Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 517 Battle of the Somme

For the Allied powers, the situation seemed to have suddenly returned to the period when Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire surrendered one after another.

With the Eastern Front relatively stalemate, and Austria-Hungary at a disadvantage in the Balkans, coupled with the German army's all-out defensive posture on the Western Front, it seemed that the Central Powers had no hope of victory?
This situation was absolutely unacceptable to Kaiser Wilhelm II. Coupled with the fact that the Chief of the General Staff of the German Army, Falkenhahn, had accomplished nothing since taking office, Kaiser Wilhelm II had no choice but to rely heavily on the generals of the Junker aristocracy and listen to the opinions of the military high command, headed by Hindenburg and Ludendorff.

This can actually be considered the beginning of the collapse of power in Germany. The Kaiser used a series of measures to balance domestic power, but ultimately found that without the Junker aristocracy, Germany's military operations seemed to make no progress.

This situation was observed by the Junker nobles, led by Hindenburg and Ludendorff. They naturally understood that Germany and Kaiser Wilhelm II needed the Junker nobles at this time, and that they could make more demands.

What are the requirements?

Hindenburg and Ludendorff's first demand was that their army be allowed to disobey the orders of the German High Command and have sufficient autonomy to decide its own missions.

Of course, this army still obeyed Wilhelm II's orders. Hindenburg and Ludendorff's goal was simply to bypass the German High Command headed by Chief of the General Staff Falkingham, and to avoid their military operations being disrupted or interfered with by Falkingham.

It wasn't just Wilhelm II who doubted Falkingham's abilities; Hindenburg and Ludendorff, who saw things even more clearly, actually understood that Falkingham's decisions were completely wrong.

Falkingham's first mistake was emphasizing the western front after the failure of the Schlieffen Plan. His second mistake was deliberately neglecting the German forces originally stationed on the eastern front under Hindenburg's command after the strategic shift to the eastern front.

While power struggles are not inherently wrong, in the context of a world war, abandoning a position of advantage due to power struggles is an absolute mistake.

This is actually why Hindenburg and Ludendorff proposed having autonomy. If they continued to follow Falkingham's offensive plan, not only would Hindenburg and Ludendorff not gain any credit, but Germany's offensive plan on the Eastern Front would also likely be hindered.

Faced with the demands of the Sindenberg and Ludendorff, Kaiser Wilhelm II, though tempted to refuse, knew that it was the inevitable trend of the times.

Because if Hindenburg is not granted a certain degree of autonomy, then Chief of the General Staff Falkingham's mistakes in this war will be magnified infinitely.

Germany had already changed its Chief of the General Staff in the early stages of the war, and if it continued to change him, it would easily cause unrest among the troops.

More importantly, if the Chief of the General Staff were replaced at this time, it would be difficult for Kaiser Wilhelm II to appoint a new Chief of the General Staff according to his own wishes.

When Falkenhahn was appointed Chief of the General Staff of Germany, it was because Germany still had a certain advantage on the battlefield, and Wilhelm II at the time also held enormous power.

Now, with Germany's poor performance on both the Eastern and Western fronts, not only is Chief of the General Staff Falkingham to take the blame, but even Wilhelm II, who put him in power, is affected.

If another random Chief of the General Staff were to be appointed, the consequences of the German army's continued poor performance in combat would have to be considered.

At that point, not only would the military leadership doubt the Chief of the General Staff's abilities, but even the general public might. And the Kaiser, having appointed two incompetent Chiefs of the General Staff in succession, would naturally not escape this fate.

Therefore, for Kaiser Wilhelm II, if Germany were to change its Chief of the General Staff again, he would have to give more consideration to the opinions of other high-ranking military officials.

Given Hindenburg's immense prestige within the German military and among the Junker aristocracy, he would undoubtedly be the first choice should Germany change its Chief of the General Staff.

Compared to granting Hindenburg a certain degree of autonomy, Wilhelm II was even less willing to accept Hindenburg becoming the Chief of the General Staff of Germany.

This not only signifies the immense expansion of the Junker aristocracy's power within Germany, but also means that Wilhelm II himself will completely lose command of the army.

Without an army, the emperor's power is highly likely to be usurped. Even if he wins the war, it might not necessarily be a good thing for Wilhelm II.

Not to mention that if the war were lost, Wilhelm II, an emperor with little power, would become the scapegoat.

As expected, when Hindenburg demanded more autonomy for his army, Wilhelm II, however unwilling, could only reluctantly agree to Hindenburg's request.

Hindenburg was thrilled to have gained autonomy over the army and immediately held a meeting with Ludendorff to discuss the army's next offensive plan.

Falkenhayn's original offensive plan would definitely have to be abandoned. If Falkenhayn's offensive plan had been followed, even if Hindenburg had been able to lead his army to intervene, he would at most have only gained some credit.

However, flanking maneuvers from the flanks of the main battlefield would be far more effective than joining the main battlefront.

With the Russian troops at the front lines drawn to the main German forces led by Falkenhayn, this was a perfect opportunity to outflank all the Russian troops.

If they could encircle and annihilate these main Russian forces, it would be a tremendous achievement, enough to solidify Hindenburg's position as the top figure in the German military.

While Hindenburg and Ludendorff were enthusiastically planning their offensive, the Allied Powers were also plotting an attack on Germany in France, on the other side of Europe.

In fact, several months have passed since Germany's strategic shift. Apart from the initial large-scale counter-offensive, the French army has not launched any significant offensives since then.

It's not that France completely gave up on counterattacking Germany, but rather that beneath the calm surface, a much more turbulent wave was brewing.

Considering that France alone could not completely counterattack Germany, after discussions within the Allied powers, it was ultimately decided to combine the elite troops of France, Spain, and Italy, and after several months of preparation, launch a full-scale strategic counterattack against Germany.

The Allied Powers' emphasis on this strategic counter-offensive can be seen from the number of troops provided by Spain and Italy.

Spain needs to provide France with 80 troops, and Italy needs to provide France with 70 troops, and both must be elite local troops composed of Spaniards and Italians.

France deployed an even larger number of troops, totaling 1.5 million across four army groups.

The combined number of these troops would amount to more than 300 million, enabling a simultaneous counter-offensive against Germany.

Of course, the main battlefield was still concentrated in one place, namely the Somme region selected by the French military.

The Somme River is not particularly remarkable among the many rivers in France; in fact, it is only a little over 200 kilometers long and can only be considered a small river.

However, due to its important geographical location, it was an important terrain fortress for France.

Of course, after the German army switched from offense to defense, this formidable barrier became an obstacle to the French army's advance.

French troops have approached the borders of Belgium and Luxembourg along the Verdun line, and have also advanced dozens of kilometers along the Alsace-Lorraine line.

However, in the far north, due to the obstruction of the Somme River, the French army has yet to fully recover the land that was once occupied by Germany.

The French military focused its main offensive on the Somme River, aiming to fully recover the German-occupied territories and create an opening in the Somme to liberate Belgium and eventually invade Germany.

Taking the Somme was no easy feat. In addition to the Somme's inherent terrain advantages, Germany constructed a long and formidable defensive line in the area to impede French and Spanish advances as much as possible, thus buying more time for the Eastern Front.

To make more thorough preparations, France, Spain, and Italy mobilized for several months, deploying nearly 300 million troops, several thousand artillery pieces, hundreds of airships, and more than ten aircraft.

Spain has even hinted that it has developed powerful weapons specifically designed to counter enemy fortifications, which will soon be deployed in the war.

Such a weapon is the tank, and Carlo no longer intends to hide it. If the Allied forces fall into a disadvantageous position during the Battle of the Somme, Carlo will promptly deploy tanks and aircraft to create an opening for the Allies, thereby completely changing the course of the war.

After all, Britain in this world is on Germany's side, so it's necessary to be cautious.

Carlo had no interest in continuing a war of attrition with Germany. For him, the war was best resolved by the end of 1915, and preferably not dragged into 1916.

1916 was Carlo's bottom line. If the conflict dragged on, Spain would face severe attrition. A major crisis loomed on the Western Front, causing considerable anxiety within Germany.

The good news is that, with further mobilization within Britain, the British government proactively offered to send two army groups, approximately 70 men, to the Western Front to assist the German forces in their defense.

In the months following the strategic shift, Germany mobilized more than 50 troops, who, after hasty training, were ready to be deployed to the Eastern and Western fronts.

With these two pieces of good news, Germany breathed a sigh of relief for the time being. With the support of 70 British troops, the German High Command decided to send 50 of the newly mobilized 30 troops to the Eastern Front, leaving 20 to the Western Front.

After this relocation, Germany's troop strength on the Western Front will be restored to 200 million, which the German government believes is more than enough to hold the line.

Both sides were consciously moving troops into the Somme region, and the war broke out soon afterward.

Because the German and British armies were on the defensive, the Allied powers would inevitably launch the first attack.

Driven by the belief in reclaiming lost territory, hundreds of thousands of French troops launched a surprise attack on German forces in the Somme region.

To coordinate with the offensive along the Somme, the French counter-offensive was not only in the Somme region, but also across the entire front.

The Verdun and Alsace-Lorraine lines launched counter-attacks to keep the Germans busy and thus make them neglect the defense along the Somme.

Unlike in the past, Germany's strategic shift led to a rather unexpected victory for France in the Verdun region.

The victory also made the French army forget the brutality of the Verdun battlefield to some extent, which led the French army to not even consider the consequences of a strong German counterattack when launching the offensive.

Faced with the overwhelming French army launching an attack, the German army naturally did not remain indifferent. Under the orders of the front-line commanders, the German army launched a massive counterattack, with gunfire and artillery fire never ceasing at the front lines, subjecting the ears of the front-line soldiers to prolonged torment.

Of course, for soldiers on the front lines, the sound of artillery fire is no longer so important to their ears.

The Battle of the Somme quickly reminded French and German soldiers of the Battle of Verdun, a battle far more brutal than Verdun.

On the first day of the French counter-offensive, fierce fighting broke out between the German and French forces. The French suffered as many as 32,000 casualties that day, with over 10,000 soldiers killed, approaching the brutality of the Battle of Verdun.

Is this the upper limit?

Far from it.

The first day merely sounded the clarion call of a brutal war; it wasn't until the second day that both armies realized how fortunate they were to be alive.

According to internal data from the French military, the French army suffered as many as 4.6 casualties on the second day, and nearly 8 casualties in just two days of fighting, making it undoubtedly the most brutal battle since the outbreak of World War II.

Such heavy casualties caused considerable panic within the French army, and the French government repeatedly urged the Spanish and Italian armies to intervene promptly and concentrate their forces to attack the German defenses.

At the request of the French government, Spanish and Italian troops quickly joined the offensive.

However, in such an unprecedentedly brutal battle, even the Spanish army, which was recognized as having strong fighting capabilities, did not play a significant role in the campaign.

Both sides can only endure huge casualties and then see whether they or the other side will succumb to the losses first.

On the third day after Spanish and Italian troops joined the fighting, Allied casualties surged to 7.4, bringing the total casualties in the first three days of the war to over 15.

Although the British and German armies also suffered heavy casualties, the Allied powers ultimately suffered greater losses.

After all, the Allied Powers were on the offensive, and Britain and Germany, with the advantage of terrain and fortifications, were able to significantly reduce their own casualties.

With daily casualties heading towards six figures, the Allied Powers finally couldn't sit still any longer and decided to reduce the frequency and intensity of their attacks.

A counter-offensive is still necessary, but it must not be launched so recklessly on a large scale. The counter-offensive should target the weakest point in the German defenses, concentrating the Allied firepower advantage to create a breach in the German lines.

After changing their approach, the Allied forces did indeed suffer fewer casualties.

The casualties reached 7.4 on the third day, dropped to 5.6 on the fourth day, and were less than 4 on the fifth day.

If these casualty figures already seem quite exaggerated, then the Allied powers' consumption of bullets and shells on the front lines must look even more outrageous.

On the first day of the counter-offensive, the French army demonstrated its superior artillery capabilities to the German army.

Thanks to military aid from Spain and Italy, France expended nearly 15 artillery shells on the German army that day.

Subsequently, due to the direct involvement of the Spanish and Italian armies, the Allied forces consumed more shells than they did, averaging over 20 shells per day.

Despite such enormous losses, the results were quite evident. Although there hadn't been much change on the front lines, it was clearly visible that the German-built fortifications had suffered significant damage, with some of the simpler trenches even reduced to rubble.

Adding to the woes of recent continuous rain, the German troops, huddled in their trenches, were forced to endure the surrounding mud. Their boots were covered in a thick layer of mud, hindering their movement. Even their clothes and faces were stained with filth and blood.

Fortunately, the German soldiers were determined and such a small difficulty could not defeat them.

The high quality of the German soldiers is evident from the casualties suffered by the Allied troops. Despite the dire conditions and the intense artillery fire from the Allied forces, the German army still had the time to retaliate and inflicted heavy casualties on the Allied forces.

Without superior firepower, the Allied powers might not have needed to launch an attack at all.

There was also good news for the Allied Powers. Although Britain used tanks in the Battle of the Somme, that was because the Battle of the Somme took place in 1916, and Britain had already developed tanks in 1915.

In 1914, Britain may have been developing tanks, but there were definitely no finished products, let alone tanks used on the battlefield.

This also means that the Central Powers had run out of cards to play. All they could rely on were their frontline troops. The Entente Powers only needed to outlast the Central Powers and then reveal their trump cards at the opportune moment to easily achieve victory.

As for why they aren't bringing it out now, it's obviously because they want to further weaken the power of Germany, France, and Britain.

Although Spain also sent troops to participate in the war, their numbers were small, and their casualties were certainly not as great as those of the German and French soldiers.

Spain's current population size is more than capable of withstanding the current casualties. Once the battle has progressed to a certain point and it is clear that Germany and France have run out of manpower to expend, that will be the best time to reveal our trump card.

After all, the formidable military research and development capabilities of Britain and Germany must also be taken into account. If Spain had revealed its tanks too early, Britain and Germany could have easily replicated simpler versions in a short period of time.

Although the replicas could never compare to the originals from Spain, once Britain and Germany understood the design principles of tanks and their role on the battlefield, they would certainly develop tanks extensively during the war, causing Spain more unnecessary trouble.

As the saying goes, war is the golden age of technological development, and Carlo wouldn't be careless in this regard. Although the two world wars were extremely brutal, it is undeniable that human technology underwent rapid and dramatic changes during these two world wars.

It can only be said that war can indeed effectively promote technological progress, and we still need to be wary of the powerful scientific research capabilities of Britain and Germany.

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(End of this chapter)