Napoleon II Reborn

Chapter 327: Plymouth Landing (on)

(Chapter 1 arrives, there will be chapter 1 later)

On May 19, Xiao Jie and his group left Przemysl and started their journey back to Paris. In this peace talks, France can be said to be the biggest winner. Not only did it receive large sums of war reparations from Austria, Russia, and Prussia, but it also took the opportunity to expand its territory and sphere of influence, and temporarily achieved a truce on the Eastern Front, allowing France to devote its main energy to the war against Britain.

On the way back to Paris, Xiao Jie kept thinking about who should be rewarded for the five duchies split from Prussia? Dougal and Eke must be indispensable. As Xiao Jie's earliest followers, they must be indispensable for this canonization. The commander of the navy, Marshal Burt, also made outstanding achievements, and one of the five principalities should have him. There are also a group of veterans such as Marshal Davout. They have made great contributions to the empire no matter during the period of Napoleon or during the period when Xiao Jie ascended the throne. Therefore, they should also be included in this canonization. . In addition, the cabinet members of the government should also be canonized in terms of merit, as well as Xiao Jie's group of partners, but if this is the case, the number of principalities is far from enough.

There is no way, Xiao Jie can only confer on the military side first, and the government can only wait until later. Anyway, the war is not over yet, and France will definitely get more territory in the future, which is naturally enough to reward these important ministers of the empire.

After consideration, Xiao Jie finally decided to confer the titles of Dougal as Grand Duke of Hamburg, Eck as Grand Duke of Bremen, Davout as Grand Duke of Hannover, Bessière as Grand Duke of Dortmund, and Burt as Grand Duke of Eifel. Marshal Lanz and Marshal Saint-Cyr are left. Marshal Saint-Cyr is not as qualified as Marshal Lanz, so he can let it go for a while, but Marshal Lanz is no good. As a group of marshals who have been promoted with Marshal Davout, this time Naturally, his reward is indispensable. Fortunately, Austria also ceded a piece of territory to France, which happened to be used now. Lanz was also canonized as Grand Duke of Salzburg.

On June 4, Xiao Jie and his party returned to Paris. The people of Paris organized a grand welcome ceremony to celebrate France's great victory on the Eastern Front.

On June 5th, Xiao Jie held a canonization ceremony for Du Geer and others in the Hall of Honor for Soldiers. They also became the first batch of nobles in Xiao Jie's empire to receive fiefdoms, making others envious. At the same time, Xiao Jie also canonized the kings of the three countries of the Rhineland Confederation. The Kingdom of Bavaria, the Kingdom of Saxony and the Kingdom of Thuringia officially became the vassal states of France. Almost the same as Prussia, their capitals also have their own legal rights. Their troops were stationed, and their troops were also trained and led by the French army, and they would also be a favorable supplement to the French army in the event of war.

On June 7, Xiao Jie participated in the war meeting against Britain held by the General Staff, preparing to open up a new battlefield in Britain.

"Everyone, now that the war on the Eastern Front has subsided and we have achieved a decisive victory, it is time to deal with the old enemy of Britain." Xiao Jie said, glancing at the marshals and generals who came to the meeting.

Afterwards, under the auspices of Eck, the meeting officially began: "After more than two months of preparations, we have made preparations for landing operations in the UK. As soon as the combat plan is formulated, the attack can begin immediately. However, at the beginning of the campaign Before, we had to choose a landing point. Due to the barrier of the strait, it was impossible for us to launch a full-scale attack like attacking other countries. After the demonstration of the staff department, we initially believed that the landing point could be selected in Portsmouth and Dover. Choose Everyone knows the reason for Portsmouth. The Isle of Wight has been occupied by our army. Now we have 4 divisions of the Marine Corps there. The main force of the Mediterranean Fleet is also stationed on the island. At the same time, we are still on the island. A large amount of military supplies have been hoarded on the ground. If we land here, our advantages are very prominent. However, the disadvantages are also very prominent. The British army has deployed a full 8 divisions with 120,000 people in this area. If our army is here If you land, you will definitely encounter huge resistance. Even with the help of the navy, our army can land successfully, but it will definitely be contained in this area, unable to attack in depth. Dover is the closest place to France in the UK It is only 30 kilometers away from Calais. If our army lands here, we can save a lot of attack time. At the same time, it is also very close to London, so we can launch an attack on London very quickly after landing. But The British army must also be aware of this. So far, the British side has deployed two infantry divisions and one artillery brigade in Dover, about 38,000 people. There are also two infantry divisions and one cavalry brigade deployed in Nearby, we can reach Dover in two hours at most. Therefore, if we choose this place as the landing point, we will encounter considerable resistance.” At the beginning of the meeting, Eck introduced the current situation and problems.

"I would like to ask how many troops the UK currently has, how many troops can be invested in the war, and how many troops can we deploy to land in the UK?" Davout raised his question.

Eck replied: "Before the war began, Britain had 22 infantry divisions and a few independent artillery brigades and cavalry brigades, with a total strength of about 400,000. Among them, 12 infantry divisions were deployed in England. Now this The number increased to 14. The remaining 8 infantry divisions were deployed in Ireland, Wales and Scotland. Among them, 3 in Ireland, 1 in Wales, and 4 in Scotland. After the British naval base Portsmouth Naval Harbor was destroyed by us, the British began In order to recruit troops, 15 new infantry divisions were formed. After nearly three months of training, they have basically formed combat effectiveness. These troops are basically deployed in England. In addition, after the British Navy was completely defeated by us, the British Army Recruitment has started again, and 30 new infantry divisions have been recruited. At present, these infantry divisions have been recruited and put into training. However, it will take at least two months for them to form combat effectiveness. Therefore, the UK can probably invest in it at present. There are 29 infantry divisions and some independent artillery brigades and cavalry brigades, with a total strength of about 500,000 people. Our army plans to invest 6 marine divisions and the 89th Army Corps, with a total of 200,000 people. However, if the time delays, The more British troops there are, the more disadvantageous it will be for us."

"200,000 vs. 500,000, isn't the disparity too great?" Marshal Lanshi said worriedly.

"You can rest assured about this. Although the British army is more than twice as large as ours, the real combat effectiveness is only the regular army before their conscription, and their number is only about 280,000. But their Compared with our army's elite Marine Corps and the 89th Corps, the combat effectiveness is still much worse." Dougal explained with a smile. It's not that he's arrogant, it's just the way it is. The soldiers of the Marine Corps are all selected from the army, and their training and weapons and equipment are higher than those of the army, and their combat effectiveness can also be imagined. As for the 89th Legion, its combat effectiveness is also much stronger than the average legion. Because they are trained and equipped according to the standards of the 88th Corps, although their combat effectiveness is a little worse than that of the 88th Corps, it is also higher than other legions. Compared with the British Army, it is naturally much higher. Therefore, with 200,000 elites on the French side against the 500,000 British army, the chances of winning are still very high.

"Portsmouth and Dover are both very good landing points for our landing, but Britain has deployed a strong army in these two places. If we land in these two places, we will encounter The resistance is also quite large." Marshal Besières said with a frown.

Similarly, Xiao Jie was also thinking about this question. In his opinion, the best landing place is undoubtedly Portsmouth, but the British army has deployed heavy troops there. Even if the landing is successful, the casualties will definitely be huge. How can we successfully land on ~lightnovelpub.net~ with minimum casualties and achieve maximum results? Xiao Jie fell into deep thought. I remember that during World War II, the Allied forces were also taken by surprise in order to land in France. At that time, Hitler deployed heavy troops in Calais, but the Allied forces went farther and farther. They successfully feinted in Calais, and then successfully landed on the Normandy peninsula. It made that battle a classic battle in World War II. So, can this strategy be used in the same way for the British landing now? Xiao Jie carefully studied the map of England. The Normandy Peninsula in France is facing north, which is the southwestern part of the United Kingdom. It is also an area where the British army's defense is relatively weak. If you land from here and then attack eastward, you may be able to achieve good results.

"Why don't we consider landing in other places? Besides Portsmouth and Dover, there are many other places where we can land." Xiao Jie glanced at everyone who was contemplating, and suggested in conversation.

"That's right. At present, the British army has deployed its main forces in Portsmouth and Dover, which has just left the troops in other areas empty. If we seize this opportunity, we will be able to succeed." Dugel was full of excitement. Said. Just now, everyone fell into a strange circle, and their thinking was limited to Portsmouth and Dover. Once reminded, everyone's thinking immediately broadened a lot.

After discussion, everyone agreed that Plymouth was the most suitable place for landing, so Plymouth was chosen as the landing point for this battle.