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Text Chapter 1,240 Undefended Paris

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    Within the French high command, a large number of officers came in and out, but most of them looked nervous. Occasionally, a few senior officers entered the command, but there was also deep worry in their eyes.  Now that the German army is aggressively attacking, the British and French forces have already experienced several failures, and now they can only stick to the surrounding areas of Paris!

    "Your Excellency, Commander, the 3rd Army is requesting reinforcements! Now they are facing two German groups, and General Luv's 3rd Army has less than 300,000 people, and half of them are new soldiers! He is facing  Yes, the two German armies. After the warnings were strengthened, there are already millions of troops!" General Henri-Philippe P¨¦tain, the new Chief of Staff of the French Army, said seriously to the French Commander-in-Chief Ferdinand Foch.  Said the general!

    Originally, the commander-in-chief of the French army was General Joffre, but the British and French coalition forces were defeated by the Germans several times, making the French government greatly disappointed in General Joffre.  Finally, in September 1912, General Joffre was relieved of his post as commander-in-chief of the French army and was replaced by General Ferdinand Foch.  Henri-Philippe P¨¦tain, a newly rising general, was appointed as the Chief of General Staff of the French Army.

    "General P¨¦tain, do we still have excess troops now? Not only the 3rd Army is under great pressure, but several other armies are also under great pressure! Tell General Luv that after the Germans launched the attack, he  We must stick there tightly to buy time for our mobilization!" General Ferdinand Foch said.  Now he is also overwhelmed. The Germans have assembled nearly three million troops for this final battle, while the French Army's current total strength is only more than two million.  And a large part of them are newly recruited troops after the spring of 1913. Many of them have only learned to shoot. There is no difference between asking them to fight the Germans and asking them to die.  It can be said that even General Ferdinand Foch himself was very pessimistic about the future of the French army and France!

    ¡°General, how about we find a solution with the British?¡± General Henri Philippe P¨¦tain said.

    "British Expeditionary Force? Forget it, those bastards have been beaten by the Germans and have lost their courage. Hundreds of thousands of people are now huddled in the western area of ??Paris. It is said that they are planning to withdraw to the country again!" Ferdinand  .Admiral Foch said bitterly!

    "What? General, the British are retreating? Why didn't I know?" Marshal Henri-Philippe P¨¦tain was shocked.  You know, one month after the war began, Britain sent an expeditionary force into France to assist the French army in resisting the German army.  Although the British Expeditionary Force was not large in number and not very powerful, they gave the French army a lot of help during the war.  If the British Expeditionary Force were to retreat, it would undoubtedly make the current French army even worse.

    "General Douglas Haig hasn't said it clearly yet, but the British should have this intention! They have lost hope in this war!" General Ferdinand Foch said!  In fact, isn't he himself the same?

    "Your Excellency, Commander, Your Excellency, Chief of Staff, Your Excellency, the President, please go to the Elysee Palace!" At this time, a staff officer reported to General Foch and General P¨¦tain!

    "Summoned by His Excellency the President? It seems that the government is ready to make a decision!" Admiral Foch said secretly!

    When Admiral Foch and Admiral P¨¦tain rushed to the Elys¨¦e Palace, French President Cl¨¦ment Armand Fallier was convening cabinet members to discuss the current dilemma facing France, or the future of France.  .

    "Gentlemen, France is now in its most difficult moment! The Germans have approached Paris from the north and east. Their strength is as high as three million. In addition, they also have a large number of tanks, armored vehicles, aircraft, and heavy artillery.  There are tens of thousands of doors! And we now have only two million old, weak, sick and disabled people huddled in Paris, with only a few tanks and armored vehicles, and very few heavy artillery! We are no longer a match for the Germans! Therefore, for the French people,  For the sake of their lives, I think it¡¯s time for us to negotiate with the Germans!¡± French Foreign Minister Justin de Selvy said loudly.  As the British and French coalition forces continued to suffer defeats, capitulation factions also appeared in the French government, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Justine de Servi was one of the representatives!

    "Your Excellency Selvi, the French who yearn for freedom will never bow to the Germans! We still have two million brave soldiers, and we still have the support of our British allies! We can continue to fight the Germans!"  Minister of War Adolf Messimi strongly objected!

    "British allies? The British may not be able to protect themselves now! The Chinese have captured Rome, and they are about to withdraw from Italy! By then, their next target will definitely be Britain! Although the British navy is powerful, that is a thing of the past  ! Now the Chinese are the masters of the world¡¯s oceans! Once the Chinese start to attack the United Kingdom, the British will not even be able to protect themselves.?How to support us?  In addition, our Russian ally is also facing destruction.  For the sake of France's interests, I think we should contact the Germans and strive to end this war!  "said Navy Minister Theophile Delcasse. After the Battle of Sicily, the main force of the French Navy was completely wiped out, and Navy Minister Theophile Delcasse also became a polished commander!

    Other senior cabinet officials were also talking about it.  Obviously, most people no longer have any hope for this war.  They are already thinking about how to end this war and reduce their own losses as much as possible!

    "Okay, gentlemen, should we listen to the military's opinion? If they think France can continue to support it, then we will continue to fight! If the military has lost confidence, then we will prepare  Let¡¯s talk to the Germans!¡± President Cl¨¦ment Armand Fallier said.

    "Your Excellency President, I do not support the continuation of the war anyway! The national treasury can no longer provide a penny. In addition, northern and northeastern France have become ruins. This year's tax revenue will also be a big problem. The Ministry of Finance has already  The debt is already high!" said Finance Minister Louis Lucien Klotz.

    It was at this time that Admiral Foch and Admiral P¨¦tain came to the conference room of the Elysee Palace.  As soon as the two entered the conference room, they heard the arguments among the senior cabinet officials. These normally well-dressed guys had now torn away their usual disguise.  In the face of national crisis, they have completely lost hope and began to plan for their own selfish interests!

    "Okay, gentlemen, be quiet! General Foch, General P¨¦tain, you two are just in time! I and many cabinet members want to know, if the fight continues, will France like to win?" The President  Clement Armand Farier asked.

    Everyone looked at General Foch and General Petain, waiting for them to express their stance on behalf of the military!

    General Foch hesitated for a moment, and then said: "At present, the French Army does not have the ability to defeat the German army!"

    "Does that mean we can't defeat the Germans and are doomed to fail?" Minister of Labor and Social Security Rene Renour asked loudly.

    "Yes, Your Excellency Minister, it is basically impossible for us to defeat the French!" Admiral Foch continued.

    This answer of General Foch made many senior cabinet officials very disappointed. Although they had already guessed that it would be such an ending, after the military gave an answer to this question, it was still hard for everyone to accept.

    "Could it be that we have no hope at all?" Army Minister Adolf Messimi asked, staring at General Foch and General P¨¦tain.

    "Mr. Minister, I'm sorry! At least judging from the current situation in Paris, our situation is very bad!" Admiral P¨¦tain said!

    "Will Paris be destroyed in this war? If the Germans dare to blow up Paris, they will be the sinners of the world!" Minister of Public Education and Culture Theodor Steiger suddenly said.

    "Yes, France can fail, but Paris must not be destroyed! This is a treasure of human culture, and those barbaric Germans will not be allowed to destroy it!" Other cabinet members also agreed!

    ¡°Two generals, what do you think of this?¡± Prime Minister Joseph Cayo asked.

    "Your Excellency, Prime Minister, the Germans don't care about things like culture and art. All they want is killing and victory! If the battle starts in Paris, I'm sure Paris will be turned into ruins!" Admiral P¨¦tain  Said with certainty!

    "No, absolutely not! We have to negotiate with the Germans and keep Paris!" said Theodore Steiger, Minister of Public Education and Culture.

    Subsequently, senior officials of the French government had a long debate on how to protect Paris. In the end, they did not come up with any good ideas!  Finally, Foreign Minister Justine de Servy proposed abandoning Paris and declaring it an undefended city.  In this case, the battle would not have started in Paris, and Paris would have been preserved intact.

    What is surprising is that this ridiculous proposal of Foreign Minister Justin de Servi was actually supported by others.  As a result, while General Foch and General P¨¦tain were dumbfounded, the French government passed a resolution to evacuate Paris, requiring the government and the army to evacuate Paris as quickly as possible from now on to prevent Paris from being damaged by the war!

    This resolution of the French government brought disaster to the French army and France as a whole.  A large number of French troops walked out of their positions and retreated south.  During this period, they were violently attacked by the German army!  (To be continued. Please search Piaotian Literature, the novels will be better and updated faster!)
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