On the evening of April 1, the main forces of German military 2nd Army Corps, 3rd Army Corps and 4th Army Corps had already passed Marne River. On the river that is hundreds of kilometers long, German military engineers have built more than twenty pontoon bridges. The emergence of these pontoons allows German military's main force and various combat materials to be easily transported to the South Bank of the Marne River.
At the same time, the troops crossing the river also seized the time to build defensive positions, and built a defensive fortification on the dilapidated position of the French army that had been destroyed. Due to limited time, the fortifications built by German military can only be regarded as simple fortifications. However, the various firepower points are still arranged in an orderly manner. Coupled with the powerful artillery support from the rear, if Anglo-French Allied Forces wants to launch an attack, it will definitely hit its head and bleed.
In addition, if Anglo-French Allied Forces launches an attack that night, it will undoubtedly pose a greater threat to German military. After all, at that time, German military was not on a stable footing and could not fully unleash its combat power. But Anglo-French Allied Forces gave German military one night, which enabled German military to successfully establish a foothold in the South Bank of the Marne River. At this time, Anglo-French Allied Forces launched the attack, and the consequences can be imagined.
At the same time, German military engineers are still busy. Although, a regular pontoon is enough. But they still need to build a pontoon bridge that can allow tanks and Truck to pass. In this case, German military's powerful Armored Forces can cross Marne River and launch a further attack on Anglo-French Allied Forces's defense line.
April 2 In the morning, most of the German military soldiers who had worked hard all night were still resting. In the trenches on the front line, officers and soldiers were lying in confusion. Although the weather is still a bit cold now, the German military officers and soldiers who were too tired and wore blankets slept soundly.
However, at 7 o'clock in the morning, they were woken up by the officers.
"Everyone get up immediately and prepare to fight. The enemy is about to attack!" The officers shouted to wake up the soldiers.
German military's Air Corps's Reconnaissance Aircraft discovered that Anglo-French Allied Forces was gathering in large numbers. Obviously, Anglo-French Allied Forces was unwilling to have his defense line breached and wanted to regain it. Oscar immediately ordered all frontline departments to be prepared to resist Anglo-French Allied Forces's counterattack. As long as this time is successful, then German military can truly survive Marne River. It would be impossible for Anglo-French Allied Forces to drive German military back to the North Bank of the Marne River. Therefore, the generals Oscar and German military paid great attention to this battle.
Although, after only two hours of sleep, many soldiers were not in good spirits. But they quickly prepared for battle. Some people even washed their faces with cold Marne River river water to cheer themselves up. Although there are many dead bodies in the Marne River at the moment, no one cares about them at all.
The cooks delivered breakfast to the frontline troops so that the soldiers could have full stomachs and have the strength to fight Anglo-French Allied Forces. The quartermaster was also distributing ammunition. It is foreseeable that this battle will be very fierce, so when the quartermaster distributes ammunition, he does not forget to provide sufficient ammunition to the frontline troops.
Before Anglo-French Allied Forces's attack started, German military was already ready for battle.
On Anglo-French Allied Forces's position, two new forces, French 8th Army Corps and 9th Army Corps, also entered the battlefield. In addition to the troops drawn from the four frontline armies, Marshal Joffre invested all his capital in this counterattack. This undoubtedly shows his determination. At the same time, there is also a sense of all-or-nothing.
Cannons one after another are being pushed into the artillery position. Although the artillery of the four armies on the Anglo-French Allied Forces front line suffered heavy losses under the shelling and bombing of German military, there are still hundreds of remaining cannons. Including all the artillery pieces of French 8th Army Corps and 9th Army Corps, there are more than two thousand cannons in total. Although this scale cannot be compared with German military, it is still not weak.
"General Foch, this time, we have invested more than 600,000 people to launch a counterattack. Can we drive the Germany people back to the North Bank of the Marne River?" Marshal Joffre still felt a little unsure about this battle. Although, he believed that with Anglo-French Allied Forces investing so many troops, the Germany people would never be able to resist it. However, in this battle, the strength shown by German military was so powerful that he couldn't help but feel worried.
"Your Excellency, I have to admit that the Germany people are very powerful. They are even stronger than they were half a year ago. It is absolutely impossible for the German military half a year ago to get through the Marne River in one day. At the same time, their losses are still very small. This is undoubtedly very unreasonable." General Foch said.
Marshal Joffre nodded. "Germany people are getting bigger and stronger in this war. I have a feeling that if we fail to defeat German military this time, maybe we will never have a chance to defeat them again."
General Foch is also convinced of this. Germany has already taken an absolute advantage in this war. Apart from anything else, British Royal Navy's disastrous defeat alone was enough to give German military an advantage in this war. It can be said that if German military wins on land again, then Britain and France will be finished. On the contrary, if Britain and France can win, then they will still have a chance to at least obtain a relatively decent peace.
This shows how much pressure Anglo-French Allied Forces endured in this battle. This is probably why Marshal Joffre rushed to the front line from Paris.
"Your Excellency the President and Your Excellency the Prime Minister both sent telegrams yesterday. They are also paying attention to the Battle of the Marne. Obviously, they are very dissatisfied with the fact that we allowed the Germans to cross the Marne River on the first day. Your Excellency the President and the Prime Minister both asked us to fight in this battle. We need to defeat the Germans. But what they don't know is that defeating the Germans is not just about talking. We will do our best in this battle. But maybe only God knows whether we can defeat the Germans." Marshal Xiafei sighed.
General Foch Hearing this, he didn't know what to say. Even he himself felt a deep powerlessness regarding this war. It was also hard for him to believe that in half a year, Germany people would become much stronger than before. Not only is it powerful in terms of firepower, but it also has a tenacious will to fight. These are all incomparable to Anglo-French Allied Forces.
"No matter what, we will fight to the end. God bless French Republic!" General Foch said.