Chapter 416: Ciel's Luck

Lagden, the French General Headquarters was as idle as usual.

After getting up in the morning and entering the office, Joffre pretended to be busy and tried not to think about the National Day parade.

As the commander-in-chief of the French army, he should have been accepting the cheers of the French people at the military parade, but he could only face a pile of documents and intelligence in his office.

The government did invite Joffre to attend, but he declined.

Joffre knew what would happen if he went there. The people's cheers would be reserved for Charles. As the commander-in-chief, he was just a figurehead, and people only booed him and cast sympathetic glances at him.

At the reception, someone might even ask sarcastically, "Commander-in-Chief, can you tell me which battles you have won?"

Everywhere Joffre would be embarrassed, he could not answer:

"No, sir, I have not won any victory."

"All the victories were won by Ciel. I was just holding him back."

…

In order to avoid this embarrassment, Joffre gritted his teeth and answered Clemenceau who had invited him:

"I'm sorry, sir, but I think I should be at my post."

"You know, the Germans also know that today is our national day, and they are likely to take this opportunity to attack when many officers are not on duty."

"Let me, the commander-in-chief, be responsible for guarding the front line. This is my duty!"

Of course, Clemenceau knew that this was Joffre's excuse. The defense line had long been stabilized and no command was needed. The grassroots officers on the front line knew what to do.

More importantly, Joffre's command was not important. Having one more or one less of him made no difference, and might even be better.

But the tactful Clemenceau did not point it out. He replied: "Greetings, sir, the front line does need someone to command. I will explain this to the government!"

Even if Xiafei's wish was fulfilled, even if he pretended that nothing had happened, Xiafei still felt sad.

This was not what Joffre wanted. What he really wanted was to be admired by thousands of people at the military parade, to give a speech amid the cheers of the people, and to hear the entire French people cheering for him crazily...

But now, the one who enjoys all this is Charles, Charles!

Just as Joffre was gritting his teeth in hatred, Carness walked up to Joffre and carefully handed him a telegram: "General, I thought you might want to know this."

Joffre took the telegram and glanced at it, then suddenly raised his head in shock: "Charles didn't attend the parade?"

"Yes," Carnegie replied, "He led the 1st Tank Brigade and the 105th Infantry Regiment in the attack on the Germans at Cambrai."

Xiafei's face darkened and he felt humiliated.

Joffre, who had agreed to join Army Group East, was patiently waiting for the Italians to break through the Austro-Hungarian defenses, but Charles actually ran to Army Group North and launched an attack.

Not trustworthy!

Moreover, he, the commander-in-chief, knew nothing about it. Not only did Charles not say anything, but even Foch did not mention a word.

"They must have colluded." Xiafei murmured to himself.

Kanais was stunned. Charles and Foch?

They are one family, how can you say they are “colluding”?

What’s more…

"This telegram was sent by General Foch," Canais explained. "He said he just learned about this as well."

Xia Fei snorted coldly.

Of course, this is not the case. Even a fool knows that a large-scale deep penetration requires the manpower and supply support of the Northern Army Group, and this requires detailed planning.

But Joffre could do nothing about Foch.

Although Foch was the deputy commander-in-chief and had to obey Joffre's command in principle, he laid the tactical theoretical foundation of the French army and his reputation in the army was even higher than that of Joffre.

Another similar general was Gallieni, who became famous in the Battle of Paris. Although he served as the commander of a less important reserve army group, he also had great autonomy.

Joffre picked up the telegram again, looked at it carefully, and then turned his eyes to the map.

Kanais quickly stepped forward and pointed out the location on the telegram: "Here, they are marching very fast. It has only been more than two hours since the battle started at nine o'clock, and they have already advanced to the vicinity of Mons."

Xiafei raised his head and looked at Kanais: "50 kilometers in more than two hours?"

The tone was questioning and the eyes were blaming. You must have found the wrong place. This is a low-level mistake!

No wonder Joffre thought so. At that time, there was no concept of armored forces or mechanized forces. In Joffre's mind, the army's speed of 5 kilometers per hour was already the upper limit, and this was the speed of rapid progress without any enemy obstruction along the way.

But now, Charles's advancement speed has reached more than 20 kilometers per hour?

This is impossible!

"Yes, General." But Kanais insisted: "Charles armed all his troops with vehicles, which made them very mobile. At the same time, the German rear was very empty. There were no troops all the way to Brussels. The police were mostly Belgians. They launched an uprising and took control of the police station before Charles' troops arrived."

The German management model is to organize a police force from a small force and then use the police force to manage public security.

This method may seem fine at ordinary times, but once the defense line is broken by the French army, the Belgians, including the police, will rush to revolt.

Therefore, Charles' army not only encountered no resistance, but also received a lot of help along the way.

For example, there is basically no need to worry about food supplies. People can also provide Charles with vehicles and gasoline, and even hope that he can join the French army...

(Note: Germany learned this lesson during World War II, and its occupation model was changed to the Wehrmacht fighting on the front line, and the SS following up in the rear to manage public security and fight guerrillas)

It took Xiafei a long time to digest it.

Then he sighed softly. He never understood why no matter what the battle was, it always went smoothly in Charles's hands, while others often suffered heavy casualties and could not advance even a single step.

After staring at the map for a while, Joffre asked: "Does the Germans have troops stationed in Brussels?"

"Of course." Kanais replied: "There is a reserve division, about 20,000 people."

Joffre hummed and gave his evaluation of the battle: "This is a rash and arrogant move. Once blocked by the enemy in Brussels, his troops will face the dilemma of being surrounded by the enemy."

Then Joffre's eyes lit up: "Is Charles in the army?"

"Yes." Kanais gave an affirmative answer: "He is advancing with the 105th Infantry Regiment."

Xia Fei couldn't help but smile. This was the best news he had heard today.

However, at this moment, a staff officer came in with a telegram and reported excitedly: "General, the German troops in Brussels have retreated."

"Retreat?" Xia Fei was stunned: "Why should they retreat?"

"It is said that there was an explosion in the ammunition depot." The staff officer replied.

Xiafei was stunned. Was this a coincidence? Was it luck?

Or... was it Ciel's arrangement? !

(End of this chapter)