De Gaulle knew that today might be his death day.(.)
"Soldiers," de Gaulle walked slowly in the simple trench in front of the grove, and gave a speech to his ragged subordinates, "Although France is big, we have no way to retreat. Behind us is the great Paris! Soldiers, compatriots
We, Paris, is the seat of the only republican government in the whole of Europe, and the last bastion of freedom on this continent! The tyrannical Prussians want to occupy it, and we will never let them succeed! If we lose today
After leaving Paris, the bloody battles in the past many days will become meaningless, and all the sacrifices that have been made will be in vain! Soldiers! I know that you still have too many concerns and still have no regard for this world.
You need too much nostalgia, and so do I! But today, I will stay here with you until the last moment!"
De Gaulle gasped for air. His eyes scanned the soldiers' faces one by one, but he did not see the reaction he expected. In addition to being exhausted, the soldiers' faces showed neither the determination to fight to the end nor generosity.
The solemnity of dying.
De Gaulle couldn't help but feel a burst of despair. He suddenly wanted to ask loudly: Where is the army that used to frighten Europe? Was it all eliminated in the smoke of Waterloo along with the Old Guard?
At this moment, he suddenly noticed a strange look on the faces of some soldiers. The look spread quickly. The soldiers looked behind de Gaulle, and the dead silence just now was replaced by whispers.
De Gaulle frowned. He turned around and saw a dozen girls wearing headscarves and long coarse skirts arriving at the rear of the position. The baskets in their hands were filled with long French bread.
The girls' skirts and shoes were stained with mud. It was obvious that they had gone through a long journey to get here at the front line, but their dresses still looked so shabby compared to the ragged clothes of the soldiers.
of clean and tidy.
The girl who looked like the leader wore two thick braids that went over her shoulders and dangled in front of her body along the curve of her chest. She was standing on the mounds of soil that had been piled up during the digging of the trenches. In front of her was Lasha.
The Maxin heavy machine gun holding the head.
De Gaulle looked at the girl's face and suddenly realized that she might have listened to his previous speech.
The girl looked down at the depressed people in the trench, with a sad and tender expression on her face.
She spoke, but didn't speak.
"Go out, sons and daughters of the motherland! That glorious day has arrived! The blood-stained flag has been raised!"
At first, the soldiers just faced the girl's singing with a blank expression. The girl's delicate voice seemed so weak in the silence that enveloped the battlefield.
But the girl had no intention of giving up. She stood persistently on the mound, singing this song that was known to everyone in France, while scanning the soldiers with expectant and gentle eyes.
At this time, a girl standing behind the girl who seemed to be more liberal and aunty at first glance opened her voice and joined the singing. The girls looked at each other, and then opened their mouths one by one and sang this song.
A famous song that inspired the French for a century.
After the girls finished singing the first song, they immediately started singing the second song from the beginning without stopping. At this time, the flag bearer in the army, a young Maasai boy, stood up and straightened the flagpole casually inserted on the edge of the trench.
The three-color flag, which had been almost half burned, was once again unfolded against the smoke-filled wind, shyly showing off the bullet holes and bloodstains on its body.
Someone started singing along: "We are fighting against du cai and tyranny! The blood-stained flag has been raised! In the wilderness, the ferocious enemy soldiers are roaring, and their iron hooves step into my home! Their bayonets massacre my wife and children!"
More and more soldiers joined in the chorus, and soon, the entire position was filled with passionate singing: "Arm up, citizens! Unite the French soldiers! The dirty blood of the enemy will irrigate our fields! French people, noble warriors
, we have nothing to fear! The bloodthirsty tyrant will surely regret being our enemy!”
During the melody of "La Marseillaise", the three-color flag fluttered.
De Gaulle devoted himself to it. He felt that the blood in his whole body was boiling, and his great courage and rolling tears welled up together. He suddenly had a new idea, a firm and unshakable certainty: as long as this song still exists
, France will always be "free"! No one can make France surrender!
The singing spread like a plague towards the positions of other French troops. If nothing unexpected happened, they might have continued singing like this until dark, until their voices were hoarse and their mouths were dry.
But at this moment, a cannonball landed on the tributary of the Seine behind them, causing a column of water to rise into the sky.
Bülow's army group finally arrived at the outer defense perimeter of Paris, and the Battle of the Marne in this time and space officially began.
Paris is burning.
The German army has been using a super artillery to bombard Paris since November 1, 1908. The density of the bombardment is not high, and only two to three shells will fall every hour. However, the explosive power of the shells is really huge, and since early
Staying up until late at night puts the nerves of all Parisians in a state of tension.
On the 3rd of Sichuan, other heavy artillery equipped by the German army began to visit urban Paris.
In the early morning of the 4th, raindrops of shells fell on the north bank of the Seine without warning, and fires immediately burst into flames, dyeing the entire sky red.
By the evening of the 4th, intensive gunfire on the outskirts of the city could be heard even from Notre Dame Cathedral.
At this time, the citizens of Paris realized that they had been deceived by Zheng Fu's deceptive propaganda. The previous war preparations of Galliini and Pétain were not to "nip in the bud" but to fight against real threats.
The middle class and small aristocrats packed up their large and small bags at a crazy speed and rushed out of Paris, intending to flee to the north coast or the Mediterranean coast. However, they encountered General Kluck's outflanking troops, and they all became Germans.
captive.
The civilians, workers and small producers in Paris flocked to the militia camps of Pétain and Gallianni. The Paris Commune fought bravely against the Prussian interventionist forces half a century ago. The people of Paris vowed not to let their predecessors win.
His reputation was disgraced.
The entire city was armed, and the brave people united under the three-color flag, sang Marseillaise, and vowed to defend their capital, the republic, and "free" France.
Paris is burning!
What is burning is the flames of war and the passion to defend the country! No matter how they performed in the previous battles, at this moment when the German troops were approaching the city, the French showed their strong backbone.
They vowed to turn the burning Paris into a purgatory for the Germans. (To be continued dd