April 2 At eight o'clock in the morning, Anglo-French Allied Forces's counterattack finally kicked off. In order to drive German military who had crossed Marne River back to the north of the Marne River, Anglo-French Allied Forces could be said to have invested their main force in Marne Defense Line. Not only fresh forces like French 8th Army Corps and 9th Army Corps were mobilized, but the four frontline armies also mobilized their main forces to launch an attack, in order to win this battle in one fell swoop.
"Order all ministries to launch an attack according to the predetermined plan. Valiants of French Republic, God protect us, attack!" Marshal Joffre gave the order to counterattack with high spirits. Although, he was personally worried about this counterattack. However, in front of others, he still looked confident, as if this was the only way to infect others.
"Fire!"
Anglo-French Allied Forces's artilleryman Commander gave the order to fire.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
More than two thousand 75mm Field Gun, 105mm Howitzer, 83.8 mm field guns and 114mm Howitzer on the artillery position of Anglo-French Allied Forces started roaring and smashed the shells at German military one by one.
German military's position in the South Bank of the Marne River and the pontoon bridge erected on the Marne River became the focus of Anglo-French Allied Forces's bombardment.
German military's previous preparation of strong firepower taught Anglo-French Allied Forces a good lesson. It can be said that the reason why German military can easily defeat Marne River has a lot to do with the strong firepower preparation. Otherwise, German military would not be able to defeat Marne River so easily, and at the same time, the casualties would definitely increase exponentially.
Unfortunately, Anglo-French Allied Forces does not have strong air power and cannot replicate the powerful firepower of German military. At the same time, once their artillery positions open fire, they will inevitably be suppressed by German military's firepower.
It is precisely because of this that the artillerymen of Anglo-French Allied Forces received orders to fire as many artillery shells as possible in the shortest possible time. Otherwise, once German military launches fire suppression on them, they will have no way to continue firing.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Artillery shells fell from the sky one after another and landed on German military's position. Earth and rocks flew into the air after the shell exploded. The soldiers of German military huddled in the trenches, letting the mud or stones hit their helmets.
Because the time was so close, they didn't have time to dig bombproof holes. Therefore, they can only hide in trenches and other bunkers and endure the fierce bombardment of Anglo-French Allied Forces.
"Boom!"
A 105mm Howitzer shell hit a section of the trench. After the shell exploded, not only did the trench collapse, but shrapnel also caused a bloody storm inside.
"Boom!"
A 114mm Howitzer shell fell on the Marne River and hit a pontoon bridge. The wooden pontoon could not withstand such a violent explosion, and a section of it was immediately destroyed.
Anglo-French Allied Forces's fierce bombardment not only caused German military on the front line to pay huge casualties. At the same time, the floating bridges on the Marne River were also destroyed one after another.
Oscar's face turned livid when he saw this scene.
"Damn, I didn't expect French and French to hide so many artillery. It seems that our firepower preparations yesterday were not sufficient! Order the artillery to immediately suppress Anglo-French Allied Forces's artillery. At the same time, have Air Corps dispatch immediately to destroy their artillery." Oscar ordered.
"Yes, Your Highness." Major General Manstein immediately went to give the order.
"In addition, let the engineers prepare and wait until Anglo-French Allied Forces's artillery is suppressed to repair the pontoon immediately. No matter what, we must ensure the ammunition needs in front." Oscar then ordered.
It can be predicted that after the fierce bombardment of Anglo-French Allied Forces, the infantry launched a large-scale attack. By then, the ammunition consumption on the front line will undoubtedly become very alarming. If the needs of the front line cannot be guaranteed, this will cause great casualties to German military, and may even cause them to be defeated in this battle.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
A few minutes later, German artillerymen launched a counterattack. Those 150mm heavy Howitzer and 105mm Howitzer began to suppress the Anglo-French Allied Forces artillery. As for 75mm Field Gun, it is on standby for the time being. Their mission is that once Anglo-French Allied Forces puts in the infantry to launch an attack, they need to provide fire support to the front line and use powerful artillery fire to kill Anglo-French Allied Forces's effective forces.
German military's Air Corps also arrived on the battlefield ten minutes later. Thousands of fighter jets and Bomber rushed toward Anglo-French Allied Forces's artillery position in dense numbers.
"Da da da!"
The aircraft's aircraft machine guns fired, massacring the artillerymen. Bomber dropped bombs directly, razing those artillery positions to the ground.
Under German military's fierce artillery fire suppression and bombing, Anglo-French Allied Forces's artillery losses began to skyrocket. Artillery positions one after another were destroyed by German military.
The pressure on frontline German military also began to decrease.
"Your Excellency, German Counterattack are very violent. They dispatched a large number of fighter planes to deal with us. Our artillery suffered heavy casualties." An artillery general reported to Marshal Joffre.
Marshal Joffre looked at the German military fighter jets hovering in the sky, his eyes full of hatred. Indeed, in this battle, German military's aircraft caused great losses to Anglo-French Allied Forces. If it weren't for these fighters, they might not be in such a mess.
"Order the artillery to hold on for a while. After twenty minutes, the infantry will launch an attack." Marshal Joffre ordered.
"Yes, Marshal!"
Although it only lasted twenty minutes, it was a complete torture for the artillerymen of Anglo-French Allied Forces. They can only pray to God and pray that German military's shells or bombs will not fall on their heads. Otherwise, there is only a dead end.
Twenty minutes passed quickly. It only took an hour from the time they opened fire to the time they withdrew from their position. However, Anglo-French Allied Forces lost more than half of its cannons. There are no more than a thousand cannons of various calibers left. The number seems to be a lot, but if it is spread over a defense line of hundreds of kilometers, it will undoubtedly be nothing at all.
"Come on!"
After Anglo-French Allied Forces's bombardment ended, the infantry, which had been prepared for a long time, jumped out of their positions and launched an attack on German defensive line a few hundred meters away.
Countless Anglo-French Allied Forces soldiers held rifles, shouted slogans, and ran forward desperately. The order they received was to rush into German defensive line in the shortest possible time. Otherwise, what awaits them is the massacre of German military intensive firepower.