Chapter 761 Interview with Gallieni

Salpetrier Hospital.

Gallieni was able to walk a few steps with the help of the guards, but he could not move too big and his abdomen still ached slightly.

"The doctor said the operation was successful," said Lieutenant Colonel Fernando. "The shrapnel left in the body has been basically removed. As long as we take good care of it, there won't be any problems in the future."

Gallieni groaned, and although the wound still felt tearing pain, it did feel much better than before.

He slowly sat down on the edge of the bed and asked, "Where is Charles?"

Gallieni didn't blame Charles for not visiting him these days, but he was worried that after Charles was untied, this guy might go too far.

"He is in Bizenci," Lieutenant Colonel Fernan replied, "He is said to be busy forming a new unit, what is it called? A motorized division."

Gallieni nodded slowly. When he heard the name, he guessed it almost exactly.

Having been following the battle in Charles, he knew that Charles' armored and mechanical forces would often encounter the problem of insufficient manpower during the infiltration process.

The motorized division is used to make up for this shortcoming!

Good, that's not too much.

In fact, it is quite standard and beneficial to the military and the country.

However, the next second a signalman pushed the door open and reported:

"Mr. Minister, General Foch has submitted his application to the government for appointment and dismissal."

"He suggested promoting Weygand to commander of Army Group North and Pétain to commander of Army Group Center."

"In addition, it is recommended to establish an additional heavy army group, with Charles as the commander."

Gallieni and Lieutenant Colonel Fernan exclaimed in unison: "What?"

These are matters of parliament, and everything must be arranged by parliament and the government. When will the military be able to make the decision?

Even just making an application or suggestion is an overstepping of authority.

If this continues, France will be on the verge of military dictatorship!

"When did Foch become so bold?" Lieutenant Colonel Fernan said in confusion: "He is still an old general. He must know that this is not something he can apply for or suggest, right?"

Gallieni seemed to be angry. He coughed a few times and said with difficulty: "Do you think this is what Foch meant?"

"That is..." Lieutenant Colonel Fernand suddenly thought: "Is this Charles' idea?"

Gallieni snorted in dissatisfaction:

"If not him, who else?"

"If it was just Foch, tomorrow the parliament would make a decision to remove him as commander-in-chief."

"But with the support of Charles and Pétain, plus me as the commander of the reserve army group and minister of the army, the parliament will have to compromise."

Fernando suddenly realized.

This was beneficial to Foch, Pétain and Charles, and Gallieni had just expressed his full support for Charles a few days ago.

Therefore, the three army groups of the military forced the emperor to abdicate with their military achievements and manpower.

In order to prevent the previous "mutiny" from happening again, or to take the overall situation of the war into consideration, the parliament had no choice but to agree to this "application".

"Heavy Armored Army Group!" Gallieni said expressionlessly, "Charles is holding the elite in his hands. One day, he returns to Paris with these tanks, armored vehicles, and planes. Will anyone be able to stop him?"

"Minister," Lieutenant Colonel Fernan asked cautiously, "Do you support this application?"

Gallieni was silent.

According to Gallieni's original intention, he would never support this application. It would not be a good thing in the long run, at least that's what he thought.

But I just promised Charles a few days ago, I can’t go back on my word right away, right?

At this time, the signalman brought another telegram from Charles.

Gallieni opened it and saw the following words: "General, either Charles or Boulanger, the choice is yours."

Gallieni was stunned, then nodded slowly.

Charles is right. Control over a country can only be in the hands of one party and cannot be shared by several forces.

The competition among several parties in the French Republic is only superficial; the big capitalists behind the scenes are always the ones who actually control the country.

Today, Charles has reached the point where he can compete with the big capitalists for control of the country.

When two tigers fight, one of them will be injured; it is impossible to have the best of both worlds.

Therefore, either he achieves final success as Charles, or he ends miserably like Boulanger; there is no third way.

After thinking for a while, Gallieni nodded to Lieutenant Colonel Fernan and said, "Ask Kobdo to come."

…

A few hours later, the Meritorious Newspaper issued an urgent supplement.

Unlike the previous ones, this supplement was not about Charles’ battle report, but an interview with Gallieni:

"General Gallieni, I heard that the military has submitted an application for the position of Army Group Commander, is that correct?"

"Yes, I just found out about that too."

"Do you think this application is reasonable? I mean, such appointments and dismissals have always been decisions made by the parliament before."

"I think it's justified. The reason is simple. This is wartime and we are facing a powerful enemy."

"But many people think the war is about to end and we don't need to worry too much about this issue."

"No, it is far from over. The Germans have stabilized their position on the Eastern Front and started counterattacking. They have also achieved partial victories in Romania and Italy. In other words, only the victory in France can be stabilized."

"But what does this have to do with the military's application?"

"Of course it is related. Special measures should be used in special times, just like we implemented wartime rationing to make people's lives better. The same is true in the military. We should consider actual combat more."

“You mean that the decisions of parliament and government are often not in line with actual combat.”

"Of course. Congressmen and politicians may be good at speaking and arguing, but they are not good at fighting. They don't know which generals can lead the battle, nor do they know how to organize the troops, or how to train and ensure logistics. If they make decisions, it will lead to many unnecessary casualties."

Gallieni then added: "These casualties often have nothing to do with parliamentarians and politicians, but are related to the military and citizens. I think the military's application for appointment and dismissal is for the purpose of achieving a better victory and reducing casualties."

…

As soon as the newspaper was released, it immediately caused a strong response in society.

In particular, Gallieni pointed out several key points in his report: "Parliamentarians and politicians do not understand war", "Military adjustments can reduce casualties", and "Casualties have nothing to do with parliamentarians and politicians."

Citizens can easily relate these to themselves and to reality:

“Yes, we always suffer heavy casualties under the command of MPs and politicians.”

"Only Charles can achieve victory with minimal casualties, but he has to obey the Council's arrangements."

"Children of politicians and congressmen hardly ever go to the battlefield. They don't care whether we live or die. But the military is different. The Shire is different!"

…

Gallieni stood at the window on the second floor of the hospital, looking at the angry citizens below, and muttered to himself: "I hope this is the right thing to do!"

(End of this chapter)