Chapter 724: The Root of U.S. Military Intervention
"In fact, given the current situation, the French should not hesitate to use chemical weapons."
When meeting with General Bilton, the commander of the British forces in British Malaya, Alan Wilson opened with such a statement. The British commander's jaw almost dropped, "Alan, you are serious."
"Dear General, I can tell when it's okay to joke." Alan Wilson looked calm and had no intention of joking. "In fact, Germany has a large amount of chemical weapons reserves and production experience. If the French don't mind, I can
Help plays a role in it.”
"Thankfully you were born decades late, otherwise I can't imagine it." General Bilton sighed with a bitter smile, "If you were the commander of a colonial army, I can't imagine what would happen."
"It's nothing more than learning from the advanced experience of the East. It's no big deal." Alan Wilson shook the wine glass in his hand slowly. He couldn't believe that half of the 30 million Vietnamese people were killed, and the remaining people still dared to resist.
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After returning to Kuala Lumpur, after a few days of thinking that could not be called morally burdensome, Alan Wilson now felt that a small scene like napalm was not enough.
But France does not have nuclear bombs, so it can only fall back and think of chemical weapons.
Germany is a strong country in chemical weapons. The chemical weapons produced during World War II were measured in tens of thousands of tons, but they were never used. After the war, they stockpiled a large amount of chemical weapons. He believed that the French must have them.
The fundamental reason why Germany has not used chemical weapons is not that the Germans are so civilized. Otherwise, why would they have so many in reserve?
The fundamental reason is that the industries of European countries are not weak. The Soviet Union, Britain, France and even Czechoslovakia that Germany faced on the battlefield all have the ability to produce chemical weapons. If Germany dares to use them once, all countries will retaliate.
Both Italy and Japan used poison gas during World War II. Italy mainly used poison gas in Africa, while Japan used poison gas on a large scale on the battlefield. The fundamental reason is that the opponents faced by the two countries would not suffer retaliation if they used it.
Agent Orange, which the United States later used in Vietnam, is of course also a type of chemical weapon. Of course, the Americans could also use it on the French.
While the two were chatting, General Navarre had already arrived at the British Army Headquarters in Malaya. This time he came to British Malaya as the commander-in-chief of the French Army in Vietnam. He was invited by General Bilton.
The fundamental reason is to seek logistical help from the nearby United Kingdom, and at the same time to visit the napalm production line. With the help of his wife Pamela Mountbatten, this weapons production line used to supply the French army has been put into production.
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General Navarre and Alan Wilson had met, and they knew that General Bilton was the commander of the British army in Malaya. They were both soldiers and there was no stranger to each other. They quickly got to the point and confirmed that the French army was preparing for a large-scale offensive.
"The current problems in Vietnam are huge. Those who are resisting are constantly being cleared. Through a certain degree of offensive, we can establish an advantage. In a good negotiation environment, my idea is to establish an independent country where France enjoys special interests."
General Navarre explained his true inner thoughts. He felt that it was impossible to retain the colony forcefully. The core idea of formulating this combat plan was to establish a protectorate.
"Actually, it's not bad!" Alan Wilson heard this. I am familiar with this. Britain still has many protectorates in the Middle East. Iraq and Egypt are not included anymore, but there are still many British protectorates in places like Yemen and Oman.
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After expressing his agreement at first, Alan Wilson changed the subject and said, "I have never doubted the combat effectiveness of the French army in a critical battle, but the long-term consumption will be huge for countries like us thousands of miles away. If there is a decisive battle, it will still be
Be careful. If Vietnam is like the US military facing the Japanese in the Pacific battlefield, you will suffer in the end."
Alan Wilson used the Japanese army, a second-rate army, as a comparison. In the Pacific War of World War II, the Japanese army lost 1.1 million people, while the US military lost less than 110,000 people. It was about a ratio of one to ten.
Of the 400,000 U.S. military casualties in World War II, it is reasonable that less than one-third died in the Pacific battlefield.
Vietnam has a population of nearly 30 million, so it is not difficult to pull out an armed force of one million people. But every French soldier is killed in battle. The total number of French troops is 180,000, and there are only 50,000 real French people.
There were only 20,000 German soldiers in the Foreign Legion, and even Alan Wilson could see that they were stretched thin.
If Britain and France hadn't joined forces after the war to force Thailand to cede the Kra Isthmus in the name of punishing Japanese accomplices, he might have suggested now that France should persuade the Thais to become cannon fodder.
But with things like the Isthmus of Kra, France had to rely on itself. General Bilton soon expressed that the British troops stationed in Malaya were of little help in resisting Indonesian infiltration.
This was regarded as a polite rejection of the French army's request for help from the British army. Alan Wilson added beside him, "The British army is not good at the army. Our elite troops are all in Europe, and the Royal Navy is here in Asia. During the parade,
If the French army needs help, we are willing to mobilize maritime forces to provide help, but it may only be limited to coastal cities."
When it comes to this, Alan Wilson, who has taught many movies by words and deeds, looked embarrassed and seemed very embarrassed.
He very much hopes to do something to help his close ally France, but General Navarre must have also seen that there is a limit to what a colony can do.
General Navarre nodded and sighed. This may be the limit of what the British can do in Asia.
The limit is not necessarily the limit, but it is a pity that the French cannot mobilize Korean troops to help like the United States. After all, France's colonies in Asia are relatively isolated, at least compared to another large piece of French Africa.
Not strong enough.
France's ability to maintain its status as a great power after the war, whether the French recognized it or not, was inseparable from Britain's full assistance.
In the last glorious years of the British Empire, Britain did its best to help this centuries-old rival.
Even the colony in Vietnam was surrendered to the British army and was later transferred to the French army. The British also ensured at the United Nations that France would take over the colony again. From any point of view, the French had nothing to say.
Finally, after visiting the napalm production line and conducting an airdrop test at the shooting range, Alan Wilson couldn't help but said, "General Navarre, if Vietnam does not have the industry to counterattack, then chemical weapons are also a feasible option."
General Navarre and General Bilton had the same reaction. They looked at Alan Wilson in surprise, "Commissioner Wilson, your suggestion is very constructive."
"It's also very destructive! In fact, from a moral perspective, I shouldn't make this suggestion." Allen Weir sighed, "But war is like this, and it doesn't matter whether it's moral or immoral."
"Actually, I once suggested that the government ask for assistance from the United States for assistance on the battlefield in Vietnam." General Navarre shook his head slightly and said, "It is a pity that the Paris government did not respond to this."
Alan Wilson suddenly stopped feeling sleepy. It turned out that the US military was the first to intervene in the Vietnam War. It was the French who took the initiative?
This is a good thing. Alan Wilson is still thinking about how to get the Americans to intervene. After all, he doesn't know the origin of history, so he can't wait for the Americans to love him and figure it out.
Hearing General Navarre say this, what is the root cause of the US military's involvement in the Vietnam War?
Then he had to say a few words to express his approval of General Navarre, "General Navarre, from a neutral position, as a British person, we are very surprised by the political chaos in France over the years. The government's chaos is to a certain extent
It affected the actions of the French army."
They all agreed, both covertly and overtly, that General Navarre's idea of asking for help from the United States was absolutely correct, and compared the significance of France's military operations in Vietnam to the just-ended Korean War.
When General Navarre heard this, even the British thought so, and the idea of turning back to Paris to report to the government came up again. He had made the suggestion through a telegram before, but did not get a response from the Paris government. This time he wanted to specifically
Return to your country and seek support from the government.
If someone asked Alan Wilson if he supported it, of course he supported it. How could he object to such a benefit that was conducive to the balance of the international situation? He even expressed his willingness to provide his own special plane to save General Navarre the time of traveling back and forth.
General Navarre, who already had ideas, rejected this request, but he had already made up his mind to return to the country. The government and the military had very different opinions, which would definitely affect the attack. Both sides must maintain a consensus.
One day later, General Navarre left Kuala Lumpur and returned to Saigon. He took the Air France Comet via Saigon and embarked on his journey back home. There were two main purposes: to ensure that the government and military positions were consistent, and the second point was to win over the United States.
Assist and then launch a large-scale offensive.
If these two points can be achieved, General Navarre will have the confidence to formulate a strategic offensive plan.
General Navarre's idea was to fight the Viet Minh in a tough battle and use the French army's experience in tough battles to destroy the Viet Minh's effective forces to the greatest extent possible.
Alan Wilson didn't know whether Paris would agree to all General Navarre's demands, but he hoped that the French army's attack would go smoothly this time. No matter what, it would be fine to let the US military send some military advisers to Vietnam first.
Don't think that military advisers are useless. Once this kind of thing starts, there will be a steady stream of follow-up, and a large number of US troops will naturally come over at that time.
The U.S. military is not very skilled at raising the self-respect of bandits. Once they find that there is a war that can be exploited by lawful congress to demand money, how can they still endure it?