Chapter 488 Strength

The vase was broken, shattered to pieces, and there was no possibility of recovery.

Joffre was defeated, completely defeated, and had no chance of recovery.

The reputation he had built up through propaganda for many years was gone, and he was left with a bad reputation. People whispered to each other:

"I heard that Joffre wanted to put the blame on Charles, saying that it was all Charles' fault."

"I heard that he would do anything to keep his position as commander-in-chief."

"It is not difficult to imagine that he would sacrifice anyone for this position, including General Foch and Charles, not to mention the soldiers!"

...

All major newspapers are reporting on Joffre, no longer hiding, and no longer whitewashing like before.

Because everyone knows the truth, the result of whitewashing will only make the newspaper abandoned by the public.

Soon, newspapers in Britain, the United States, Italy, and even Russia reported the incident. Although the headlines were different, the arguments were similar:

Charles could achieve a goal in one day, but Joffre could not achieve it in his lifetime.

So, was Charles too good or Joffre too incompetent? Or both!

There was also a newspaper review of Joffre's time as commander-in-chief, and found that he had almost no military achievements except for the credit of "Guardian of Paris" snatched from Gallieni.

So the newspaper triggered new thinking: Why could such a general stay in the position of commander-in-chief for several years? Is there something wrong with the French system?

At this point, Gallieni would certainly not propose to promote Joffre to marshal.

Even if Gallieni proposed it, the parliament would not pass it.

Because Joffre at this time could no longer be a symbol and could not inspire morale. If he was a symbol, it would be a symbol of incompetence and shamelessness.

…

In the city defense headquarters, Gallieni leaned against the head of the bed with a pillow under his back.

Since the last recurrence of his injury, Gallieni always felt that he could not use his strength, and the wound would ache from time to time.

Charles put a basket of apples on the table, and took out the medicine he had just taken from the hospital from his pocket and put it in the drawer.

"The doctor said you should eat more fruits and liquid food." Charles said, "For example, mashed potatoes. I told Lieutenant Colonel Fernan that every meal will have mashed potatoes and vegetable soup in the future."

Galieni said "hmm" expressionlessly. He was a little touched in his heart, but he didn't want to show it to Charles.

Galieni thought that he would think I was just a poor old man, and even eating would be a problem without him.

"Wait, Brigadier General." Charles was about to leave when Gallieni stopped him.

"Yes, General." Charles looked at Gallieni in confusion. He had an appointment with Steed and the time was almost up.

Galieni raised his head towards the door.

Charles closed the door and realized what Gallieni was going to ask.

Sure enough, Gallieni lowered his voice: "That's true, right? You gave the British intelligence to mislead Joffre."

Charles admitted generously: "More than that."

"More than that?"

Charles nodded, but didn't speak.

But Gallieni understood: "Major General Christian, he is your man."

It is not difficult to guess that there are two reasons for Joffre's wrong judgment: one is intelligence, and the other is the theory said by Major General Christian.

The former drew Joffre's attention to Belfort, thinking that was the real target of the German attack.

The latter was to let Joffre transfer the artillery and artillery from Verdun.

Galieni sighed lightly: "I don't comment on whether this is right or not, because I also think Joffre is not suitable to be the commander-in-chief. But I find it difficult to agree with the process of your doing this."

Then Gallieni added: "Do you know how many military regulations you violated by doing this? Joffre is right, he has reason to send you to a military court for trial. You are unscrupulous."

"General." Charles replied calmly: "As long as the result is correct, the process does not seem to be important. Just like when we face the enemy on the battlefield, killing him and keeping yourself alive is important, no one cares about the process."

Galieni didn't know how to answer for a while. He vaguely felt that the reason why Charles's means to deal with Joffre were so cruel was because of him.

The moment he woke up in the hospital, Gallieni saw that Charles wanted revenge, and revenged severely.

But Gallieni did not expect that Charles' revenge would be so thorough and so resolute, even Gallieni was a little scared.

...

The sea breeze with a salty taste gently caressed Dunkirk, the night was low and the stars were dotted, and the moonlight sprinkled silver light on the sea, reflecting the lighthouse in the distance.

Outside a three-story villa in the suburbs, fully armed British soldiers stood at the gate, and several snipers were hiding in the dark, ready to fight.

This is the headquarters of the British Expeditionary Force. Lieutenant General Haig, commander of the First Army, and Kitchener are discussing something under the lights of the second-floor headquarters.

(The picture above shows Lieutenant General Douglas Haig, commander of the First Army of the British Expeditionary Force. He was an old subordinate of British Army Secretary Kitchener when he was in India and was promoted by Kitchener.)

"We should not only focus on the military, General." Kitchener stood in front of the window with a glass of wine, looking across a low-rise building at the sea view in the moonlight in the distance, and taught earnestly: "When you reach a certain height, you should focus on politics. The military must always obey politics. When they conflict, the first thing to consider must be political needs."

Lieutenant General Haig noticed that Kitchener's wine glass was almost empty. He stood up and carried the bottle to refill Kitchener's glass: "But your Excellency, Marshal, I don't think our current situation conflicts with political needs."

Kitchener smiled slightly: "Think about our countless colonies, General. Some of them are on the other side of the world, beyond our reach. The troops stationed there are almost negligible. What do you think makes them still willing? Submit to the rule of the Empire on which the sun never sets?"

Lieutenant General Haig was stunned and replied: "It's strength."

"Yes." Kitchener nodded: "It's strength. If they don't obey, our army will crush them like a bedbug, leaving only a little stench and stumps in pain." struggle."

Kitchener turned to look at Haig and raised the cup in his hand: "But now, the French are moving forward under the leadership of Charles. They have regained the Belgian capital, Antwerp, and stabilized their position in Verdun. , and we have nothing to do in Dunkirk.”

Haig understood, and he nodded slightly: "What the world sees is the strength of France and the decline of the sun that never sets, which will make us lose control of the colonies."

Kitchener said "Yeah": "So, we can't stay here and enjoy the gains, General. We should have a plan, a successful attack plan, or at least stand in front of the defense line and fight the enemy!"