章 178: Chapter 256 The French Doomsday (26)
After several hours of turbulence, Churchill's special plane landed in Paris, heading to the Matignon Palace.
Upon seeing the French Prime Minister Reynaud and the Allied Supreme Commander Gamelin, Churchill immediately realized that the situation was much worse than he had anticipated. This was evident from the grim expressions on their faces, devoid of any hope.
Especially Gamelin, with a stern face as if someone owed him money.
At this moment, Gamelin was indeed feeling quite upset. Just a while ago, Prime Minister Reynaud mentioned his plan to change the appointment of the Supreme Commander. Although he put it delicately, Gamelin wasn't a fool and immediately understood his meaning.
Although there was a sense of betrayal and dissatisfaction, Gamelin had to admit that he bore a significant responsibility for the current state of affairs. If not for his position as the Supreme Commander, he might have been taken to a military court and charged with dereliction of duty.
Feeling disheartened and burdened, Gamelin reluctantly agreed to step down, expressing his willingness to resign voluntarily.
However, when Reynaud informed Weygand, Weygand was not pleased.
Weygand thought that if the war situation were favorable, he would gladly take on this responsibility. Even if there was a glimmer of hope, he would consider it his duty. However, now that the situation was almost lost, was Reynaud asking him to sign a surrender document? He refused to carry this huge burden and did not want to be remembered in infamy.
Using his old age and various health issues as excuses, Weygand declined the appointment as the Supreme Commander. At the age of 72, this reason sounded reasonable.
It became an awkward situation.
Unable to find another candidate immediately, Reynaud had no choice but to reluctantly ask Gamelin to continue as the Supreme Commander.
Churchill, unaware of this turn of events, went straight to the point. "Your Excellency, how serious is the situation? We have over 200,000 elite British troops on the European continent. If anything happens to these soldiers, the consequences will be unimaginable. Where is the strategic reserve?"
Gamelin shook his head, shrugging. "There is no strategic reserve! Just an hour ago, our two armored divisions and a British armored brigade suffered heavy losses. There's no way to resist the German advance now."
Churchill's mouth twitched slightly. Two armored divisions and a brigade were wiped out just like that? These French people were quite adept at offering their heads! Even if they wanted to sacrifice themselves, they should stick to their own losses. Why drag the allies down with them?
Less than a week had passed, and they were on the verge of defeat?
Churchill really wanted to slap himself to see if he was dreaming! Although the British side had also analyzed the possibility of a French defeat, Churchill never imagined that the "world's number one land power" would withstand the German onslaught for only a matter of days.
The despondent Reynaud spoke up. "Prime Minister, just now I discussed the issue of retreat with Supreme Commander Gamelin. There's no point in stubbornly defending Belgium. We must withdraw the forces in Brussels."
Churchill agreed with this proposal, considering they were on the verge of being surrounded. "As long as we preserve the army, we preserve the hope of victory. Our leniency towards Germany has led to the current consequences, but I believe that ultimate victory will be ours!"
Whether Churchill was encouraging the opposite side or boosting his own morale was unclear. They had to preserve these armies; otherwise, reorganizing an army with the same numbers and combat strength in a short time would be nearly impossible. By then, not only France but even Britain would be in jeopardy.
"Do you have any plans, Supreme Commander?"
Gamelin spoke slowly, "My idea is that a land retreat is basically impossible, it's easy to be cut off by the German forces." After all, the German forces could reach the coast with just over 200 kilometers more advance, completely cutting off the withdrawal route of the Allied forces.
If land retreat is not feasible, then the only option left is the sea route?!
Churchill fell into silence immediately.
This task was daunting even for the British Empire.
With over 200,000 British troops, over 100,000 French troops, and tens of thousands of Belgian troops, how many ships would they need to mobilize to transport them all? And what about the heavy equipment? It's not as simple as just loading them onto a ship!
Just the personnel, equipment, supplies, and vehicles of one division would require 200,000-300,000 tons of shipping!
Although the shortest distance across the English Channel was only thirty to forty kilometers, and transport ships could continuously shuttle back and forth, transporting all these troops would still require a substantial number of ships.
While the United Kingdom was an island nation with an abundance of ships, the major problem was the control of airspace over the English Channel.
Churchill was aware that even the latest and best British fighter, the Spitfire, was not a match for the German fighters. Although engineers were working tirelessly to upgrade and improve it, results wouldn't show in the short term.
With air supremacy in doubt, how could they protect those transport ships? If the Germans took advantage and launched an attack, how many ships, personnel, and supplies would they lose?
During the discussion, both sides realized a problem. Gamelin intended to transport the troops to the rear of France to regroup and fight again. Meanwhile, Churchill wanted to transport all the troops to England. Gamelin and Reynaud initially disagreed, as if these troops were all transported across, what would they use to block the German forces?
To be honest, if this elite main force left the homeland, France might as well not fight at all and surrender directly.
Churchill exerted great effort, nearly wearing out his lips, to convince the two to agree to transport the troops to England.
After discussing some other details, Churchill stood up. "Then I'll be going back."
Prime Minister Reynaud asked anxiously, "Prime Minister, do you think we still have hope for victory?"
"Of course!" Churchill replied without hesitation. At this time, what was needed most was unwavering belief, and Churchill's conviction had never wavered. In his view, there was no difficulty that couldn't be overcome.
"Prime Minister Reynaud, Supreme Commander Gamelin, although the current predicament is more severe than in 1914, I believe that the brave French people will courageously overcome these difficulties. Just as Horace said, 'Adversity reveals the genius of a leader.' Once we get through this difficult situation, victory will be within reach. And our Great British Empire will firmly stand by France's side, jointly resisting the evil of Germany. The final victory will undoubtedly belong to the side of justice!"
Churchill could see that these French people were on the verge of losing the courage to continue the fight. He had to give them as much encouragement as possible to prevent them from surrendering before these troops were withdrawn. This was also the reason why he insisted on transporting the troops to England.
"Moreover, Germany's resources on its home soil are originally scarce. With our blockade, they won't last long. Without gasoline supply, their thousands of tanks and planes will turn into scrap metal!" His words sounded confident, but even Churchill himself didn't believe that Germany's fuel would run out in a short time.
After all, no one knew how much oil Germany had imported from Ming in the past decade. Moreover, they also imported oil from the Soviet Union and the United States, along with Romania's oil supply. It was likely that Germany had enough fuel to last for several years.
His words seemed to have some effect. The previously despondent French Prime Minister regained some color on his face and nodded vigorously. "France will fight to the end."
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