Chapter 548 Who Is Responsible for the Loan?

In Namur Castle, Charles was looking at the map and discussing the battle plan against Leuven with Tijani.

After Namur was captured, Leuven was surrounded by the French army on three sides. At the same time, Charles also had armored troops, mechanized troops, plus the cooperation of the aviation unit and the Belgian 1st Special Reconnaissance Army, taking Leuven. Wen is just around the corner.

Even more, this is not a question of whether it can be captured, but a question of how many German troops are surrounded and how many prisoners are captured.

This is one of the reasons why Charles knew that the terrain of Namur was not suitable for tank operations, but chose to attack Namur at the expense of the easy and difficult.

This is called capture in Go, and it is a highly efficient move.

If the German commander is smart enough, he should take the initiative to abandon Leuven and shrink the defense line.

(The red circles in the picture above are, from top to bottom, Antwerp, the capital Brussels and Namur. Leuven is in the middle of the three and is in a state of being surrounded. If the protagonist attacks Leuven first instead of Namur , not only is Leuven more difficult to fight because of the reinforcements, but it will eventually have to face the "dilemma" of Namur).

Tijani looked at the map and smiled: "Once Leuven is captured, the British will be thrown to the second line again."

Northeast of Antwerp is the neutral Netherlands.

After Leuven, Antwerp is basically in a "corner" where it does not need to face the enemy.

Charles smiled softly: "Do you only have Leuven in your eyes, General?"

"What do you mean?" Tijani was puzzled. He glanced at Charles and then turned his attention to the map: "Besides Leuven, is there any better direction of attack?"

He was thoughtful, and when his eyes turned to the Liege Fortress, an important Belgian town, he looked surprised: "You don't want to attack the Liege Fortress directly, do you?"

"No." Charles shook his head: "Liège Fortress is full of castles and the terrain is complex. It is almost impossible to conquer it in a short time."

The Germans even repaired the fortress there. The large-caliber artillery in the fortress was a complete deterrent to any attacking unit, including the Shire's armored forces.

"you mean……"

Charles pointed to a point on the map: "Hasselt, General, we can avoid the Liege Fortress defense circle."

(Note: Hasselt is the "Hasselt" on the map)

Tijani was stunned after finding the location on the map: "Hasselt? This can't be surrounded..."

He figured it out in the next second. He looked at Charles with a shocked expression: "You mean, use the Dutch border to surround the Germans?"

Ciel nodded.

At this time, the German army in Leuven was roughly in a triangular area, with the French defense line from Antwerp to Namur to the south, the Dutch border to the north, and only one exit to the Liege Fortress in the east.

Once the French army penetrates Hasselt, it will block the exit first, and tens of thousands of German troops will be surrounded by that time.

However, there is a loophole in this plan. In order to protect itself, the Netherlands is likely to allow this surrounded German army to transit.

This problem must be solved before attacking.

At this time, the signal soldier sent a telegram: "General, our army has won a decisive victory on the Somme."

Tijani took the telegram and looked at it. He let out a "ha" and handed the telegram to Charles with a look of disdain: "Forty thousand casualties advanced for one kilometer, or is it a flat pile? It's actually a 'decisive' victory?"

Charles also found it difficult to understand after reading the telegram: "He may mean that since he can win by fighting like this the first time, he can also win by fighting like this the second time, right?"

Tijani laughed:

"That's what I thought too."

"They always thought the Germans would keep using the same old tactics."

"40,000 people, 40,000 casualties in one day! They actually called this a victory?"

He looked distressed.

Tijani had followed Charles for so long, and all he had seen were small casualties of a few hundred people. Thousands of casualties only appeared in the battle in the Dardanelles when he was surrounded by enemies.

Therefore, it was difficult for him to imagine what it would be like to suffer 40,000 casualties in one day.

At this time, another piece of information was handed over: "General, the Germans proposed 'negotiations for peace.'"

Tijani rushed forward to receive the telegram. After reading it, his eyes lit up and he said with excitement: "We are about to negotiate, Major General. The war is about to end!"

"Don't have too much hope for this." A hint of helplessness flashed in Charles's eyes.

"I don't think so." Tijani said excitedly: "As long as someone is willing to negotiate, it will be a matter of time before an agreement is reached. At least the intensity of the war will be much smaller."

After all, knowing that negotiations are ongoing and everyone is looking forward to the day when an agreement is reached, not many people will really risk their lives.

"You think too much." Charles sat back in his chair and leaned back: "You ignored the Americans."

"Americans?" Tijani looked at Ciel in confusion: "What does this have to do with Americans? They didn't even participate in the war!"

Charles shook his head slightly, took the document and signed it while replying: "The Americans have given a lot of loans to Britain, General."

All the supplies the British obtained from the United States were in the "empty-handed" way: they borrowed money from the U.S. government, and then used the loan money to buy American supplies, including a large number of bullets and artillery shells.

(Note: 40% of the ammunition used by the Allied Powers in combat was produced in the United States, and the final loan amount exceeded US$10 billion)

However, Tijani still didn't understand and looked at Ciel with a confused expression.

Charles had to add: "Think about it, General. If there is peace now, who do you think will pay for this loan, the British? The Germans? Or the French?"

Tijani was lost in thought.

The French will definitely not pay the loan, it has nothing to do with them.

Neither will the Germans, they were not defeated, they "negotiated peace" when they had the upper hand.

The people who should pay the most are the British, they are the ones who loaned the money, and they are the ones who benefited directly.

However, the British, besieged by Germany, are so poor that they can't pay the loan at all.

The most important thing is that the British are the world's number one power. Although they are in a period of decline, they have a voice and countless colonial troops. Even if they default on their debts, what can the United States do? Will they fight a war with Britain?

Thinking of this, Tijani suddenly realized:

"If there is 'peace' now, no one will be responsible for this loan, and it will become a bad debt."

"So the Americans hope that this war will continue."

"Only...only if Germany is finally defeated and a huge amount of compensation is obtained from them, can this loan be repaid!"

Charles nodded:

"That's right, General."

"So, the American consortium will use their control over materials to do their best to influence public opinion in Britain and France."

"They will make everyone believe that the so-called 'negotiation' is just a conspiracy of the Germans and a delaying tactic."

Tijani felt like he was falling into an ice cellar, and the little hope he had just seen was instantly extinguished.

The United States can indeed do what Charles said, easily!