Chapter 355: Maginot Line, caries on the front teeth

It is said that the Maginot Line is the biggest joke in World War II, in fact, there were still many such defensive fortresses during World War II, and in China, the Japanese spent huge sums of money to build a large number of fortresses on the borders of the Soviet Union, does this count? A large number of concrete pillboxes were built along the middle and long railways of the Eastern Eastern Railway, which is also counted. The pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info doesn't have much effect in the end.

It's just that the French invested too much in the defensive line and rigidly relied on it, which led to the joke. If the defensive line had not been invested so much, perhaps the Germans would have stormed the defensive line, and in that case, the defensive line would still have the effect of depleting the enemy. The defense line was too strong, the reputation was too loud, and the Germans felt that it was not cost-effective to attack strongly, so they changed the offensive position, resulting in the entire defense line not working.

The animosity between France and Germany could not be eliminated, especially after the First World War. Germany was not convinced at all, and the momentum to fight a war was very similar to that of the Japanese in later generations. Treaties restricting the military development of Germany were all ignored by the Germans. Almost everyone believed that Germany would attack France again.

So, France began to act very early. In order to defend against the invasion of the German army, the French built a fortification system in the northeastern frontier area. Named after the French Minister of War Maginot surname.

Construction of the defensive line began in 1929 and was only largely completed in 1940 at a cost of 5 billion francs. The main body of the defensive line was hundreds of kilometers, mainly in Thionville in eastern France.

The fortifications, made of reinforced concrete, were very strong. Due to the high cost of construction, only the Franco-German border was defended, and the Dutch side was supported by the Anglo-French forces.

The interior of the defensive line contained all kinds of cannons, trenches, forts, kitchens, power stations, hospitals, factories, etc., and there were underground passages in all directions, and underground trams in the larger fortifications.

Later generations have more than once lamented the strength of those steel-made fortresses.

Many people have visited Fort Vermont. The "most stunning" thing about Fort Vermont is the all-steel ground forts built by the French, each between 1.5 and 2 meters in diameter, all made of steel plates up to several centimeters thick. Thicker than the tank armor of this era.

Such steel fortresses were distributed in an area of tens of meters within a radius of several tens of meters of the fortress or arranged directly on the roof of the fortress.

The rest of the fort's military installations were also covered in sturdy armor: "Observation posts set up more than 15 meters above the ground were made of perforated steel plates; Half of the cannon was embedded in the underground fortifications, leaving only the barrel exposed; The ammunition depot is placed in a tunnel underneath, with thick iron gates guarding the entrance. ”

The French troops hiding inside must have never feared that such a line would be breached by the Germans.

In general, this line of defense is like a person's teeth, facing several front teeth are very shiny, large and strong, but the teeth next to the front teeth are caries, and the big holes are one after another.

The front teeth are meant to protect against others and are biting. However, people can poke it in the mouth with an iron rod because there is a hole next to it. The meat in the mouth is extremely soft.

In May 1940, the Germans lured the British and French forces to support the Netherlands, and then attacked the Ardennes Heights, and united with the Dutch German army to besiege the allied forces in Dunkirk. The Maginot Line was rendered useless by German attacks on its back.

There is a legend that General Lin, who was recuperating in the Soviet Union, once pointed out the Achilles heel of the Maginot Line, and legend has it that Stalin admired Lin because of Lin's excellent insights and wanted Lin to stay in the Soviet Union. There are also legends that Stalin was going to exchange several divisions for forests, and so on.

This legend is not entirely reliable, but General Lin's analysis of the Maginot Line is reliable.

When General Lin was in the Soviet Union, he once pointed out to the Soviet generals the problem of the Maginot Line: "The judgment of the previous marshals was very clever. However, I advise comrades not to place too much emphasis on the Maginot Line. Things are dead, but people are alive. When useful, it beats the Great Wall of Steel and is impregnable; When it's useless, it's a pile of garbage and not worth half a penny. ”

"I mean, if the Maginot is attacked head-on, the defensive line will work, and the outcome of the battle may turn into a stalemate, as you expect, and it will drag on for a long time; If the line of defense was bypassed, a massive detour from the flank, and a deep rear attack on the line, the Maginot Line would be useless and the situation would soon become clear. ”

A few days later, de Gaulle made an appointment to meet Chen Dabang. He repeatedly studied the intelligence and repeatedly argued with the French officials about the importance of the report. Chen Dabang could see that De Gaulle did all this not very smoothly. De Gaulle wrote a reply, hoping to establish a channel of contact with Xiaolu.

The letter was quickly translated into Chinese by Chen Dabang and sent back to Yichun.

In his letter, de Gaulle said: "You have read all three of your letters, and they are very valuable. You and your leaders are strategic visionaries, and I would like to be a moral partner with you. I would like you to elaborate for me on your views on the situation in Europe, and in addition, to know your views and measures on the fate of France.

Hope I will establish a channel of contact with you.

By the way, thank you for your concern for Anna, she is in good health. On behalf of my wife and children, I would like to thank you.

Anna, the third child of the Charles de Gaulle, has dementia. His wife was frightened by a car when she was pregnant, and as a result, the child was born with dementia. Mr. and Mrs. de Gaulle put a lot of energy into this child.

Xiaolu wrote back to him, saying: I think through these letters, we have formed an alliance, because you are the future of France, and we are the future of China.

Regarding France, France, unlike Great Britain, there are no straits, there should be a strategic rear. It was suggested that France transfer part of its army, its fleet, a lot of its personnel, and all its property to the sub-Saharan colonies. North Africa is not safe because of the proximity to Italian and German influences.

Xiaolu exchanged several letters with de Gaulle during this time.

De Gaulle was completely convinced, and he began to call for a transfer in France, to transfer a large amount of national power to Africa, not North Africa, but to sub-Saharan Africa. His view of the war was not to rely too much on the defensive line, but to guard against the possibility of a German detour.

Although de Gaulle was not very small and his words were not very light, the French top brass did not agree with him. The result is obvious, because of these remarks, he was suppressed by the French upper echelons.

De Gaulle's stubbornness was vividly demonstrated at one point, when he simply published articles in the newspapers calling for the people to move to Africa, to sub-Saharan Africa, to establish a large rear.

Although the government cracked down on him, some of the industrialists and bankers in France supported him, some businesses began to act, and some of the wealthy began to move. Several shipping companies took the opportunity to open routes, and tickets were hard to find, and the fleet was full. Some companies with transportation capacity transport their own, and some large companies with money rent ships from countries such as Britain and Portugal to transport personnel and materials.

Large-scale transportation lasted two months.

These two months of personnel and material transfers were very important, and the power of France was completely different in World War II. After the outbreak of the war, France's attitude towards Yan'an also underwent a fundamental change, and its attitude towards China also changed.

Xiaolu wrote a report on his relationship with de Gaulle, submitted it to northern Shaanxi, and copied it to Zhou Gong. This is a big deal and should be treated with caution.

Contacting France, the path is to gain an ally for China's diplomacy. In the future, there will be five permanent members of the United Nations, all of which are allies in World War II, the United States and Britain are allies, and the Soviet Union wants to pull China, but Lao Chiang will lean towards the United States and Britain, which makes China's status drop a lot, because the equilibrium is broken.

If France forms a third force together, then the Romance of the Three Kingdoms program can be successfully staged.

The reason why de Gaulle was chosen was because in the course of World War II, Britain and the United States sacrificed France, there were contradictions between them, and it was a good opportunity to make allies.

In a later letter, Koji asked France for some industrial equipment, and in exchange for information, he now needed some chemical equipment. De Gaulle himself agreed, but the French top brass simply ignored it and gave only a few hundred thousand francs symbolically. On the contrary, de Gaulle used his influence to raise a batch of supplies for China.

Even if there is no profit for the time being, there will be income in the future.

Without waiting for Yan'an to call back, Xiaolu issued an instruction, asking Chen Dabang to return to China as soon as he implemented the purchase of equipment and pay attention to safety. By sea, the supplies were transported to Hong Kong and back to Yan'an. As for why not take the northern route and transport it back through the USSR? The USSR and Finland fought.