The Rise Of Australasia

Chapter 552: Chapter 432: Unexpected Mishaps_2

If it were summer, the smell of rotting bodies alone would be enough to cause some soldiers to mentally break down.

More exaggeratedly, some German soldiers, who had been living in such terrible conditions for a long time, were not only covered in mud with deeply sunken eyes but also appeared extremely old and weak, completely unrecognizable.

Nevertheless, the German military upper echelons still naively dreamed of exhausting the French military's living forces through the Battle of Verdun to prevent the imminent large-scale offensive by the British and French forces.

Instead of waiting for the British and French forces to launch an offensive in an unknown region, they took the initiative to launch an attack, leading the British and French forces to the Verdun region for a decisive battle in an attempt to wipe out the main force of the British and French forces. This was the plan of the German upper echelons.

In fact, the German's massive attack in the Verdun region did serve as a reminder to the British Empire.

The British government keenly sensed that they had to invest more power in the European continent as soon as possible and spare no effort to support the French Army to avoid France experiencing a large-scale Russian-style defeat.

For Russia, with its vast strategic depth, a few failures don't matter for such a populous country.

However, for France, if the Battle of Verdun failed, not only would Paris be at risk of falling, but it would also affect the combat capability of the French Army in the entire French region.

It's no exaggeration to say that if Verdun fell, Paris would be in danger. If Paris were in danger, so would France.

With the strong support of Britain, the French and German armies engaged in fierce battles in the Verdun area, with neither side able to take the initiative, resulting in a stalemate in the Battle of Verdun.

In February 1916, more than two months had passed since the Battle of Verdun began.

The German and French armies had been confronting each other in this region for nearly 70 days, during which they engaged in numerous battles, with heavy casualties on both sides.

In the hilly forest areas of less than 20 square kilometers on the east and west banks of the Mars River, both offensive and defensive sides went through numerous fierce battles.

The German troops, lacking a necessary rest period, were already exhausted. The French soldiers took advantage of the German's fatigue and launched attacks in some areas, further burdening the German soldiers.

Due to heavy casualties, inadequate supply of food and shells, the increasingly disciplined and brave German soldiers gradually lost faith in the command.

Since the beginning of the Battle of Verdun, the German command had never considered the heavy casualties. Driven by the eagerness for victory, commanders had not faced the number of casualties seriously. This was actually counterproductive to the Germans' initial plan, which was to "make the French bleed."

In terms of human resources, the Allied Group could not compete with the Allied Nations Group.

Using the words of a Parisian newspaper's evaluation of the situation in Verdun at the end of February: "No matter what the reasoning, it can now be proven that the German army has entered a defensive period. From now on, the German army is powerless to stop the development of the Allies."

Of course, this contained some exaggeration, but the current situation of the German army in Verdun was indeed not good, and the Germans could no longer maintain an advantage in Verdun.

On March 1st, General Robert George Neville took over as the commander-in-chief of the Verdun War Zone, replacing General Bellamy, who was then appointed as the commander of the Western Central Army Group.

The reason for the replacement of the commander-in-chief in the Verdun War Zone at such a critical moment was because Cynthia had become quite dissatisfied with General Bellamy's strategy in Verdun.

In fact, the new commander-in-chief of the Verdun War Zone, General Neville, also had a good reputation.

General Neville was a knowledgeable and eloquent artillery expert who had served as the artillery commander in the Verdun War Zone before taking up his current post.

He came from a military family, attended the Somier Cavalry School to study cavalry command, then switched to artillery, and achieved excellent results.

General Neville's career path was quite exaggerated: at the beginning of the war, Neville was just an ordinary Lieutenant Colonel.

However, he was soon promoted to the Brigadier of the 5th Brigade and, subsequently, appointed as the Commander of the 6th Division.

His exceptional talents in artillery were put to good use during the Battle of the Marne River, leading to his promotion to the rank of General and appointment as the Commander of the Third Army Group.

Worth mentioning is that General Neville also invented a high-explosive shell capable of destroying airborne balloons, airships, and even airplanes during this war.

This shell, once invented, dealt a fatal blow to German air reconnaissance and significantly weakened the strength of the German Air Force. General Neville's talent in artillery was evident.

At this point, the preparations for the British and French offensive in the northwest of France at the Somme River were nearing completion.

The initial purpose of launching this campaign was to inflict heavy blows to the German army and even attack Germany, but the main objective now was to ease the pressure on the Verdun front and force Germany to withdraw troops from the Russian front.

In order to weaken the scale of the British and French offensives in the Somme region, the Germans stepped up their attacks in Verdun.

Because of the fierce German assaults in Verdun, the British and French forces decided to intensify their offensive in the Somme region to divert German attention and force the Germans to divide their forces or even withdraw from Russia.

Both sides implemented their operational plans for their strategic goals, but it was evident that the current situation was proving to be more unfavorable for the Germans.

Under the orders of the German High Command and the British and French Joint Command, the German army decided to launch a large-scale offensive in the Verdun region, while the British and French forces decided to accelerate their campaign preparations in the Somme region, launching an offensive that would shock the Germans and force them to withdraw from Verdun and Russia.