Chapter 483 Prelude to the Decisive Battle on the Western Front

Reims, an important city in northeastern France. Now, it is already under the control of the German army. Northern France has a convenient railway network and a dense road network, allowing the German army to use these transportation facilities to quickly mobilize troops and supplies. The German Western Front Command was established in Reims. Imperial Crown Prince Qin Tian and a group of generals arrived here on March 28.

Although Qin Tian is still concurrently serving as the commander of the 8th Army. However, the chief of staff, Lieutenant General Ludendorff, is responsible for all the affairs of the 8th Army. Qin Tian only needs to be responsible in the general direction. Qin Tian valued Lieutenant General Ludendorff's ability very much, and intended to further train him. After the war is over, he is even planned to be the commander of the legion or the deputy chief of staff.

Qin Tian stood in the war room of the headquarters, looking at the map hanging on the wall. Please clearly mark the situation of the enemy and the enemy with red and black on it. The 8 legions of the German army formed four clusters. That is, the right-wing cluster formed by the 1st and 8th legions, the central cluster composed of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th legions, and the left-wing cluster composed of the 6th and 7th legions. The central group has four legions, with a total force of 820,000, the strongest force. The total strength of the right-wing cluster is 500,000, and the total strength of the left-wing cluster is more than 400,000.

Compared with the German army, the British and French allied forces represented in red have stronger troops. The French Army, the British Expeditionary Force, and the numbers of each unit are densely deployed on the south bank of the Marne River, as well as the area from the south of Amiens to the north of Paris.

"Manstein, our military strength is only about 60% of the British and French allied forces. It will be difficult to defeat them in this battle!" Qin Tian said.

"Your Highness, we have fought many times to win more battles with less. I believe that we can also win this time." Major General Manstein is full of confidence in this.

"I also have the confidence to win. However, the British and French allied forces are not Russian after all, so we need to be careful this time." Qin Tian said. In Qin Tian's view, the fighting power of the British and French allied forces is undoubtedly much stronger than that of the Russian army.

"Yes, Your Highness." Manstein nodded.

"Your Highness, General Bülow, General Howson, Duke of Württemberg and General Dimmling are here." A staff officer came in and reported.

"Let them all come in!" Qin Tian said.

Admiral Bülow was the commander of the 2nd Army, Admiral Howson was the commander of the 3rd Army, the Duke of Württemberg was the commander of the 4th Army, and Admiral Diemling was the commander of the 5th Army. If it weren't for the fact that Crown Prince William was thrown into a vegetable, the commander of the 5th Army should be his.

"Your Highness." Several generals saluted Qin Tian.

"Please sit down, everyone. Manstein, send someone to bring coffee." Qin Tian said.

"Okay, Your Highness." Major General Manstein immediately went to make arrangements.

"Generals, are your troops ready?" Qin Tian asked.

"Your Highness, the 2nd Army Corps is ready to fight and is ready to launch an attack at any time!" General Billo said.

Several other legion commanders also expressed their opinions.

Qin Tian nodded: "According to the previously planned combat objectives, the 2nd Army is responsible for attacking Champagne-Chalons, the 3rd Army is responsible for attacking Epernay, the 4th Army is responsible for attacking Château de Thierry, and the 5th Army is the reserve force. , ready to reinforce the frontline ministries at any time."

Several generals nodded repeatedly. They already knew about these combat missions at the last pre-war meeting.

"According to the information we have received, the armies facing us include the French 2nd Army, 4th Army, 6th Army, 8th Army, 9th Army, and the 2nd Army of the British Expeditionary Force, with a total strength of more than 1.2 million troops. There are more than 400,000 people more than us. But even so, I believe we will be able to defeat them."

"Your Highness, our troops have been strengthened. Each legion has formed an armored force, and the firepower of the ministries below has also been strengthened. Even if the British and French coalition forces are 400,000 more than ours, we can still defeat them." Admiral Howson said.

For the past six months, the German Army has been preparing. The weapons developed by the German military industry company have been tested through the performance of the 8th Army on the Eastern Front. In addition, Xiao Moqi was dismissed, and the new chief of staff, von Falkenhain, was from Qin Tian, ​​so the weapons developed by the German Arms Company began to equip the armies on the Western Front. It's just that, because of the limited time, each legion does not carry out a comprehensive refit like the 8th legion, but among the infantry units, machine gun firepower and semi-automatic rifles have been strengthened.

If it weren't for the heavy task of the right-wing cluster, Qin Tian would have planned to transfer the 8th Army to the central cluster. However, for the right-wing group to attack two hundred kilometers long-distance, it needs stronger combat effectiveness and maneuverability, which made Qin Tian place the 8th Army on the right wing.

Seeing that everyone has confidence in this, Qin Tian is still very satisfied. With the rigorous character of the Germans, he believed that these generals were not bragging. Besides, he is the Crown Prince of the Empire, the future Crown Prince of the Empire. If these guys brag in front of him, there will be plenty of ways to deal with them after he becomes emperor.

"At 8 o'clock tomorrow morning, our central cluster will take the lead in attacking. The day after tomorrow, the left-wing cluster and right-wing cluster will launch an attack. I hope that we can set an example and break through the Marne River defense line of the British and French allied forces within three days." Qin Tian said.

"Yes, Your Highness." Several commanders replied. Everyone is confident about it.

Qin Tian talked with several generals about the current battle situation and the possible movements of the British and French allied forces after the battle started. From the conversation with them, Qin Tian could feel their confidence. Although, while the German army was resting, the British and French allied forces were not idle, and were also preparing for the war. They mobilized a large number of troops and built strong fortifications on the south bank of the Marne in an attempt to stop the German attack through trench warfare.

However, the generals of the German army are still full of confidence in this battle. Everyone believes that under the attack of the powerful German army, the victory will definitely belong to the German Empire. The narrow Marne River is absolutely unable to withstand the attack of the German Army.

In this battle, the German army not only strengthened the infantry firepower, but also received a large number of armored reinforcements. The four armored divisions in the central cluster added up to thousands of tanks. In addition, the four air teams also have thousands of combat aircraft. This will make their offensive even more violent.