Chapter 516： Fiasco (2600 votes plus more)

The headquarters of the British and French coalition forces located in the south of the Marne River is in a gloomy state. The news that the British Expeditionary Forces 1st Army, 3rd Army and French 1st Army suffered heavy losses under the attack of the German 1st Army and 8th Army has been informed to them. After Marshal Xiafei received such a telegram, he remained silent for a long time. Obviously, even he himself did not expect that the British and French allied forces would lose so badly.

"Your Excellency, Marshal, now that we are in Paris, only the 4th Army of the British Expeditionary Force and the 10th Army of the French Army are left. The two armies have a total of only 400,000 people. Even if you add the 100,000 people of the 1st Army , the strength is only comparable to that of the Germans. Moreover, the 4th Army of the British Expeditionary Force and our 10th Army are both newly formed troops, and their combat effectiveness is worrying. If you want to use these troops to resist the German attack, That is almost impossible." Admiral Foch looked worried, even desperate.

The breakthrough of the German 1st Army and 8th Army on the left wing undoubtedly dealt a fatal blow to the British and French allied forces. Now even their capital was under the threat of the Germans. It is estimated that in a few days, the Germans will come to Paris. At that time, how will this battle continue?

"It's almost impossible to hold Paris with those troops alone. We don't even have the strength to hold Paris now. Don't forget, we are also suppressed by the Germans here. When were the Germans Defeat is still very hard to say." Marshal Xia Fei said.

Admiral Foch was taken aback for a moment, and his face turned even paler.

Indeed, Paris may not be able to hold on no matter what. After the crushing defeat on the left, the Germans would advance directly to Paris. And here, they also couldn't resist the German attack. Once the British and French allied forces also suffered a disastrous defeat on the Marne River defense line, they would have no extra troops to defend Paris. Facing the German attack, they will surely fail.

However, such a result is undoubtedly somewhat unacceptable to a French army soldier. After all, they were fighting for France, fighting the Germans. But is this war doomed to fail?

"Marshal Marshal, if we lose Paris, will we surrender to the Germans?" Admiral Foch asked.

Marshal Joffre thought for a while, and then said: "This is not something I can decide. It has to be decided by the president and the government. But, as a soldier, I will fight the Germans to the end!"

Admiral Foch nodded, he was also unwilling to surrender to the Germans. Of course, if the president and the government decide to surrender, there is no other way.

"Your Excellency Marshal, the Germans once again launched a large-scale shelling of our defense line. They used at least thousands of cannons." Marshal Joffre, a staff officer with a panicked face, reported.

Marshal Joffre and Admiral Foch felt tense. Obviously, they all expected the intention of the German army. With the German 1st Army and 8th Army already victorious, the German army on the Marne River defense line couldn't sit still.

"Order the frontline departments, hold the defense line, and prepare to fight the Germans to the end!" Marshal Xiafei ordered.

If their defenses are torn by the Germans and they are defeated, the Germans will be able to encircle Paris. It will be absolutely impossible for the Anglo-French coalition forces stationed in Paris to stop the German attack. All Marshal Joffre can do is to stick to the defense of the Marne River and continue to persevere. As for whether there will be a turning point, it is hard to say.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

On the front line of the Marne River, thousands of German cannons are firing fiercely. Carts transporting shells are running back and forth, transporting shells from the ammunition depot to the artillery positions. The gunners, shirtless, loaded shells into the barrels and fired them.

The positions of the British and French coalition forces were once again hit by heavy artillery fire from the German army. Although, in the previous battles, the German army almost plowed through the positions of the British and French allied forces with shells. Most of the fortifications were destroyed under the heavy shelling of the German army. The rest are fortifications that have survived the shelling of blind spots. In addition, there are some positions rebuilt by the British and French allied forces taking advantage of the gaps in the shelling of the German army.

But now, under the heavy shelling of the German army, all these fortifications have been destroyed again.

As for the artillery of the British and French allied forces, they remained silent. They simply don't have much left. The artillery suppression of the German army had been bombed before, and the artillery of the British and French allied forces had already paid extremely heavy losses. The existing cannons were all regarded as treasures by the British and French allied forces, and they did not dare to use them lightly. Rather than letting those cannons be destroyed in the fierce artillery battle with the German army, it is more cost-effective to use it to attack the German infantry when the German infantry launches an attack.

The German firepower preparations this time did not last long. An hour later, the artillery shells began to extend to the deep positions of the British and French allied forces. The British and French allied forces knew that this was a precursor to the German attack.

The reason why the German army did not carry out long-term artillery preparations was, on the one hand, to save shells. After the Battle of the Marne, it may be the turn to attack Paris next time. If the French refused to surrender, the two sides would have to fight a fierce battle there. At that time, Paris, the romantic capital, might also be razed to the ground by German artillery shells. For this reason, the German army naturally had to store as many shells as possible. On the other hand, it was because the defense line of the British and French coalition forces had been almost destroyed long ago, so there was no need to waste shells.

"Attack!"

As soon as the artillery fire started to extend, the commander on the front line gave the order to attack.

This time, instead of directly dispatching infantry, four armored divisions launched an attack in four sectors.

A large number of black-painted tanks poured out of the German positions like a black tide, and rushed towards the positions of the British and French allied forces. These dark tanks formed a torrent of steel that no one could stop.

"God! German tanks, a lot of tanks." A French soldier said in horror.

"Damn it, how did the Germans have so many tanks? How could we stand against it?"

"Where are the anti-tank guns and anti-tank guns? Prepare to fight!" There are still some brave people who are not intimidated by the huge size of the German tanks and are still ready to continue fighting. However, in the previous battles, the anti-tank guns and gunners of the British and French allied forces suffered heavy losses. The remaining anti-tank guns and gunners want to stop so many tanks of the German army, it is undoubtedly a dream.