On the entire western front, the two most explosive points are Tsaritsyn and Smolensk.

In the end, the northern line of Smolensk ended with the Ming Dynasty's retreat.

In European newspapers, in addition to exaggerating the Smolensk Massacre, the rest was news boasting of Prussia's victory in the war against the Ming Dynasty.

All of Europe was praising the Prussian soldiers, and various donations and aid materials were also flowing to the northern front.

The performance of the French on the southern front seemed much inferior to that of the Prussians.

Although the French also captured cities like Omur and Kharkiv.

These two cities are more strategic than Smolensk!

Unfortunately, a massacre of Polish soldiers was discovered in the Katyn Forest on the outskirts of Smolensk.

The hot news suddenly focused on Smolensk.

Except for French newspapers, no other newspapers in Europe reported the victories of Omuir and Kharkov.

At most, it is just a small piece of tofu on the newspaper, or even hidden in the middle of the newspaper. It is impossible to see it clearly without a good eye.

Now the opportunity for the French has come. Tsaritsyn is the most important city in southern Russia and the most important crossing on the Volga River.

There is no one way to say it!

Now, after hard work, the French finally saw Tsaritsyn.

"Your Majesty! Our army has now advanced to a place thirty kilometers outside Tsaritsyn. Here are the field fortifications and positions laid out by the Ming Dynasty and the Russians.

Our army has been attacking for three consecutive days and has advanced five kilometers. I believe that tomorrow we will break through this line of defense and attack Tsaritsyn."

Forion held a stick in his hand and gestured at a huge battle map.

In front of him stood the French Emperor Napoleon.

The life of this emperor, known as the God of War in Europe, is almost a history of war.

He went on an expedition to Egypt for France, and once led his army to win the Battle of Austerlitz despite being at a disadvantage.

Under his command, the French army once swept across Europe. Except for the British hiding overseas, other countries were directly attacked by the French army.

The victory in the Battle of Smolensk made Napoleon feel humiliated. Moreover, this victory strengthened Napoleon's confidence.

It seems that the Ming army is not as powerful as imagined.

Moreover, according to the news from Prussia, the Ming Army armored forces were ambushing Moscow's flanks.

Prepare to outflank the Prussian army attacking Moscow.

pity!

The Prussian army got the news. They no longer thought about attacking Moscow, but stayed on the west bank of the Dnieper River to set up defensive positions.

Throughout the winter, they had no intention of crossing the Dnieper River.

The absence of the most feared Ming armored force gave Napoleon great confidence. He came to the Tsaritsyn front line to personally command this battle that will go down in history.

“Tsaritsyn is backed by the Volga River, and all supplies are stored on the east bank of the Volga River.

In this way, we can only chew it inch by inch.

We had to find a place to cross the river and cross the Volga River before we could directly attack the Ming army's supply base on the east bank of the Volga River.

As long as Tsaritsyn's supplies are cut off, we will soon be able to win.

After investigation, the locations for crossing the river were chosen here, here and here."

Forion pointed to several locations on the map along the Volga River.

After reading this, Napoleon nodded frequently. It must be said that the crossing locations chosen by Forion were ideal.

It's just..., Napoleon looked at the gloomy sky outside.

At this time, the Volga River was full of ice floes.

A large number of ice cubes float on the water surface with the current.

Last night, he went to the river bank to see it in person. The "sand" and "sand" of ice floes rubbing against each other sounded a bit scary!

Letting soldiers cross the Volga River by boat at this time would be tantamount to suicide.

Especially after soldiers fell into the river, their bodies would lose body temperature quickly, and they would freeze to death before they even had time to struggle.

"Your plan is very attractive, but it's a pity!

The people of the Ming Dynasty were not fools. They had already deployed defenses along the coast.

If you can imagine the locations you mentioned, the generals of the Ming Dynasty would naturally want them too.

For example, in this place called Marinava Village, there is a small mound more than thirty meters high on the east bank.

Although crossing the river here is ideal, the Ming army only needs to set up a few machine guns on the small high ground.

A good artillery observation post can prevent a division of troops from crossing the river.

There are problems of one kind or another here and here.

Forion, although your idea is good, it is difficult to realize.

Even if all your ideas were realized, the troops successfully crossed the Volga River.

But what are you going to do with the logistical supplies of the attacking troops after you cross the river?

All using airships?

Don't forget, airships are not allowed to fly within ten kilometers of the battle line.

This is because there are no planes on the southern route.

If Ming army aircraft appear on the southern front, our airships will only be able to perform missions at night.

In that case, the logistical supplies of your troops will be even more unguaranteed."

In a few words, Napoleon vetoed Friant's combat deployment.

Forion seemed a little unconvinced, but he did not have the courage to argue with His Majesty the Emperor.

After all, His Majesty the Emperor is not a playboy who doesn't know how to fight.

He was truly an iron-blooded emperor who fought hard on the battlefield, and no monarch in Europe could match his achievements.

"Then..., Your Majesty the Emperor, we can only chew it inch by inch? Then the cost of our casualties will be too high!

According to intelligence coming from inside sources, all the residents of Tsaritsyn City have been moved away.

Every house was turned into a fortress, and trenches were dug even in the middle of the block.

Countless bombproof holes were dug.

Moreover, the Ming army also increased its troops in large numbers. To this end, they even laid a branch line of the Central Asia Railway to facilitate trains to reach the east bank of the Volga River.

They also built a pontoon bridge on the Volga River so that their supplies could continuously enter Tsaritsyn.

And as you said, they have started building an airport on the east bank of the Volga River.

I heard that the progress is very fast, especially now that the weather has turned colder, the laying speed will be faster."

"Your Majesty, meteorologists say that there will be a large-scale cooling in about ten days.

The temperature will drop below minus 20 degrees. According to the Prussians, after the ground freezes and hardens, the Ming Dynasty will dispatch tanks and armored vehicles.

Those things are very difficult for us to deal with."

"Yes! Tanks and armored vehicles, plus aircraft, will be very difficult to deal with. The Poles have learned from their mistakes!"

"Getting into street fighting will be very detrimental to our army."

"It is difficult for our soldiers to adapt to such cold weather."

"Yes! Back in Moscow...!"

The French army has painful memories of the severe cold in Russia.

Napoleon's defeat in Moscow was largely due to the harsh climate at the time.

The climate throughout Russia this year is even worse than that year.

In November, freezing rain fell from the sky.

The road conditions were terrible and logistical supplies were extremely difficult. Without airships, supplies for both sides of the war could not even be maintained.

Seeing that it is December, it is also the time when the cold wave is coming, and the weather will be even colder at that time.

Thinking about Moscow back then, all French generals shuddered.

"Quiet! Quiet!"

Napoleon felt the need to interrupt the generals' discussion!

He found that the French army was afraid of the cold climate.

If so, how can we win this war in the coming severe cold?

This is a war related to the fate of France in the future!
To be continued...