The cold wind whistled, and the autumn leaves were falling.
In September, the temperature in France dropped to eight degrees, quite chilly.
Von Kluck, commander of the German First Army Group, hid in the grass, observing the town of Davaz across the Marne River shrouded in morning fog through his binoculars.
As he expected, the French soldiers were indeed building defensive fortifications along the river, and the only bridge nearby had been reinforced: a few machine guns were placed at the bridgehead, two layers of trenches were constructed with about a few hundred men, and there were people vaguely seen installing explosive fuses to blow up the bridge if they couldn't hold it.
Kluck showed a faint smile of disdain at the corner of his mouth, these fools, did they really think he would launch a frontal assault to cross the river?
Kluck turned his head slightly and softly asked the adjutant lying beside him, "Where is the first regiment positioned?"
"General!" The adjutant took out his pocket watch, looked at it, and replied, "If nothing unexpected happens, they will arrive at the designated location within twenty minutes!"
Kluck nodded and immediately ordered, "Prepare for battle!"
"Prepare for battle!"
"Prepare for battle!"
...
The order was passed down one after another, and the dense German soldiers in the grass calmly and orderly checked their equipment. Some even fitted bayonets to their rifles, as they were the units at the forefront and might engage in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy at any moment.
After issuing the order, Kluck waited quietly for the first regiment to appear.
The first regiment, with over four thousand men, was the elite unit directly under Kluck's command. This unit often played the role of the vanguard in battles, leading the charge. They had crossed the Marne River last night under the cover of darkness and circled to the enemy's flank.
Their mission was to capture the bridge with a lightning-fast strike to cover the main forces in crossing the river and to seize the machine gun factory on the west side of Davaz Town.
Kluck had great confidence in this operational plan since he knew the combat capability of the French Army from fighting all the way here.
The problem with the French Army was not with the army itself; their soldiers and officers were brave.
However, it was an army controlled by greedy banking capitalists.
The capitalists only knew how to bleed the military and civilians dry; they were unwilling to introduce advanced foreign equipment, for example, the Maxim Machine Gun was rejected for use.
This was not any kind of national pride, but to monopolize arms and make more money without competitive pressure.
Although the Saint-Étienne Machine Gun frequently malfunctioned, was unreliable for significant use, and was highly expensive, it still became the army's standard machine gun. The privately-produced Hotchkiss was even better than it.
(Note: The Saint-Étienne Machine Gun was actually a copy of the Hotchkiss Machine Gun, but to avoid patents, it had many complicated and error-prone devices added.)
Ironically, these capitalists, who normally rode on the backs of the French military and civilians, would flee completely during wartime, using the French military and civilians as their shields.
For whom were the French soldiers fighting?
To protect these capitalists?
To let the capitalists live long and continue to enslave them?
It was different for Germany; for unification and for strength, 80% of the national revenue of Germany was used for military construction.
From the time of William I, the king was eager to spend every penny on the military, and his coronation ceremony cost only 2,547 silver coins. (Germany once spent 5 million silver coins on a king's coronation)
German soldiers knew why they were fighting, knew that their blood would not be shed in vain, and knew the significance of sacrificing their lives on the battlefield!
Such an army was invincible!
"General!" At this moment, the adjutant softly reminded Kluck, "They have arrived!"
Kluck lifted his binoculars and looked upstream of the Marne River and indeed saw a piece of black cloth hanging over a building.
That was the signal from the first regiment, meaning "arrived at designated position and ready"!
Kluck nodded slightly and ordered in a low, cold voice:
"Ready..."
The voice was long to allow the soldiers to prepare mentally, then the tone immediately changed to decisive:
"Attack!"
The adjutant suddenly stood up, waved his hand backward, and shouted, "Attack!"
The German soldiers shouted and emerged from the grass. An empty forest suddenly became crowded with people densely packed everywhere, wearing pointed helmets and holding rifles, staring fiercely at the French line.
On the other side of the Marne River, the French soldiers, who were chatting and building fortifications, were instantly stunned by the German formation. Their faces turned pale, and they froze in place. It wasn't until the gunfire sounded that they realized what was happening, screaming in panic as they jumped into the trenches.
"Germans!" the French colonel shouted, "They're coming, maintain calm... calm!"
His voice trembled, and everyone could tell that the colonel himself couldn't remain calm.
"Bang bang!" Sporadic gunfire rang out, fired by the French soldiers. Then the machine guns roared in anger, and rows of bullets whistled through the air towards the German soldiers on the opposite bank.
The French colonel looked in frustration; he hadn't ordered the firing, but these guys were too nervous to control themselves.
But now that the gunfire had started, it was impossible to order a ceasefire at this point.
The French colonel could only angrily order, "Fire! Fire..."
However, no one, including the French colonel, realized they had fallen into the German trap!
Anyone with a clear head would know that it was impossible for the Germans to forcibly cross the river.
The bridge could be blown up at any time, the river was cold and deep, and although only 70 meters wide, the forces entering the river would become slow-moving targets.
Clearly, the German frontal attack was to draw their fire and attention.
At this point, the French soldiers should be paying attention to their flanks, not the front!
But no one was vigilant; almost everyone was terrified by the suddenly appearing Germans. They hastily moved their gun bolts and mechanically fired across the river, having lost the ability to think, fearing the Germans would leap over from the other side of the river.
A fierce gunfire suddenly erupted on the left flank.
The French colonel's face immediately turned pale. Only then did he realize the Germans' true intention. He cautiously poked his head out and saw the Germans appear on the flank of the defense line.
The French soldiers on the flank were unprepared and quickly overrun, either killed or fleeing the trenches in panic. Most realized they couldn't escape, and crouched down, raising their hands in surrender.
The French colonel still maintained some composure and loudly ordered, "Blow up the bridge, blow up the..."
"Bang!" A gunshot.
A bullet pierced through the colonel's head, his head tilted at a bizarre angle, and then he collapsed to the ground like a deflated balloon.
He should have known that the Germans had prepared many snipers to ensure the bridge's capture smoothly; their targets were these gesturing officers.
At this moment, the French soldiers were unsure and didn't know whether to blow up the bridge.
They thought, the Germans had already crossed the river; would blowing up the bridge still matter? Survival was more important!
Not long after, the entire French defense line retreated towards Davaz Town, their red hats and trousers making them look like a red tide.
The bridge fell intact into the hands of the German forces, which surged across the Marne River towards the southern bank.
Standing on the top floor of a villa watching all this, Francis cursed:
"These bastards, so utterly useless!"
"Where is General Gade, where is General Gade?"
Major General Gade was the commander of the 5th Army Group. Francis had a pleasant conversation with General Gade over the past two days, treating him with the finest wine and beef, plus two beautiful maids, ensuring Major General Gade felt at home.
Major General Gade had repeatedly assured Francis, "Don't worry, Mr. Francis, with the Marne River defense line, the Germans won't get through! I guarantee it!"
"Sir!" the butler replied in a panic, "I just saw Major General Gade leaving by car, with Mr. Pierre..."
Francis instantly felt a chill, his whole body turning cold.
It's over, finished!
The factory, the family, fame and fortune, everything!
These damn liars!