The French army, which had just arrived at the frontline, was taught a lesson by the anti-French alliance's cannons.
A cannonball fell from the sky and landed less than a hundred meters away from the French frontline headquarters. The scattered shrapnel took away three officers who came to the meeting.
Among them was Major General Anduin Wrynn, the commander of the French 9th Division, who was also the highest-ranking French officer to die since the outbreak of the war.
After receiving the bad news, General Udino, who had successfully seized the enemy's former commander, had a gloomy expression.
"Colonel Rick, send someone to re-investigate the enemy's artillery deployment. We must find out why the enemy's shells could reach here."
Udino was also a veteran general on the battlefield, and the choice of the headquarters had also taken a lot of thought. It was impossible to put the headquarters under the enemy's artillery to die.
Whether it was an accident or for other reasons, they were going to move again. Otherwise, the French command system would be crippled by an enemy shell during the meeting.
Colonel Rick replied with certainty, "General, there's no need to re-investigate. I've personally checked the results of the previous investigation. It's impossible for the enemy to make large-scale adjustments in a short time.
Judging from the sound and the power of the shell, it's not an army field artillery.
This place is not far from the Rhine River. The enemy must have used the navy as a mobile artillery platform. "
The Rhine River had a lot of water, and small warships could already navigate. The navies of Belgium and the German Confederation happened to be pocket-sized versions.
There was nothing the navy could do against the French army, so they could only hide in the port and tremble. Now that the war required it, it was only natural to transfer some of them into the Rhine River.
Even if the large warships couldn't get in, they could first dismantle the cannons and use them as longsong cannons. At the juncture of life and death, no one cared whether it was a waste to sell everything they had.
The range and power of the navy's artillery were incomparable to that of the army's field artillery. The airships couldn't detect the cannons at high altitudes, so it was normal to miscalculate the range.
General Udino cursed, "Damn it, power the rear and tell them to hurry up and transport the heavy cannons over!
Don't just stand there, pack up immediately and move the headquarters back one kilometer, no, three kilometers. "
There was no other way. The French army was advancing too fast, and the heavy artillery couldn't keep up and were left behind.
Just the few field cannons carried by the vanguard troops were not on the same level as the anti-French coalition forces.
In the midst of the chaos, General Udino withdrew the command center by three kilometers. After confirming that they were free of the enemy's artillery threat, he continued the unfinished military conference.
No matter what, the war still had to be fought. Even though they had neglected the enemy's naval cannons, the French army still launched their attack.
Time was of the essence. According to the intelligence from the spies, there would be an Austrian infantry division arriving at the frontlines every day.
At this rate, it wouldn't be long before the difference in military strength between the two sides would be reversed.
In the evening, the French command center was brightly lit. General Udino suppressed his grief and said, "Major General Anduin Wrynn died a heroic death. I now appoint Colonel Forsythe to replace him and temporarily act as the commander of the 9th Division.
The afternoon military meeting continued. Now that the situation on the battlefield has changed, we have to consider the enemy's firepower advantage. The original battle plan is no longer suitable. "
Change the battle plan?
This was a joke. Apart from General Udino himself, no one else knew what the so-called battle plan was.
In fact, even General Udino himself might not have a battle plan. The battlefield was ever-changing, and it was irresponsible to make a battle plan in a situation where one didn't know anything.
Generally speaking, everyone's battle plan was made as they fought. What was made in advance was a strategic plan, not a tactical plan.
Unfortunately, the French command system wasn't that advanced. The so-called strategic plan was usually made by the commander on the spot.
"General, there's no need to go through so much trouble. If the artillery can't suppress the enemy's firepower, we can still use the airship troops.
As long as the enemy's artillery position is exposed, I'll go over and bombard it. Let's see who can outlast the other. "
The one who proposed this was a middle-aged officer, a staunch supporter of the airship faction in the French army. This was the result of Franz's butterfly effect.
Ever since the Austrian airships galloped over the Osman Empire, air supremacy had been born ahead of time, but this idea wasn't perfect yet.
At present, everyone advocated the use of airships to destroy the enemy's positions and fortresses to create an advantage for the ground troops.
Udino nodded. "Not a bad suggestion. After the airship troops' special ammunition arrives, we'll send them out to teach the enemy a lesson."
War was the biggest catalyst for the advancement of military technology. In the last decade or so, airships had been used in the military, and the European continent had experienced several wars.
Today, the airship troops had become an important part of the land forces of various countries. Some countries were even preparing to separate their airship troops and form a separate army.
Since the airship troops were so important, the special ammunition for airship bombardment was naturally born.
…
On November 11, 1890, with General Udino's order, the French army launched an all-out attack against the anti-French alliance under the threat of artillery fire.
The charge horn sounded, and the heroic French soldiers equipped their bayonets and charged at the allied forces in front of them.
500 meters, 300 meters, 200 meters … Suddenly, at 150 meters, a series of fire snakes spewed out.
The interweaving machine gun fire caused heavy casualties to the French army as soon as it appeared. Many people fell before they could even react.
The mechanical command system came into play at this moment. The charge horn continued to sound, and the soldiers could only brace themselves and charge forward.
Everyone was familiar with machine guns, but the French army was familiar with the heavy Gatling gun, not the light and flexible Maxim gun.
This misperception made the French army underestimate the lethality of machine guns.
Seeing the words "heavy casualties", General Udino sneered. "These guys are simply a disgrace to France.
If possible, I don't mind sending them all to military court. Of all the things they could learn, why did they have to learn from the cowardly Italians? Do they really think I'm a fool?
Pass down the order, attack with all your might at all costs. Send the supervision team to the front line to keep an eye on them. Anyone who comes back to life will not have dinner tonight. "
There was no other way, the Italians were already famous. As the French army recruited a large number of Italians, the widely circulated battlefield survival manual also spread among the French army.
The pure French troops were still fine, but some of the troops mixed with the Italians had already acquired the bad habit of fear of death.
In the previous battle, General Udino had seen with his own eyes countless soldiers fall under the enemy's guns when a troop charged during the day. He was even moved to tears because of this.
However, it was these brave fellows who came back to life one after another when the commander gave the order to retreat.
From then on, General Udino had a new understanding of the phrase "heavy casualties".
"Yes!"
The voice of the orderly sounded.
No one knew what kind of disaster this order would bring to the French army at the front line. At this time, everyone was still imagining how to break through the Allied Forces' defense line.
…
It wasn't just the army that was in trouble. The French airship fleet that had just appeared in the sky above the Austrian army also met the biggest enemy of their lives.
After dropping a bomb on the airship, Howdson suddenly exclaimed, "Tom, what kind of bird is that in front? Why does it look so weird?"
Tom, who was operating the machine gun, wasn't any better than him. He also stared blankly in front of him.
After flying in the sky for a long time, they had seen a lot of things. They couldn't say everything, but they had seen most of the birds in Europe.
The distance between the two sides was getting closer, and they could roughly see the outline of the plane. A young man suddenly reacted. "It seems to be the plane mentioned in the newspaper."
At this time, the bullets were already flying toward them. Those who were slow to react also knew that the enemy was coming.
As a machine gunner, Tom instantly became alert. After waiting for so long, it was finally his turn to show his power.
However, an awkward scene appeared. Compared to the large airship, the enemy's plane was too nimble. He couldn't aim at it at all.
It couldn't be helped. The French airship was equipped with a Gatling gun. It was powerful enough, but the rest was a tragedy.
Tom, who was holding the machine gun, didn't know what to do when the plane came right above them.
This headache didn't last long. It ended with the crash of the airship.
After realizing that something was wrong, panic spread among the French airship fleet. Unfortunately, it was too late to run.
Like a meteor shower, one French airship after another fell from the sky. The soldiers from the Fao and France who witnessed this scene knew that an era had ended.
A new king had ascended to the throne, and the old king had fallen. The French airship fleet used their lives to draw a bloody full stop to the end of the airship era.
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