Chapter 615 Nominating Ciel as Commander-in-Chief
The Netherlands closed its border and did not allow "refugees" to pass through, cutting off the German army's hope of withdrawing to Germany via the Netherlands.
This caused irreparable losses to the trapped German troops: they lost the best opportunity to break out, and at the same time, their confidence and morale were hit.
There is a saying that the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.
It would have been fine if there was no hope of withdrawing from the Netherlands from the beginning, but the German army would have done everything they could to break out from the Hasselt direction.
Now there is hope but it is ruthlessly crushed, which will make the German army generally in a negative state, and many people are even unwilling to break out and wait for surrender.
Lieutenant General Nicolas and Colonel Erwin were unwilling to give up, so they organized more than 100,000 remaining troops to break out in several directions.
But in the end, only more than 10,000 people broke through the encirclement.
This has to do with Ciel's preparation.
When the German army gathered on the Dutch border, Charles had transferred a large number of mines and rockets from the country.
The parliament gave its uncharacteristic full support and sent more than 40 trains to transport the weapons day and night. On average, one train arrived in Namur every hour to unload the weapons and then transport them to the front line by car.
Then, a large number of mines, especially "S"-shaped jumping mines, were laid on the interpenetration line from Namur to Hasselt, and the Belgian First Special Reconnaissance Army was also equipped with rocket launchers and rockets.
Once the German army broke out, they would first have to wade through the minefield, then endure the baptism of rockets, then the Belgian infantry defense line, and finally escape the pursuit of Charles's First Armored Corps and air force.
Only a few were able to successfully break out, and most chose to give up during the process and surrender directly to the Belgian and French armies.
Lieutenant General Nicholas and Colonel Erwin managed to escape and were picked up by a plane.
If there is any loophole in this encirclement, it is that the planes fly out of the encirclement at night. This is the safest and fastest way. At this time, the fighter planes have no night combat capability, so they can only let them fly out.
…
It's snowing heavily in Paris, France.
It was past five in the morning and it was still dark. Many people were still asleep. Only the housewife yawned, turned on the light, and got up to prepare breakfast for her family.
The street was empty, with only a few cars passing by occasionally, and the headlights cast streaks of snowflakes on the walls on both sides.
Suddenly someone cheered loudly: "Charles won, the Germans surrendered!"
Some people excitedly opened the window and shouted outside: "Charles won, he captured 210,000 Germans, 210,000!"
The voices spread one after another, the lights lit up one by one, and soon the whole city was boiling.
Some people rushed into the streets in their pajamas and cheered, some ran around to tell others, and some ran naked on the streets, shouting hysterically as they ran, like crazy people.
Briand received a call at home.
"Really? Are you sure? 210,000 German soldiers surrendered?"
"God, he has saved France again, he has created a miracle again!"
"Inform Clemenceau and have him come to my office immediately!"
…
Paris City Government, Prime Minister’s Office.
Clemenceau walked in sleepily. He took off his hat and coat and threw them on the sofa. When he sat down, he put his briefcase aside and yawned.
Clemenceau also heard the news of Charles' victory, but he did not think it was worth getting out of bed and coming here in the cold wind and heavy snow.
“Do you think this is good news, Mr. Prime Minister?” asked Clemenceau.
"Isn't it?" Briand, who was reading the detailed report, asked back: "Think about it, not long ago we were worried about the collapse of the supply line and the Germans would attack Paris. Now everything has been solved, and we have captured 210,000 Germans. 210,000, Mr. Commissioner!"
Briand stood up and handed Clemenceau a glass of red wine, then said: "I think we should learn a lesson. I mean, we almost put France in danger."
What this means is that the parliament should be more restrained in its suppression of Charles and not let things get out of hand again like they did this time.
Clemenceau shook his head slightly. “You overlooked one point, Prime Minister. All of this seems to be within Charles’ plan, including our suppression of him.”
"You mean..." Brian was stunned.
Clemenceau took the briefcase beside him, rummaged through it, took out a document, stood up and handed it to Briand who was sitting opposite him.
"This is the investigation report of the Second Bureau," Clemenceau replied. "Charles has been saving ammunition and supplies since he left Gembloux. When we thought that Charles' troops would lose their combat effectiveness due to lack of supplies, Charles was in control of everything."
Briand opened the document and flipped through it, looking at Clemenceau in surprise: "So, the situation is not as dangerous as we thought?"
"Yes." Clemenceau nodded. "In addition, there are the British. Charles actually achieved some kind of cooperation with the British Navy and the 'Minister of Munitions'. His 'echo sounder' was used in the French Navy and successfully opened the blockade of the German submarine route. Do you know what this means?"
Brian nodded thoughtfully. "This means that Charles is developing his power in the direction of the navy. At the same time, he has control over the supplies to some extent."
Clemenceau leaned back and concluded lazily, "Charles' power is growing. Almost all soldiers and civilians are his loyal fans. Now he is reaching out to the navy and supplies. And we are wondering whether to untie him?"
Clemenceau asked himself and answered: "No, I don't think we should do that."
Briand fell silent. He felt that he had been deceived by Charles.
Charles is using his military genius to continuously enhance his prestige and power, and now has the momentum to break free from the control of Parliament.
But what should we do now?
Briand thought of Foch.
"So we should support Foch," said Briand.
Clemenceau nodded in agreement: "If Foch can successfully conclude the Battle of Verdun and the Somme under his command, coupled with his background, he will be able to form a force to rival Charles."
"That's not enough." Briand's eyes flashed with worry.
“Yes,” Clemenceau agreed.
But he was also helpless, as Charles was able to win on the battlefield time and time again, and each time was remarkable.
This alone is enough to make Charles defeat anyone who stands in his way.
Briand thought for a moment and said, "So we should nominate Charles as commander-in-chief."
Clemenceau suddenly raised his head and looked at Briand in shock.
Was he crazy, nominating Ciel as commander-in-chief?
This was something the parliament had always avoided mentioning, for fear that it might come true, but Briand took the initiative to nominate it.
But the next second, Clemenceau understood what was going on.
(End of this chapter)
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