Eight hundred and seventieth chapters France for help
The Battle of Daojing was a disastrous defeat. The French army lost more than 100,000 people. The remaining troops were also retreating furiously. Millions of German troops were entering France, marching straight in, and their troops were directed towards Paris, the French capital. The situation in France suddenly became critical.
pole!
At the French Army Headquarters, countless staff officers came in and out, marking the latest battle conditions on the map, and at the same time issuing orders one by one to the various units on the front line. The French Commander-in-Chief, General Joffre, stood on the wall hanging
In front of the map, his face was gloomy, as if he could
It's enough to drip water. The attacks of several French army groups were completely crushed by the German army. Moreover, the German army entered France from Belgium and penetrated directly into the French army's flanks, causing the French army to be shaken across the board and forced to retreat. Otherwise, it would be
There is a danger of being surrounded and annihilated by the German army!
"Your Excellency, Commander, General Lu Fu called and asked for support. The German army is pursuing the 3rd Army." A staff officer reported to Xiafei!
"Tell him that there are no reinforcements for him now. Our troops are mobilizing. The 3rd Army must withdraw to Verdun within three days and build a new line of defense!" General Joffre ordered. Now, we want to keep the German army in France
Outside the border, this is no longer possible. In order to avoid suffering greater losses, the French army must retreat. It has retreated to the Marne River area, relying on the Marne River to build a defense line to resist the attack of the German troops and wait for the French army.
After the follow-up troops arrived, they tried to launch a counterattack!
"Yes, General!" The staff officer immediately went to give the order!
"Your Excellency, Commander, the troops on the front line are retreating too fast, and a gap has appeared in the central area. If the Germans seize the opportunity and launch a fierce attack, the retreat will most likely turn into a rout!" A staff officer said.
The officer suggested.
"Is there any way to solve this problem?" General Joffre frowned. Now, what France needs is time. The army has not yet mobilized, and it will take time for the frontline troops to withdraw and rebuild the defense line. And the Germans are also
If they desperately launch an attack, they will not give France enough time. Once the frontline troops cannot withdraw in time, they will not have enough troops to defend Paris!
"Your Excellency, Commander, we need an army to resist the German attack, even if it is to temporarily contain their offensive, to buy time for the frontline troops to retreat!" the staff officer suggested.
General Joffre nodded and then ordered: "Send a telegram to General Ferdinand Foch and ask him to organize troops on the left to resist the German attack. Tell him that I can only give him three divisions of troops.
He can gather the scattered troops, but he must withstand the German attack for more than five days!"
"Yes, Your Excellency, Commander!" the staff officer nodded. There is no doubt that this task is an extremely difficult task. Now the German army has an absolute advantage, and all French troops are retreating to resist the German attack at this time.
, it’s basically a narrow escape from death!
"Your Excellency, Commander, the President asks you to go to the Elysee Palace immediately!" a guard came in and reported.
"Okay, prepare the car, I'll go see the President right away!" General Joffre said. He knew that the failure on the front line had attracted the attention of the President and the Cabinet. Going to the Elysee Palace now will undoubtedly accept the questions from the President and the Cabinet. If he answers
If the president and the cabinet are dissatisfied, he may be done as commander-in-chief!
At 10 o'clock in the morning, General Joffre arrived at the Elysée Palace. President Farier was waiting for him in the office. Also in the office were Prime Minister Joseph Caillaux, Foreign Minister Justin de Servi, and Army Minister Adolf Messi.
rice.
"General Joffre, we have suffered a disastrous defeat at the border. The Germans are marching in. Now, especially the millions of German troops coming south from Belgium, are approaching Paris. I want to know, is the army sure of resisting the German attack?"
President Fallier asked, his face full of worry. Originally, he thought that with the help of the French army, he would be able to defeat the enemy in the East.
The fortifications built in the northern border area could resist the German attack, but they did not expect that the French counterattack had failed. The German army had broken through the French defense line. Moreover, the main force of the German army also detoured through Belgium and approached Paris directly. This
This made the French government panic, and everyone was full of doubts about whether they could hold Paris.
"Your Excellency, I have ordered the 3rd Army, 4th Army and 5th Army to retreat to the line of Verdun and Sedan to resist the German attack. In addition, the 1st Army and 2nd Army to retreat to the southern line of the Marne River to resist the attack from Belgium.
The 1st and 23rd German Army Corps moving south." General Joffre said.
"So, can we hold the Marne River defense line?" Prime Minister Joseph Caillot asked.
"It's very difficult. The German army has nearly 800,000 troops, while we have less than 500,000 troops. I need more troops." General Joffre said bitterly. The main force of the French army is in the northeastern and northern regions.
There are no extra troops at all. In addition, France's general mobilization has not been completed, and there are still too many troops that have not yet been assembled!! "Your Excellency Messimi, how many troops do we still have on hand?" asked President Falier.
"Your Excellency, there are still 200,000 people in the Paris area. If we can hold on for half a month, we will be able to organize 300,000 people again!" Army Minister Adolf Messimi said.
"General Joffre, I will give you all the 200,000 troops in the Paris area. No matter what, the Marne River must be defended. Once the Marne River is lost, Paris will be finished!" President Fallier said.
"Yes, Your Excellency the President. However, although there are 200,000 more troops, the strength is still not enough. If possible, I hope the government can come forward and ask the British allies to send more expeditionary forces!" General Joffre suggested.
President Falier nodded, and then said: "I will talk to Prime Minister Asquith personally. In addition, Mr. Selvi, you contact the ambassadors to Russia and the United States and ask these two countries to fulfill their obligations. Especially
It’s Russia. If Russia can launch a large-scale offensive on the Eastern Front and contain the main force of the German army, this will be very beneficial to us!"
"Yes, Your Excellency President, I will immediately send a telegram to the Ambassador to Russia and the Ambassador to the United States!" said Foreign Minister Justin de Servi.
After leaving the Elysée Palace, General Joffre breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that he had barely passed the test this time. However, the crisis was not over yet. If he could not stop the German attack on the Marne River, he would be completely finished. Return
After arriving at the headquarters, General Joffre organized the French troops in the Paris area into the 6th Army and marched to the Marne River defense line. As for Paris
The defense of the French army will be handed over to the troops formed later. As long as it can resist the German attack on the Marne River, the French army can use this time to organize more troops and continuously invest in the front line of defense to fight the German army.
Attrition. Although, even if it is attrition, it cannot beat Germany, but after all, France is not fighting alone, and it also has the support of its allies!
After General Joffre left the presidential office, the meeting with President Fallier and others continued.
"Your Excellency, Paris is already very dangerous. It is hard to say whether the army can withstand the German attack. Therefore, I suggest that some government departments can be evacuated to Bordeaux now, just in case!" Prime Minister Joseph Caillot suggested.
road.
"Will evacuating Paris at this time have a negative impact on the frontline operations?" President Fallier frowned.
"Your Excellency, the purpose of evacuating the government departments to Bordeaux is to better lead France to fight against the Germans. By then, even if we cannot hold Paris, we will be able to continue fighting. If the government departments are not able to evacuate Paris by then, the Germans will
If we take people prisoner, the whole of France will be completely destroyed!" Minister of Foreign Affairs Justin de Servi also suggested.
"Okay, the government departments can evacuate to Bordeaux first, but I will stick to Paris. Unless Paris is captured by the Germans, I will never leave here!" President Falier said firmly. In his opinion,
, this war was provoked entirely because of him. If he had not stubbornly sent troops into Morocco, Germany would not have sent warships to Morocco tit for tat. If the German warships did not sink, there would be no excuse.
Started this war.
"Yes, Your Excellency, President!" Prime Minister Joseph Cayo and others had no choice but to stop persuading.
On the evening of August 10, the British Prime Minister's Office was still brightly lit. British Prime Minister Asquith was convening an emergency cabinet meeting. The French army suffered a disastrous defeat at the border, which made the UK very nervous. As early as half a month ago, the first batch of British troops
The 100,000-strong expeditionary force has already entered France to fight and participated in the border battle. It also suffered considerable losses during the war and is now in the process of retreating.
"Gentlemen, the door to France has been opened by the Germans. The Germans are marching in and approaching Paris. If Paris is captured by the Germans, the French will probably lose their fighting spirit and surrender to the Germans again. That's it.
Just like forty years ago, today, the French ambassador to the UK officially made a request to us, hoping that the UK can send more troops to help France." Prime Minister Asquith said.
The British cabinet ministers who attended the meeting all frowned. The war situation in France was really bad. It had only been half a month since the war began, but the French capital was already under serious threat, and the French army simply did not have enough troops.
Against the German attack, everything went terribly wrong.
"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, we should rescue France and help the French to hold Paris. If the French are defeated and surrender, millions of German troops will probably attack us!" said Sir Edward Gray, the Foreign Secretary. If France fails, Britain alone will
With such strength, there is no way to defeat Germany!