Expedition to Europe

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(Thanks to my two old friends, Axian and Broken Hammer Hengkong, for their rewards. This chapter is for you. There will be another chapter in the evening.)

The reason why the French launched the Battle of the Somme was to relieve the pressure on the French army in the direction of Verdun. So far, the French army on the Verdun front has stabilized its front and is preparing to counterattack. The Battle of the Somme has initially achieved its strategic goal.

After Qin Zhiyuan's battle report was submitted, Foch quickly approved it. He not only allowed Qin Zhiyuan to lead his troops to fight at an opportunity, but also ordered Michelet's Tenth Army to cooperate.

In order to better coordinate the command, Michelet sent a staff officer named Hunter to the Sixth Regiment and organized a joint staff with Pierre.

According to the battle plan given by the staff, Qin Zhiyuan will lead about 2,000 infantrymen from the Capy area to the vicinity of Elbecourt, waiting for an opportunity to attack Elbecourt.

Erbecourt is not a strategic location, but just a small village. That's right, during World War I, many combat plans targeted just a small village. Most of the time, thousands of people would be sacrificed for this small village, and it might not be captured.

In order to cooperate with Qin Zhiyuan in the battle, Michele would send two divisions to launch attacks on the south and north banks of the Somme River to contain the Germans' manpower. At the same time, Michele also sent an artillery brigade to provide fire cover for Qin Zhiyuan's attack.

In order to test the combat effectiveness of Qin Zhiyuan's troops, Michele also spent a lot of money.

In this combat plan, in order to attack a small village, the French sent nearly 40,000 people, which was the norm in World War I.

This was the first attack mission Qin Zhiyuan received. It was not reinforcement or defense. It was the first time to launch an attack against the Germans' tactical targets.

Qin Zhiyuan could not afford to make any mistakes.

For this reason, Qin Zhiyuan took Hu Tingfeng and Jin Taihe to Erbecourt for reconnaissance for a week in a row, just to determine the Germans' defense deployment as much as possible.

"There are four bunkers in the German trenches, which are connected by underground passages and cannot be entered from the trenches. In front of the trenches, the Germans dug an anti-tank trench, which is about ten meters long and five meters deep. In front of the anti-tank trench, there is a wire mesh about two meters high and no meters wide. There are two more wire mesh anti-tank trenches behind the wire mesh. After the second wire mesh, there is the German trench. There are too many Germans there, and we have never entered." Hu Tingfeng is worthy of being a frequent visitor here. He is very clear about the German defense facilities.

War weapons promote tactical progress. Although tanks have just appeared on the battlefield, the Germans have begun to use anti-tank trenches to restrain tanks. I believe that after a while, perhaps around Christmas, anti-tank guns will be equipped to the troops. Hu Tingfeng has made great progress during this period. At least he has a good grasp of military terminology. This former tomb robber has gradually transformed into a qualified officer.

"This is a wire mesh and an anti-tank trench. How did you get through?" Qin Zhiyuan observed for a long time with a Zeiss telescope made in Germany, but did not find any loopholes in the defense. It seems that if you want to capture Erbecourt, you can only pay with human lives.

Hu Tingfeng attacked many times and got not only gold, silver and jewelry, but also a lot of military supplies. The telescope in Qin Zhiyuan's hand is one of them.

"The Germans are a bit rigid in the junction of the positions. They arrange the positions in a rigid manner. There must be gaps in the junction between the two armies. In addition, in order to prevent accidental injuries to friendly forces, the Germans generally do not bury mines in the junction of the positions. By using this junction, you can infiltrate behind the Germans." Hu Tingfeng really has a way to find such loopholes.

"Let's go and take a look at the junction." It was getting dark. Qin Zhiyuan and his men were wearing raincoats and irregular small branches on their military caps as a cover. They were far away from the German positions, so they didn't worry about being discovered by the Germans.

When he was in the rear, Qin Zhiyuan's clothes were made of woolen material. When he arrived in the front, Qin Zhiyuan would use the same cotton material as the soldiers and remove all the rank insignia, so as to minimize the attention of the German army.

"It's useless. We've passed through the junction too many times. The Germans have already blocked the loophole. Just a few days ago, the Germans buried mines at the junction, and the density is much greater than other places." Hu Tingfeng was a little embarrassed.

Qin Zhiyuan really wanted to kick him twice.

"But we still have a way. Let's go through the river. There are definitely no mines there." Hu Tingfeng saw Qin Zhiyuan wanted to lift his foot and hurriedly said something to make amends.

"It's October now. The rain in the sky is about to turn into snow. The river water is so cold. How do you want to get across?" Qin Zhiyuan still wanted to kick.

"Not from here, from the other side of the river. The other side of the river can go around, then go around behind Elbecourt, and then cross the river from there. As long as we bypass the first line of defense, there are no mines behind it." Hu Tingfeng did his homework well.

"The German positions are three-dimensional. Less than one kilometer behind this line of defense is the second line of defense. Even if there is no minefield in between, it is sandwiched between the two lines of defense. If you are not careful, you will be attacked or even besieged by the Germans. Can you move to the position overnight?" Qin Zhiyuan thought about it and felt that it was indeed feasible.

"Yes, the nights in France are long, at least fifteen or sixteen hours a night, which is enough. As for the two-sided attack, don't worry about that. We will attack before dawn. By the time the Germans understand what is happening, we have already captured the German positions. Even if the Germans react, it will be too late." Hu Tingfeng vowed.

"Have you considered how to cross the river?" Qin Zhiyuan basically agreed with Hu Tingfeng's plan.

Military plans are not 100% comprehensive. As long as there is a 30% or 40% chance of success, it is worth a try.

"Use sheepskin rafts. I have boatmen who have sailed on the Yellow River. They can make sheepskin rafts. Five or six have been made. I have tried it. The sheepskin rafts are not easy to be discovered at night when painted black. It is not a problem for one sheepskin raft to carry six people at a time." Hu Tingfeng's men are indeed full of talents.

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The rubber boat has just become a concept, and there is no actual product yet, so Qin Zhiyuan and his team have to make their own river crossing tools.

"Speed ​​up the production, at least 20." Qin Zhiyuan was going to send a company to go around the German position.

"Don't worry, three days is enough." Going around behind the Germans is a common thing for Hu Tingfeng. You can't ask him to attack head-on, but he is good at sneak attacks.

After exploring the German position, Qin Zhiyuan returned to Kapi.

It was winter at this time, and Qin Zhiyuan and his team were all issued cotton coats. The French cotton coats are very distinctive. They sew two buttons on the hem of the coat. These two buttons are usually not used. When running fast, the hem is lifted up and folded back, and then the buttons are fastened, which can minimize the obstruction of the hem of the clothes when running.

After returning to Kapi, Hu Tingfeng and his team were busy with their own things, and Qin Zhiyuan wanted to communicate with Hunter.

After Hunter finished listening to Qin Zhiyuan's battle plan, he shook his head repeatedly: "No, no, no, this is not good, I don't agree with this plan."

"Why?" Qin Zhiyuan was very curious, he felt that this plan did not have too many loopholes.

"There is no precedent for this!" Hunter's reason for opposition was very strange.