Chapter 514 Xia Fei's Helplessness (2400 votes plus update)

On the Marne front, fierce fighting continues. The main forces of the German 2nd Army, 3rd Army, and 4th Army have crossed the Marne River and launched an attack on the deep positions of the British and French allied forces.

Although, the resistance of the British and French allied forces was tenacious. However, they were heavily shelled and bombed by warplanes from the German army, which caused heavy losses to the British and French allied forces. Under the attack of the German army, several lines of defense were lost one after another.

Now, the main forces of the British and French allied forces are concentrated in the cities of Chalons, Champagne, Epernay and Chateau Thierry to resist the German invasion. The rest of the troops retreated to the rear. Facing the fierce attack of the German army, the British and French allied forces were almost unable to hold on.

Champagne-Chalons, a large city on the Marne River, is in the midst of a fierce German attack. The German 2nd Army, supported by a large number of artillery and air firepower, was about to destroy the city into ruins. The French 2nd Army has been disabled. Now, they can only rely on the ruins in the city to resist. However, as the German attack became more and more fierce, it was a matter of time before they were completely driven out of Champagne. The German 3rd Army and 4th Army's offensive at Epernay and Fort Thierry also went smoothly. The French 4th Army and the British Expeditionary Force 2nd Army also suffered heavy losses. Even the 8th and 9th armies of the French army, which entered the battlefield later, also suffered heavy losses.

By April 8, the two sides had been fighting fiercely on the Marne River defense line for a week. In this week, the losses of the British and French coalition forces have exceeded 500,000 people. If it wasn't for Marshal Xia Fei who took the command personally, the army might collapse.

Of course, although the German army has achieved great results, the losses they paid are also not small. As the main force, the 2nd Army, the 3rd Army and the 4th Army all suffered losses to varying degrees. The total number of troops lost is almost 100,000. However, compared with the losses of the British and French allied forces, the losses of the German army were much smaller. Therefore, the officers and soldiers of the German army still maintain a high morale. Unlike the Anglo-French coalition forces, which are about to collapse.

What's more, the German 5th Army, which is a reserve force, has not yet entered the battle. Once these 200,000 people also join the battle, it will undoubtedly completely change the situation of the battle. The reason why Qin Tian didn't put the reserve team into the battle immediately was because he was waiting for a more suitable time.

In the headquarters of the British and French Allied Forces, Marshal Joffre was in his office, frowning. The losses of the British and French allied forces were so great that they could hardly hold on in the middle of the battle.

"Damn it, why are the Germans' attack power so powerful? If this continues, we won't be able to hold on for long." Looking at the tens of thousands of casualties every day, Marshal Joffre seemed to be dripping in his heart. like blood. These are the young lads of France, the future of France. However, they lost their lives in this damn war.

Originally, before the battle began, Marshal Joffre was optimistic that they could hold off the German attack on the Marne River defense line. If you are lucky, you can even hit the German army hard in one fell swoop, thus launching a counterattack.

However, after the battle began, the German army used powerful firepower to slap the British and French allied forces severely, making them dizzy. Coupled with the powerful attack of the German army, the British and French allied forces were even more exhausted. It can be said that even if they are struggling to support now, they can't last long.

"Your Excellency, the Marshal, the Second Army has lost a lot. If they don't give them reinforcements, I'm afraid they won't be able to hold on. Once Champagne and Chalons are breached by the Germans, the entire Marne River defense line will collapse immediately." French Ninth Army Commander General Foch said with a serious face.

Marshal Joffre nodded: "I know, but do we still have extra troops? The 2nd Army, the 4th Army and the 1st Army of the British Expeditionary Force are being attacked by the Germans. The 6th Army, the 1st Army The 8th Army and the 9th Army suffered heavy losses in the counterattack against the Germans. Now it is even more important to defend important nodes on the defense line to prevent the Germans from continuing to tear our defense line. So far, we have lost more than five troops. One hundred thousand. It can be said that compared with the Germans, we no longer have any advantage in military strength. Moreover, we have been far surpassed by the Germans in terms of weaponry and morale. This will make us in the In this battle, we are in an even more unfavorable position.”

Admiral Foch nodded. Indeed, these are the problems they face. But, you can't just do nothing because of this, can you? In that case, it will only make them fail faster.

"Your Excellency, Marshal, we may be able to draw troops from other places. Isn't there an army of the British Expeditionary Force and an army of the French Army in Paris? If we bring them here, then we can once again stabilize the front. Even, there will be enough troops to counterattack." Admiral Foch said.

Marshal Joffre shook his head: "The troops in Paris cannot be mobilized. Otherwise, the defense of Paris will be empty."

"Marshal, we are in the northwest of Paris. Don't we still have three army groups? With them here, Paris should be very safe." Admiral Foch said.

"This is a telegram from Sir French. The German 1st Army and 8th Army have also launched an attack. The 1st Army of the Expeditionary Force was oppressed in Rouen by the Germans. Sir French has sent the 1st Army of the Expeditionary Force The 3rd Army and part of the French 1st Army rushed to reinforce. However, I estimate that the situation is still not optimistic. Once Sir French and the others fail, this will make Paris directly threatened by the Germans. Therefore, we are here At that time, the army could not be transferred from Paris, and it must be taken just in case." Marshal Joffre said.

Although, before the war, the British and French coalition forces already had more than three million troops. But Marshal Xiafei still feels that there are too few troops, not enough at all! Although, their strength is much higher than that of the German army. But unfortunately, with the same strength, they could not fight against the German army at all, and could only gather more troops to fight against the German army. When the troops suffered heavy losses, they could not be replenished in time, which made their troops less and less, and less and less enough.

Even if Marshal Xiafei tried his best, he was unable to deal with the complicated situation now.