Chapter 1021 We and Charles witnessed the rise of France
Paris City Hall, France.
Gallieni sat in the minister's office, worrying over the nautical chart.
He was the Secretary of War, and naval warfare might not be his concern, but he had to.
This battle was related to the fate of France and was considered the most critical battle by Gallieni.
If the French army lost this battle, it would have to accept the British conditions with no room for maneuver.
Naval warfare is different from land warfare.
If they are defeated in the land battle, they can just take the lives of the people and give them a batch of guns, and they can quickly form a new army. Tanks can also be produced in just a few months.
But if the naval battle is lost, for example, a battleship is sunk, it will take at least several years to rebuild it.
In particular, the two major French shipyards had just resumed production and had a serious lack of production capacity. In addition, the blockade of the British Mediterranean Fleet prevented them from obtaining the resources needed to produce warships.
France would most likely be struck dead with one blow, and would never be able to raise its head again. France would then forever be a puppet of Britain, and all its previous victories would be wiped out.
"General," Lieutenant Colonel Fernan said comfortingly, "We will win. Charles has never let you down..."
"The problem lies with Charles." This stung Gallieni, and he jumped up.
"Ciel is not in Malta."
"The commander-in-chief is Lieutenant General Geprat. What battles has he fought in before? The Dardanelles or the Battle of the North Sea?"
"No, we know these battles were fought by the Shire!"
At this time, Gallieni trusted Charles unconditionally, even though others generally believed that Charles was better at land battles than naval battles.
But what annoyed him was that the British attacked while Charles was away in Belgium.
"Where is Charles now?" asked Gallieni.
Lieutenant Colonel Fernan replied cautiously: "Still in Pontissebourg."
Gallieni was furious when he heard this: "Why is he still in Ponticeau? Didn't I tell him to rush to Malta a long time ago?"
"General," replied Lieutenant Colonel Fernan.
"The British were well prepared for this, and their fleet was simultaneously attacking the port of Emden."
"Once the British were allowed to land at Emden and move south to occupy the Ruhr industrial area, Germany would become an uncertain factor."
Gallieni snorted:
"That's not as important as the Mediterranean."
"If the Ruhr industrial area is lost, it can be retaken. If the Mediterranean is lost, France will never have another chance."
"Doesn't this guy even understand this?"
Gallieni hurried to the telegraph room to urge the troops again, when the staff officer holding the telegram cheered: "General, we have won, the British fleet has surrendered!"
"What?" Gallieni stared at the staff officer in surprise. "What surrender?"
"British Fleet." The staff officer excitedly handed over the telegram:
"It's from Lieutenant General Charles. Our army has achieved complete victory."
"The British Mediterranean Fleet surrendered. Preliminary statistics show that a total of 118 large and small ships were captured, including 8 battleships and 12 cruisers."
"Our forces sank two battlecruisers, one battleship, two aircraft carriers, and an incalculable number of destroyers and enemy aircraft."
…
Gallieni was stunned. He read the telegram again and again, then silently sent a telegram back to Charles: "Are you sure you are not joking? Why did the British fleet surrender?"
Even if Gallieni didn't understand naval warfare, he knew that there had never been a precedent for capturing more than a hundred warships in a naval battle.
In fact, it is difficult to force the other side to surrender in a naval battle. Both sides are bombarding each other with naval guns. As long as the power is still there, even if the ship is bombed to lose its combat effectiveness by the enemy, it can still withdraw from the battlefield.
But now, more than a hundred British warships can actually surrender collectively?
This also includes 8 battleships?
These battleships are enough to destroy the entire Toulon fleet!
This was pure fantasy, impossible, and Gallieni didn't believe a word of it.
Charles's answer was simple:
"Because we have aircraft carriers, Admiral."
"I'm sorry to have worried you. Military secrets must not be leaked, so I didn't explain it to you in advance."
"This battle was actually a trap that the British walked into. The outcome was already decided."
Gallieni finally understood after seeing this.
This bastard even lied to me!
I thought that France's national destiny would be interrupted today, but I didn't expect that the powerful British Mediterranean Fleet, a fleet of 10 battleships that made everyone panic, was just a prey in Charles' eyes, just a prey!
Gallieni relaxed completely. He nodded slightly to his subordinates who were looking expectantly at him.
"Gentlemen, we are fortunate. We have witnessed the rise of France together with Charles."
"From now on, we will be the undisputed world's number one power, and no country will be able to compete with France."
"If anyone tries to do so, they will be crushed under Ciel's feet!"
The headquarters erupted in cheers, and the staff and signalmen threw documents into the air and let them float down, as if all the intelligence was no longer important.
…
The atmosphere at the Crillon Hotel has been rather depressing these days.
Everyone understood that they should stand with France, otherwise they would be enslaved by Britain forever.
The Dutch representative said: "The Queen has urgently convened a meeting and we have decided to fully cooperate with France not only in terms of supplies but also in military terms, including allowing French troops to enter the Netherlands."
This is an "alliance" of another kind, and it is also an absolute trust in France.
Otherwise, with the strength of the French army, they could destroy the Netherlands or support a puppet at any time after entering the Netherlands.
The Greek representative said: "We will call on all soldiers and civilians to take up arms and work together with the French army to drive the British army into the sea as soon as possible."
The British army has more than 200 new fighter jets in Greece. If they are captured, the British Mediterranean Fleet will be devastated.
The Belgian representative said: "We will give priority to providing France with the resources it needs for its development to fill the gap left by the cut-off waterway."
The resources in Belgium's hands are not enough to produce any decent equipment, but it is a different story in France's hands.
African countries were even more enthusiastic in speaking out. Those with money offered money, those with people offered manpower, and some even hoped to join forces with Egypt to attack Port Said guarded by the British army.
However, everyone has a heavy stone on their mind:
Can the French fleet defeat the British fleet?
That is the world's most powerful navy, several times the size of the French Navy.
If the Franco-Spanish fleet failed, would the British army "kill the chicken to scare the monkey" and start with a small country?
Even the smile on Clemenceau's face seemed forced.
Although he was still speaking encouraging words, everyone could see his inner worry: he always paid attention to his image, but today he didn't even notice that he was wearing socks of different colors!
(End of this chapter)
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