Chapter 469: Forcing Xia Fei to Abdicate
Verdun is located in northeastern France.
The terrain here is flat and it has been an important military fortress since the Middle Ages. The only few high grounds were transformed into fortresses by the French army, and trenches were built in front of the fortresses. When necessary, the infantry could enter the trenches and form a circle to provide protection for the fortresses.
At this time, most of the trees in front of the fortress had been cut down or blown up by the French army, leaving only a piece of yellow earth and sparse craters.
(The picture above shows one of the Verdun fortresses: Douaumont Fort, which originally had 6 155MM guns, 6 120 guns and 6 75MM guns)
Colonel De Leon, who was sixty years old at the time, was the commander of the 19th Infantry Regiment stationed in Verdun. In the fortress, he looked worriedly through a telescope at the German troops in the trenches in the distance.
The German troops were becoming more and more dense, and occasionally Colonel De Leon could see artillery hidden in the bunkers. Although they were camouflaged, they still could not escape De Leon's eyes.
"Colonel." At this time, the soldier behind him came forward and reported: "The people from the 7th Army said they want to dismantle the artillery of the fortress."
Colonel De Leon looked back and saw a major coming in with a group of soldiers.
"No, Major." De Leon hurried forward to stop him: "Other places are fine, but not here. This is the front line, and we need artillery!"
The major spread his hands helplessly: "It's no use for you to tell us this, Colonel, we are just following orders."
Then the major added: "If you have any questions, you should consult the commander-in-chief."
De Leon hesitated for a moment, then finally sighed and stepped aside, watching them dismantle the artillery and carry it away in several parts.
It's not that Colonel De Leon didn't report this to Joffre, but every time he got the same answer: "I know what to do, you just need to obey orders, Colonel."
Then Joffre would complain: "These people are always reluctant to part with their equipment. They don't realize that artillery is useless in a fortress!"
At this time, the sound of an engine rumbling was heard in the sky. Colonel De Leon walked out of the fortress and looked up at the sky. It was a German reconnaissance plane, and there was another one in the distance.
"Colonel," said Lieutenant Colonel Charles, a staff officer, as he came up to the scene. "The Germans are conducting more and more reconnaissance here. They seem to want to photograph every inch of land here."
Lieutenant Colonel Charles was equally worried. All signs proved that the Germans were about to attack Verdun. He could feel this, but Joffre miraculously emptied the fortress.
"I should do something." Colonel De Leon gritted his teeth, turned around and walked quickly towards the garage behind him, saying as he walked, "I'm going to Lagden to talk to Joffre."
Lieutenant Colonel Charles caught up from behind: "This won't work, Colonel, you know it."
Colonel De Leon slowed down his pace, and finally nodded helplessly and stopped where he was.
He had already told Joffre everything he needed to say in the telegram, and even if he went there in person he would only be repeating it.
After a moment of silence, Colonel De Leon said, "Perhaps there is another way. We can report it to the government."
Charles was stunned and hurriedly stopped him: "This is a report that goes beyond the level, Colonel, you will offend Joffre."
He knew that Colonel De Leon had channels, and that Colonel De Leon could even contact Clemenceau or the Minister of War directly.
Colonel De Leon had been a member of parliament, the deputy for Nancy, before the outbreak of the war.
(The picture above shows Colonel Derian during World War I. He was Boulanger's son-in-law. He entered politics as a retired veteran and was elected as a member of parliament. After the outbreak of World War I, he resolutely returned to the army and became a colonel, but he did not leave the parliament. He still kept in touch with the parliament as a member of parliament and had certain connections in the parliament)
Colonel De Leon said "hmm", looked in the direction of the German army and nodded slightly: "I know, but I can't care about that now."
…
Originally, the situation in Verdun would not be known to the French government, as Joffre treated it as a military secret.
But De Leon sent a report to the Paris government:
"The Germans are gathering in Verdun, infantry, artillery, and aircraft. We have reason to believe they will attack here soon."
"But our artillery and troops were dismantled and transferred."
"Not only that, but we are also seriously low on supplies, even the barbed wire!"
"Verdun is at stake!"
…
This incident immediately caused an uproar in the government and parliament, and the House of Representatives immediately convened a meeting to discuss the matter.
As usual, there are voices of support and opposition:
"I think this was intentional by Joffre. As the commander-in-chief, he may have reasons that we don't know about."
"And these reasons may not be convenient to disclose to the outside world, otherwise it will easily leak!"
"Since we have handed over the army to him, we should trust him and give him enough freedom."
Those who oppose it respond with sarcasm:
"If it was Charles who did this, I would absolutely believe that it was the right thing to do, but he is Joffre!"
There was laughter in the House of Representatives. Many people did not believe Joffre's command, including members of parliament and government officials who knew nothing about military affairs.
At this time, Armand stood up, walked slowly to the podium, and said confidently:
"Gentlemen, I don't think this was the right decision."
"Although I knew nothing, no intelligence, no German intentions, and I didn't even know anything about military affairs."
"But I bet Joffre was fooled this time. He fell into the German trap again!"
"Think about it. From the invasion of Lorraine to the Battle of the Marne or any other battle, Joffre failed to make a timely and correct judgment."
“I would even go so far as to say that whatever decision Joffre makes, it is correct for us to go in the opposite direction!”
There was another round of laughter in the House.
Armand continued:
"Save those poor French soldiers and listen to their cries."
"They are dying in vain, not because they are not brave enough or because the enemy is strong, but because they have an incompetent commander-in-chief!"
"Why should we continue to keep Joffre as commander-in-chief? What has he done?"
The forces supporting Joffre rose up in opposition, and some shouted:
"You shameless traitor, you have no right to say such things."
"Go down, you only want to harm France for your own benefit!"
“You should resign as a member of parliament!”
…
They just called out, but they didn't expect Armand to answer:
"Great, that's what I was going to do!"
"Let's make a bet. If I'm wrong, I will immediately resign as a member of parliament and disappear from your sight forever."
"But if I'm right..."
Armand paused and said word by word: "Then we should change someone to be the Commander-in-Chief of France!"
There was silence in the meeting room, and the parliamentarians realized that Armand was forcing Joffre to step down in another way.
(End of this chapter)
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