Chapter 383 Muloz Attack and Defense Battle

Before the war began, French Commander-in-Chief Joffre was still very confident in the combat capabilities of the French army.

According to Offensive Plan No. 17, France will use a total of nearly 1.6 million combat troops in this offensive.

Although due to various reasons, less than half of the troops actually put into combat may be less than half, but Xiafei still firmly believes that it is not difficult to complete the core task of the 17th combat plan, which is to recapture Alsace and Lorraine.

In order to urge the French army to complete its combat missions, Joffre often traveled by car from the headquarters in Le Francois to inspect combat troops.

It is worth mentioning that the reason why Xiafei can freely shuttle between various combat units and the headquarters and will not slack off in military affairs is largely due to Xiafei's exclusive driver, a driver who has won the French Grand Prix three times. rider.

It has been more than ten years since the development of automobiles. European countries like France have also established competitions to compare automobile speeds.

The winner will not only receive various prizes such as cars, but also gain the favor of those in power and be hired as their exclusive driver.

After all, the current driving training system and traffic regulations are not so standardized. A driver with good skills can not only avoid various dangers encountered while driving, but also be able to respond quickly when danger comes, so as not to be in a hurry.

The previous assassination of Archduke Ferdinand was partly due to the unskilled driver.

If the vehicle could be started quickly when the killer approached, Archduke Ferdinand would not necessarily have no chance of survival.

The reason why Archduke Ferdinand's driver did not start the vehicle quickly was because he was reversing.

If a more skilled driver were behind the wheel, among other things, Archduke Ferdinand and his wife's chances of survival would have been higher.

Thanks to the superb driving skills of the dedicated driver, it only takes over an hour for Xiafei to travel between the headquarters and the troop base.

Before the final battle started, Xiafei arrived in a special car to understand the situation of the First Army and supervise the upcoming attack.

The commander of the First Army was Dubai, a general who did not much approve of the attack.

The reason why Xiafei frequently went to the First Army was to win the approval of General Dubai and stop the First Army, which had a more important mission, from slipping up.

The day before Operation Plan No. 17 was launched, it was late in the morning and late at night.

Dubai, commander of the French First Army, was discussing the combat plan with French Commander-in-Chief Joffre.

Dubai still had some doubts about the attack, and asked Xiafei hesitantly: "Your Excellency, Commander-in-Chief, is there really no problem with such a large-scale attack like ours?"

Xiafei took a serious look at his subordinates, patted Dubai's shoulder hard, pointed at Dubai's military uniform and said: "General, please understand what you are wearing. We are glorious French soldiers, Our mission is to protect this beautiful land and all the people under our feet. If we cannot regain our homeland of Alsace and Lorraine, what shame do we have to continue to wear this military uniform?"

"Your Majesty General, please remember one sentence. Only attacking is in line with the thinking of French soldiers. Only advocating war will not insult the souls of soldiers." At the end of the conversation, Xiafei glanced at Dubai meaningfully, then sat down Get on a special car and leave.

After an epiphany after talking with Xiafei, the commander of the First Group Army Dibai organized the Seventh Army the next day, consisting of four infantry divisions, a cavalry division, five mountain battalions and an artillery division, totaling 45,000 people. The Alsatian detachment, led by General Bono, commander of the Seventh Army, served as the vanguard of the offensive.

Dubai assigned the task to the vanguard army. They would first attack from Belfort and attack Mulhouse, an important town on the German border 40 kilometers opposite.

Speaking of Mulhouse, this is an important town on the German border and a relatively important strategic location in this area.

Once this area is captured, the junction of the southern Alsace railways can be captured. In the past, one could go to Belfort and south to Basel in Switzerland.

To the north is Colmar, and to the east you can cross the railway bridge and cross the Rhine.

With such an extremely important strategic location, Mulhouse is destined to be the main target of the French army's attack, and this town will also usher in the flames of war.

Guarding this town was a reinforced German regiment.

In order to capture this town, after the operation began, General Bono, commander of the Seventh Army, ordered the commander of the advance guard division to attack Atkirch at night before the Germans were discovered.

This city is located 20 kilometers ahead of Muloz and is also the bridgehead of Muloz.

After the capture of Atkirch, Muloz was like a naked beauty, waiting for the arrival of the French army.

The entire vanguard division was divided into three parts and surrounded the entire Atkirch in a roundabout way. Taking advantage of the darkness, the soldiers of the vanguard division successfully broke into the center of Atkirch before the German sentries were aware of it.

After the French soldiers opened fire, the German sentry reacted, but by then it was too late.

One can imagine the gap in combat effectiveness between the French soldiers who attacked in the dark and the German soldiers who rushed to fight.

Although the combat effectiveness of a single German soldier was higher than that of a French soldier, the French army was more fully prepared at this time. The German soldiers rushed to the battle, and it was the French soldiers who had the advantage.

It is worth mentioning that it is not known which side used the weapons. In short, bayonets, gun butts, sabers, wooden clubs and other weapons that soldiers carry casually can be seen everywhere on the battlefield. These weapons can inadvertently cause huge damage. .

The battle lasted for six hours. In the end, after suffering many casualties, the remaining German troops abandoned the city and fled eastward.

Before daybreak, General Bono led his troops to Mulhouse again, trying to capture Mulhouse in one go before the German troops stationed there were ready.

Like Atkirch before it, Muloz's occupation did not take much time.

Not only was the French army prepared in advance, but its number was several times that of the German garrison.

With nearly 10,000 casualties, the Seventh Army successfully captured Mulhouse and held a two-hour military parade in the city.

When the French troops wearing blue shirts and red trousers and the artillery troops with red, white and blue flags and tricolor flowers on their artillery passed through the city, the military band sang "La Marseillaise" and "Sambre and Meuse" "March", the French people and French troops in Mulhouse cheered loudly and couldn't help but shed tears of excitement.

Finally, decades later, they set foot on this French homeland again. Although it was only a city, it greatly strengthened the French people's determination to regain their homeland, and also strengthened the French soldiers' determination to win this war.

On the second day after the French army captured Mulhouse, the commendation from French Commander-in-Chief Joffre had successfully arrived at the army.

Joffre affectionately called General Bono and the Alsace detachment he commanded the vanguard in completing the great cause of revenge and avenging humiliation, and the heroes of all France.

Even when the results of the French army's victory over Mulhouse reached France, the whole of France was immersed in cheers and excitement.

But the excited French people deliberately ignored that the French army had paid more than 10,000 casualties so far for this small town.

During the war, the battle loss ratio between the French army and the German army reached 2:1, which also means that the German casualties were only about 5,000.

The French cheers did not last long before German reinforcements arrived immediately.

Within Germany, the Germans did not expect this attack, but they responded very quickly.

The day after French Commander-in-Chief Joffre had just ordered the First and Second Group Armies to concentrate their forces to attack Germany, German reinforcements had already arrived at the German-French border, and after a whole day of fierce fighting, they regrouped. Captured Mulhouse.

This small town, which cost the French army tens of thousands of casualties, finally returned to German rule.

After this war, the French casualties caused by Mulhouse alone had reached nearly 30,000 people.

Although the Germans suffered more than 10,000 casualties, such a battle loss ratio and the results achieved were obviously unacceptable to France.

At the French military headquarters, Jiafei, who had just commended the vanguard army, felt like he had been slapped in the face, but the previous results had been reported back to France. If it was reported that Mulhouse had returned to the hands of the Germans at this time, I am afraid that the angry French will directly blame the French army.

In order to avoid such a situation, Joffre quickly issued an order for the first and second armies to continue their full offensive, and his determination to regain Alsace and Lorraine remained unchanged.

In order to respond to the German reinforcements, Joffre mobilized four more divisions to reorganize the Alsace detachment, replace the Seventh Army that had suffered too many casualties, and resume the task of attacking the Alsace region.

The commander of this new Alsatian force was the retired one-armed general Bo.

Even if the French command received new intelligence confirming that the deployment of German troops was not as Jaffe had expected, Jaffe still did not believe that Germany's main offensive direction was from Belgium to Paris.

Joffre still insists on attacking the German army from the direction of Alsace. This will not only recover Alsace and Lorraine and boost morale, but also attract more German troops to this area, preventing the German army from mobilizing this part of its troops to strengthen its forces. The right wing, that is, the Belgian region.

Starting from the early morning of August 15, nearly 600,000 men from the First and Second Army launched a general offensive against the German army in the Alsace region.

The German general staff had long anticipated the French attack direction and route, and deployed barbed wire fences, trenches, forts and other defenses on this route in advance.

When the French troops saw Germany's well-deployed defensive positions, their hearts collapsed.

But there is no other way. The combat missions assigned by the superiors have to be completed bravely.

When a large number of French troops rushed towards the German army on the opposite side at the commander's order, these French soldiers who had been affected by patriotic enthusiasm finally understood the cruelty of war and what their former comrades had experienced. suffering.

The German army on the opposite side is different now. Because of the previous sneak attack, the Germans have been prepared for this time. Various weapons including heavy machine guns and artillery are emerging one after another.

Although the French First and Second Armies mobilized nearly 600,000 troops, they faced the German Sixth Army commanded by Prince Ruprecht of Bavaria and the German Seventh Army commanded by Herlingen.

The German Sixth Army contained five corps and three cavalry divisions, while the Seventh Army under Herlingen had three corps and one division.

The two armies combined have up to 350,000 troops and 1,200 artillery pieces, and are unified under the control of Ruprecht, commander of the Sixth Army.

Because of its relatively unified management, the German army exploded with extremely powerful combat effectiveness, and it also made the French army understand what it means to be the real world's number one army.

On the first day of the battle between the two armies, the French army suffered more than 20,000 casualties, which directly prompted the commander of the First Army Dubai to quickly order a suspension of the offensive.

There is no way, judging from the current consumption progress, his first group army may even disappear in half a month.

As for the German army, Ruprecht's task is to attract more French troops here so that the main force of the German army on the right wing, that is, the offensive in the Belgian area can proceed smoothly.

Seeing that the French army chose to extend the front and engage in small-scale battles, Ruprecht was more willing to do this.

After ensuring that the French army would not withdraw, Prince Ruprecht also chose to gradually retreat, luring the enemy deeper and completely attracting the main force of the French army to this area.

It was precisely because of the gradual retreat of the German army that on August 18, the First and Second Armies, which had restored some of their morale, occupied Sarpur and Salanburg, and then reoccupied Muloz.

At this time, Joffre's boast to the French people finally came true, and the French offensive became more and more successful.

In a very beautiful mood, Joffre also praised the contributions of the Alsatian troops and the First and Second Armies, and allowed all wounded soldiers to return to France to recuperate and replace the wounded soldiers with new troops.

But at the same time, Xiafei also realized his previous strategic misunderstanding. Judging from the current progress of the war, the Germans really want to attack France from the Belgian area.

Because what the extremely important Alsace and Lorraine regions are facing is not the main force of the German army.

It can be seen from the steady defeat of the German army that the number of this army is not large, which is completely inconsistent with the reality that the total number of German troops is greater than the total number of French troops.

However, although he recognized his mistakes in strategic planning, Joffre also firmly believed that as long as the French army could successfully break through the middle of the German army and insert into the core of Germany from the Alsace and Lorraine regions.

Even if the German army successfully enters the northern border of France from Belgium, the French army can outflank, surround and annihilate the real main force of the German army.

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