Chapter 498 Desperation

On the night of April 1, the main forces of the German 2nd Army, 3rd Army and 4th Army had crossed the Marne River. On the hundreds of kilometers of river, German engineers successively built more than twenty pontoon bridges. The appearance of these pontoon bridges allowed the main force of the German army and various combat materials to be easily transported to the south bank of the Marne River.

At the same time, the troops crossing the river also seized the time to build a defensive position, and built a fortification on the dilapidated position of the French army that had been destroyed. Due to the limited time, the fortifications built by the German army can only be regarded as simple fortifications. But the various firepower points are still arranged in an orderly manner. Coupled with the powerful artillery support from the rear, if the British and French allied forces want to launch an attack, they will definitely be hit with blood.

In addition, if the British and French allied forces launched an offensive that night, it would undoubtedly pose a greater threat to the German army. After all, at that time, the German army was not firmly established and its combat power could not be fully utilized. But the British and French allied forces gave the German army one night, which enabled the German army to successfully gain a firm foothold on the south bank of the Marne River. At this time, the British and French allied forces launched an offensive, and the consequences can be imagined.

At the same time, the engineers and soldiers of the German army continued to be busy. Although, normal pontoons are more than enough. But they still need to build a pontoon bridge that can pass through tanks and trucks. In this way, the powerful German armored forces can cross the Marne River and further attack the British and French defense lines.

On the morning of April 2, most of the German soldiers who were tired all night were still resting. In the trenches on the front line, officers and soldiers were lying in disorder. Although the weather is still a bit cold now, the German officers and soldiers who were wearing blankets slept soundly because they were too tired.

However, at 7 o'clock in the morning, they were woken up by the officers.

"Everyone get up immediately and prepare to fight. The enemy is about to launch an attack!" The officers shouted loudly to wake up the soldiers.

The reconnaissance plane of the German air force discovered that the British and French allied forces were gathering in large numbers. Obviously, the British and French allied forces were not reconciled to the breakthrough of the defense line and wanted to regain the defense line. Qin Tian immediately ordered that all frontline departments be prepared to resist the counterattack of the British and French allied forces. As long as it succeeds this time, the German army will truly cross the Marne River. It will be impossible for the British and French allied forces to drive the Germans back to the north bank of the Marne. Therefore, Qin Tian and the generals of the German army attached great importance to this battle.

Although, after only two hours of sleep, many soldiers were not in good spirits. But they were quickly ready for battle. Some people even washed their faces with the cold water of the Marne River to cheer themselves up. Although there are many dead bodies in Marne Hanoi at this moment, no one cares about them at all.

The cooking soldiers sent breakfast to the troops on the front line, so that the soldiers could eat enough and have the strength to fight against the British and French allied forces. Quartermasters were also distributing ammunition. It can be foreseen that this time the battle will be very fierce, so when the quartermaster distributed ammunition, he did not forget to provide sufficient ammunition to the frontline troops.

Before the offensive of the British and French allied forces began, the German army was already ready to fight.

On the positions of the British and French allied forces, the two new forces of the French Eighth Army and the Ninth Army also entered the battlefield. In addition to the troops drawn from the four front-line armies, for this counterattack, Marshal Xiafei invested all his money in it. This certainly shows his determination. At the same time, there is also a sense of desperateness.

Cannons are being pushed into artillery positions one by one. Although the artillery of the four armies on the front line of the British and French allied forces suffered heavy losses under the shelling and bombing of the German army, there are hundreds of remaining cannons in total. Including all the artillery of the French Eighth Army and Ninth Army, there are more than two thousand cannons in total. Although this scale cannot be compared with the German army, it is also not weak.

"General Foch, this time, we have invested more than 600,000 people in a counterattack. Will we be able to drive the Germans back to the north bank of the Marne?" Marshal Joffre was still a little uncertain about this battle. Although, he believes that with so many troops invested by the British and French allied forces, the Germans will absolutely not be able to resist. However, in this battle, the strength shown by the German army was so strong that he couldn't help feeling a little worried.

"Your Excellency, Marshal, I have to admit that the Germans are very powerful. They are stronger than they were half a year ago. It was absolutely impossible for the German army half a year ago to cross the Marne River in one day. At the same time, their losses were still very small This is undoubtedly very unreasonable." Admiral Foch said.

Marshal Joffre nodded: "The Germans have grown bigger and stronger in this war. I have a feeling that if we fail to defeat the Germans this time, maybe we will never have a chance to defeat them again."

Admiral Foch also deeply agrees with this, Germany has already occupied an absolute advantage in this war. Among other things, the disastrous defeat of the Royal Navy alone was enough to give the Germans an advantage in this war. It can be said that if the German army wins on land again, it will be over for Britain and France. On the contrary, if Britain and France can win, then they still have a chance, at least they can get a relatively decent peace.

This shows how much pressure the British and French allied forces have endured in this battle. This is probably why Marshal Joffre rushed to the front from Paris.

"Your Excellency the President and Your Excellency the Prime Minister both sent telegrams yesterday. They are also paying attention to the Battle of the Marne. Obviously, we are very dissatisfied with letting the Germans cross the Marne on the first day. Your Excellency the President and the Prime Minister both demand We must defeat the Germans in this battle. But what they don't know is that defeating the Germans is not just about talking. We will do our best in this battle. But can we defeat Germany? People, maybe only God knows." Marshal Joffre sighed.

Admiral Foch heard the words and didn't know what to say. Even he himself felt a deep powerlessness in this war. It is also hard for him to believe that after half a year, the Germans will become much stronger than before. Not only the strength of firepower, but also the tenacious will to fight. These are all unmatched by the British and French allied forces.

"No matter what, we will fight to the end. God bless the French Republic!" Admiral Foch said.