Chapter 762 This will be a more successful siege than the one at Charles
In the Bourbon Palace, the parliament was caught in a tug-of-war between two evenly matched people.
In the past, one side usually had an overwhelming advantage.
Now, when Clemenceau stood with Charles's faction, the faction headed by Briand, representing the interests of the big capitalists, had a very slim advantage even if it had one.
This forced Briand, who basically did not participate in parliamentary struggles, to come out and take charge of the situation.
"Gentlemen," Briand called out to the audience with a worried look on his face:
"I know you have your reasons. Besides, there is nothing wrong with the ideas that General Gallieni published in the newspaper."
"There is no doubt that the military's application is beneficial to the war. I don't deny that."
"However, do you remember the tenets of the Third Republic: liberty, equality and fraternity?"
"And it is us, the parliament and the system that can ensure this."
"If we compromise on this today, it might give us some benefit in the war."
"But it is also a dangerous step towards destroying the Republic and the entire system!"
…
There was a chorus of objections from the audience:
"No, the war is the most important thing right now. We are tired of this kind of life. People want change."
"We want to end this war, and talking about this now would be showing mercy to the enemy."
"The military has only made an application, the parliament still has the right to decide, we are exercising our power now, this will not pose a threat to the system!"
…
That last sentence is not true.
The fact is that MPs exercised their power under duress from the Shire and faced enormous pressure from the military.
But the Charles faction certainly wouldn't say that. They want to whitewash it as "parliament is still functioning normally", at least on the surface it does.
Clemenceau stood up and asked Briand a question in a steady and full voice: "Mr. Prime Minister, I want to know which of the military's applications you are most dissatisfied with?"
Briand hesitated, not knowing how to answer.
Clemenceau gave the answer: "It was Charles's heavy army group, right?"
Briand could not deny it.
If he denied it, Clemenceau would immediately say: "Since you have no objection, then Charles will become the commander of the heavy army group, and we can talk about other things later."
"Yes." Briand remained cautious enough: "The heavy armored army group is of great importance. I think it should be considered carefully..."
Clemenceau interrupted Briand and said, "Prime Minister, do you have a better candidate?"
Briand was speechless.
Apart from Charles, who else is qualified to be the commander of this heavy armored army group? !
Clemenceau pursued the matter relentlessly:
"You wouldn't want Foch to be the commander of the heavy army group? We all know that he only knows how to attack."
"You wouldn't want Pétain, would you? He's only good at defense."
"So, you want Gamelin to take the position? Just like he was the commander of the reserve army group?"
As he spoke, Clemenceau spread his hands around him.
There was laughter in the meeting room, and the members discussed:
"Gamelin had never commanded a tank battle, let alone an aviation unit."
"He has always believed that planes and tanks are useless, and we want him to command these things in battle."
"He will only lead the army to defeat, lead France to surrender to the Germans, and burn all the good situation now!"
…
Briand glared at Clemenceau angrily, realizing that he had fallen into Clemenceau's trap and could not escape.
…
Neufchateau, a city located upstream of the Meuse River, serves as a training base for the 2nd Special Artillery Division due to its convenient transportation and flat terrain.
(The above picture shows the location of Neufchateau. At that time, the German-French front was 61 kilometers to the north in the area of Toul and Nancy.)
The training base is very secretive. It is located in a valley in the suburbs and is surrounded by barbed wire and guard posts. Mines are laid and trenches are built to prevent enemy infiltration and attack.
The base was filled with rumbling engines, and tanks in training and soldiers exercising were everywhere.
In a corner of the base, inside a half-buried fortification, Major General Gan Molin was staring at the complicated training subjects and training plans in front of him in the dim light.
He doesn't like these things.
As everyone knows, he doesn't like tanks and doesn't think they are useful.
Gamelin studied Charles' tactics simply to find evidence that "tanks were useless", but Briand pushed him to the position of commander because of this.
"This is an irony." Gan Molin flipped through the organization list with a look of despair: "If I take these things to the battlefield and defeat the enemy, does it mean proving that I am wrong?"
From this perspective, Gan Molin felt that losing a battle might be the right choice.
At this time, the phone rang. It was Briand calling.
"Are you ready for an attack?" asked Briand.
"Attack?" Gamelin replied: "I have only been here for less than a week, Prime Minister..."
He hadn't even recognized all of his subordinates.
"But the Second Artillery Division has been training for more than three months." Briand said impatiently: "I gave it the best food, the best equipment, and the most sufficient personnel and ammunition."
"I may still need some time, Your Excellency Prime Minister," said Gamelin.
"No, General." Briand rejected Gamelin's request, his tone very firm:
"You should know that the German tank division was burned by Charles not long ago and was almost wiped out."
"They are reorganizing the tank division."
"So, the longer you wait, the more dangerous it is. Do you understand?"
Gan Molin responded helplessly: "Understood, Prime Minister."
After hanging up the phone, Gamelin stared at the map and felt that Briand might be right.
If the Germans did not have a tank division, or the tank division they were forming was not strong enough, his 2nd Special Artillery Division would be facing a group of infantry.
"Although I don't believe in this stuff," Gamelin muttered to himself, "it's not a bad thing if we can use steel to face the flesh and blood and trenches of the Germans."
Where should I hit?
Gamelin's eyes followed the railway from Toul to Nancy.
They are not far apart and both are important transportation hubs.
If they could be taken, a gap would be opened in the enemy's defenses, through which the infantry would pour in like a tide and then surround the German forces that were deployed to the west in the area of the Meuse River.
"This will be a more successful siege than Charles's." Gamelin became excited: "I will recapture Lorraine and Alsace and put an end to this war!"
Gamelin was thinking about victory, but he didn't realize that he was using the armored forces as an auxiliary to the infantry.
In this operational plan, the role of the 2nd Special Artillery Division was only to open a gap for the infantry to tear through the defense line and attack.
(End of this chapter)
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