Nanyang Storm 1864

While the spring campaign was underway, the German media extensively reported on the major incident in which the Chu expeditionary force abused and used Thracian residents as cannon fodder, calling it "the most disgusting massacre of the 20th century," and doing everything in its power to smear them.

As a hostile nation, such propaganda attacks are not surprising.

What's puzzling is that media outlets in the Netherlands, Belgium, and parts of Britain and France also reprinted and reported on this matter, causing confusion and anger among some Europeans.

The diplomatic departments of the Great Empire, which spanned across Europe, quickly noticed the shift in European public opinion and immediately reported the matter to the Supreme Command of the Allied Powers, demanding that resolute action be taken to safeguard the expeditionary force's high reputation.

All actions that slander the Chu expeditionary force are attempts by the enemy to divide and weaken the allies, and must be dealt with swiftly, otherwise they will affect the entire course of the war.

The Great Chu Empire immediately sent a serious warning letter, demanding a timely response from the Allied Supreme Command.

Within five days, resolute measures must be taken against the news media that spread rumors, including, but not limited to, arresting the heads, editors and major shareholders of the newspapers that spread rumors and slander, demanding that they be tried for betrayal by attacking allies without cause, and severely punished.

Given the importance of the Battle of Istanbul, the Allied Supreme Command did not dare to be negligent and immediately pressured various countries to crack down on this part of the news media, arresting a large number of people.

By June 1918
The Central African Corps, which was established more than a year ago, and the initial volunteer divisions, totaling 500,000 to 600,000 troops, have been almost entirely depleted, leaving very little manpower.

The brutality of the European war is evident. Even without launching large-scale offensive campaigns, there were constant battles of all sizes every day, and the front lines were repeatedly contested.

It's common for hundreds or even thousands of people to be injured or killed in various battles every day.

It's understandable that the cannon fodder units, whose main tasks were patrolling, guarding, and filling trenches on the front lines, suffered particularly heavy casualties.

The highest-ranking unit of the Thracian militia that was subsequently added was a regiment.

During intense offensives, entire battalions and regiments were deployed, and very few were able to withdraw, remaining in the rear for reorganization and training.

These Thracian soldiers who were able to withdraw from the bloody battle were considered to have further training value, so they were withdrawn for military training.

On the one hand, they serve as role models and sources of hope for other cannon fodder; on the other hand, their military skills are enhanced, they are given ample food and supplies, and they are kept on the battlefield for use in more intense and brutal situations.

In other words, they are high-level cannon fodder.

The highest level of these high-ranking cannon fodder units was the infantry company, commanded by Chinese commanders. They followed the Chinese legion in battle and played the role of being at the forefront.

Each Chinese infantry regiment was equipped with more than a dozen such cannon fodder companies.

Their mission was to scout out hidden enemy firing positions and bunkers during the first wave of the assault. Once marked, they were quickly destroyed by artillery fire from the rear.

Such a dangerous mission resulted in heavy casualties, with almost entire companies being wiped out on the battlefield.

The vast Istanbul front was an incredibly bloody hellish mill, devouring tens of thousands of lives every day, its blood staining every inch of the land.

In these battles where lives are sacrificed, the Chu expeditionary force always drives its volunteer soldiers to the front.

This vicious tactic made the Germans and Ottomans on the other side extremely angry, yet they were helpless against it.

They had nowhere to retreat; behind them lay Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, and in front of them were waves of relentless enemy attacks. They had no choice but to fight to the bitter end.

These German and Austro-Hungarian soldiers fighting on the front lines were unaware that, behind the scenes, the Ottoman Empire had already contacted the Chu Kingdom and the Supreme Command to negotiate the terms of a complete surrender.

Indeed, even the corrupt and dark Ottoman Empire could not hold on any longer. Like a giant riddled with holes, it was teetering on the brink of collapse, clinging to life by the last breath.

This situation is not surprising. In this unprecedentedly brutal war, Tsarist Russia fell, Bulgaria fell, and the Ottoman Empire will soon follow in its footsteps.

The war machine of the Chu expeditionary force was constantly killing efficiently, firing endless artillery fire at the Ottoman Empire's positions every day, and the fighter planes circling in the sky were like the howls of death messengers.

Over time, even the most resilient German soldiers couldn't take it anymore, and countless were driven to madness.

Often, these German or Ottoman soldiers would rush out of the trenches in a frenzy, only to fall to the hail of bullets; this was a common occurrence.

These were soldiers driven to emotional collapse. In this hellish battlefield, all they wanted was to end their miserable lives as soon as possible so they wouldn't have to suffer any longer.

The second phase of the bloody battle continued until July 19th, when the frontline German and Austrian armies completely collapsed. Taking advantage of this, the expeditionary force launched a general offensive, and the bloody battle continued until July 21st.

By the end of the Battle of Istanbul, the Chu expeditionary force had suffered 39.8 casualties, but had eliminated more than 61.3 German and Austrian troops and captured 53.75, winning a complete victory in this decisive battle.

At this point, the entire city of Istanbul was completely exposed to the onslaught of a million-strong army, and the total defeat of the Ottoman Empire was inevitable.

November 23st

The Ottoman Empire formally surrendered to the Chu expeditionary force, and more than 100,000 expeditionary officers and soldiers marched into Istanbul and held a grand parade to mark their entry into the city.

The locals in Istanbul watched with fear as the tanks rumbled into the city. The heavily armed troops of the Great Chu Empire were terrifying, and the bloody and horrific legends about them had long been circulating, leaving a deep shadow of fear in their hearts.

Actually

More than a year after entering Europe, the total number of casualties of the Chinese-Chu Empire's army officially exceeded 10, including more than 43200 killed in action and more than 76500 wounded, though the overall losses were not significant.

The biggest losses were suffered by the cannon fodder. The initial 40 East African troops were almost entirely wiped out, along with hundreds of thousands of volunteers from Tunisia, all of whom were disbanded during the bloody battle.

Similar things

The British Indian Division and the French Algerian Division were examples of this; these numerous colonial armies were silently consumed in the war.

After the war, the casualty figures were not even counted, as if the war had never happened, and no one cared about it.

This was a common phenomenon among the great powers in the early 20th century. The British bluntly stated the essence: "As long as the blood of the Indian subcontinent is not shed, the British Empire will not lose the war." This is what frustrates the Germans the most. The world's colonial powers, such as Britain, France, and Austria, often drove their colonial armies to the front as cannon fodder to wear down the German and Austro-Hungarian armies. This deal was never worth it.

The Chu state was particularly shameless, driving local young men from the Thracian-occupied territories to the battlefield, claiming they were eagerly enlisting to fight for freedom and a bright future, and to drive out the dark rule of the Ottoman Empire.

According to the official statements released by the Chu State Expeditionary Force, the East African Corps, mainly composed of black East Africans, totaled less than 30,000 men, a reduction of more than ten times. Currently, more than half of them have been killed or wounded.

The combined Tunisian and Thracian militia totaled just over 30,000, less than 40,000, a reduction of more than tenfold. Currently, over 30% have been killed or wounded, leaving a total of around 30,000.

Statistics from wartime are a mess; there's no way to investigate them or clarify the truth, and the victors have the final say.

The surrender of the Ottoman Empire tolled the final death knell for the German-Austrian alliance and brought this unsuccessful spring campaign to a complete end.

At the end of July, a rare period of calm emerged on both the Eastern and Western fronts in Europe.

And this time

The Allied High Command was confidently planning a new offensive in Amiens, a counter-offensive in which the Allies would concentrate their superior forces to completely defeat the German army on the western front and extend the war into German territory.

The Battle of Amiens is planned to begin sometime in August, depending on the preparations and troop deployments.

Fortunately, this major battle was not related to the Great Chu Empire's expeditionary force; that was the western front, while the eastern front was now stable.

The change on the Eastern Front was that Germany successively transferred 21 divisions from there to reinforce the Western Front, thus launching a fierce spring offensive that caused great suffering to the British and French forces.

from the heart
Britain, France, and other countries absolutely hated Tsarist Russia. It was this Russia that deserted at the crucial moment, causing the Allied military group to suffer even heavier losses and almost losing the entire war.

If it weren't for the Chu expeditionary force's outstanding performance, which wiped out Bulgaria in April and the Ottoman Empire in July, the situation on the western front would have been unimaginable.

If the German army were to transfer all 40-plus divisions from the Eastern Front to the Western Front, creating an additional 600,000 German troops, the pressure on the Western Front would be even greater.

At its peak, the German-Austrian coalition forces on the eastern front had a total of 117 divisions, and the vast majority of the pressure was borne by the Chu expeditionary force. This was a major contribution made by Chu in the entire European campaign, and no one can deny it.

The victory at the Battle of Istanbul marked the beginning of a long period of rest and recuperation for the Chu expeditionary force.

The imperial decree of commendation arrived as scheduled, bestowing the title of Prince of Thrace upon the 41st prince, Chu-Zheng Hui. A large number of generals received noble titles, and all soldiers received various rewards, mostly in the form of land in Thrace and Tunisia.

The army was jubilant, with supplies ranging from several hundred acres to tens of acres, as well as chocolates, sugars, canned goods, cigarettes, and other provisions transported from the rear.

At this time, thousands of colonial officials from the Great Chu Empire had arrived in Thrace and began registering local towns and vacant houses in preparation for the next step of resettling a large number of veterans.

According to the Imperial Colonial Ministry's plan, the expeditionary force to Europe would not be withdrawn back to the country, but would be settled locally in an orderly manner, establishing families and farms.

Many wounded soldiers have been discharged from the war and resettled. They have brought their wives to the assigned farmland and villages to start new lives.

With the arrival of the fourth batch of reinforcements, some veterans who had served beyond their term and were rewarded began to retire one after another. This group numbered about 300,000 people, and they were mainly resettled in Thrace and Crimea.

Just ten days after the Ottoman Empire surrendered, the Allied High Command launched the Battle of Amiens with hundreds of thousands of troops on the western front, mainly to capture and open up the Amiens Railway, forcing the German troops in the region to retreat.

在布拉什、莫朗库尔32公里宽的突破地段上，集中了英军第4集团军和法军第1集团军第31军（共18个步兵师、3个骑兵师、2684门火炮、511辆坦克和约1000架飞机）共计31.5万余人的军队。

英法当面的德军是德国第2集团军（7个受创的步兵师、840门火炮和106架飞机），总兵力仅8.7万余人。

The Anglo-French forces launched an offensive with nearly four times the manpower, striking the German army on the western front. After more than ten days of bloody fighting, they severely damaged the German Second Army, causing 2.72 casualties and forcing it to retreat.

This victory further strengthened the Allied military's confidence in achieving victory.

This was followed by a larger campaign plan, which included launching a full-scale Battle of Hindenburg in September to bring the war into Germany.

Compared to the continuous fighting on the western front, the eastern front saw a rare period of peace.

After the complete surrender of the Ottoman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian army and the remaining twenty-odd German divisions on the Eastern Front maintained a rare period of calm and ceased launching continuous attacks on the Chu positions.

Facts have proven
Aside from increasing casualties, the German-Austrian coalition made no progress, and the Chu army's defensive positions remained as solid as a mountain.

A large number of cannon fodder were consumed in the war, and the imperial army was tempered in the repeated bloody battles, becoming more difficult to deal with and more resilient.

nowadays

On the eastern front, the main force was an all-Chinese army group, and the same was true for those who entered the front-line trenches. They were well-equipped, well-trained, supported by air and ground artillery, and also possessed formidable ground weapons such as tanks.

The expeditionary force's air superiority on the Eastern Front meant that any large-scale offensive by the German and Austro-Hungarian forces would inevitably be met with fierce air strikes and ground artillery bombardment.

The Chu army did not simply defend; at crucial moments, their tank units launched a surprise attack, resulting in a one-sided massacre of the attacking German-Austrian coalition forces.

Their rapid infiltration and encirclement tactics cut off retreat routes and often resulted in the capture of a large number of German and Austrian troops.

After suffering several major losses, the German and Austro-Hungarian forces became increasingly cautious about launching new attacks.

Throughout the Eastern Front
The Chu expeditionary force maintained a defensive posture on the front lines, but in the Thrace region and the Istanbul campaign, it maintained an active offensive posture, with a clear distinction between the two.

The ability to defend effectively and to attack decisively demonstrates the strength of an army, a fact widely recognized by European countries.

It is generally believed that the German army was the strongest, while the fighting capabilities of Britain, France, and Austria-Hungary were on par. Tsarist Russia and Austria-Hungary were considered slightly inferior, and the United States was only on par with Italy. (End of Chapter)