Reincarnated as Nikolai II

They had to helplessly give up the defense line they had painfully formed after giving up Arras.

The northern ports that had been endlessly pouring out supplies suddenly stopped due to the rapidly changing war situation, and the British Army was isolated.

Amiens, the crown jewel of Allied logistics and the greatest military strongpoint of the northern front, fell into enemy hands. This vital railway hub, where countless supply lines converged like arteries to a heart, was now silent under German control. Its fall was not just tactical, but strategic - a mortal wound to Allied operations in the sector.

Pétain’s Central Army Group, which had always performed its role well since the war of attrition began, stalwart defenders who had held firm against countless German offensives, had to retreat dozens of kilometers. It was a bitter pill for these proud units who had known nothing but steadfast resistance.

Naturally, the process of the great retreat was not smooth either.

Like in 1914 when they were chased from the border, throwing away one division per day to the enemy like a lizard dropping its tail, this time was similar. History repeated itself with cruel symmetry - the same ground, the same desperate measures, the same sacrifices.

For retreat, someone had to become a suicide unit under the pretext of delaying action. These rearguard units fought knowing they were being sacrificed so others could live, holding positions until they were overwhelmed or destroyed.

Now the front line had returned to the time of the ’Race to the Sea’ from three years ago, from Amiens in the north to the Marne in the south.

And Ferdinand Foch, the hero of the Marne who had to watch all this with his hands tied, was now blind with rage.

"Did I. Did I ask something difficult from our high-ranking gentlemen? Was the field opinion from our senior officers so hard to accept...?"

Foch, who should have been commanding in the field, now appeared at the Trianon Palace in Versailles.

When Foch appeared at the weekly council meeting and allied forces meeting, everyone closed their mouths without saying a word.

"Now should I just tell them to stay still? That we’ll win the war anyway so please just breathe and do nothing else, is that what it’ll take to stop this nonsense?"

"General Foch, mind your words. This is where representatives from each country gather-"

"If this is the result of putting heads together, you should have never gathered! How many PMRs, COs, and their attached interpreters, secretaries, and staff members are here that you approve nonsense like the Nivelle Offensive? How high are the political ambitions of this country’s politicians who’ve never fired a single shot from the trenches? If you can’t help the war effort, shouldn’t you at least not interfere!"

After pouring out a torrent of anger and looking straight into each person’s eyes, Foch opened his mouth again.

"General Tasker Bliss. Are American forces actually coming? All I’ve seen are those who came to the field without even hearing an explosion in training, just reserve corpses who will die as soon as they’re deployed in actual combat."

"General!"

Foch turned his head as if it wasn’t even worth listening further.

His eyes, now colder, turned toward the British side.

"General Henry Wilson. Tell Commander Douglas Haig clearly. I will retake Amiens at any cost, and British forces must not retreat."

"...But British forces are already isolated."

"I don’t think they can’t endure even that short while when the enemy is aiming for Paris anyway."

Finally, Foch’s gaze, spitting out anger as if grinding his teeth, turned to.

"And, Marshal Joffre."

"...Ferdinand."

"Nivelle is being reassigned as Commander-in-Chief of North Africa effective today. General Pétain will take that position, and I will take the position of Allied Commander-in-Chief."

"I understand your resentment, but will things go as you wish?"

If he had waited quietly, there would have been no choice but Pétain or Foch anyway, so he would have risen automatically.

After such an outburst, the higher-ups were unlikely to view him favorably.

However, Foch no longer cared about the views of such high-ranking gentlemen.

"The next battlefield is the Marne. If there’s anyone who can replace me, bring them."

Truly words that only the savior of Paris, Napoleon reborn, the hero of the Marne could utter.

In this place, there was no explanation, persuasion, or dialogue - only unilateral declarations echoed.

With those words, Foch left the Trianon Palace.

’Perhaps the situation might be worse than 1914.’

American forces who had only prepared for half a year with nothing to show in the field.

British forces contemplating retreat while isolated in the north.

French forces with morale fallen as low as possible after successive major defeats.

And the Russian Imperial Army that had broken away from these three countries.

"...Three years of continuous fighting only to return to the beginning."

How indifferent must heaven be to give the same trial twice to a single human.

It seems all the efforts, deaths, and sacrifices of the past three years have been in vain.

What did hundreds of thousands of soldiers die for?

What sin did the mothers commit who had no choice but to send their sons to their deaths?

Though he’s sick of the disgusting rear politicians and allies who always show less than expected.

In the end, he must accomplish it.

He is the hero of the Marne.

"One chance. We must overturn them at the Marne." Continue reading stories on freewebnovel

Because he is Ferdinand Foch.

==

French Army Commander-in-Chief with full authority, Philippe Pétain.

Allied Commander-in-Chief, Ferdinand Foch.

When General Foch came back to the field after sweeping through the rear after Amiens fell, he came out with all military authority.

However, just because the military’s power holders changed doesn’t mean the war situation would change overnight.

"We hold. Winter will come in a month, and the enemy’s supply capability is inferior to ours, so we just need to hold on somehow."

Foch, commanding the Allied forces, decided to crouch down to drain the strength of those German forces rampaging on the front line, returning to orthodox strategy.