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墨書 Inktalez
The recent purge of the domestic bourgeoisie in Germany has far-reaching implications. Through this revolution, they have essentially completed the eradication of the domestic bourgeoisie.
During this revolution, approximately three hundred thousand bourgeois reactionaries were purged. These individuals either owned numerous factories or held significant financial assets. Additionally, tens of thousands of enemy agents were also targeted. Some had accepted money from foreign powers, while others colluded with the Social Democratic Party in an attempt to oppose the Labour Party.
These individuals were loaded onto trains and sent to concentration camps across the country, where they would contribute to the nation's construction efforts without compensation. The timing of this purge was chosen to more effectively and comprehensively eliminate domestic reactionary forces. Previously, due to the significant influence of the Labour Party, many opportunistic politicians chose to conceal themselves, hoping to emerge at a more favorable moment.
The recent offensive by the French people gave these opponents a glimmer of hope. They believed that victory for France was imminent and that their own rise to power was at hand. They thought that as soon as the French forces arrived, they would be the first to step forward and say, "Monsieur, par ici," eagerly guiding the French leaders, thus ensuring a bright future for themselves.
It is not surprising; throughout history and in any country, there are always those willing to trade their nation's future for personal gain. Even if a country has only one-thousandth of its population as traitors, with sixty million people in Germany, that would still amount to sixty thousand collaborators. If there were four hundred million people, it would not be unusual for there to be four hundred thousand traitors.
Of course, while the goals of the revolution are noble, the process is inevitably bloody. This is a struggle between one class and another, which is naturally not peaceful or smooth. During the arrests on March 12, thousands of bourgeois reactionaries were shot on site for resisting; blood flowed across Germany—not due to battles with the French but because of the purge of the bourgeoisie.
The Labour Party referred to this action as the March Revolution, while the bourgeoisie in Europe, particularly those of German descent, fearfully labeled this day as "Bloody Monday." Fortunately, in the short term, this action did not cause much upheaval abroad. The Labour Party publicly declared that Germany's actions were aimed at purging spies colluding with the French and asserted that factories owned by foreigners were not affected under their command.
Moreover, Strasser's subsequent press conference vehemently attacked numerous Jewish people in Germany who were allegedly plotting to overthrow the German government. The outside world quickly accepted this narrative. Anti-Semitism indeed has a long-standing tradition in Europe, and Germany provided ample evidence claiming that these bourgeois individuals were Jewish. Although a significant portion of this evidence was fabricated, under Stasi's seamless cover-up, everything appeared quite reasonable.
As for the Junker nobility, after Strasser visited President Hindenburg and announced that the Labour Party had no intention of launching a revolution against them and would respect their private property—asserting that their status within the military was inviolable—they tacitly accepted this action. After all, Germany was facing both internal and external crises; if the Labour Party could be easily manipulated like the Communist Party of Germany—which lacked its own armed forces—it would have been eliminated long ago.
However, how could the Labour Party have gained such strength? They directly commanded seven divisions composed entirely of elite troops; it was uncertain who would prevail in an actual conflict. Furthermore, Germany was currently at war with France; just because the Junker nobility disliked the proletariat did not mean they were willing to collaborate with the bourgeoisie since both groups sought to compete for their interests.
Driven by emotions of the ethnic group, they ultimately decided to prioritize winning this war for the greater good of Germany.
Of course, the reason Strasser dared to launch this revolutionary movement was fundamentally due to the favorable situation on the front lines. The National Defense Forces' southern defense line, after experiencing an initial impact from the French Army, slightly retreated but quickly stabilized under Model's superb command. During this time, they even launched counterattacks from time to time. The front line was basically maintained in the western part of Baden-Württemberg.
Not only was Berlin far from being reached, but they were also quite a distance away from the Ruhr. Strasser had visited Model to discuss the situation on the front lines. Model confidently stated that if France did not double its army, he was confident that relying on the Maginot Line, he could pin the French Army firmly within Baden-Württemberg. He even mentioned that if he were given an additional 100,000 National Defense Forces, he could completely drive the French Army out of Germany.
The stability of the front line was precisely why Strasser dared to carry out revolutionary changes boldly in the rear. If one were to pursue "stabilizing internal affairs before repelling external threats" like a certain transport unit commander while the front-line troops could not withstand enemy attacks, that would be sheer foolishness. Whether to repel external threats first or stabilize internal affairs should depend on actual circumstances. One should not dogmatically apply every theory but rather base actions on reality.
However, Strasser would soon be grateful that he made this decision early enough; if it had been a few weeks later, the situation would have been different.
Ardennes Forest covers an area of about 10,000 square kilometers, mostly consisting of forests, peatlands, wastelands, and swamps. The development level here is very low; it is rarely visited except by hunters and woodcutters, with only border troops stationed in the area.
At this moment, however, Ardennes Forest was anything but quiet, as two groups were facing off against each other. One group was large in number and appeared to be French troops, while the other group had fewer soldiers who did not intend to back down.
"This is Belgian territory; please leave immediately!" said the leading Belgian officer.
"Don't get excited, Second Lieutenant; we just want to pass through without any malice," replied a leading French Army Second Lieutenant.
"We want to borrow a route through Belgium for a special military operation against Germany and mean no harm to Belgium itself."
"How do I know that you all are not here to invade?" The Second Lieutenant spat on the ground. "Do you think changing your words means it's not an invasion? How can I be sure what your true intentions are by bringing so many people here?"
"We really just want to pass through. If you don't let us, we won't be polite!"
The French Army Second Lieutenant was getting a bit impatient; when did the mighty French Army have to explain its actions to others? They were giving a reason out of respect for Belgium, but if the other side continued to be uncooperative, they shouldn't blame them for taking action.
"Alright! I want to see how you won't be polite."
The Belgium Second Lieutenant laughed instead of getting angry.
"We Belgium didn't give way to Germany during the European War, and we won't give way to France now."
He waved his hand, and the Belgium soldiers behind him raised their rifles, and the French Army did the same in response.
"Calm down, Second Lieutenant."
Just as the tension in the air was rising, a voice came from behind; it was Charles de Gaulle.
"General."
The French Army Second Lieutenant immediately saluted, and Charles de Gaulle waved his hand, signaling them to lower their weapons.
"Take it easy, Second Lieutenant. I understand your desire to defend your homeland, but this land does not belong to you Belgium, so you don't need to obstruct us."
"What do you mean by that?"
The Belgium Second Lieutenant looked puzzled.
"You see, your Belgium territory is on the other side of the forest; we are currently on Luxembourg territory."
Charles de Gaulle pointed northward.
The Belgium Second Lieutenant followed his arm and saw a boundary marker about fifty meters away; that was the dividing line between Belgium and Luxembourg.
"Even so, you still can't pass through. This isn't France's territory; it has nothing to do with you."
The Belgium Second Lieutenant remained stubborn, but his attitude visibly softened.
Seeing an opportunity, Charles de Gaulle pressed on, "Since this area is not under your jurisdiction, whether or not to let us pass should be decided by the people of Luxembourg, shouldn't it?"
"How could the people of Luxembourg possibly let you through?"
The Belgium Second Lieutenant was half-convinced.
"Who said the people of Luxembourg wouldn't let them pass?"
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