Chapter 1,668 The Desperate French 3

Chapter 1668 The Desperate French 3

Therefore, in the eyes of the French, at this time, when there is obviously no hope for the war situation in Asia Minor, the best choice is to transfer the remaining troops back and concentrate them on the Western Front. As for what to do with Serbia and Greece at this time ? The French are too busy taking care of themselves, so how can they care about them? !

"That would be equivalent to abandoning our allies in the Eastern Mediterranean." General Haig frowned and said. He could clearly feel that the French people's will to fight was no longer so firm. If this right-leaning tendency before was mainly reflected in the war-weariness of the grassroots troops, then now, the senior officials no longer have much hope for victory. They are now What they are thinking about is how to concentrate all their efforts to defend France. Although this will make the situation on the Western Front better, it is strategically conservative!

"As allies, we have lost more than 200,000 troops in the Eastern Mediterranean, which is worthy of them. I think that in such difficult times, whether it is the Serbian government or the Greek government, they will respond to the actions of the French Republic. I understand." Gallieni frowned and said displeasedly.

"This matter still needs to be discussed. It is not something we can decide now." General Haig did not expect the French's opinions to be so firm, so he decided to temporarily suspend the topic. He could vaguely feel that the differences between the two sides must not only extend to the Eastern Mediterranean. Problems in war zones.

"Perhaps, from now on, there will inevitably be a rift between the British Empire and the French Republic." General Haig said in his heart.

"General Haig, from my personal point of view, at this time, it is best for you to persuade the British government to immediately withdraw its troops from Asia Minor. Compared with General Joffre's French army, although the British army is larger in scale, it has important resources. There is no more equipment than the French army, and you are too deep into the Turkish mainland, and the supply line is very long. With the French army on the northern front having collapsed, I don’t think the British army can block the Bavarian Army’s attack. It is more likely that the opponent will directly Go south and cut off your army's retreat!" Pétain said suddenly.

"The Germans have just finished a large-scale battle, and their losses are also very high. They will not take immediate action." General Haig said.

"They didn't try their best! That prince has a backup plan to deal with any opponent. This is true on the Western Front, and it is also true on the Eastern Front. So far, there is no army worthy of this prince focusing all his resources. The soldiers fought hard!" Pétain said.

"Is this guy suffering from Germanophobia?" Haig looked at the serious-faced Pétain opposite him, and then at the other two French army bosses who were silent next to him. After feeling that something was wrong in the atmosphere, he gave up. entanglement on this issue.

To be honest, for General Haig, this inquiry was a huge failure. As the person being questioned, Petain continued to instill a kind of failure and unfavorable negative news to everyone present throughout the entire inquiry process.

The top French military officials did not express any clear objection to this! This made General Haig feel very uneasy! And you can figure it out with your knees. The French will definitely hold an internal inquiry. They are so pessimistic about the British public meetings. So what will be the result if the French hold a small meeting on their own? I'm afraid not, some people are already ready to sue for peace, right?

As General Haig expected, the French really have plans to stop fighting. This does not mean that the arrogant French have forgotten the Franco-Prussian War and the hatred in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, but now, the French really can't fight anymore! To be honest, although France is also a true power, it is still far behind Germany and the United Kingdom. Before World War I, France was jokingly called a usurious country. A considerable part of the country's funds were used for loan sharking. It is normal for the domestic industry to be hollowed out. Coupled with the lack of local resources, in this war of attrition, it could not survive first. It must be France!

Yes, resources are scarce, but the Germans can at least guarantee the supply of coal and iron. In 1913, Germany produced 277.2 million tons of coal, and the United Kingdom produced even higher coal, reaching 292 million tons. And what about France? Only 40.8 million tons. Historically, Charles de Gaulle once commented on France in the two world wars. France was short of coal in World War I and France was short of oil in World War II. This is really no joke.

And the steel production capacity makes the French feel desperate! In 1913, Germany's steel output was 17.609 million tons, while France only had 4.687 million tons! The difference in output between the two sides is more than 3 times! As for pig iron production, the Germans are also more than three times that of the French!

Some people may say that German industry is too buggy. It is so good. Let France compare with another second-rate power in World War 1, such as Russia! In 1913, the Russian coal output was 36 million tons, which was not much less than France. In terms of fuel, the Russian Baku oil field could completely make up for the gap in coal, and there was still a surplus. You must know that World War 1 The production capacity of the former Baku oil field exceeds 10 million tons!

And the Russians produce more steel than the French! Up to 4.918 million tons. Although the iron output is less, if the steel is averaged, France and Russia are at the same level purely in terms of steel output. Of course, it must be admitted that the French have a higher level of industrial technology.

If we look at industrial output, in 1913, Germany accounted for 15.7% of the world's total, the United Kingdom was not much smaller, accounting for 13.6%, Russia accounted for 8.3%, and France only accounted for 6.1%... Of course, there must be a gap in technical level. After all, the total industrial output value is not equal to the overall industrial strength. Can the industrial output value of coal mining be equivalent to that of making guns? This is like Russia's total industrial output data being much greater than that of France, but its military production is lagging behind...

Therefore, from an industrial point of view, the French are indeed higher than the Russians, but the height is limited... Far inferior to Ying De! However, what was even more tragic after the war was that the Western Front battlefield was fought on French soil, and because many important industrial bases in the northeast were lost, the French industry was forcibly cut off by 30%!

If the industrial gap makes France destined to be the first to fall in this war that overdrafts national power (after all, there is no assistance from the American father in this dimension), then what is even more intolerable to the French is the huge human losses. ! Don’t forget that among all the major participating countries, France has the smallest population, less than 40 million, while Germany’s historical population is 67 million, the British are 45 million, and even the Austro-Hungarian Empire has more than 47 million! However, in this war, the French, as the main force on the Western Front, could not withstand most of the German troops!

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