Chapter 935 Surrender Is Also an Art

The big men in Cairo are still struggling, and the French soldiers scattered outside are different. Knowing that the Egyptian battlefield is powerless and blocked, the fool will fight to the end.

The surrender conditions promised by Austria were only a catalyst, and what prompted everyone to make up their minds was that there were not many materials in hand.

In particular, some fortresses trapped in the siege have begun to supply limited food. If it drags on like this, before the enemy launches an attack, they will be finished by themselves.

Aswan, located on the east bank of the Nile River, is just an inconspicuous small city. It is well known because of the great uprising a few years ago.

Rebels blew up the "Aswan Dam" and flooded the delta downstream, drawing European media attention before it became world-famous.

learn from mistakes. After the extermination of the rebels, the Egyptian colonial government deployed heavy troops in the Aswan area.

After the outbreak of the European Continental War, in order to avoid repeating the tragedy of the flooded delta, the French once again increased their troops to the Aswan area, with a total force of more than 80,000.

With a strong force, the defenders of the Aswan area smashed the Austrian offensive many times. It is a pity that this is of no use. Large-scale wars cannot be reversed by the gains and losses of one city and one place.

With the passage of time, the surrounding friendly forces fell under the muzzle of the enemy one after another, and the French army in the Aswan area gradually became a lonely army.

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The French army headquarters in Aswan is now gathering stars, and basically all the senior French officers who can come are here.

"The defenders of Kom Ombo surrendered five days ago, and the enemy's encirclement has been completed. The situation in other areas is also not optimistic. There will be no reinforcements. What should we do now?"

No one wants to suffer the political catastrophe of surrender, and Lieutenant General Armand, the head coach of the Aswan defenders, is no exception.

In order not to go to a military court after the war, generally speaking, the best way to encounter such a situation is to make a collective decision and take responsibility together.

"Your Excellency Lieutenant General, the order given to us by the officers and gentlemen of the theater command department is to stick to Aswan, without considering the actual situation at all.

We have suffered more than 30,000 casualties since the war started, and the total force has dropped from 80,000 at its peak to 50,000 now.

What's worse is that our reserves of strategic materials are insufficient, medicines are almost exhausted, and weapons and ammunition can support one more battle at most.

To reduce food consumption, we even expelled civilians from our jurisdiction. But this is still not enough. Even if the ration is carried out according to the minimum standard, it will last for a month at most.

We simply do not have the conditions to stick to Aswan. Even if the enemy does not attack, we will starve to death soon. "

The population of Aswan is limited, and there will be only 200,000 people here in later generations, not to mention now. When the war broke out, the army outnumbered the civilian population.

As a cotton field in France, the Aswan region is no exception, and a large amount of farmland is used to grow cotton.

It doesn't matter in ordinary times, but in times of war it is tragic. Even after expelling the civilians, the defenders did not raise enough food.

All kinds of strategic materials are lacking, and the life of the quartermaster is naturally difficult. The other quartermasters are all making a lot of money. As the quartermaster of the Aswan garrison, Major General Arthur is about to go bald.

After a few days of good times, the enemy was cut off from logistical supplies. Not to mention making oil and water, how to fill the stomachs of soldiers has become a problem.

It's not that Arthur is doing his due diligence. In fact, he is also a standard French quartermaster, and he is definitely not soft when it comes to making money.

The reason why they are holding back now is that on the one hand, they are worried that the soldiers will mutiny. This is a precedent. The French army has no tradition of starving to death without causing trouble. If you don't eat well, it's fine, if you're not full, you turn your face in minutes.

On the other hand, he knows that to make money, he must first ensure that he has a life to spend. The war has been going on until now, and Major General Arthur has lost confidence in the Aswan defenders.

If you can't win, the final result is nothing but annihilation or surrender. Major General Arthur had no glorious determination, he was just a quartermaster, and he was not responsible for the defeat and surrender.

Don't look at the Austrian army's promise to protect the safety of personal and property, if it really becomes a prisoner, the huge wealth will be a reminder.

During the war, it was normal for someone to die, especially if they were prisoners of war, and no one would bother.

Major General Altier's net worth is not low, and it is unknown whether he can keep it.

Those who can sit here are all smart people. Everyone understands the intention of Major General Arthur. The logistics can no longer support it, which is undoubtedly a good excuse for surrender.

As for whether the logistical pressure is so great, is it really out of ammunition, or is it about to run out of cooking, this question is not important at all, anyway, everyone defaults to it.

A middle-aged officer echoed: "Major General Altir is right, now we really don't have the conditions to defend the Aswan area. Without reinforcements and logistical supplies, it is only a matter of time before the Aswan area falls.

It is said that the enemy also has a car that is covered with steel plates from top to bottom. It is very powerful and can be called invincible in field battles. Our main force was defeated by them, and it was the failure of the last battle that led to the collapse of the situation.

Now we have no way to deal with these iron lumps, and if we want to restore the logistics supply line in a short time, there is almost no hope.

Moreover, the strategic materials we have hoarded in Egypt are limited, even if we break through the enemy's blockade, the general

Even the headquarters can't come up with supplies to support us.

Since the Aswan region is doomed to fail, there is no need for us to make unnecessary sacrifices. France had already sacrificed more than 200,000 people to defend Egypt, and there was no need to continue.

The key to this war is Europe, not Aswan. Even if we lose this place, as long as the European War is won, what is lost now will return to us in the future. "

"Your Excellency, you are stealing the concept. The Aswan region does not affect the outcome of this war, but the ownership of the Egyptian region affects the balance of victory.

Once Aswan fell, the enemy would be able to blow up the dam, flood the delta downstream, and destroy the social order in Egypt.

When the time comes, the homeless Egyptians will rebel and deal a fatal blow to our rule, which will bring the entire region of Egypt to fall.

For the sake of France, we must persevere, even if we persevere for one more day, it will be of great help to the domestic battlefield. "

There is no shortage of hot-blooded men in any country, and France is no exception. It was said earlier that the strategic materials were insufficient, and Major General Antoine had no way to refute it. Now that he directly said surrender, he couldn't help it.

You must know that surrender is also contagious. The French army in Aswan wanted to surrender, but it was actually influenced by friendly forces.

The first to surrender was the Italian divisions who came to reinforce them. Originally, the Paris government sent them here to cut off their ties with the Italian independent organization and reduce security risks.

After all, the relationship between Italians and Austria is not good. Under the deliberate propaganda of the French government, many Italians hate Austria.

However, none of this could stop their determination to surrender. After being beaten by the Austrian army again, these guys decisively chose to follow their heart.

That's not bad by comparison. If the European continent is left behind, the Paris government will not dare to use this pure Italian division.

Once mixed with independent organizations, it is not a question of surrender, but a direct mutiny.

So far, three pure Italian divisions have turned their backs on the battlefield, almost bringing down the southern front that the French had worked so hard to manage.

Fortunately, there are not many such pure Italian divisions. They are the legacy of France's annexation of the Italian state. They have been abolished by the French government one after another over the years.

Taking advantage of the opportunity of this war, the Paris government directly seized the military and political power of several Italian states, and the original governments of the two Sicilies, Tuscany and other states became rubber stamps.

If France wins this war, these Italian states will probably be completely history, and they won't even have a chance to be a rubber stamp.

The internal trouble was resolved, but the French army in Egypt was miserable. He came forward in the face of the main force, but achieved a record that was not as good as that of the colonial troops.

In the previous battle, the French army was defeated so quickly, in addition to the armored troops being powerful, these guys who dragged their legs also made great contributions.

Although fighting is not good, running is the first place.

If someone makes statistics, it will be found that in the previous battle, the Italian division not only defeated the fastest, but also had the lowest casualty rate.

After the war, they were scattered and stationed in various places. These guys also did not give up, and continued to play the role of pit bulls. Not only did he surrender himself, but in order to sell for a good price, he often mobilized his teammates to surrender together.

As for the hatred with Austria, is it important to have national independence, or is it important to have the Aegis?

Seeing someone come out to sing the opposite, everyone's faces turned gloomy. Everyone wants to be a hero, no one wants to be a coward, but the price of being a hero is too heavy.

Seeing that the situation on the field had changed, the coach, Lieutenant General Armand, persuaded bitterly: "Major General Antoine, calm down first. No one wants to see Egypt fall, but we really can't go on.

Maybe you don't want to believe it, but it's the truth. The telegrams, including our contact with the outside world, were deliberately left by the enemy.

Up to now, two-thirds of the cities in Egypt have fallen into the hands of the enemy, more than 200,000 French troops have surrendered their weapons, and the remaining cities, including Cairo, are crumbling.

The enemy has mastered the initiative on the battlefield, and there is no need for them to blow up the dam. The strategic value of the Aswan region has disappeared.

If it weren't for the Nile, the enemy wouldn't even need to occupy the Aswan area.

For this war, France has paid too much. If you count the domestic, the death toll is probably more than one million.

This is nearly two percent of our total population, but the end of the war is still a long way off, and no one knows the final number of casualties.

Since the Aswan area is doomed to fail, as the commander, it is the duty to bring the boys back safely. We can't just light up this generation for a moment. "

The previous ones are all excuses, but the last sentence is the truth of Lieutenant General Armand.

The French Empire seems to have a population of 60 million, but the Italians are separated from them, and the real population is just over 37 million.

After the war broke out, although the Italians were also recruited into the army, the main force of the recruits was still the French, and the most killed on the battlefield were also the French.

When people arrive, they hate less. Since the war has gone on, the French government has clearly felt the lack of manpower, and the elites have also realized the importance of population.

But it's all too late, the population is not a day or two

enough to increase. Even if people were to be created immediately, it would take twenty years before they could be used.

In the face of the cruel reality, Major General Antoine fell into a fierce inner struggle. After a while, he said fiercely: "Since this is the case, let's blow up the Aswan Dam first and then surrender. Anyway, the Egyptian region can't be saved. , simply leave a mess for the enemy."

As soon as the words landed, Lieutenant General Armand hurriedly retorted: "No! There are still our troops downstream. If the dam is suddenly blown up, our troops will inevitably suffer heavy losses.

Every soldier is a hero of France, and they can die on the battlefield, but never at the hands of our own people. "

Make no mistake, it's just an excuse. The telegram has not been cut off, and the defenders in the Aswan area still have contact with the outside world, so it is enough to report the news in advance.

Only in this way, the defenders in the lower reaches can surrender rationally, and the responsibility for losing the city and the land will fall on them.

As the coach, Lieutenant General Armand is naturally the first responsible person. After the war, it is not only to be held accountable by military courts, but directly to be shot.

Not only the coach is finished, but everyone present is also finished, and no one can escape. To be patriotic and return to patriotism, you have to pay for the names of your predecessors and backs. Everyone is still thankful and insensitive.

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