Chapter 1667 The Desperate French 2
Chapter 1667 The Desperate French 2
"We can still rely on layers of defense lines, solid fortifications, and superior artillery to block the opponent's advance. The Western Front is different from other battlefields. Almost every inch of land is a fortress! Bavaria lacks enough train guns, etc. Heavy offensive weapons, even if they have advanced equipment like Wolf tanks, are more of a tactical advantage, and we may not be able to drag our opponents to death like we did before," Niweiler said.
"It's different. It is true that an advanced weapon is difficult to play a decisive role, but when the number and types of new weapons in the opponent's army reach a certain level, it will inevitably lead to qualitative changes in tactics, and if a commander If this qualitative change can be grasped, it will be completely subversive to the war situation," Pétain said.
"So, General Petain, do you think the Bavarian Army has developed more powerful tactics based on this?" General Haig asked.
"That's right, and it has been tested on the battlefield. During the Bavarian Army's attack, we couldn't even see an infantryman advancing with two legs, a tank as an attack blade, and an armored infantry carrier behind it. Plus a support artillery group composed of tracked or wheeled self-propelled artillery. Their attack speed and intensity are simply terrifying. They can completely break through our positions and develop rapidly in depth!"
"Our previous commando tactics could only solve the problem of tearing apart the position, but they could not solve the problem of attacking in depth. In other words, they were powerful but lacked stamina. After all, the number of personnel carrying equipment is limited, and artillery The movement speed of supporting firepower is also very slow, so we have enough time to make up for the loopholes in the front and mobilize reinforcements to seal the gap. But now, everything is different. Their reaction speed is fast enough, and after we arrange the measures It had already overturned the entire battle situation before," Pétain said.
"In this case, I saw it in General Joffre's report." Gallieni raised his eyes and said expressionlessly. "And some people think that's an excuse for him to back down without a fight."
"This is definitely not excuseable. In the battle situation in Asia Minor, as long as there was a field battle between the two sides and the gap in strength was not too big, we had never won. And in the last battle, the German army attacked very fast and they used trucks to maneuver. , and a large number of our troops can only use horse-drawn carriages, and the traveling speed of the two sides can differ by about 4 times! It is too late to mobilize troops in other directions. I thought Minister Gallieni could have a more intuitive solution to the gap in transportation capabilities between the two sides. Here!" After Pétain finished speaking, he looked at the French Minister of Army meaningfully.
"Haha." Gallieni was a little embarrassed. Petain's words contained an implicit accusation against him! Although the Battle of the Marne did not break out in this plane, another feat of Gallieni was still continued in this plane. This is the so-called "taxi" maneuver! Historically, before the Battle of the Marne, the French used 1,200 taxis in Paris to transport a brigade of troops 50 kilometers away overnight.
As for this dimension, Gallieni carried this "feat" forward. He directly ordered most of France's civilian motor vehicles to be gathered together as an assault transportation force. It was precisely because of these thousands of various transportation vehicles that The vehicle greatly enhanced the French's combat deployment capabilities.
When Pétain said this, he implicitly expressed his dissatisfaction with Xiafei's experience. After all, Xiafei may have problems with some small issues, but in terms of the big strategy, there is really nothing wrong with him. If I am wrong, I am afraid that General Xiafei did not take the remaining troops and ran back to the landing point directly? However, continuing to retreat was almost impossible under the circumstances at that time. It had nothing to do with military issues and was impossible due to purely political conditions!
"Moreover, on the Western Front, our artillery and air superiority are actually not obvious. Under the current situation, the long-range artillery and air force of both sides are at a roughly balanced level. But when the Legion of the Kingdom of Bavaria enters the Western Front, the situation will It is completely different, because at this time, the Austrian Legion may also participate in the Western Front. Although their combat effectiveness is not high, they can provide a large number of heavy artillery units for the German army. Coupled with the Bavarian Air Force, the British and French allied forces are in It is not surprising that the equipment on the Western Front is at a disadvantage," Pétain concluded.
In fact, when Germany launched its last offensive in history, the number of front-line troops was still less than that of the Allies (although if you count the numbers, there may be more Germans.) Technical equipment is also at a disadvantage. However, relying on the quality of the army, the British and French coalition forces were still defeated. This is still true in this dimension. Based on more than a year of previous battles, even the most proud commanders of the British and French forces have to admit that when the strength of the troops is close, the German Army can use tactics in both offense and defense. gain greater advantages. And if the opponent's military strength and technical equipment counterpresses the Allied Powers, then the outcome of this war will be known with one's knees!
"Perhaps, the Germans cannot completely kill us in one battle, but they can exhaust our national strength and combat effectiveness through constant attacks. If this consumption continues, France's elite and future will be on the battlefield. Use it up!" Petain finally said euphemistically.
"The British Empire is willing to do its best to help France resist the invasion from the Germans. We will shrink our troops and deploy more troops from Australia, New Zealand, and Canada to join the Western Front. After a winter of preparation time, we can also bring Africa to Africa. By deploying troops from India, we can have at least 500,000 more troops next year." At this time, General Haig made an unexpected statement!
"500,000? If possible, I hope that the elite British troops in Asia Minor can withdraw to the Western Front and then participate in the defensive operations on the Western Front." Gallieni said. The French Army Minister's calculations were very precise. It is indeed possible to mobilize troops from Oceania and Canada, but there will definitely not be too many. After all, although these places are large in area, there are really not many people... As for the indigenous troops drawn from Africa and India, they can fight the Turks and the Hungarians, but what if they have to face the German army? It would be better for them to do logistics...
Therefore, adding an additional 500,000 troops may seem like a lot, but there are not many troops that can actually fight, and even the Australian and New Zealand troops, which are known for their bravery and combat skills, cannot recruit new soldiers on the battlefield. It needs to be tempered by the fire of war.
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