Chapter 479 French determination

Paris has always been known as the capital of romance. Those exquisite and elegant buildings, as well as the scenery on both sides of the Seine River, have always been places where people linger and forget to return. The French love romance, as the whole world knows. It's just that this also makes the combat effectiveness of the French army have always been poor. Except that during the Napoleonic Empire era, the French army was invincible across Europe, the rest of the time, the performance of the French army was very bad. During the Franco-Prussian War, it was even beaten by the Prussians and begged for mercy. Even the emperor was captured. up.

In this world war, the performance of the French army was also not very good. After the war broke out, the reorganization of the French Army had not yet been completed. As a last resort, the unreorganized troops had to be sent to the battlefield to resist the German attack. Coupled with strategic mistakes, the French army suffered heavy casualties in the early stages of the war.

If it weren't for the timely reinforcements of the British Expeditionary Force, and the German Army's strategy also had problems, perhaps France had already failed in this war.

Even now, the German army has advanced to the Marne River, which is only a few tens of kilometers away from Paris. This is undoubtedly a fatal threat to Paris. If the German army made another breakthrough, it might push the front line directly to the city of Paris. At that time, this beautiful city will be destroyed in the flames of war.

The current situation is also very unfavorable for France. The Russian ally they depended on collapsed directly, and the newly established cloth party Russia even made peace with the Germans and directly withdrew from the war. The whole of Russia is now a mess, and it is completely impossible to expect them to keep the Germans in check. This made France have to bear the strong pressure brought by Germany alone.

Although, the British expeditionary force sent to France has increased to millions. The total size of the French Army has also mobilized to more than two million. However, the French generals have no idea whether they can withstand the German attack.

However, the British are obviously unreliable. The Royal Navy, which was once the number one in the world, was actually defeated by the German Navy, and all the main forces were wiped out. It seems that it is only one step away from being defeated. This made people in France panic even more. Some senior officials of the French government even began to declare that it was impossible to win this war. If they wanted to keep more interests of France, they could only make peace with Germany. Of course, this is not the mainstream view. Most of the senior French officials and army generals still want to continue to resist.

After all, they know very well that with the greedy character of the Germans, if they make peace with Germany, they will inevitably be severely slaughtered by the Germans. This is undoubtedly unacceptable for France. What's more, they still have so many troops now, so they want to fight again.

When the British Secretary of the Navy Churchill went to the United States to discuss the purchase of warships, the British Foreign Office also contacted France, hoping that the French Navy could fully support the British Navy and then fight a decisive battle with the German Navy.

However, the French side did not immediately agree to this.

Before the rise of Germany, France could be regarded as a maritime power second only to Britain. Especially during the period of King Louis XIV and the Napoleon Empire, it once competed with Britain for maritime supremacy. Of course, in the end they failed. Coupled with Germany's threat to France, France can only shift its focus to the construction of the army.

But even so, France still retains a top five navy in the world. Because France also has vast colonies overseas, the safety of those colonies is also very important to France.

"Gentlemen, the UK has made a formal request to us, and hopes to get the cooperation of our navy to defeat the German navy and reverse the situation of the war. What do you think we should do? Should we agree to the British request?" French President asked Raymond Poincaré.

"Your Excellency, I think we should cooperate with Britain. Now, we are allies. In the war against the Germans, we must cooperate closely. Only in this way can we defeat the Germans and win the war." Prime Minister René Viviani made his statement first.

"Yes, Your Excellency. I also agree to cooperate with the British Royal Navy to find a way to defeat the Germans. Although, the Royal Navy has already failed once, and the loss is very large. But if, as they say, it can be bought from the Americans With a batch of warships, plus our capital ships and the Italians, we are fully capable of another decisive battle with Germany. If we can win this time, then our disadvantaged situation will be greatly improved. "Navy Secretary Victor Gagnul said.

"Will the Americans sell warships to the British? Even if we and the Italians are added, it will be very difficult to defeat the Germans!" Secretary of War Alexander Millerand was a little worried.

"It's true that the Germans are too powerful. So, I'm worried about that too," Foreign Minister Théophile Del Casse said.

"No matter how great the odds are, we have to try. Otherwise, we can only sit back and watch the Germans' advantages continue to expand, and eventually lose this war!" Prime Minister René Viviani said.

"Yes, I fully agree with the Prime Minister's views. The French Republic has reached the most critical moment, and we must do our best. Otherwise, we will fail in the end." President Raymond Poincaré said .

In France now, although the combat effectiveness of the troops is not strong. However, their determination to fight was undoubtedly strong. The French know that if they don't work hard, they will have to taste the consequences of the failure of the Franco-Prussian War again. Even, the requirements of the Germans this time will be more stringent than those after their failure in the Franco-Prussian War.

With the full support of the president and the prime minister, other French cabinet ministers naturally have no other opinions.

Immediately, French President Raymond Poincaré signed an order agreeing to form a coalition with the British Navy to fight a decisive battle with the German Navy. This time, the French Navy will send all ten capital ships, as well as 15 light cruisers and 30 destroyers to join the coalition forces. You know, this has already mobilized all the main forces of the French navy. If it fails again this time, the French Navy will never recover from it.