In a quiet evening, Xia Shu sat alone on a bench at the Keel military dock, reading a letter written by his elder brother, Crown Prince William. More than a week has passed since the second Battle of Flanders. In that wonderful and tortuous and bizarre battle, the German high seas fleet once again severely damaged the British Navy at a relatively small price, sinking nearly 100 British ships including the super-dreadnought "Ajax", the dreadnought "St. Vincent", the battlecruiser "Unforcing" and "Indomitable". The German Navy's main battleships showed full power, and the high-speed torpedo that had been sharpening a sword for ten years.

The boat troops shone brightly. During this battle, the German Navy not only boldly threatened the Thames estuary, but also made a surprising move to the world: sending "Blüchel" and "Glaudenz" across the English Channel. On the military level, this combat operation was even more thrilling than the voyage of "Von der Tann" and "Breslau" to Ottoman Turkey. In terms of political significance, they successfully challenged the longest and most stable authority of the British Navy, took the time to save the only confidence of the British and the people, and let the whole world see the weakness of the British Empire and the dominance of the German Empire.

On the third day after breaking into the Atlantic Ocean, the Blüchel and the Glaudendz showed their sharp fangs. They attacked a British fleet from Canada in the northwest of Ireland. After only more than forty minutes of fighting, they sank a British protective cruiser and two armed cargo ships. The British Navy quickly sent two armored cruisers and five destroyers, but they did not even see the shadows of these two German warships.

At the same time, the number of German submarines in the English Channel and Atlantic Ocean increased to 25, and the performance of these sea wolves was also rising. On September 8 alone, the German submarine troops sank two British auxiliary cruisers and eight cargo ships. The number of ships sunk in a single day exceeded the double digits for the first time, and the next day, 7 British ships were sunk. The threat and containment of British local routes was like a blood clot in the cardiovascular vessels, and life was in danger after a long time.

If thrombosis is just a chronic threat, then the east coast of Britain facing the North Sea is suffocating oppression. German mine-burning ships attacked every night, laying mines in British ports and waterways along the North Sea. German light cruisers carrying seaplanes continued to conduct daytime reconnaissance on British naval bases and military ports such as Scarpaflo in the north and Fouse Bay on the east coast of Scotland. In sharp contrast to the frequent activities of the German Navy, the British Navy changed from a comprehensive blockade at the beginning of the war to a full suppression and focused on defense. Except for submarine troops and mine-burning ships, few British warships were close to Jitterland.

In the sea area, the British fleet mostly only passively parry against the attacks of the German Navy, rather than taking counterattacks with both symptoms and root causes. Submarine forces, which were not highly valued before the war, became the most active combat force of the British Navy in the North Sea. During the end of the Second Battle of Flanders, the number of reports of German airships and seaplanes discovered enemy submarines increased sharply, and they used aviation bombs and machine guns to sink one and injured five. In order to prevent the attack of British submarines, the German Navy's patrol ships continued to impose strict vigilance on the Gulf of Helgolan and Kil Bay, and also strengthened the alert settings in Lubeck, Danze and other places.

Through three decisive attacks, the German Navy successfully reversed the comparison of the strength of the maritime forces, but on the continental battlefield, the German team was reluctant to win a truly decisive victory. On the Eastern Front, the victory of Tannenburg, directed by Hindenburg and Rudendolf, temporarily eliminated the Russian threat to East Prussia of Germany. However, the two main forces of the Austro-Hungarian Empire were defeated by the Russian army, losing more than 500,000 troops, and abandoning countless equipment. The rich Silesia was in danger of being occupied by the Russian army. It was bloody all the way in Serbia, with no face and lost all confidence. The dismal performance of the Austro-Hungarian army completely offset the victory score won by the German army on the Russian army.

On the Western Front, the French army's tenacious will to resist was beyond the imagination of the Germans. Even the highly regarded Crown Prince William wrote in his letter: The spirit of the French soldiers who would rather die than surrender was a glorious tradition they were proud of, but since the border was setback, they have been retreating, and were exhausted, and such an army should have collapsed with one blow, but these unkempt and embarrassed soldiers picked up their weapons without hesitation when they heard the sound of the military horn and charged into battle like tigers and wolves, even when they faced our cannons and machine guns, which we had never estimated, and might have never been studied in our military science.

Since bidding farewell to the Western Front, Xia Shu can receive a letter from Royal William every two days, either long or short, or express worries or good news. After the Second Battle of Flanders, he expressed his willingness to invite Xia Shu to work for the staff several times. However, based on many considerations, Xia Shu did not agree, but devoted himself to the fleet's combat affairs. After all, the British were repairing their damaged ships day and night, and several main warships that were about to be completed were also being built. Recently, there were information that Britain was not only actively inciting Italy and the United States to participate in the Allies, but also

An important military cooperation was reached with Japan, which had declared war on its allies, that is, the Japanese Navy sent its main fleet to fight in the Mediterranean and Europe. The British Navy suffered consecutive defeats and its strength was severely frustrated, which was no longer enough to maintain the unique maritime hegemony of the British Empire. It was a great opportunity for Japan, the United States, and Italy to expand their maritime power. In Natsuki's view, only a quick victory could avoid these potential troubles, and Britain and France had signed a mutually binding treaty, agreeing that peace with Germany should not be made alone during this war, so a complete defeat of Britain should be considered as defeating France.

Put down the letter paper with the crown prince's private seal printed, Xia Shu quietly watched the sea with the setting sun. The repaired warships were quietly docking on their berths, and the guard ships guarding the port were patrolling back and forth. The tragic and bloody battle scenes have become memories. Before the new battle came, he enjoyed this moment of tranquility, but the words on the letter paper reminded him of the cruel scenes he had witnessed on the Western Front: Thousands of soldiers launched a charge without covering, and then fell down in bundles like harvested wheat straw. Life is so cheap. The generals of both sides of the war only consider victory but not sacrifice. This is simply a barbaric war in a civilized society!

In this letter, the words of Crown Prince William were filled with optimism. Although he had been delayed for too long in Verdun, which made him missed the excellent opportunity to cut off the 4th and 5th Army retreat in the Compiène area, the Crown Prince of Bavaria was obviously not too upset. As early as September 7, Bavaria's Crown Prince Ruprecht led his main force to Verdun, and the two crown princes joined forces to conquer this crucial French fortress. After the Battle of Verdun, William only gave a few main force two days to rest, and immediately led a large army to the River Marne. Now, his advance troops have arrived on the banks of the River Marne, and his legion command is less than a hundred kilometers away from Paris.

Geographically, the Somme River located in northern France, the Aene River in the east and the Marne River guard the passage from Germany and Belgium to Paris. The Somme River is about 50 miles from Paris. After the war started, the British and French troops deployed defense lines along the river. The German team arrived at the east bank of the Somme at the end of August, but has not taken any offensive action since then, because the Luke army on the right wing of the German army did not advance along the French coast, but turned south after crossing the French border, bypassed the Somme River, and attacked the Marne River.

The Aene River, which is located between the Somme and the Marne River, flows east-west as a whole. It flows into the Oates River, a tributary of the Seine River more than 30 miles northeast of Paris. Two French armies retreated from the French-Bee border here to block the troops of Luke, Bilo and Hausen. After days of fierce fighting, the French army was repelled, and some troops retreated to Paris, and some retreated to the Marne River.

The Marne River originated from the Langre Plateau in northeastern France and merged into the Seine River in southeastern Paris. Geographically, the German team did not need to cross the Marne River. Just walk down the river, they could reach the southeastern suburbs of Paris, where they set up cannons to bombard the French capital. However, on the military level, the main French troops retreated from Alsace and Lorraine gathered on the south bank of the Marne River. If the German army led their troops into Paris before defeating them, once the French counterattack and cut off the German offensive troops' retreat, the entire battle against France would be in danger of failure. Schliffen's plan also required the German army to encircle and annihilate the French main force on the south bank of the Marne River before advancing into Paris.

.Now, the German right wing Luke's army, Bilo's army, Hausen's army in the middle, Albrecht's army, William's army on the left wing, Crown Prince Ruprecht's army, six German main corps, and millions of elite troops have all gathered in the Marne River Basin. Victory seems to be within reach, but after several modifications and changes have occurred during the implementation process, the end of victory it pointed to has become a pit that was not strong enough. The right wing failed to crush the French resistance forces along the way. Now, if Luke and Bilo's troops want to attack, they do not have enough troops to protect their flanks, and if they want to protect their flanks, they cannot attack.
Chapter completed!