The Second Reich: Beginning with the Prince of Prussia

"General, our men have found the fleeing Hans army by the river!"

The forward units of the French army, after discovering the Germans, immediately reported the situation to the general command and asked the higher authorities to make a decision.

As the so-called half-crossing attack, the opponent is now crossing the river, and if he launches an attack at this time, he will definitely be able to defeat the German army.

Such a good opportunity, if you don't seize it, it is a crime.

Therefore, after receiving the information from the forward troops, the commander of the French army did not think about it, and directly ordered the vanguard of the French army to immediately pursue the enemy.

"Marshal, the French army has begun to attack!"

On the east bank of the Rhine, in a small town called Mainz, the German Chief of the General Staff Moltke the Elder, and his headquarters were located here.

It was very close to the front line, so news from the front line could reach him in the shortest possible time, and if necessary, old Moltke could even go to the battlefield and take command in person.

"Oh, can't you wait so soon?"

Hearing this, a smile appeared on old Moltke's face.

"It seems that yes, they have already committed about 30,000 troops to pursue us, and the hundreds of thousands of people behind them are also on the move, and it will not be long before they will join the battle. "

The French currently have about 180,000 troops ready to fight, with another 70,000 scattered to the rear to protect their weak logistical supply lines.

On the other hand, the German army, which had just put down the Saxon rebellion and incorporated the Saxon army, had increased in strength to 220,000 troops.

The Third Army, assisted by the armies of the Grand Duchy of Hesse and the Kingdom of Württemberg, also had a strength of 200,000, and with the troops led by Moltke the Elder, the total strength of the German army on the front line reached 500,000.

The ratio of forces between the two sides is close to 1:3!

Under this disparity in strength, as long as the German army did not make huge strategic mistakes, their victory should be said to be nine out of ten.

"Marshal, shall we wait until the French have crossed the Rhine before attacking, or will we wait for them to cross the river and attack halfway?"

Such an excellent opportunity was in front of them, and the German generals were eager to try it, and they all wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to make a contribution.

The new emperor's ascension to the throne is a great opportunity for them to show themselves, if they can seize this opportunity to perform well in front of the emperor and impress the emperor, then their future will be bright.

Feeling the strong desire of his subordinates to fight, old Moltke was very pleased.

The military heart is available!

"Wait for them to cross the river and then fight"

As soon as Old Moltke spoke, everyone present quietly closed their mouths and quietly obeyed the old marshal's arrangement.

If Frederick Carr is the god of war of Deyizhi, then Moltke the old is the soul of Deyizhi's army.

Without his calm layout and ability to adapt to changes on the battlefield, it would have been difficult for the German army to achieve such brilliant results.

This old commander's ability and his vision are recognized and trusted by all Deyi Zhi soldiers.

"Edwin von Mandolfer, take out all the cavalry of your First Army and give it to General von Stiller!"

When Mandolfil heard Old Moltke's arrangement, he immediately nodded and said:

"Yes, Marshal!"

The First Army had more than 30,000 elite hussars, and these cavalry were the elite of the German army, and in many previous wars, it was with the outstanding performance of cavalry that they defeated the enemy and won the war.

Before the creation of tanks and armored vehicles, the role of cavalry on the battlefield was irreplaceable.

"General Stiller!"

"Here!"

"I hand over to you all the cavalry of the whole army, and you have only one task, to quickly cross the Rhine, penetrate Saarbrücken, and cut off the French retreat to Metz!

If the French have reinforcements coming, your task is to snipe on the spot and not let them join up with the French in the encirclement, can you do that?"

Stiller straightened his chest and replied loudly: "Marshal, rest assured, I promise to complete the mission!"

Old Moltke took a deep look at Stiller, this man was a wise general in the army, he was young but had already shown great talent, and many people regarded him as their successor.

It is precisely because of this that the old Moltke will give him such an important task, hoping that he will live up to his trust.

"The First Army will attack from the left flank, the Third Army from the right flank, and as soon as the cavalry succeeds, immediately capture the crossing of the Rhine and cut off the retreat of the French army!"

"The sapper unit immediately set out to plant explosives on three bridges in the lower Rhine.

If the French attack is too fierce for the garrison to hold the bridge, light the fuse, blow up the bridge, and don't let any French soldiers go!"

"His Royal Highness Andrews has just been crowned, so let's use this great victory to celebrate Your Majesty!"

......

On the east bank of the Rhine, the vanguard of the French army had already crossed the Rhine and set foot on the land on the east bank.

This was the first time since the Napoleonic Wars that troops from Gaul had set foot so deep in the territory of the German-Italian Empire.

This made the French soldiers feel extremely excited, and many of them began to take photos of some iconic buildings as souvenirs.

Later, when they are old, their children and grandchildren surround themselves and listen to them tell the stories of their youth, and they have something to brag about.

In such an atmosphere, the French soldiers did not realize in the slightest that they were in the midst of a huge encirclement.

It was only after the French commander crossed the Rhine and came to his position on the east bank that he realized that something was wrong.

"Was there no one in the village around here in the first place?"

Riding on his horse, he pointed to the empty villages near the riverbank and asked his men. (If you read a violent novel, go to Feilu Novel Network!)

"General, there was no one here before we came, and those Hans must have been scared away because they knew the news of our army's imminent arrival?"

The subordinate did not know the commander's concern, so he gave an answer that he thought was very reasonable.

However, this answer did not satisfy the French commander, who instinctively felt that this matter was not so simple!

It's okay that there is no trace of the German army here on the east bank, after all, the German army is indeed fleeing very quickly, knowing that their army is coming, they will naturally flee without a trace, and will not stay here stupidly waiting for them.

But did the people in the vicinity get the news in advance that they were coming?

Otherwise, why are all these people gone?

The people (of Zhao's) were not armies, they had old and young women, and they retreated much slower than the army.

So even if they got the news, it would not be possible to complete the evacuation in such a short time.

Unless, someone has notified them in advance to give them more time to prepare.

Otherwise, there should still be people in these villages who have not had time to retreat, and it will not be like now, all the villages will become empty.

But who knew in advance that they were coming?

The Rhine is so long, and there are so many places to cross it, who can be sure that they will cross it here and there?

So, there is something strange about this matter!

"Quick, notify the troops in front and let them be vigilant!"

The commander of the French army, realizing that something might not be right, immediately gave the order.

However, his order came too late!

Boom! Boom!

There was an earth-shattering explosion ahead!

The battle has begun!