"According to the confession of the prisoners of war, the French 3rd Army deployed directly opposite us was the commander-in-chief of this unit, Luv, a French commander who was called the "Canon Poet" by his colleagues. The reason why he was nicknamed was probably because he attached great importance to the use of cannons, but the main generals of the French Army did not seem to like heavy artillery. According to our inference, Luv's army had 8 to 10 divisions of front-line troops and several divisions of reserve troops, with a total force of more than 250,000."

"On the right wing of the French 3rd Army, the southwest of the defense zone of this army, about the front line of Saint Miere to Nevcharto, the 4th French Army commanded by De Langel, was deployed. This was a veteran who participated in the French war and was 64 years old, who was serving in the French army, but he was still stayed to serve as commander. As far as I know, this man was as short as Napoleon, energetic and keen on attacks. In Alsace, his cavalry troops rushed the fiercest, but ended up bleeding in front of artillery fire and machine guns of the Bavarian Legion. I heard that the worst battle, the French cavalry killed more than 2,000 people in one hour, and the bodies of knights and horses covered the fields."

Colonel von Carson is the chief staff officer of Crown William. He was born in a traditional military family in Prussia. He was just 40 when the war broke out. He was quick-witted, careful and cautious, and had the arrogant personality that many German officials during this period. Next to the miniature sand table of the Legion Command, he introduced the enemy situation he currently possessed to Xia Shu in a smooth language. The sharp-faced, tall and thin Crown William sat aside indifferently, siping his refreshing cold white wine. When Colonel Carson finished speaking, he said indifferently:

"I think Luff was frightened by the casualties of the Battle of Arthas. He was afraid of taking the price of the attack. We occupied a high place on the terrain. As long as we attacked decisively and quickly, a few charges might lead the enemy to the other side of the Maas River."

"What then?" Xia Shu asked along the way.

"Then?" Crown Prince William's reaction clearly told Xia Shu that he had no long-term combat plan, but was just thinking about winning a battle and getting rid of the embarrassment of being still. That's it.

Xia Shu looked at Colonel Carson. That year, Crown William was ordered to preside over the Army's autumn meeting. Carson was in his staff team. The two had a brief experience of working together, but the step-by-step exercise obviously cannot be compared with the ever-changing actual combat. How high a think tank's level is, war is the best touchstone.

Colonel Carson thought for a moment and replied: "The United Friendly Neighbors annihilate the French troops on the east bank of the Maas River, and then respond to the right-wing attacking troops, force the Maas River to cross the Maas River, and implement two-wing encirclement on the main forces of the French army, recreating the glory of the battle."

Crown Prince William immediately interrupted: "With the strength of us, the Bavarian Legion and the Württemberg Legion, it is a waste to act as a feint to lure the enemy into a feint! Humph, the current Martial * team is still as 45 years ago, and we have become stronger than that time!"

From an objective perspective of history, the French team has not really been a hero since the French-Prussian War. Whether in World War I or World War II, they were not opponents of the German team in a single battle. However, the French officers and soldiers during World War I were at least more motivated than World War II. Their tactical qualities were not much different from those of the German team of the same era, and they had a slight advantage in field battles.

"Col. At normal offensive speed, how many days can we fight to the banks of the Maas River?" Xia Shu directly asked Carson.

Carson thought for a while, but before he could see the crown prince William, he answered: "If it goes well, three days will be enough."

Xia Shu shook her head: "As far as I know, the French Army is equipped with a powerful secret weapon, 75mm field rapid-fire cannons. They are not used to deal with fortresses and fortresses, but are very powerful for field offense and position defense. Objectively speaking, a gun with such fire is comparable to our two 77mm cannons..."

Before he finished speaking, Crown Prince William sneered: "Ha, these are all old rumors! If the French really had such high-performance artillery, why didn't they beat our Bavarian Legion in Alsace, but were beaten to death?"

In Alsace, the 6th German Army, mainly Bavarian soldiers, followed the combat deployment of the German General Staff, and after the war started, relying on the fortress defense line to resist the French attack. Compared with the 77mm caliber m96 standard field artillery of the German army, the 1897 field rapid-fire gun of the French army has a long range and a fast firing speed. It is equipped with rapid advancement and violently suppressed "hurricane tactic" with astonishing power, but it has no choice but to the defensive positions of the 6th German Army with heavy artillery, barbed wire and machine gun bunker.

In order to clarify the facts and not to embarrass the crown prince William, Natsuki smiled mischievously and then shrugged: "This is not a rumor! I can use my reputation to guarantee that the French team's field rapid-fire cannons are extremely powerful... Those captured British officials dare not fool us on this issue."

The smile really kept their conversation in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. Crown Prince William said confidently: "Even if it is not a rumor, we will use howitzers to destroy them from the range of French field guns. What else can we worry about?"

"The biggest worry is indeed not the enemy's field artillery, but the timing." Xia Shu said, while moving his eyes back and forth between Crown Prince William and Colonel Carson. "The terrain of the Arden Mountains is conducive to our defense. Similarly, the Maas River is a natural trench for the French army. Once the war is unfavorable, they will easily organize tight defenses on the west bank of the Maas River. When we clean up the French team on the east bank of the Maas River and want to cross the river, it may be a very heavy price."

Colonel Carson turned to look at the sand table and nodded in response: "It's true."

"Let's look at the entire front." Xia Shu guided, "From Belgium in the north to Alsace in the south, our seven legions lined up. Luke and Bilo's legions on the right wing were the strongest, but they encountered the strongest resistance and the longest march route. After a stage of combat, the soldiers needed time to rest, so they might not have arrived in Paris first. In the middle, the troops of Hausen and the Duke of Württemberg were weaker, and their attack areas were easily supported by the main force of the French army, and their propulsion speed would not be faster than the right wing. Therefore, the best opportunity for attack was actually on the left wing."

When he heard this, the Crown Prince William, who was eager to seek merit, suddenly felt a little excited. He brought the cup to the sand table, thought it out in a decent way, and asked Xia Shu for advice: "In this way, we should break through the Maas River as fast as possible and then attack Paris."

Natsuki did not answer directly, but asked back: "You must still remember the No. 2 plan we discussed before the autumn meeting! This is the real tactical essence!"

Whether you remember or not, Prince William's eyes were firmly attracted by the bright color representing Paris on the sand table. After a while, he asked Carson: "What do you think?"

"Together with the Bavarian Legion, we have 10 first-class corps and 5 cavalry divisions, 4 supplementary divisions, and 5 reserve brigades as reserves. As long as we cross the Maas River, nothing on the French plains can stop us from advancing... But the only thing I am not sure about is that the road to Paris is 300 kilometers away. How can we protect our logistics supply line from being cut off by the French army?"

Before Xia Shu could speak, Crown Prince William said confidently: "Put one division every 20 kilometers and use the cavalry division to maneuver. At that time, we can invest at least 10 divisions to attack Paris. As long as we are faster than the enemy, Paris will be an empty city!"

Carson looked at Xia Shu with a calm expression. The two of them used their eyes to communicate with each other and came to a consensus conclusion on the Crown Prince's strategy: nonsense!

"A thin needle is enough to kill people even if our 'needle' is just piercing the enemy's heart, fear of the threat of death will naturally make the enemy withdraw his arms and protect his chest regardless of everything." Natsuki used a simple metaphor to explain the intention of the offensive plan.

Colonel Carson quickly understood Xia Shu's intention. He was enlightened and said quickly: "I think what Prince Joachim means is... We break through the defense line of the Maas at a speed unexpectedly from the enemy, besiege the Fortress of Verdun, and then occupy the important strongholds of Saint-Merould, Champagne, and Fort Thierry in turn. Even if our troops are still a hundred kilometers away from Paris, the French team on the northern front will have to withdraw quickly. When we suddenly turn forward and go to the Compiène area in northeastern Paris, we can work with the right wing troops to turn it into the second sedan."

Xia Shu nodded in praise: "Although the final march route needs to be determined based on the progress of the battle and the movements of the enemy, the overall plan is basically like this."

Crown Prince William was still a little confused at this time. He looked at Xia Shu and his most capable aides. Seeing that they all felt that this offensive plan could defeat the Far* team the most important thing is to make him turn from a supporting role to a protagonist. What reason does he have to object?

Colonel Carson thought this was an attractive plan, but he did not blindly follow Xia Shu's thinking. He thought about it with the cautious attitude of a professional soldier, and then said to Xia Shu: "That's right, Your Highness, the arrival of the Mas River in three days before, refers to the situation of the war. In fact, we do not have a very good understanding of the Lufu Army. Many situations are mainly our judgment and speculation. The key is to look at the speed of our breakthrough in the French army's Longwei-Memedi defense line. Furthermore, when we arrive on the banks of the Mas River, it is still a big unknown whether we can successfully seize the bridge and allow the army to pass quickly. If the French army blows up the bridge and builds a defensive position on the other side, we still need to raise the crossing equipment, and the propulsion speed will be greatly affected."

Xia Shu had a solution, and he replied calmly: "Since this is the case, I have two suggestions: the first is to send reconnaissance troops to conduct fire reconnaissance on the French defense line, and the second is to request the General Staff to dispatch airships and planes to participate in the war."

Crown Prince William replied without hesitation: "These two are not difficult to accomplish."

Natsuki continued: "In addition, the Navy formed an experimental assault force in Danze, equipped with combat vehicles and sea and land assault boats. Through training exercises, we found that these tanks had strong defense breakthrough capabilities, and sea and land assault boats were also suitable for crossing rivers. I could convince the Navy's Staff to call this force, but it needed the cooperation of the military department to transport them to the front line through the railway line."

Crown Prince William thought about it for a moment: "This is not a problem either."

Carson asked curiously: "Is the navy's tank different from ours?"

The German Army's tanks were just cars wearing armored plates. Many powerful countries had such equipment. The Italian army also put them into actual combat in the war against the Ottoman Turkey and played some effects, but they were far less shocking than the appearance of real tanks and chariots.
Chapter completed!