Chapter 746 Can the British Fight?
"As if you understand very well!" Princess Margaret said with a teasing look. It is really interesting that an official who has never been a soldier for a day is now commenting on the battle situation thousands of miles away.
Alan Wilson was not angry at Her Royal Highness the Princess's sarcasm. He was already much stronger than before. He replied, "Most of the time in the war has nothing to do with amazing plans or impeccable plans. As long as you have a little knowledge of the military, Some knowledgeable people can formulate a reasonable battle plan, but whether the plan can be successfully implemented by the military is another matter."
Was General Mountbatten a talented military strategist? My dear father-in-law himself doesn’t think so.
But he is the theater commander who is as famous as Stalin of the Soviet Union and Chang Gong, the commander of the Chinese theater.
Whether he admits it or not, Mountbatten had a place among the leaders of the military in the world war.
In the field of combat planning alone, General Mountbatten is not necessarily much more professional than Alan Wilson, his son-in-law.
Mountbatten was a political general, and his former theater commander was much more professional than him from a military perspective. However, what he brought about was a disconnect between China and Britain in cooperation in Myanmar, and mutual distrust.
This changed after Mountbatten took office, and the armies of different nationalities in the Southeast Asian battlefield became harmonious.
"Dien Bien Phu is deep inland and the road conditions are not good. If air transportation is interrupted, the situation of the French will be bad." Alan Wilson took out the map and looked at the location of Dien Bien Phu with some concern, and asked Richard , "Didn't the advisory group in Saigon put forward their own opinions?"
"After all, this is a French war. Some of us say that the battlefield is too far inland, making it difficult to rescue if something goes wrong." Richard didn't know much. After all, there were decent military governors in Malaya, and there were British troops. headquarters.
The Commissioner was responsible for the administrative work of British Malaya. General Bilton was not a subordinate of the Commissioner and had no obligation to disclose much to the Chief Executive.
"If the French don't listen, there is nothing we can do." Alan Wilson shook his head slightly. In fact, the Battle of Dien Bien Phu was won as the French thought, and the Vietnam War would not end.
In the world after World War II, colonies cannot be subdued simply by relying on military force. Of course, Alan Wilson also understands that, like the United Kingdom, it will definitely not work if you just talk but don't do anything.
But is it like France who only moves her hands but doesn't talk? The effect was not good either. From 1945 to the present, France at least had enough time to resolve the Algeria problem.
Because of differences in colonial policies, France's foundation in Algeria was far from comparable to that of Britain in the non-white autonomous territories.
After the war, as long as France shows a little bit of goodwill instead of blindly suppressing it, Algeria will most likely not be independent.
But what about Vietnam? There was nothing he could do if Alan Wilson went up. Winning the Battle of Dien Bien Phu would only be delayed for a year or two. In the end, the Vietnam problem still could not be solved.
And Paris is indeed anxious. From 1945 to now, Vietnam has been unable to solve the problem in nine years. The amount of money consumed by France is already astronomical, so this attack was launched.
"Answer the call from the commander!" Alan Wilson glanced at the princess and decided to take advantage of his sister-in-law's presence to hope that the British military would mention Dien Bien Phu, a strategically important inland location, from an objective and neutral perspective. Good for support.
As for whether the French would listen in the end, Britain did its best anyway. Before that, Alan Wilson also contacted the country to find out what other countries in the Five Eyes Alliance thought about this.
In addition to the British army, Malaya also had a small number of advisory groups belonging to Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands and Portugal.
After all, a five-nation joint defense treaty had been signed before, in which the Netherlands had its own colonies and Portugal had a similar island of Timor, so Malaya's advisors were mainly two little brothers from the United Kingdom.
The number is small, but it also has symbolic significance. Through these consultants, we can ask about the attitudes of Australia and New Zealand. Isn't there important members of the royal family around Alan Wilson now?
"If others know you are like this, you will be finished." Princess Margaret sat on the lap of the Imperial Commissioner, panting and complaining, "If you kiss me and you are swollen, others will definitely see it."
"I was fucked to the end, and it is not good for you or me to be involved in scandals, and Pamela will be sad." Alan Wilson recalled the princess's red lips and said in a neutral tone, "So you have to listen to your brother-in-law. That’s all it takes, you know.”
It's all about cultivation. This important member of the royal family is much more difficult than the original Pamela Mountbatten. Now that Princess Margaret has grown up, some habits have been formed, and she is not as easy to discipline as Pamela Mountbatten.
The princess, whose legs were still clamped between the man's hands, would not know what to think if she knew that her brother-in-law still thought she was disobedient.
Asking Richard to make a reception itinerary, Alan Wilson took the princess to the British Army Headquarters to discuss several issues regarding France's current military operation.
"Allen, this is the headquarters." General Bilton swore that he absolutely respected the royal family, but this was too much.
"General, it was Pamela who asked her to follow me." Alan Wilson spread his hands. He did have the idea of using the status of the princess to do evil, but this is not contradictory. Princess Margaret did shoulder the responsibility of watching him. Task.
After all, Australia and New Zealand had not been independent for long, and their traditional feelings for Britain were still there. They also expressed respect for the princess's appearance, and soon several people discussed the French military operation.
"France is in a dilemma. If it wins, it will just continue to consume, and it is far from the final victory. If it loses, the French Asian colonies will collapse." Alan Wilson looked solemn, "I am afraid that it will form a chain reaction and spread to other countries. Interests."
This was the reason why he paid attention to France's actions. He was afraid that France's defeat would cause instability in the British colonies.
At this point, he could feed his conscience to dogs. If there was even a one percent chance, he would hope that the French would rule Vietnam for twenty years. As for what the Vietnamese thought, it was none of his business.
The military advisers of Australia and New Zealand also nodded. Malaya was a British colony, but it would be good for the two countries for the British to stay, especially when Sukarno in Indonesia kept calling for Greater Indonesia.
Australia and New Zealand also support the development of Malaya, because in Australia's internal discussions, there has been discussion about the development of iron ore discovery and whether it can be used to industrialize. But the environment in Australia is too harsh, especially the lack of water. As a saying goes, it is better to continue to sell minerals than to develop industry.
Alan Wilson knew this argument, first of all it was the correct argument and secondly it was spread through his wife's media.
France's military operations were not just a concern for this geographically not far away British colony. Thousands of miles away in Washington, the U.S. military is also extremely concerned. The domino theory has been accepted by the U.S. military.
After preventing the expansion of Soviet power from the Korean peninsula, Washington was also very concerned about whether the French could contain the development of communist power into Southeast Asia.
At this time, the United States certainly would not have thought that in the future they would take over from the French and listen to the Vietnamese in the dense forest. But they have expressed extraordinary concern for the war there.
In fact, there are already voices in Washington calling for the United States to help France, replicate the actions of the Korean War to prevent North Korea from annexing South Korea, and send troops to Vietnam to assist France. The report has even been handed over to President Eisenhower.
"In the Red River Delta and the outskirts of various strongholds, normal patrols are no longer possible. The offensives adopted by the French are always steady and lack imagination, and the campaign goals are also very limited. Unless solid fortifications are built or excellent fighter planes appear, , otherwise the French army would avoid a decisive battle with the Vietnamese army."
"It is absolutely impossible to imagine that without daily exchanges with French military personnel here, the thinking and practices of the French military staff are as old as before they were blitzed by Germany. The French Expeditionary Force lacks sufficient training and high-quality military staff , lacks the mentality to take the initiative to attack, even if the United States provides a large amount of arms and materials, it cannot change this situation. "
In the White House, President Eisenhower looked at the report submitted by the bureau with a serious look on his face. Finally, he threw the report aside and said, "Which person who has only been in the country for a long time did this kind of garbage?"
"Ike, the danger is possible," Secretary of Defense Charles Owen Wilson said, looking at the president.
"The incompetence of France makes us send troops? Why do so many people regard war as such a simple matter?" President Eisenhower asked, "In fact, the British side is also asking about our attitude, right?"
Seeing Charles Owen Wilson nodding, Eisenhower continued, "The Korean War has just ended. We cannot wait to enter the next war. This is irresponsible for American lives. Don't bring up the issue of troops again, I I absolutely will not agree to that.”
While the United Kingdom and the United States were discussing France's military operation from different perspectives, the French army in Vietnam had already begun to mobilize troops, deploying French soldiers and the Foreign Legion, which is currently mainly German, through Junkers transport aircraft. Transport soldiers to Dien Bien Phu and insert them into areas where Viet Minh guerrillas are active, attracting Viet Minh attacks.
Then, under the stubborn heavy firepower position, they gave the attacking Viet Minh army a head-on blow and won the battle.
Through the successful defense in the Battle of Toping-ri, the French army, as one of the participating troops, had reason to believe that since the Chinese army could not break through Toping-ri, the weaker Viet Minh would only suffer more bloodshed.
As for the concerns of British consultants about Dien Bien Phu? What a joke, the British will fight a land war?
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