Chapter 466 Battle of Verdun

Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, time entered the afternoon.

Gallieni's condition finally stabilized. Perhaps due to fatigue and the effect of the medicine, he fell asleep on the bed in a daze.

Charles took this opportunity to find Gallieni's attending doctor Arthur. He is nearly 60 years old and is the best surgeon in the hospital.

"The situation is not very good." Arthur pointed to the X-ray photo and said: "There are still a few small shrapnel that have not been removed from the abdomen. Some are difficult to see with the naked eye. Surgery is required, but..."

Charles replied: "Is his physical condition likely to be unable to withstand surgery?"

"Yes, General." Doctor Arthur's eyes were full of regret: "It was for this reason that it has been delayed until now."

"Does it mean that we can continue to delay?" Charles asked again.

"Indeed." Doctor Arthur nodded helplessly: "Unless it is absolutely necessary, surgery is not recommended. Be careful not to have too much emotional fluctuations at ordinary times!"

Charles expressed his gratitude, walked alone in the corridor of the hospital after leaving, and silently lit a cigarette.

Wounded soldiers on both sides stood up to salute Charles from time to time, and beautiful nurses frequently cast charming glances at him. They whispered softly, and some deliberately passed by Charles.

But Charles did not react at all, as if he was isolated from the world and walked on his own.

In history, Gallieni was angered to death by Joffre. At that time, Gallieni had just finished the operation, and Joffre was kicked out of the position of commander-in-chief by the parliament.

The parliament originally decided to directly dismiss Joffre. His performance on the battlefield was too bad. Almost every time he led the French army into the trap of the Germans.

However, Gallieni still believed that Joffre still had the role of a "vase", so he suggested that Joffre be promoted to the government military adviser and promoted to Marshal of France.

But Joffre thought that all this was Gallieni's "conspiracy", so he angrily went to ask for punishment.

Gallieni died in May 1916.

Charles walked slowly to the end of the corridor, watching the plane trees on the roadside swaying slowly in the breeze outside the window, and secretly made up his mind that this time, he would never let such a thing happen again.

At this time, a signalman stood beside Charles and reported: "General, the headquarters called and the Germans seemed to be ready to attack. They gathered troops in the Verdun area."

Charles was stunned, took the telegram and saw that it was indeed Verdun.

Is this famous strangulation war coming?

It seems to be a little early!

(Note: The Battle of Verdun broke out in February 1916, 6 months from now)

Soon, Charles seemed to think of the reason:

The Germans believed that they could not match Charles' troops in mobile warfare and armored forces, so they planned to attack a strategic location that the French army must defend to change their combat methods.

Verdun is this "must-defend place". It is only 210 kilometers away from Paris. It is a solid fortress composed of more than 20 fortresses, equivalent to the gate of Paris.

If Verdun is not conquered, the German army can only attack Paris by going around the north or south route, which is bound to be blocked at every level.

But if Verdun is conquered, there will be almost no defenses afterwards, and the German armored forces may be able to penetrate Paris in a few days like Charles's troops.

By then, Paris will be in danger at any time.

Charles nodded, threw the unburned cigarette to the ground and stomped it out fiercely, giving Joffre the opportunity to set a trap.

The most severe blow to deal with people like Joffre who are keen on fame and fortune is to make him lose his reputation and turn him from a "vase" into a spittoon that everyone spit on.

Charles turned around and told the guards in front of Gallieni's ward, turned around and strode out of the hospital.

...

The hospital is not far from the city defense headquarters. In less than twenty minutes, Charles appeared in the dim light of the officers' club.

At this time, the officers' club had just opened, and there was no officer inside.

It was not until he walked into the door that Charles suddenly remembered that Lucia might still be with her family in Belgium.

But when he looked up, he was surprised to find Lucia busy behind the bar.

"You're back?" Charles asked.

Lucia, who was cleaning, was startled. When she looked up and saw Charles, a trace of surprise flashed in her eyes, and the fatigue on her face disappeared instantly: "Yes, General. I only asked for two days off, and I took a shift with Garel to have enough time to come back."

Then she asked Charles: "Why are you..."

Before she finished speaking, Lucia said "Oh": "Is it because of General Gallieni?"

This matter should have been kept secret, but it happened suddenly and many people on the road saw it, and it spread before measures could be taken.

"Yes." Charles nodded gently and said: "A cup of coffee."

Before Lucia answered, he turned and walked to his usual seat.

Looking at Charles' back, Lucia felt a little scared for some reason. The person in front of him seemed a little different from the familiar Charles.

Soon, a cup of coffee was handed to Charles, and Lucia also took a cup and sat in front of Charles.

"I'm sorry." Lucia said with concern: "I just heard about this. How is General Gallieni now?"

"He's fine." Charles replied expressionlessly.

"He will be fine." Lucia comforted: "Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital has the best doctors in the world..."

"Lucia." Charles interrupted her. He leaned forward and ordered in a low voice: "Send a message to the British intelligence personnel through your people: the Germans' target is not Verdun, but Belfort." ”

Belfort is another important city on the Western Front. It is 400 kilometers further away from Paris, but its defense is much inferior to Verdun, which has more than 20 fortresses and hundreds of large and small caliber fortress guns.

Lucia's heart sank.

Yes, he doesn't need my comfort at all. He is here to give orders. He only thinks about the war and General Galieni.

"Yes, General." Lucia nodded aggrievedly.

Charles did not notice Lucia's emotional change. He added: "We cannot let them discover your identity. This is information found by the British themselves and analyzed by them themselves."

"Yes, General." Lucia replied: "Don't worry, the 'Ladies in White' are ordinary people. They have their own jobs and are busy every day. The British will not find anything."

Ciel nodded with satisfaction.

That's what he wanted, and the advantage of the "Ladies in White" was that they were in the shadows, while the British intelligence agents were in the open.

As long as the "Lady in White" slightly polishes the intelligence and cuts off the beginning and end, allowing British intelligence personnel to obtain the information and then integrate and analyze it to draw conclusions, they will be convinced.

If the British intelligence officers were convinced, Joffre would have fallen into this trap!