"Before I came, I heard that the reservists in Lorraine are the best reservists in the Federation, and I think there are many reasons, one of the key factors is that the government of Lorraine is very good at mobilizing and organizing propaganda, and the people of Lorraine support and support our reserve system from the bottom of their hearts, and they are actively engaged in training, and the level of equipment is also the best among the reservists."

General Arteus's words were undoubtedly an affirmation of the effectiveness of Weiss's daily work. Horizontal comparison, Lorraine's reserve troops in peacetime training support intensity is indeed the best among the federal states - not necessarily the first, but must be in the forefront, and Lorraine has always been a fierce people, people have their own strength, hardship and hard work, summer and winter are keen on hunting, with a certain military foundation. It was thanks to these factors that the guerrilla warfare in Lorraine was the most effective of all guerrilla fronts in the previous war.

At this time, Weiss did not have a smile on his face, but reminded: "No matter how good the quality of the reserve soldiers is, they are only reserve soldiers after all, compared with the regular troops, they are still a lot worse, especially the regular combat methods and experience, which need to be gradually tempered and cultivated in actual combat, and this training and training is often accompanied by inevitable casualties." We tried a lot of ways to do this, but it still didn't feel like it was what we had originally expected, so we ......"

"I understand what you mean, at any time, we will not fill the reserves in the most dangerous places, the most difficult tasks must be completed by the regular troops, but as long as time is given, the reserves will grow rapidly in continuous combat operations until they reach the standard of regular troops, I have no doubt about this, and I believe that the growth of the Lorraine reserves will be faster and better than that of other regions." After speaking, General Arteus changed his words:

"Judging from your experience in leading guerrilla warfare in the last war, can we have our regular army and reservists mixed and organized into several guerrilla units to fight the enemy's guerrilla warfare?"

This is a question that Weiss has also seriously considered, judging from the strength invested by the enemy, even if these front-line defense divisions of the Federation Army are pulled out, they may not be able to compete with the Norman marines, if they make full use of the advantage of home and numbers, supplemented by flexible and correct tactics to counter them, it seems that the current situation can be improved - this comes from intuitive logical reasoning.

"The true essence of guerrilla warfare is to make the opponent unguardable, and there is no place to use it, and the Normans understand and use this aspect very well. If we deal with guerrilla warfare simply in the form of guerrilla warfare, the result is likely to be exhaustion and difficult to achieve the expected results. And where should we respond effectively? ”

These words were simple, but they made the officers present reflect a lot. General Arteus closed his eyes and tilted his head slightly, seemingly meditating. After a long while, he nodded: "Sure enough, only those who are proficient in guerrilla warfare can come up with a way to deal with guerrilla warfare. You are very right, we must not use form against form, but find out the intentions of the enemy, and the ultimate goal of what they want to do is to occupy Lorraine. Before that, it is necessary to destroy our defense system as much as possible, with a focus on our aviation facilities, so no matter how guerrilla they are, the real purpose is our aviation bases, if we are on target. Then the means of movement, or rather the initiative, are in our hands, and we can either strengthen our air bases in a completely defensive way, or we can use them as bait to wait for the enemy to come to the door, and we have reason to believe that the enemy is more eager to open the situation than we are. ”

As the saying goes, the veteran is out of the horse, and he is a top two. General Arteus's concise judgment was very convincing to everyone present, and Weiss was no exception. It would be great if you could use the enemy's psychology to fight an ambush war, reverse the decline of these days, and disrupt the enemy's beat.

General Arteus's gaze swept over everyone: "In terms of specific arrangements, I would like to hear everyone's opinions first. ”

Next, the three division commanders and the chiefs of staff of the divisions under their command all talked about some ideas based on their own understanding. It can be said that their judgment is accurate and their proposals are reliable, but they always feel that there are still few shortcomings.

General Blair, the co-commander of the Federal Air Force in Lorraine, bluntly pointed out the crux of the problem: "We have four large air bases and more than 20 field bases in Lorraine, most of which are currently in operation, and the number of combat aircraft deployed in Lorraine will soon exceed 3,000, which are all targets of the enemy. But so far, they haven't launched a frontal surprise attack on any of them, and I think the reason why they have been delayed is to plan for a bigger action. Imagine if they attacked one or two or three of these airfields, they would immediately alert us, and they didn't do it, making us think that they were trying to fight a war of sabotage like the last one, destroying our transport infrastructure in Lorraine, when in fact they were just distracting us and slowing down the efficiency of our troops. Their real appetite is to wipe out all our aviation facilities. Maybe...... Their first attack on our air bases was a large-scale attack. ”

Following General Blair's train of thought, Weiss quickly recalled the scope of the Normans' activities and destruction targets since they landed in Lorraine, it seems that they were based in the northwest corner of Lorraine, scattering and destroying everywhere, but they were not without a trace, and they destroyed the communication routes from other parts of Lorraine to the northwest one by one, in order to gradually reduce the efficiency of the Union army's movement in Lorraine. Although flying ships and transport planes can quickly mobilize combat units and supply a considerable amount of combat materials, if it is necessary to maintain a campaign-level operation mainly by airlift, it is necessary to draw a large number of flying ships and combat aircraft from other fronts.

Under the gaze of General Arteus, Weiss further offered his thoughts: "If I were an enemy commander, I would not pick the nearest or largest federal aviation base, but would choose the weakest defense and the easiest to get hold of, and at the same time have enough value. If I had to lay it out, I'd start with the Kassel Air Base, which is further away, and the Glaser Air Base, which is located in the north, and start with both. ”

Seeing that everyone was very convinced, Weiss hurriedly reminded: "This is just a speculation, a Norman-like commander should have many alternatives, and then choose one of them according to the actual situation changes." It is quite possible that they will attack three aviation bases at once, or even more, it is quite possible. If we take advantage of the hunting mentality and think backwards, we may be able to consider a strategy of showing weakness to the enemy, deliberately weakening the defenses of two or three of the air bases, but not too obviously. The Normans are very sensitive and good at seeing our flaws, and we have to arrange them as naturally as possible. For example, if we devote a relatively large number of troops in a certain direction to pursue and intercept the enemy's guerrilla forces, so we mobilize part of the defense force of the air base, or when the enemy launches an air attack on our base, we will carry out a large-scale expansion of the damaged base defense facilities, in that case, although there are many troops deployed around the air base, in fact, the strength of the defense will decrease for a certain period of time, and this may be the opportunity for the enemy to be willing to capture. ”

At this point, the general direction has been basically decided, especially the aged General Arteus, who has returned from a relaxed state of retirement to the tense rhythm of wartime after a long journey, looks very tired, as if he may fall asleep at any moment. Therefore, it was unanimously agreed that the staff of the three defense divisions and the joint command of General Blair's air force would work out a detailed battle plan to lure the Normans to attack the air base, while the federal army units would wait for work and give full play to the advantage of concentrating forces to deal with the enemy.

Although Weiss was an important advisor to this strategy, he was not included in the development of the plan for various reasons, and General Arteus had no objection to this. Weiss was not surprised by this situation, let alone frustrated or even negative because of this.

After the military meeting, General Arteus invited Weiss to his office for a private meeting.

It has been said that the atmosphere of a meeting depends on what is placed in front of people. If it is tea, then the meeting is serious and serious, and if there is wine, the atmosphere of the meeting is relaxed and freehand.

General Arteus's private interview with Weiss is the latter case.

After a small half glass of wine, General Arteus's face became rosy, his fatigue diluted a lot, and his spirit of speech was much different from before.

"Mr. Governor, Mr. Clumber Haysen, allow me to privately address your former rank of military rank, Guerrilla Colonel. The Battle of Australia, you are the biggest surprise I have ever discovered. After the end of the campaign, we spent a long time sorting out the events of the campaign, because the war was tense later, and it was not until the end of the war that we compiled them into a book. After my retirement, I spent two years as a distinguished professor at the Delafig Higher Staff College, where I commanded the Battle of Ojo and which I lectured on. Through in-depth research, I realized that the resilience of your guerrilla warfare in the sewers of the city is far beyond ordinary imagination, and the battle in which you raided the enemy troops from the sewers and captured the enemy warships is a classic that cannot be replicated, and your tenacity and wisdom are extremely admirable. I suppose that if you were not the administrator of Lorraine now, but an officer in our army, perhaps an officer who had been promoted to the rank of division, I would have entrusted you with commanding the troops to carry out a great counterattack in a way that the enemy could not have imagined, but I do not have such a candidate now, and you have more responsibilities to bear. ”

Weiss saluted the old prefect with wine, and then said, "Nicholas Leboulder is my best friend, and I believe you know something about her." When the war broke out suddenly, she was the technical director of the Star Group, and it can be said that she was an indispensable core figure in this important industrial enterprise. Whether from a technical point of view, from a family point of view, or from a value point of view, she should be well protected, not lead the boys on the front line to fight the enemy. Now, not only has she come to Lorraine, she has come to the most difficult places, but she has also personally piloted fighter jets into the air, and has shot down seven enemy planes so far yesterday. I tried to stop her from doing something that seemed crazy, but she persisted. I believe that when the country is in danger, if everyone, regardless of military rank or status, fearlessly plunges into this struggle, no matter how great the difficulties we face, we will definitely turn defeat into victory. ”

The general looked at Weiss silently, listened to everything he said, then took a sip of wine and said, "I am very pleased that you can think so. However, war is ultimately the responsibility of the military, and civilians have neither the obligation nor the duty to participate directly in the fighting, unless the army authorizes them to fight as guerrillas. Before I came, I asked my superiors and received the reply that it was not necessary at the moment, but that I could prepare appropriately. ”

Weiss had heard of the military's concerns. Many of the fellow governors' partners have jumped from the military to the political circles, and from the long history of the Federation, this kind of crossover is one-way and irreversible, because the Union Army will never accept politicians back to the military, which can also be said to be a kind of federal style. Thinking about embarking on this road at the beginning is not only the beginning of fate but also a choice to exert his own value, he has never regretted it, and he will not regret it. Now, in the current predicament, he didn't mind this, but took the initiative to comfort him: "General, I fully understand what you said. That's the reality. From the point of view of the country, we will do everything in our power to win the battle of Lorraine, and if you trust me and think I can come in handy, you can do so. I can put aside my name, put aside my identity, and lead this battle in a way that is nameless and not in public. Or, you can think of me as an unknown new staff officer by your side, and suddenly find that this new staff officer has planned a good battle plan, and then hand over this plan to the more experienced and capable officers to carry out. Of course, the situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly, just like in Aocheng, there is never a set plan that can be implemented to the end, and it is necessary to judge the situation and adapt to the situation.

General Arteus bowed his head again and again: "I know that you are good enough to play the role of a good staff officer, and if you stay in the army, the future is limitless...... I admire your spirit of dedication from the bottom of my heart, but with my personality and character, I will never let meritorious people be buried in the years. In Lorraine, you are the commander of the reserve forces, and you have legal and reasonable command over the reserve forces. If the reserve forces are only used for one operation, and the regular army is used as the strategy, and the communication is sufficient, I believe that everyone can understand the subtlety of this arrangement, and I believe that we can overcome this obstacle, achieve some difficult goals in an unconventional way, and finally make the top brass acquiesce to the fait accompli. ”

"Thank you for your understanding and support." "I feel a great responsibility, and I know that the task is extremely difficult, but I hope that the light of fate will shine on us." ”

The general raised his glass: "Justice is destiny." ”