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墨書 Inktalez
On February 15th, the anticipated attack by France, as claimed by the Soviet Union, did not occur. The situation remained calm along the Franco-German border, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The media of various countries, who had been on edge worrying about the French people's irrational desire to attack Germany, immediately came out to mock the absurdity of the "Pravda" newspaper.
Many France officials have come out to say that France will absolutely not attack Germany.
The "Fajardo Report" even dedicated a whole front page to mocking the false information in "Truth News," calling it completely Archery, and at the end of the article they said Soviet intelligence is just a joke.
The heat came and went quickly, and soon everyone stopped paying attention to this news.
Since Franco-German didn't start a fight, it's just that the Soviet Union released a false piece of information. Many media outlets, who love to sensationalize things, are deeply disappointed by this. They were planning to hype up a big news story! Now they are all turning their attention to other hot events.
It seems that this matter is about to pass uneventfully, but the development of the situation is not as everyone imagined. On February 16th, the French Army began military exercises in the Rhineland region. The scale of the exercise is quite large, and the weapons displayed are the latest equipment of the French Army, so realistic that even the French Air Force was deployed for reconnaissance.
On February 17, some French soldiers had crossed the demilitarized zone of the Rhine and reached the undefended areas within fifty kilometers on the eastern bank of the Rhine River in Germany. This prompted strong condemnation from the German government, and the United Kingdom was also very concerned about this action.
They had repeatedly called President Doumer of France to inquire about the purpose of the French Army's actions, but Doumer himself did not respond to this.
The French Army began to station troops on the eastern bank of the Rhine River, while Germany did not intervene to stop their actions, possibly due to a lack of capability.
This blatant violation of country sovereignty has once again heightened tensions in Western Europe, leading many to suspect that France may be preparing for war.
Leading the charge, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg have all sent ambassadors to meet with President DuMiro of France in person.
However, President DuMiro has assured them that France will not violate the Treaty of Locarno and will never wage war against Germany.
These guys just took a reassurance pill, as long as France doesn't start a war, it's all good. As for Germany's territorial sovereignty being violated? That's their own fault, it has nothing to do with these small countries. However, on February 21, French president ordered the French army to enter Germany.
He also announced that France recognizes the independence of the Rhineland region of Germany and the establishment of a "Rhineland Republic" under French protection. President DuMoulin emphasized in the press conference that France's action is to prevent the spread of Communism in Western Europe and to maintain collective security in Western Europe. France has no intention of occupying German territory, but rather aims to "demilitarize" and "decommunize" Germany.
He also urged the German military not to resist and to let the French Army enter German territory, just as they are doing now. "Think of your loved ones and children! Don't die for a government controlled by Moscow!" President DuMiro said.
To justify this operation, the French government also brought out Miles Miller, the exiled Chairman of the Social Democratic Party in France. This man tearfully accused the Labour Party of persecuting their ethnic group during Congress, claiming they were a fascist party and demanding that the French Army immediately enter Germany to eliminate these "red fascists." He asserted that the German people were eagerly awaiting liberation from the French people and called for the French Army to free Germany from German hands.
Miles's speech has caused a huge reaction in France, despite the previous efforts of the French media to promote that France would not declare war on Germany. Now, it seems they have immediately changed their stance, which may be a bit embarrassing.
However, Lai Faer, who was just promoted to the position of Minister of Propaganda in France, gathered all the news media of France for a meeting.
He told the media that France actually did not declare war on Germany, but rather is conducting a special military operation against Germany, so their previous propaganda will not be discredited.
They want to vigorously promote the ethnic group Labour Party's tyranny in Germany, and provide a detailed description of the persecution of the German people by "red Fascism".
Ryder also presented evidence provided by French intelligence personnel about the nationalization of ethnic group Labour Party in Ruhr, to prove that ethnic group Labour Party is a reactionary government.
This evidence is indeed very effective. The public, who were initially not very supportive of France's intervention in Germany, immediately supported France's intervention in Germany's tyranny after seeing a large number of people being arrested and sent for labor reform.
Despite the fact that most of the people arrested are from enterprises, under the media's portrayal, this evidence has become powerful proof of Germany's persecution of the Ruhr people.
In addition, due to Du Meiluo's fulfillment of promises to various political parties and social classes, there were not many opposing voices within France.
Please, Marshal Pétain, representing the General Staff of the Army, come forward to ensure that this operation will not result in significant casualties.
Since there are huge benefits to be gained without having to pay a high price, only a fool would oppose it. These guys usually shout anti-war slogans louder than anyone else; they simply believe that the profits from war do not outweigh the losses it causes. Once there is a profit to be made, everyone supports the war.
In the conference room of the General Staff of the Army in Berlin, a large group of generals was discussing battle plans. All the generals supporting Strasser, including Seeckt, were present.
Of course, there was also Model, who had just been promoted to Brigadier, and Strasser himself was present.
"Based on discussions over the past few months, we still believe that the French Army will launch an attack from the southern border with Franco-German relations in mind. Due to the Treaty of Locarno and the fact that France does not have military passage rights through the Netherlands and Belgium, the French Army cannot launch an offensive against Germany from the north."
"They have only one direction of attack, which is the Vosges Mountains in the Franco-German region. Am I wrong?"
General Jung's words were met with agreement from everyone present, as this had been a topic of discussion since 1927, leaving no room for disagreement.
Just like Model, although Strasser granted him significant autonomy, the overall operational plan still followed the defensive strategy established over the past year. It wouldn't be reasonable to expect Model to devise a combat plan just a week after taking office.
"Now, the question is how we should defend against the French people's attack," Strasser asked. "I think we can deploy all 200,000 National Defense Forces to the southern border and engage the French people in trench warfare."
Due to the Vosges Mountain, it is not suitable for a large army to deploy here, as their tanks and artillery cannot be effectively utilized. As long as we rely on the The Hindenburg Line left over from the European War for defense, there should be no problem in repelling the French people beyond Ruhr."
Seeckt was the first to speak, and his viewpoint received the agreement of most people present.
Because these officers had all been tempered by World War I, their ideology leaned heavily towards relying on Trench Warfare to inflict casualties on the enemy.
"Model Brigadier, what are your thoughts?" Strasser inquired, as he still showed some respect for the newly appointed Deputy Commander-in-Chief.
"I actually think General Siket's words are quite good. There aren't many defensive lines in the west of Germany. However, Germany's terrain has more plains in the north and more mountains in the south. Since the direction of the French people's attack has already been locked down, we can rely on the southern mountains for a step-by-step defense."
I don't plan to let the troops stay in defensive positions because we have too few people, and we can't stack all the troops on the border. If the Polish and French people reach a deal and take advantage of it to launch an attack on the eastern part of Germany, it won't be good. I plan to rely on ten divisions, about 100,000 people, to implement Elastic Defense in the Vosges Mountains, using the space and time factors of the battlefield, and then quickly mobilize and concentrate the troops.
In the offensive, the Armored Troops serve as the assault group, taking advantage of the enemy's hesitation and confusion. They boldly maneuver through the risks of exposing their flanks and rear, attacking the enemy's wings and rear to disrupt their entire defense.
Meanwhile, the infantry carries out a holding action on the front line. When facing counterattacks from the enemy's superior tanks, they often employ defensive tactics and use anti-aircraft guns to engage tanks, thwarting the opponent before transitioning to a counteroffensive.
In urban combat, infantry typically leads the breakthrough, followed by the deployment of tanks.
When the enemy is in retreat, victory is developed by pursuing without stopping with tanks. In defensive battles, armored troops are usually used as a reserve to counterattack the enemy's breakthrough.
During a retreat, mobile defense is used to delay the enemy's pursuit.
Although we cannot use tanks, armored vehicles can be used, ensuring the mobility of our troops.
Therefore, I believe that "Elastic Defense" can be used."
Model makes a lot of sense. Elastic Defense avoids dispersing troops along a long front line and also avoids protracted attrition warfare.
Elastic Defense can simultaneously possess the mobility of the attacker and the convenience of fighting in one's own country. The only drawback is that it requires giving up a portion of the national territory because its primary goal is to strike at the enemy's forces rather than defend every inch of land.
However, Strasser has already relocated the population in western Germany in advance. Aside from the Ruhr, where workers are still engaged in production, there is no need to worry about casualties.
"Model Brigadier, you are absolutely right, and the proposed combat concept is excellent.
But the only question is, does France really intend to launch an attack only from the southern direction?"
"All defensive strategies are based on France's attack on the Vosges Mountains. If we misjudge the direction, we won't have extra troops to redeploy," Strasser raised his final question.
"But Commander-in-Chief, wasn't it the conclusion reached by the General Staff of the Army over the past year that France would attack the south? And where else could France launch an offensive?"
Model seemed a bit strange. He looked at the map and wondered where else, besides the southern region, the French Army could launch an attack along the Franco-German border.
Strasser remained silent for a moment; he was unsure if France had someone as ruthless as Manstein, so he couldn't be certain that the Congress wouldn't launch an attack from two fronts as he speculated.
"Should they? No way?"
Strasser's gaze fixed on the southeastern part of Belgium, the northern region of Luxembourg, and the northeastern area of France, where a dense forest lay.
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