Mediterranean Hegemony Road

Chapter 21: France Vs Germany + Italy

Time flew by, and the New Poland Kingdom finally lived up to expectations. After a wave of failures, it knelt down decisively.

There is no way, the gap in strength cannot be made up by talking about it.

The group of people who make the most noise are often the most cowardly on the battlefield.

A group of bigwigs called on the people to resist desperately there, but they ran away. Seeing that Ferdinand was speechless, at least he had to make a show?

What about the literati style?

Even if you can't treat death like home, why do you have to wait for the Germans to call over before running away?

Do you know that this hurts morale?

The population of the Kingdom of New Poland is only 8 million, and its strength is far inferior to that of the same period in history. Apart from the same ability to cause trouble, there is nothing comparable.

In less than a month, the Kingdom of New Poland ended magnificently, leaving only sporadic guerrillas resisting.

Except for a devastating war movie that was staged for the people of the world, nothing was left.

No, there is also a Polish government-in-exile, which has now gone to France to seek asylum.

Poland is finished, can France still enjoy peace?

The answer is: no!

Ferdinand was not disappointed. On July 18, 1939, the 38th day after the end of the Polish War, the Germans couldn't wait to declare war on France.

It's not that the Germans are in a hurry, but the Italians are in a hurry. They took the initiative to jump up this war, and the Germans were also dragged into the war.

Otherwise, maybe the Germans will have to prepare for another two or three months to make up for the lack of strategic materials.

These are all small problems. Anyway, with the British nanny here, it's just a little strategic material, and it can be done in minutes.

Mr. Albert Le Brun can rest assured that no French will criticize him as the president of the war faction anymore.

It's time to worry about the London government. British anti-war people are attacking the government, thinking that they are actively creating war.

In a sense, this war was indeed created by the British. Without their support, Germany and Italy would not have the courage to declare war on the French so soon.

World public opinion is also accusing the British government, and the Bulgarian media even labeled the British as warmongers, and produced actual evidence to prove that the British planned this war.

On this issue, the British media are too lazy to deny that the shipment of arms to Europe is the best evidence.

However, Germany and Italy are still allies of the British. According to the provisions of the covenant, the London government should provide them with more help.

Prime Minister Stanley Win Baldwin has a headache. According to the current situation, he, the anti-war prime minister, is about to leave.

Next year will be another election year. The anti-war leader planned the war. The voters feel cheated and want to be re-elected. Dream it!

National strategic needs, ordinary people don't want to hear such an explanation. The original explanation for the establishment of the Western European Union was to counter the Eastern European Union.

Well now, the Eastern European Union is still farming in peace, and the two member states of the Western European Union have already started wars on the European continent.

Especially the Germans, in a short period of time, have provoked two wars. France is not as easy to bully as Poland, maybe the British Empire will also be dragged into the water.

The British people don't want to go to the European continent to fight the French for no reason.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, we are under too much pressure from public opinion. If the French coastline is blocked again, it will be difficult for the people to explain!" Chamberlain said, frowning.

What's the difference between blocking the French coastline and directly declaring war, and this coastline is not so easy to block.

At the beginning of the war, the French Navy abandoned the English Channel, the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, and shrank all of its fleet to the Mediterranean.

The Royal Navy's Mediterranean Fleet alone is not yet capable of suppressing the French Navy, let alone blocking this section of the coastline.

Transfer the main fleet to the Mediterranean?

This idea, just think about it, don't take it seriously!

If fewer warships are transferred, the French navy will not be able to be suppressed; if more warships are transferred, Bulgaria may not be able to hold back.

In case the Bulgarian navy and the French navy join forces to knock them down, it will be too late for the London government to cry.

No one would dare to bet on this kind of thing. Once the advantage of the Royal Navy no longer exists, the British Empire's world hegemony will really be lost.

"But the allies, how do we explain it? You must know that Germany and Italy communicated with us before launching the war. If we fail to complete the agreement, there may be trouble later!" The Minister of State retorted

The national reputation of the British Empire, if it is said to be valuable, it is priceless, if it is not worth it, then it is really not worth a penny, it depends on whether the benefits are sufficient.

There is no doubt that their credibility is very valuable now, and the British Empire needs two more allies in Germany and Italy.

Supporting Germany and Italy to attack France is not to destroy France, but the main purpose is to force the French government to submit.

War is just a means, not the ultimate goal.

As long as the French succumb, the Western European Union will be done, and the neutral Spaniards will cry and beg to join.

Continental Europe will once again return to an evenly matched situation, and Bulgaria will have to shift its strategic focus to continental Europe, and the hegemony of the British Empire will be unbreakable.

Chamberlain retorted: "Allies are indeed important, but what is the difference between us sending troops to blockade the French coastline and our direct participation in the war? Will the people accept it?

Don't forget that the French are now defending the Mediterranean coast, and it is too dangerous to put the main force of the Royal Navy into the Mediterranean.

Who can guarantee that Bulgaria will not participate in the war? "

For the British Empire, a decisive battle with the Bulgarian navy in the Mediterranean is the worst choice, not one of them.

...

The British are still struggling, and Germany and Italy, which are at war, are about to scold their mothers.

The worst situation has emerged. On the battlefield, France has the upper hand with one enemy and two. For Germany and Italy, this is simply terrible.

The French are not easy to mess with. With the natural danger of the Rhine, there is no problem for the French army to hold the line of defense.

The best way is to push all the way from Belgium and Luxembourg first, which is also the strategy that the Germans have always adopted.

This time it was because the war broke out too suddenly. They were dragged into the water by the Italians, and they had not had time to prepare for war.

In World War I, Belgium was not without gains. The dividing line between them and Germany also reached the Rhine River. It would definitely be impossible to sneak attack.

If you want to cross the river, why do you need a boat? It can't be done with just one or two ships. The Belgians are not stupid when a large number of ships are assembled!

Although the Belgians declared their neutrality, they still placed 260,000 troops heavily guarding the Rhine on the border with Germany.

This kind of war is not easy to fight. The border between the two countries is only 180 kilometers long. On average, there are two or three defenders per meter. Unless it is filled with human lives, it will be useless.

The combat effectiveness of the German army is strong, but it is a pity that the opponent is not a soft persimmon. As the defensive side, the enemy also has a geographical advantage, which makes up for the gap in the combat effectiveness of the two troops.

Berlin

"What's going on with the Italians? Is there still no progress?" Prime Minister Holman asked with concern

"No, the Italian battlefield is about to be decided. If we can't make a breakthrough, maybe after a while, the French will be able to parade in Rome!" Chief of Staff Brauchitsch said helplessly

He has nothing to say when he meets such an excellent ally.

It stands to reason that the Italians are now fighting to wash away the shame of the Treaty of Versailles, and the morale of the people is very high, but they have returned to normal levels on the battlefield.

Since the outbreak of the war, the Italian Army has been performing normally without any upsets, which fully conforms to the outside world's impression of them.

As the party that provoked the war, the Italian army launched a fierce attack from the very beginning, fighting in the dark, but unfortunately, the French defense line remained motionless.

After hitting and hitting, the French reacted and began to counterattack with a limited amount, and then an embarrassing scene appeared.

Even with an absolute advantage in troops, the Italians still fell into a disadvantage. If you find that a regiment is fighting against a division, don't be surprised that this is just a routine performance on the French-Italian battlefield.

The fact that the French were quickly defeated in history does not mean that the French army is weak. It was mainly their misjudgment of the armored forces that allowed the Germans to complete the lightning strategy.

Now that the Rhine River is dangerous, the German armored forces cannot fight amphibiously or swim across it, and no matter how powerful their tactics are, they will not be able to use them.

Germany and France confronted each other across the river, and the French stretched out a hand. They still suppressed Italy, which almost caused the German staff to collapse.

This is completely a replica of World War I. Because the German army overestimated the combat effectiveness of the Italian army, it once adopted a strategy of containing the main force of the French army and creating opportunities for the Italians.

The final result was of course a shame. With five regiments of troops, the French insisted on holding up the 700,000 Italian troops for a week, waiting for reinforcements.

This time it was going to be much better. Brauchitsch's expectations for them were already very low, so he was just helpless rather than surprised.

Prime Minister Holman frowned and said: "General Brauchitsch, we must break through the French defense line as soon as possible. If the war continues, it will be a disaster for Germany.

You should be clear that the protagonists of this war are no longer us. Now it is the hegemony between Britain and Bulgaria. We must get out of the war as soon as possible.

Otherwise, once the war between Bulgaria and the British breaks out, the Eastern European Union will also be involved, and then we will have to fight on two fronts. "

"Your Excellency, the French are now guarding the Rhine, and it is almost impossible for us to break through head-on. In fact, we don't even have enough ships to cross the river.

The French have deployed thousands of artillery on the Rhine, and any of our ships will be smashed, unless we block the Rhine and create an opportunity for the troops to attack! ’ explained Brauchitsch

"Blocking the Rhine River? God, this is impossible! You have to know the consequences of blocking the Rhine River. At that time, the entire Rhine Kingdom will become a swamp, and Germany will cry because of it!" Holman said excitedly

"Then we can only make excuses!" Brauchitsch thought for a while and said

"You mean to tear a hole from Belgium, there is no problem, you can do it boldly!" Holman said indifferently

Attacking Belgium, he did not have the slightest pressure, which was originally one of their strategic goals.

"No, the Belgians' defenses are also very tight. It is difficult for us to make breakthroughs from the front. If we want to quickly tear through their defenses, we can only borrow from the Netherlands!" Brauchitsch said indifferently

Holman fell into deep thought. The relationship between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and them can be said to be very good. The so-called excuse is actually an invasion.

The strength of the Dutch is not worth mentioning. They are used to living in peace, and their defenses are also very lax. It is not difficult to occupy the Netherlands.

The trouble is the subsequent political influence. Germany in this era is not yet the Third Reich in history. It is not so powerful. It can fight whoever it wants, and they have to consider political influence.

"General Brauchitsch, is this really the only option?" Prime Minister Holman asked expectantly

Brauchitsch replied: "If we want to open up the situation in a short time, we have no choice but to attack Belgium through the Netherlands and fight the French in a decisive battle.

Of course, if the British are willing to let the Royal Navy escort our army to land from the English Channel, even if I didn't say it! "

"Well, the matter of General Brauchitsch is very complicated. We must inform the British first. Without their support, we cannot even supply ourselves with weapons and ammunition!" Prime Minister Holman said with a wry smile

Brauchitsch nodded. There was no way around it. Germany lost too many things in World War I, and it has not recovered until now.

At this time, they cannot do without the help of the British. Without the support of the British, Germany and Italy are now tied together, and most of them are not the opponents of the French.

Among other things, their self-sufficiency rate is only 70% for weapons and ammunition alone, and this is still the war that has not yet reached its climax.

...

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