It was the tanks that crushed the French defense line. Ludendorff gathered all the existing tanks of the German army, a total of 130, and once again staged a concentrated assault. The fierce battle continued until noon, and Schuy was captured by the Germans.

A large hole was made in the Epernay defense line. The German army used tanks as a group as arrows and infantry to follow up.

Before dusk, the French defense line collapsed completely. Gallieni ordered the troops to retreat. The battle situation changed drastically. After the German army occupied Epernay, they formed a vague encirclement of Reims. Paris, on the other hand, looked like a mere

The beauty covered with a layer of tulle would be exposed to the sight of the German army with just a slight tug.

Nivelle was dumbfounded by this change. The French army was defeated too quickly and could not be saved at all. The most critical thing in this battle was Ludendorff's genius adjustment. After Bob's assault concentration turned into a feint,

The Chinese Expeditionary Force turned around and entangled Aviz. Under the fierce attack of the German assault group and infantry, although the expeditionary force caused huge casualties to the Germans, more than 80 tanks were destroyed alone.

But Shui cannot be reinforced.

When the war situation developed to this point, the only thing Nivelle could count on was the Chinese Expeditionary Force. French Commander-in-Chief Joffre personally called Cai E and asked the Chinese Expeditionary Force to persist for more than fifteen days.

Due to the tenacity of the Chinese, Avitz was still on the Allied side, and the German front was incomplete. This was also the last hope for Joffre and Nivelle.

At this time, Cai E, Zhang Xiaohuai, and Feng Guozhang could be said to be furious. The Chinese are good at war, and they have always been complacent about this. Unexpectedly, during the war in France, they were played by Ludendorff. With the open pockets, the prey would not pierce it.

, even if the whole plan failed, Epernay was still lost.

Judging from the entire campaign deployment, the reason why Nivell agreed with the Chinese Expeditionary Force's suggestions was based on his trust in the combat effectiveness of the French army. Nivell was also full of confidence in the combat effectiveness of the French army. What he did not expect was that the most shocking thing was that

Something happened to this link of trust. What to do? Nivelle was at a loss. On the one hand, he asked Joffre for reinforcements, and on the other hand, he rushed to Saint-Martin and Dablois again.

When Nivell arrived, three senior executives were waiting at the entrance of the Chinese Expeditionary Force headquarters. Nivell first noticed their expressions and found that they were quite calm, feeling somewhat comforted. The Chinese did not show any signs of

If there is a scene of chickens and dogs jumping around, it means that there is no intention of running away.

"General Neville, you are here at the right time. Our army has just formulated a combat plan. The expeditionary force will fulfill its responsibilities as an ally and decided to launch a comprehensive counterattack against the German army tonight." Cai E solemnly announced the decision.

, Neville was immediately dumbfounded. He stood there blankly and asked instinctively: "Tonight?"

"Yes, it's tonight. This is a very helpless choice, because our artillery is too weak compared to the German army. So we can only choose to launch a large-scale counterattack at night. There is still time, please bear with me

Briefly introduce the counterattack deployment..."

After World War I, General Nivelle said this when referring to this process in his memoirs, "I was in an almost desperate situation at that time. The loss of Épernay meant that Reims lost 200,000 men.

The French army is in a state of semi-encirclement by the German army. If the French army in Reims moves eastward, it means that the German army will gain Paris without spending a single bomb. It was in this situation that Chinese General Cai E told me that his

The troops are ready for a counterattack. The expeditionary force will concentrate the strength of two armies and a tank brigade to launch a fierce counterattack against the German troops in the direction of Shuy at 0:00 on the 20th. This decision is incredible!"

The German army is on the offensive. The German army has at least two armies in Shui and the surrounding areas. The Chinese ** team launched a counterattack with the strength of two armies. Will there be a weakness of insufficient strength?

"This is a blind attack! But it is also the only way to save the war situation!" Nivell said in his memoirs!

Is it really a blind attack? Objectively speaking, yes! But there is no choice. In order to save the defeat, this is the only way. But this blind attack was based on the German army's occupation of Shui after a hard battle. The German army was also based on the future.

stable.

It was getting dark, and time was moving forward quietly. Neville stayed in the expeditionary force's war room, looking at the huge sand table in the center. The red flags on it marked that all the attack troops of the National Defense Force had moved to the attack position. Neville admired the Chinese.

courage, but also felt uneasy because their total heavy artillery only had five regiments.

Nivell tried his best to make amends, and handed over the French army's remaining heavy artillery regiment and a 400 mm heavy artillery regiment to the command of the expeditionary force. Subconsciously, Nivell glanced at Cai E, who had been standing with arms folded opposite him, looking very calm.

The beeping of telegrams outside the war room seemed to have little effect on him.

At this time, Zhang Xiaohuai came in, and the telegram in Yang's hand reported: "The special operations division has been contacted. Their current location is here. After the battle begins, the special operations division will swoop at the headquarters of the German Fifth Group Army in order to cause chaos for them.

chain of command.”

"Okay, once it succeeds, I will ask for credit for Wei Yue." Cai E clapped his hands happily. The special warfare division has not been contacted. This is his biggest worry. Whether this battle can succeed, the special warfare division plays a very important role.

key.

"There is a problem. The special operations division is running out of ammunition. After several days of harassment and attacks, their ammunition and rations have basically been exhausted. Many soldiers only have two magazines left." Zhang Xiaohuai's words immediately shocked Cai E.

Most of my good mood was gone.

After listening to the translation, Nivell's heart beat faster. At this time, Nivell's adjutant came in and handed over a telegram. After reading it, Nivell immediately handed it to Cai E and said: "Our President Raymond Poincaré called to say that he will

On behalf of the French government, we fully support China's negotiations to restore tariff autonomy, and express regret for the British government's failure to abide by the agreement on this issue. The French government will urge the British government to respond positively to China's customs negotiations as soon as possible.

And expediting the process of returning the customs, President Poincaré also said that he was grateful to the Chinese Expeditionary Force for its great contributions to allies and France."

Cai E didn't read the telegram. He smiled and handed it to Feng Guozhang and said: "Hua Shuai, please draft a telegram to Fu Shuai to inform him about the matter." After Feng Guozhang took the telegram and went out with a smile, Cai E said to Ni

Wildao: "Actually, what I'm more concerned about is our army's rest and supplies after this battle."

Neville immediately took out a small notebook, wrote a paragraph in his own handwriting, signed it and handed it to Cai E: "I personally guarantee that after the war, I will personally supervise the logistics department to meet all the supply needs of your army.

"

At the same time, in Paris, in the office of the French Commander-in-Chief Joffre, a conversation was taking place between French Prime Minister Viviani and the French Commander-in-Chief Joffre. The topic was naturally the battle that took place in Epernay.

The collapse of the French army not only disrupted Nivelle's plan, but also plunged Joffre into a crisis situation. The difficult situation facing Joffre was whether Paris was lost or the Battle of the Somme was not

If the campaign objectives are achieved, Xiafei will step down.

Of course, the biggest crisis at hand is whether the Chinese Expeditionary Force can successfully counterattack. If the counterattack fails, the entire front will be overwhelmed by the German army. The German army will march straight in. France will abandon Paris. Not only Joffre, but also the government is very likely to step down.

.So, it is not only Joffre who is paying attention to this battle, but also the French government. How can I put it, if it were not for the collapse of the French army and the Epernay defense line held on for another week, new troops would be reinforced. From this

In a sense, the French government now regrets that it has not been able to meet the needs of the Chinese Expeditionary Force in terms of equipment. Not because of guilt, but because the Chinese Expeditionary Force has now become the only life-saving straw.

"Joseph, do you think the Chinese can successfully counterattack?" Vivianni asked uneasily. Xiafei shook his head: "I don't know. You should prepare what you need to prepare. General Nivell will definitely do his best."

Vivianni stood up to say goodbye. Xiafei seemed to have given up any hope against the Chinese ** team's counterattack. Paris was really going to be lost. Farewell to Vivianni, Xiafei turned his sights to the distance. Oh my god.

There is darkness at the end.

Just after dawn, the door of the war room of the General Staff opened, and a burst of smoke came out. The lights were still on inside the door, and a bunch of smoke guns surrounded a huge map, studying the trend of the war situation. Yang Yongtai opened the door and came in, quietly walking there without sleeping all night.

Fang Jianxiong passed a telegram to him.

Fang Jianxiong glanced at it and said angrily: "Now that I know how anxious I am, what have I done? Of the seven heavy artillery regiments of the expeditionary force, only two are in place. There is only one brigade of tanks. These foreign devils just don't see the coffin."

Cry."

Jiang Fangzhen heard the commotion, came over, took the telegram, glanced at it and said: "The key depends on Songpo and Runong. If this battle is successful and the Paris defense line is stabilized, the French will have to try their best to curry favor with us."

Fang Jianxiong raised his hand and looked at his watch. It was 6:05 in the morning, and there were still fifty-five minutes before the expeditionary force launched a counterattack. "The special operations division is probably going to hurt its muscles and bones this time. The troops lack ammunition, and they have to

Let's gnaw on the hard bones." Fang Jianxiong said to himself. Jiang Fangzhen silently looked up at the west, took out a cigarette, handed it to Fang Jianxiong and said: "Support the country, isn't it what you said? If the Chinese nation wants to rise, only

Can rely on iron and blood."

Fang Jianxiong took a deep breath. He used too much force and choked. He coughed repeatedly and shed tears. After calming down, he slowly said: "Yes, the Chinese nation will definitely rise. No one can stop it.

.”

French time, exactly 00:00. The quiet night sky was pierced by three red signal flares, and at this moment, the ground was suddenly violently violent. The first to fire was the French 400mm large-caliber howitzer. (To be continued. Please search Gone with the Wind
Chapter completed!