Chapter Seventeen: The Strategic Master

  On September 9, 1888, under the personal chairmanship of Emperor Frederick III, the Imperial General Staff secretly conducted a later very famous strategic map exercise.

  The participants in the exercise were the Imperial Army led by Mao Qi and the Imperial Navy led by Feng Chengqian.

  The German Second Empire never published the results of this exercise, but it can be seen from the participants that this sand table exercise was extraordinary.

  Moltke was surrounded by Waldersee and Schlieffen, both of whom were renowned imperial generals.

  Feng Chengqian was surrounded by a group of young officers in their twenties and thirties. However, more than twenty years later, these officers became famous marshals of the empire without exception.

  The list of officers playing the role of the imaginary enemy is: Erich Ludendorff, Bernhard von Dirmstein, Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria, Prince Heinrich, Albrecht of Württemberg, Felix von Bothmer, Alexander Freiherr von Falkenhausen, Otto von Below, Erich von Falkenhayn, Fritz von Below, Josias von Heeringen, Georg von Bruchmüller, Max Hoffmann.

  Of course, at that time, there were also famous generals among the officers responsible for planning the German army's operations.

  Before the game began, Wade made a bold statement that he would defeat this group of arrogant young players within twenty-four hours.

  As a result, this exercise did not end within twenty-four hours but instead lasted for a whole week.

  Although the German army was ultimately victorious, a group of young officers led by Feng Chengqian opened the eyes of Moltke and Waldersee, who were very proud of themselves.

  More importantly, he did not disappoint Emperor Frederick III.

  After the exercise, Frederick III promoted Rüdiger and others on the spot, and even broke the rules to promote Hoffman, a reserve officer, to second lieutenant.

  The first result of this push was that Mao Qi formally tendered his resignation at the end of September.

  Frederick III did not retain Moltke, allowing him to retire home, and appointed Waldersee as the Chief of the General Staff of the Empire, while Schlieffen was promoted to Quartermaster General of the Imperial Army.

  At a banquet celebrating Waldersee's appointment as Chief of the General Staff, von Falkenstein focused his attention on Schlieffen.

  At this time, Schlieffen was just a supporting actor.

  Feng Chengqian knew that in a few more years, Shiliufen would become the main character, and the imperial military strategic plan proposed by him and named after him would make him the most famous strategist in imperial history, and at one stroke bring down the empire's military strategy for decades to come.

  "Congratulations, General." At the same time as his promotion to Quartermaster General, Schlieffen also received the rank of Colonel-General in the Imperial German Army.

  "The earl was polite, and you should also be congratulated."

  Feng Chengqian smiled, seeing the emergence of so many young and promising generals, Emperor Frederick III was also delighted to grant Feng Chengqian the rank of Imperial Navy Lieutenant General.

  This was merely an honorary rank; before receiving his diploma from the Imperial Navy School, Feng still held a civilian position.

  "In a few years, he will become the Chief of Staff of the Empire." Feng Chengqian looked around and said, "At that time, there will definitely be an even more luxurious banquet."

  "Count, I never thought of it." Compared with Wadsee, Schlieffen was very low-key.

  "It doesn't matter whether he thought about it or not, if he weren't a senior general, General Ward probably wouldn't have become the Chief of Staff either."

  "What's the meaning of this?"

  "If the plan of the commander-in-chief can be carried out, the outcome of the battle will definitely be different."

  "I'm just assisting the marshal, how can it be considered my merit?"

  "General is too polite, as far as I know, you are the real planner."

  Schiffen forced a smile and didn't respond to Feng Chengqian's words.

  "I really want to know what kind of result it would be if the general's plan is carried out."

  "I'm afraid it will have to wait until after the war breaks out."

  "It's not necessarily the case that one has to go onto the battlefield to know the outcome." Feng Chengqian paused for a moment before continuing, "The strategic plan proposed by the general in the simulation is mainly based on attacking from the west and defending from the east. The core of this plan lies in quickly defeating the French army at an even faster pace than the Battle of Sedan, then marching towards Paris and forcing France to surrender. After that, we will shift our troops to the eastern front and launch a heavy attack, defeating the Russian army in one fell swoop."

  Schlieffen did not say a word, and this was indeed his strategic conception.

  "There's one thing I don't understand, how much time does the general plan to spend defeating France?"

  "That depends on the actual situation."

  "What's going on?"

  Schlieffen knew that von Moltke had come prepared, without asking for any reason, he would not give up. "In my opinion, the main thing is to decide on the situation in the East."

  "What the General meant was, as long as the German army could hold out on the Eastern Front, they could also attack for just as long on the Western Front."

  Schlieffen nodded, meaning just that.

  "Then, has the commander ever thought that the Russian army may not be able to break through our eastern defense line at all?"

  "This..."

  "We can quickly mobilize troops between the Eastern and Western fronts, and concentrate our forces to launch a strategic attack. There is an extremely important foundation for this, that is, the empire has a relatively perfect railway network." Feng Chengqian paused slightly and said, "Does Russia's European region have a similar railway network? If the Empire defends in the East first, it can fully utilize the advantages of interior line warfare, while Russia does not have a basis for attack."

  Schiff nodded thoughtfully, indicating that he understood Feng Chengqian's meaning.

  "It can be seen that Russia is unlikely to achieve anything on the Eastern Front. The key is whether the Empire can win quickly on the Western Front, rather than engaging in a war of attrition."

  "What does 'Earl' mean?"

  "If it were me, I would concentrate the main force on the Western Front and leave only a small number of troops on the Eastern Front, about one-tenth of the total strength of the Imperial Army."

  "Isn't this also too reckless?"

  Feng Chengqian smiled and said, "The greater the risk, the greater the gain."

  "But..."

  "I understand what the General is getting at. East Prussia is the root of the Empire, and if we lose East Prussia, I'm afraid we'll be torn apart by the Junker nobles."

  Schlieffen smiled bitterly, he also meant this.

  "The problem is that if we don't concentrate an absolutely superior force on the Western Front, the Commander-in-Chief's strategic plan cannot be realized at all."

  "This..."

  "If I'm not mistaken, the core of this plan is a right-wing assault, attacking the French army's left wing, avoiding a head-on battle on the main battlefield, then making a beeline for Paris, occupying it and forcing France to surrender. This large-scale encircling attack emphasizes troop deployment."

  "The Earl is right, mobilizing troops should be the top priority."

  "The problem is, once we invade France, our advantage will be gone."

  "This..."

  "We have forgotten that we can deploy heavy troops on the Western Front, relying on our strong domestic railway network. However, entering France from Belgium, there is no railway network to support large-scale troop attacks. Even if there were, it would be destroyed by the enemy and difficult for us to use."

  "The meaning of Earl is..."

  "It is clear that the deeper the imperial army penetrates into France, the more its logistics fall behind, and the greater the pressure on the troops to fight, until they are unable to move forward."

  Schlieffen nodded thoughtfully, he had indeed overlooked this point.

  "It can be seen that a quick victory will be the key to winning on the Western Front, and any delay will lead to disastrous consequences." Feng Chengqian paused for a moment, then said, "If the Western Front becomes a protracted war of attrition, does the General still think we can win on the Eastern Front?"

  "This..."

  "If both sides engage in a war of attrition, with the Empire's strength, it will probably lose within three years due to depletion of resources."

  "The Earl's words are reasonable, we must fight a quick battle and concentrate our forces on the Western Front."

  Feng Chengqian smiled and said: "General, we can't just know one without knowing the other."

  "The meaning of Earl is..."

  "It would be best if we could defeat France in a short period of time, but the problem is that if we can't defeat France in a short period of time, the Western Front will definitely become a graveyard for soldiers." Feng Chengqian looked at Schlieffen and said, "So, General, how confident are you that you can defeat France within several weeks after the start of the war?"

  "This..."

  "We must also consider a question, namely whether Britain will go to war and send an expeditionary force to the continent in case of a French defeat."

  Schlieffen's eyebrows jumped a few times, and his expression became even more severe.

  "If it does, then the situation will be even more unfavorable for us and may even cause us to lose the opportunity to win quickly on the Western Front."

  Schlieffen nodded thoughtfully and began to think seriously about the question raised by Feng Chengqian.

  "General, I think it's necessary to draw up a contingency plan."

  "Contingency plan?"

  "If the Western Front cannot be won quickly, we can only place our hopes on the Eastern Front, defeating Russia with lightning speed and solving the problem of being attacked from both sides, and then deciding the outcome on the Western Front against England and France." Feng Chengqian paused for a moment before continuing, "It is undeniable that British aid will greatly increase French strength, but Britain's advantage lies at sea, not on land. If we can defeat France before Britain completes its war mobilization, we can still achieve victory. Even if we cannot, we also have the hope of forcing England and France to negotiate a peace treaty before our resources are exhausted."

  "If that is indeed the case, then a more detailed strategic plan must be drawn up, and not just a military one."

  "What the General said is extremely right, as imperial soldiers, we must consider further than others, prepare a complete strategy to meet the needs of the unexpected. Fortunately, we still have enough time, at least France and Russia do not yet have the capital to declare war on us."

  "The Earl's reputation is well-known abroad and is not exaggerated. However, with the Earl willing to take charge of the Navy, isn't it a bit of a waste of his talent?"

  "General, you're too kind. As for the army, I'm still an outsider. With a commander like you, the Imperial Army will surely be invincible in battle and never falter."

  Both of them burst out laughing, and Schrifen had a few more good impressions of Feng Chengqian.

  ;