My Italy - Chapter 686 The End of the Battle of Paris

The capture of Nice represented the end of the Battle of Nice. After Lieutenant General Fast retreated with the French army, the Southern Army continued to occupy Antibes, Cannes and other places one after another.

During this period, the Italian army also encountered small-scale fighting against French militiamen who were unwilling to evacuate their homeland. However, these people were poorly equipped, poorly trained, and small in number. They could not be easily wiped out by the French army without even setting off a wave.

Of course, there were still some French troops who did not want to give up their positions, but for the Italian troops who broke through the Nice Mountains (the most dangerous), this was not up to them. After a battle, they were basically recaptured by the Italian troops. And seize

The Battle of Nice ended after occupying the entire Nice area.

According to subsequent understanding, the French army dispatched a total of 10 divisions and other troops in this battle, totaling 210,000 people. The Italian army dispatched a total of 13 divisions and more than 260,000 other troops.

After fierce fighting, the French army suffered 18,000 deaths, 57,000 wounded, 32,000 prisoners, and more than 3,000 missing, for a total loss of 110,000 people. The attacking Italian army suffered 15,000 deaths, 43,000 injuries, more than 500 prisoners, and more than 1,000 missing, for a total loss of 60,000 people.

If the 11th Army hadn’t broken into Nice’s flank and caused an uproar, it would have been impossible for the Southern Army to capture Nice at such a low cost.

The various difficult terrains and solid positions along the way gave the officers and soldiers of the Southern Group a headache. In addition, in this battle of Nice, there was a weapon that the officers and soldiers were full of praise for, and that was the 240mm heavy mortar.

This mortar that can fire 240mm shells weighs only 840 kilograms. Although its range is only 4,500 meters, it is enough for mountainous terrain.

Because of its portability, great power, and sufficient range, few of the French army’s fortifications in the mountains along the route could withstand its attacks. It was truly a weapon for mountain warfare.

This gun was also the latest developed by the Turin Arsenal. 24 guns were urgently produced for use by the Southern Front Army, and the effect was surprisingly good.

The end of the Battle of Nice gave Italy the energy to start the Egyptian campaign, but before that, the world-famous Battle of Paris had come to an end.

Starting on May 27, the Battle of Paris was the focus of attention of Britain and France. Even if Italy is causing trouble in North Africa and France, they will concentrate on dealing with the Germans in the Paris area and will not give up until Paris is taken back.

Britain and France continued to accumulate troops in Paris, trying to use flesh and blood as a basis to win the Battle of Paris step by step. Although their method has many shortcomings, it is still very effective with the support of huge troops.

The British and French troops also paid the price of fear and finally advanced the defense line to the vicinity of Saint-Denis. There was no way, it was too difficult for the British and French to capture Pontepuian. The German army’s trenches, barbed wire, machine guns and other defense fortifications made the British and French soldiers’ legs and feet tremble.

Especially after more than 80,000 people in Bonteru were shot and killed by machine guns, the British army paid special attention to the density of machine guns. It was also because the huge casualties suffered one day at Bonteru frightened the British officers and soldiers. When a large number of artillery was delayed for two days, German reinforcements also arrived.

As a result, the two parties fought around Bonteru, leaving craters everywhere around the town. From the air, it looked like the surface of the moon.

After fighting for more than half a month, I found that I really couldn’t beat the opponent. Admiral Haig had no choice but to make a new choice. He decided to abandon the attack on Bonteru and instead attack Lièreville to the southeast, stretching the front to find loopholes.

For this reason, he told his idea to General Galieni, the commander of the right-wing French army, and it didn’t take long for the other party to agree with his idea.

The French army was better than the British army. They had just captured Seri, but when the casualty figures were presented to General Gallieni, even he, a veteran general, felt his heart bleed. There were 130,000 casualties. You must know that the enemy only deployed 140,000 people on the front line of Seri. Later, others retreated and brought back at least half of the troops.

This loss is too big. How should we fight the next battle?

Both commanders felt heavy pressure, which is why General Gallieni agreed to pivot, abandon the first battle plan and retarget the second battle plan.

As a result, the two sides began to turn around almost at the same time. They no longer continued to attack Pontepu, but changed to a more achievable goal and attacked Saint-Vie.

As a result, the two men immediately turned their guns and attacked Lièreville and Vere, trying to pass through here and open the road to Saint-Vie. But it is not easy to get through Shengwei. General Kluck had already deployed two divisions of troops here, and there were still 20,000 troops at Villeparcy, 7 kilometers behind him.

General Kluck had already seen that the enemy did not want to fight him in the urban area of ​​Paris, so Paris did not need so many people. He left one army to defend, and the others deployed layers of interceptions in the direction of the British and French attacks, trying to use a net to trap the enemy. Troops stopped.

After continuous fighting, although Britain and France captured two places, they still found that they had suffered too many casualties. If they really followed the plan, their soldiers might have rebelled before they reached Saint-Victor.

So they continued to narrow down the campaign targets, and Saint-Denis became an acceptable target for them. Then let’s continue the fight. The British and French armies chose Saint-Denis, 6 kilometers away from Paris, as their target.

However, although the appetite has become smaller, the German army still needs to be driven out of Paris.

How could this be possible? How could Admiral Kluck be allowed to do so.

Nothing to say, keep fighting.

So around the German army’s retreat in Paris, the two sides continued to fight bloody battles in Villepinte, Marina, Cergy and other places.

Troops were used in the area, and the two sides were fighting so hard that they didn’t even have enough body bags. The treatment of wounded soldiers was even more of a headache. To this end, the government also summoned hundreds of domestic surgeons and more than a thousand nurses to provide support.

However, as they fought, some British and French soldiers found that the German army opposite them was slowly getting weaker. The opposing soldiers’ shots were not accurate enough and occasionally showed panicked expressions.

Soon this information reached the ears of the two commanders Haig and Gallieni. At this point they all found that the chance to win had come. As a result, more troops and more violent attacks attacked these weak points. They wore no make-up and showed off their appearance, driving the Germans out of Paris.

Soon they successively conquered Villepinte, Marina, Cergy and other places, all the way to a position only 7 or 8 kilometers away from Saint-Denis.

If General Kluck hadn’t boldly deployed a division from Paris and blocked the enemy with the only three divisions he had in hand, then the opponent would probably have rushed into Saint-Denis in one go.

The main reason why the German army was at a disadvantage in Paris and was gradually being driven out of Paris was that the German army did not have enough troops in the Paris area.

Although Moltke continued to mobilize troops, the Eastern Front, domestic reserves, and newly formed troops, the available troops in the Paris area were never enough. Faced with the constant shortage of troops in the Paris area, the anxious Xiao Maoqi made a mistake. He also put some troops who had not completed training into Paris.

Faced with the harm to the war situation in Paris due to his foolish move, Xiao Maoqi also felt regretful. Faced with the situation that Paris was about to be surrounded, he reluctantly gave an order to General Kluck, asking him to withdraw his troops from Paris and retreat to Goussainville. This is a small town in the northern suburbs of Paris, 15 kilometers away from Paris.

Even though he knew that the furious emperor would remove him from his post, the situation no longer allowed the troops to stay in Paris.

As Moltke’s order was issued, the German troops in Paris gradually evacuated back through Saint-Denis. After the German troops retreated, the British and French troops finally captured Saint-Denis. At this time, they were unable to attack the German troops retreating to Goussainville. The enemy was covered with wounds and they themselves were bleeding profusely.

On November 12, Paris finally returned to French hands.

The goal of encircling and annihilating the German army was not achieved, but the news that Paris was recaptured was encouraging enough.

In this Battle of Paris, Britain, France and Germany invested a total of 2.78 million troops, of which Britain and France invested 1.59 million troops, while Germany invested 1.19 million troops.

Among them, the British as the attacker suffered 410,000 casualties, the French suffered 450,000 casualties, and the Allied Powers suffered 860,000 casualties in total. As the defender, the German army suffered 690,000 casualties. Total casualties on both sides reached 1.45 million.

Such huge casualties not only shocked other countries, but also the three countries participating in the Battle of Paris, Britain, France and Germany.