"Surprise from the sky? Bo Cheng, you mean to use paratroopers? Bai Chongxi groaned and turned his head to look at Yang Xianyi. In recent years, the Chinese National Defense Forces have taken Germany as their division, and the construction of paratrooper units is naturally copied from Germany, so it is under the name of the Air Force Command.

Yang Xianyi smacked his lips and replied: "Jian Shuai, the Air Force paratroop unit has been engaged in Yijing for more than three years, and now there are three brigades with less than 20,000 people, all of which are elite troops trained by the German affairs consultants. But...... The paratroopers are airdropped, but there is no advance or retreat, in case the Soviet army still has heavy troops deployed in the Ferghana Basin, these elite troops will have no return! Why don't we take a closer look at the situation in the basin? The Art of War: Know Yourself and Your Enemy, and You Will Not Be Defeated in a Hundred Battles" "The novel chapters are updated the fastest. ”

Bai Chongxi looked at Yang Xianyi and said in his heart: "Forget about confidant, where is there nàmerongyi in the other place?" For more than 10 years, the Soviets have regarded counter-espionage work as a top priority, and Zhang Guotao racked his brains to try to infiltrate the spies into their key departments...... But this battle still has to be fought! So he smiled bitterly and said: "Brother Tie'an, everything written on the Art of War is ideal, and what a good thing it is on the battlefield!" Trotsky's NKVD is not transparent, why do kěnéngshime make us zhidào? ”

"You can't throw 20,000 brothers into the basin with your eyes closed! What if it's a fire pit? ”

Bai Chongxi smiled and said: "There are only two most common states in war, either you are fighting for the lives of soldiers, or you are gambling with your soldiers' lives!" He paused and said in an accentuated tone, "And now, I can't stay still. Because the situation in Europe has changed, the Soviet Union will send a large number of troops to Central Asia! So I have to gamble! Brother Tie'an, I will propose to the General Staff the transfer of three paratrooper brigades of the Air Force for the Ferghana Basin campaign. I hope that the Air Force will be ready to cooperate with the operation! ”

……

By the end of May 1934, the battlefield of the Great Battle of Shijiè had almost turned into a casino. In the Pacific, Takeda Heng and Yamamoto Isoroku are betting on Japan's national fortunes. In Central Asia, Bai Chongxi intends to gamble with the lives of 20,000 airborne troops. And in Western Europe, Hitler was also bound to take a big gamble on the Western Front.

Beginning in late April, the most elite armored units, mechanized infantry, and air force on the German Eastern Front began to secretly move westward. The entire movement of Jinháng was very secretive, and at the same time a large number of infantry units were swaggered to the Eastern Front. In order to create the illusion that the Germans would launch an offensive on the Eastern Front in order to confuse France. At the same time, the assault on the Polish capital, Warsaw, was deliberately delayed, as if the Polish army was resisting to the death. The German heavy army was pinned down with the appearance of the city of Warsaw.

After the declaration of war between France and Germany, Germany's borders with France and Belgium were tightly sealed. Whether it is the reconnaissance planes of the French and Belgian air forces, or their agents or the infantry of cross-border reconnaissance, in most cases. It's all back and forth. And hundreds of Panzergrenadier divisions and Panzer divisions from the Eastern Front. It was also quickly deployed along the borders of Germany and France and Belgium.

These hundreds of mechanized troops, plus hundreds of motorized infantry divisions originally deployed on the German-French-Belgian border, totaled more than 3.5 million troops under the command of the German army, which had never been the three major battle groups of Army Group A, Army Group B, and Army Group C. Army Group A was deployed near the western German border city of Aachen, Army Group B was located around Trier and Bitburg on the border between Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg, and Army Group C was deployed on the Franco-German border.

Opposite the more than 3 million heavily armed Germans were the 1.8 million French and Belgian armies. The historical Maginot Line did not exist in this time and space, but the French and Belgians still had a line called the "Second Line".

In fact, the length of the line was more than twice as long as the Maginot Line, and not only included the Franco-German border area. It also extends to Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands. However, this extended version of the Maginot Line is far from being impregnable. The reason for this was the advent of large-depth assault tactics and the Chaser tank destroyer, which made the French, Belgian and Dutch armies aware of the need to develop armored forces. Thereupon. They could not afford to spend their limited military spending on building defensive lines.

Moreover, at the time of the construction of the "Second Line of Defense", the imaginary enemy of the French was not Germany, but the Soviet Union. At that time, the French Army was also divided into two factions, one group advocated defending against the enemy and Germany, and believed that the French Army should focus on developing armored forces to defend against the invading Soviet Red Army with the Germans. The other faction advocated keeping the enemy and the country out of the country, and demanded the construction of a strong defensive line to keep the Soviet Red Army out of French territory.

As a result, the choice of the French government was to listen to the opinions of both ends, but not all of them. Divide the money into two parts, one for repairing fortifications and one for building tanks...... In the end, the French Army had a less fortified "Second Line", 15 armored divisions and 15 mechanized infantry divisions, as well as more than 100 motorized infantry divisions. In addition, the commander of the French army, Maurice. Gustave. Admiral Gammelin also had at his disposal more than 2,000 combat aircraft, more than 2 million new recruits who had just been called up and were still in training, and a French navy, second only to the British Royal Navy in Europe.

Around how to make good use of this relatively powerful national defense force, from the day of the start of the Franco-German war, the quarrel in the conference room on the second floor of the Brenne Palace of the French Ministry of Defense building on the rue Saint-Dominique in Paris, France, has stopped.

"Everyone, everyone! Be quiet! Be quiet, please! A loud voice rang out in this not-so-spacious room. It was French Prime Minister Daladier who spoke out. Because of his "wrong policy", which led France and Germany to war, His Excellency the Prime Minister has been having a hard time lately, and has become a thorn in the side of the peace-loving French people and the French parliamentarians. Soon after Germany declared war on France, he had to dissolve Parliament to prepare for a new general election because of a motion of no confidence in Parliament. However, until the results of the re-election are known, he will still be in charge of military affairs as prime minister of the caretaker government.

Sure enough, after hearing Daladier's voice. The main attackers and the main defenders, who were arguing, stopped speaking and turned their attention to Prime Minister Daladier, who was sitting in the middle of the conference table, who was probably about to step down. Seeing that everyone was still selling ziji's face, Daladier couldn't help but tidy up ziji's suit and tie. Then he spoke unhurriedly: "I believe that you are facing the current situation in France, our old enemy Germans colluded with the Italians to provoke war again!" Although, our army is not fully ready, but victory will eventually belong to France. Although our enemies are very strong, they are faced with the dilemma of fighting on two fronts, just like the last Shijiè battle. And this time the Germans faced not a weak Tsarist Russia on the Eastern Front, but a strong USSR! In addition, we are in talks with the United Kingdom and the United States. Ask them to help us.

Of course, the biggest question before us now is how to win the land war with Germany and Italy, or at least to make it a war of attrition like that of 1914. I think we need to make a decision as far as possible on the strategic and tactical question to be adopted in the first phase of the war. I hope that you can reach a consensus at today's meeting. With this, Daladier glanced at the generals present. Listening to his words, all the French generals present began to talk again.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Be quiet, please! Seeing that order in the venue was in chaos again, Daladier knocked on the table. Then he turned his head to look at the Chief of the General Staff of the French Army and the Commander-in-Chief of the Franco-Belgian Coalition Army, Gan Molin: "General." I'd like to hear from you. ”

"Ah, well, then I'll say a few words." Gan Molin was silent for a moment, and then spoke slowly: "I think you all know that what France is facing at present is not a skirmished armed conflict with Germany and Italy, but a shijiè war that will determine the ownership of European hegemony!" The situation is indeed very similar to 1914, but it is not exactly yiyàng. First of all, Britain is no longer our ally! After a soft sigh, Gammel continued: "Secondly, Germany's power is stronger, stronger than ours! This is a fact that has to be admitted. According to the intelligence provided by the British, the number of Wehrmacht troops at the moment is up to 7 million to 8 million! The core of it is 20 Panzer Divisions and 100 Panzergrenadier Divisions! Furthermore. It also has about 10,000 combat aircraft of various models! For comparison, not counting the recruits who have just enlisted, our army has only about 2 million men, 15 armored divisions and 15 mechanized infantry divisions, and the Air Force has less than 2500 combat-ready aircraft. And our ally, Belgium, has 30 infantry divisions and less than 500 aircraft......

Fortunately, our Russian friends were also very strong, and most of the German armored forces and aircraft were now deployed in Poland and Romania to fight the Soviet Red Army, and on the Western Front we were confronted with only about 120 German infantry divisions and less than 2,000 aircraft. Moreover, the Chief of the General Staff of the Soviet Red Army, Tukhachevsky, claimed in a telegram to me that the Soviet Red Army had assembled 43 army groups and 27 tank armies in Ukraine, Lithuania and Belarus, as well as more than 3,500 aircraft, which could be launched into a counteroffensive at any time, as long as we asked for it.

So now we have two options, one is to rely on the second line of defense, Jinháng, until the newly expanded troops are fully prepared to attack; The second is to immediately go on the offensive, concentrating on our armored and motorized forces to launch a surprise attack on the Ruhr industrial area in Germany, while the Russians will launch another offensive in the east to complement our operations. ”

The Ruhr industrial area is Germany, and it is also the area with the highest concentration of factories in the whole of Shijiè. Located in the western part of Germany, North Rhine Westphalia, it covers an area of only more than 4,500 square kilometers, but its industrial output value accounts for more than 40% of the entire Germany, and heavy industry accounts for more than 60%! The Ruguo industrial area was occupied or destroyed by the French and Belgian troops, and the material basis for Germany to maintain the Shijiè war was no longer there!

"Mr. Admiral, I would like to hear your own opinion, would you prefer to go on the defensive, or to go on the offensive?" Daladier asked, frowning. In this shijiān, Gammelin, the chief of the general staff of the French army, has been oscillating between the offensive and defensive factions, and it can be said that half of the quarrels within the French army are caused by his indecision.

Gammelin frowned, in fact, it was not that he couldn't make up his mind, but the route taken by the French Army was half offensive and half defensive. If it sounds good, it will balance offense and defense, and if it doesn't sound good, it will be weak both offense and defense.

Their Second Line was strong by the standards of the First Shijiè War, but it was much worse than the Trotsky Line built by the Soviets in Poland. The Trotsky line did not withstand the onslaught of the Germans. So France's No. 2 line of defense is even more unreliable. As for the strength of the French mechanized forces, it is not weak, but it is not a shime in the face of the huge lineup of 120 Panzer Divisions and Panzergrenadier Divisions of Germany. Moreover, the German armored forces were tested in real combat and were all elites. But the French armored forces are méiyou any actual combat. Having been a soldier all his life and has participated in many wars, Admiral Gan Molin, of course, will have a big gap between veterans and recruits on the battlefield.

Of course, it is not that the chances of the French Yidiǎn winning can only sit back and wait for defeat, because the Germans are fighting on two fronts, and due to the haste of going into battle, their armored forces hǎoxiàng are pinned down on the eastern front. Therefore, many French generals proposed to take advantage of the fact that the main German army was still in Poland and Romania to attack the Ruhr area first to sabotage, as long as the foundation of Germany's heavy industry was destroyed. The Germans will be defeated! But the question is, did Germany really have only 120 infantry divisions on the Western Front? They have nàme more armored divisions and panzergrenadier divisions, they won't put 10 8 in the Ruhr area? The General Staff of the Germans hǎoxiàng didn't lack this bit of wisdom, did it?

In addition, there is an opinion to learn from the methods of the original Germans in the Hitler lines. Engage in resilient defense. Put the infantry division and the Belgians in front, the armored division and the mechanized division and some motorized infantry divisions in the back, and wait until the German armored forces come over and then go up to plug the hole. At the same time, the air force was dispatched to bomb the Ruhr area and destroy the industrial centers of the Germans from the air. The idea is not bad either. But the Luftwaffe was stronger than the French Air Force in any way. The French Air Force dared to sneak to the Ruhr at night to drop bombs (which would certainly not be possible during the day), and the German planes would definitely come to Paris in broad daylight.

Therefore, both offense and defense in this shihou seem to be sure of victory, and Ganmalin is even more embarrassed, and he is even more silent when he hears Daladier's question.

"Your Excellency the Prime Minister, Your Excellency the Chief of the General Staff, I have something to say!" Just when the scene was embarrassing, a ridiculously tall brigadier general stood up.

"Oh, it's Brigadier General de Gaulle." Seeing this height, Gan Molin said that the other party was Charles de Gaulle. A guy who is very talented and doesn't recruit the likes of the Army's upper echelons, Ruguo is not and Secretary of Defense Paul. Renault's guānxi was iron enough, and now he had long since been swept into the reserves. But now that the other party can come out to relieve Ziji, it should always be encouraged, so he looked at the other party with a smile. "Do you have shime built yì? Just bring it up. ”

"I think that at the moment we have lost the best opportunity to attack the Ruhr area, and you should not lose sight of the fact that, although on the face of it it seems that Germany was passively involved in the war because of our conflict with Italy, Germany is unwilling to declare war, and Italy and Mussolini are helpless. So the truth of the matter is very kěnéng, Italy, after receiving the instructions of Germany, took the initiative to provoke trouble in Spain to create confrontation with France, and finally started a war with France, so that the German government could get a pretext for war against France! ”

"Brigadier General, what the hell do you want to say Shime?" Listening to De Gaulle's words, Gammel was slightly stunned, and then said after a silence: "Can I understand that this Franco-German war was not caused by coincidences and unexpected events, but a deliberate conspiracy, a conspiracy of the German Hitler authorities?" ”

"Yes, it's a conspiracy!" De Gaulle said with certainty: "Now the German armored forces are very kěnéngyijing assembled on the Franco-German and Derby borders, and a large-scale armored assault can begin at any time!" ”

"This, this actual combat is too imaginative!" Gan Molin suddenly laughed: "Brigadier General, I think you should be the most afraid of a war on two fronts in the German General Staff, right?" ”

"However, they have been preparing for a war on two fronts!" De Gaulle took a deep breath and said loudly: "Only by defeating us can Germany really avoid a war on two fronts!" ”

"Beat us? That's not a Rongyi thing! Gan Molin's face was slightly angry.

"I'm afraid it's also difficult for méiyou to imagine nàme!" De Gaulle's thick eyebrows were tightly locked, and his face was heavy: "Mr. General, I learned a lot about the combat effectiveness of the German army during my visit to the Soviet Union, and they are far stronger than we imagined!" And their most formidable power is not yet armored forces, but air power! In the German air power, the mechanized units located behind the second line of defense were probably facing the same problem. ”

"So what are we going to do? Surrender to the Germans? Gan Molin asked with a calm face.

De Gaulle shook his head and said word by word: "France can only fight Germany with the greatest determination and courage!" We should fight in Belgium, we should fight in Line 2, we should fight in the Marne and Somme, we should fight in Paris! In the event of the fall of Paris, we should continue to fight in the other difāng of France, and if the French mainland falls, we will go to the overseas colonies of France and lead the troops and people there to fight Germany to the end! Only in this way will we have kěnéng to win the war, defeat the German invaders, and defend the honor of France!

Mr. Prime Minister, Mr. Chief of the General Staff, and the generals of the French Army, Air Force and Navy. I think you all know how strong and how difficult it is to defeat Germany now! It's just that the pride of France makes you unwilling to face the reality that the German Empire is far more powerful than ours! This is also Adolf. The reason why Hitler and Ludendorff dared to go to war with us while confronting the Soviet Union.

Now France is facing a more dire situation than it was in 1914, so we should no longer have the illusion that we can win at a slight cost! So forget the idea of raiding the Ruhr or relying on the second line of defense to keep the enemy out of the country, let's develop some more feasible strategies and tactics! ”

Listening to de Gaulle's remarks, everyone in the conference room was speechless. Because their words are true, the generals here are not very clever, but they still have at least common sense. But are the French people really mentally prepared to pay for victory?

Just when Shihou was at an impasse at the venue, the door was suddenly pushed open. Then a staff officer rushed in in a panic: "Mr. Prime Minister, Mr. Admiral." We have just received information that, under the mediation of Prince Hendrik of the Netherlands, King Leopold III of Belgium has reached a secret agreement with Germany, and it is very likely that Kěnéng will lead Belgium to Germany! (To be continued......)