~Date:~November 06~

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Berlin, the Brandenburg Gate, the gate into ancient Berlin in the imperial era, a witness to the unification, division and unity of the German nation, a witness to the history of eastern and western Europe, is also a witness to world history.

This building designed by Karl Langhans is more than two centuries old. He watched Napoleon ride under it and witnessed William I's victory parade after his victory over France. He also witnessed

, in 1914, the king's army set out from here to attack France.

You can witness the rise and fall of Prussia here, and the "Goddess of Victory" as the symbol of the Brandenburg Gate is even more of a witness, from the completion of the Brandenburg Gate in 1791 to the victory that prayed for peace and victory two years later.

The bronze statue of the goddess's carriage was completed. At that time, the place seemed to witness the power of Prussia.

More than ten years later, Prussia declined rapidly, the rise of France, and Prussia's disastrous defeat, in addition to forcing Prussia to cede territory and pay huge indemnities, the victorious Poleon declared the "Goddess of Victory" as his prize and shipped it back.

France. From then on, the iron bracket on the Brandenburg Gate pointed to the sky alone, always reminding the Prussians of this shame. Since then, the stolen Victory has become a national symbol of the struggle for freedom.

It was not until eight years later, after defeating France, that Marshal Blücher reinstalled the goddess of victory on the Brandenburg Gate amidst the joy throughout the country.

In the following century, the story of the Brandenburg Gate may have been silent, but the Brandenburg Gate and the goddess of victory above it have been silently watching Prussia, watching it unify the entire German world).

Germany's long-cherished wish, and two years ago, the goddess of victory silently watched as she fell into a patriotic fervor of nationalism and chauvinism, under the call of "for God and motherland", in the cheers of the people, in the women

Alongside the waving handkerchiefs, the Royal Guards, hussars, lancers, artillery and infantry in gorgeous military uniforms set off to the front amid the deafening cheers of the welcoming crowds along the streets.

But within a few months, Berlin, which was once full of enthusiasm, fell into a state of "war lethargy" like Germany. There were fewer and fewer reports of victory from the front lines, and luxury goods and consumer goods on the market became increasingly scarce.

Fresh fruit, high-end wine, coffee, candy, silk clothes and leather shoes first disappeared from the store, followed by eggs, white bread, meat products and lard. Even potatoes, flour and coal became scarce.

commodity.

This war, with the stalemate on the Western Front, seems to have become an endless war. Almost every German is discussing a topic, how to break the deadlock. Civilians are discussing this, and for the German Army Staff, this is

The problem also troubles the staff officers at the General Headquarters.

The opening scene of 1916 was staged in the conference hall of the German Army Staff. The protagonist was General Falkenhayn, the de facto commander-in-chief of the Central European empires. On the night of September 14, 1914, Falkenhayn, then Minister of War, was captured by the German Army.

The emperor appointed him as the chief of staff of the German army. Because after General von Moltke said to the king "Your Majesty, we have lost this war" when the victory of the Battle of the Marne was clear, he retired from this position mentally and physically.

♀The new commander of the German Army was still on the verge of becoming War Minister for some time; at the beginning of the new year he handed over the latter post, but later he was still succeeded by himself. Therefore, Falkenhayn combined military power in one body, and for almost a whole year

For two years he continued to exercise undisputed power. He inherited a fragmented legacy that had been the great bet that his predecessor had made and lost. The surprise attack on Paris, the ravage of Belgium, and the

All attempts to end the war in one strike failed, discrediting Germany in the world and forcing the British Empire to use its wealth, navy and growing land forces to fight her.

In the east, the Austrian defeat at the Battle of Rambert canceled out the victories of Hindenburg and Ludendorff. As a result, their army was stagnant, their territory was blockaded, and joint trade was hindered. German rulers must prepare to compete with the population and

An alliance of countries whose wealth is almost double their own is engaged in a protracted war; with the help of naval power, these countries not only control the world's resources, but also have the right to choose where to strike the next blow at the critical moment♀

Germany's victory added too many unnecessary factors. At this time, in the German Army Staff, General Fagin Khan was describing his plan to the generals on the staff.

“…through the mistakes of the enemy and Germany’s own policy of attacking the weak, she was able to save herself in time from the disastrous situation she had found herself in at the end of 1914. Opportunity and initiative returned to Germany’s side, and the next move lay in her hands. The future

How will the situation develop?"

Regarding the stalemate on the Western Front and the disappearance of Germany's weakest ally, Bulgaria, the impact on Germany and the blow to their morale was as serious as the heaviest blow they suffered on the Western Front. Regarding the evolution of the entire situation, the German General Staff

The reaction was one of eagerness and anxiety. Falkenhayn, who had the main responsibility, naturally needed to take pains to explain his reasons for launching this campaign at this time.

"Victories at Salonika, Suez and Mesopotamia, only these victories can strengthen the confidence that has emerged in the Mediterranean and the Islamic world that Britain is not invulnerable, which is of great help to us.

It is helpful.... We cannot under any circumstances expect to achieve the result in a single campaign, as those who advocate an Alexander march into India or Egypt, or as those who advocate a crushing blow at Salonika insist.

That way..."

Because Hindenburg and Ludendorff won various honors for their victories on the Eastern Front, and they also had quite a few supporters in the staff, they believed that Germany should first defeat Russia and then consider fighting on the Western Front.

Counterattack, faced with such remarks, Falkenhayn naturally resisted and resisted the plan to continue attacking Russia. At this time, he explained to these generals the reasons for resisting continuing to attack Russia.

"According to various reports, the domestic difficulties of the 'Empire of Giants' are rapidly increasing. Even though we may not be able to foresee a large-scale revolution, we have reason to believe that Russia's internal troubles will force it to surrender in a relatively short period of time.

...unless we are once again prepared to place a disproportionate burden on our troops which the state of our reserves will not permit. In view of the weather and ground conditions we would like to conduct an attack in the east aimed at a decisive victory before April

An offensive was impossible. The fertile territory of Ukraine was the only target that could be considered, and transportation to that area was certainly insufficient. It could be assumed that we should either have the loyalty of Romania or be determined to defeat it; but neither

It is not practical for the time being. A direct attack on Petersburg, if successful, would not be a final victory, as there are millions of inhabitants there, and we would have to feed them with our own scarce reserves. A march on Moscow would put us at risk.

We do not know where to take it. We do not have enough troops to complete any of the above tasks. For all these reasons, Russia must be excluded from consideration as a target of our counterattack..."

After analyzing the pros and cons of entering Russia, Falkenhayn turned his attention to Major Danvey, the "savior of East Prussia" sent to the staff by Hindenburg. Here, to a certain extent,

As the spokesperson of Hindeng Bao, he was the de facto leader of the Eastern Front faction in the General Staff.

"Your Excellency General..."

Before Major Danway could express his opinion, Falkenhayn interrupted him very rudely, and then further analyzed the battlefield on the Western Front that he had personally inspected for several months last year.

"Let's look at the current western front in Flanders, as far as the Lorette Ridge. Due to the ground conditions any deep military operation is impossible before mid-spring. South of the mountain, the local commander believes that about 30

divisions, and the northern attack would require the same number of troops. But it would be impossible for us to concentrate such a number of troops at a single point on our front.... Furthermore, it should be concluded from the failure of our enemy's large-scale offensive

The lesson is that their methods of warfare must not be imitated. A large-scale Tokugawa attack, even with a highly concentrated force and material equipment, will never be successful in the face of an enemy that is well-equipped, has strong morale, and is not at a serious numerical disadvantage.

It cannot be considered that there is any hope of success. The defender can usually successfully close the gap; if he decides to retreat on his own initiative, he can easily do so. It is almost impossible to prevent his retreat. The salient formed by the attempt to prevent it is exposed in large numbers.

Within the range of flank fire, there is the danger of becoming a slaughterhouse. The technical difficulties of commanding and supplying a large number of our troops surrounded by the enemy are extremely difficult and actually reach an insurmountable point."

Because everyone in this conference hall was a military expert. Therefore, Falkenhayn, who had already convinced Kaiser Wilhelm II, knew that he could not hide anything.

"We must equally oppose any attempt to attack the British theater of operations by less adequate means. We will favor such action only if the attack can achieve a reasonable degree of objective. But at present there is no such objective; we must at least bring the British

If this minimum goal is not achieved, the attack will be meaningless..."

After discussing all of the above options, General Falkenhayn came to his carefully considered conclusion:

"Then only France is left...The tension in France has almost reached the explosive point...It is unnecessary for France to carry out an uncertain large-scale breach of the curtain, and it is not in our consideration anyway. We attack ourselves.

The scope of what they can do is on the western front. Behind the French defense line, there are several targets that the French General Staff has to devote all its troops to defend. If the French army defends, they will fight bloody, because there is no question of voluntary retreat, regardless of us.

Whether the goal can be achieved. If they don't hold on and we achieve the goal, it will have a huge impact on French morale. And in terms of a military operation on a narrow front, Germany will not be forced to concentrate so much energy because all other fronts

In fact, they have gradually contracted. Germany can confidently face any enemy attacks that may appear on those fronts to relieve her, and indeed has sufficient ready forces to answer these attacks with counterattacks, because she has full freedom

, you can speed up or extend the attack, intensify or suddenly stop the attack at any time according to your own purposes."

As soon as his voice fell, Falkenhayn spoke without waiting for anyone else to interrupt.

"The objectives to which I shall now refer are Belfort and Verdun. The above considerations apply to both, but priority must be given to Verdun. The French front there is less than twelve miles from the German railway lines.

Therefore, Verdun was the strongest support point for the French to attempt to render the entire German defense line in France and Belgium undefendable at a relatively small military cost. At Christmas, I decided to implement the process formed by this reasoning.

View."

At this time, most of the generals on the staff were stunned by Falkenhayn's bold decision. They knew clearly that implementing Falkenhayn's new policy required an almost complete relaxation of pressure on Russia.

"What about the Eastern Front?"

Major General Danvi asked rhetorically.

"All I have to say is that there will be no further large-scale military operations against Russia in 1916, and that no reinforcements can be expected on the Eastern Front. All German troops will withdraw from the Galician Front to the south, which is both a threat and an advantage.

The battlefield is completely entrusted to the Austrian army..."

As soon as Falkenhayn's words fell, everyone understood that this move was indeed a major decision. It led to General Falkenhayn's complete change of the policy used to restore the situation in Germany in 1915. Falkenhayn gave up the advantageous choice against weaker opponents.

The strongest point of the strongest enemy was used as the target of Germany's large-scale military operation in 1916. This development proved to be a disastrous decision. However, some people may have already realized that this was a wrong decision.

"Your Excellency Chief of Staff, the most urgent task for Germany now is to break the blockade. Unless she can obtain far more resources than can be found within the borders of the Quad Alliance, this long war that the world has plunged into will inevitably end in Germany.

His wealth will be exhausted and he will end up in failure!"

"That's right. The most important thing now is to break the blockade. However, I need to remind you that Germany does not have the strength to break the blockade. The huge power of the British fleet towers majestically, so no one really doubts that the unity will show off.

What will be the outcome of the battle?

"General, naval powers and land powers are ready to fight each other. If Germany cannot defeat Britain at sea, where will she turn? Then there is only land. Although the tricks of neutral countries may damage the effectiveness of the blockade; but food is scarce and modern armies must

The scarcity of supplies works ruthlessly and persistently. There is only one way to save it, that is, if it cannot break the blockade from the United States, it must break the blockade from the land. If the rear is closed, then Asia is open. If

Saying that the Western Front was choked by the confrontation between the three armies, there were no obstacles in the East. Only in the East and Southeast and in Asia could Germany find a place of supplies and room to breathe - nay, manpower - without which its military

No matter how formidable the power is, it is nothing more than an ever-depleting defensive force."

Faced with Fa Jinhan's insistence, Danwei Shaoxiao immediately argued.

"Only in this way can they become a fully functional self-sufficient organism! Only by becoming such an organism can they deprive the enemy of the ultimate deadly weapon - time. Now, the only thing we need to do is to completely defeat Russia. As long as we defeat

Russia. Then..."

"Yes, Your Excellency, Chief of Staff. The most important thing now is to completely defeat Russia when Russia is severely weakened, and to invest more troops in Russia instead of France..."

"His Majesty the Emperor has agreed to my plan!"

Faced with the surging doubts, Falkenhayn used his trump card. Sure enough, when he mentioned His Majesty the Emperor, although the opposition still existed, it became much weaker.

"As for the Eastern Front, in the so-called fertile land of Ukraine, there are serious transportation difficulties..."

Perhaps in order to emphasize that he was correct, Falkenhayn began to put forward "working styles", which actually analyzed the pros and cons of the east and west fronts. In the end, in each of his "working styles", Russia's final destruction was revealed.

The subjugation and transformation of Romania, the conquest of granaries and oil fields one after another, the indefinite threat to the British Empire's Asian colonies, and the diversion and distraction of the British army's attention, etc., all of which were punished by the law.

Jin Han gave up after a few boring words.

Finally, the formulaists among professional staff officers like Falkenhan defeated the factists. The ideological tendencies of professional soldiers overwhelmed the pragmatic tendencies, and obedience to theory replaced the exploration of reality. Attack the strongest point of the strongest, and
To be continued...