On March 1st, almost all newspapers and magazines in France reported that the Cochinchina region of the French Annan colony had completely fallen, and that Saigon had fallen into the hands of the newly born Republic of South China.
French Prime Minister Edouard Daladier was dismissive at first, because just yesterday, he had a telegram with Jules Brevier, the French Governor of Annan, who told him that "everything is normal" and said that he would receive reinforcements.
Later, the troops gathered in the border area between Cochin China and Zhongqi had the strength to defend the existing defense line, and even had the opportunity to take back Cambodia and drive Nanhua's troops out of the Mekong River Plain.
But then I read a few newspapers and found that almost everyone in the newspaper was unanimous. Daladier was a little unsure whether the matter was true or false. After thinking about it, he invited the Minister of Defense, Marshal Pétain, and the Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Darlan, to the Prime Minister.
Mansion.
Darlan was also confused: "No way, I sent telegrams to Generals Kinsol, Dasobi and Esteva yesterday, and they didn't say anything unusual was found! General Esteva reported
, he led the North African fleet the day before yesterday and successfully sent the army to Saigon, and then went north with General King Sol to arrive
The Cam Ranh Bay military port was carrying out supplies and was attacked by Chinese Air Force bombers yesterday morning. However, due to the super anti-aircraft firepower of the eight warships that arrived, the Chinese did not get much advantage and destroyed eighteen fighter planes. However,
A destroyer of the North African Fleet commanded by General Esteva was also sunk by a bomb!"
Marshal Pétain frowned: "This matter is indeed strange. I saw the newspaper early in the morning. Out of doubt, I contacted the Commander-in-Chief of the Army in Annan, Burr. Burr said that there was absolutely no such thing. It was probably from a hostile country.
The purpose of the conspiracy is to divert our attention, perhaps to take advantage of our attention to Asia to cause trouble in Europe!"
Daladier's expression changed: "Marshal, you mean...that this matter is being manipulated by the Germans behind the scenes?"
Pétain nodded: "Dear Edward, I don't know if you have noticed that all these news promoting the fall of Cochin China do not indicate the source of the information, not even the name of the provider. What does this mean? It means that they are spreading rumors to cause trouble.
, taking advantage of the civil strife in our country to make it easier for them to do something secretly."
Daladier's expression changed, he stood up suddenly, walked back and forth a few steps, and immediately asked his secretary to call the Foreign Minister George Bonnet and the Interior Minister Albert Salo.
Georges Bonnet, like Daladier, is the leader of the Radical Party. However, in comparison, Georges Bonnet is more right-leaning and has a greater fear of war. He advocates that we should persevere no matter what the circumstances.
The bottom line of peace.
As for the Minister of the Interior, Albert Salo, he is not a simple figure. He served as the Minister of the Navy several times in the Chodan-Sti cabinet, and successfully formed the cabinet twice in 1933 and 1936. His current position as Minister of the Interior is considered a talentless one. Moreover, Albert
Besaro also has another identity,
He is the godfather of Admiral Darlan, the Chief of Naval Staff. Darlan has reached this day because he and Darlan, another man who once served in Clemenceau, Briand, Poincare, Tardieu, and Herriot
It has something to do with George Legree, the godfather who served as Navy Minister for eleven times in Paul Boncourt's cabinet.
George Bonnet was at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs wondering what the intention was for suddenly publishing such incredible news in so many newspapers. Hearing Daladier's move, he hurried to the Prime Minister's Office. As soon as he entered the Prime Minister's Office, he heard the news from the Minister of the Interior Al
Besaro reported on Germany's recent actions:
"At the beginning of February, Hitler's new Chancellery was completed in Berlin's Forth Street. Hitler held a ball there and invited diplomats from various countries to attend. According to the report of the intelligence officer who accompanied Ambassador Ponce to the ball, the new Chancellery was exceptionally built.
It is so luxurious that it includes the palace of the German railway tycoon Bausig, which occupies two whole blocks. Our diplomats from the Prime Minister
After entering the palace gate, it took ten minutes to walk to Hitler's living room. Judging from the decoration and furnishings of the new Chancellery, Hitler's ambitions were not small. He declared many times in his speech that he would become more powerful than Bismarck and Napoleon.
A great man, I can't think of anything better than Emperor Napoleon except for defeating our France and unifying the European continent..."
Darla smiled bitterly and said: "My Minister Albert, you should get to the point. Whether Hitler's mansion is luxurious or not is none of our business. I would rather he spent all the German money on building these luxurious and depraved things.
In that case, the German army will be without aircraft and artillery, and the pressure we will face will be less."
"Germany really didn't get any useful information, but we arranged for agents in Slovakia to call us. Nazis have been frequenting the area recently. Based on past experience, it's likely that there will be an independent farce in the area soon, and then
The Germans can then legitimately extend their hands to the last territory of Czechoslovakia." After that, Interior Minister Albert Salo shrugged helplessly.
"I knew it would be like this...I knew it would be like this..."
Daladier closed his eyes in pain, held his face in his hands, and murmured: "Even if the Sudetenland is sacrificed, it will not stop the German ambitions... When Chamberlain greeted me, I expected
Today will come, but I never imagined that Hitler's time to choose to take action again would be so short..."
George Bonnet, who had always advocated compromise with Germany, could no longer listen and strode up to Albert Salo: "Mr. Albert, you said that Germany wants to annex Czechoslovakia. Is there any evidence? Is it just that?
Because of the speculations you have about those agents in the intelligence department?"
Albert Salo would not buy George Bonnet's blame. He rolled his eyes: "George, I put my words here, believe it or not! In fact, we have no other choice but to speculate. The Germans are against them."
The tightness of national control is far beyond our imagination, especially Reinhard Hai
The secret police controlled by Derich were all-pervasive and captured our intelligence agents many times, which exposed several of our intelligence stations. The more than ten intelligence agents currently lurking in Germany no longer dare to spy on overly sensitive intelligence, because
If you are not careful, you may be exposed!"
George Bonnet, who also disliked the other party, asked aggressively: "Since your Ministry of Internal Affairs has no way in Germany, what about Annan? What is the news in the newspapers today?"
Albert Salo looked confused and said with some uncertainty: "I don't know what's going on. Our twenty-two intelligence officers stationed in various parts of Annan are sending telegrams back every day. As of yesterday, they
Everyone reports that Cochin China is still in our hands. It would be too unbelievable to say that these people have been bribed by the Chinese!"
Albert Salo did not know that Leonardo, who was once the chief intelligence officer of the Ministry of the Interior, was responsible for the affairs of the Asian colonies. He was familiar with the situation in Annan, India, and all French colonies in the Middle East, and joined Ou Yaoting's intelligence system.
After that, the first thing I did when I arrived in Annan was to invite all my former subordinates out for a drink. After the global economic crisis broke out in 2009,
, the funds of the French Ministry of the Interior are extremely tight. If you think that even a meritorious intelligence officer like Leonardo will be fired, you will know how bad the situation of the intelligence personnel stationed around the world is. So without much effort, these French intelligence personnel all
After being corrupted and bribed by Leonardo, it was not surprising that the Ministry of Internal Affairs received such news in the end.
This is also an important reason why the French government and army have always firmly believed that Cochin China is in their own hands, because no bad news has come from either openly or secretly. People have the mentality of seeking good fortune and avoiding disaster.
, who would persistently think about the bad? So more than a month passed in this confusion, and at this moment, they still couldn't believe that their intelligence system would fail.
Admiral Darlan was Albert Salo's most loyal supporter. He glared at George Bonnet: "Mr. George, even if you are afraid of the Germans, there is no need to vent your anger on an old man who is respected by the world.
The fact that Saigon is still in our hands has been verified by the Navy
, the army, government and intelligence agencies have confirmed four times. I don’t think there will be any mistakes in this case. On the contrary, it is the Germans. I doubt they will take a crucial step. I can’t imagine that if Germany openly annexed the Czech Republic, you would
How can one have the dignity to remain in the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs?"
George Bonnet's expression changed, and then he sneered: "So what if Germany annexed the Czech Republic? The Munich Agreement was signed and confirmed by Edward, the British Prime Minister, and the heads of state of Germany and Italy. Afterwards, the Parliament voted 535
With seventy-five votes, the agreement was approved, and the responsibility belongs to all French people. What does it have to do with me?"
Daladier frowned and waved his hand: "Stop arguing! It's like this every time. Every time we meet, we argue. Can you guys calm down for a while and use your energy to deal with the Germans? Let's discuss it now.
Let’s deal with the news disclosed in today’s newspaper! Do you need us to hold a press conference to clarify it?”
Albert Salo hesitated: "What if what is disclosed in the newspaper is true?"
Everyone looked at each other and fell silent. Finally, George Bonnet said: "Look, it's like this every time. Who can't talk big words? The key is to solve the problem. Let me hold the press conference.
Everyone, let me ask you one last time, is there a high chance that Saigon is still in our hands?"
Darlan said with some uncertainty: "It should be very big... However, it is too far away from the mainland, and all connections are through radio waves. No one knows the real situation. If the North African fleet can return smoothly in ten days, then
It proves that any loss or fall is nonsense. If there is no news about this, then..."
Having said this, Darlan suddenly felt a chill in his chest - if the North African Fleet cannot return, does that mean that the ocean-going fleet sent by France, mainly composed of the Mediterranean Fleet, the French Annan Fleet and the North African Fleet were completely annihilated?
If such a tragic scene really happened, wouldn't he, the chief of naval staff, be in danger?
"As long as the probability is high!"
George Bonnet stood up and said as he walked: "This matter has caused a lot of noise. It would be better to hold a press conference to clarify it. The overwhelming news reports this time are very strange. I predict that something big will happen in the next two days.
It happened, but it’s not necessarily true that Mr. Albert guessed it... I have to step down anyway, and I don’t care about adding another accusation, so I’d better take the blame..."
After George Bonnet left, everyone had no intention of talking and dispersed. After returning to their respective territories, these bosses immediately sent their confidants to the Far East to investigate the situation.