Chapter 514: Chantilly Conference
This is a warm winter. The sycamore trees, which usually shed their leaves in October, reluctantly dropped their leaves one by one until mid-November this year.
In the Nonette Valley, about 60 kilometers north of Paris, stands an ancient medieval castle on a steep cliff surrounded by water: the Château de Chantilly.
During the war, this castle built in the forest was closed to the outside world.
Since no one has the leisure time to visit here, citizens who are facing a shortage of supplies would rather exchange their tickets for bread, which at least can fill their stomachs.
However, the castle, which was originally desolate, looks completely different today.
The weed-covered lawn was filled with fully armed soldiers, some setting up guard posts, some blocking roads, and others lined up to search and patrol at the edge of the forest.
On the gravel road, cars were coming and going non-stop, carrying high-ranking officials with military ranks, including British officers wearing wide-brimmed hats and French officers wearing tube hats.
(The picture above shows the Château de Chantilly in Paris. The city of Chantilly was often used as a meeting place for the Allied forces during World War I.)
(The picture above shows the interior of the Château de Chantilly)
The castle conference room was not very spacious but it housed dozens of lieutenant generals and major generals.
Gallieni, Pétain, Haig, and Lieutenant General Aves, who had just been transferred to the Antwerp defense line, were among them.
They talked in low voices, occasionally letting out a happy laugh or two.
Gallieni was sitting in the French column, and as Minister of War he was invited to the front row. He looked around and behind him, but did not see Charles.
Pétain, who was sitting next to Gallieni, seemed to see through Gallieni's thoughts. He leaned closer and whispered, "Minister, do you see the British lieutenant general with a mustache in the second row?"
Gallieni glanced quickly to the other side and said, "Hmm," "What do you mean?"
"His name is Avis," Petain explained, "and he is the commander of the Antwerp defense line."
Pétain stopped there, but Gallieni understood that with Aves as commander, there was no need for Charles.
"Fuck you." Gallieni couldn't help cursing, "These bastards, they excluded Charles again."
"They were worried that it would be awkward with Charles there," Pétain said.
Charles had mentioned this issue when he was discussing cooperation with Pétain. After Nivelle became the commander-in-chief, the combat plan he formulated would definitely be based on the British.
This was the price they paid for supporting Nivelle with supplies to become commander-in-chief.
In other words, Nivelle sacrificed the interests of France for his own interests.
Gallieni hummed, his face turning very ugly. He didn't understand why at such a critical moment of life and death, the coalition forces were still keen on fighting for power.
At this time, Nivelle appeared at the door. He strode in, wearing a brand new lieutenant general's uniform. He had no expression on his face, but he could not hide the pride in his eyes.
"Generals." Nivelle glanced at the entire room and waited quietly for the venue to quiet down.
He started with a French joke:
"I believe that if the Germans knew we were holding a meeting here, they would be frightened and unable to sleep or eat."
"After all, we are gathered here to decide their life or death!"
The generals laughed, except Gallieni and Pétain.
It's not because they don't have a sense of humor, but because they don't think this can "determine the life or death of Germany."
Gallieni believed that the battle would be meaningless without Charles, not only because Charles had won a series of victories, but also because Charles had armored forces, mechanized forces, and air forces in his hands.
Don’t they need the cooperation of these troops?
Especially the aviation forces!
Pétain sensitively predicted that this was likely to be another attack. He couldn't understand why the soldiers had to rush towards the enemy's guns and cannons when defense could clearly kill more enemies!
victory?
land?
Or something else?
What's the point of all this if all the soldiers are killed? !
The assistant slowly put down a large rolled-up map on the east wall. Nivelle confidently stepped forward, took the baton handed over by the assistant and gently pulled it open: "First of all, I want to thank someone, Major General Pétain."
Nivelle waved his left hand gently towards Pétain.
Pétain stood up reluctantly, bowed slightly to the back and sides, and nodded.
There was applause in the conference room.
Nivelle introduced to everyone:
"As we all know, General Pétain successfully stopped the German advance at Verdun."
"This was a glorious battle. The Germans had many times more men than us, and their artillery was more than ten times that of ours."
"But the brave French army, led by General Pétain, firmly blocked the enemy's attack and did not let them advance a single step!"
"Thank you General Pétain, thank you officers and soldiers fighting on the front line, thank you all the citizens who have sacrificed their blood and sweat for this battle!"
Applause broke out in the conference room again, louder than before.
However, Pétain's expression was somewhat unnatural.
The generals looked at him with strange eyes, and some of them whispered to each other:
"They completely ignored Ciel's contribution."
"The mines and directional mines invented by Charles are still being used extensively in Verdun, but they haven't said a word about it."
"Did Pétain really defend Verdun? I don't think so!"
…
Gallieni understood Nivelle's intention.
He was trying to show goodwill to his "former superior" Pétain and win him over to their camp.
At this time, there seemed to be a "three-legged" situation within the French army: the offensive faction, the defensive faction, and the Charles faction.
The offensive faction is the mainstream and the tradition. Not only the French army, but also the British army is on the offensive faction.
The Char School is a rising star, representing new forces and new theories, relying on its undefeated record.
The defensive faction represented by Pétain was alone and weak, not as popular as the offensive faction, and not as victorious as Charles de Gaulle. There was a danger and trend of being marginalized.
But when the offensive faction and the Charles faction were fighting each other, Pétain became the target of both factions.
Pétain seemed to notice this, and his face was uncertain, as if he was considering which side he should stand on.
Nivelle took out a few telegrams from his briefcase and waved them to the crowd:
"Before the meeting begins, please allow me to say a few words off topic."
"Intelligence shows that the Germans have assembled more than 2,000 artillery pieces of various types in Verdun, firing at least tens of thousands of shells every day."
"I think the person who felt this most deeply was General Pétain."
Pétain nodded: "Indeed, I sometimes think that the Germans may have concentrated the country's artillery shells and poured them on our trenches."
Nivelle pointed his finger into the air and said:
"That's what I wanted to say."
"Think about it, generals! If the Germans concentrate their forces on Verdun, they will be extremely weak elsewhere."
“This might be a great opportunity for us!”
(End of this chapter)
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