Using support points to defend is an important part of the new defense concept brought by the prince. It does not care about the gains and losses of non-key defense lines, but locks in several key points tightly. The limited power is concentrated to offset the numerical advantage of the attacking party.

His Highness, the prince who had visited the General Staff of Prussia, shared this tactic with his colleagues in Prussia and was endorsed by the latter. Unfortunately, Hindenburg and others only learned some of the essence. They did not understand the true essence.

The front-standing combat method of Hindenburg's heavy weapon team is to rely on its firepower advantages to crush those important support points, at least it can suppress these firepower points and provide opportunities for close blasting and division and siege. After all, the core of battalion-level defense is machine guns and mortars, and the number of these weapons is very small. Considering a certain attack direction, it is not difficult to suppress these firepower points.

But what Hindenburg could not have imagined was that the cover position built mainly with semi-automatic rifle firepower could undertake the blockade task when the main firepower point was suppressed! The time for strong firepower suppression is limited, after all, there is only so much ammunition. If you cannot break through before the attack, you can only withdraw it.

Hindenburg, who had already anticipated this situation, decisively arranged flanking detours, but due to limited heavy weapons and mobility, the support firepower on the flanks was much weaker. However, Hindenburg still believed that he could open a gap because the opponent's troops and equipment were even more lacking!

"The structure of the opponent's front defense line is centered on machine gun and mortar fire points, with a large number of double and 3-man bunkers interspersed to make up for the insufficient fire points. However, depending on the opponent's equipment, it is impossible for them to maintain such a configuration on the flanks, and they do not have that much equipment." Before the attack, Hindenburg once said this.

On the flank, the prince blocked the opponent's attack with another defensive posture. The support points established by the squad replaced the mode of cooperation between fire points and foxholes. Although there were not enough machine guns and mortars, relying on the firepower of each squad, the firepower of four semi-automatic rifles and a grenade launcher could still suppress the colleagues who were also inactive on the front, who were also inadequate in firepower.

Unlike the multi-layer defense mode on the front, the troops on the side are almost concentrated in one defense line. The defense originally composed of three defense lines has become two. When the troops are greatly enriched, relying on strong infantry firepower, the defense party has better battlefield control.

"If we drag it down, we won't have any results. The position they chose is too good. The heavy firepower can only be deployed on the front and there is not enough flanking space. Therefore, the other party does not need to judge our main attack direction at all." An officer said with some dissatisfaction.

"Even if the attack is launched on the side, even if the opponent makes a mistake in judging our attack direction, there will be no big deviation. The flank attack distance is relatively long, and the opponent's concentrated defense will eventually cause some trouble for our breakthrough. In the stage of taking away the trench, they will also be blocked by the opponent. This period is enough for them to reconfigure the heavy weapons and then suppress our support."

"To be fair, the opponent is also very careful and has not arranged a minefield or barbed wire, which saves a lot of trouble when we move forward. Just like that, there will be no result if we continue to fight." Moltke came out to smooth things out. When the gap in strength is not yet huge, if the offensive troops cannot break through the defense line in a short time, then time will stand on the other side.

If we only look at the exchange ratio of troops, our side is not at a disadvantage. If the other party saves face, there is no need to stick it to the end. But overall, the future chief of staff of the German Army has realized the transfer of offense and defense in the war. Before the emergence of a strong and high-speed breakthrough unit, facing a defensive party with sufficient depth and a large number of artillery, the difficulty of the attacking party is getting greater and greater!

However, Hindenburg still wanted to give it a try. There were also commandos composed of elite personnel in the Prussian Legion. Although it was not as integrated as the later Storm Commando, the latter integrated the elite infantry, engineers and artillery, and then after the artillery turned a certain position into an isolated island, these elite infantry opened the gap.

An infantryman carrying a trench thunder thrower called a trench began to infiltrate from the flank under the cover of firepower. They successfully found the dead corner of the opponent's firepower and crossed the blockade line in a place that was absolutely not wide. Relying on their excellent individual soldiers' qualities, they approached the trench and used their carry-on pistols to clear the remaining enemies in the trench.

They even formed a breakthrough on the front line, but unfortunately, they turned around and fell into the siege of their superior opponents. After this elite force entered the wedge, the subsequent troops did not keep up. The frontal battlefield offensive side had already shown signs of decline, and the defense side had more reserves to be transferred to the flank. The last troops invested by Hindenburg were like a sharp arrow, successfully penetrated the steel armor on the outer layer of the Knights, but the arrow was also broken.

The final exercise result was not as expected by the prince. The attacking party failed to break through the defense line within 5 hours, and even failed to cut two nails on the core position. The wedge that was finally hit was then removed. With the advancement of technology, the offensive and defensive situation on the battlefield gradually changed. Because of the prince, the senior German military leaders also had a certain understanding of the situation that would occur in the foreign war situation.

"I am increasingly unfavorable to the situation on the Western Front. Our strategy of quick battle and quick decision cannot be achieved due to the supply problem. If I don't have only one enemy in France, then we can still rely on a strong industry and a huge population base to crush our opponents. However, if the other party becomes France and Russia, we can only defeat one of them and then reach an agreement with the other party that is more conducive to Germany.

After the exercise, even Moltke admitted that the future situation Germany faced was far more difficult than expected. The French could not beat Germany, but relying on distance and defensive advantages could still delay for a considerable period of time. The Russians' terrifying war potential made Germany feel desperate. At least the Prussian staff did not think of any solution to the existing system.

"War is not the end, it is just a tool, not even the only tool. If I don't want to win, then I can't use other ways besides the blood and fire on the battlefield. Through some means, the fortress collapses from the inside. The probability of this happening in France is not high, but the Russians are different. Their ethnic issues and social contradictions do not have to be Austro-Hungarians at all. There may be problems with the breakthrough I did not look for at the beginning."

When Schliffen asked the prince what he thought about the prospect of the two-front German battle, the prince decisively told his plans. For more than ten years after the journey, the prince had been considering how to fight if a war broke out. Now he could finally tell the German senior executives about his ideas, and gradually exert his influence, and finally implement it.
Chapter completed!