Chapter 564 It seems that I chose the right person

Military Research Center, third floor of the Paris Government Building.

Several assistants pretended to be busy among a pile of documents and materials. Foch sat at his desk, shaking the pencil in his hand boredly, and the notebook on the table was blank.

He was organizing the language of "slandering" Charles so that everyone would think that Foch was Charles' "enemy".

However, Charles was almost perfect.

In the recent battle, no one could have imagined that he would use the Somme River to penetrate the German army from the side and rear, and finally achieved a record that the British and French coalition forces could not achieve with more than a thousand casualties.

This made Foch want to say a few bad things about him and find faults, but he couldn't do it.

The tactics were not perfect?

If this is not perfect, what can be called perfect!

No pursuit of victory?

This was determined by the mutiny on the front line, and the soldiers needed time to recuperate.

If there was any shortcoming, it was that the British were angry and crushed their intention to infiltrate and control the French army.

Foch smiled unconsciously.

At this time, there was a knock on the door.

Before Foch responded, Clemenceau appeared at the door, holding a cane in one hand and a briefcase in the other, and asked calmly: "General, can we talk alone?"

"Of course." Foch stood up to greet him, and at the same time signaled several assistants who were dawdling to leave.

After the irrelevant people left, Clemenceau closed the door and shook hands with Foch: "Congratulations, General. On behalf of the parliament, I inform you that you are already..."

Clemenceau took out the commission from his bag and handed it to Foch: "You are already the commander-in-chief of the French army and the commander-in-chief of the coalition forces."

Foch's eyes lit up, and his joy seemed to jump out, and his whole body was radiating light.

"Really?" Foch took the commission excitedly: "Thank you very much, sir. This is so unexpected!"

In fact, Foch was not surprised at all.

Foch had contacted the British as Charles said, although he was unwilling.

The reason why the parliament has been delaying the appointment until now is because the British are waiting for the result of the Battle of the Somme.

If the Battle of the Somme, commanded by Charles, had failed, the British could have infiltrated the French military and political system at will under the pretext of "deep cooperation".

At this time, they would rather choose Pétain, who was easier to control, as the commander-in-chief, even though they knew that Pétain supported Charles.

But now Charles has won, and a big victory.

This stabilized the front line and the army, and also stabilized the political situation in France, leaving no room for the British to take advantage.

So they could only set up an opponent for Charles within the French army, as before: Foch.

This was Charles' victory on another battlefield. Foch thought that the British and even the parliament were played around by him.

Clemenceau was very calm. This was not the point of his coming here, otherwise there would be no need to "talk alone".

Foch also understood this. He asked Clemenceau to sit down in front of the sofa and brewed a cup of coffee for him.

Even after becoming the commander-in-chief, Foch still did not dare to offend those who were calling the shots in parliament.

Clemenceau took the coffee to express his gratitude, added a piece of sugar and stirred it gently. His tone was casual but actually a test: "You know, although Charles has made many military achievements, many people think that he is too young to support the command of an army of hundreds of thousands of people. What do you think about this?"

It sounds like a very ordinary sentence, but it hides a mystery.

The underlying meaning is:

Charles is too powerful, and the parliament is worried that it can't control him. Letting him command an army of 20,000 is enough. With more than 200,000 people in his hands, this will make the parliament uneasy. Now that the mutiny on the front line has been initially controlled, it is time to remove Charles as the commander of the army group!

Foch, who had been in the political arena for a long time, of course heard the hidden meaning in the words. He hesitated for a moment and thought for a while before answering:

"Mr. Commissioner, I think the key point is not whether Charles' age can support the command of the army group, but his good reputation."

"He just won a victory, a glorious victory."

"This is very important for stabilizing the morale of the front line, especially now, we can't rush it."

This is to remind Clemenceau: Don't demolish the bridge too quickly after crossing the river. The mutiny on the front line has just improved. If you kill the donkey now, it may cause a backlash.

Clemenceau nodded slightly. This is also what he is worried about.

He took a sip of coffee with a worried look on his face. Although he frowned, his tone was still calm:

"I also heard that soldiers from other troops took the initiative to join the 6th Army at the Somme River."

"We appreciate the soldiers' heroic behavior."

"But we should also understand that soldiers should stick to their posts, otherwise there will inevitably be loopholes in the defense line!"

What he was worried about was certainly not the 6th Army, nor the loopholes in the defense line, but more and more soldiers gathered under Charles to increase his strength.

And this is almost inevitable. If the 6th Army always fights on the Somme River and Charles can continue to maintain low casualties, the troops will continue to be "accumulated" by him.

"Of course, Mr. Commissioner." Foch was very confident about this: "I will handle this matter."

After a pause, Foch added: "Perhaps, transferring the 6th Army to Belgium is a better choice."

While speaking, Foch carefully observed Clemenceau's reaction.

Clemenceau said "hmm", it was indeed a good idea.

Belgium is an "isolated" place compared to other defense lines. After all, it is mostly surrounded by Belgian soldiers and civilians and British troops.

"It can be considered." Clemenceau nodded slowly.

Foch's mouth twitched. These guys who only know how to give orders in the office don't know how to march and fight. They only think about how to prevent Charles's troops from increasing. They didn't think that Foch's move was to combine Charles' two troops into one. This actually consolidated Charles' "Taishan" status in Belgium, which even the British could not shake.

Clemenceau obviously didn't consider this point. Perhaps Belgium was not worth mentioning in his eyes, and of course he didn't think Charles could make any big waves there.

Clemenceau was even very satisfied with Foch's idea. He showed some approval in his eyes. It seems that he didn't choose the wrong person. Foch will be a strong opponent of Charles.

"There is one more question." Clemenceau put the coffee cup on the table: "We hope that you can make a thorough conclusion to the mutiny after you take office. The parliament does not want to see similar things happen again."

Another meaning of mutiny is that the lower-level soldiers and civilians force the parliament to make decisions, which is something the parliament does not want to see, and it will shake the parliamentary aristocracy's control over the country.

"I understand, Mr. Commissioner." Foch replied.

At the same time, he sighed in his heart. The parliament can't wait to start the liquidation of the mutiny, which will set off a storm in the army.