Chapter 287

The mood of defeat was like a plague, spreading at an extremely fast speed. Although the French government had already moved to Bordeaux during the First Battle of the Marne, when Paris was really lost, it was a huge blow to the confidence of the entire French people.

Pétain's face in the carriage was steely at this moment, and the defeated soldiers on the road passed by one by one with their heads hanging down. Pétain, who had just received the order to be the commander-in-chief of the French army, was not in a hurry to take office, but first headed towards the headquarters of the Chinese Expeditionary Force.

Come.

The Chinese were the only bright spot in this battle. It was precisely because of the Chinese's resolute blockade in Lavove that the French First, Second and Fifth Armies were able to basically withdraw. This is even more amazing.

What is surprising is that as the Chinese Expeditionary Force retreated all the way, they fortified themselves layer by layer and blocked repeated attacks. This prevented the Allied Forces in the entire eastern battlefield from collapsing.

Pétain could get some news from the withdrawn troops every day, and these news almost always contained the sentence, "The Chinese are blocking." Yes, the Chinese were blocking at Lavove, and the Chinese were blocking at Champagne Beach.

, the Chinese blocked it at Bale-dique, the Chinese blocked it at Saint-Dizier, the Chinese blocked it at Somersou, and the Chinese blocked it on the north bank of the Aube River.

Just blocking is not enough to illustrate the huge contribution of the Chinese. The French troops who withdrew along the way can feel that the Chinese maintained order on the highway and ensured the smooth flow of the road. To put it bluntly, there was no Chinese expedition

The French army made an outstanding contribution in the eastern battlefield. The nearly 700,000 French troops in the entire east would suffer heavy losses.

The car stopped, and there was a roadblock in front of it. Pétain was somewhat surprised by this. He had not encountered any roadblock set up by the French army to intercept him along the way, because there was none. The entire French army in this area,

It's all a mess.

The adjutant asked Phil and the translator to get out of the car, and soon came back and said: "General, if you want to pass the roadblock set up by the Chinese, you must have a pass issued by their headquarters."

Petain opened his mouth in surprise, opened the car door, got out, and walked to Luka. The soldier on guard saw clearly that he was a big shot, and immediately saluted: "Hello, General, please forgive me. I am on official duty. No one can do this without a pass."

pass."

The translator quickly translated into French, and Pétain said expressionlessly: "I am the new commander-in-chief of the French army. I have important military matters to meet with such a commander. Please inform your superiors on my behalf."

The soldier saluted and entered a guard box. He picked up the phone and reported quickly that there were several other soldiers who were holding on to Petain and others. The muzzle of the machine gun did not change the direction. Before that, Petain had told the Chinese in Egypt

The combat effectiveness shown by Pernay was not taken too seriously. He felt that he was still far behind the French army, but this time, Pétain was impressed by the combat effectiveness of the Chinese ** team. Who said that the Chinese could not

Pétain was able to spit in the face of the then-popular joke about not being trustworthy in war.

Soon a captain appeared, bringing with him about a squad of soldiers. The officer came over and saluted: "Report to General Petain, Commander Cai ordered me to escort you to the headquarters." Petain nodded and said, "Thank you for your hard work.

." He said and stepped forward, with no intention of continuing to ride.

Since Pétain was walking, others had no choice but to follow. As he walked all the way in, the expression on Pétain's face quietly changed. This is a small town called Salmon-Subabis. Chinese

The headquarters was not located in Troyes, but in a small town less than 20 kilometers away from the final blocking position.

The courage of the Chinese people is really admirable, especially under the premise of a huge rout. Many Chinese soldiers were resting along the way. They were sitting on the roadside with no intention of entering people's houses. The yards of many people's houses were empty.

Yes, the Chinese were sitting quietly on the roadside. They seemed very orderly and even maintained a company-level column during rest. Pétain also saw a dozen 210-caliber heavy artillery. The Chinese soldiers were carefully

Wiping it on the ground is like wiping a treasure.

The headquarters of the Chinese Expeditionary Force was located in a church, which was already on the edge of the town. When Pétain was thinking about how to communicate with the Chinese generals, he saw three Chinese generals walking over.

"Hello, General Pétain, we have received the telegram. You are now the commander-in-chief of the French army." Cai E greeted him, but his face was not very good-looking. Pétain knew very well that the Chinese had enough reasons to express their disapproval of the French command.

question.

"The entire east is in chaos now, and your army is the only army that is not in chaos. As the new commander-in-chief, I want to know the specific location of your army." Pétain did not mean to be polite, and expressed it directly.

Intention.

Although the faces of the three Chinese generals were ugly, they did not take any specific action to resist. Cai E even turned around and asked his adjutant to take out a map, spread it directly on the ground, raised his finger and pointed to the position on the map and said: "Here, our army

The three infantry divisions of the First Army are blocking the attack. At Nogent-sur-Obe, our Third Army has built a defensive position here. So far, it has not encountered any pursuing German troops. Here, at Aub Terre, our Fourth and Fifth Army,

The Sixth Army is taking a short rest. Here, in Saint-Dizier, the Second Army is fighting the German pursuing troops. According to battlefield reconnaissance, the pursuing German troops are about four infantry divisions and carry very few heavy artillery. They tried to attack this morning.

Three times, we were repelled by our army. The Seventh Army is in Stanville, where it has not encountered German troops so far. Commander Lan Tianwei called and asked for a counterattack against the German troops in Saint-Dizier. The problem is that there is insufficient ammunition, especially large-caliber ones.

Almost all of the artillery shells have been consumed. From Champagne Beach to Baledik, our army's special operations forces are conducting effective harassment in the form of small teams. The German army is also very difficult to supply. Judging from the current situation, the German army is in

Saint-Dizier's four infantry divisions attacked too far forward. Also, here in Arcy-sur-Aube, according to aerial reconnaissance, there were about two German divisions that were separated from the main German army by more than 30 kilometers.

distance. After repeated deductions, our military staff determined that this was an opportunity to counterattack."

Pétain understood clearly that these were two German pursuit arrows, and the Chinese actually wanted to counterattack on both sides. How much courage does this require? "The problem is, your army is spending a lot of money in the process of blocking the attack layer by layer, right?"

?Still able to fight back?"

Pétain certainly hopes to see a counterattack. Regardless of victory or defeat, it will definitely be beneficial to stabilizing the front.

"Artillery shells, we need enough artillery shells. It would be better if there are friendly forces to cooperate. Even if there are no friendly forces, it would be fine if we can increase the equipment of some heavy artillery regiments." Zhang Xiaohuai, who had not expressed his opinion, suddenly spoke at this moment. He

They were very determined counterattackers. It was really uncomfortable to be chased and beaten by the German army. Although they were well prepared before, the losses along the way were not very great. The casualties of the entire Chinese Expeditionary Force were only 5,000.

Cai E does not advocate counterattack. Relying solely on the counterattack of the Chinese ** team will not help the entire battle and will bring heavy casualties. However, a domestic telegram changed Cai E's attitude. Fang Jianxiong said in the telegram

Li said, “After repeated studies, we believe that one or two local counterattacks at this stage can achieve

It has a major political role. It will also be beneficial to some ongoing technology transfer negotiations between Chinese and French companies. There are relatively few conflicts of interest between China and France. Technical support in the next twenty years cannot only rely on the United States.

You have the right to make emergency decisions outside the country, and you can make your own decisions based on the actual situation."

Fang Jianxiong's meaning is very clear. China needs French technology and equipment and cannot hang itself on a tree like the United States. Although the United States has already participated in the war, it will take at least ten months from mobilization to the arrival of troops in France. The loss of Paris,

Strategically speaking, it is extremely unfavorable to the Allied Powers. But looking at the problem from the perspective of the Chinese government, this is a good thing. Because it creates favorable conditions for technology transfer negotiations between China and France. Under this premise, if the expeditionary force

If something can be done, it will bring huge benefits to the country.

There are many ongoing technology transfer negotiations between China and France, involving more than 40 projects in the fields of metallurgy, machinery, chemical industry, etc. Among them, what Fang Jianxiong attaches most importance to is engine technology and basic material technology. These two technologies can be said to

It is a key point for the future development of the Air Force. To give a very simple example, a certain engine in parallel time and space has not been reflected in the mass production of fighter aircraft for several years after passing national acceptance? Why? No one knows.

The most reliable inferences are two. One is that the material problem cannot be solved, and the other is that the process required for mass production cannot be solved. Just producing samples, frankly speaking, is too difficult with the power of the whole country. Under the official system,

This kind of thing happens all the time. A project is established, a sample is produced, and the official's political achievements are obtained. As for whether the problem of mass production can be solved, and whether these technologies can be used by civilians in the future to gain huge commercial benefits, these are not the scope of officials' consideration.

Material technology is not up to standard, processing technology is not up to standard, these are critical points that prevent high-tech products from achieving mass production. Basic materials are the foundation of all high-precision technologies. On this issue, how can others not know that Fang Jianxiong is

We cannot attach too much importance to it. Currently, the Flight Engine Research Institute in Wuhan is developing a new type of

The motivation is to get stuck on materials. Americans have the technology, but they don’t give it to you. You have to import raw materials to produce in large quantities. This feeling of being stuck in the neck is really uncomfortable. That’s why Fang Jianxiong will do it at this time

, sent a telegram to the expeditionary force, asking them to blow the horn of counterattack when the entire Allied Powers were in silence.

Pétain was quite shocked by the counterattack plan. At this time, the Chinese were actually thinking of counterattack? When the British and French forces retreated, they were planning a counterattack. What kind of fighting spirit is this? (To be continued. Please search Gone with the Wind
Chapter completed!