Chapter 224: Marching
Politics, accompanied by war, slammed down on the accelerator.
Paris, standing at the center of the storm, was thrown into disorder by the cold gales approaching Christmas.
December 12th.
The second day after King George VI's enthronement.
Banners bearing the words [For France] were hung overnight from the Eiffel Tower.
Daladier officially declared France to be in a state of national emergency. At the same time, he announced that every adult Frenchman had a responsibility to fight for the homeland.
At the French General Staff Headquarters, Pétain was granted supreme wartime authority. Daladier gave this hero of the Great War the highest power he could offer as proof of trust.
But Pétain, already old and frail, fell into a sluggish hesitation.
Looking at the three sets of battle reports on the map, the Spanish border, the Maginot Line, and the Belgian region, he knew Germany could not possibly organize a true three-pronged offensive.
At least one of them had to be a feint.
The Ardennes Mountains were unfavorable to the advance of Germany's proud armored corps, and Belgium had sided with Germany, concealing information about the German Army's passage through Belgian territory.
But Pétain believed that this was precisely what the enemy wanted him to see.
The Maginot Line and the Ardennes Mountains were very close to one another.
According to the intelligence received, the Maginot Line was currently under heavy assault by at least one German army group. Luxembourg had also officially received an ultimatum from Germany.
Therefore, in Pétain's judgment, the Ardennes and the Spanish border were merely diversions.
Traps.
The main offensive direction was still the Maginot Line.
The ultimatum issued to Luxembourg was the best proof.
Gaining military passage through the Belgian Ardennes Mountains was absolutely an attempt to flank Luxembourg, to prevent Luxembourg from putting up too much resistance and obstructing Germany's full mobilization and the flow of supplies to the attacking forces targeting the Maginot Line.
As for the offensive on the French-Spanish border, that was even more absurd.
The Ripoll Mountains, crossing the border between France and Spain, were a natural barrier. Furthermore, after the Spanish Civil War, the main valleys and passes had been reinforced with considerable military defenses, including concrete fortifications and bunkers.
The German Army would never be able to cross them.
"Send all front-line units from the German border region to the Maginot Line."
Pétain's voice was hoarse but firm.
"The German Army on the other fronts is merely putting on a show. They will not launch a true attack in any meaningful sense."
"They do not have that many aircraft. They do not have that many troops."
Pétain tapped the map and continued, "Actively support Luxembourg's resistance. Tell the Luxembourg Army that France will be their strong support."
His clouded eyes firmly believed that the old-fashioned German Army would continue its unchanging habit of frontal assaults.
But this time, he had clearly made a terrible mistake.
Ardennes Mountains.
Snow slid from the treetops.
Three main roads through the Ardennes had already been occupied by the Third Armored Division, the Ninth Panzer Division, the Eleventh Panzer Division, and the First Armored Division, which had departed slightly later.
All of them were under Manstein's command.
Because the agreement between Jörg and Belgium regarding military passage through the Ardennes had only been reached a few days earlier, the command transmission on the Belgian side was inefficient and confused.
The Belgian First Cavalry Division stationed in the Ardennes region even believed that the German Army had already occupied all of Belgium and cut off their radio communications.
The commander of the Belgian First Cavalry Division proactively radioed Manstein, expressing his willingness to negotiate terms for a peaceful surrender.
This made Manstein, who was busy organizing river-crossing plans, briefly think that the Führer had gone to war with Belgium.
Only after repeated radio calls did he realize that it was all a misunderstanding.
The advance was unexpectedly smooth.
The defending mountain division managed to organize only two insignificant acts of resistance before being paralyzed by the roar of German bombers.
Nearly a thousand tanks from four Panzer divisions galloped through the snow-covered forest.
Manstein pushed the speed of the first three divisions to the extreme, recreating the experience of the surprise attack on Warsaw in his crossing of the Ardennes Mountains.
There was no rest.
When tired, the soldiers slept to the roar of tank engines.
When hungry, they pried open cans with bayonets.
Even bathroom breaks were strictly limited to seconds. Exceeding that time invited severe punishment.
Speed was the only standard here.
And Manstein was the finest executor of that standard.
Sleepless nights were his norm.
Cigarettes were his staple food.
The accompanying medical team, forcibly assigned to him by Jörg, could no longer stand it and sent a report to Berlin overnight. Only then was Manstein's frenzied behavior finally curbed.
While Manstein was rapidly advancing through the snow-covered forest, another movement began in the Spanish region.
Vorbeck, who was supposed to be responsible only for a feint, also noticed the weakness of the French Army.
Although his guerrilla force consisted of only three mountain divisions, two of which were mixed divisions composed of Spanish soldiers and other nationalities, this did not mean that the unit was weak in combat effectiveness.
On the contrary, during the Middle East campaign, Vorbeck had already realized the importance of mountain divisions and special forces.
These three mountain divisions had been trained under his personal supervision.
They were absolutely capable of crossing mountains.
More importantly, Vorbeck had discovered weaknesses in the French defenses from aerial photographs taken by reconnaissance aircraft.
The Perdue Mountains were almost completely undefended.
Only a few scattered, relatively flat passes and valleys had solid defensive lines composed of concrete and bunkers.
Mountains and forests could stop vehicles.
But they could not stop legs.
If they could cross, they would provide enormous support to the main battlefield.
Thinking of this, Vorbeck transmitted his request to attempt an attack to the General Staff Headquarters.
While tactical deployments across Europe were fiercely competing against one another, in Britain, at Downing Street, inside the Prime Minister's residence, Chamberlain listened attentively to the views of Sempill, a representative of the pacifist aristocracy.
"Mr. Chamberlain, the polls already show that the public still supports you."
Sempill's tone was composed and persuasive.
"This also means the British public does not wish to intervene in the French-German-Italian war. Nor is there any need for us to intervene."
"Since the beginning of the war, Germany has never shown any hostility toward Britain."
He continued, "I suggest that once you take office, you immediately establish solid diplomatic relations with Germany. Losing Europe does not mean losing everything. Europe is only a small part of the world."
Chamberlain retorted, "But are we supposed to simply sit by and watch Germany grow stronger? Watch Britain fall from its peak?"
"Peace does not mean surrender, Mr. Chamberlain."
Sempill's voice remained calm.
"If we enter the war and squander our resources, even victory will leave us facing the iron hooves of Soviet Russia advancing southward. If we lose, then we will also miss the best opportunity to resolve everything peacefully."
"As long as Britain participates in this war, whether we win or lose, Britain loses. That much is certain."
His gaze became solemn.
"Uniting with Germany to resist Soviet Russia is the correct choice, and the choice most aligned with British interests."
Of course, Sempill himself could never have come up with such rhetoric.
All of these talking points came from the original draft given to him by the German spy Piccolo.
Looking at Chamberlain's pensive face, Sempill could not help marveling that the German Army truly possessed a unique ability to persuade people.
If Piccolo prepared a speech for him, could he also attempt to run for British Prime Minister?
Of course, Sempill did not know that the author of this original draft came from Berlin.
It had been personally written by Jörg.
After thinking for a long time, Chamberlain suddenly felt that the other party made sense.
Britain and Germany did not have an irreconcilable conflict.
Whether or not to go to war depended on what could be gained from war.
Given the looming threat of Soviet Russia, even victory might mean defeat.
…..
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