Chapter 880 This Has Nothing to Do with France

The headquarters of the 1st Panzer Army was located in the Grand Theatre of Metz.

It is a miracle that this place served as the headquarters of the Allied and German armies several times and changed hands frequently between the enemy and us but was not destroyed.

This may be related to the special terrain of Metz.

The defense of Metz mainly relies on the water network and the fortresses on the river bank. Once they are breached, the garrison in Metz will be an isolated force trapped in the river, and resistance will be of no use.

Charles only felt safe here. Before, when he was in the British Expeditionary Force and Army Group East, he always felt a chill at the back.

If it were not for the long-term interests of France and if no one else could do the dismemberment of the colonies, Charles would never be stupid enough to put himself in danger.

When Charles was sitting leisurely by the window with a cup of coffee and watching the drizzle outside, Tijani, wearing a raincoat, walked in hurriedly from the door.

“I don’t understand, Lieutenant General,” Tijani said. “You know, we have the ability to break through the Hindenburg Line.”

"No, we don't have that ability." Charles denied this statement without hesitation.

Tijani looked puzzled.

Charles was not sincere in saying that the First Armored Army had the ability to do so.

The German Hindenburg Line was not yet fully completed and had loopholes in many places.

The 1st Armored Army had armored bridge-laying vehicles.

Although the German army lengthened the anti-tank trenches, as long as they were blown down by artillery fire or filled with sandbags, bridge-laying vehicles could build bridges for tanks to pass through depending on the situation.

Tijani continued to advise:

"This is an opportunity, Lieutenant General. We should seize the opportunity to attack Germany."

"Otherwise, once the Germans have added heavy equipment and improved their defenses, it will be much more difficult to break through this defense line than it is now."

"If we still want to break through by then, we will definitely suffer heavy casualties, and we may not even be able to break through."

From a military perspective, Tijani is right.

But from a political and strategic perspective...

"If we have that ability, what's the point?" Charles asked, turning around.

"Let the Germans lose their last line of defense." Tijani said without hesitation: "Let them realize that they cannot win and can only surrender unconditionally, and then the war will be over."

Charles asked back in a calm tone: "What if the Germans are willing to cease fire now?"

This question confused Tijani.

"We should have sat down at the negotiation table a long time ago, Major General," Charles said. "You know why."

Tijani understood what Charles meant.

The Germans have always been willing to negotiate, but it has always been American capital that has been the obstruction.

But Tijani thought again: "But if we don't completely defeat the Germans, they will certainly not surrender unconditionally."

If the Germans had simply "negotiated an armistice" instead of "surrendering", there would have been no huge war reparations, and the US loan to Britain would have become a "bad debt."

This is something the United States will never allow.

Charles said "hmm" and said nothing.

Tijani suddenly realized that this was not France's business.

The United States is worried about bad debts, and the United Kingdom is burdened with huge debts that cannot be repaid. That is a problem between the United States and the United Kingdom.

Why should the French army fight to the death with Germany in order to solve their problems?

After figuring this out, Tijani suddenly relaxed. He thought for a while, took off his raincoat and handed it to the guard. He sat in front of Charles with a smile on his face: "So, our countermeasure is the 'super defense line'?"

"Of course." Charles raised his eyebrows and asked meaningfully: "Now, do you still think we have the ability to break through the Hindenburg Line?"

"Obviously not." Tijani replied seriously: "The Germans have made sufficient preparations and specifically targeted our armored forces. This is an extremely difficult line of defense to break through."

As he was speaking, Pershing came in quickly from the door with a telegram in his hand, which should be the ceasefire order issued by Charles.

"Lieutenant General." The voice came before the other man arrived, holding up the telegram and waving it: "We can't stop now. This is giving the Germans a chance to catch their breath. We should continue the attack and defeat them completely."

Charles pretended to look at the map and turned to ask Tijani: "Have you found a suitable breakthrough point?"

Tijani shook his head cooperatively: "No, Lieutenant General, at least not so far. The solidity of this line of defense is beyond my expectation. I think we should remain cautious enough."

Charles turned his gaze to Pershing again: "Have you found a suitable breakthrough point?"

"Of course." Pershing replied, and pointed at the map. "I think we can break through in the Freeman area. The Germans haven't finished their fortifications in that direction yet..."

"Brigadier General," Tijani interrupted Pershing, "You seem to have forgotten that there are two high grounds near Fremen. They form a valley-like passage. Our armored forces can easily be blocked by enemy artillery fire in the passage."

"But we have the advantage in artillery, and we also have air superiority," Pershing said. "We can use these to suppress the enemy's artillery and open a gap."

"And then?" Charles asked. "This could be a flaw that the Germans intentionally revealed, Brigadier General."

"Yes," Tijani agreed.

"Not to mention the heavy casualties our army may suffer, once we open the gap we will face encirclement by the Germans."

"Once our armored forces penetrate deep into enemy territory, we will immediately have to consider the issue of supply."

"We all knew the Germans were short of fuel, so we couldn't even capture it."

Pershing was stunned.

Shouldn't these be decided after the fight is over?

The most important thing now is to open a gap in the defense line, otherwise we may miss this opportunity.

However, Pershing finally believed in Charles' judgment. After all, Charles was the victorious general on the battlefield, while he lacked practical experience.

What Pershing didn't know was that this was actually a difference in "national interests" between the US and French armies in strategic direction.

…

In the White House, President Wilson frowned when he heard that the Allied forces stopped at the Hindenburg Line.

"What happened?" Wilson asked. "Why did they stop?"

"I'm not sure, Mr. President," the assistant replied. "I heard that the Hindenburg Line built a large number of anti-tank fortifications, which left Charles helpless."

Wilson's first reaction was that it was unreal.

Why is Charles, who has always been invincible, "helpless" at this moment?

If they took one step forward, just one small step, Charles would be the one to invade Germany, and the United States would stand up and demand Germany's "unconditional surrender."

But now, the gears of fate are stuck here and cannot move forward.

Will it be "ceasefire negotiations" in the end?

No, no one can afford this result.

After thinking for a while, Wilson said: "I don't care about these. I just want to know when we can completely defeat the Germans. Even if we don't have Charles and the French army, we still have the British and American Expeditionary Forces!"

(End of this chapter)