Chapter 236: Three Major Events (2)

In the early morning, on the road to Paris, a team stands out. All the eastern faces, the neat queue marched silently. The soldiers, dressed in grass-green uniforms, wore steel helmets and large scalp shoes, marching with neat footsteps. The most surprising thing is that their equipment does not have a single rifle, and the ordinary soldiers are all submachine guns.

The cost of raising such an army is enough for Marshal Fang to raise five infantry divisions. Pulling out the eyeballs that can't shake off the ground, that's really shameless. The troops had been on foot for three hours, it was already dark, and the roads were full of carriages and cars driven by French people heading south, as well as the constant flow of people. These people had fled from the city of Paris, and most of them were wealthy people.

Zhang Zuolin rode on a war horse, and watched the soldiers move forward with a stern expression. Three hours passed, and the troops marched about thirty kilometers, and at this rate, minus the time of rest, it would take only one day to reach Paris. Zhang Zuolin was surprised by the endurance of this unit, and after walking for more than three hours, the team was still very relaxed. You must know that the equipment they carried was not easy, a steel helmet, a submachine gun, four grenades, four magazines, a dagger, and some people also brought an extra pistol, their own clothing and three days' rations, adding up to at least fifty pounds per person.

I have long heard that the special operations division is the elite of the elite, and when I saw it today, it really deserved its name. This marching ability alone is not comparable to ordinary troops.

"Rest in place for half an hour and hurry up to eat dry food." Zhang Zuolin gave an order to ask the French, who knew French, if they could buy livestock in a nearby town. There are still more than ninety kilometers to go, and the further down they go, the more tired the soldiers become, and the pace of the march naturally slows down. Being able to find some livestock will undoubtedly make a big difference.

At the sound of the order, more than 15,000 people immediately stopped advancing and sat down on the side of the road to rest, keeping the formation intact. This kind of scene is very spectacular, so many people are not moving, only the officers are walking back and forth.

"The cold wind flutters the leaves, and the army is a green flower. Dear comrades-in-arms, don't miss home, don't miss your mother. I am calling at night, how many words from my heart. Don't tear up your eyes when parting, the barracks are our warm home. Mom, don't worry, I've grown up, and standing guard is to defend the country, and I'm not afraid of wind and rain. I sincerely wish my mother a long and healthy life, and I will go home when I celebrate the achievement, and then come to visit my good mother. There is a good girl in my hometown, I often dream of her, and the men in the army also have love, and I am willing to accompany you to the end of the world. Just because of the heavy responsibility, I had to put down my love first, and the white clouds took my love, and the green flowers in the army were given to her. "There was a sudden chorus of singing in the ranks, it was a company in the marching procession singing.

The singing is loud, gorgeous but not sonorous, and the tenderness that comes out of the mouth of the soldier can particularly move people. In the flow of people heading south, there were constantly people stopping to look at this foreign army.

The song "Green Flowers in the Army" began, and the atmosphere of the whole team suddenly became lively. One by one, they began to sing, and the scene of a battalion or a company singing together was very lively. Songs such as "The Man Who Was a Soldier" and "A Little Populus" that did not belong to this era kept sounding in the ranks.

Zhang Zuolin is a veteran of leading soldiers, and he never thought that there were so many songs to sing in the army. I heard that Fang Dashuai is a master in this area, and he taught his students a lot of songs in Wuhu that year, and they were widely sung in the army. Now it seems that this is true. Zhang Zuolin's 18th Division will sing these songs. At the beginning, out of order to take care of the stability of the Northeast, Fang Dashuai did not put too many people into Zhang Zuolin's troops, only dozens of life instructors.

The French-speaking staff officer returned half an hour later, bringing with him a local police chief, a Frenchman in his forties. When he learned that this army was from China, he had rushed to Paris to fight in the war, and he needed cattle to help transport equipment. The police chief, named Fuller, simply expressed his willingness to help. With his help, the special operations division bought more than a hundred head of livestock.

The troops set off again, and it was already after an hour's rest. The French in the vicinity, who had been watching curiously, suddenly saw the army stand up, sing a high-pitched song in unison, and continue to move forward with neat steps.

"Onward! Forward! Forward! ……。 "The vanguard regiment sang the Wehrmacht anthem, set off first, and walked at the front of the whole procession. The long queue of more than 10,000 people set off one after another, and the last of the baggage troops remained for the time being, waiting for the cattle that the French had helped to buy. The artillery regiment of the special operations division remained in Orleans, but it also carried a large amount of ammunition and medicine with its troops, which had previously been carried on the backs of soldiers, and now left a lot for the baggage battalion, waiting to be carried by cattle.

The French were very enthusiastic about this team that was on the front line, and there were constantly French people on the roadside who spontaneously welcomed the team forward. On this highway, full of defeats and retreats, an army appeared marching towards the front, with their heads held high and heroic, despite their different skin colors, different hair and eyes. The momentum of this army was exhilarating at a time when most people knew that the French army had suffered defeat.

The same march, another way south, full of frustration of defeat. The French Second Army, along with several other divisions, went south along a road that was not too wide. The retreating troops did not bring heavy equipment, and all the heavy artillery units were left to the units that held their positions.

It was already daytime, and many onlookers appeared on both sides of the road, looking at the retreating army in front of them with puzzled and disappointed eyes. As if to send a message, has France failed?

The soldiers were too ashamed to look up under the gaze of such eyes on both sides of the road. Pétain, the commander of the army, did not take the car at first, but walked with his soldiers. Suddenly Petain stopped, frowned and muttered to himself.

Petain had a horse brought in him, turned it over, and shouted to the soldiers on the march: "Soldiers, my brothers, citizens of France. Listen to me. ”

All eyes were involuntarily fixed on Petain, and the gray-bearded general raised his hand and shouted: "France has not failed!" The 2nd Army was also not defeated, we were only temporarily attacking south. Please believe that I will definitely bring you back. I would like to tell you another good news, just the day before yesterday, our ally, the squadron, had marched from Marseille to Paris, although the first batch of the squadron arrived only twenty-one infantry divisions, five heavy artillery brigades, and two tank brigades, but they had a population of 400 million, and as long as France could provide enough weapons, they could arm at least 40 million troops. Rest assured that victory will be for France. Let's take a break, and after a short rest, we can rejoin the just war that encircles France. Long live France! ”

Ordinary soldiers and civilians, many things are not brainy. Besides, the French are also arrogant. Hearing that China has a population of 400 million, no one thinks much about where the 40 million troops will come from? Don't you have any weapons? France has ah, but there are no officers? Does France have it? A few people who thought about it a little more quickly found the answer for themselves.

So the people began to cheer and chant Long live France! The morale of the retreating soldiers was greatly boosted, and the surrounding people were also happy, anyway, it would not be long before the French army would fight back.

The march continues, with breaks every three hours. After the continuous purchase of livestock along the way, the speed of the march of the troops was guaranteed. The Fifth Army informed the headquarters of the army group of its decision, and the headquarters of the army group telegraphed to the French General Headquarters.

At this time, Xia Fei can be said to be in a hurry, after Petain led his troops south, it can be predicted that the front line of Saint-Meneold will not last long, and the remaining army can hold out for a day at most. Quite simply, that commando detachment of the German army, occupied Ravov. After Petain retreated, the Germans would certainly react and encircle the remaining troops.

The remaining French had already sent a telegram, and they began to fire the shells of a qiē large-caliber heavy cannon, and then blow up the cannon. If Verdun and Shambany were compared to two fists on the right flank of the French army, now one of these two fists was chopped off by the Germans. Shambani's flanks were exposed to the Germans, and Ravov was only a day's journey from Shambani.

The new tactics of the German army showed great power. In just three days, the entire French defense line was no longer worth continuing to defend. Xia Fei was in pain, and was trying his best to save the battle. A telegram from the First Army of the Chinese Expeditionary Force came.

After reading the telegram, Xia Fei was a little surprised. At this time, the squadron was still resolutely carrying out the orders of the French command, and they continued to march north, especially under the premise of the interruption of the railway, and continued to march to Paris.

Xia Fei knew very well about those people in the government, and knew that something would definitely come out at this time. So it is not surprising at all that the military column of the ** squadron in the transport squadron was stopped. To his surprise, the Chinese did not complain at all, there was no train, and they walked well.

It is said that this is the responsibility of the French, but the First Army of the Chinese Expeditionary Force said in a telegram: Our troops will take all means and rush to Paris as quickly as they can. As a result, it will be difficult for our army to reach Paris in formation. It is also hoped that the commander-in-chief will sympathize with the difficulties of our army.

Therefore, the thinking of the Chinese is difficult for the French to understand.

Xia Fei put down the telegram, and was really about to think about how to call back to encourage the fighting spirit of the Chinese, but was interrupted by another telegram. The French troops of Saint-Meneourd, who remained behind, held out for only one day, and surrendered before dark on 7 June.

Paris, the door is open! (To be continued.)