Chapter 1988: The Indecisive Frenchman One
Presidential Palace in Paris, France. French President Armand Fallier, Prime Minister Alexandre Ribeau, Minister of War Gallieni, Commander-in-Chief of the French Army on the Western Front Foch, Chief of General Staff Petain and others gathered together again. The huge rectangular conference table is filled with materials collected from various sources, and the content of the materials is undoubtedly about the London bombing and the Royal Army Air Corps. As of today, the German bombing of the British mainland has lasted for 4 days, and just yesterday, the Germans once again launched a super-large-scale bombing, and the aviation power involved was enough to scare the French!
"I imagined the scene of the Germans approaching Paris, but I never imagined that the Germans could drop more than 500 tons of bombs to London in one day." Prime Minister Ribo took a deep breath to calm down his excitement and fear. said after the mood.
"The continuous attack of thousands of bombers is indeed terrible. We can only be thankful that the Germans chose to attack London instead of Paris. If they chose to drop bombs on Paris, we would not even perform as well as the British. Far worse." Bethan said with a sigh.
Pétain was the first among the French high-level people to realize that Germany had launched a strategic bombing of the British mainland. After breaking up with the British at the airport, Pétain returned to Paris and began to collect information about Germany's bombing of London. He collected information from German newspapers, leaflets, the French ambassador to the UK, and various channels left in the UK and the British military jurisdiction, and after summarizing, sent it to President Armand's desk. And it is because of his efforts that the top French leaders can gather again to discuss the future situation!
"Can we understand it this way? The Germans have won the war, and they are just using the time before the armistice to show their strength? So they fought without any scruples! Even if they suffered heavy losses? The British report claimed , During these four days of fighting, they have already shot down more than 500 German planes." Prime Minister Ribo asked.
"There is a problem with the British report." Petain shook his head and said.
"There will definitely be deviations, but the overall data should be considered close to the facts. You also mentioned in your report that the British shot down at least 100 planes in the air strikes against the Luftwaffe on the first day, and our people also found or We saw the wreckage of at least 80 aircraft," Prime Minister Ribo said.
"There is no problem with the data on the first day, which is basically in line with the facts. But the situation on the first day is not suitable for future use. You all say that the Germans are overdrawing their own power. In fact, it is the British who are really overdrawing! According to our According to the information obtained in the past few days, the British lost at least 250 aircraft, and the Germans even claimed that 600 British aircraft were destroyed in the first day of the battle. Even though the Germans exaggerated the results, I feel that the British People also lost at least 300 planes! Do you know? On the day of the air raid, the British successively deployed more than 20 fighter and interceptor squadrons on the Western Front, and in the end, the number of planes returning to France did not exceed 80 at most !” Petain said.
"They may have stayed in the homeland to take on the defensive mission. After all, the British need to defend against the bombing of the Germans." Marshal Foch said.
"Maybe. But according to the information our people collected in the UK, at least more than 400 aircraft fell from the sky that day. The British will definitely show their results. Then remove the German battle damage, then the rest It's the British," Petain said.
"However, in any case, you don't have sufficient evidence, you just make an estimate based on some photos and statistics," Foch said.
"Okay, everyone, don't dwell on this issue anymore,
We only need to know that on the first day of the air raid on London, England, the British transferred at least 350 aircraft from the French battlefield, and most of them did not return. Then, in the following three days, at least 20 more A squadron leaves from France! Now, we don't know how many planes the British Air Force has, but our people can already confirm that 700 planes have left France! It’s okay to know this! "French Army Minister Gallieni, who has been silent for a long time, finally spoke. His words were full of mania and anxiety.
"Two months ago, the list of aviation combat units given to us by the British stated that there were a total of 5,500 aircraft. There are 5,000 planes, do you believe it? To be honest, now the British can have 4,000 planes in France, I have to pray to God!"
"I don't care how many German bombers the British shot down, so what if 500 German bombers were shot down? The Germans can afford this kind of loss, and they are still throwing bombs on the British heads firmly! But they can't afford it The exhausted British are constantly drawing air teams from the French theater to return to the mainland. In a word, the barriers above our heads have become thinner and thinner. I estimate that the number of British aircraft left on the Western Front is just over 3,000 Already!" Gallieni said sadly.
"In addition, everyone, look at the time again. Now the ground battlefield on the western front has been calm for more than a month. During these 40 days, the German army and the Austro-Hungarian army on the eastern front have been rushing from the eastern front to the The Western Front. They have stockpiled millions of tons of supplies and over 4 million troops. You don’t think they are here just to put on a show, do you? It was a world-shattering battle! The military power of the Germans is two grades higher than the Germans on the Western Front we faced before! Whether their ground forces fight us or the British, the result is certain. We can't win." Petain said very pessimistically.
"So, you mean we should surrender directly? Then invite the French to come to Paris, sign the treaty in the Palace of Versailles, and then parade on the Champs Elysees?" Foch said angrily.
"We have a decent chance of ending the war." Petain said every word.
"If we agree to the suggestion of the Crown Prince, we will only be vassals of the Germans in the future! Pure France cannot fight against Germany, and if we betray our allies, then no one in this world will trust France! Although the world Big, but we don't have a reliable friend!" Foch said. "Also, although Ruprecht is high and powerful, he is not the Kaiser. Everything he said may not be fulfilled! What if they want to occupy Belgium or even part of the French territory? Who can guarantee that he will not break the contract at a critical moment? "
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