During the war, all military and civilians in the same country and the same camp should be consistent with the outside world, but reality is often unsatisfactory. Fierce internal fighting and internal friction are even more destructive than external enemies. To solve the various problems arising from joint combat between the army and naval forces, Xia Shu's royal identity is not a master key. Improper use may also bring negative effects to him, so he maintained his usual low-key attitude most of the time, but at the critical moment, he stood up as always.

"...To sum up, my opinion is...At 7:00, artillery fire suppression begins, firepower extends backward at 7:40, and smoke bombs are fired at the same time. At 8:00, the commando team crosses the river, and at 9:00, the offensive troops cross the river. Do you have any objections to this timetable?"

This is the Joint Operations Command of the Army and Navy on the Oates River Front. In addition to General Huth, the commander of the 1st Marine Division, General Von Holfer, Chief of Staff of the 1st German Corps, General Von Matteska of the 9th Cavalry Division, General Kosser of the 14th Infantry Division and General Henak of the 40th Infantry Division.

General Von Holfer said in a tactful tone: "From past experience, there are many benefits to launching an attack in the early morning. For example, if the advance troops launch an attack before dawn, the dark cover is no worse than the smoke screen. It is not easy for the enemy to understand our deployment. When the advance troops open a breakthrough on the enemy's defense line, it is almost dawn. Follow-up troops can quickly and accurately reinforce, and artillery can also find the enemy's forces to gather in the area to carry out artillery attacks."

In an equally gentle tone, Natsuki retorted: "In terms of tactics alone, launching an attack in the early morning is indeed a more ideal choice. We think so, our opponents will be so prepared. If nothing unexpected happens, they have already reserved a considerable number of flares, and when it gets dark, it is difficult for our gunners to find the enemy's front-line firepower point. Instead of doing this, it is better to simply launch an attack at the enemy's breakfast meal and catch them off guard."

After saying that, Xia Shu paused for a moment, skipped the question just now and continued to explain: "If you want to talk about the land command ability, everyone here is the best among German officials, and looking at the world is the first-class. Based on the tactical suggestions put forward by you, I suggest that the 8,000 advance commando team is divided into two, the 2nd Corps selects 5,000 most experienced elite soldiers to form the main attack force, and the 1st Marine Division selects 3,000 naval soldiers to form the support force. The active force launches an attack on the No. 10 position on the opposite shore, with 15 naval tanks cooperating with the action; the support force launches an attack on the No. 16 position, supported by 5 naval tanks. According to my personal habits, there are 6 tanks on standby as reserves. Do you have any objections?"

Army generals, look at me, I look at you, von Holfer, von Matteska and Koser, the three lieutenant generals, did not say anything, and the rest chose to remain silent tactfully.

"Since everyone has no objection, His Majesty the German Emperor and General Moltke, the Chief of Staff of the Army, also agreed that we are fully responsible for this offensive operation. The combat plan is finalized, and the attack time is set for tomorrow." Xia Shu raised her hand and looked at her watch, "From now on, we have 20 hours to make the final preparations."

At this time, General Henak, who has relatively shallow qualifications but excellent command ability, spoke: "Have you considered... At present, the crown prince's troops have broken through the two outermost lines of defense in Paris. The French troops are retreating to the downtown area of ​​Paris. Perhaps in less than 20 hours or slightly longer than 20 hours, the French team opposite us retreated on their own. Is it necessary for us to launch such an attack at the cost of thousands of soldiers?"

Xia Shu glanced at everyone and replied firmly: "It's necessary!"

A few syllables are sonorous and powerful, and the conference room is silent.

"If the French team on the opposite side is packing up their luggage and preparing to retreat, why don't we attack and defeat them, but let them retreat to Paris to continue to resist. If we don't annihilate them here, they will soon block our other troops elsewhere, and then the Germans will still be injured and sacrificed. Furthermore, Paris is likely to be the end of the battle between Germany and France. Do you want to end the journey with the regret of being blocked by the enemy outside Paris? No, of course not, for the sake of the overall situation of the war and for our unshakable military belief, we must launch this attack to defeat the French defense!"

During the few days of stopping the attack, the number of German troops transported to the banks of the Oates River increased to more than 90,000. According to the air reconnaissance report, the French team on the other side had no more than 30,000, and the gap between the forces between the two sides was very different. The German army was able to obtain support from the naval air force and some army aircraft, and there were few traces of French aircraft here; the German army had field artillery, light and heavy howitzers, and a batch of long-range and powerful train guns, and the French team only had field artillery and machine guns, and the firepower output of the artillery on both sides was definitely not on the same level; the German army had almost no worries, and the French officers and soldiers were always paying attention to the battle situation in the east of Paris, and the situation continued to deteriorate, which made them panic.

The bloody and cruel battles have allowed the 1st Marine Division to grow up, a rookie unit that has never fought, and although there is still a gap with the German Army's old troops that are full of honors and dare to fight, it is like a sword that has been cut and drunk with blood. The selection of advance assault troops has begun before the joint command was approved. As before, this selection is based on voluntary participation.

, and the application is submitted based on the squad as the basic unit. That is to say, only if all soldiers of one squad join the assault force voluntarily, the squad is qualified to enter the selection. Because not every soldier is not afraid of life and death, the squad leader must do the work of all subordinates to meet this basic requirement. In the selection stage, there is also a very important priority principle. If all officers and soldiers of a whole squad voluntarily join the assault force, the priority level selected by this squad will be higher than that of a single infantry squad.

Inheriting the military tradition of Prussia, the military atmosphere of the Second German Empire was very strong. Most of the young people who grew up under the glory of the empire were proud of joining the army, advocating bravery, and eager for merit. Therefore, in the 1st Marine Division, the work of recruiting 3,000 commandos was very smooth. The assault troops raced against time to carry out the training exercises to achieve the maximum combat effectiveness calmly and orderly when they were engaged in actual combat.

The German troops on the other side were sharpened, and the French troops on the river could not be unaware of it. For several days, they have been consolidating fortifications and preparing for war, but the number of defenders has not increased accordingly, and even ammunition and logistics supplies have not been able to keep up in time. French officers and soldiers can only eat bread with clear soup, and this is not the worst. As part of the Parisian defense line, their front line is under the jurisdiction of the French 4th Army, but the participating troops belong to three different armies, and the command and coordination issues are not less than those of the Germans on the opposite side. As the German heavy army launched an offensive against the Paris defense line, captured Mocheng, and advanced to Scheller, the 3rd Army was in short supply and the situation was critical. They hoped to transfer back a brigade of infantry that had previously raided the Oates River defense line.

Instead of making a decision, Gallieni personally called General De Langel, the commander of the 4th Army, and asked if he could urgently draw two infantry divisions to the eastern defense line of Paris. De Langel tactfully refused and suggested that Gallieni draw troops from the western and southern defense lines where there was no war, which aroused the dissatisfaction of some generals of the 4th Army. You must know that these two armies had been unhappy in the Lorraine Front and the Arden battlefield due to cooperation issues. In the overall situation, there are still some short-sighted and selfish guys who are keen on despicable internal friction.

The second offensive of the German Navy and Army troops against the French River Oates defense line has entered the countdown stage, and in eastern Paris, the speed of changes in the battlefield situation is dazzling. After capturing Villeparisi, the 5th Legion commanded by Crown William took only 4 hours to capture the location of the French 4th Army Command and the important fulcrum of the eastern defense line, Scheller. This progress once made Crown William and his staff think that the French army's complete collapse

The collapse was approaching, but the resilience of the French team was far stronger than they thought. In Livry Gargon, the German advance troops were stubbornly blocked by the concession team. The reserve troops of the French 9th Army arrived in time and together with the troops affiliated to the 3rd Army, resisted the German attack. The British Expeditionary Force, which was originally deployed in northern France, urgently dispatched troops. The two battalions of Scottish cavalry bravely launched a battlefield counterattack under the cover of French artillery.

Soon, the troops of the 6th French Army, transferred from the southern Paris defense line, launched a counterattack to regain Scheller and fought with the German troops west of Scheller. For a village with a little tactical value, the two sides could fight 7 times in 4 hours, each of which suffered three to four thousand casualties. The ditches in the open area, the roads in the fields and the isolated mills could all become the targets of the German and French army fighting. The tragic scene that once appeared on the Marne River was repeated again. At dusk, the German army still controlled Scheller, but was counterattacked by the French army from the north and south directions, so they turned from attack to defense. In Livre-Gargon, the German army organized two consecutive attacks after initial setbacks, and barely occupied the small ones when they were put into heavy chariots.
Chapter completed!