Chapter 474: Foch's Blame
Early in the morning, after a good sleep, Xiafei got up at eight o'clock on time. After having breakfast, he took a walk on the forest path next to the headquarters with his big belly.
(The picture above shows the body shape comparison between Marshal Joffre and his entourage)
Kanais, who was only half the size of Xiafei, followed carefully beside him and reported the battle situation last night:
“We were not able to recapture Fort Douaumont as we had hoped.”
"The Germans were well prepared. They used a new type of poison gas that could be fired into our positions by artillery shells."
"This increases the difficulty and danger of night combat."
…
A trace of dissatisfaction flashed in Xia Fei's eyes, and he responded lightly:
"Ultimately, it's because they didn't have a strong enough will to attack."
"As long as we eliminate the interference of poison gas, the loss will be almost negligible, and we can still successfully recapture Fort Douaumont."
"As long as they can move forward, victory is within their reach!"
Kanais nodded, then moved closer and said in a low voice:
"More than twelve thousand people died last night, General."
"There are some discordant voices in parliament."
"Some members of parliament asked the government: 'The name Joffre is no longer a synonym for confidence, but on the contrary, do we still want to tie our fate to him?'..."
Xiafei cleared his throat with a little embarrassment, and Kanais tactfully stopped talking.
The surroundings fell into silence. A few blackbirds on the branches above were jumping around and calling, staring with their eyes, as if accusing Xiafei of his crimes.
Joffre knew what situation he was in. He had hoped that victory in last night's battle would help him "get out of trouble", but unfortunately, the war did not develop as he expected.
These cowards, Xiafei cursed in his heart, why can't they bravely rush towards the enemy? !
After walking a few steps with his head down, Joffre suddenly asked, "Does Foch really look sick?"
Kanais was confused, he had never heard of Foch being sick.
But he immediately came to his senses and nodded: "You think so too? I thought only General Castelnau's staff believed that Foch was ill."
Xiafei smiled slightly and said nothing.
(The picture above shows General Castelnau, the commander of the Eastern Army Group at the time. He promoted Pétain, but he was at odds with Foch and suggested that Foch should resign as commander of the Northern Army Group due to health problems.)
…
Foch's headquarters moved to Brussels.
This was done for the convenience of command. Telegraphs were unreliable during this period, and telephones had to be used most of the time.
There have never been many telephone lines between France and Belgium, and Germany deliberately isolated Belgium from France during its occupation.
If the Northern Army Group was commanded remotely by telephone within France, it would not only be easily cut off but also very likely to be eavesdropped.
Foch did not pay much attention to the battle of Verdun. He was only thinking about how to attack the fortresses of Louvain and Namur to expand the results of the war in Belgium.
"If we can reach Liege and consolidate our advantage in Belgium, the Germans' flanks and rear will be exposed to us." Foch said to his staff with confidence: "So, we are the ones who will ultimately decide the outcome."
However, the small country of Belgium is full of fortresses, while France is short of artillery.
To be precise, it was not a shortage of guns, as France had countless 75mm guns.
But attacking fortresses and fortifications requires larger caliber, longer range artillery, like the German "Big Bertha".
The absence of these artillery pieces meant that the French army would be suppressed by the German fortress artillery on the way to the attack.
Foch was reluctant to continue to rely on Charles, as that would make him feel that he was fighting under Charles's protection.
"How shall we attack?" Foch whispered to himself, "Can we not fight without Charles?"
At this time, Wei Gang came forward with a telegram with a serious expression. He wanted to hand it over, but then he retracted his hand, seeming to be hesitant to speak.
Foch, who was looking at the map, noticed this and looked up in confusion and asked, "What's going on?"
Wei Gang didn't say anything, but just handed over the telegram silently.
Foch was stunned after taking a look. The telegram was from Army Minister Messimy: "Due to your health, we have decided to let you step down as the commander of the Northern Army Group and become the 'Director of the Military Research Center'. Please report to Paris after handing over your work. Thank you for everything you have done for France. Long live France!"
Foch looked confused. He looked up at Weygand, then at the telegram, thinking he was seeing things: "Health reasons? Resignation?"
Wei Gang sighed and replied softly: "The Paris media reported unfavorable remarks about you. They believed that the wrong decision of the Battle of Verdun was made with your support."
Foch understood that this was a scapegoat that Joffre had thrown on him in order to keep his own "throne".
He stood up angrily:
"If the government wants to remove me, then go ahead! But they shouldn't say I'm sick, that's a lie."
"The bigger lie was the decision at Verdun..."
At this point Foch was stunned.
He was indeed Joffre's think tank. Joffre would telegraph or call him to discuss almost every decision. Verdun's claim that it was his support was not without basis.
The problem was that the information Foch could obtain was processed by Joffre. For example, Joffre's judgment was: there was reliable intelligence proving that the Germans were really going to attack Belfort, and Verdun was a feint, there was no doubt about that.
Foch supported Joffre's decision on this basis, and Foch did nothing wrong.
However, who would listen to his explanation?
"This bastard!" Foch cursed angrily, stood up and walked to the telecommunications room to send a telegram to Joffre to question him.
Of course, Joffre would not admit it. He gave an ambiguous answer: "You were dismissed? I should be dismissed too. We should all be dismissed because we failed! This is war. The winner is the king and the loser is the bandit!"
Foch knew that this was a foregone conclusion, and Joffre was determined to drag him into taking the blame.
He walked back to his seat weakly, sat on the chair for a while, and then smiled bitterly: "When you want to kill your dog, you will start to say that it has gone crazy. This is a very old rule with almost no exceptions!"
"But this is not fair, General." Weygand said excitedly: "You have nothing to do with the mistakes of Verdun. You even just won a victory."
Then Wei Gand suggested: "Can we let Charles say something? After all, we just cooperated with him..."
Foch shook his head slightly. "Charles may be able to defeat the Germans, but he can do nothing about these people."
This is French politics, a complex web of interpersonal relationships, and it is not what Charles is good at.
(Note: The plot of this chapter is based on historical facts. The Internet simply said that Foch was dismissed by the government because of his involvement with Joffre. The book "Marshal Foch's Biography" records the process of Foch's dismissal in more detail. The French government actually had no intention of dismissing Foch. Joffre dealt Foch a fatal blow. Joffre said that the reason Foch made a wrong judgment was because of his health and age problems. He hoped to divert the public's attention and the direction of public opinion.)
(End of this chapter)
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