The Sun Never Sets In Spain - Chapter 142

At this time, the number of troops on the front lines of the two sides was 490,000 and 260,000 respectively.

France dropped from 330,000 at its peak to the present, with losses exceeding 100,000.

At this stage, their reserve forces are mainly patriotic youths in major cities, but because the conscription bill has not been passed in Parliament, these young people can only bring their own dry food and rush to the front line in order to bypass government restrictions.

Usually the recruits will have a short training near Rees, this training is carried out secretly by the Army itself.

Of course the government knew it, but because of the small scale and the fact that the war ahead was really tight, they turned one eye and closed another.

However, the number of soldiers that can be recruited by this method is ultimately a small number-who can do it if they come to the front to fight for their lives and be like a thief.

Only people who are truly full of patriotism can do it.

It is rare to say that Prussia likes to fight siege and annihilation.

A considerable part of the 100,000 lost by the French army was surrounded and surrendered. These captured soldiers cannot be demobilized. If they are gone, they are gone.

On the other hand, Prussia, due to its numerical advantage, the cooperation between the various armies is relatively close. During this period, only 60,000 people have been lost. Not to mention, many of them are just wounded and returned to their training. If the war is prolonged, it may be able to reappear. On the war zone.

With the joint efforts of Henry’s Red Cross and military medical staff, Prussia’s demobilization rate is absolutely second to none in this era.

However, the French military did not set up a field hospital, and the treatment was entirely relied on by the Red Cross, which was much less efficient.

I have to mention that, in addition to the frontal battlefield that affects people’s hearts, the Red Cross Societies of the Prussian and French sides are the most dazzling existence in this war. Their hard work has greatly reduced the death rate of wounded soldiers.

Even in the fiercest battle, soldiers on both sides will consciously avoid the other’s medical staff.

Regrettably, there are too many big news recently. If there was only the Franco-Prussian War, the Red Cross would definitely attract a lot of attention.

This is true, and related reports are not rare.

In these reports, apart from Henry, the chairman of the Red Cross, Alfonso’s name was mentioned the most. After all, he is a patron and honorary chairman.

Past events have also been compared by the media one by one. Through the advancement of French popularization, it is not difficult to see that Alfonso had anticipated this war a long time ago.

Foreseeing it two years in advance is nothing. The most important thing is that he can still pay for it, which is not easy.

The famous leftist newspaper “New Democracy Organ” in Germany commented that he is “a rare nobleman with a conscience.”

Although it is only a brief sentence, this newspaper generally only mocks the powerful and instructs the current situation. It is not easy to be able to praise it.

Relying on this deed-of course, with a certain age and appearance advantage, Alfonso’s reputation in Germany is fairly good. Although the two countries are quasi-hostile, they did not fight after all.

Even if there is a fight, national interests and the image of the monarch are two different things.

…

At noon on the 15th, Kirchbach, the commander of the 5th Army of the Prussian Third Army, led 60,000 people towards Belfort. The main force of the Third Army was near Tours, and 60,000 people were already quite large they could dispatch. the power of.

This incident caused France to be highly vigilant and suddenly changed its direction to the south. There was reason to suspect that they wanted to use this as a breakthrough point to invade the French interior.

Nasan didn’t doubt that he was there, and ordered the Xia Long Legion, which was on standby in Nance, to stop him.

But an accident happened. On the 16th, the 7th Army of the Xia Long Legion and a cavalry division were advancing down the Marne River. The raging First Legion suddenly gave up the fruits of victory and shrank back to the vicinity of Bribic. .

When the soldiers of Belfort reported the news to them, Commander Felix Douai’s first reaction was that something bad happened!

His hunch came true quickly, and this attack was just a feint.

Almost at the same time that Douai received the news, Prussia changed its previous slow-moving style, taking the damage of the battle more importantly than anything else, and sent all three troops to quickly occupy the Verdun area.

Verdun’s strategic position is very important, because Marshal Bazin’s Metz Army is defending at the Metz Fortress, and they are the first line against Prussia.

Once Verdun was occupied, it was equivalent to isolating them from the French mainland and blocking their retreat.

Although Marshal Bazin’s strategic thinking and command ability were not outstanding, he could still see such obvious danger.

He immediately organized a manpower to attack westward, but unfortunately the troops and combat power were not as good as the Prussians, and he failed.

During this time, the northern encirclement also followed, completely turning Metz into an isolated city in a sea of ​​soldiers.

How many people are there in Metz at this time? An entire army! There are about 200,000 militiamen including transportation and supplies!

Nearly half of the military power of France is here.

Nasan fainted as soon as he heard the news, which made his unhealthy body worse.

However, no one cares about the emperor’s body anymore, and the remaining Sharon Legion of Lance is in danger, trying to rescue the compatriots in Metz Fortress.

However, Prussia dared to besiege an army of 200,000, how could it be unprepared?

The French army was intercepted as expected in Meuse.

Due to the rush of time and the offensive side, the French army suffered a terrible defeat.

But it was better than in history. In history, after their defeat in this war, they were driven to Sedan and embarked on the path of being completely annihilated.

However, due to the lengthening of the war this time, the line was relatively stable. After their defeat, they were not driven to Sedang, but returned to Xia Long the same way.

But they couldn’t organize another offense in a short time.

Worse still, after the loss of Marshal Bazin’s army, the apparent balance of power in the popularization of France has been broken.

On the 19th, with a total strength of only a little over 100,000, Napoleon III, who was in a great disadvantage, was no longer able to face an enemy three times his own. Regardless of Queen Eugenie’s dissuasion, he retreated all the way to the outside of Paris.

The whole country was in an uproar.

Taking three is tantamount to giving the rich northern part of France to Prussia to poison it. Compared with this, it is a trivial matter to throw 200,000 people in Metz. After all, they will stay there for a while. What’s the matter, it just can’t come out.

Only at this moment did French politicians realize how bad the situation is.

Although conservatives and centrists were very dissatisfied with the emperor, they immediately began to promote the process of conscription. Most notably, on the day they retreated outside Paris, there were 3 more conscription points in the city.

The only people who are obstructing this are the leftists. They love this country and nation very much, but they hate this war very much. They think it is an unjust war waged by careerists for their own benefit.

Under this kind of thinking, some people began to secretly contact Prussia to see if there was any possibility of peace.