Chapter 717 Gallieni's Intentions

Dunkirk, Kitchener has just recovered.

A few days ago, he thought Dunkirk was about to fall and faced a difficult choice: leave or stay?

If he left, he would have made a promise to the soldiers that he would stay here forever and live and die with Dunkirk. Breaking his promise would mean losing all face for him as an army marshal.

If he stayed, he would become a prisoner of the Germans after the fall of Dunkirk, and he would be the first marshal captured by the German army.

"Damn Charles." Kitchener was furious. "This is what Charles wanted to see, so he refused to send reinforcements despite the pressure! He is a disgrace to the Allies and a destroyer of the Alliance. I will definitely send him to a military court!"

At this time, the staff officer excitedly reported: "Master, Charles has captured Mezieres!"

"Idiot!" Kitchener shouted angrily: "What's the point of capturing Mezieres? I need him to reinforce Dunkirk, Dunkirk, nothing is more important than this!"

He had no memory of Mezières; he thought it was a town near the fortress of Liège.

The staff officer did not dare to refute and just said "Yes, Your Excellency Marshal" and remained silent.

After a while, the signalman excitedly reported: "Your Excellency Marshal, the Germans have retreated, a full retreat! We have won!"

There was no cheering, only sounds of relief and blessings to each other, and everyone was lamenting that they had escaped a disaster.

Kitchener was confused: "Retreat? Why would they retreat?"

The staff officer stepped forward tremblingly: "Because, because of Mezieres, Marshal, Charles occupied Mezieres."

Kitchener then realized that this "Mézières" might not be the "Mézières" he had in his mind.

When Kitchener turned his gaze to the map, the staff officer stepped forward and pointed to a point: "Here, Marshal."

Kitchener was stunned: "In France? But that's impossible, they are separated by the Ardennes Mountains..."

"Charles's army has passed through the Ardennes," the staff officer replied. "It is the First Panzer Corps. Charles has obviously made full preparations."

Kitchener understood.

This was the reason for the massive German retreat.

Mezieres was an important transportation hub in the rear of the German army, and Charles' capture of it was equivalent to strangling the German army.

In this way, the safety of the entire German army in the area north of the Meuse River will be threatened!

Logically, Kitchener should be grateful for his escape like everyone else and thank Charles for his reinforcements.

However, a general's thinking is often different from that of others.

Kitchener's face was solemn. He stared at Meziere's position intently and his teeth were chattering.

This bastard, everything is his conspiracy, we were used by Charles.

Dunkirk was a bait, used by Charles as bait to lure the main force of the German army deep into the hinterland!

Charles could have captured Mézières much earlier, but he never did so in order to ensure that both the German Army and the British Expeditionary Force would suffer heavy losses.

But Charles reaped the benefits.

Now, all the glory belongs to him. This battle not only recovered a large amount of lost territory but also "saved" the British Expeditionary Force.

…

"Marshal, Marshal?"

The staff officer's shout pulled Kitchener back from his anger. He looked at the staff officer, his eyes still burning with anger.

The staff officer was startled and quickly raised the microphone: "Yes, it's General Gallieni calling. He wants to know the situation in Dunkirk."

Kitchener snatched the microphone fiercely, as if disarming his staff officer.

But he didn't answer. Instead, he took a few deep breaths to calm himself down before putting the phone to his lips: "I'm fine, General. The crisis has been resolved. The Germans are retreating."

Gallieni's voice came from the microphone:

"Then I'm relieved, Your Excellency Marshal."

"You fought bravely. Without your heroic resistance, Charles would not have been able to capture Mezieres so easily."

"I mean, if the main force of the Germans was on the Somme, they would immediately surround Mezières or even launch a counterattack."

"Charles' victory is due to your contribution. On behalf of Charles and France, I thank you!"

…

Gallieni was picking at Kitchener's wounds.

It is not peeled off all at once, but picked open bit by bit with a needle, very slowly, and then a little fine salt is sprinkled carefully.

Gallieni hadn't finished speaking yet, he kept talking, his tone even tinged with pity and aftertaste:

"You lost a lot of soldiers in this battle, didn't you?"

"I'm sorry, Your Excellency Marshal, is there 200,000? Or 300,000? Or more?"

"Don't worry, Your Excellency Marshal, everything will be fine!"

"Char will avenge you and your men. I trust him."

"I think you are the same..."

Kitchener's chest heaved violently, as if a stone was pressing on him and making it hard for him to breathe. A surge of rage rose up, burning his face and making his eyes bloodshot. He looked like a devil, and no one dared to look at him directly.

Kitchener gritted his teeth and endured it, but Gallieni showed no intention of stopping.

Finally, Kitchener shouted, "Enough, I know what's going on!"

Gallieni replied, "Really? What's going on?"

The voice was calm and gentle, like the cry of an innocent little lamb.

Kitchener knew this was a wolf in sheep's clothing, but there was nothing he could do.

If he dared to say anything bad about Charles, it would be in the newspaper the next day.

Then, everyone, including British citizens, poked Kitchener in the back and said:

"It's him, that ungrateful guy. Charles saved him, but he spoke ill of Charles."

"Yes. If it weren't for Charles, nearly one million British expeditionary forces would have been captured. How could he be so shameless?"

"God, we actually let such a man become the Minister of War. He must be jealous of Charles and will do anything to defeat Charles."

…

Kitchener's words were on the tip of his tongue, but he sighed and answered through gritted teeth:

"Yes, Minister, I know what's going on."

"It was a good fight. Ciel saved us all, including me."

"Please convey my highest respects to Charles!"

Gallieni "shamelessly" accepted: "Very well, I will, Marshal."

But Gallieni still didn't want to let Kitchener go: "Don't you have anything to say about Charles' military talent?"

Kitchener coughed a few times and almost spit out blood.

After finally catching his breath, he replied weakly, "Yes, sir, you are right. Charles is a military genius, there is no doubt about that."

Gallieni added: "And his tactics."

"Yes, and his tactics."

Gallieni was then satisfied:

"I'm glad we can reach a consensus, Your Excellency Marshal."

"With your approval, I believe no one will question Ciel's command in the future."

"Especially the British Expeditionary Force, eh?"

Kitchener then understood Gallieni's intention.

If any officer in the British Expeditionary Force dared to criticize Charles' command in the future, Kitchener would be a shield.

(End of this chapter)