Exercise

However, it would take Spain several days to receive this news, and Napoleon had more important matters to attend to at the moment.

The first thing is that military exercise used to intimidate people. Now all the preparations for the military exercise are basically complete, and the invitations have been sent out. Europe countries, whether it is France's traditional ally Green Rome, or new allies Spain, the Holy Roman Empire and the Eastern Rome, or loyal allies Confederation of the Rhine and Italy, or friendly trading partners United Kingdom and United States, have all sent representatives to observe.

The exercise was divided into two parts. One part was a land-based offensive and defensive drill. Among the participating troops, a French Army infantry division was responsible for the offensive mission, while a Confederation of the Confederation of the Rhine was responsible for the defense. The exercise was held near the Vincennes Forest, not far from Paris. Because it was close by, some Paris citizens with free time could even go and find a place to broaden their horizons.

The France of this era were generally quite militant, and young France people were still very fond of war and the like. Especially in the years before, under Napoleon's command, the France army was always able to defeat seemingly invincible enemies at very low cost. This made many young men think that war was just a game where cannons fired, everyone sang and charged forward, and then the fools on the other side all surrendered.

Now, with the opportunity to witness a battle firsthand, even a simulated one, and the exercise taking place on a Sunday, the idle rich kids of Paris and the students of the University of Paris naturally wouldn't miss such a chance to watch. Even some of the girls from the Moulin Rouge hired carriages and had seats arranged for them. These girls might not actually enjoy fighting, but as socialites who frequently deal with foreign nobles and ambitious but incompetent university students, knowing a little about such things is important. Just like in the distant East, the old ladies of the Qinhuai River liked to carry a Japanese sword at their waist and discuss sweeping victories with their patrons. Although, if they were to actually draw their swords and practice, the result would most likely be no better than that of Brother Long.

The core of the exercise was a small hill where the Confederation of the Rhine army, responsible for defense, had completed a typical field fortification, including three trenches, three layers of barbed wire, as well as artillery and various landmines—of course, these were exercise-specific items that only smoked and did not explode.

In previous exercises by various countries, such positions held by a single division were virtually impossible to conquer by an attacking force of fewer than two divisions. Under normal circumstances, an infantry division, relying on such positions, could withstand an attack from at least three to four infantry divisions. In this exercise, however, the France army will use a single division to attack a heavily fortified position held by an equally large force. This has greatly intrigued many foreign military observers.

These foreign observers occupied the best vantage points—the summit of another, slightly higher hill, just a kilometer from the exercise site. The lower spots were filled with locals who had come from Paris for a picnic and to watch the spectacle.

Some people even kept trying to get closer to the exercise area in order to get a better view, without any concern for whether they would be killed by incoming shells. This kept the Paris mounted police extremely busy, and their horses were exhausted.

This is hardly unusual. In the 18th and 19th centuries, when martial spirit was prevalent, it was not uncommon for civilians to picnic and watch actual battles, let alone just drills. While soldiers fought to the death, civilians would often spread out tablecloths on the nearby grass to watch the spectacle. For example, in the original history, during the Lighthouse Country Civil War, when the Confederate and Union armies clashed near Washington, D. C., the citizens of Washington would go on picnics, bringing tablecloths and bread, to watch the soldiers being executed while enjoying their meals.

So, white people are just full of martial spirit; even war can't stop us from going out to watch the fun, have picnics, and enjoy the festivities, let alone a major flu outbreak. In short, isolation is impossible, it's impossible for us to be isolated in this lifetime, and only by going out for picnics and enjoying the outdoors can we barely maintain a semblance of life...

Around nine o'clock in the morning, French Army troops began to move into their starting positions, preparing to launch the attack. Frankly speaking, attacking at this time was not particularly appropriate. At least, that's the view of military observers from many countries, because modern warfare is increasingly favoring the defending side.

After the Battle of Verdun, various countries diligently studied this battle. Although Napoleon achieved the most brilliant victories, it was generally felt that Napoleon was not easy to emulate; if done poorly, one might end up with a poorly drawn tiger that resembled Tom instead. It was more reliable to study Joseph the Iron Wall of France.

As the various defensive tactics employed by the French Army in the Battle of Verdun gradually became familiar to other countries, everyone increasingly felt that Joseph's defensive style was truly worth learning. Even Archduke Charles and Marshal Suvorov, after learning about the defense of Verdun, praised Joseph's defensive tactics highly.

As everyone studied Joseph Defense Technique, they increasingly felt that attacking was suicidal. If an attack was absolutely necessary, it should be done at night when visibility was poor. This way, while the efficiency of the attacker would decrease, the efficiency of the defender would also decrease, perhaps even more so.

However, launching an attack around 9 or 10 a. m. would, in their view, be far more advantageous to the defending side. Therefore, the French attacking French Army's offensive at this time was seen by military observers from various countries as a deliberate show of force.

"I'd like to see what tricks they have up their sleeves!" thought General Bagration, the Russia observer.

At this point, the French Army began their artillery preparations. France cannons opened fire on targets in the defending positions.

The main purpose of such shelling was to destroy some of the more obvious fortifications. Of course, at this time, without high-explosive shells and with the defenders all hiding in trenches, such shelling did not put much pressure on the defenders. At most, it could only destroy some relatively easy-to-damage fortifications—such as breastworks.

However, the France artillery quickly caught them off guard. First, the France artillery fired at an alarmingly high rate, significantly faster than they were used to. In the time it took their troops to fire one shot, the France could fire three or four.

Secondly, the accuracy of the French Army artillery shells was also quite astonishing. Even when firing from two kilometers away, the French Army could accurately hit low targets like breastworks. Moreover, the destructive power of their shells was also quite astonishing; each hit could cause a whole row of breastworks to collapse.

But would such an attack effectively help the attackers break through the defenses? Bagration quietly shook his head. Although he disliked rigid defensive warfare and preferred offensive operations, his rationality told him that this alone was not enough.

French Army soldiers began to appear in everyone's view. Bagration was surprised to find that the French Army uniforms had undergone a huge change. The original blue shirts and white trousers had been replaced by a sleazy, brightly colored uniform. However, this uniform also had a very unique effect: they were almost impossible to see from a distance, even with binoculars.

"It's like wearing a white cloak when we go hunting in winter," Bagration thought to himself, when he heard someone next to him angrily say in German, "How can this be? Such a tacky uniform will lower the honor of the army. I'd rather be shot than wear such a uniform!"

Bagration turned his head and saw an Austria officer with an angry expression on his face.

"How could there be such a person? Hasn't Austria been taught a lesson by the France and become more pragmatic?" Bagration couldn't help but think.

In fact, Bagration somewhat misunderstood the Austria. When watching the exercise, the two men took on different roles. Bagration was on the offensive side; he knew that the Joseph Defense tactic had spread to Russia and Russia traditional enemy, the Green Rome. Russia had always been on the offensive against the Green Rome, so Bagration frequently considered how to break through the Joseph Defense in an attack. Therefore, during the exercise, he naturally tended to empathize with the offensive side.

But the Austria were different; their current military strategy was primarily defensive. Anything new that reduced the effectiveness of their defenses naturally abhorred them. Therefore, they were emotionally inclined towards the defensive side. This new uniform they were seeing could clearly reduce the efficiency of the defensive to some extent—how could they not be furious?

Then they saw the France artillery begin to change ammunition, their shells continuously landing on the front lines of the defensive positions, followed by thick smoke rising from where the shells landed, immediately reducing visibility in the vicinity of the battlefield.

"Damn it! How could this be!" the Austria officer exclaimed, displeased. "But there are landmines ahead! I want to see how the France clear them!"

At this point, the defending side also began firing their artillery. Because it was an exercise, no actual shells fell after the firing began. However, after each round of shelling, the Directorate would withdraw a certain number of the French Army soldiers from the battle. Of course, the use of smoke grenades and the decrease in visibility reduced this percentage.

France soldiers approached the minefield. Several French Army pushed a vehicle closer, with a rocket mounted on it. The France soldiers secured the vehicle, then stepped aside and lit the rocket. The rocket flew up, trailing a long rope-like object.

"I've seen this before," Andrei explained to his friends from a lower elevation. "That's how we in the power sector get power lines across rivers and valleys."

Perhaps because the rope at the back was too thick and too heavy, the rocket didn't fly very far before falling to the ground. The rope attached to the rocket naturally fell down as well, landing right on the minefield. Then an explosion occurred—it turned out that the thick rope wasn't a rope at all, but rather explosives contained in a rubber tube.

"Great idea!" Bagration slammed his fist into his palm. "In that way, a safe passage can be cleared in the minefield in an instant!"