Add Bookmark | Recommend this book | Back to the book page | My bookshelf | Mobile Reading

Free Web Novel,Novel online - All in oicq.net -> Historic -> 1855 American Tycoon

Text Chapter 605, Transaction

Previous page        Return to Catalog        Next page

    Many years before the war began, the German general staff prepared detailed battle plans for the war.  Because this plan was completed under the auspices of Marshal Schlieffen, this plan was named the Schlieffen Plan.  Marshal Schlieffen realized that Germany's geopolitical situation was very bad, and once a war started, it would face the problem of fighting on two fronts.  Germany's resources are scarce, and it will be difficult to persist if it engages in a long-term war.  Therefore, if Germany wants to win, it must fight quickly and defeat the enemy in the shortest possible time.  Among the enemies of the Germans, Britain is the hardest to defeat. After all, Britain is an island country and has the strongest navy in the world. Russia's territory is too vast, and its capital, Petersburg, is too far away from the Germans, let alone a war.  Even if we don't fight to get to Petersburg, marching to Petersburg is not something that can be accomplished in a short time.  Moreover, although Russia is large, its national strength is limited. Its mobilization ability, reaction speed, and military equipment and training are far inferior to France.  In addition, the core area of ????France-{m's power is very close to the core area of ????Germany's power. France has an army force second only to Germany in the world.  Therefore, Marshal Schlieffen believed that France was Germany's most important enemy. If Germany wanted to win a possible war, it must quickly defeat France.  As long as France could be defeated quickly, Germany would in fact win the war.  Therefore, based on the principle that all possible forces must be concentrated at the most critical positions, the biggest feature of Marshal Schlieffen's plan is the extremely uneven deployment of forces. According to the plan, the distribution of forces on the eastern and western fronts is 1:8  , the strength ratio between the left and right wings of the Western Front was 1:8 again.  In this way, according to this plan, the old field marshal concentrated most of the entire German forces on the right wing.  According to this plan, once the war begins, the right-wing German army with absolute military superiority will pass through Belgium, seize Paris in one fell swoop, and defeat France. During this period, even if the French gain a breakthrough on the German left wing and capture several cities, etc.  , Germany can fully afford such a price.  After the death of Marshal Schlieffen, Moltke became chief of staff.  In terms of overall strategy, he did not dare to change Marshal Schlieffen's plan, but the implementation of the plan still encountered a lot of interference.  First of all, in order to build a powerful navy, the Germans invested a lot of energy in the construction of the navy.  As a result, the development of the army was naturally affected.  As a result, when it was launched, the German Army did not reach the planned scale.  But on the other hand, Russia, which was originally severely weakened in the Russo-Japanese War, received strong support from France and Britain because it stopped its expansion in the Far East. Not only did its national strength recover, it even developed considerably.  Therefore, on the Eastern Front, the originally deployed force may not be enough.  At the same time, in the original plan, the strength of the left wing on the Western Front was already weakened to the point where it could no longer be weakened.  Nowadays, due to insufficient total strength, if the distribution is based on the original proportion, the left wing will receive fewer troops than originally planned, and the left wing will almost certainly collapse under the attack of the French army.  Therefore, Moltke had to weaken the assault group, that is, the force on the right wing to strengthen the left wing and the eastern front.  This, of course, affected the assault effect on the right wing, but the use of chemical weapons made up for this shortcoming. In the battle to capture the Liege Fortress, the German army used mustard gas for the first time, which had been highly confidential before.  This kind of poisonous gas that can poison people through the skin cannot be resisted by gas masks alone. As a result, the German army captured the Liege Fortress even faster than originally planned.  But subsequent weather conditions saved the Frenchman¡¯s life.  The use of poison gas bombs has very high requirements on the weather. Wind and rain will seriously affect the use of chemical weapons.  After that, it was either windy or rainy for more than a week, which made it almost impossible for the German army to use the most deadly weapon in their hands.   "Have the results of the experiment come out? Is it what the Americans are talking about? Also, does the American gadget have a protective effect?" French President Raymond Poincar¨¦ eagerly asked a  asked the middle-aged man in a white lab coat.  "Mr. President, based on the results of our animal experiments, comparing the information provided by the Americans and the reports on the battlefield, experimental animals appeared" "Wait a minute, Mr. Zanetti, we are not doing an academic report now, please tell me directly  Is that so, and how to prevent it?" President Raymond Poincar¨¦ interrupted him eagerly, "Every second we have now is extremely precious. Meteorologists say that the weather will not change until next week.  It will get better!" "Ah Mr. President, it is indeed what the Americans call mustard gas," Zanetti replied, "This is an erosive poison that can poison people through the skin. Therefore, it only protects the respiratory tract.  A gas mask cannot protect against this poisonous gas. Even Mr. President, this poisonous gas is far more toxic than any poisonous gas we have seen before, so" A bitter smile appeared on Zanetti's face.  .  &nbsp"So what?" President Raymond Poincar¨¦ asked quickly.  "So even if just a little bit is inhaled into the lungs or gets on the skin, it will cause severe poisoning symptoms. In fact, our gas mask only uses a little activated carbon. The design is too simple, and the adsorption effect is naturally mediocre.  , if used to fight against ordinary poison gas, it is good, but when used to fight against mustard gas, it is not even enough to effectively protect the respiratory tract. However, the American sample can perfectly resist this kind of poison gas, but it is very heavy. " "Are you sure Americans?  Can products be used to defend against mustard gas attacks?¡± This question was so important now that President Raymond Poincar¨¦ asked it again.  "Yes, Mr. President." Zanetti replied, "American samples can be used to defend against almost any existing or even possible poison gas. There is no problem." "Have the Department of Commerce contact the Americans immediately  , asked them how many such chemical protective suits they have and when they can be delivered. Don¡¯t worry about the price now, the sooner the better,¡± President Raymond Poincar¨¦ turned to his secretary.  "Okay, Mr. President, I will notify the people at the Department of Commerce immediately." The secretary replied.  "Professor Zanetti, if we have a complete set of technical information, would it be technically difficult for us to produce this kind of chemical protective clothing ourselves?" President Raymond Poincar¨¦ turned to Zanetti again.  "It's not technically difficult. Now some of our military factories can produce similar products very quickly as long as they have enough raw materials." Zanetti replied immediately.  "What about this poisonous gas? When the production process is known." President Raymond Poincar¨¦ asked.  "This may be a lot more difficult." Zanetti replied, "Producing such things probably requires a lot of specialized equipment. Although my country's chemical technology is also very advanced, the design and manufacturing of production-related equipment itself requires Time, and then installation and debugging will also take time. Mr. President, based on my experience, I estimate that even if we have the relevant technology, it will take at least half a year to a year to produce these ourselves. " "What if we directly import a complete set of equipment from abroad. ?¡± President Raymond Poingale then asked.  "This may involve many things, such as transportation and other things. As a technical person, it is difficult for me to answer. Maybe the president should ask other ministers." Zanetti replied.  ¡­ ¡°The war is really a good thing!¡± Carvalho, the first mate of the cargo ship Bonhomme Anderson, said to Captain Roland, ¡°Originally we were almost out of a job, but as soon as the war started, there was business immediately. Moreover, the wages were still there.  The income has increased, and several of our boys can afford to go to college. It would be great if Europe kept fighting like this!" "Why are other people's children so dark?  You won¡¯t die, right?¡± Captain Roland laughed, and it could be seen that he was not really opposed to the first mate¡¯s statement.  "Oh, Lord, forgive me. But people have to be honest. I really don't care how the children in European families die." Mate Carvalho smiled and crossed himself on his chest.  Then he took out a small flask from his coat pocket, opened the lid, took a sip, and handed it to the captain: "This is the latest recommendation of the Seamen's Temperance Association. I haven't had the money to touch this kind of thing for a while.  Do you want a bite? " "No, thank you. I'll try your new stuff later when I have a break, but it's still my duty time. You know, there are German ships in this area.  No German ships attacked American ships, but we still have to be careful," Captain Roland said with a smile.  As an old sailor, he certainly knew what the so-called "Seamen's Temperance Association" was.  Basically, this organization and those called the "Peace Promotion Association" do things to the point of provoking war; or they use the name "Democracy Promotion Association" but undermine democracy everywhere; or there are other things that have very beautiful names.  The name of the organization and the style of doing things are basically the same.  "Captain, we found a merchant warship! It's approaching us!" At this moment, a shout came from the loudspeaker in the captain's cabin.  "Hell!" Captain Roland said, "I'll go and have a look." "I'll go and have a look too." Mate Carvalho quickly put the jug away and followed him out.  The two people quickly climbed up to the observation deck. At this time, they didn't even need a telescope to see a gray warship approaching quickly. It was a slender and huge warship.  "Thisis a German battlecruiser!" Captain Roland recognized the warship at once.   
Didn't finish reading? Add this book to your favoritesI'm a member and bookmarked this chapterCopy the address of this book and recommend it to your friends for pointsChapter error? Click here to report