Chapter 255 Fifty-five
David Wright.
The trenches, barbed wire and sandbags are rapidly taking shape. On that day, the soldiers of the Hexingen brigade used military shovels to build a fortification around the town of David Wright overnight.
Combined with some buildings and houses, David Wright was so surrounded that he almost became a hedgehog.
A typical academic school like the Heixingen Brigade must have a more meticulous attitude and rigorous spirit when building fortifications.
So the next day, still norming and trimming it. This scene stunned Robert next door.
Putting down the binoculars in his hand, Robert said to his deputy: "I think Commander Kirchbach is completely overwhelmed. I dare not say how the combat effectiveness of this Hexingen brigade is. The means of life-saving must be better than ours. Look at them. I can't wait to turn David Wright into a strong fortress, if I were French, I would not be foolish to launch an attack on this kind of place."
"Brigade Commander, the people of the Prince of Hexingen are too cowardly! The battlefield is changing rapidly at present, how can we have so much time to do so many bells and whistles, and the fortifications are at most supporting. We are far superior to France in terms of numbers. , the higher-ups of the Kingdom will definitely choose to take the initiative to attack instead of passive defense, so no matter how beautiful the fortifications are, it will not be of much use, after all, we are the attackers."
If Napoleon III heard this, he would definitely give him a slap in the face. The French had already been cheated by their own people before the war. Not many fortifications have been built at all. Who knows that the situation has reversed now, and he has become the defensive side, but finds that there is no danger to defend.
For example, Weissenburg is still using the defense project built in the last century, but it is actually almost deserted.
…
Don’t say that Robert didn’t understand, Leopold was also a little puzzled. He said to Heinrich: “Are you young people so energetic now? Building such a long fortification may make other troops laugh.”
Heinrich said: "We are only doing what we should do based on the teaching materials and the actual combat experience of the predecessors. There is no small matter in war, and we must not relax our vigilance at any time. Moreover, the range of the French Chasaipo rifle in this war is better than Germany's. The Lesser rifle is farther away, so it has an advantage. If you want to offset this advantage, apart from suppressing artillery and other aspects, you can only think of a way from the bunker!"
"In this way, there is indeed some truth. However, if the battlefield changes tomorrow and the higher-ups direct you to go to other areas, wouldn't this hard-working fortification be abolished!"
"If it is abolished, it will be abolished. This is not what I should consider. Wherever we go, we will repair the fortifications. Even if we only stay for one night, we must do this. This is to consider the lives of soldiers and reduce casualties."
"Is this what you learned in Berlin?"
"No, this is what I learned at the Hechingen Military Academy."
"This war is over, I must go back and look at your textbooks, I can only say that they are very distinctive." Leopold said.
…
French Army of the Rhine Fifth Army.
At dusk, the scouting cavalry of the French Fifth Army had returned.
"General, we have already found out the details on the opposite side. The Prussian Fifth Army is stationed at the northern foot of the Vosges Mountains. In addition, there are a small number of troops on the right side, but the number is temporarily unknown."
"What is the size of the Prussian Fifth Army?"
"There should be more people than us, but the main force is divided into two groups, one part is stationed in Stanley, the other part is stationed in Saverna. The rest of the small group of troops are deployed along the road in Davie Wright and other villages and towns."
"Bring the map!" Fay said.
"This is Stanley, a prominent part of the Prussian army's defense line. The Prussians should have been waiting for us here. Not far from the left rear is Saverner, who can support Stanley at any time, and vice versa. Saverner is a It is a transportation hub, and if you master this place, you can attack it, and you can defend it when you retreat."
"If we rashly attack Stanley and Saverna, it is not in line with the purpose of our trip. Our goal is to strengthen the connection between the Army of the Rhine and the Army of Charonne and avoid the possibility of either side being encircled by Prussia. Therefore, this trip is absolutely You can’t attack frontally as before, but outsmart.”
"So far, Prussia's trump card has gradually become clear. They just want to divide and encircle us through the number of people, and then annihilate us one by one. They must not let Prussia's plan succeed."
"These days, I have seen through some of the characteristics of Prussia. Except that the guns are not as good as ours, its cavalry seems to have not played much. Instead, they focus on intelligence work, sometimes cruising between the two armies to find out the truth. If this analysis is accurate, As long as it is used well, it can definitely give the Prussian army a fatal blow."
After the analysis, Fay began to assign tasks according to this idea.
"The cavalry brigade surrounded Saverner from the side, and the two infantry divisions were on the frontal battlefield. The 12th infantry division feinted to attack Stanley. This should be the most elite unit of the Prussian army. Hold them back. The main force, the 14th infantry division, and the artillery unit Go south to saverna from the west, cooperate with the cavalry brigade, flank back and forth, capture saverna, and then turn around and join the twelfth infantry division."
"General, what about the enemy in the east?"
"Let the Twelfth Infantry Division dispatch a brigade to stop the remaining enemies in Davie Wright. You Twelfth Infantry Division must remember that the key to this war is to hold the enemy back. When we take Savert, the rest Everything else will be fine.”
The commander of the 12th Infantry Division asked: "What if the Prussian Third Army comes to support from the south?"
Faye said: "You have to believe in the commanding ability of Marshal McMahon, and the Prussian Third Army should be going south to fight against Marshal McMahon's department. There is no time to go north in a short time. The enemy's Fifth Army is to prevent us from taking the opportunity to go south. , the number of the Third Army far exceeds that of the Chalons, and Crown Prince William of Prussia must have wanted to encircle and wipe out the Chalons with superior forces first, so only one army was deployed in Saverna, so it is said that Marshal McMahon and the Chalons The situation is very bad, and whether we can get rid of the siege depends on whether we can quickly defeat the Prussian Fifth Army, so that the Prussian Third Army has to divide its troops to defend. At that time, the pressure on Marshal McMahon's troops can be greatly reduced. "
Since it was a surprise attack, it is natural not to go there blatantly. Under the command of Marshal Fey, the French Fifth Army took advantage of the darkness to rush towards the target at a very fast speed. The first troops to contact were the Prussian troops stationed in Stanley. As soon as the war started, The commander of the Prussian Fifth Army stationed in Stanley urgently sent a report to Saverner in the rear, requesting support.
Kirchbach immediately sent two infantry brigades to support Stanley, but Stanley was only the target of a feint attack by the French army.
The Fifth Cavalry Brigade of the French Army has already rushed to the southeast of Saverna from the left in the dark, and the main force of the French Army is also coming from the west to Saverna.
Due to the deployment of troops, the number of Saverner's troops has dropped to the same level as the French offensive troops. The two fifth armies of France and Prussia will also face off tonight.
(end of this chapter)