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墨書 Inktalez
"What did you say? The Southern Theater Command has already achieved a breakthrough across the board? Each division has advanced at least ten kilometers or more?"
The temporary Vichy-established French military headquarters, after Marshal Pétain listened to the reports from his soldiers about the breakthrough on the first day of the French Army Southern Front, his first reaction was not one of great joy, but rather deep perplexity.
"What's wrong, Marshal Pétain?"
On the side, General Gamelin's reaction to the breakthrough in the south by the French Army seems a bit strange to him, isn't it? The German Armed Forces have at most a few tens of thousands of troops in the south, and they can't even fill the line in the Vosges Mountains. It's not normal for the French Army to break through, is it? Gamelin is already thinking about whether the French Army should advance to Munich or to the Ruhr after leaving the Vosges Mountains.
Alternatively, directly taking Berlin is not out of the question. Gamelin is very pleased with the praise from the French media, which refers to him as the Napoleon of the Third Republic. However, if he knew that those in history who were given the title of Napoleon did not end well, he might not think this way.
"Too fast."
Marshal Pétain furrowed his brow.
"Our advance speed is indeed too fast. For infantry marching in mountainous terrain, such an offensive speed would only occur under conditions where we face no strong resistance at all."
"Yes, according to the casualty statistics sent back from the front line, the Southern Theater Command suffered only a few dozen injuries on February 24th, and encountered only sporadic resistance when the French Army passed through the border station. It's surprising that we can hardly see any civilians in the border city we've occupied, and it seems that Germany has deliberately cleared out the population in their southwest." General Weygand put down the front-line statistics table and also supported Marshal Pétain's view.
This special military operation is led by General Gamelin as the Commander-in-Chief. However, to be on the safe side, President Doumer invited back the old general who used to be the colonial governor in Syria and Lebanon to provide advice to Gamelin along with Bedan.
"What's so strange about this? The Germans' forces are not enough for them to defend the entire front line. At most, they can only choose important cities to defend, so there's nothing suspicious about giving up some unimportant areas."
General Gamelin was somewhat dismissive and then teased, "Perhaps the Germans never intended to resist at all; their army doesn't dare to confront us head-on." "At any time, never underestimate your opponent, as that will only lead you into a dangerous situation."
Marshal Pétain Exhortation.
"Don't forget, we French Army are the most powerful army in the world, blind self-doubt will only tie our hands and feet."
Gamelin retorted sharply.
"Moreover, even if I were to order the frontline troops to stop their attack now, I'm afraid they wouldn't be able to stop."
"What do you mean by that?"
Marshal Pétain was somewhat puzzled.
General Gamelin took out a telegram from his pocket, "Just now, President Doumer, in his capacity as the supreme commander of the French Army, sent a telegram to all levels of the army. He announced that in the post-war assessment of merits, the advancement speed of each unit will be taken into account."
"He's really gone mad. Does he really know the consequences of doing this?"
Marshal Pétain was taken aback; he could already imagine the reaction of the troops on the front line upon receiving such an order. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers would charge forward madly through the winding mountains, completely unconcerned about whether they were disconnected from the rear units. Of course, they had ample reason to believe that Germany simply did not have enough strength to stop them.
After a long silence, Marshal Pétain finally said, "Now we can only hope that the German people on the other side have no intention of stopping our courage. Otherwise, if they set up an ambush and surround us, it will be a disaster for us."
In 1928, the people of Germany may have lacked resources, population, and even troops, but they certainly did not lack courage. The entire National Defense Forces formed Group A Army Group with fifteen divisions totaling nearly 150,000 troops, and had already advanced to their predetermined positions in the south. Due to insufficient manpower, the Germans' defensive positions did not actually cover the entire southern region; they only established defenses in key areas.
Under the guidance of Model, a wedge-shaped defense line was formed, waiting for the French people to be trapped in that pocket.
······
Freiburg
This is an important city closest to the front line on the French-German border. Although the city has a population of only three hundred thousand, its strategic position is extremely significant.
Occupying this place, heading north can directly lead to the Ruhr industrial area, and heading east can directly lead to the capital of Bavaria, Munich.
Therefore, the National Defense Forces have arranged a division here for defense, precisely The Fourth Infantry Division under Bock.
"Report to the division commander, the French people on the opposite side are about to advance to this place. Their vanguard is expected to arrive here in about half an hour."
After the scout on the side finished reporting, he couldn't help but comment, "Are these guys here for a picnic? Why haven't they even sent out a reconnaissance team!"
Bock picked up the binoculars and began observing the dense forest across from them. In the distance, three colored flags could be faintly seen waving.
"Don't be hasty. Let's wait for Rommel's 7th armored division to cut off their retreat, then we can launch a two-pronged attack," Bock said.
Although he didn't understand why the French people across from them were so anxious, their way of advancing didn't seem like they were here to fight, but rather to participate in a marathon race.
Since the other party has cooperated so well and walked into the encirclement, it would be a shame not to eat this dumpling Bock as a sign of respect.
······
"This battle is really easy, just like climbing a mountain."
In the dense forest, a French soldier said to his comrade, "Indeed, I don't even know if the German people have been frightened by our powerful French Army. We haven't encountered any decent resistance since we set out." Another soldier, holding a Browning automatic rifle, agreed.
"According to this marching speed, we will soon be able to occupy Berlin. We will be able to return to our hometown before Easter, and I will go back to marry my girlfriend. If it weren't for this special military operation where you can receive triple the military pay just by participating, I would have gone back to my hometown long ago."
The words of the French soldier just now caused laughter among his comrades in the same platoon, and everyone expressed their intention to go back and drink at his wedding banquet.
"Cough, cough, that's enough." The class monitor gestured for them to be more serious. "Less than ten kilometers ahead is Freiburg, the first important city on the Franco-German border."
"We captured that place, our division is the first to capture an important city, and everyone will have a bright future."
"Don't worry, squad leader, our division is well-equipped and well-trained. Taking down a small border city is a piece of cake..."
The soldier who was about to get married wanted to lighten the mood, but before he could finish his sentence, he was abruptly silenced by a sniper bullet piercing through his head.
This poor guy fell directly to the ground, without even struggling, blood quickly seeped from under him, staining the fallen leaves on the ground red.
Then, as if it were a signal to attack, the sound of linen being torn immediately came from the front of this France infantry squad.
The German army's MG34 general-purpose machine gun was firing fiercely, harvesting several lives in an instant.
"Conceal! Conceal!"
France The squad leader urgently shouted as he leaped towards a nearby depression, trying to find a reliable cover for himself.
But as soon as he turned over, he felt something was wrong. The squad leader felt like he had stepped on something hard.
He lowered his head and saw a small black piece of iron in the fallen leaves on the ground.
"Damn it."
The squad leader only managed to say this one sentence before he was violently propelled into the air by the explosion.
In just a few seconds, this France infantry squad was completely wiped out. At the same time, their division also suffered a fierce attack, with countless light machine guns, grenades, and landmines harvesting the lives of French people in this forest. Although their division commander attempted to command a counterattack on the spot, due to a lack of reconnaissance, they couldn't even figure out where the enemy was, and could only blindly fire back in the forest based on their instincts.
After being beaten for quite a while, the dazed and confused commander finally reacted and requested each unit to take turns covering the retreat from the forest. The French Army finally broke out of the woods, leaving behind about a thousand bodies. However, before they could celebrate their escape, they were horrified to discover that their retreat had been cut off by the German military, with countless soldiers aiming 98K rifles at the disheveled French people.
Then there was a fierce firing again, and the French Army was forced back into the forest. After being beaten from both sides for about half an hour, the French people finally realized that they were surrounded. The morale of this division quickly collapsed.
Even if they still had fighting power, the German forces surrounding them did not use heavy weapons, and the French Army could have continued to resist in the forest until reinforcements arrived. However, the defeated French people chose to surrender after a brief discussion.
A military officer emerged from the woods holding a white flag and, speaking in broken German, addressed the watchful National Defense Forces soldiers.
"Don't shoot, we surrender!"
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