My Italy - Chapter 699 France surrenders

Half a month after the Egyptian campaign ended, the Greek campaign also ended. The Ottoman, Bulgarian, Austro-Hungarian, and Italian armies defeated the Greek army. The cruel reality made the Athens government succumb and submitted a letter of surrender to the Allies.

After Greece was defeated, it naturally faced punishment. First, South Macedonia was assigned to Bulgaria. Secondly, the islands close to the Ottomans were assigned to the Ottomans. In addition, Corfu and the Twelve Islands were owned by Italy. In addition, Greece also provided food and coal. , trains, ships and other materials worth 500 million lire as compensation for the defeat.

Greece was the first country to surrender in the Allied camp, which was of great significance, so the Allied camp even more publicized it.

This also brought the Allies a new ally, Romania. The country that originally planned to be neutral saw the defeat of the Allies revealed and decided to join the Allied camp for its own benefit. The condition for their joining was that the Allied camp would help them capture Eastern Moldavia during the war and complete the initial unification of Romania.

Faced with such a request, how could Germany, Italy and Austria refuse in order to put more pressure on Russia on the Eastern Front. Therefore, it is natural for Romania to join.

In July 1915, the Suez Canal was finally dredged. The Combined Fleet finally entered the Indian Ocean from the Mediterranean. At this time, Africa and Asia, which were the rear areas of Britain and France, were both under threat from the Combined Fleet.

Also affected by this, the British army continued to withdraw its troops from the Sudan area. Surrounded on three sides (one of which is the Red Sea), the supply line is stretched too long. If we don’t withdraw quickly, do we want to eat sand here?

In fact, it is not only the British army in the Sudan that is embarrassed, but also the British and French armies in British East Africa. Because the sea is now dominated by the combined fleet, how should the nearly 200,000-strong army replenish supplies.

Yes, the entry of the Combined Fleet directly greatly reduced the power of the Allied Powers in the Indian Ocean. What can be done about this? If you are not as strong as others, you can only retreat steadily. Fortunately, the British’s own Elizabeth-class battleship is about to enter service, and the Allied Powers also have their own 380mm gun battleships.

However, while the Allies were grieving over the offensive and defensive changes in the Indian Ocean, the long-planned French offensive by Germany and Italy began. Germany and Italy assembled a total of 1.97 million troops and launched attacks on Paris and Marseille from the north and south on August 28.

At this time, Britain and France had assembled a total of 1.42 million troops in Paris and Marseille. They were also fighting the German and Italian troops. The two sides launched a desperate struggle around Paris and Marseille.

It was a fight to the death, because for France, no one could lose Paris or Marseille. If they lost it, they would face the fate of defeat.

Why is this so? Because France has been severely weakened. Most of its northeastern territory is occupied by Germany. In addition, the most prosperous Paris region has fallen into war, which has seriously affected the industrial and agricultural production in the region. These are prosperous areas of France, which seriously affects the French economy.

In addition, due to the two-sided attack by Germany and Italy, the French army’s losses were much higher than in history, almost catching up with the casualties at the end of the war.

In addition, more importantly, there are problems within France. At this time, a voice gradually emerged among the French people. Is it worth retaking Lorraine and Alsace?

In addition, the French army’s war weariness is gradually increasing, and the soldiers’ enthusiasm for fighting is also diminishing. If Napoleon saw how miserable the current French army was, I wonder if he would have raised his coffin from the Invalides.

Yes, fanatical nationalist sentiments are ultimately defeated by casualties and hunger. At this time, no one dared to say whether the French government officials had any regrets.

However, French officials knew one thing. If Paris and Marseille were occupied, they would be abandoned by the people, and their hatred of war would reach its peak.

Britain and Russia also knew this, so in order to help France resist this wave of attacks, Britain dispatched a large number of troops to cross the English Channel and enter France, while Russia also launched another large-scale campaign from the Eastern Front.

Although there was assistance from Britain and Russia, for Germany and Italy, this battle was a decisive battle, and they had to win France in one fell swoop to determine the outcome of the war.

So this time Germany and Italy devoted all their resources, and all kinds of new weapons such as tanks, aircraft, airships, and mortars were put into this crucial battle.

To the north, the German army, with 62 divisions and more than one million troops, attacked Paris from three directions: Beauvais, Creuil, and Chateau Thierry.

As for the Italian army, it used 47 divisions with more than 700,000 troops to attack Marseille and Toulon with Nice as the rear. The leader of this army was Marshal Simeone, the first man in the army. Another hundred thousand troops, led by General Baxter, rushed out of the Savoy mountains and attacked Lyon.

The British and French armies fought fierce battles between the German and Italian armies in the Paris area and Marseille area respectively. In the Paris area, the German army on the center line would obtain 150 tanks from Italy as a guide and attack Vialme on the Oise River. The two sides fought for six days, and the 3rd Army on the center line captured the place.

On the eastern front, also using 96 tanks as a weapon, the German 1st Army spent eight days conquering Onago and attacking Sozil.

On the Western Front, the 3rd Army used 121 tanks and used the same tactics to conquer Domptain and Montfaucon, and attacked Lafitte along the Marne River.

On the one hand, the British and French forces also had their own responses to the German attack. On the one hand, they are resisting three enemy forces in the Paris area; on the other hand, they are concentrating elite troops in an attempt to attack the German 3rd Army in the center.

However, it is impossible to conceal such a large-scale military movement, and Britain and France used to conceal the quantity. Some of the troops were brought in by means of transporting personnel and labor. They had already used it before in the First Battle of Paris, and they were familiar with the route.

However, the Germans were not stupid. They still discovered clues, so half of the 150,000 German troops who were originally staying in Reims and Lille as reserves were divided and marched towards Compiègne. This is a key point for French railways to support surrounding areas more quickly.

As for the fact that the Germans had sent a reserve team, Britain and France soon learned about it. But at this time, the battle preparations were almost complete, so the arrow was ready to be fired.

The British and French soldiers who launched the attack soon encountered resistance from the German army. By the time the British and French troops moved over, the Third Army had already shifted to a defensive state.

Facing the fierce attack by the British and French troops, the Third Army fought desperately while calling for reinforcements. At this time, the German reserves rushed over immediately. Compiègne’s troops came first, and then Reims and Lille reinforcements immediately provided support. Under the command of Mackensen, the officers and soldiers of the Third Army and the reinforcements withstood the British and French attacks. The two sides fought fiercely from Monsu to Luzashi. Both sides continued to send reinforcements, so the battle gradually became more complicated. It becomes a war of attrition to see who can withstand it first.

While the Battle of Paris in the north was fierce, the Battle of Marseilles in the south was similarly fought.

The Italian army was divided into three groups. Among them, the southern line troops successively attacked Fréjus, Saint-Tropez, Lamoureux and other places along the coastal zone, all the way to Le Lavandou, which is more than 30 roads away from Toulon.

The Italian army on the middle line conquered Draguignan, Le Luc, Barnole and other places all the way from Montorou, and attacked all the way to Tourvaux, which is more than 40 kilometers away from Marseille. Only thirty kilometers.

The northern line started from Vergon, conquered the Verdon region, and attacked all the way to Saint-Til on the Durance River, a tributary of the lower Rhone River. Nearly 600,000 troops were pressing towards Toulon and Marseille.

In addition to these armies, the restraining armies that set out from the Savoy region also fought all the way to Chambery, overlooking Lyon, the most important city in the middle reaches of the Rhone River.

This greatly increased the pressure on the French army, and there were no more troops to reinforce the Marseille-Toulon area.

It can be said that the general offensive launched by the German and Italian armies made the British and French armies passive everywhere, putting the British and French at a huge disadvantage on the Western Front.

Faced with such a huge disadvantage, the first thing the British and French thought of was to increase their troops. However, Britain and France no longer have reserve troops. Troops are needed in all regions of Asia, Africa and Europe. It can be said that it is difficult to defend everywhere.

This is the result of losing the Mediterranean. The Allied forces can completely use this sea area to attack everywhere. However, Britain and France can only go around the Cape of Good Hope, and the gap in distance and time is very confusing.

And in order to cooperate with this decisive battle, the combined fleet immediately returned to the Mediterranean after showing its presence in the Indian Ocean. After the battle began, it was directly blocked outside the Strait of Gibraltar, causing Britain and France to directly lose the use of the Mediterranean.

This war lasted from August 28 to late February of the following year, lasting almost half a year. During this half-year period, both sides invested heavily in fighting. However, compared with the elites of the German and Italian armies, the British side was not bad, and the army was not bad in all aspects. France is much worse. Due to too many casualties in its levied troops, it has lost a large industrial area. Even if it purchases from abroad, it still lags behind the other three countries in terms of weapons, equipment and other support materials.

Therefore, the first breakthrough was made on the southern front. The Italian central and southern front troops met in Toulon. After defeating the defenders of Toulon, they finally occupied France’s most important and largest military port in the Mediterranean. After the battle broke out, the French Mediterranean Fleet had already moved to Gibraltar and entered victoriously.

After capturing Toulon, the Italian army pursued the victory and fought all the way to the city of Marseille. After half a month of fierce fighting with the Marseille defenders, Marseille was also captured. This was not over yet, and then the Italian army continued to attack cities in the lower reaches of the Rhone River, all the way to Montpellier and Orange. It seems that if France continues to be stubborn, the Italian army that has already passed through the mountains will inevitably occupy the coastal areas and join the German army all the way north along the Rhone River.

After the Italian army won the battle of Toulon, the German army also made a breakthrough in the Paris area. Although the center line was still fighting the British and French troops, the German army on the east and west fronts attacked all the way to Cergy and Tripol. The closest distance to Paris is only 23 kilometers from the city of Paris, and the farthest distance is Highway 29.

At this time, if the British and French troops continue to fight with the German troops on the center line, it is very likely that the German troops on both sides will launch a forward pincer offensive and surround the British and French troops on the center line.

Faced with this situation, Britain and France naturally do not want to see it. I want my own troops in the center to withdraw.

However, it was not easy to withdraw. At this time, the German Third Army, which had been implementing defensive tactics, led by Marshal Mackensen, launched counterattacks to contain its opponents. The plan to retreat was difficult to implement.

However, it must be implemented even if it is not easy to implement. For this reason, the British and French troops can only forcefully execute the retreat, because the German troops on the left and right lines are already attacking their rear.

Facing the retreat of the British and French armies, Marshal Mackensen made an astonishing decision. He sent all his troops just to attack the enemy. The practice of leaving no reserves at all went against military common sense and put his troops in danger. As long as the enemy launches a counterattack and defeats one or two troops, he can attack the commander all the way and capture him, because he has no cards in his hand.

However, Mackensen is indeed a world-famous general. His Stud attack directly hit the weak points of the British and French armies, because it was beyond everyone’s expectations and directly dispersed the blocking forces left by the British and French. It carried the defeated troops and rushed towards the retreating British and French troops.

A major defeat occurred just outside Paris. Thousands of British and French troops lost their organization and ran back to Paris as if they were fleeing. Not only did many people lose their weapons, they even lost their boots.

By the time the German army was approaching Paris, the British and French troops on the center line counted only 120,000 people. This was a major defeat. The defeated France could only declare Paris an undefended city again.

But this time the German army did not stop after rushing into Paris, and continued to pursue the British and French troops. Towns such as Versailles and Chartres were occupied by the German army one after another, and the British and French troops retreated to Orleans and other places before getting a breather.

In this series of battles, which were like decisive battles, the German and Italian armies won a complete victory. At the cost of 380,000 casualties, captures, illnesses, and disappearances, they captured Paris, Marseille and other important French cities in one fell swoop. And the British and French suffered losses of 810,000 people, of which 370,000 were captured alone, which was higher than the casualties of the German and Italian armies.

After this battle, France lost 26% of its territory, 34% of its occupied population, and its industrial and agricultural losses were 52% and 43% respectively. It can be said that France can no longer bear it.

In response, dissatisfaction among French soldiers and people has skyrocketed, and various far-left and far-right ideas are spreading everywhere in France. At this time, the French government had also lost confidence, and despite the persuasion of Britain and Russia, announced peace negotiations with the Allied camp.

The idea of ​​peace talks with France shocked the world. After more than two years of war, we finally saw the dawn of an end. Newspapers around the world announced the news with front-page headlines.

The alliance camp headed by Germany, Italy and Austria were naturally ecstatic about France’s peace negotiations, and immediately announced that during the peace talks, as long as the French army did not launch an attack on themselves, they would not continue to fight the French army.

As for the British army, France expressed its intention to withdraw from the country. And hope that the other side will not launch a battle against the Allied forces in their own territory.

In the face of the French demands, although the British were very angry and had many different opinions. In the words of Churchill, the radical representative of the former Admiralty, the French’s choice to withdraw from the war was a betrayal of London. We should no longer regard it as an ally, but as a threat. Since it is a threat, France should be disarmed. As for the navy, it should seize French warships for its own use. The army should use the dispatched troops to control the French government and force them to continue fighting.

This man is nothing short of a British die-hard, and if he goes by his ideas, he can completely force France into the alliance camp. This is entirely because they don’t have enough enemies and have not kept up with the development of the times.

Fortunately, London did not consider his ideas and chose to have the troops withdraw from France. However, in terms of navy, London listened to Churchill’s idea and allowed Gibraltar and the British navy that retreated to the Indian Ocean to control the French warships.

It was obvious that the British’s practice of seizing French warships for their own use aroused France’s fury. For this reason, France accused the British of being shameless, and relations between the two countries fell into a freezing point.

But anyway, France has decided to withdraw from the war.

After the alliance camp agreed, France sent Prime Minister Briand to lead a team to negotiate with the alliance camp.

One more chapter to finish