Clark frowned, Murphy had spoken to the French alternate leader before he arrived, but the reply was vague: Darlan said that he was willing to abandon the policy of cooperation with Germany and lead the French army to the side of the Allies if a considerable amount of American military aid arrived in North Africa. But in Clark's view, this reply was unreliable, and the definition of what was meant to be a considerable size was not clear - if the demand meant that the Anglo-American landing force was in full control of the situation in North Africa, it would not matter with or without Darlan's assistance. In addition, because of the stupid policies of the British side over the past few years, Darlan's anti-British sentiment was strong, and judging by his past actions, his opposition to the German side was not serious. All in all, this is a dangerous figure.

"General Darrang's attitude is not clear at the moment, and we will try to do his job. Also, what if it was General de Gaulle? Clark tentatively proposed a name, but it was deliberately he came up with to test the mood of the French—because President Roosevelt did not trust de Gaulle's judgment and did not like his arrogant attitude, so the Americans would not accept de Gaulle.

"It's impossible! If he comes, I can guarantee that most people will resist to the end. "He had always been against Marshal Petain, and later worked for Churchill, an old dog, and even led the puppet army to attack Dakar, Syria, and Madagascar, and all the honest French officers, including those most eager to break free from the German bondage, would not accept his leadership." ”

Hearing the other side refer to the "Free French" as a puppet army, Clark understood the attitude of Master and the North French Army. He nodded in understanding the feelings, and continued to ask, "Or do you have any good suggestions?" ”

"How's General Giraud?" (Note: This is the one-armed French general who was let go by Canaris that Hoffman mentioned when he broke the traitorous group)

Giraud, who had been commander-in-chief of the French Army in May 1940, managed to escape back to France in April of that year after being captured. Although he was physically handicapped and did not hold any position at present, he was an active supporter of the Pétain regime and, because of his previous position and prestige, he was associated with many French generals in mainland France and North Africa, who shared his belief that he wanted to rely on American aid to organize an uprising against German rule, and Giraud expressed his views in a letter to one of his supporters, General Oddock: "We do not want the Americans to liberate us, I want them to help us to emancipate ourselves." The two are not exactly the same. This idea was heartily endorsed by the generals of the North African Army.

In fact, Murphy had already been in contact with Giraud through secret channels, and he made it a condition that he should be the commander-in-chief of the Allied forces in all French territories where French troops were fighting. This meant that the British and American troops that entered the French territory to fight were under the command of the French, and this condition was somewhat too high in the eyes of the Americans, and even the British consciously gave up the leadership, and a French general who had not actually contributed and had surrendered himself still wanted to command the Allied forces? It's a dream! The polite Clark didn't mention it, though. Not even a word of questioning. Instead, he said kindly: "I understand this wish, and I will report it to the President and General Eisenhower as soon as possible." ”

"Thank you very much, if Mr. Murphy wants to meet with General Giraud at that time, I can arrange it for you."

Clark didn't want to break the fact that his side had been in secret contact with Giraud, so he looked up at the night outside the window and said, "Thank you very much for your frank statement, we might need to leave soon." ”

"I wish you all the best."

Clark left beaming, unaware of the drastic turn of the day at this moment.

With a "bang", the door to Roosevelt's office was suddenly pushed open, and he stared at the rude intruder with a frown. When it became clear that it was his personal adviser and close friend Harry Lloyd Hopkins, he sighed and said helplessly: "Harry." The sky hasn't fallen, has it? ”

"No, but it's almost ......," said Hopkins, stepping forward, in a very frustrated tone, "we have just received the news that the Germans have done ......."

"Hands-on? Where is it? ”

"Two places. First, Guderian of Tobruk launched a fierce attack on Montgomery's Eighth Army. ”

"It's nothing, it's exactly what I expected. The Germans had retreated to Tobruk for nearly a month to recuperate and resupply, and after so many days, they had no more action, and what breakthrough did the blitzkrieg master make? ”

"Not a few." Hopkins said with a blank face, "The Germans easily penetrated Montgomery's painstakingly deployed line with the spearhead of two armored divisions, and then continued to expand in depth, and although the British were secretive, our observers perceived the whole truth of the matter - two colonial infantry divisions were finished, and one armored division was greatly weakened, and this was only a day's result, and it was ridiculous that it took the British a whole month to build an encirclement." ”

"I guess the British will have to stretch out their hands again to ask us for tanks - this hand is more diligent than a beggar." Roosevelt sarcastically said, "The British are not prepared to flee back to El Alamein, are they?" ”

"No, General Montgomery is said to be pulling forces to plug the gap, and maybe he can succeed." Hopkins apparently had no intention of dwelling on the matter any further, saying, "The second bad news is coming from Northwest Africa and mainland France." The Germans seized the remnants of the French fleet, which was still on the mainland, and reached a compromise with the Pétain regime, which allowed the German armed forces to freely enter and leave French territory and the colonies under their control......"

"What?" Roosevelt was so shocked that he almost got up from his wheelchair, "How dare Petain do this?" ”

"The Germans gave him benefits that were hard to refuse." Hopkins said the secret supplementary agreement in a few words, and then handed the document to Roosevelt, "This is a relatively comprehensive secret treaty obtained by diplomats after the fact, and I even suspect that it was released by the French authorities for us to see." ”

"So the French have made a lot of money?" After reading the document, Roosevelt's face was cloudy, "Petain is an opportunist, it is not surprising that he can have such thoughts and actions, I wonder why Admiral Darlan, the actual controller of the French Navy, did not resist?" What's even more strange is how Hitler changed his character? - The great dictator was not so good at talking before, is he coaxing the poor Frenchman again? ”

"No, the Germans were carrying out their obligations, handing over territories and prisoners, even a little faster than the French could accept, giving the illusion that they were throwing a hot potato, and the intelligence officer told me that if it were not for the French begging the Germans to stay longer, Paris would have been about to turn into a vacuum with the rapid retreat of the German security forces -- the French were not at all mentally prepared to return to the capital." Hopkins smiled wryly, "Although I don't understand why Hitler suddenly made such a big concession, one thing is definitely speechless, Operation Torch is in trouble......"

"Where is the fleet now?"

"We're only halfway there, and we're right on the Atlantic route." Hopkins said nervously, "What to do?" Call them back? ”

"Britain's bitch-bitched intelligence agents are all eating ****......" Roosevelt unceremoniously burst into foul language, Hopkins frowned, it seemed that the president was really angry - I had never heard him scold so badly.

Roosevelt said angrily: "Not long ago, the Germans succeeded in raiding Bletchley Manor, and lost the super secrets that had been accumulated with great difficulty. It's better this time, to let such an important agreement be reached, and to see such a large fleet slip over to the side of the Germans right under their noses, they are not messy enough, are they? ”

"Will the landing operations in North Africa continue?"

"Can it continue? Do you want me to send the lads to be slaughtered by the Germans? Roosevelt asked rhetorically, "On the premise that the Germans have been prepared and have deployed combat forces, what else can we do, of course, is to withdraw." ”

"The Germans haven't had time to enter North Africa yet, and if they move fast enough, they can." "At the moment the Germans did not know our battle plan, they only had this intention, and in fact they had not yet penetrated into French Morocco and Algeria, and even the administration in North Africa and the French forces had not received such instructions, and there was a sufficient time lag in between," Hopkins advised. ”

While he was talking, the secretary sent a new telegram, and Hopkins read it and said: "Prime Minister Churchill has sent a telegram saying that he knows everything that has happened in France, and he is deeply disturbed and remorseful about it, but he thinks that the actions of the Germans will not cause great trouble, and if there is still time to hurry, it is entirely possible to land before the Germans." ”

Roosevelt was noncommittal.

"He also made a suggestion that if it were to be withdrawn like this, it would be detrimental to the morale of the troops, and whether it would be considered to change the place where the plan was carried out and move to Egypt for the landing, as he said, -- just in time to support the Eighth Army."

"He wants us to wipe his ass again...... Maybe this was a conspiracy he had arranged a long time ago, and he didn't go to North Africa in the first place. Roosevelt scolded twice and felt bored, "What about the British themselves?" ”

"If you don't agree with the change of landing location, then they insist on continuing with the same thing."

"Let me think about what else I can do." Roosevelt said bitterly, "This is really a big problem, let's call a meeting and discuss it urgently." ”

The outcome of the discussion was mixed, but one thing was certain: the troops could not just come back in disgrace, that would be too demoralizing.

Roosevelt's final word: "The fleet accelerates until there is a new operational order!" (To be continued.) )