Late at night on October 3, 1914, the German naval submarine numbered U-35 in the eastern waters of the English Channel quietly sailed to the North Sea with 30 crew members in a floating state. The combat submarine was commanded by the young Captain Carl Buschcherman. It had been active at sea for more than two weeks and had achieved good results in sinking an Entente, two cargo ships and one barge. It was on its way back due to torpedoes and supplies exhaustion. At about 40 nautical miles from the entrance of the Dover Strait, the alert lookouts on the boat suddenly discovered a fleet from Britain to France.

Captain Buschchman immediately ordered a report to the submarine command. To ensure the information was delivered, the radio operator on the boat sent telegrams continuously before receiving the feedback signal from the headquarters. However, just a few minutes later, a British warship suddenly attacked at high speed and attacked the u-35 with fierce artillery fire. Captain Buschchman decisively directed the submarine to dive, but unfortunately, the submarine was quickly hit by a shell fired by the British ship, and the double-decker hull was blown through, and four crew members were killed on the spot. In this case, the submarine was not only unable to submarine, but also could not guarantee the most basic balance. Captain Buschchman had to order the abandonment of the boat.

Seeing the German submarine capsized, the British warship that attacked it hurriedly leaned forward to try to capture the German submarine, but before evacuating the submarine, Captain Buschchmann had already asked the crew to destroy the codebook on the boat and opened the sea valve at the bottom of the boat. The British could only watch the fierce underwater hunter completely disappear into the depths of the sea.

With a nervous mood, Captain Buscherman and the surviving German crew floated on the sea for more than half an hour. After the British warship had biped twice, it was basically confirmed that there were no other German submarines nearby, and then it began to contain the German officers and soldiers who fell into the water.

After boarding the ship as a prisoner, Captain Buschchmann quietly observed the situation on the ship. This was a thousand-ton destroyer. Judging from the ship's lines and weapons, it should be a new ship that has been in service recently. The officers and soldiers on the ship included both young men and mature and steady faces. Almost everyone's expressions were strangely serious, and the atmosphere seemed very heavy. In the non-combat position, Buschchmann saw several British Army personnel wearing flat-top hats and khaki uniforms.

After Captain Buscherman revealed his identity, the British separated him and his crew and brought him to the bridge. There, the captain of the British destroyer had a brief conversation with him in the form of a victorious manner. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Captain Buscherman looked at the surrounding sea. The fleet had at least ten ships. Judging from the shape, size and number of chimneys, there were several short-distance fast ferries, which were usually faster than ordinary cargo ships and barges, and could carry hundreds of passengers. At this time, the sleeping point had long passed, and people could still be seen on the decks of those ferries. Although they could not see their appearance and outfits, it was not difficult for Captain Buscherman to guess that the fleet was sending a group of British army combatants to France.

Speaking fluent English, Captain Buschchmann asked the captain of the British destroyer: "Where are transporting troops so close to the Dover Strait, aren't you afraid of being attacked by our cruisers?"

The moustache-enhancing official tightened his face and looked at Busch Cheman with an unkind look.

From the other party's expression, Buschchelman read some interesting things, but unfortunately he could not teleport his inference to the Navy Command. He could only hope that his colleagues from friendly ships or naval aviation units could discover the enemy situation in time.

After a moment of silence, the British captain said coldly: "Your Blüchel and Glaudens were able to cross the English Channel in a very lucky situation. Once again, even if the flagship of your battle cruiser fleet comes, we can send it to the bottom of the sea."

"Oh?" Captain Buschcherman blinked, "You are sure that the Blücher and Glaudens are passing through the strait?"

The British captain snorted coldly: "Can we escape in a panic by our warships in the Atlantic Ocean, Deflinger, Moltke or Seedlitz, the invincible warships you praised for being so popular with heaven?"

Captain Buschchmann said mysteriously: "When the war is over, you will naturally know the answer."

"Don't be too happy too early. Whoever wins and loses this war may be sure, but one thing is certain: you and your soldiers can only survive in the British prisoner-of-war camp until the end of the war."

After saying that, the British captain waved his hand and ordered the sailors to escort him to the lower cabin.

Unlike the cabins of large warships, in order to improve the sinking resistance, the early destroyers (including large torpedo boats) did not open the portholes of the hull, and only approached the bow and higher than the waterline, the officers' cabins with natural light could enjoy a living environment with natural light. When they were escorted into the dark bottom cabin, Captain Buscherman could only judge from the roar of the turbine and the bumps of the hull that the destroyer was sailing at a faster speed. During the previous search, the British sailors did not take his watch, which at least gave him an accurate understanding of time. When it was almost dawn, the destroyer's speed was significantly slowed down, and it seemed that he was approaching the French coast. Although it was impossible to infer its exact location, it certainly did not run out of the Strait of Dover, nor was it a port as far away as Le Havre.

At this time, a voice came from the cabin passage. Captain Buscherman heard an officer urging the soldiers to check their luggage to avoid pulling down objects. He did not disclose where they landed, but someone mentioned the place name "Amiens".

After slowing down the speed, the destroyer did not stop completely. The soldiers on the ship might have to be transferred to the shore through small boats. Given that the German army has not occupied the northern coast of France, the British are obviously guarding against threats from the sea at all times.

Four hours later, at around nine o'clock in the morning, the destroyer's engines resumed a strong and powerful roar. Usually, a ferry takes at least two or three hours from entering the port channel, docking, unloading passengers to offshore. That is to say, these ferries unload the troops they carry with the fastest efficiency. If the ship carries a large amount of equipment and supplies, it should take much longer.

The answer that Captain Buschchmann so hard was soon revealed by the British. Later that day, the 32nd German Infantry Division, commanded by General Sigmund, was suddenly bombarded by enemy heavy artillery when he was ordered to attack Abveil. The offensive that was originally progressing smoothly collapsed. Before that, no German aerial reconnaissance and ground infiltration were found to have no heavy artillery deployed near Abveil. The report of the 32nd Infantry Division immediately caused Cluke.

The general's attention was that the brave and resourceful general sent air forces to reconnaissance. German planes soon found multiple gunboats in the northwest of Abveer, the smallest was only a few dozen tons and the large one was only two or three hundred tons, and the naval guns carried ranged from one or two to five or six. The pilot could not confirm the caliber of the gunboats, because there were no traces of other artillery units around, so it was inferred that the 32nd Infantry Division was bombarded by these gunboats.

During the aerial reconnaissance, German pilots accidentally discovered that a large number of troops were gathering near Abveur. The soldiers were wearing yellow-brown uniforms, which were significantly different from the blue tops and red pants of the French local army. Although the French African colonial army also issued khaki uniforms, Cluke still determined that the newly arrived Envoy* team was a British Expeditionary Force.

After the Battle of Marne, the German General Staff decided to attack Paris with the relatively complete 4th, 5th and 6th legions. The 1st and 2nd legions rested and supplemented in Belgium and northern France, and then occupied the northern coast of France, threatening Paris from the right wing, and the 3rd and 7th legions advanced to southeastern France.

Like the 2nd Legion commanded by Bilo, Cluke's troops suffered heavy losses on the Marine River battlefield. More than half of the infantry divisions were beaten and lost their combat effectiveness. It would take at least seven or eight weeks to restore to their original level. However, in order to support the offensive operations of the Marines, Cluke pieced together two infantry divisions and a cavalry division to support the front line of the Oates River. Since the end of the border battle, the 32nd Infantry Division, which has been stationed in northern France, became the only combat unit that Cluke could take advantage of at this time.

After the Battle of Paris started, in order to defend the capital, the French army drew reinforcements from various defense areas at all costs, and the defense in northern France was greatly weakened. Because of this, Cluke ordered General Sigmund to lead the main force of the 32nd Infantry Division to attack the lower reaches of the Somme River. The situation was as if he had expected. After the 32nd Infantry Division broke through the French defense line in Bernavier west of Duran, it was as if it had entered a deserted land. It took only two days to advance to the outlet of the Somme River, Abveur. This town is more than 40 kilometers away from Amiens. Once the German army occupied it, the Calais province at the northernmost end of France and the Entente Team in northwestern Belgium would lose land contact with the French hinterland, and personnel transportation and material supply could only rely on the fragile cross-strait route.
Chapter completed!