The sun never sets.

Kaiser Wilhelm II was very confident when he was talking to Archduke Ferdinand, but he immediately became sad after hanging up the phone. The military gave him hope again and again, but his hope was shattered again and again.

Ludendorff's "retreat and decisive battle" plan looked good, but would it really work? William II had been disappointed too many times and should have given up hope. But when a person is about to drown, he will grab even a straw.

Kaiser Wilhelm II was the man who was about to drown, and so was all of Germany.

Chapter 665: Retreat to the Final Battle

"Look, the Chinese are calling on us to stop fighting again!"

"Damn the Chinese, if they hadn't sold so many planes and tanks to the Germans, we would have won long ago!"

Churchill held a cigar rolled by a Cuban girl between his index and middle fingers. He took a puff of the cigar, took a sip of brandy, and said while puffing out smoke: "After we defeat the Allies, we will settle accounts with the Chinese. The 3B axis is about to fail, and now there is the evil axis of Moscow-Chang'an. Yes, the evil axis, I like this term!"

The German government once planned to build a railway from Berlin to Istanbul to Baghdad, which was called the "3B Railway". Therefore, Winston Churchill used the 3B axis to refer to the Allies.

During the World War, the British people suffered from hunger and many people were malnourished to varying degrees, but Churchill became visibly fatter. Perhaps it was because of his obesity that he possessed both the characteristics of "being fat and having a big heart" and "being narrow-minded".

The attack on the Ottoman Empire led by Churchill caused a disaster for the Allies. The navy sank several dreadnoughts, the army suffered 15 casualties, and consumed a large amount of material resources. In the end, they withdrew in disgrace. After such a disastrous defeat, Churchill was not only not held accountable, but he rose to prominence. This shows the ability of Fatty Churchill.

Well, it wasn't that nothing happened. After the British and French troops withdrew from the two landing points, Churchill resigned from the cabinet. Britain set up the Dardanelles War Investigation Committee, and the report it published said that the failure of the war was related to various reasons, but it had nothing to do with Mr. Winston Churchill.

Whether others believed it or not, Churchill believed it. Then, he returned to the position of leading the British people. Because of the failure in the Dardanelles, Churchill had always had a great grudge against the Turks and planned to severely punish the Turks after the war.

"We are going to dismember the Ottoman Empire into several pieces. The Turks must give up all their European lands. They must and can only become an Asian country!"

"Russia has betrayed the great cause of the Entente. We must land at Smolensk immediately!"

There was a sneer from the side. Churchill had many supporters in the cabinet and in the House and Senate, but there were even more people who hated him. The Germans did not forget to fight among themselves during the World War, and the British were the same. It should be said that it is the same all over the world.

"Churchill is making those childish statements again.

Speech!"

"Hey, I'm Winston. Even if I'm childish, I'm still a childish Winston!"

"Landing in Smolensk? Is this going to start a war with Russia and China?"

Churchill said loudly: "Once Germany is defeated, we should immediately use military force against Russia. We should support those fighters for freedom and put Russia back on the right track!"

"In order to make the countless families of the free world safe, they must be protected from the two terrible predators - war and tyranny. For this reason, the so-called Human Reform League should be disbanded!"

This statement was agreed by everyone. No matter what faction they were from, they would not like the People's Revolutionary League. A large force that was not controlled by Britain would be hated by the British Empire.

The threat of the Human Revolutionary League to Britain was greater than that of Germany. People of insight believed that after dealing with the Allies, they should take action against the Human Revolutionary League. The difference was that Churchill believed that they should directly send troops to force the Human Revolutionary League to disintegrate, while more people believed that they should use "economic" and "diplomatic" means to put pressure on the Human Revolutionary League from both inside and outside, and to pull and fight, form alliances, pull one faction and fight another, which was what Britain was best at.

On the Western Front, the German army was losing ground and was about to withdraw from France. The British and the Allied Powers believed that the German army was about to be defeated and surrender, so they began to prepare for the post-war period.

As the saying goes, "If you don't plan for eternity, you can't plan for the present." British and American politicians also understand this truth. Representatives from various countries gathered in Paris to discuss how to divide the territory of the Allied countries and how to strike at the People's Revolutionary League.

When the Allies are defeated, it will become a confrontation between the European and American world and the Eastern world. Although the territory of the People's Revolutionary League is vast, the strength of the Allies is obviously stronger. The only thing to worry about is that the People's Revolutionary League will take advantage of the collapse of the Allies to advance westward in a large scale, which will be a bit difficult to deal with.

The World War lasted for four years, and except for the United States, the other belligerent countries were almost exhausted. Without a period of rest, the Allied Forces could not recover their combat effectiveness to their strongest state.

Britain, France, and the United States thought they had a sure victory, and the German high-ranking officials were pessimistic that they could not win. But Ludendorff still decided to make a last-ditch effort. To this end, he established one line of defense after another and gradually withdrew his troops.

Although those trenches were dug in a hurry and their defensive effect was not as good as permanent fortifications, it was impossible to break through those seemingly simple defense lines as long as the Allies did not drag up heavy artillery and deploy large numbers of tank troops.

Under the command of the German General Staff, the German right wing retreated faster. The British and French forces chased the German army into Belgium, while the German left wing still occupied half of Verdun.

This was part of the battle plan and the German army had no choice but to do so. The Allies had an absolute naval advantage and could carry out an amphibious landing with the support of the fleet and launch an attack from the rear of the German army.

The Allies relied on their large number of troops to extend the battle line to 450 kilometers, and relied on their powerful troops and firepower to defeat the German army. The technical and tactical level of the US military has improved a bit, but it is still not comparable to the German army, but the US military production capacity is extremely terrifying.

Stimulated by the world war, the United States' steel production increased from 1911 million tons in 2700 to 1914 million tons in 3400. In the first half of 1915, the United States' steel production exceeded 2000 million tons, and the annual output was estimated to exceed 4000 million tons.

After the U.S. military officially joined the offensive, the firepower of the Allied forces was unprecedentedly improved. Before the German attack on Verdun, the artillery bombardment lasted for 8 hours, which was considered unprecedented. Before this attack, the Allies bombarded the city for a full seven days, directly flattening the first line of the German army and destroying a lot of the second line.

In the face of the overwhelming bombardment, the German army had almost no room to use its tactics. If it weren't for the long time it took to transport and deploy the heavy artillery, the German army wouldn't even have had a chance to reorganize its defenses.

During the retreat, the German army blew up all the bridges, railway hubs, and dams, successfully delaying the Allied offensive. But delaying cannot lead to victory, only attacking can lead to victory.

Seeing that the British, American and French allied forces were about to recapture the whole of Belgium and invade the German mainland, everyone in the Allied Powers was extremely excited, while the Central Powers were gloomy.

"How long will we retreat to?"

Kaiser Wilhelm II asked Ludendorff: "If we retreat any further, the enemy will set foot on German soil!"

Chapter 666 General

According to Ludendorff's original intention, he wanted to continue to retreat. The morale and offensive potential of the British, American and French coalition forces had been greatly weakened, but not enough. However, Germany could no longer wait. As the Chief of the General Staff, Ludendorff could not only consider military matters, but also politics and diplomacy.

After Austria-Hungary secretly negotiated with the Allies, Bulgaria also wavered. Austria-Hungary performed better than Italy in the world war, and suffered heavy casualties every time it faced the Russian army alone. But Austria-Hungary was still one of the great powers, while Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire were not even great powers.

Bulgaria is located in southeastern Europe, with an area of only 11 square kilometers. Bulgaria has neither a sufficient population nor strong industrial strength, nor even strategic depth.

Yes, in the context of a world war, they are simply cannon fodder in the confrontation between the great powers.

Bulgarian King Boris III did not want to participate in the world war. His throne was snatched from the Ottoman Empire with the help of Russia. He did not want to be an enemy of Russia, but the neighboring countries formed an "anti-Russian alliance". If Bulgaria did not join the Allies and continued to be a pro-Russian country, it might be eaten alive by its old neighbors before Germany went to war with Russia.

Secondly, the Bulgarian army was known as the "Eastern Prussia". From the name, it can be seen that the German military system had a very strong centripetal force in the Bulgarian officer circle, and the generals and officers were all pro-German. If Russia was not abandoned in time, a coup by pro-German officers might occur in Bulgaria.

After the war broke out in Europe, the Allies and the Central Powers launched a series of court activities in the Balkan countries. Both sides made a series of offers to Bulgaria, known as the "Prussia of the East": the Allies, which were attempting to forcibly seize the Dardanelles, offered a price of letting it regain Thrace (except Constantinople) lost to Turkey.

The Allies' offer was even more tempting - all of Macedonia, Western Thrace, Southern Dobruja and Thessaloniki would all belong to Bulgaria, with Niš in Serbia and a few small areas in Albania as additional rewards. In comparison, the price offered by the Allies was even more tempting.

Under the strong desire of the military, the pro-Russian Bulgarian royal family was forced to agree to join the Central Powers. After the outbreak of the war, Bulgaria was assigned the task of guarding the Danube.

At the beginning of the war, Bulgaria joined forces with the Austro-Hungarian Empire to defeat the fake armies of Serbia, Greece and other countries, and seized a large amount of territory. But this was a world war, and the victory or defeat at a certain time was nothing. Two years later, Bulgaria spit out the land it had swallowed.

The consumption of the world war far exceeded any previous war. Bulgaria had a population of only more than 400 million, but mobilized 120 million troops. This proved the superiority of Bulgaria's military system, but it also showed that Bulgaria had exhausted its manpower.

In the four years before and after, 35 Bulgarians died in the war. Young and middle-aged men were almost killed or wounded, and even women took up arms. Germany's recent recruits were all teenagers and the elderly, while there were almost no young people in the Bulgarian army. This small country could not fight any longer and had to prepare to sue for peace with the enemy.

The German ambassador to Bulgaria brought the news back to Berlin that "Bulgaria is about to withdraw from the war."

Ludendorff could not let this happen. Once Bulgaria surrendered, it would be a huge blow to his reputation. Worse still, it could cause a chain reaction, with Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire likely to follow suit.

In addition to the grim situation of the allies, the situation in Germany also did not allow Ludendorff to drag on. When the Russian army entered East Prussia, Moltke the Younger had to withdraw troops from the Eastern Front to defend, otherwise the Junkers' verbal criticism would force Moltke the Younger to step down.

The same is true now. The Junkers cannot accept the enemy entering Germany. If such a thing happened, even if Hindenburg was not watching closely, Ludendorff's position as Chief of Staff would be in tatters.

He has to consider not only military issues, but also political and diplomatic issues.

"In that case, let's get started."

As the order was issued, the German army stopped retreating and relied on the Liege Fortress for a firm defense. There were still a few fortresses left in the Liege Fortress Group that had not been destroyed, and the German army used those fortresses as support points to engage in fierce fighting with the enemy.

"Boom!" "Boom!"

"boom!"

The 105mm howitzer continued to fire after it was deployed, and the shells smashed into balls of fire on the German defense line. On the European battlefield, this type of howitzer could only be regarded as a light artillery and could not pose a threat to the Liege Fortress.

The shells destroyed some German trenches and destroyed minefields and barbed wire, and the British and French forces then launched an infantry attack.

The Allied forces had also abandoned the tactic of intensive charge and were equipped with a large number of light machine guns to provide fire support to the infantry during the charge. But the most effective fire support still came from tanks. And to be honest, the Allied light machine guns and submachine guns were of poor quality and had various problems. They often jammed and other malfunctions on the battlefield, and could not be compared with the Type 14 light machine guns that the German army purchased from the Allies.

More than a dozen British tanks passed through the battlefield where bullets and shells were flying, and came to the edge of the trench with a roar. The machine guns on the tanks fired at the trenches and all the places where the German troops were. When the tanks stopped, the body of the tank shook suddenly, and the shells flew to a machine gun fire point.

"boom!"

Human limbs and metal parts were splattered, and the firepower points suppressing the infantry were destroyed. British soldiers rushed up and filled the trenches with various things, trying to fill a path for the tanks to advance.

This British infantry was actually the Anglo-Indian Army from India. Except for a small number of white officers, most of the soldiers and non-commissioned officers were Indians.

Britain had almost used up its manpower and had to recruit a large number of troops from various colonies, mainly India. On the battlefield, whether white, black or Indian, they were just cannon fodder.

The British Indian Army, led by their officers, bravely rushed forward, firing at the enemy while paving the way for the tanks.

Bullets were flying around, and many people were hit by them and fell to the ground screaming.

The intensity of the fighting here can only be considered average. There are neither large-scale poison gas bombardments nor tank cluster charges. It can only be considered average. But for the British Indian Army, this place is no different from hell.

"boom!"

"Da da da da da!"

Several soldiers were struggling to fill the anti-tank trench with wood and corpses when suddenly a string of machine gun bullets fired over. Several people were killed on the spot, and the rest had their arms or thighs broken. They fell to the ground and screamed inhumanly.

Chapter 667: Fierce Battle

Seeing their companions screaming and falling to the ground, some people tried to help them but were also shot down by machine guns. The rest of the people were terrified and hurriedly hid behind tanks or other shelters that could avoid bullets.

The gun barrel of the tank slowly turned and pointed at another machine gun position. The machine gun crew that was aimed at was so frightened that they didn't even bother to move their Maxim machine guns. They fell into the trench and used their hands and feet to roll and crawl to avoid it.

"boom!"

The vehicle body shook again, and a flash of fire flashed from the muzzle. The machine gun position not far away exploded. The Maxim machine gun shattered into several pieces, one of which was thrown up by the air wave and flew dozens of meters away.

As more British and French tanks arrived at the edge of the trench, the battle situation tilted in favor of the Allies. Although German soldiers blew up the tracks of a tank with cluster grenades, they failed to stop the advancement of other tanks.

After several sections of the anti-tank ditch were filled, the tanks rushed forward in a swagger, destroying all places of resistance with machine guns and artillery.

While the Allied tanks were rampaging on the battlefield, fierce fighting broke out in the sky. The German Air Force had some tactical advantages, but they were not obvious. In this era when both biplanes and monoplanes existed, air combat was mainly based on numbers.

The side with more planes and more pilots will have the upper hand, and that's the main thing. In addition, a little bit of luck is needed.

Four planes painted with the Iron Cross swooped down from midair and pounced fiercely on the enemy. Bullets were fired from the nose of the planes, and tracer bullets outlined the trajectory of the shooting. A "Camel" plane was hit on the left wing, black smoke came out of the fuselage, and it turned and fell to the ground.

The other Camel fighters on the side immediately dispersed, relying on their good maneuverability and smaller turning radius to fight the German aircraft. Metal monoplanes have faster speeds, but biplanes are not without advantages. The biggest advantage is that they are cheap and reliable, followed by excellent air combat capabilities.

It was not that Britain and France did not have metal monoplanes. Soon, the Allied monoplanes appeared on the air battlefield. The air battle became more and more chaotic. Large formations had proved to be unfeasible. Now both sides were using small formations.

The difference is that the German Air Force has changed from a three-plane formation to a two-plane formation, while the British, French and American sides are still using a three-plane formation. The reason is that the Allies have more planes, more pilots and more fuel.

Infantrymen charged forward amidst the tanks, and from time to time planes dropped from the sky with black smoke. As the planes fell toward the ground, the noise they made became louder and louder, more and more rapid, making people tremble with fear.

The German troops in the first trench had basically been cleared out. Faced with the Allied infantry-tank coordinated tactics, the Germans were either killed or fled in panic, and the rest had no choice but to surrender.

"Keep attacking! Don't stop!"

The tank commander leaned out and looked at the chaotic battlefield around him. Suddenly, he saw a metallic glint in the corner of his eye. He looked closely and couldn't help but feel his hair stand on end. On the second German line of defense, a number of 37mm anti-tank guns suddenly appeared.

The Germans were seriously short of anti-tank weapons, so they had to be very careful with their budgets. A large number of 37mm anti-tank guns were imported from China, and combined with tungsten core armor-piercing shells, they were enough to penetrate the side armor of the new British tanks at a distance of 300m.

But the 37mm anti-tank gun was not the biggest threat. On the second line of defense, many field guns were pushed out. The thicker barrel gave the field guns stronger kinetic energy, and even ordinary grenades could pose a great threat to tanks.

The commander got into the tank and turned the muzzle towards the German artillery position, but he was still a step too slow. "Swish", the metal hit each other, making a teeth-grinding sound, followed by an explosion.

The leading tank suddenly caught fire, but it continued to stagger forward for a distance before turning into a motionless torch. The hatch on the top was opened, and the driver, whose body was on fire, screamed and climbed out, but was hit by a bullet from nowhere and died on the spot.

The upper half of the body was exposed, and the flames were burning on the body, emitting a burnt smell.

Some German artillery was destroyed by tanks, but more British and French tanks were hit and caught fire. The remaining tanks fought back desperately while retreating the way they came.

The infantrymen following the tanks attacked by lying on the ground, and some of them, led by officers, rushed to the second German front, but were quickly killed by the side fire of machine guns. The other soldiers could only lie on the ground and shoot, hoping that reinforcements would be sent from the rear.

The British and French troops are now between two trenches.

, unable to break through the German defense line, and retreating backwards was also difficult, so they could only rely on reinforcements.

Behind the infantry, the retreating tanks panicked and fell headfirst into the anti-tank trench, the barrels of the guns stuck in the mud, one track hanging in the air, turning non-stop but never able to turn over.

At this point, all the Allied tank units deployed in this battle were destroyed.

Instead of waiting for reinforcements, the infantry received heavy artillery support. The 105mm light howitzer group fired fiercely at the battle area, with dozens of grenades falling in each round of shooting.

After four years of war, the quality of the French artillery had greatly improved. Under the guidance of front-line observers, the shells blasted out walls of fire, whipping back and forth on the German second front, blasting those machine guns, anti-tank guns and field guns that were not moved in time into pieces along with the German soldiers.

Also torn to pieces were the British and Indian soldiers left behind on the battlefield.

However, the Indians were cannon fodder, so it was no big deal if they were killed. The French authorities had long sent veterans to the battlefield to be slaughtered by the German army. For them, shelling the British and Indian troops was not worth discussing, and it would not even cause the slightest wave of Polish...

Not long after, the German long-range artillery launched a "counter-artillery operation" against the Allied artillery positions. Heavy shells fell in the woods, fields and villages, and the blast blew away everything around.

When the Allied soldiers heard the sound of a train roaring, the experienced officers' faces changed drastically. "Railway gun!"

Only super-caliber artillery that can be moved by rail, that is, artillery with a caliber of 280mm or more, can cause such a commotion. The German Army was equipped with a large number of 280mm and 305mm caliber howitzers, which caused heavy casualties to the Allied soldiers and the officers on the front line were terrified.

"Dodge!"

"Quick, hide......"

"Boom!" "Boom!"

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"

"boom!"

Everything between heaven and earth lost its sound, only the sound of the explosion remained.