The Rise of Australasia

It should be noted that Germany had just over one million troops on the Western Front, while the British and French forces had almost three million combat troops. Although a considerable part were colonial troops, the overwhelming numerical advantage of the British and French forces over the German Army cannot be denied.

In Fakinham's letter to William II, he specifically mentioned that the Russian Army is now disoriented after its defeat, and the newly appointed Russian Army Commander-in-Chief Nicholas II is incapable, and unable to launch an attack in a short time.

Seizing this opportunity, 500,000 main forces should be transferred to the Westline and some reservist forces should be recruited domestically to make up a total of 2 million troops to engage in a decisive battle with the British and French forces.

As long as France can be defeated and the British and French forces are forced to surrender, Russia will lose financial and military equipment support from the West and can only submit to Germany.

Due to William II's concerns about repeating Napoleon's mistakes, and the increasingly cold climate in Russia, with winter coming soon in the Northern Hemisphere,

As well as the large-scale battle launched by the British and French forces on the Westline, William II agreed to Fakinham's proposal, mobilizing at least 500,000 main forces to the Westline to engage in a decisive battle with the British and French forces.

If they can gather 2 million troops, the 2 million against the 3 million, William II believes that the advantage lies with Germany.

After defeating Britain and France, even with the support of Australasia, Russia would definitely not be a match for Germany.

But if the stalemate with Russia continues, Britain and France, with their stronger industrial capabilities and abundant colonial resources, can completely pass through the Mediterranean to the Black Sea route, like a nanny, frantically replenishing Russia's blood.

Although Germany has caused a lot of economic loss to Britain and France by attacking their supply ships between their homeland and colonies with submarines,

Britain and France have such powerful businesses and industries that they could not be matched by Germany, which only had one barren colony.

Fakinham strongly advocated attacking France because he believed that the root of the Allies was Britain and France, and the key to confronting Germany was France.

As long as they can defeat France on land, it is equivalent to defeating at least one-third of the Allied Nations.

At the same time, they could use the resources of France to replenish Germany, and after turning to defeat Russia, Great Britain, Ireland, and the Isle of Man could only surrender.

As for Australasia, which is far away from Europe, Fakinham does not think it is worth considering.

After all, Australasia does not have too many interests in Europe and does not have to fight Germany to the death. With sufficient advantage and the good relationship between William II and Arthur, it is entirely possible to persuade Australasia to withdraw from the war.

In this way, a Germany that has resolved the French-Russian issue only needs to engage in a fierce naval battle with the Royal Fleet to accomplish the plan of annihilating the entire Allied Nations.

As for Italy, Fakinham did not mention it in the plan, and William II had no intention of inquiring.

Looking at Italy's combat performance, without the help of other Allied countries, Italy cannot exert any pressure on Germany in terms of army and navy. It only takes 100,000 German troops, along with a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire forces, to easily destroy this country from land. ȑἈN∅ＢËș

After William II nodded, under Fakinham's order, the German General Staff quickly formulated a plan for the new offensive and focused the main direction of the new offensive on the Westline.

According to Fakinham's request, the German Army does not necessarily have to carry out a massive breakthrough and encircle the enemy's main forces to achieve results.

They only need to occupy a special region deemed sacred by the French, forcing the French to deploy every soldier of their army in order to protect this region.

In this way, Germany could cause French blood to flow in this region and effectively kill French soldiers.

Thus, there were not many suitable places according to Fakinham's intention, and the most suitable were only two.

After a comprehensive consideration, Fakinham chose Verdun between Bellevue and Verdun because he felt that Verdun was more important to the French, which made them willing to shed their last drop of blood.

Actually, Verdun is just a small town in the northeast of France by the Mars River, with a population of just over 10,000.

However, in terms of military, Verdun is one of France's most famous fortresses, appearing multiple times in French history, and is connected to many significant events in France.

In terms of geographical location, Verdun is the gateway to Paris and the hub of the French defense line, with a strategically critical terrain.

The Verdun fort is the support point of the French Eastern Front and is located in the protruding part of the Allied defense line.

With Verdun in existence, it poses a significant side threat to the Western Front armies deep into France and Belgian territory.

However, if Verdun were to fall, the German army could quickly reach several strategic points in France via the railway, opening the pathway to Paris.

It is important to note that Verdun is only 200 kilometers from the Paris area and is referred to as the key to Paris and the gateway to eastern France.

In the eyes of the French, the Verdun fortress is a sacred and insurmountable place, symbolizing the strength and courage of the French people.

If Verdun were to fall, the enormous impact on the French Eastern Front aside, the heavy blow to French civilian morale alone would be enough to lower the optimism level of the French population regarding the war.

After the fall of Verdun, the entirety of Paris would be in peril. Historically in France, the day the enemy breaches Paris is often the moment the French government surrenders.

Therefore, Fakinham believes that breaking through Verdun would be tantamount to capturing Paris, and capturing Paris means conquering more than half of France.

Although the French government built a new defense system in the Verdun region after the outbreak of the war, combining fortress construction projects with field fortresses

But only a little over a year has passed, and some fortification works have not yet been completed. This is what Fakinham sees as the hope of breaking through the Verdun fortress.

Of course, that being said, the Verdun fortress is by no means easy to break. The basic defense work system has been formed, and Verdun is undoubtedly one of France's most robust fortresses and is the hardest to break.

There are four defense positions in the Verdun fortress area, three of which have been built since 1914.

If viewed from the air, the depth of these four fortresses is nearly 50 kilometers, with large and small formal bunkers scattered around the fortress area. Most of them protrude north into the Weir Valley and the plains.

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Almost all defense positions are cleverly arranged in the rolling hills and forests full of deep trenches and high ground, which has also increased the difficulty of breaking the fortress.

Existing fortress works, new field defense works, and rear supply bases are closely connected, making the Verdun fortress system virtually flawless and forming a strong, deep-staggered layout that would make any opponent fearful.

The French army has deployed thousands of machine guns and artillery positions of various sizes in Verdun Fortress, greatly enhancing the firepower of the fortress.

It is no exaggeration to say that this is a tough bone to chew for the Germans.

However, Fakinham chose Verdun for precisely this reason.

It is because Verdun is so difficult to break, that the French will be even more willing to pay any price to defend the fortress.

Fakinham believes that to save Verdun, the French must invest all their strength, and this is precisely Fakinham's goal.

At the mobilization meeting within the German army, Fakinham even ambitiously declared to make Verdun the millstone for crushing the French army, bleeding the French to their last drop of blood.

As for Fakinham's specific plan to attack Verdun, it is straightforward: use overwhelming firepower to destroy French defensive works and then break through from the east bank of the Mars River. They aim to capture the fortress before the French even have time to react.

The reactive French army is bound to reinforce heavily; Germany only needs to launch an attack on Verdun to effectively attack all French forces.

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