On September 21, Qin Tian's special train arrived in Berlin. The Minister of War of the Empire, von Falkenhain, personally went to the train station to meet Qin Tian.
"Your Highness, welcome back to Berlin. Your Highness commanded the 8th Army and achieved great victories on the Eastern Front. Your Majesty is very happy. The entire German Empire is cheering for your Highness's victory!" von Falkenhain said With an old face, the smile is like a chrysanthemum.
Of course, the current von Falkenhain has enough reasons to be happy. First of all, Qin Tian's 8th Army won the victory on the Eastern Front and wiped out more than 900,000 enemies. This is undoubtedly a huge victory for Germany. As a member of Qin Tian's family, von Falkenhain was naturally happy about this. Second, the Battle of the Marne was over. The German army lost 220,000 people, but they were still unable to push the front line to the city of Paris. On the contrary, the British and French allied forces persisted under the fierce German attack, which made the British and French allied forces more determined to resist Germany. It can be said that the plan to end the war quickly has gone bankrupt. This is undoubtedly very bad news for Germany, but for von Falkenhain, it is different. This means that his old opponent, Little Maoqi, is in big trouble right now.
Von Falkenhain has always wanted to replace Mao Qi as the chief of the general staff and become the number one person in the military. However, he was always suppressed by Xiao Maoqi. Now, Little Mao Qi made a big mistake himself, which gave him a chance. What's more, with Qin Tian's victory on the Eastern Front, Qin Tian's prestige in the country has once again risen to a higher level. Even William II had to pay attention to Qin Tian's opinion and attitude. If Qin Tian fulfills his promise and supports him, von Falkenhain believes that the possibility of him successfully squeezing out Maoqi and becoming the chief of the general staff is undoubtedly very high. It can be said that he has seen the post of chief of staff beckoning to him.
"Minister of the Army, you are too polite, how can I bother you to come and greet me in person!" Qin Tian also had a smile on his face. He knew exactly what von Falkenhain was thinking. However, he is also happy to help von Falkenhain achieve his wish. After all, von Falkenhain took the initiative to join him. In terms of emotion and reason, he should let von Falkenhain take another step.
"Your Highness, let's go to the palace, Your Majesty is waiting for you." Von Falkenhain said.
Qin Tian nodded.
Qin Tian and von Falkenhain took a car together and went to the palace.
The Great War has broken out for more than a month, and it has also had some impact on Germany. Even as the capital of the empire, Berlin is somewhat depressed. At least, there are not so many people on the street. From what Qin Tian learned, there was no material shortage in Germany because of the sufficient reserves before the war. However, if the war continues, this phenomenon will inevitably occur, and it will become more and more serious. It's just that there is no way to do it, and this is one of the effects of war. The only thing Qin Tian can do is try his best to find a way to end the war as soon as possible. Other than that, he had no other choice.
"Your Highness, the Battle of the Marne is over, and we lost 250,000 people. Although the losses of the British and French forces were a little more than ours. However, our strategic goal has not been achieved. Paris is still tens of kilometers away from our front Besides, for us, Paris is so easy to get. However, we have lost the opportunity to capture Paris." Von Falkenhain sighed.
"Well, no one thought that the situation on the western front would become so bad." Qin Tian said. Although, he already knew that in another time and space, the German army ended in failure in the Battle of the Marne. In the next two years, no matter how hard we try, we will not be able to make a breakthrough. But in this time and space, at least because of him, the strength of the German army has been strengthened. Originally, he thought that it might bring about some changes. But I didn't expect that the inertia of history would be so strong, and the German army was still on the verge of failure.
Von Falkenhein nodded: "During this battle, we not only lost a large number of troops, but also consumed a large amount of combat supplies. The soldiers are also very tired after continuous fighting. Therefore, In a short time, we may not be able to launch another offensive. This war will inevitably fall into a protracted war."
"Your Excellency, don't be so pessimistic. Even this time, we have no chance to capture Paris. However, this does not mean that we will never have a chance. The Eighth Army will continue to attack Russia. If we can make the situation on the Eastern Front If there is a fundamental change, we can end the state of fighting on two fronts and concentrate our main force to deal with the British and French allied forces." Qin Tian said.
"Your Highness, do you want to defeat the Russians with the 8th Army alone? I'm afraid it will be very difficult!" Von Falkenhain frowned.
"Your Excellency, I will not say what we will do specifically for the time being. It needs to be kept secret. However, the 8th Army hopes to cooperate with the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the future to attack the Russian Southwest Front Army. The matter of joining forces with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and Have they discussed it?" Qin Tian asked.
"This matter, the General Staff is advancing. However, because someone has been out of state recently, there has been little progress. However, I don't think there should be a big problem. The subordinates have suffered a lot of defeats. If they can join forces with us to eliminate the Russian Southwest Front Army, this will undoubtedly be a great thing for them. As long as the heads of those guys in the Austro-Hungarian Empire are not caught by the door, They won't object," said von Falkenhain.
"Has the father's attitude towards Xiao Maoqi changed?" Qin Tian asked.
"Because of the defeat in the Battle of the Marne, Your Majesty's attitude towards Little Moltke has changed a lot." Speaking of this, a smile appeared on von Falkenhain's face. Seeing Xiao Maoqi lose power, he was undoubtedly very happy in his heart.
"That's good! Xiaomao Qizhi has great talent and lack of talent, and he modified the Schlieffen plan indiscriminately, so that the Imperial Army was in a disadvantageous situation in this war. He should be responsible for it. At that time, I will recommend it to the emperor, and your Excellency will take over as the The position of chief of staff." Qin Tian said.
"Thank you, Your Highness, I promise, I will follow His Highness's lead in the future!" Feng Falkenhain was even more excited after receiving Qin Tian's guarantee.