There is an ancient castle in the town of Chantilly, dozens of kilometers away from Paris. Its large castle was destroyed during the French Revolution and was rebuilt in 1870. The castle houses the heart of Prince Conde, and the current French command is located in this small town.

"Damn Chinese!"

In the villa of Povare in Chantilly, a roar of thunder came from the roar. The roar only made the officers outside the school hear it, and they were all policemen.

The general is angry!

To be precise, the general is on the verge of a rampage! Everyone is whispering to remind each other, for fear that someone will accidentally provoke the general who is in a rage.

"This group of damn yellow monkeys!"

After cursing, Xia Fei paced back and forth from time to time, and the cigars between his fingers were rising with smoke. Although the smoke was thick, it could not hide the anger on his face.

Once again, Xia Fei felt that he was fooled by the Chinese. This feeling was really bad. What was even more annoying was that he could deeply understand the ridicule of him by the outside world. You must know that he had told the French more than once that the Chinese team was unreliable and that the Chinese team was unreliable.

"But it's just a group of coolies, they don't know what war is!"

But what about now?

First in Verdun, the Chinese Expeditionary Force conquered the German positions. That time, he explained it with various reasons such as luck and the loss of German spirit. In the end, the French believed him and their headquarters. It was precisely because of this that he was able to "arrange the Chinese" according to his ideas.

According to his initial vision, in just a few more months, when hundreds of thousands of Chinese expeditionary forces continued to consume France's precious military expenditure without any results, he could convince the members of parliament to demand that the government sign a new treaty with the Chinese, thereby giving him full control over the Chinese expeditionary forces. At that time, he would break the divisions of the Chinese company and battalion, and then disperse them all over the front line like a colonial army, so that those "Oriental cannon fodder" can play their role.

But what about now?

The Chinese Expeditionary Force once again slapped him in the face.

And this time the slap was far more ruthless and louder than in the past, and the most angering thing was that the Chinese Expeditionary Force deceived him, and they obtained his approval with deceptive words.

Yesterday, for a whole day, Chief Xu of the China Team was lobbying the staff of the headquarters, of course, mainly lobbying him to make him believe that the Chinese Expeditionary Force hoped to launch a supporting attack at the right time. Of course, the scale of the attack was limited - "just let the troops experience the environment of the battlefield", that's it.

And the reason why Xia Fei was so angry was because he believed it!

"Let the Chinese go to the battlefield, they will leave the piles of corpses like the British in front of the German machine gun positions!"

The Chinese seemed very "crawling". The reports they submitted were even written in Chinese. They played a word game in it. In the end, it was the word game that made Xia Fei agree to their plan - to launch a supporting attack on the German team.

There is no constraint on the scale of the attack, but out of caution, Xia Fei did not agree to provide artillery cover to the Chinese team, of course he has his reasons. The French team is preparing for tomorrow's second wave of attacks. They have consumed too many shells, so - I'm very sorry, you can only rely on yourself.

OK! The Chinese have no objection either.

But this morning, when he woke up, he unexpectedly received a report from Fuxi. The Chinese Expeditionary Force invested its main force on the battlefield and used the German defense gap to tear open the German defense line. Their attacking troops were constantly attacking the German army in depth, and it was very likely to cross the Somme River in the next few days and approach Perona.

If the French team achieved such a victory, then, undoubtedly, this is a very successful battle. Xia Fei will issue a commendation order at the first time and release news to the press to celebrate the "unprecedented success" achieved by the French team. But now, apart from the anger of being humiliated, Xia Fei's heart is not at all happy.

"Now, how should it end?"

Thinking about this question in his heart, Xia Fei thought that Fayor mentioned in the telegram, "The actions of the Chinese Expeditionary Force will definitely seriously affect the progress of the entire battle..." Obviously, Fayor, who finally strictly obeyed Fuxi's orders, also did not agree with the "unauthorized action" of the Chinese Expeditionary Force.

"...The Chinese team may have made some progress now, but it is expected that if the German army reacted quickly, it would be difficult for them to cross the Somme. Once they encountered the main force of the German reinforcements in Perona, the two sides would inevitably have an unprecedented fierce battle. If their offensive is blocked, we will have to face an unprecedented defeat..."

If the Chinese Expeditionary Force fails...

Suddenly, Xia Fei seemed to see hope, to be precise, the hope that only holds his reputation. If the Chinese Expeditionary Force is defeated, it will not only damage the Chinese Expeditionary Force, but also achieve his goal of completely regaining the command of the Chinese Expeditionary Force.

Thinking of this, Xia Fei walked towards the map and looked at the map on the wall. Xia Fei's brows were locked from time to time. Perhaps, the Chinese Expeditionary Force was cannon fodder and was part of "consumable cheap materials", but the battle on the Somme is crucial. Even if the Chinese team was defeated, it must be guaranteed that it would not lead to the failure of the entire battle. Moreover, for France, the reason for launching this battle was to force the German General Staff to transfer its main force from Verdun to the Somme, thereby reducing the pressure that France faced on the entire battlefield.

"As appropriate offense is also necessary, we should cooperate with the attack of the Chinese team!"

After calming down, Xia Fei immediately stood back on the French side and considered the entire battle. Of course, at this time, the battle had some changes in its layout, but this change was extremely limited.

When making the decision, Xia Fei looked at the protrusion formed by the Chinese team after the attack, but a little sneer appeared on his face. As far as the information he had, the sudden blow of the Chinese team at Verdun last time caused the entire "German team to be shamed". Now, is it possible for the Germans to give up the Chinese expeditionary force within the upcoming protrusion?

"Will God bless them!"

On the battlefield, there has never been any protection from gods. For soldiers, the only thing they can rely on is personal bravery, but what plays a decisive role is the commander's decision, and a general is unable to exhaust the three armies. A sentence in "Zuo Zhuan" has long pointed out the responsibility for the general.

"I'm at most at the level of a battalion commander! It's probably a tough task to command a regiment!"

More or less, people mostly understand Han Wu in this way. As for praise like famous generals, Han Wu himself never dared to "accept" him. This humility has won him a lot of favor, but several people know that when Han Wu faced praise, the reason for this is very simple - his personal ability is insufficient.

At least, his evaluation of himself has always been only "the level of the battalion commander". As for war! This "Battlefield Commander Han" has his own style of fighting, such as "although he is not sure of success, he has the determination to succeed", and "Once the troops attack, they must tear down all retreat orders!"

In Han Wu's dictionary, there is no "retreat" or "impossible", which is well known. Now, as the commander-in-chief of the expeditionary army, he may be the only general in the expeditionary army who has commanded a large-scale battle of more than ten divisions. His fighting style is very simple - the superiors give orders to the target, and then the subordinates execute it. As for the others, there is nothing to negotiate.

Almost since the attack began, Han Wu kept spinning around a map on the table. He smoked one by one, looked at a map and walked around the table for a few times, as if he was pushing a plate of mills.

Just an hour ago, his front-line command post had moved forward to 3.5 kilometers. Now his front-line command post was just a few lightning trucks, with more than a dozen telephone lines being pulled into the car, and several radio stations were in another car. He remotely controlled the three divisions he commanded in such a mobile command post.

To be precise, there are six divisions. Of course, the other three divisions need to be put into the battlefield tonight. Before that, all he could command was three divisions. Now, he has put two divisions into the battlefield, and only one division's reserve team is left in his hands.

Stopped in front of the map, Han Wu once again leaned over and picked up a red pencil, and drew an arrow at Bispi, the junction of the German Infantry Ninth Army and the 17th Army. An advance team should be sent around Bispi to penetrate behind enemy lines, cross the Somme, and fight to the east of the Somme River to occupy Perona. All this must be scrambled before the Second Army mobilized its reserves to arrive.

Otherwise, all your efforts will be wasted!

"You see, do this!"

Han Wu said to Chen Yushi and Yu Jingcun on the side, in fact, his front-line command fully reflects a characteristic, with Jiangsu Army officers as the main body, which may be the biggest feature of the "liaison office". To a large extent, Han Wu has always built the liaison office into a "small group".

"...This bridge is the only place we can pass through to cross the Somme River to cut off the 17th Army's retreat. If we want to surround the 17th Army, we must cross this bridge and then occupy Perona!"

"Well," Chen Yushi, the major general from the 8th Division of the Jiangsu Army nodded.

"Now, the 17th German Army is likely to retreat westward, and the German army on the northern front retreats from here, or reinforces from here. If they capture this place, they will have nowhere to run away."

“It’s necessary to insert it, but it’s difficult,”

Yu Jingcun said seriously,

"But we have to break through the enemy's frontier positions..."

"Send a regiment to attack and let the advance team use the German defense gap to penetrate it!"

With his eyes fixed on the map, Han Wu made up his mind.

"Since the fight started, we will fight hard this time and not let it run away."

When he said this, the seemingly narrow command vehicle was silent. Everyone knew that if this order was executed, the interspersed troops would bear. Once the attacking troops could not fight on time until Bispi and the interspersed troops merged, then this interspersed troops would likely become the first expeditionary force to be wiped out completely.

Moreover, unlike other regions, they occupied a railway bridge, and it was also a front-line transportation hub with Perona. The interspersed troops could encounter German reinforcements there at any time. The interspersed troops were there, and there were wolves in front and tigers in the back. Sending a regiment to perform such tasks is equivalent to throwing nearly four thousand brothers into the sea of ​​fire and the oil pan in a year. First, they burned them in the sea of ​​fire, and then they didn't know how many times they squeezed them in the oil pan. Even if they were lucky enough to complete the task, I'm afraid...

At this time, the air in the distance was faintly exploding - this was the artillery of the Chinese and German armies competing there. Compared with the German team that had been fighting for several days, the firepower of the expeditionary army that had just been put into the battlefield may still have a temporary advantage, but what if it continues?

The sound of the cannon made Han Wu return to the reality of war, with no gossip on the battlefield—

"Director Han, please give the task!"

At this time, Chen Tiaoyuan, the commander of the 6th Division of the Expeditionary Force, spoke. This major general from the Army came from the Army University and took the initiative to ask for battle. His 6th Division was the only remaining reserve team in Han Wu's hands.

After looking at Chen Tiaoyuan, Han Wu first restarted silently, then shook his head slightly, walked to the table, looked at the map with his cane, and spoke slowly:

"I was ordered by the headquarters to serve as the commander-in-chief of the front enemy. Now the entire battle scene will be opened soon. General He's 6th Division is a reserve team that I currently have. Good steel is used on the blade. If the 6th Division is split,"

Pointing to the map on the table, Han Wu briefly and capable of introducing the entire battle situation. Then he paused for a moment before looking at Chen Tiaoyuan and said:

"At 4:00 pm, your 6th Division will start from here, and it is very important to cut off the German connection between Bispi and Barre. This will cut the connection between the enemy's northern and southern lines, and then quickly deviate from the enemy's rear. In this way, the German army can be further divided and created conditions for the next step of division and surround..."

Having said that, Chen Tiaoyuan had already heard what Han Wu said, that his troops could not undertake this task. Although Han Wu said it was for the "big situation", in fact, it was probably because of his distrust of the Sixth Division, in the Expeditionary Army. The Sixth Division is a typical "miscellaneous" division. The Miscellaneous Army formed by a brigade of the Central Army and two regiments and provincial armies, obviously cannot undertake such a task.

"Let the Ninth Division go!"

Han Wu said in a low voice:

"A twenty-seventh regiment is enough!"

"Sir, the 9th Division is the first wave of assault troops!"

Chen Yushi whispered aside, maybe the 27th Regiment is the reserve force of the Ninth Division, but now the Ninth Division has been fighting for several hours, and the more the battle is, the harder it is to fight. This draw is equivalent to making the Ninth Division's tired soldiers persist.

"There are only orders in the army!"

Han Wu said this without saying anything else. Compared to the Central Army, he was more willing to believe in the Jiangsu Army. He believed that the 9th Division could support it. As for the 27th Regiment, he believed that the 27th Regiment could be willing to die together.

Be willing to die!

This kind of life-and-death task requires one's wholehearted persistence, or one's wholeheartedness to die, so that one can "survive in death", otherwise...

"Lingling..." A crisp phone ringing echoed in the wet and smoke-filled air in the cave.

A combat staff officer went to answer the phone and then said to Han Wu:

"Sir, your phone number."

Walking to the phone, when Han Wu picked up the microphone, Cai E's heavy voice sounded inside.

"Hey, how is the situation there?"

"The situation here is very smooth! Chief Cai, how is the situation of the reserve team? When will we be able to replace the first wave of troops?"

"Everything is ready! The three divisions have arrived at the scheduled attack position at night. The troops have replenished cucumbers for seven days, cucumbers for three days and two base ammunition..."

"General Cai, you have to sit down this time!"

"Don't worry, you should keep a close eye on it. This battle is crucial. This is the first strike in the entire battle. You must be straightforward and not drag it down!"

"...We are going to cover all the 17th Army! I am going to let the 27th Regiment intersperse behind enemy lines to see if the Germans were stabbed in Perona..."

"I'm not a little bit. If you stab it in this knife, it's no different from stabbing it into a hornet's nest. At that time, no matter how slow the German army reacts, I'm afraid we can see our calculations!"

"Um……"

Han Wu nodded, he did not deny the risks.

"The 27th Regiment is a suicide squad. You probably will take a few days to play Perona!"
To be continued...