Chapter 924

Humans are vulnerable in the face of nature. The Battle of the Rhine continued, but the intensity of the war was limited by the heavy snow.

It's not that the attacking French army doesn't work hard, it's just that the snow and ice weather is too annoying. It not only affected the offensive on the front line, but also increased the difficulty of logistical transportation.

Even if the two million troops do nothing, the daily consumption of supplies is an astronomical figure, not to mention that they are still fighting?

Facts have once again proved that fighting deep into the enemy's territory is not that simple.

That's right, Belgium and the Rhineland region are all areas with convenient transportation and a perfect railway network. The problem is that the roads were destroyed when the coalition forces retreated!

Destruction is always easier than construction. After occupying these areas, the first thing the French army did was to repair roads.

After more than a month of hard work, the roads have basically been restored, and the railways are almost repaired. It was about to be completed, but unfortunately it encountered this heavy snow again.

Bad weather affects logistics and transportation, and has become the biggest challenge for the French army at the moment, even more troublesome than the Austrian army's machine gun trenches.

After all, no matter how powerful the machine gun trench tactics are, it can only be defended on the spot. With the technology of this year, it is not possible to charge with a machine gun.

It can block the way forward of the French army, but it cannot threaten the lifeline of the French army. The logistics were different. If something went wrong, the two million French troops would be in danger.

Looking out the window, Marshal Patrice McMahon sighed. The war broke out in such a hurry that France was not prepared at all.

Who could have imagined that the huge French Empire did not even have enough military uniforms for winter? In the end, it was necessary to mobilize the people to donate cotton-padded clothes, which barely solved the soldier's cold problem.

It's not that France's industry is not strong. As the second largest textile country in the world, as long as the raw materials are sufficient, millions of sets of winter clothes can be completed in a month.

The problem lies in the raw materials. Seventy percent of the raw materials for the French cotton textile industry come from Egypt. As soon as the war broke out, cotton production in Egypt was over.

Such a large gap is not so easy to solve. Even if you want to buy from the international market, you can't find enough sources.

You must know that cotton is the same currency as grain these days. Most producers have fixed partners. If you want to win love, you need to pay a big price.

Capitalists do not have such a strong sense of the overall situation. When they are not sure whether the war will continue, they invest huge sums of money to snatch cotton, and the benefits and risks are completely disproportionate.

You must know that the French are very optimistic about this war. Mainstream public opinion generally believes that the French army will win the victory within two to three months.

In such a short time, the inventory can be used to survive, and there is no need to invest huge sums of money to take risks.

In theory, if no one is hoarding, under the circumstance of reasonable distribution, France will not be short of supplies now.

There is no way, the vast majority of the world can't compare the best interests. After the war broke out, the price of goods rose steadily, and every day it dragged on, it was a new price.

No one can live with money, and in this context, the bureaucratic efficiency of the Paris government is naturally not high.

The speed of raising materials in the early stage was too slow, which directly led to the failure of the French army to deliver enough materials to the front line before winter came. The transportation efficiency was greatly reduced under heavy snow, and the problem appeared.

"Marshal, because of the heavy snow, the transport convoy that was supposed to arrive today has just arrived in Trier and is expected to arrive a week later.

This is the third time this month that the supplies have been delayed. Since the snowfall, our supplies have not arrived on time. "

Major General John, who was in charge of the logistics of the French army, gave a bitter report.

Compared with the fat poor who is responsible for logistics distribution, the logistics transportation is much more difficult. Not only do they have to build roads by themselves, but they also face guerrilla attacks, and now they have to fight against bad weather.

If it’s just this, that’s fine. The big deal is to suffer a little bit. Anyway, there is a lot of oil and water transported, which is enough to make up for everyone’s injured hearts.

The problem is that the people who are in charge of transportation are not so obedient. If the task is heavy, they will go on strike. After all, no matter how rich the oil and water are, it cannot be divided into them.

There is no way, recruiting laborers on the spot or using prisoners of war is too risky, and it is impossible to know when to hook up with the guerrillas. Even if you don't hook up with the guerrillas, the French army can't stand the sabotage.

For the safety of logistics, the people responsible for the transportation are all their own people. Once these people make trouble, the officers can only appease them.

Receiving this bad news, Patrice McMahon frowned and thought to himself.

It wasn't long before the French army pushed the front to the Rhine River, and they were often hit by enemy air raids and suffered heavy losses, and their reserves were very limited.

From the beginning of the snowfall, the supplies of the French army fell into a state of making ends meet. Even if the intensity of the front-line firefights has been reduced and the consumption of materials has been reduced recently, it will not last long.

No way, the consumption of ammunition has decreased, but the consumption of heating materials has increased. Coal production in the Rhineland is true, but the coal mine was blown up before the Germans left, and it will take time to restore production capacity.

The most important thing is that the local people are unwilling to cooperate. Under the trend of hatred, the local people simply do not buy the French army's account.

This war has just begun, and it is far from the time to decide the winner. Even the capitalists who are used to seeing the wind and the rudder are not in a hurry to stand in line. There are only a few who ran to the French so early.

After a while, Patrice McMahon said slowly: "To generate electricity for the country shows the predicament we are facing, so that

The War Department increases the number of convoys.

The Logistics Department was ordered to prioritize the delivery of ammunition and medicines, and everyone else should go down and find a way to raise them locally as much as possible to reduce our logistical pressure. "

Raising supplies on the spot is certainly not a good idea. Originally, the relationship between the French army and the local government was tense. With such a wave, it would be difficult for the guerrillas not to develop.

"Marshal, when the enemy retreated, they destroyed the place very badly, not only blowing up the infrastructure, but also burning down the material warehouse.

The industry in Belgium and the Rhineland is really good, but in the absence of industrial raw materials, there is no way to make materials.

In particular, the local food is not very produced, and it mainly relies on imports from Austria. Because of the war, the grain trade has been interrupted for almost a month.

Local food prices have skyrocketed, and social order has deteriorated sharply. If we go to collect grain at this time, I am afraid..."

Seeing Patrice McMahon's face getting more and more ugly, Lieutenant General Albert decisively chose to shut up.

Everyone knows the problem, but the French army is about to run out of food. No matter how serious the consequences, Patrice McMahon has no choice now.

Glancing at each other, Admiral Oudino, who had committed crimes, knew that it was time to take the blame.

Too much debt does not weigh him down. The big defeat in front of him has already ruined his reputation, and he doesn't care about another infamy.

If you carry more blame, you can also sell more favors, and someone will help you to speak during the liquidation after the war, so as not to go to the military court.

"Your Excellency Lieutenant General, the problem cannot be viewed this way. After the outbreak of the war, the local residents were not completely unprepared.

As far as I know, when the enemy retreated, they did not burn all the supplies, and a large part of the food was distributed to the local people. We borrow a portion of the food for emergencies, which is not a big problem.

In addition to food, many of the materials we need can be raised locally, such as coal.

As long as everyone works hard, I believe it will not be difficult to restore coal mines. There is a shortage of labor, so we can still use prisoners of war.

Give them a task, and if they can't complete it, they will be hungry. I believe they will compromise.

It’s enough to collect other materials as much as possible. If you can raise as much as you can, find a way to transport them from the country.

If you are worried about the situation getting out of control, then drive the locals to the opposite side, just to consume the enemy's supplies. "

Oudino just said what everyone wanted to do but dared not do. Expelling the locals away is not a problem purely from a military point of view, but the political consequences are very serious.

This is continental Europe, not a backcountry colony. Once the French army expelled millions of locals, it would have to spark outrage.

Especially for many small European countries, the French can do this to Belgium and the Rhineland today, and similar things may happen to them tomorrow.

Whether it is because of the grief of the death of a rabbit or a fox, or for the safety of their own families, these small countries will always stand on the opposite side of France.

Patrice McMahon was silent, starting from the implementation of the plan to eat the enemy, and the end result of expelling the locals was the same.

People are iron rice and steel, and if they don't eat a meal, they will be very hungry. Without food in their hands, it is impossible for these locals to stay even if they want to.

Escape is a matter of sooner or later, it is nothing more than a question of direction. France will definitely not be able to go. The refugees are either fleeing to Switzerland, the Netherlands, or the German Confederation.

The expulsion of the French army is nothing more than to let the refugees who might have flowed into Switzerland and the Netherlands all enter the German Confederation, increasing the pressure on the anti-French alliance.

All of them are their own people. The French army can not help the refugees, but the coalition army cannot sit idly by.

Suddenly adding millions of mouths to eat, no matter how great the anti-French alliance is, it is enough for them to endure.