Chapter 895: This is the outcome of not listening to Charles
The country that reacted most strongly to the Anglo-American coalition's defeat at Saarbrücken was the United States.
The New York Times has always been known for its serious, neutral, and detailed war news, but this time it used fierce language to exclaim:
(Note: "Neutral" refers to reporting without bias between those who oppose the war and those who support the war.)
"Yesterday, the American Expeditionary Force suffered the greatest casualties in its history, with more than 30,000 officers and soldiers remaining on that land forever."
"We can't even retrieve their bodies, and for some we don't know if they were killed in action."
"It is true that casualties are inevitable in war. But please note that this is the first and biggest defeat of the American Expeditionary Force!"
"And, one thing is obvious: if Charles hadn't sent air force reinforcements, our losses would have been even greater!"
"I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to Charles. He is indeed a military strategist with the French spirit. He is so perfect that people can hardly believe he exists."
…
The Los Angeles Times represents the voice of the West Coast of the United States. The newspaper has always adhered to its anti-war principles and at this time raised a soul-searching question without hesitation:
"We all know that Charles has been winning. He has undoubtedly become the leader of this war."
"Now the facts have proved him right once again. He has warned us more than once that Saarbrücken could be a trap."
"If we must go to war, what caused the American Expeditionary Force to leave the Shire's command structure?"
“What has led to our current failure?”
"What caused us to lose more than 30,000 soldiers who left their homes to fight bravely in France?"
…
Even The Washington Post, which had always supported the war and President Wilson, had to admit:
"This is a tragedy and no one wants this outcome."
"If we had listened to Ciel's advice earlier, it might have been avoided."
"We can only hope that among these more than 30,000 soldiers, more are captured rather than killed!"
…
The White House, Oval Office.
President Wilson was very angry at the bland report in the Washington Post, as the newspaper, which was controlled by the "Public Intelligence Committee", was standing against the president.
He called the head of the committee, Creel, and patted the pile of newspapers in front of him:
"Look at this, it's almost all negative news."
"They even linked this defeat to my re-election, saying that I cooperated with Charles in order to win votes, and immediately went against public opinion and threw myself into the arms of Britain after winning the election."
"You can't do something? You shouldn't do something?"
Creel responded: "We are doing it, Mr. President..."
"But I don't see anything." President Wilson interrupted him and shook the newspaper: "Tell me where it is, where you did it?"
"We..." Krill trembled: "We have to take it slow. Now is a time when people are very angry. We can only follow public opinion, otherwise we will be abandoned by the people."
Wilson was silent.
Having been president for so many years, he knew that Creel was right. This matter could not be rushed and had to be "guided" slowly.
"In addition," Krill mustered up the courage to ask, "There is one thing I don't quite understand, Mr. President. Why don't our troops continue to stay with Charles? This is good for us, isn't it?"
President Wilson sighed and shook his head slightly.
Creel, who was a journalist, didn't know much about the military. He only knew that winning a battle would bring benefits, and the "public opinion control" he was responsible for would be easier, but he didn't know that this was a political requirement.
…
The British media discussed more about the defeat itself, because it was the norm for them. What made them more angry than the defeat was Haig:
"Why is Haig still the commander of the expeditionary force? Is there no other British general besides him?"
"He always fails. If a general like him can be considered a 'military genius', then who can't be considered a 'military genius'?"
"All I saw was incompetence and disregard for life. He was fighting with his own rigidity, stubbornness and the blood of his soldiers."
(Note: The British Minister of Munitions commented on Haig as "a general with his brains, but fighting with the blood of his soldiers", which denied that Haig had "a general's brain".)
…
In Strasbourg, Haig sat in his office in silence. He didn't know how to deal with the mess in front of him.
What made him even more angry was that the colonial soldiers were even celebrating. He could clearly see the soldiers of the African Corps dancing in the snow, shouting strange noises as they danced.
Haig's negative emotions flooded his heart uncontrollably like a tide.
Frustrated, disappointed, inferior, self-denying... he began to feel that he was not worthy of being a general.
That's ridiculous.
At first they thought it was just a simple victory, so they sent local troops to reap the fruits of victory, but they didn't expect it to be a trap.
The colonial army escaped this disaster by a blessing in disguise, because of the stupidity of their commander.
The local army suffered heavy casualties because of the commander's stupidity!
"General." The staff officer's call interrupted Haig's thoughts.
"What?" Haig looked up.
"The Parliament would like you to provide a detailed report on the Battle of Saarbrücken." The staff officer handed over a telegram.
"A detailed report?" Haig snorted, his tone contemptuous: "Can they understand it?"
"They..." The staff officer hesitated for a moment: "They want this report not to understand it, but to decide whether to remove you."
"Remove?" Haig narrowed his eyes.
"Yes." The staff officer swallowed and answered in a low voice: "The Council believes that despite the repeated warnings from Charles and Pershing, you are still unprepared. This is enough to prove that this is not a problem with the army, but a problem with the command."
Haig gritted his teeth, and after a while he suddenly stood up, tore the telegram into pieces and threw it into the air: "Report, this is my report."
These stupid guys, they don't know anything, and they actually think I'm not prepared for this?
Don’t they see that the Germans were able to win because they learned Charles’ tactics and equipment!
…
France had the most peaceful reaction to the war.
The streets of Paris are like nothing happened, people do what they are supposed to do, and occasionally they will say a few words to acquaintances:
"Have you heard? The British and American coalition forces suffered a disastrous defeat in Saarbrücken, with more than 200,000 casualties."
"Yes, they are said to have lost most of their mechanized equipment."
"Not most of them, but almost all of them. I heard that only about thirty tanks were able to return safely."
"This isn't really news, after all, Ciel told them a long time ago, but they just didn't believe it."
…
People laughed proudly, with a laugh full of sarcasm, as if to say that this was the fate of these ignorant guys who didn't listen to Charles.
(End of this chapter)
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