The retreat of the Anglo-French forces at the Marne River marked that the Anglo-French forces were completely at a disadvantage in the battle with the Germans. Marshal Xia Fei ordered the remaining troops, with the exception of the French 3rd Army and the 5th Army, to assemble in Paris and prepare to defend Paris.

Of course, at this point, whether this battle will continue or not will probably have to be decided by the French government.

Marshal Chauffeur received an order from French President Poincaré to return to Paris ahead of schedule. He entrusted the task of retreat to Admiral Foch. When Marshal Chauffy arrived at the presidential office at the Élysée Palace, he found that in addition to him, the commander of the British Expeditionary Force, Sir French, was also there.

"Your Excellency Marshal, this time we may not be able to defeat the Germans again!" Sir French looked very situational. The British Expeditionary Force suffered a great loss in this war. The 1st Army was heavily damaged, the 2nd Army was also heavily damaged, the 3rd Army was completely annihilated, and now only the 4th Army and the newly formed 5th Army in western France remained. It can be said that the entire expeditionary force lost almost half of its strength. The combat effectiveness is only about one-third left. Under such circumstances, the British Expeditionary Force undoubtedly lost the courage to continue fighting.

"No, Sir Sir. Although the current situation is difficult for us, we cannot just give up. We still have troops, and we can continue to fight! I have already given the order that the 11th Army and the 12th Army will go north. In addition, I would suggest to His Excellency the President that more army groups be formed in the south of France. Marshal Xia Fei said.

Compared to the losses of the British expeditionary force, the losses of the French army were greater. Several army groups on the Marne line were almost all disabled. Plus the losses of the 1st Army, as well as the losses of the 3rd and 5th armies stationed in Verdun. So far, the losses of the French army have exceeded 800,000.

Such a heavy loss is undoubtedly painful for France. After all, the total population of this country is just over 30 million. Even with maximum mobilization, it can only mobilize up to three million troops. You must know that France has mobilized 12 army groups with 2.4 million people, which is not far from the figure of 3 million.

When Marshal Xia Fei said this, he naturally wanted Sir French to see his determination, so that the British Expeditionary Force could assist them and continue the fight. After all, with France's own strength, it was clear that it could not confront Germany. At this time, the assistance of the British Expeditionary Force became especially important.

"Your Excellency, your courage is admirable. However, what to do with the expeditionary force next, we also need to consult the country. Sir French said. Of course, he was probably very unoptimistic about the French resistance. After all, France had already lost too many troops in this war. Even if they mobilize further, how many troops will they be able to mobilize? Sir French was very skeptical of this. In addition, he did not consider the newly formed units to be the opponents of the German* army. The previous battles have undoubtedly proved how strong the German army is. Even the elite units of the Anglo-French army were no match for the German army. Not to mention the hastily assembled new units. Those new troops are simply going to die.

Thinking of this, Sir French was also worried about the fate of the British Empire. The defeat of France seems to be already doomed. Then, after the defeat of France, I am afraid it will be the turn of England. The British navy had already failed, and if the British did not surrender, the Germans would have landed on British soil. When the time comes, the British Army will have to fight these fierce German troops. And will the British Army be able to withstand the German offensive? That's obviously unlikely. However, in order to defend their country, they had to fight the Germans. This made Sir French very distressed.

"Sir, no matter what, we're going to keep fighting. If the Germans want to defeat the French Republic, it will definitely not be so easy. The soldiers of France will fight to the end. Marshal Xia Fei said firmly again.

Sir French nodded, but said nothing more.

Marshal Chauffy and Sir French walked together to President Poincaré's office, and when they entered the office, they found that not only President Poincaré was there, but Prime Minister René? Viviani, Minister of Foreign Affairs Theofil? Delcasse, Minister of War Alexander? Millerand, Secretary of the Navy Victor? Gagnur and Finance Minister Alexander? Libert is already waiting here.

These people are undoubtedly the people in power in the French government. They were anxious to see Marshal Xia Fei and Sir French, undoubtedly hoping to have a deep understanding of the next battle situation. so that in the future, they can make a correct judgment about the situation,

"Your Excellency, Your Excellency, Sir Sir, please take a seat!" President Poincaré said. He seemed to be trying to squeeze a smile on his face, but he couldn't. The smile on his face was very ugly, as if he didn't smile.

Marshal Chauffy and Sir French knew the mood of President Poincaré at the moment, and they did not care about this. After all, as the president of the French Republic, their army suffered an unprecedented defeat on the battlefield, and their country would even lose this war, and then their country would probably perish as a result. This is undoubtedly an unbearable burden for any person.

Marshal Chauffy and Ser French nodded and sat down in their seats.

President Poincaré glanced at everyone in his office and said, "Gentlemen, the present French Republic has reached the most critical moment. Our army, defeated by the Germans at the front, suffered very heavy losses. Now the army of the Germans is closing in on Paris. What do we do next? ”

The faces of these high-ranking officials of the French government were very ugly. They probably didn't expect the situation to deteriorate to this point. At the beginning of the war, even when the Germans stormed last year and were only a few dozen kilometers from Paris, they did not despair as much as they do now. They had always believed that Germany would be able to win the war. But now, no one thinks that way anymore. They all knew very well that this time the French Republic would really fall.