"Can France still withstand a war of the same scale as World War I?" This was the question in Pétain's mind, as well as the question in the minds of General Weygand and many French generals. The facts are very clear. Germany recovered much faster than France, the victor. In just twenty years, Germany, which was on the verge of national disintegration, once again frightened the world. The world's most powerful army and the world's most powerful air force appeared in front of the world almost overnight. Before again, everyone was confused by Germany's guarantee. If these things can't explain anything, then in the Dunkirk area, the failure of the "Generator" plan launched by the British to rescue the British and French forces forced all French generals to consider whether to continue fighting Germany. .
The debate over whether to surrender was still raging among the French army, and some generals still believed that the British navy could make Britain invincible. But as the Battle of Dunkirk entered its final moments, they once again heard the explosive news that the German navy was dispatched in full force to engage in a decisive battle with the British Royal Navy. Almost everyone who heard the news thought Germany was crazy. Facts once again broke their eyes. The British Royal Navy Commander Lord House was killed in battle, and six battleships and seventeen heavy cruisers sank off the coast of Belgium. This incident finally prompted Pétain's decision, and then the British and French forces, which had persisted for eight days at Dunkirk, surrendered to the Waffen SS.
The war has been going on for nearly a month, and the French High Command has not yet realized where it failed. It may be said that the French High Command is aware of the changes. The slowness and indecision continued. The failure of the Dunkirk retreat made the French, who lacked confidence, feel that there was no need to continue the war. France realized that defeat was inevitable.
When the bill was passed, Pétain immediately contacted Franco, the head of the Spanish government, hoping to express his willingness to request an armistice to the German Third Reich through Spain. Pétain was a hero of the French in World War I. The role he played this time has nothing to do with the so-called savior of Verdun. The inevitability of history made an 80-year-old man stand in a place where he should not stand. Perhaps no one knew what Pétain was thinking before he came to power. something...
Pétain once lived in Spain, and when he was recalled to France, Franco once persuaded Pétain not to return to France. Franco said, "The failure of France now has nothing to do with the marshal. But if you go back at this time, It's like taking the blame for Daladier. If you become the prime minister, your reputation will be over."
Before leaving Madrid, he told Spanish President Franco: "My country was defeated, and they asked me to go back to seek peace and sign an armistice agreement. This is the result of 30 years of Marxism, and they asked me to go back and take care of this country." "
But why did this person have to be Petain? Poor old marshal, his success brought him disaster. When the whole of France was on the verge of defeat, people once again thought of the old man who sniped the powerful German offensive at Verdun. They hoped that Petain could create another miracle, but they didn't know that Petain was no longer prepared to fight Germany again. There is no doubt that the French Army, known as the No. 1 Army in Europe, is still capable of continuing to fight. But facing the German Wehrmacht, which was twice as powerful as France in terms of quality and quantity, Pétain could not see where France had any hope of winning.
On June 11, the French government reluctantly moved to Tours and declared Paris an undefended city. The French army was finished, and the French citizens were indescribably angry. On June 13, the French government was unable to fight anymore and had to formally submit an armistice request to Germany. However, French Prime Minister Reno did not admit defeat. Reno, who received the support of Churchill, still did not give up hope and looked forward to a reversal of the war situation. Pétain could not see where France's hope of military victory lay.
As a result, the French government was divided into two factions on the issue of continuing to fight or ending the war by seeking peace, one headed by Prime Minister Reynaud, and the other headed by Marshal Pétain. Pétain openly and unreservedly emerged as the leader of the Peace faction. Pétain read a memorandum to the cabinet, ruling out any idea of continuing the fighting outside the French mainland. At the same time, he was convinced that France had been defeated and that all that was left was to try to conclude an honorable peace. In a resigned tone, he said that France's revival could not be achieved through military victory, but should be the result of "the suffering of the motherland and its descendants." The armistice was not a punishment for defeat, but a new beginning, "a necessary condition to ensure the eternal survival of immortal France." Pétain even threatened to resign.
Indeed, the progress of the German Wehrmacht has made all those who have become accustomed to World War I wars tremble with fear. Because Germany is advancing so fast, the French troops in some areas have become prisoners of the Wehrmacht before they can react. . To borrow a comment from an American newspaper, "Germany's advance is faster than that of any army in history. The German Wehrmacht gallops across the French plains, and a brand-new combat model is presented before our eyes."
The debate between Pétain and Reno continued, but the military's attitude was very clear: "We support Pétain, the war can no longer go on."
During this cabinet meeting, General Wei Gang suddenly left his seat and went out. A few minutes later, he hurried in again, looking panicked, and shouted loudly: "The Communist Party has occupied Paris! There are incidents happening everywhere in the city. Torres (the leader of the Communist Party) has rushed into the Airy District (it turned out that seat of government)." Weigang demanded that the government immediately request a truce from Hitler. "We cannot let the Communist Party take over the country. Otherwise we will fail the French factory. According to the minister, Wei Gang's expression made a deep impression at the cabinet meeting. But Interior Minister Mandel immediately went to fight He called the Governor in Paris and asked the governor in Paris. He called back and said that Paris was extremely quiet and there were no incidents. Street fighting and the rule of the Communist Party were all lies. Therefore, Weygand's trick of imitating German air cannons was a failure. .
"But how long can the current situation remain unchanged?" Yes, how long can it last? Rumors are constantly spreading from places like cafes and hotels where politicians gather. Countless rumors can be heard on the streets: the German army will arrive in Tours that night; the British have turned their backs on the French and begged for peace with Germany; Churchill has committed suicide; Renault has also taken the same action; Paris is full of flames. ;Communist? The party is about to be defeated in a few hours; communism? The party had already begun to fight; finally, Hitler had proposed fair peace conditions to Pétain and was willing to negotiate with each other on the basis of his military status. There are countless rumors like this.
In a cafe, former Prime Minister Blackface Laval was discussing the current situation with some colleagues. He asserted that he had already anticipated today's outcome. He said: "I have always advocated that France should coordinate with Hitler and Mussolini. The reason why France is ruined today should be entirely attributed to its crazy pro-British policy and its begging for favors from the Soviet Union." He told the audience Guaranteed, if the government listened to his words, France would be a happy country and live in peace today.
At a time when Tours was in extreme chaos, Churchill brought Halifax and Pivarok. They arrived at the city hall and met with French ministers. This is really a tense scene. The argument for France's surrender may prevail at any time. Both sides knew that this might be the last meeting of the Anglo-French alliance. They knew that the French campaign had been hopelessly defeated and that the situation on the European continent was unsupportable. The issues they are discussing now are whether the Reynaud government will lead all the French colonies and 40 million people to continue the resistance; whether the French army can manage to withdraw part of it; and whether the French navy will still fight alongside the British. This is the most important thing for the British. The problem.
In those days, getting true information was even more difficult than reaching heaven. Weygand and Churchill almost clashed on the spot. Xu Dan tried his best to persuade the cabinet ministers to support the idea of truce. Others insist that the British leaders have no understanding of the situation in France and that they only think of Britain's own interests. But the intelligence was the same on one main point. They all said that Prime Minister Reynaud had asked Britain to break France's promise not to negotiate a peace alone. Churchill never agreed to this request. But his refusal was not as firm and forceful as usual. The French got the impression that Churchill was a worried man. Finally, Britain and France decided that Renault should make another appeal to the United States.
As Leno left the conference room, a group of journalists surrounded him. They asked him: "Are you prepared to continue fighting?"
"Of course!" the short prime minister replied quickly. But not long after, something bizarre happened. The content of Reno's appeal to Roosevelt a few days ago was suddenly revealed. Renault announced that France would continue the war in Africa if the situation became tense.
A senior French intelligence official told Reno: "We disclosed the contents of the appeal to increase pressure on the United States."
Renault asked: "But what if the answer is not satisfactory? This will have a very bad impact on the psychology of a group of people."
The senior official shrugged and said nothing. At that time, strange things were happening. It is almost impossible to investigate who disclosed the appeal. Was it Reno himself? Or was it Minister of Intelligence Balufo who was in favor of the truce
The rumors became more and more powerful and spread everywhere. After Churchill withdrew from the meeting, he believed that France's surrender was just a matter of time and would come true sooner or later.
This terrible confusion and uncertainty, as well as the overwhelming desire, continued for more than one day. So, we started migrating again. We marched towards Bordeaux. During the last war, the French government also moved to Bordeaux because it wanted to avoid the sharp edge of the German army. But in 1914, the German army never reached Paris. This time Hitler's troops really occupied Paris.
That night, few people could sleep again. Everyone knows that in the next twenty-four hours, the government will make a clear decision. The cabinet held three consecutive meetings. President Roosevelt's reply was the main topic of discussion. In the first meeting, those who advocated the war of resistance seized on a sentence in Roosevelt's reply as a talisman: "In the future, the supplies of goods from the United States to the Allied Powers will surely increase gradually every week."
People of the Pétain group, Xudan was the main representative in this debate, believed that the crux of the matter was that Roosevelt was not prepared to take military action, so he used it as an excuse. When the first meeting ended, it was said that thirteen ministers still supported the continuation of the war, and only eleven ministers opposed it. In the afternoon, the cabinet reconvened, and the British side sent a proposal, advocating the establishment of a British-French coalition government to preside over all affairs with the joint cabinet. At the end of the meeting, those who supported the war of resistance still accounted for the majority in the cabinet. The result was still thirteen to eleven votes, favoring resistance to war. One minister told me that the government had decided to move to the French border town of Babi. From there, it is easy to move to France's African territories by air.
In the afternoon, the cabinet reconvened, and the British side sent a proposal, advocating the establishment of a British-French coalition government to preside over all affairs with the joint cabinet. At the end of the meeting, those who supported the war of resistance still accounted for the majority in the cabinet. The result was still thirteen to eleven votes, favoring resistance to war. One minister told me that the government had decided to move to the French border town of Babi. From there, it is easy to move to France's African territories by air.
At ten o'clock in the evening, the third cabinet meeting began. This meeting was not very long. Deputy Prime Minister Xu Dan demanded an immediate truce from Germany. He said that if the conditions were harsh and negotiations failed, the French people would feel more comfortable continuing to fight the war. Mountaire objected to his argument. Mountaire said that once the truce request is issued, no soldier can initiate a war of resistance again. Labor Minister Pomare supported Xudan's ideas and sharply criticized Britain's shortcomings. Then, Ipponagri also expressed his support, hinting at Mountaire's Jewish origin. He said that he could understand why the Jews wanted to fight Hitler regardless of their own interests.
General Pétain and General Weygand mentioned communism again? Party terror. President LeBron stood with them. Reynaud asked the ministers to accept the British proposal. But in the minds of some ministers, his request seemed to lack conviction. After Renault finished speaking, Xu Dan put forward his suggestion again. Then, the situation of division came. The two ministers, Laurent and Geir, originally advocated resistance to the war, but now they supported Xu Dan's ideas. Most of the order is just reversed.
The French cabinet in Bordeaux that day passed a resolution by 13 votes to 12, requesting an armistice from the German army. Reynaud resigned and Pétain became prime minister. Pétain commanded the Battle of Verdun and other battles in World War I, and was awarded the title of hero. He has always been called the "Savior of France." Now, Pétain decided to send the Third Republic to its grave with his own hands.
On the 17th, Pétain gave a radio speech, asking the country to stop fighting, and formally requested an armistice from Germany through the Spanish ambassador. That night, Pétain stayed up all night. He sat on an armchair, wrapped in a blanket, waiting anxiously for a reply from the German side. The heroic demeanor of the former World War I was gone, and now Pétain was just an ordinary old man.
After Pétain became Prime Minister, he sent two telegrams from Bordeaux to Madrid. One call was made to the Spanish Foreign Minister, Colonel Bergbot; the other was called to the German Ambassador to Spain, Stenley. So, within twenty-four hours of Pétain becoming Prime Minister, Stenley told Hit? Le said that the war in Dharma Realm is over.
It seems that in cooperation with Pétain, Dr. Goebbels, the German Propaganda Minister, personally planned the psychological warfare against ordinary French people. This time, Dr. Goebbels’ trump card was a man who had been dead for hundreds of years. His name It's Nostradamus. Since the declaration of war between Germany and France, a prophecy of Nostradamus has been widely circulated in France, "The powerful party members who worship idols have conquered both sides of the Danube River. They hang iron crosses bent into swastikas, from countless To seek gold, gems, and slaves among the fragments of ruins."
Nostradamus's real name was Michel de Nostrodam, but he is better known by his Latin-style name Nostradamus. He has a book that is praised as having the same status as the Bible. The name of this book is "Century", which is the book Linda read in the car when Lin Wei returned to Essen.
Born out of the Internet of later generations, although Lin Wei was not familiar with this work of Nostradamus, he had already heard the name of this prophetic book, and even recalled the final defeat of Germany in "Century" at that time. The prophecy made Lin Wei feel depressed at that time, thinking that fate was irresistible. Fortunately, in the following time, Lin Wei slowly stepped out of the shadow of Nostradamus. and began trying to explain the accuracy of Nostradamus's prophecies. In the end, Lin Wei came to a conclusion that he did not believe. This boy was a time traveler. However, as a civilian, he did not have enough power to change history, so he left a prophecy book that he did not know why. However, the world followed him. With the arrival of , changes have taken place, and this prophecy will definitely be inaccurate in the future.
So how did Dr. Goebbels come up with the idea of using Nostradamus to make an article? In the autumn of 1939, shortly after Germany declared war on Europe, Dr. Joseph Paul Goebbels and his wife were lying on the bed, concentrating on reading. An obscure and mysterious book. This is a literary work published in 1568 that quotes several prophecies written by a man named "Nostradamus". Her husband, Joseph Paul Goebbels, had fallen asleep. However, his wife was so excited about several prophecies she read that she had to wake her husband up and study the mysterious words in the book carefully with her.