Chapter 554: Siege of Berlin

   On the railway from Wilhelmshaven to Berlin, a series of military trains passed by. More than 18,000 officers and soldiers of the 1st Division of the Imperial Marine Corps rushed from Wilhelmshaven to Berlin with their equipment in five special trains.

  The order they received was that there was a rebellion in Berlin, and the life of His Majesty the Emperor was threatened. Their task is to block the traffic arteries around Berlin after arriving in Berlin, and capture the train station, waiting for the troops transferred from the Ninth Army.

  In the first-class compartment of a military column, a young general is studying combat deployment. He is the commander of the 1st Division of the Marine Corps Alexander Linsingen Major General.

  As the first Marine division formed by the Navy, the 1st Marine Division has the best equipment and the hardest training. This makes the combat effectiveness of the 1st Marine Division the most powerful among the five Marine Divisions. Although they are the Marine Corps, their equipment is comparable to that of the Army's main infantry division. Even, the division headquarters has an armored battalion with more than 20 tanks.

"General, according to the information we have received, the rebels have clearly taken full control of Berlin. The Imperial Palace and other important transportation points in the city have already fallen into the control of the rebels. Most importantly, His Majesty the Emperor and others I am afraid that the important people have become hostages in the hands of the rebels at this moment. If we launch an attack rashly, we are afraid that the rebels will harm His Majesty and the other hostages." A staff officer said.

"Now we don't know anything about the situation of the rebels. Whether they will do that is still unknown. His Highness the Crown Prince will rush back to Berlin as soon as possible. At that time, we will directly obey the orders of the Crown Prince. In Before that, take down the outer strongholds of Berlin and the train station." Major General Alexander Linsingen said.

  He is also full of respect for Qin Tian who proposed to form the Marine Corps. Otherwise, he might still be the head of the colonel now. It was precisely because of the formation of the Marine Corps that he was promoted exceptionally. Originally, he thought that after finishing the war that landed in the British mainland, he could get promoted again. But I didn't expect that the opportunity came so quickly now. Before landing on the British mainland, he will be able to get another battle immediately.

  Major General Alexander Linsingen is not worried at all about the rebels occupying Berlin. Although, the Imperial Guard is known as the most elite unit in the army. But in fact, the Praetorian Guard has not fought a battle for many years. Without the experience of war, what kind of elite army is it? What's more, the equipment of the imperial guards is also very old. In the absence of actual combat missions, the replacement of their equipment is naturally not as good as the main combat force.

  Thanks to the developed railway network, the 1st Marine Division arrived in Berlin in just one day. There was no way for them to enter Berlin directly because of the checkpoints set up by the Janissaries. The train stopped at a small station more than ten kilometers away from Berlin. ,

   "Get out of the car immediately, complete preparations within an hour, and head to Berlin!" Major General Alexander Linsingen ordered.

   "Yes, General." The various units of the 1st Marine Division began to get out of the car. The soldiers stepped out of the carriages and began to form. All kinds of equipment were also loaded and unloaded from the train. Marshal Earl Tirpitz has already mobilized a large number of trucks from other places to stand by here.

  At 7 o'clock in the morning, the 1st Marine Division began to attack Berlin.

  Although there are a lot of guards in Berlin. However, they are scattered everywhere. Facing the attack of the 1st Marine Corps Division, they were in a hurry and could not resist at all.

  The real fierce battle broke out around the Berlin train station. The imperial guards have deployed two battalions here. They knew that if the train station was lost, the army loyal to Qin Tian would be able to take the train and rush to Berlin quickly.

  In order not to damage the train station as much as possible, the 1st Marine Division did not use heavy artillery when attacking. After all, Berlin was occupied by rebels though. But a large number of ordinary people in the city are innocent.

  In fact, when the guns sounded, the people in Berlin were terrified.

"Da da da!"

  The heavy machine guns began to fire, and the Praetorian Guards set up heavy machine guns on the barricades outside the train station, using intensive firepower to block the attack of the 1st Marine Division.

  However, when Alexander Linsingen Major General did not hesitate to put the armored battalion into the offensive. The Imperial Guard immediately collapsed. The Praetorian Guards were not equipped with tanks, let alone weapons against tanks. After all, if Berlin, which is in the hinterland of the empire, is attacked by the enemy's armored forces, then Germany is not far from defeat, right? In that case, there is naturally no need to equip those anti-tank weapons.

   However, this is undoubtedly bad news for those who launched the mutiny.

  The guards stationed at the railway station, under the attack of the 1st Infantry Division of the Marine Corps, failed after only holding on for half an hour. Most of the officers and soldiers of the two battalions surrendered to the 1st Marine Division. Others fled.

  On the railway from Königsberg to Berlin, civilian trains have stopped running, and military trains are passing through. General Hindenburg, commander of the Ninth Army of the German Army, is leading an infantry division and an armored division to Berlin.

  At this moment, Admiral Hindenburg's face was serious. There was a rebellion in Berlin at this juncture, which greatly exceeded his expectations. However, the current him can be regarded as Qin Tian's person. His honor and disgrace are all tied to Qin Tian. Therefore, he absolutely cannot sit back and watch the rebellion succeed, and Qin Tian's position as crown prince is threatened. Therefore, after receiving Qin Tian's order, he immediately gathered his troops and prepared to rush to Berlin.

   "Your Excellency, the 1st Marine Division has called. They have occupied the train station and cleared the obstacles along the line. We can directly enter the train station." A staff officer reported.

   Admiral Hindenburg nodded: "Well, let the troops get ready!"

   "By the way, when will His Royal Highness the Crown Prince return to Berlin?" Admiral Hindenburg asked.

   "Your Excellency, Commander, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has already set off from France. It is expected to return to Berlin tomorrow."

   "Well, after we arrive in Berlin, we will surround Berlin first, and wait until His Royal Highness arrives, and then follow his orders." Marshal Hindenburg said.

   "Yes, Your Excellency Commander."

  After the 8th Armored Division and 101st Infantry Division of the 9th Army arrived in Berlin, they joined forces with the 1st Marine Division to surround Berlin. All the rebels were surrounded inside.