Chapter 449 Public Opinion Offensive

The Belgians were very united in the war. Some of them even went to Paris to distribute leaflets on the streets:

"Look, we can't let the real heroes go unnoticed."

"It was Charles who defeated the Germans and saved Belgium. Only he could accept the surrender of the Germans on behalf of the Allies."

"Charles also saved France and many soldiers. We will not succumb to power and behind-the-scenes manipulation. We pursue the truth!"

...

The Belgians are very smart, or this is the method of Albert I, which he learned from the British.

Belfour's statement hopes to stand on the moral high ground and borrow the front-line soldiers to stand up for Joffre, but Belgium's propaganda makes it easy for people to think that there may be insider trading between Belfour and Joffre.

It doesn't matter what the truth is, what matters is how people will associate it.

The British are very good at this, for example, they publicize in newspapers that the German army eats people, or that they lay mines against civilian ships.

(Note: Britain did promote this during World War I. The former is an unconfirmed folk rumor. The latter, most of the mines belonged to the British. They used a large number of mines to blockade the German Navy. It was inevitable that some mines would be broken by the waves and drifted randomly in the sea. They would occasionally sink civilian ships. But the mines had been blown into pieces. No one could deny that they were laid by the Germans, and no one would look for evidence.)

Unexpectedly, a boomerang hit the British themselves.

The French felt guilty facing these Belgians who spoke up for Charles: Charles was a Frenchman, and he actually needed the Belgians to speak for him, and the truth was so clear and so clear.

Therefore, the French military and civilians quickly organized a demonstration, and the military strongly opposed using them to morally kidnap Charles:

"We support Charles to accept the surrender on behalf of the Allies."

"Whoever defeats the Germans should accept the surrender!"

"Don't try to put us on the opposite side of Charles, we are his staunch supporters!"

...

Public opinion continued to ferment, and the public outrage was out of control.

If Joffre was smart, he should have chosen to let go.

As long as he expressed his support for Charles's surrender, his prestige would not be affected because he was not the one who proposed it, and he might even gain a good reputation of being "generous" and "reasonable".

However, Joffre was unwilling to give up the fame and fortune that he might have at any time.

He still tried to struggle to see if he could reverse his reputation.

Therefore, he emphasized the victory of the 1st Special Artillery Regiment in Cambrai through newspapers:

"As we all know, the 1st Special Artillery Division achieved great success in Cambrai."

"I think that victory was decisive. In that battle, we defeated the main armored forces of the Germans, which laid the foundation for the victory of the Second Battle of Cambrai."

"Of course, I will not argue about the surrender, because Charles' success is equally important."

"But we cannot quantify success and compare who is more important. I respect the choice of the public, although many people don't know much about military affairs."

...

This is a very successful rhetoric.

Joffre cleverly used the role played by the 1st Special Artillery Division and made people doubt themselves: "Do we think Charles is more successful because he does not understand military affairs?"

At this time, Joffre did not realize that his statement seemed very clever, but in fact it cut off his own retreat.

Just when people were half-believing and half-doubting, a piece of news suddenly broke out: "In the first Battle of Cambrai, the reason why the 1st Special Artillery Division was able to win in the night battle was not Joffre's command, but Charles's idea."

A wounded and retired Special Artillery Division staff told the media:

"I can prove this."

"At that time, the 1st Special Artillery Division was in trouble, and our tanks could not match the German's 'Upper Silesia' at all."

"Major General Christian had no way out, and the commander-in-chief (referring to Joffre) still ordered us to attack. We were almost in a desperate situation."

"Major General Christian had no choice but to call Charles for help."

"Charles' reply only had two words 'night battle', so we won!"

...

Public opinion was boiling again.

The focus of people's debate instantly turned to Joffre, and they all sighed:

"It turns out that Joffre is the one who doesn't understand military affairs."

"It turns out that all the credit belongs to Charles, including the First Battle of Cambrai."

"Shameless Joffre, he was saved by Charles, but he tried to use this to defeat Charles!"

...

Joffre can be said to be innocent in this regard. He didn't know that the First Special Artillery Division was able to win that battle because of Charles' help. Christine didn't tell him this.

He angrily called Christine to him, and after getting a positive answer, he scolded Christine.

Christine was submissive in front of Joffre, but there was a barely perceptible smile in her eyes.

The staff officer who spoke in front of the media was instructed by him.

"General, now we..." Kanais asked Joffre's opinion with an embarrassed look.

Joffre frowned and remained silent. He didn't know what to do. At this time, he was in a dilemma.

Admitting mistakes is a heavy blow to his prestige.

If he doesn't admit mistakes, the iron-clad facts are in front of him, and they have witnesses.

The point is that prestige is very important to Joffre. The reason why the Parliament allows him to continue to stay in the position of commander-in-chief is not because of Joffre's extraordinary command ability, but because he is portrayed as a hero to unite the military morale and morale of France. People's hearts.

If even this has no effect, his role as commander-in-chief will be over.

so……

Xiafei gritted his teeth and turned to Christine: "Are there any battlefield records for this matter?"

"Of course not, General," Christine replied. "If there had been a record, it would have been known to the world."

Xiafei said "Yes" and said expressionlessly: "Then it is just a rumor. You have never received a telegram from Charles, do you understand?"

"General." Christine said awkwardly: "But Major Erd..."

"You don't need to pay attention." Xiafei interrupted Christine.

Kristen replied with difficulty: "Understood."

This guy may be trying to bribe Major Erd to change his story. This bastard, I've actually been working for him for so many years!

Xiafei's persistence in fame and wealth is unimaginable by others. He will never give up until the last moment, even if it means using any means.

But at this moment, the signal soldier hurriedly ran to Xiafei: "General, the German Lieutenant General Baird issued a statement through the Belgian "Patriot" that they will only surrender to the Charles!"

Xiafei looked up at the communications soldier in shock, and the fat on his face twitched uncontrollably.