Chapter 255: 50-50
David Wright.
Trenches, barbed wire and sandbag positions were taking shape quickly. That day, the soldiers of the Hexingen Brigade used ordnance shovels to build a fortification around the town of Davidwright overnight.
Combined with some buildings and houses, David Wright was surrounded so tightly that he almost became a hedgehog.
A typical academic brigade like the Heixinggen Brigade must have had a more meticulous attitude and rigorous spirit when building fortifications.
So the next day, it was still being standardized and repaired. This scene made Robert next door stunned.
Putting down the telescope, Robert said to his deputy, "I think Commander Kirchbach is completely overthinking. I can't say how strong the Black Hingen Brigade is, but their means of survival must be better than ours. Look at them, they want to turn David Wright into a solid fortress. If I were a Frenchman, I would not be so stupid as to launch an attack on such a place."
"Commander, the people of the Principality of Hexingen are too cowardly! The battlefield is changing rapidly, so there is no time for so many fancy things. Fortifications can only play a supporting role. We have a much greater number of people than France. The high-ranking officials of the kingdom will definitely choose to take the initiative to attack instead of passively defend. Therefore, no matter how beautiful the fortifications are, they will not be of much use. After all, we are the attacking party."
If Napoleon III heard this, he would definitely slap him in the face. The French had been betrayed by their own people before the war. At that time, France chose to take the initiative to attack, and coupled with the hasty preparations, not many fortifications were built in Alsace and Lorraine. Who would have known that the situation would be reversed now and they had become the defending side, only to find that there was no defense.
For example, Wisemburg still uses the defense projects built in the last century, but in fact it is almost abandoned.
…
Not to mention Robert's confusion, Leopold was also a little puzzled. He said to Heinrich, "Are you young people so energetic now? Building such a long fortification will probably make other troops laugh at you."
Heinrich said: "We are just doing what we should do according to the textbooks and the actual combat experience of our predecessors. There is no trivial matter in war, and we must never let down our guard at any time. In this war, the French Chassepeau rifle has a longer range than the Dreyse rifle, so it has an advantage. If we want to offset this advantage, in addition to suppressing it with artillery and other aspects, we can only think of a way from the bunker!"
"That does make sense. However, if the battlefield changes tomorrow and the higher-ups order you to move to other areas, then this fortification that we worked so hard to build will be wasted!"
"If it's ruined, it's ruined. This is not my concern. We should repair fortifications wherever we go. Even if we only stay for one night, we must do this. This is for the sake of the soldiers' lives and to reduce casualties."
"Is this what you learned in Berlin?"
"No, this is what I learned at the Hechingen Military Academy."
"After the war, I will definitely go back and take a look at your textbooks. I can only say that they are very unique," said Leopold.
…
The French Fifth Army of the Rhine.
The commander of the Fifth Army was French General de Fay, and the enemy he was about to face was the Prussian Fifth Army, commanded by Kirchbach.
At dusk, the reconnaissance cavalry of the French Fifth Army had returned.
"General, we have already found out the details of the enemy. The Prussian Fifth Army is stationed at the northern foot of the Vosges Mountains. In addition, there are a small number of troops on its right, but their numbers are unknown for the time being."
"What is the size of the Prussian Fifth Army?"
"Their number should be larger than ours, but the main force is divided into two parts, one stationed in Stanley and the other in Saverna. The remaining small units are deployed along the highway in villages and towns such as David Wright."
"Bring the map here!" Fay said.
"This is Stanley, a prominent part of the Prussian army's defense line. The Prussians should have been waiting for us here a long time ago. Not far to the left rear is Saverna, which can support Stanley at any time. The same is true in reverse. Saverna is a transportation hub. If we control this place, we can attack or defend."
"If we attack Stanley and Saverna rashly, it will not be in line with the purpose of our trip. Our goal is to strengthen the connection between the Rhine Army and the Chalon Army to prevent either side from being encircled by Prussia. Therefore, we must not attack head-on as we did in the past, but must outsmart them."
"So far, Prussia's trump card has gradually become clear. They want to divide and surround us through numbers, and then annihilate us one by one. We must not let Prussia's plan succeed."
"These days, I have also seen through some of Prussia's characteristics. In addition to their inferior guns to ours, their cavalry does not seem to have made many appearances. Instead, they focus on intelligence work, and sometimes cruise between the two armies to spy on the real situation. If this analysis is accurate and can be used well, it can definitely deal a fatal blow to the Prussian army."
After analysis, Fayi began to arrange tasks according to this idea.
"The Cavalry Brigade will outflank Saverna from the side. The two infantry divisions will be on the front battlefield. The 12th Infantry Division will feint to attack Stanley. This should be the most elite unit of the Prussian Army. We will hold them back. The main 14th Infantry Division and the artillery units will move southward from the west to attack Saverna. They will cooperate with the Cavalry Brigade to attack from the front and back. Once Saverna is captured, we will turn around and join the 12th Infantry Division."
"General, what about the enemies in the east?"
"Have the 12th Infantry Division dispatch a brigade to David Wright to stop the remaining enemies. You, the 12th Infantry Division, must remember that the key to this war is to delay the enemy. Once we take over Savit, the rest will be easy."
The commander of the 12th Infantry Division asked, "What if the Prussian Third Army comes to support us from the south?"
Fay said: "You have to believe in Marshal McMahon's command ability, and the Prussian Third Army should be heading south to fight against Marshal McMahon's troops now, and will have no time to go north in a short period of time. The enemy's Fifth Army is to prevent us from taking the opportunity to go south. The Third Army has far more people than the Chalons Army. Crown Prince William of Prussia must want to use superior forces to encircle and annihilate the Chalons Army first, so he only deployed one army in Saverne. Therefore, Marshal McMahon and the Chalons Army are in a very bad situation. Whether they can be relieved depends on whether we can quickly defeat the Prussian Fifth Army and force the Prussian Third Army to split its troops for defense. At that time, the pressure on Marshal McMahon's troops can be greatly reduced."
Since it was a surprise attack, they naturally could not proceed openly. Under the command of Marshal Fay, the French Fifth Army took advantage of darkness and advanced towards the target at high speed. The first troops they came into contact with were the Prussian troops stationed in Stanley. As soon as the war broke out, the commander of the Prussian Fifth Army stationed in Stanley urgently sent a telegram to Saverne in the rear, requesting support.
Kirchbach immediately sent two infantry brigades to support Stanley, but Stanley was only the target of the French feint attack. Kirchbach's dispersion of Saverna's troops to support Stanley was exactly what Fay wanted.
The French 5th Cavalry Brigade had already rushed to the southeast of Saverne from the left side in the dark, and the main force of the French army was also rushing towards Saverne from the west.
Because of the withdrawal of troops, the number of Saverne's troops has dropped to the same level as the French offensive forces. The Prussian and French Fifth Armies will also start a showdown tonight.
(End of this chapter)
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