Chapter 384 Australasian Expeditionary Force

So far, the strategic goals of Germany and France have been very obvious.

Both the German army and the French army pursue offensive doctrine. Under the influence of this military ideology, both countries adopt a massive offensive approach in their operations.

It's just that the directions of the two countries are exactly opposite. Germany is heading west, passing through Belgium and detouring to Paris. France headed east, via Lorraine, and straight to the Rhine River.

In order to achieve their respective strategic goals, France and Germany, the old enemies, launched four battles in Alsace and Lorraine for four full days starting from August 20, namely the Battle of Lornin and the Battle of the Ardennes. , Battle of Charleroi, Battle of Mons.

These four battles were collectively called border battles. France and Germany each invested hundreds of thousands of combat troops. In just four days, a total of 100,000 casualties were incurred.

Although the number of casualties was only over 10,000, the number of those from both Germany and France combined who were moderately or seriously injured and lost combat effectiveness exceeded 40,000.

Because in these border battles, both Germany and France used a large number of artillery and heavy machine guns.

The casualties caused by such heavy weapons to the opponent are huge, especially the heavy machine guns. As long as they are strafed, they will at least be seriously injured.

This also requires the main railway lines of Germany and France to transport troops to the border, while also shouldering a large number of tasks of transporting wounded people into the country.

Fortunately, the railway construction in Western Europe and Germany is still very developed. After expedited transportation, the transportation environment in Germany and France can also keep up.

When millions of troops gathered on the German-French border and started fighting crazily, the disadvantages of French military uniforms were highlighted.

The French military uniforms of blue shirts and red trousers usually look very personal, but on the battlefield on the German-French border, such brightly colored French military uniforms are undoubtedly a reminder to send French soldiers on the road.

The blue and red French military uniforms are almost impossible to camouflage in border areas, which makes the French army look very conspicuous in the eyes of German soldiers.

It is conservatively estimated that such uniquely colored French military uniforms have increased the mortality rate of the French army by at least 30% and the injury rate by 40%.

Logically speaking, the combat effectiveness of the well-equipped French army and the German army is not that exaggerated, at least the battle loss ratio will not reach 2:1.

But the reality is that under such conspicuous uniforms of the French army, the battle damage ratio between French soldiers and German soldiers is basically around 2:1, and even reaches 3:1 in severe cases.

Of course, in addition to the conspicuous military uniforms of the French, the main reason for the current war is that France attacks and Germany defends.

There is such an episode on the German-French border.

In a dense forest on the German-French border, a group of French soldiers were patrolling in the forest.

This area has not yet been visited by the German army, so the patrols of French soldiers are also very casual, or even more often just a formality.

Because not far to the west of this area, the French army has already marched more than 20 kilometers away.

These are the French troops at the rear, who think they will never see the German army at all.

The patrol ahead was normal, but as the patrolling French army walked deeper into the dense forest, they suddenly heard the sound of a German ditty in the distance.

Logically speaking, after hearing ditties in different languages, especially in war zones, French soldiers should at least be alert and ready to fire on the enemy at any time.

But this group of French soldiers actually took the lead in asking each other for passwords, which instantly alerted the German soldiers who had not noticed the French army.

The German soldiers were not that outrageous. After hearing that the other party spoke proficient French, they fired directly with machine guns without saying a word.

Only then did this group of French soldiers realize that they were their enemies on the other side and quickly launched a counterattack.

However, the German and French armies, which were each becoming cautious, faced different situations. The German army wore gray military uniforms and was hidden in the dense forest. It was not that easy to find.

But the French army is different. The uniforms of the French army are too conspicuous. Even if they are covered by dense forests, they cannot cover up the personality of the French military uniforms.

This also caused the hidden French army to be easily discovered by the German army, and the French army had lost the opportunity.

Because the encounter was sudden, the troops from both sides fired indiscriminately with heavy machine guns and rifles, and also threw grenades and other weapons wildly.

Some who were relatively close and had no way to hide rushed forward to engage in hand-to-hand combat with rifle butts and bayonets.

However, the combat quality of the French army, from marksmanship to hand-to-hand combat skills, is basically inferior to that of the German army.

In addition, the French army lacked training in mountainous areas, so in this mountainous forest area, this patrol team was quickly eliminated by the Germans.

Although subsequent French reinforcements came quickly, the French reinforcements also suffered heavy losses under the bombing of German artillery and had to withdraw from the mountainous area.

Although the German army's sneak attack intention was seen through, taking advantage of this opportunity, the German army also entered the French border.

Taking advantage of the chaos of the French army, the German army took the opportunity to storm Navchato, Virton, Montmedy, Longwy and other border cities, trying to open a huge hole in the French border.

The French troops who reacted also resisted tenaciously. They charged very neatly, and of course, they fell neatly under the muzzle of the gun.

A large number of French soldiers charged towards the German army, and then turned into corpses one after another, accumulating.

Soon, piles of corpses piled up one after another on the edge of these towns. These piles of corpses provided good cover for those who came after them, and at the same time, a large number of corpses continued to accumulate on them.

The strong French people soon understood that the spirit of heroic resistance alone could not withstand the German artillery. Although the French army had an overall numerical advantage, it faced the soldiers' individual combat capabilities and uniform advantages. , the French army still failed quickly.

After losing a large number of bodies, weapons and ammunition, the French army hurriedly withdrew, leaving a mess on the border area.

At this point in the war, General Langrezac had realized that deploying the main force in the central region was not the right choice.

General Langrezac tried to suggest that Commander-in-Chief Joffre mobilize the main force of the French army in the center to the northern and Belgian borders to prevent the German army from moving south from Belgium at any time and threatening the Paris area.

But at this time, Xiafei naturally could not agree with Langrezac's opinion. General Langrezac had no choice but to make his own decision and move his elite troops back, ready to turn the army north to meet the enemy at any time.

Fortunately, Xiafei's order was changed in a timely manner.

The day after General Langrezac withdrew his troops, Joffre sent an order for Langrezac's Fifth Army to move north with all its strength and station itself on the northern border with Belgium.

The Fifth Army's soldiers numbered more than 400,000. Under the leadership of Langrezac, they marched 120 kilometers in three days and finally arrived at the border of France and Belgium.

At this time, the Second Army led by German General Pillov was also strengthening the Sambre River near Charleroi, approaching the French border with three armies, and finally launched a fierce battle with Lanrezac's Fifth Army.

It is worth mentioning that the artillery equipped by the French Fifth Army is the M1897-75mm artillery, also known as the famous French Miss.

The artillery equipped by the German army is the GA1902-75mm artillery jointly developed by Germany and Australasia.

This artillery is an improvement based on the French Miss. The rate of fire is improved compared to the French Miss and can reach 20 rounds per minute.

This also resulted in the artillery bombardment on both sides being very exaggerated, and the army's offensive went from day to night, and from night to day.

And the artillery bombardment didn't stop for a moment. It was like if you couldn't use up my logistics supplies, I would use up yours.

Thanks to the fearless spirit of the French army, at the beginning of the encounter, General Lanrezac pushed back the German army for more than ten kilometers.

The artillery between the two sides even caused the bombing of buildings in Charleroi and the border areas to collapse, pipes to burst, and fortifications to be damaged.

Because the artillery firing speeds of both sides are very fast, this causes the armies of both sides to consume artillery shells at an exaggerated rate.

Under the high-intensity bombing by the two armies, the German and French armies consumed at least 200,000 artillery shells per day on average, which put great pressure on the logistics of both sides.

As Germany's offensive becomes more and more sharp, and German reinforcements arrive one after another, most of Belgium has been occupied by the Germans, and the French border areas are also struggling.

Already at the beginning of the war, the French requested assistance from Australasia and Britain.

Soon, the British Expeditionary Force arrived near Mons and worked with the French Fifth Army to resist the German Army in the north.

As for Australasia, Arthur also stated that he would firmly fulfill his commitment and dispatch at least 150,000 combat troops to Europe within three months.

In order to support his ally France, which suffered heavy casualties, Arthur decided to send an expeditionary force to France as soon as possible.

In fact, after occupying Germany's Pacific colonies, Australasian troops were left with nothing to do.

Because it is located in distant Oceania, there are not many wars in Australasia, and most of its enemies are only weak countries like Portugal and the Netherlands.

And this battle is the best training opportunity for Australasia.

It can not only train the combat strength of soldiers, but also train the command capabilities of middle and high-level commanders, so that soldiers and officers can work hand in hand and make progress together.

Even though the superficial combat capability of the Australasian army is not weak, an army that has not experienced many wars still cannot be called an elite army.

Only by allowing soldiers and commanders to experience many wars and make progress together can they be fearless in the face of danger and better improve the military's combat capabilities.

In addition to the 300,000-strong colonial army, Arthur chose the relatively elite Fourth Division of Australasia as the first main force sent to Europe this time.

The Fourth Division is the latest army to be formed among the conventional forces. It has been training for several years now. It is time for this army to really see blood in order to grow better.

As for the more elite 123rd Division and the Guards Division, their combat missions to Europe were ranked behind.

After all, Australasia also needs to be guarded domestically, and coupled with colonial problems, it is still necessary to maintain a sufficient number of combat troops in the country.

After all, after all 300,000 colonial troops were dispatched to Europe, there were only more than 100,000 Australasian troops left.

These troops had to defend the entire Australasia, including the colonies, and the actual task was still very heavy.

The second update of 3200 words, please vote for me and support!