Chapter 748 Treatment of Main Force
Italy was the first member of the Allied Powers to withdraw from the war, which was a huge blow to the entire Allied camp. Italy told Germany that its domestic war forces had reached their limit and could no longer fulfill its responsibilities as an ally. Then on the same day, it announced its withdrawal from the war and started negotiations with Britain and France.
For the Allied camp, while withstanding the emperor's offensive, the news that Italy announced its withdrawal from the war seemed to set the trend for this war that had lasted for four years. The British were even ready to let the Italians go, because Italy, one of the so-called six major powers in Europe, had proved through the war that it was not worthy of its reputation.
Sheffield held the microphone and listened to Anne's familiar voice with an indifferent expression. Anne had been in contact with Paris. Did the French think that Italy's withdrawal from the war was a major blow to the Allies? This matter was not discussed for the time being, but it certainly ignited hope for the trend of the war.
However, the slave owners did not believe the British reason that dismembering Germany was the most important thing. The French must have been deceived. The British would definitely not completely dismember Germany. This was not because they did not learn their lesson after being beaten by the Germans after the Battle of the Somme, but because of the traditional consideration of the balance of power on the continent.
What does the death of soldiers mean in the face of national interests? From ancient times to the present, the bloodshed and sacrifice on the battlefield have always been a bargaining chip in the eyes of those in power. If the Germans win, they will definitely choose not to let the blood of the soldiers flow in vain, because there is no other country in the Allied Powers that can stand on equal footing with Germany, and besides, didn't Germany lose the war?
What did France gain after the war? Sheffield only remembered that the French won the Victory Conference in Paris, and other than that, the major victorious countries started to talk to each other.
The French wanted to completely dismember Germany and gain hegemony over Europe. The British focused their attention on German colonies and the lands of the Ottoman Empire. As for the United States, it wanted to end the colonial model and free all colonies from the control of the mother country.
Compared with the intrigues between the French and the British, it was actually more difficult for the United States to achieve its goals. This was also the reason why President Wilson ultimately returned home in defeat. In terms of maintaining colonies, the interests of Britain and France were the same.
That was a matter for the future. After listening to his wife's vision for peace, Sheffield changed the subject and said, "Have the products been shipped? The flu that has appeared in Europe may be a boon to ending the war as soon as possible, but the Persian Gulf is not far from Europe, so John Connor should take necessary precautions."
"Alcohol and masks have already been shipped, don't worry." Annie asked, "Will this be useful?"
"Considering that you are my wife, I will tell you the truth. It is not very useful. It is just a placebo, but I can pretend that it is useful. In order to make money, sometimes I will exaggerate. It's like James Duke said that women who smoke are more attractive." Sheffield pondered for a moment and said, "If the flu is strong enough and the scope of influence is wide enough, I pretend that masks are useful to make money, and the public pretends that they are useful to reassure themselves. This does not involve who is deceiving whom. If someone dies after wearing a mask, it can only mean that the deceased must have not done it well."
Sheffield had nothing to hide from the Arlington hostess. The success of the fight against influenza depended on the enforcement of quarantine and lockdown, and to be fair, the United States actually had the conditions to make the influenza disappear in this way.
The United States at that time did not have the bad habit of later generations of doing everything for freedom. It had only been a few years of having enough food to eat.
When the military and police go out on the street, they will pull out their guns and shoot when they see people walking on the street without masks. There is absolutely no ambiguity. A hundred years later, it is simply because the good times have lasted for too long. I really believe that the United States is an exception. As we all know, people like to commit suicide after living a good life for too long. The current United States does not have this condition, and the IQ is online.
But for Sheffield, the citizenry was not stupid, the federal government was not stupid, and he still felt there was a chance to achieve his goal.
Law enforcement requires people to execute it, and as long as it is a job performed by people, there will be loopholes. If you want to blockade and isolate, the direct executors must be the police and possibly the army.
"What's the news from the National Police Association?" After hanging up the phone, Sheffield asked the head bodyguard.
"Most of the directors have expressed their willingness to meet with the boss!" Jesla said without thinking, "The Police Association has a very good relationship with Ms. Isabella's Rifle Association, and has supported the Democratic Party in the past few elections."
"The meeting place is at the Bilmont Manor!" Sheffield stood up. "I want to have a good talk with the law enforcers."
As for the slave owners, they never thought of asking the congressmen. It was a well-known fact in the United States that they could do nothing. At the Paris Peace Conference, President Wilson wanted to threaten Britain and France, but Congress believed that the United States did not have the ability to break up with Britain and France, which led to the United States achieving its goal of dismantling the colonial empire decades later.
Fortunately, the National Police Association is an association with a long history of 25 years. It can completely bypass those congressmen who don’t know what they are thinking and complete the slave owner’s grand blueprint alone.
The uneven population and land distribution among states naturally leads to strong and weak economies, and different immigrant communities have different configurations. Only the National Police Association is well aware of these details.
A hundred years later, the National Police Association is also a staunch supporter of the Republican Party. So once the flu spreads, which places will be blocked and to what extent will they be blocked depends entirely on what these frontline police officers can do.
As for the black community? Because the economic level of the black community is essentially very different from that of the white community. During the period when the flu was rampant, due to insufficient funds, the local police department reduced the police force to the white community to strictly enforce the law, which should be possible. As for the black community, it can develop freely.
"Done!" The slave owner breathed a sigh of relief as he walked out of the Bilmont Manor. He had established friendships with the directors of the National Police Association. To be honest, facing the imminent mutation of the influenza, he was not thinking less but more.
If the blockade is successful, all kinds of shops will be closed. Is this a good opportunity to expand the market? If the economic blockade lasts too long, small businesses will not be able to withstand it, but companies of the size of the United Company can take advantage of this difficult time to expand the market. Of course, there are risks, but it is worth a try.
While Sheffield was busy planning to make a fortune, the last wave of offensive by German tanks had to be stopped on the European battlefield. The Emperor Offensive was officially declared a failure. The flu had greatly weakened Germany's war potential.
Many German troops on the front lines had lost one-fifth of their personnel due to influenza. Although the Allied Powers were not much better, the Allied forces that continued to land in Europe could replenish the soldiers who were unable to fight. Compared with Germany, the situation in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire was even more serious.
In terms of industrial capacity, the Allies could actually continue to hold on for a while, but the weapons they produced always needed people to use them, and the Allied countries no longer had any extra manpower, and even if they did, they were shrouded in the shadow of the Spanish flu.
Just three days after the end of the Emperor Offensive, the French army launched a large-scale offensive. Although the German General Staff successfully blocked the attack and successfully withdrew the troops in the salient, this did not mean victory, because in fact, this marked the failure of the German army's last effort in World War I - the Battle of the Emperor. It marked that Germany, which had used up its last manpower in this battle, had lost its strategic offensive capability, while the Allies had an endless supply of resources, and Germany's defeat was imminent.
The Allied forces breathed a sigh of relief after blocking the German offensive, and the large number of American expeditionary forces that landed in Europe further boosted the morale of the Allied forces. The time for the final decisive battle was ripe, and the Allies established a unified command for the Allied forces. French Marshal Foch was appointed commander-in-chief of the Allied forces.
The Allied forces began to counterattack the Central Powers entrenched in France. The Allied forces included troops from Australia, Canada, Britain, France and other countries, supported by more than 500 tanks. The powerful combat capability and unexpected attacks made the battle very successful. Within a day, the Allied forces had created a gap of 24 kilometers wide in the German front south of the Somme.
In September, the Allies launched their major offensive against the German defenses; the British Fourth Army attacked the Saint-Quentin Canal, while the French First Army attacked the German fortifications around Saint-Quentin. The Germans were too weak to mount a large-scale defense, and eventually the line was breached. By the end of the month, the Allies had penetrated all the depth of the German defenses on a front as wide as 31 kilometers.
After the end of the Emperor Offensive in July, the situation faced by Germany was to continuously retreat from the previously occupied land. However, during this process of continuous retreat, the German army still tried its best to inflict casualties on the Allied forces. Even the American Expeditionary Force had suffered more than 100,000 casualties, including more than 200,000 wounded soldiers.
This is because in the previous Emperor's Offensive, the frustrated Britain and France began to consciously preserve their strength, which directly led to a greatly increased importance of the American Expeditionary Force. General Pershing had always hoped that the American Expeditionary Force would become an important force of the Allied Powers, equally important as the British and French armies.
Now the treatment that General Pershing fought for has been achieved. On the other hand, the British and French forces no longer treat the American Expeditionary Force as outsiders and have assigned them some difficult offensive targets. It is not clear whether this is a good thing or a bad thing.
(End of this chapter)
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