Chapter 446 If Someone Disagrees, Then Fight Us
General Winter was speechless.
Because Charles was right, the difficulties and uncertainties caused by privately intercepting fuel oil in the war were obviously not in the interests of Britain.
Finally, General Winter sighed and replied helplessly:
"In fact, this is not entirely the intention of the 'Secretary of the Navy', Commodore, I also hope that you can return to the Dardanelles to command the overall situation."
"Because..."
"People are losing their lives there every day, hundreds and thousands."
General Winter's eyes were full of reluctance, he often looked at these numbers and therefore had a deep understanding.
"You should say this to the 'Secretary of the Navy'." Charles replied.
"What?" General Winter did not understand what Charles meant.
Charles did not answer and asked: "Have you forgotten the purpose of attacking the Dardanelles?"
"Of course not." General Winter argued: "It is to open up a new front and break the deadlock."
Charles spread his hands and looked around.
General Winter suddenly realized that the deadlock on the front line had been broken by Charles' armored forces, so the Battle of the Dardanelles lost its strategic significance.
"The battle in Gallipoli has developed into another stalemate of trench warfare." Charles continued, "The way to break it is already in front of you."
General Winter looked at Charles blankly, and soon reacted: "You mean, armored forces?"
"Yes." Charles nodded and said, "Use armored forces to break through the trenches. But I wonder if you have considered what difficulties there will be in deploying armored forces in Gallipoli?"
General Winter shook his head slightly. As a navy, he had no idea about this.
Charles analyzed:
"First, you have to transport the armored forces to Gallipoli."
"Second, you have to ensure its fuel, parts, and maintenance in high-salt and high-humidity areas."
"Finally, you have to order the troops to flatten the mountains in Gallipoli because they are not suitable for armored forces to fight!"
General Winter half opened his mouth. This is impossible.
At the same time, it is not necessary. Instead of trying so hard to win in Gallipoli, it is better to win a greater victory directly on the front battlefield. It will be much easier.
No one will do such a stupid thing of giving up the easy and choosing the difficult!
"This is the insistence of the 'Secretary of the Navy', understand?" Charles said bluntly: "The war in Gallipoli has long been unnecessary, but the 'Secretary of the Navy' is unwilling to admit it for personal gain. So, you should go to the 'Secretary of the Navy' and tell him the casualty figures."
"But he won't pay attention to these..." General Winter's face turned pale.
He knew the 'Secretary of the Navy', and the soldiers on the front line were no different from ants in his eyes.
"But others will." Charles reminded.
General Winter understood that Charles meant to use the power of the public to kick the 'Secretary of the Navy' out of the command system, including the 'Dardanelles Committee'.
Charles finally emphasized:
"This has nothing to do with me, how to do it is your business."
"I just hope you won't try to get me to the Dardanelles to turn defeat into victory in the future."
"I won't do such a stupid thing!"
General Winter acquiesced to Charles's statement.
This is indeed stupid, just like forcing Charles to throw away the watermelon in front of him and run to the Dardanelles thousands of miles away to pick up a sesame, and he may not be able to pick it up.
But it is such a simple truth, but I didn't understand it until now.
At this time, there was a cheer in the telegraph room, and the signalman ran to Charles and reported excitedly: "General, the German army sent a staff to negotiate with our army, and they hope to surrender to our army!"
Charles spread his hands to General Winter, meaning that this is what I need to do.
General Winter nodded: "I know what to do."
...
The news that the German army was ready to surrender spread throughout Antwerp in an instant, and everyone was cheering.
The Belgians took to the streets to celebrate, and many people played musical instruments and danced on the streets.
The soldiers climbed out of the fortresses and trenches and hugged each other, as if the war was over.
All telephones and telegraphs were busy, whether military or civilian, people did everything possible to pass the news of victory to everyone who could be notified.
Soon, the news reached Paris, and the people of Paris were also boiling.
Although this victory was no longer a suspense, it still made people excited when it really came. People praised Charles and praised him with all their might:
"Charles is the best. France is lucky to have another Napoleon!"
"I don't think Napoleon has such an achievement. He simply changed the world by himself."
"Yes, it broke the myth of the invincibility of trench warfare. Everyone thought that the future war would stop at digging trenches. He created a miracle!"
...
Lucia had tears in her eyes. After many twists and turns, she found out that her family was safe. Now she heard that the Germans were ready to surrender, which meant that there was no "final madness" and she could rest assured.
...
Camille cried with joy in the blessings of her neighbors. She finally believed that Charles could let one French soldier defeat a dozen Germans.
She was very proud that Charles had such magic. Those Germans had defeated the British and French forces and even entered Paris not long ago, but they were defeated by Charles!
Djoka, who knows something about military affairs, sighed in his heart:
Whose talent did Charles inherit?
Camille's or mine?
It's obviously neither one, it's his own.
But this talent seems to be exaggerated to the point of terrifying!
…
However, there were still some discordant sounds at this time.
The person who jumped out was the new British "Admiralty Minister" Balfour, who issued a righteous statement:
"We acknowledge that the Shire performed well in this campaign."
"But this victory is inseparable from the persistence of the British and French forces on the defensive line. They fought on the front line for nearly a year and sacrificed tens of thousands."
"Therefore, I think it should be the commander-in-chief of the coalition forces who is going to accept the surrender."
At this time, Xiafei was also the commander-in-chief of the coalition forces.
The intention of the British was very obvious. They knew that Joffre was at odds with Charles, and they tried to take this opportunity to create a conflict between the two or even light a fuse.
There was no response from Xiafei, and he seemed to acquiesce.
Just like after Gallieni won the victory in the battle to defend Paris, when a reporter asked who took the credit, he replied: "I don't know whose credit it is. I only know that if it fails, people will think it is My responsibility.”
He cleverly tied responsibility and credit together to steal the fruits of Gallieni's victory.
Charles didn't speak either. He was not suitable to speak out, otherwise he would deny the contribution of the frontline soldiers, although the French people were aggrieved by Charles.
At this time, the German commander Lieutenant General Baird spoke: "We only surrender to the Shire. If anyone disagrees, then fight us!"