The Rise of the Empire

"But the distance between the handle and the head of the sickle we use to chop the Western Front is different from the target. In order to ensure the encirclement of the French Grand Army, we must have speed."

"We want the speed of the peripheral corps, so we have to give up something. I think it is feasible to a certain extent to exchange equipment for the speed of the corps, and I also give them a certain degree of reinforcement. The outermost first army can have some Independent armored unit.”

In fact, during border battles in history, the German army had already revealed some problems. The first and second armies located at the outermost edge were not actually full. Theoretically, the strength of both sides is similar, but it will take a long time for many German follow-up troops to arrive. The French have the advantage of several armies, but they still cannot defeat the Germans due to equipment and tactical problems. Of course, the Germans cannot encircle and annihilate them on a large scale. French army.

Subsequently, the French began to retreat under the command of Joffre, and then reorganized their troops to prepare for a counterattack, which made the Germans feel uneasy. In fact, before the Battle of the Marne River, the first and second armies on the edge no longer Ability to implement the original encirclement and annihilation plan.

Think about it, the length of the entire front at that time was as high as 230 kilometers, and the First and Second Army had to cross a depth of about 220 kilometers to reach the Marne River, and they had to be constantly blocked by the British and French forces. The first and second armies' attack distance does not exceed 13 kilometers per day. How can you surround and annihilate your opponents at this speed? The French can easily reorganize their forces and then concentrate on giving their opponent a counterattack.

Therefore, the prince's plan is to at least allow the first and second armies on the edge to still have strong mobility and assault capabilities in border battles. Eaten part of the British and French legions in the border battle. Only in this way can the situation of Germany being repulsed in the Battle of the Marne be fundamentally changed.

If part of the opponent's forces cannot be surrounded and annihilated in border operations, the Battle of the Marne River is actually unsolvable. This is the conclusion that the prince came to after recalling the historical data. At the beginning of the Battle of the Marne River, the first and second troops on the farthest edge of the German right wing were The Second Army has only 18 infantry divisions and 5 cavalry divisions in total, while the French 5th, 6th, and 9th armies and the British Army are concentrated on the opposite side, with a total of 35 and a half infantry divisions and 8 and a half cavalry divisions. In this situation, how do you want the Germans to fight? Although the Germans had advantages in other directions, the German Third, Fourth and Fifth Armies concentrated 26 infantry divisions, but there were also 19 and a half infantry divisions and 1 cavalry division on the opposite side. Overall, the other front was under attack, but given the state of the German divisions, neither side was likely to overwhelm their opponents.

As long as there is no generation difference, the German First and Second Armies will not be able to defeat the four British and French armies opposite them even if they fight tooth and nail! In fact, Kruger's First Army was indeed unable to stop its opponent and was forced to demolish the east wall to repair the west wall. This created a gap between the First and Second Army, and Pilov's Second Army suffered a blow on the right wing. When the threat came, the gap was too big to fill. In order to prevent being surrounded and annihilated, I had to retreat. You know, when Germany started the war, the First and Second Army had a total of 12 infantry corps, 1 cavalry corps and 5 reserve brigades. , according to the establishment of an army with two divisions, there are at least 26 infantry divisions. In fact? Only 18 are in place.

Therefore, Ruprecht's approach emphasized the essence of German tactics, which was to maneuver quickly and engage in a battle of encirclement and annihilation, rather than a battle of rout, destroying a large number of the opponent's effective forces without giving the opponent a chance to breathe.

Ruprecht divided the entire plan into three stages. The first stage is to enter the French border area through Belgium. In fact, you don’t need to pay much attention to this stage.

Historically, the Germans have done very well. The second stage is the border battle. The prince's request is that the German right-wing army has the ability to encircle one or two British and French armies. To achieve this, the first and second armies need to still have strong mobility and field capabilities. The third stage is when the five German armies enter the Marne River line, they can stabilize their positions and repel the counterattack of the British and French coalition forces, but how much further they can go depends on their ability.

"Let me tell you, you come and listen. I don't expect to change your mind. It only counts as much as you can understand. I have already told you the strategy, and then I will give you my suggestions on the tactical level."

"The First Army and the Second Army can form independent armored battalions and combat vehicle units. The number of heavy artillery should be reduced as much as possible. Even if it is not reduced, it should be replaced with car tows or truck guns. They need to be equipped with more additional transportation units."

"The Third, Fourth and Fifth Group Armies do not have high requirements for attack speed, so they can be equipped with a large number of heavy artillery units. The First and Second Group Armies are used to divide the opponent's knives, while the Third Group Army relies on internal testing. A group army is a heavy hammer that crushes the opponent."

"Don't have too many expectations for heavy mortars. Although this thing has a simple structure, it has a short range and low accuracy. It consumes a lot of ammunition during the attack. The defense is not bad, but when it comes to attack, sometimes it is really bad. It’s not as easy to use as direct-aiming artillery. And after crossing the border, although there are some hills and forests, it is still very wide overall. It is difficult to take advantage of the mortar’s curved trajectory, and the range disadvantage will be continuously widened.”

"We must always pay attention to the movements of the British and French troops. Britain and France have been staring at us. After we equip tanks, assault guns and mobile heavy artillery, the other side may have similar ideas. On the one hand, we must keep it secret; on the other hand, we must It’s easy to deal with. In fact, your Weasel armored destroyer is a good idea, but the design needs to be optimized to increase its defense.”

Regarding the last point, the prince might as well take precautions and remind them that both sides learn from each other in war. When fighting opponents of the same level, if you have it, the opponent will soon have it too. Germany's war is blocking the fate of the country, so one cannot be too careful.

"I have written down everything you said, but I can't guarantee how much it will be implemented. After all, our resistance comes from all directions, but I will try my best to implement what I think is right. Thank you again, distinguished Prince." Little Maoqi stood up and said.

Ruprecht's impact on Germany's Western Front strategy was to this extent. As for the military and technical exchanges between Prussia and Bavaria, that is what the people below are worried about. If nothing unexpected happens, the focus of the work in the next period of time will be on the construction of the Bavarian Bohemian Army, and occasionally the navy will also be considered.

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