Chapter 1989: The Indecisive Frenchman II
There was silence at the venue, because no one wanted to put the life and death of a country on someone's reputation! Especially without any bindings! What both sides say makes sense. The situation on the Western Front is already obvious. The Germans cannot lose after the next campaign is launched. The worst result is that they won't win enough... When the possibility of victory in the war is already very slim, peace talks are naturally an option.
But in the same way, the price of the peace talks is a bit high. The premise of the Franco-German peace talks is actually conditional on the blood of the British Expeditionary Force! Want to make peace? Want a decent end to the war? Then stab the British on the battlefield! And even if the French did this, no one can guarantee that Germany will fulfill what it said before, because Ruprecht is not the emperor!
"If the situation has reached the point of no return, then we can agree to the conditions of the Americans. The Americans will never want to see the Germans enter Paris again, and then completely turn France into a vassal of Germany!" Prime Minister Ribo Said.
"In theory. But once the war starts, once the iron dice start to spin, the inertia is quite huge. Millions of people will definitely fight like a precision machine! This is not to say that it can be stopped if it is stopped, and, we I have always doubted whether Ruprecht can guarantee the fulfillment of his promise. In the same way, whoever of us can guarantee that the words of the Americans will work? There is only one person who issues the highest order on the entire Western Front! If Ruprecht plays If it is really popular, American diplomatic intervention may not be effective! If it does not work, what should we do? Watch hundreds of thousands or even millions of French troops being crushed by the Germans? Or watch the Germans enter Paris again?" Petain asked rhetorically.
What Petain said makes sense, the French don't trust the Americans either.... And the most important thing is that even if the promise of the Americans works, the price the French paid to the Americans is definitely not low! There is no free lunch in the world! Compared with the all-round conditions proposed by the Americans, the conditions offered by the Germans are actually not expensive! And what if the Americans finally stopped the Germans from entering Paris? After the battle began, the lives of hundreds of thousands of French youths would be wiped out. This is even more unbearable than economic and material losses, and, to be honest, if the French surrender before the war, it is still a surrender, and if the French surrender after the war, even with the help of the Americans, then it is an alliance under the city. The Germans must add a lot of conditions, as Ruprecht said-we have to pay, we must be rewarded, and the blood we shed must be compensated with the interests of the enemy!
"At any rate, I think that, even from the standpoint of the dignity and honor of the French Republic, we decided that a compromise was unacceptable before the Germans attacked, whose air force had proved their strength, but the French Dignity cannot be destroyed by a few hundred tons of bombs!" President Armand said. "Of course, if the situation is irreversible, we have to leave a way out for ourselves. We can continue to contact the Germans, and even establish a contact point in the Netherlands. If the situation is really irreparable , we can compromise with the Germans." President Armand said.
"This is very difficult to operate. From a military point of view, once the Germans launch an attack, it is very difficult to step on the brakes. I cannot guarantee that once the Germans have achieved a breakthrough, they will still abide by our previous agreement." Bethan said.
"As I said, it is absolutely impossible for the French Republic to surrender without a fight!" President Armand said, slapping the table with great determination. "The army does its military thing, tell our representatives in Amsterdam, let them find a way to coordinate with the Germans."
"Your Excellency, I have to say, this idea is really...naive!" Even Gallieni was speechless,
This is obviously an emergency. Once the Germans really choose to attack France and achieve a breakthrough, the knives will be on the necks of the French. You said that if they don't fight, they won't fight? To put it nicely is called naive, to put it bluntly it is called SB!
"Actually, the situation your Excellency the President said is not impossible." Foch spoke at this moment. "Everyone, just imagine, if the Germans are really confident enough in their own strength, if they can really attack the British and French armies at the same time, then do they still need to talk nonsense with us? Just start fighting, maybe The purpose of Crown Prince Ruprecht is indeed to kill the British, but obviously, there is a certain gap between his strength and ideas. Only with our cooperation can he complete the devastating blow to the British Expeditionary Force. "
"As a qualified strategist, the first thing he has to do is to accomplish his strategic goals! If what Ruprecht said is true and he really wants to kill the British, then the only attack on us is Maybe it’s intimidation, maybe the attack will be heavy, maybe we really can’t beat the Germans, but they will definitely keep their hands. Of course, if that time comes, the conditions may be different. But the possibility that the president said exists.” Foch said.
If someone opens the perspective of God, they will find that Foch's perspective on this issue is similar to that of Ruprecht. What is Ruprecht's purpose? It is not easy to severely damage or even wipe out the British Expeditionary Force to achieve this strategic goal, because it is different from breaking through the opponent head-on. As Ruprecht, who once ate up millions of Russian troops in Poland, he knows very well that it is impossible to kill millions of British troops if he encircles and divides them in a roundabout way, because time is too late ! Because it is really difficult to break through the front ten kilometers wide front.
From a military point of view, the Bavarian Army can tear through the British defense line and severely damage the opponent's 2 to 3 army groups, but it is impossible to eat up at least 5 army groups of the British army! Therefore, things that cannot be obtained on the battlefield must be implemented by means outside the battlefield. So the prince chose to intimidate the French and let them release the water! This is not only a means of rectification, it is also indispensable in the military! Therefore, under the grand strategy of severely damaging the British Expeditionary Force, the Germans may really be ready to stop when necessary! Of course, for the current French, Foch's statement is only a theoretical speculation, and no one knows what the actual situation is!
The second one is here~~~! Ask for a subscription and a reward~~~!