon forcibly persuaded by Fakinhan's determination and the power of his superiors. The prince was later dominated by the military hierarchy and mechanically became consistent.

Now, the reason why he emphasized immediate counterattack was that in this military hierarchy, it mechanically tended to be consistent with the staff. Because the French trenches were half-moon-shaped, protruding 5,000-60,000 meters in front of Verdun's permanent fortress. The position was divided into two different parts by the Meuse River, and the river surface was nearly 1 kilometer wide in this season. Therefore, there were left-bank fortifications and right-bank fortifications; far eastward were the Wolfl Plain and the eastern bank highland of the Meuse River where the fortifications were constructed. The French central defense ground between the Meuse River and the Wolfl Plain was the enemy's violent outbreak.

The direction of the attack. The headquarters believed that if the French army center was broken to a certain depth, the defenders on both wings would automatically retreat, or further pressure could easily make them retreat. The German army had conducted tactical research on the terrain before the war. They believed that unless the retreat of the French army center caused its left wing position to be damaged, the position would be particularly strong and difficult to break! All these conclusions and decisions were promptly informed to the Crown Prince and the General Knobelsdorf's General Staff. Now, the counterattack of the Central ** team changed the original plan of the German army headquarters to some extent.

"Your Highness, unless we mobilize the reserves, it will be difficult to recover the Suvietburgh occupied by the Chinese. Now the 32nd Division has lost most of its troops, and according to our intelligence, the French reinforcements have reached Suvietburgh. It can be said that we have lost the best counterattack opportunity..."

At this time, Knobelsdorf's words were interrupted by the words of another intelligence consultant.

"General. Now we are getting another political victory in Verdun!"

As an intelligence consultant, he obviously needs to analyze the gains and losses of this battle from all aspects.

"What we must see is that from the very beginning of the Battle of Verdun, the personal status of the French commander General Jastei declined. The negligence of preparing fortifications at Verdun positions, the demolition of weapons and facilities of the bunker group, the commander-in-chief and his staff headquarters had obviously insufficient intelligence on such a major issue, and the fact that the Parliamentary Committee raised a warning, the stubborn and disgusting attitude of accepting this warning, all of which have become a common fact known to the Paris government and the opposition. The role played by Jastei and Castelno in the first serious crisis of the situation in Verdun is also widely understood by the government and the government! In this whole incident, it is difficult to find the trust of the commander-in-chief and the huge organization of the commander-in-chief, which is sharply called "Chantie"!"

After citing the intelligence transferred by the General Staff, the General Staff added.

"In view of all the above facts, General Garene made a series of judgments and decisions. First, he hoped to recall Jafé back to Paris and allow him to fully command the entire French army in the center of Paris. This position had long been appointed to him, both in France and on the Eastern Front; second, Garene hoped to promote General De Castello to command the army in France; third, he suggested in some ways that he had weakened the inappropriate power that Chantilly seized, and restored the administrative position that the Ministry of War had largely deprived of to the extent that the Ministry of War had been deprived.

Yes. Galeni submitted a proposal to express the above intention to the cabinet on March 7, 1916, but there was no specific nomination for Castello. One thing is certain that even in the French cabinet, the government was afraid of the crisis of the Supreme Command and the political and cabinet crisis during the War of Verdun. And Beryan might have used his dexterity to intervene, but judging from the information we have at present, General Galeni has made up his mind and can imagine that soon, the commander-in-chief will leave the army because of the service..."

When the intelligence officer mentioned Xia Fei's name, everyone in the combat room browsed slightly. It was Xia Fei who made Germany hate the Marne River. Now the French commander-in-chief, if he left the army because of this battle, could be regarded as a victory in some kind of battle.

"Political things are not what we need to consider. The most important thing now is that we must carry out this battle! We must defeat Verdun, which is the requirement of the headquarters!"

While Crown Prince William made this decision, he looked at General von Nobelsdorf.

"General, order "Alfred" to aim at Suvieburg shelling, tomorrow we will capture there!"

At this time, the crown prince William could no longer care about another fact - after many days of high-intensity shelling of "Alfred"'s body tube had been severely worn, and his life span was only more than a hundred hairs left.

"Chinese……"

After the order was issued, Crown Prince William asked with some reluctance.

"Do you know where they were taken by the genus of the Cloth?"

"Chinese……"

Farkinhan, who was far away in Berlin, frowned when he put down the telegram in his hand. Just about noon yesterday, he received a battle report from the Fifth Army, who occupied Suvietberg, and this morning, when he woke up from his sleep, he received a message that surprised him. Suvietberg was lost.

The even more unacceptable fact is that in the process of defending Suvieters, the German army suffered even greater losses than seizing Suvieters. The result was only a division of the Chinese army. When that army arrived in Europe, he even laughed, believing that this proved that France had reached the point where the mountains were exhausted, and even strengthened his idea of ​​starting the Battle of Verdun.

But what about now?

However, the Chinese Expeditionary Force slapped Germany hard and woke Frankingham up. Until then, he finally remembered the description of the army by the former Governor of Jiaoao and the Governor of Jiaoao German Army officers.

"Maybe their officers are not outstanding, or their training cannot be compared with European powers, but China has the best soldiers in the world. In this regard, even Russia is inferior to it. For many years we have been accustomed to looking at this Eastern country and its army with the old eyes. But don't deny that it is impossible for the enslaved to fight for the conquerors wholeheartedly. This may explain the weakness of the Qing team, but now everything has changed..."

Everything has changed!

"My commander, is the Chinese team really as good as described in the telegram?"

Looking at the thoughtful Farkinhan, William II asked with some doubts that before that, the Eastern army that could enter his sight was only the Japanese army, even the Jiaoao Incident, ended with the defeat of Japan. In his opinion, it was just the Chinese who occupied the "sky" advantage. After China joined the war and sent troops, he even specifically asked the generals whether Germany had the ability to resist China's air superiority, and the final result was certain. Compared with Japan, Germany's aviation industry was more developed and the number of aircraft was also greater.

Now, the Chinese team that he didn't like at all had to be admired. As soon as he went to the battlefield, Germany suffered a lot. If the Fifth Army had not responded urgently, it mobilized some parts to rebuild the defense line, I really didn't know what kind of variables would happen in this battle.

"At least it's not worse than the French team!"

Fajinhan gave a answer that he felt wanted to be the exact answer, and then he added.

"Compared with the French team, the Chinese team even has some advantages in equipment. They have a large number of light machine guns, a new small rapid-fire weapon, and a flamethrower. It can be said that for this war, they were extremely prepared and developed a large number of new weapons. This battle is simply its weapon test site, which fully tested the practicality and effectiveness of its new weapons. It can be imagined that in the next battle, the front-line troops will encounter more new weapons..."

Obviously, compared to acknowledging an army, Frank and Kingham would rather believe another fact-the success of the Chinese team was more due to the success of its new weapons, and this was exactly what he was worried about. After the British and French teams saw the effectiveness of their weapons, how could they sit still? They would definitely purchase those weapons quickly and arm their troops, and then...

"Didn't we seize their weapons? Leave them to the factories and let them create weapons that are comparable to their technology in the shortest time..."

At this time, neither Emperor William II nor Frankhen knew a fact that the military and technological cooperation between China and Germany was not blocked by this war. In the past two years, through technical exchanges, China has introduced a large number of technicians and some of the required military technology from Germany, and Germany has also obtained a large number of weapons and technical drawings from China, but all of this is limited to enterprises.

"Maybe, they should be imitating their weapons!"

Fajinhan spoke in time.

"Go and talk about these issues with those companies. Germany's future depends on the outcome of this war. My general, you must see this. Any way to help us win the war can be adopted! And..."

Staring at Fakingham, William II asked again.

"Now, where did the French take the Chinese team to? Perhaps we should teach the Chinese team a lesson and let the French know that the Chinese people will never be France's saviors! They will also be defeated!"

"Your Majesty, I want to..."

His Majesty’s question only made Fajinhan smile, and then he said with some sigh.

"I think Xiafei will help us achieve this wish!" To be continued...

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