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Text Chapter 870 The war begins

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    Changing the distribution of troops on the Western Front by Seychelles and Moltke was tantamount to directly undermining Schlieffen's plan. Moltke's distribution of troops on the Western Front was roughly: 300,000 troops on the left, 400,000 on the center, and 700,000 on the right (a total of HC0,000).  The original planned ratio of left to right was 1:7, but now it is about 1:3. Strictly speaking, Moltke's biggest mistake may not have been to weaken the right wing but to strengthen the left wing.  Schlieffen's plan was to attack on the right and defend on the left, and try to lure the French army deeper to the left, which would indirectly help the success of the right wing.  Moltke not only strengthened the left wing but also allowed the left wing to launch an offensive. As a result, he drove the French army from left to right, which in turn enhanced their ability to fight against the German right wing.

    In 1910, Moltke canceled the concept of devoting two corps from the left wing to reinforce the right wing, and concentrated these six supplementary divisions near Metz.  Finally, when nine new divisions were formed, he added one of them plus a division drawn back from the eastern front to the right wing, and the remaining eight divisions were added to the left wing.

    On July 21, 1911, the day before Germany declared war on France, according to the revised Schlieffen-Moltke Plan, the seven German legions deployed on the Western Front had all arrived in the predetermined area and completed battle preparations!

    The 1st Army Corps, commanded by General Crook, has its headquarters at Griffinpoch.  There were seven corps, three cavalry divisions, and three national militia brigades.  You should go to Aix-la-Cappelle and then to Brussels.  Total people.

    The 2nd Army, commanded by General Bulow, has its headquarters in Montejoy.  There were six corps, two cavalry divisions, and two national militia brigades.  Li¨¨ge should be captured, then its right wing should advance to Voville, and its left wing to La Mour.  Total people.

    The 3rd Army Corps, commanded by General Hausen and headquartered in Plum, consists of four armies and a national militia brigade.  It should advance westward so that its right wing reaches Lamour and its left wing reaches Giffet.  Total 1 person.

    The 4th Army Corps is commanded by the Duke of W¨¹rttemberg and its headquarters is located in Tilipis.  There are five corps in total and one national militia brigade.  They should advance westward so that their right wing reaches Flame and their left wing reaches Etilt, north of Elron.  Total 1 person.

    The 5th Army, commanded by Crown Prince Wilhelm, is headquartered in Saarbruken and consists of five corps, one division, two cavalry divisions and five national militia brigades.  Its left wing remained at Thionville, while its right wing advanced to Frenville.

    Total people.

    The 6th Army, commanded by Prince Rupricht of Bavaria and headquartered in St. Ifeld; consisted of five corps, three cavalry divisions and four supplementary divisions.  They should advance to the Mosli River and attack the French to pin them down.  Total 0 people.

    The 7th Army, the 7th Army, is commanded by General Schilingen and its headquarters is located in Stasburg.  There were three corps, one division, two supplementary divisions and four national militia brigades.  They should enter the Moselle River or launch a counterattack towards Lorraine.  Total: 125CCC people.

    July 22, the day Germany officially declared war on France, the German army launched an offensive across the board!  The first country to be attacked by the Germans was the small country of Luxembourg.  Facing the German attack, Luxembourg could not resist the attack. Grand Duke William IV of Luxembourg ordered the Luxembourg army to stop resisting and surrender to the German army.  In just one day, the German army occupied Luxembourg and controlled Luxembourg's complete railway network!

    At the same time, the German Minister in Brussels, Herr von Bello Zaleske, issued an ultimatum to Belgium on behalf of the German government, requiring Belgium to open its borders to Germany and stipulating that a reply must be made within 24 hours.

    Belgium is a neutral country. As early as the Treaty of London signed in 1839, Europe had recognized Belgium's independence and neutrality.  However, now in order to defeat France, the German army no longer cares about Belgium's neutrality!

    Faced with Germany¡¯s unreasonable demands, King Albert of Belgium presided over a state meeting at the palace at 9 a.m. He said in his opening speech: ¡°No matter what the consequences, our answer must be

    'No.  Our responsibility is to defend our territorial integrity.  We must remain firm on this.  "However, he also insisted that every participant should not have any illusions: the consequences will be serious and terrible; the enemy will be ruthless. Prime Minister Deborah Keville also warned some wavering  One must not believe Germany's promise to restore the integrity of Belgium after the war. "Once Germany is victorious," he said, "Belgium will be incorporated into the German Empire regardless of its attitude.  "

    Belgium rejected Germany¡¯s request, and the German army invaded Belgium on July 23, 1911, launching an attack on this small country.  Belgium has also launched a nationwide mobilization.  Before the war began, this effect was only tens of thousands of troops, but in just three days, the number of Belgian troops expanded to 125,000.  At that time, the total population of Belgium was only 7.4 million.  Even though Belgium launched a heroic counterattack, the Belgian army was still unable to resist the German attack!  We can only rely on the fortresses of Liege and Namur to resist the German attack!After France declared war on Germany, Joseph, deputy chairman of the French Supreme Military Council and chief of general staff, became the commander-in-chief of the French army.  The commander-in-chief of the French army, General Joffre, who is nearly 60 years old, has a burly figure and a big belly. He has a plump face dotted with a thick beard and two thick eyebrows. His complexion is fair and tender, his eyes are blue and serene, his gaze is sincere and tranquil, and he looks like a Santa Claus.  Known as "Daddy Xiafei".  The strategy he formulated for the French army was to abandon the fortification of the right wing and concentrate forces on the German center and left flank. He and all the French hoped to regain the two provinces of Alsace and Lorraine lost in 1870.

    July 23, Paris, the French army set off.  French soldiers wearing red trousers and dark blue jackets with wide hems marched through the streets in neat steps, singing loudly.  The soldiers of the cavalry regiment wore gleaming breastplates and long black ponytails hanging from their helmets, marching with dignity.  Behind them were large wooden crates and flatbed trailers containing aircraft. On the vehicles were placed a slender 75mm field gun, which is the pride of France.  People, horses and baggage flowed continuously all day long, passing through the arched gates of the North Station and the East Station.

    The strength of the five French armies is similar to the 70 German divisions deployed on the Western Front. The French 1st Army is on the right, followed by the 2345th Army on the left, and they are assembled from Verdun to the Toul Defense Line.  The two armies were similar in number to the two German armies with the line from Metz to Thionville as the dividing line.  In Asalos and Lorraine, the French 1st and 2nd armies faced the German 7th and 6th armies and formed the right wing of the French army. Their mission was to launch a powerful offensive and drive the confronting German forces back to the Rhine River line.

    However, General Xiafei did not judge that the German army¡¯s main attack direction was the right wing.  The left wing and center are only used to defend against the French attack.  After waiting for the right wing to break through Belgium, directly attack France from the north, and encircle and annihilate the French army deployed in the northeast to eliminate the main force of the French army!

    The German army occupied Luxembourg and began to invade Belgium, which made Britain very nervous.  The United Kingdom and Belgium are only separated by a strait. In order to ensure the security of the United Kingdom, as early as 1839, the United Kingdom required the entire Europe to recognize Belgium's independence and neutrality in the Treaty of London.  And now, the German army has invaded Belgium, posing a great threat to Britain!

    "Prime Minister Asquith, the Germans have taken Luxembourg. King Albert of Belgium has rejected Germany's request to open the border. The German army has crossed the border and entered Belgium this morning. King Albert has ordered a general mobilization.  But it¡¯s already too late to start mobilizing now. Belgium may lose the war in a few days!¡± British Minister of War Paul Stafford Methuen said anxiously!

    "How is it possible? The Liege Fortress built by the Belgians is an extremely strong fortress in the whole of Europe. I'm afraid it won't be that easy for the Germans to break through the Liege Fortress, right?" Prime Minister Asquith said in surprise.

    "Your Excellency Prime Minister, judging from the current deployment of the German army, Belgium is their main direction of attack. The 1st and 23rd Army Corps, the strongest German army, have crossed the border and are detouring from Luxembourg and Belgium to northern France. Belgium is where the German army is advancing.  If there are any obstacles, they will definitely launch a fierce attack on Belgium. With the strength of Belgium, it is simply unable to withstand the attack of the German troops!" Methuen, the Secretary of War, reminded.

    "North? But the French have deployed their main forces in the northeast?" Prime Minister Asquith sensed the crisis.

    "That's right! The northern part of the French is almost undefended. As long as the Germans break through Belgium, they can drive straight in and penetrate the French army's rear. By then, the French army is likely to be shaken across the board, and they will pay a heavy price for this.  The price!" lamented Secretary of War Methuen.

    "Why not put this question to the French?" Prime Minister Asquith asked.

    "We have already proposed it to the French, but General Joffre insists that the German army's main attack direction is northeastern France. He believes that the German army's attack in Belgium is just a feint attack to divert the main force of the French army from the northeast.  Leave!" Methuen said.

    ¡°Damn it, that old fool Joffre, he will destroy France!¡± Prime Minister Asquith cursed.

    "Your Excellency Prime Minister, we must form an expeditionary force as soon as possible. Once the French army is defeated, we must help them stabilize the war situation!" Methuen suggested.

    "Go and prepare!" Prime Minister Asquith said helplessly.

    In response to Germany¡¯s invasion of Belgium, Britain issued an ultimatum to Germany, requiring German troops to withdraw from Belgium within 12 hours.  However, the Germans ignored it completely.  On the morning of July 24, Britain declared war on Germany, and in the afternoon, Russia and the United States also declared war on Germany.  At the same time, Germany also declared war on Britain, the United States and Russia.  Germany's ally, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, also declared war on the Entente, and only Italy remained neutral!
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