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墨書 Inktalez
"General, you are truly impressive. I didn't expect you to persuade the Luxembourg people to cover for us." The French Army Second Lieutenant was admiring their Commander-in-Chief.
"This is not my achievement, but the work of the French Army's intelligence department." Charles de Gaulle's words left the Second Lieutenant somewhat puzzled, but seeing his confused expression, Charles de Gaulle had no intention of explaining.
The Luxembourg Second Lieutenant who had just appeared to provide assistance had already been bribed by the French Intelligence Agency. After cleaning out two corrupt former directors and undergoing a major overhaul, the intelligence department of the French Army finally showed some improvement. They spent a considerable amount of money to bribe Luxembourg's border troops, allowing them to cover the French Army's passage through Luxembourg's border into Germany.
Charles de Gaulle's thinking was simple; Belgium would certainly not agree to let them pass and had the capability to obstruct them. Although Belgium is small, it still had the ability to block an army of one hundred thousand from the French Army. If they were delayed, Germany would have time to mobilize troops and prepare defenses in the north, which would be counterproductive.
Therefore, passing peacefully through the Ardennes Forest was the smartest approach. Charles de Gaulle had already devised a strategy; before the Luxembourg Government could react, the main force of the French Army entered Luxembourg territory. Then, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a note to Luxembourg requesting military passage rights. Faced with this established fact, even if Luxembourg wanted to oppose it, they would be powerless.
They did not want to anger the French people; if the French Army truly intended to carry out a special military operation against Luxembourg, how could a mere thousand combat troops from Luxembourg contend with France? Although Luxembourg declared itself a Neutral Country in the 1960s and gained recognition from many countries, during World War I, its strategically important location made it a target for invasion by the German Empire and it was occupied.
Thus, Luxembourg was not confident about its national security; they were uncertain whether angering France would lead to the French Army occupying Luxembourg while attacking Germany. This time, no one could help Luxembourg; after all, during the last great war, there were Allies to counter Germany, but now which country in Europe could stand against France?
Germany was currently preoccupied with its own issues, and Britain was an ally of France; as for the Netherlands and Belgium, they were even less likely to oppose France. Therefore, being submissive seemed like the best choice.
"At this rate, we will be able to exit the Ardennes Forest in three days," said the Second Lieutenant while analyzing the map. "The biggest problem now is not how long it will take us to get out because the situation in the south is very stalemated; more importantly, we need to decide which direction to attack next."
Charles de Gaulle pondered with his chin resting on his hand. The French Army faced three possible routes: either head north directly towards Ruhr to achieve their minimum objective; or continue southward to coordinate with southern forces for an encirclement—though marching speed was a concern; or take a bolder approach and rush straight towards Berlin, which was currently very vulnerable—if they occupied Berlin, everything would be over.
Each of these three options had its pros and cons, and Charles de Gaulle naturally had his preferences. However, such a significant matter still required approval from the highest military council. Just moments ago, a telegram requesting instructions had already been sent out.
"However, we must advance quickly; the shorter the time taken, the fewer unexpected events will arise. We cannot allow Germany to detect our actions this time."
"Transmit my orders, the entire army is to enter a state of rapid march, and we must enter German territory within 72 hours," Charles de Gaulle instructed.
"Yes, General!"
······
Charles de Gaulle's thoughts were not wrong; now the command center of the French Army was in complete chaos. The government and the military were incessantly arguing about the direction of the French Army's offensive, especially after Charles de Gaulle's telegram arrived, the debate became even more intense.
Due to the difficulties on the Southern Front, France was increasingly focusing on the northern force led by Charles de Gaulle, hoping to rely on this unexpected troop to defeat the Germans.
"We must order Charles de Gaulle to move south and encircle the resisting German army, launching an attack from behind the Maginot Line. This way, even if the German army is fierce, they cannot withstand being pinched from both sides. As long as we break through the Maginot Line and enter deep into Germany, defeating Germany will be just a matter of time," General Gamelin said, and his words received agreement from the military personnel present.
"Move south? Does General Gamelin think that after eliminating a mere two hundred thousand German troops, they will have no capacity for resistance?" Prime Minister Paul Reynaud squinted his eyes and voiced his opposition.
"According to our intelligence, the Germans have begun to summon their veterans back into service; these are elite troops left over from World War I who do not require much training to return to the battlefield. That would be another army."
"According to our estimates, Germany can summon at least five hundred thousand such veterans, aged between thirty and forty."
Raifal, who succeeded Berliand as the head of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, added.
"Isn't that good? The German forces exceed two hundred thousand; we can completely declare war on them for violating the Treaty of Versailles, which would allow our frontline troops to act freely."
In Gamelin's view, the reason why the French Army could not advance rapidly was not due to the German army's will to resist or Germany's strong fortifications but because the French Army was constrained by principles of special military operations.
Raifal's concept certainly allowed France to avoid bearing the label of aggressor but also prevented the French Army from launching attacks effectively. In cities held by the German army, the French Army's heavy artillery could not conduct bombardments due to potential civilian casualties and could only let infantry slowly grind away; gas shells could not be used either.
The setbacks faced by the French Army were purely due to their overly benevolent nature; had they taken things seriously earlier, they would have already reached Berlin.
"General Gamelin, you may not know this, but Germany can completely announce that their frontline troops have been annihilated and then form new troop formations to replace them. This way, their army will always remain stable at two hundred thousand; once we finish one batch, another batch will come."
Raifal said weakly.
"This..."
Gamelin was momentarily at a loss for words; he indeed had little political acumen and did not expect such a solution existed. Fortunately, his colleague Weygand came to his rescue.
"So, does your government think that attacking eastward directly towards Berlin is a good choice?" Weygand asked.
"Isn't it? As long as we conquer Berlin, Germany will surely surrender. We won't need to entangle with the German army in the south anymore, which will reduce losses—it's a win-win situation." President Dumérol said. At this point, he still hoped that France could achieve its decisive goal with minimal losses, which was to force the German government to acknowledge the demands of the French people.
The mysterious disappearance of Meyers, the Chairman of the Social Democratic Party, within France left France unable to find a cooperative partner for a time. Therefore, President Dumérol had to urgently revise the operational goals of the French Army from defeating the German government to forcing the German government to recognize France's rights.
"There are five hundred kilometers from the Ardennes to Berlin; a light infantry without armored vehicles cannot attack such a distance. Moreover, their supplies are insufficient to sustain an offensive for that long. I think advancing south is more reliable," Weygand pointed out the impracticality of advancing on Berlin.
"I don't think so. As long as we attack Berlin, the German army in the south will also retreat to defend; isn't the effect the same? Do you know how many men the French Army has lost in these weeks? A full twenty thousand dead, with over a thousand soldiers lost every day. We simply cannot afford such losses. When we reach Berlin, how will our government explain to the families of the fallen soldiers?" Poincaré spoke the truth; since the war began, the German army's willingness to resist had been very fierce, causing huge losses for the French Army.
Although the French Army concealed some facts, anti-war sentiment had already spread along the front lines. Now, the French Army was purely relying on elite troops for offense; if in a few months all elite troops were lost, whether they could still push forward with remaining marginal forces would be another question.
"Anyway, we do not agree to advance east."
"We also cannot agree to move south."
As both sides held their ground, President Dumérol decided to give everyone a way out.
"Since that's the case, I have a proposal that might serve as a compromise; let's see if it works."
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