I was a tycoon in World War I: Starting to save France

The cold wind was bleak and the autumn leaves were falling.

The temperature in France in September dropped to eight degrees, which was quite cold.

The commander of the German First Army, von Kluck, hid in the bushes and held a telescope to observe the town of Darvaise shrouded in morning mist across the Marne River.

As he expected, the French soldiers did build fortifications along the river, and the only bridge nearby was strengthened: several machine guns were placed at the bridgehead, two layers of trenches were built, and hundreds of people were arranged. Indistinctly, someone was installing explosive fuses so that the bridge could be blown up in time if it could not be defended.

Kluck showed a disdainful smile at the corner of his mouth. These fools, do they really think they can attack from the front to cross the river?

Kluck turned his head slightly and asked the staff officer lying beside him in a low voice: "Where is the first regiment?"

"General!" The staff officer took out his pocket watch and looked at it, and replied: "If nothing unexpected happens, they will arrive at the designated location within 20 minutes!"

Kluck said "um" and then ordered: "Be prepared for battle!"

"Be prepared for battle!"

"Be prepared for battle!"

...

The orders were passed down one by one, and the densely packed German soldiers in the grass checked their equipment calmly and orderly. Some even installed bayonets on their rifles. These were the troops rushing to the front, and they might engage in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy at the first time.

After giving the order, Kluck waited quietly, waiting for the first regiment to appear.

The first regiment had a total of more than 4,000 people, and was an elite unit brought up by Kluck. This unit often played the role of a sharp knife in the battle. They had crossed the Marne River in the dark last night and went around the flank of the enemy's defense line.

Their mission was, first, to seize the bridge as quickly as possible to cover the main force crossing the river, and second, to capture the machine gun factory on the west side of the town of Darvaz.

Kluck was very confident in this battle plan, because he knew the combat effectiveness of the French army all the way here.

The problem of the French army was not the army itself, their soldiers and officers were very brave.

However, this was an army controlled by greedy bank capitalists.

The capitalists only knew how to suck blood from the military and civilians. They were unwilling to introduce advanced foreign equipment, such as the Maxim machine gun, which was refused to be used.

This was not national self-esteem, but to make more money in order to monopolize arms without competitive pressure.

Although the Saint-Etty machine gun had frequent malfunctions, was unusable and had a very high price, it still became the standard machine gun of the army. The Hotchkiss produced by private enterprises was even better than it.

(Note: The Saint-Etty machine gun is actually a copy of the Hatchick machine gun, but in order to avoid patents, many complex and faulty devices were added)

The funny thing is that these capitalists usually suck blood from the French soldiers and civilians, but they escaped completely during the war and used the French soldiers and civilians as shields.

Who did the French soldiers fight for?

To protect these capitalists?

To let the capitalists live a hundred years so that they can continue to enslave them?

Germany is different. In order to unify and become stronger, 80% of Germany's national income is used for military construction.

Since William I, the king has been eager to spend every penny on the army, and his coronation ceremony only cost 2,547 silver coins in total. (Germany once spent 5 million silver coins on the coronation of a king)

German soldiers know why they fight, know that their blood will not be shed in vain, and know the meaning of sacrificing their lives on the battlefield!

Such an army is invincible!

"General!" The staff officer then reminded Kluck in a low voice: "They're here!"

Kluck raised his telescope and looked upstream at the Marne River, and sure enough, he saw a piece of black cloth floating above a building.

That was the signal from the first regiment, meaning "arrived at the designated location and ready"!

Kluck nodded slightly and ordered in a low and cold voice:

"Prepare..."

The voice was long so that the soldiers could be mentally prepared, and then the tone immediately turned firm:

"Attack!"

The staff officer suddenly stood up, waved his hand back, and shouted: "Attack!"

German soldiers shouted and crawled out of the bushes. The originally empty jungle was suddenly full of people, densely packed all over the mountains and plains. They wore spiked helmets and held rifles, staring fiercely at the French defense line opposite.

On the other side of the Marne River, the French soldiers who were originally chatting and building fortifications were instantly frightened by the German army's battle. They were pale and stunned in place. When the gunshots rang out, they reacted and screamed and jumped into the trenches with their hands and feet.

"Germans!" Colonel France shouted: "They are coming, keep calm!"

The voice was a little trembling, and everyone could hear that the colonel himself couldn't calm down.

"Bang bang!" The sparse gunshots rang out. This was the French soldiers firing, and then the machine guns also roared, and rows of bullets flew towards the German army on the other side with a whistling sound.

Colonel France looked disappointed. Before he ordered to shoot, these guys were already nervous and out of control.

But now the gunshots have been heard, and it is impossible to order to stop at this time.

Colonel France can only order in a rage: "Fire! Fire..."

However, everyone, including Colonel France, did not realize that they had been fooled by the Germans!

Anyone who was still clear-headed and able to think clearly should have known that it was impossible for the Germans to force their way across the river.

The bridge could be blown up at any time. The river was cold and deep. Although it was only 70 meters wide, if the troops entered the river, they would become slow-moving live targets.

It was obvious that the Germans' frontal attack was to attract their firepower and attention.

At this time, the French soldiers should pay more attention to their flanks rather than the front!

But no one was alert. Almost everyone was frightened by the sudden appearance of the Germans. They pulled the bolts of their guns in a hurry and mechanically shot at the enemy across the river. Their heads had lost the ability to think, as if they were worried that the Germans would jump from the other side of the river to them.

A fierce gunshot suddenly sounded on the left wing.

Colonel France's face turned pale immediately. It was not until then that he realized the real intention of the Germans. He slightly popped his head out and saw that the Germans appeared on the flank of the defense line.

The French soldiers on the flank were unprepared, so they could only be described as collapsing at the first touch. They were either killed or left the trenches and fled in a hurry. Most of them realized that they could not escape, and squatted down in embarrassment and raised their hands to surrender.

Colonel France still remained somewhat calm, and he ordered loudly: "Blow up the bridge, blow up the bridge..."

"Bang!" A gunshot rang out.

A bullet pierced the colonel's head, and his head tilted to one side at a strange angle, and then the whole person collapsed on the ground like a balloon that had been drained.

He should know that the Germans had prepared many snipers in order to successfully capture the bridge, and their target was these officers who were pointing fingers.

The French soldiers didn't know or were not sure whether to blow up the bridge at this time.

They had this idea: The Germans had already crossed the river, so was there any point in blowing up the bridge? It was better to escape!

Soon, the French soldiers on the entire line of defense retreated to the town of Darwaze, and their red military caps and trousers made them look like a red tide.

The bridge fell completely into the hands of the Germans, and the main force of the German army rushed into the south bank of the Marne River along the bridge.

Francis, who was standing on the top floor of the villa and watching all this, cursed:

"These bastards are so vulnerable!"

"Where is General Gad? Where is General Gad?"

Major General Gad is the commander of the 5th Army. Francis has had a good chat with General Gad these two days. Francis treated him with the best wine and beef, and with two beautiful maids, he focused on a thoughtful service to make Major General Gad feel at home.

Major General Gad assured Francis more than once: "Don't worry, Mr. Francis, with the Marne River defense line, the Germans can't come! I promise you!"

"Sir!" The butler replied in panic: "I just saw Major General Gad leave by car, and Mr. Pierre was with him..."

Francis felt as if he fell into an ice cellar and his whole body was cold.

It's over!

The factory, the family, fame and fortune, everything!

These damn liars!