Chapter 257 Counterattack 2

On September 6, 1939, Colonel Charles de Gaulle, commander-in-chief of the tank forces of the newly formed French 5th Army, and his immediate superior, Lieutenant General Putrera, were inspecting the front line of the Agno salient (located at the junction of Alsace and Germany, bordering Germany on the northwest and two sides).

This is the key defense area of ​​the Maginot Line. Whether it is the part facing Germany across the Rhine River in the west or the flat area in the north (the border line is northwest-southeast), it is protected by the world's strongest defense line.

Colonel de Gaulle and Lieutenant General Putrera are not here to inspect the Maginot Line today, they are here to observe the Siegfried Line of the Germans opposite.

The front line is very quiet - hundreds of thousands of German and French troops are facing each other on two lines of defense. This is naturally the real front line, but there is no smell of gunpowder or the sound of guns and cannons.

"General, Colonel, we haven't had any casualties or fired a single shot at the enemy in the past week since the start of the war. Of course, they haven't fired a single shot at us either..."

An elderly major stood next to a reinforced concrete fortress, pointing to the silent German defense line in the distance, and reported the situation on the front line in a very satisfied tone.

No firing, no casualties, and a declaration without fighting are indeed very satisfying!

"You didn't conduct fire reconnaissance?" Colonel de Gaulle asked somewhat unsatisfiedly.

"Why do you need fire reconnaissance?" The "old major" who participated in the First World War and suffered German artillery bombardment in the trenches looked at de Gaulle with a surprised and disgusted look.

"That's sending the children to die! There's no point at all!" He said, "I don't need reconnaissance to know how strong the defense line on the other side is, because I watched the Germans build the defense line... They came in large numbers, and Opel trucks carrying cement and steel bars lined up in endless queues on the road. Moreover, the construction has been going on for several years, and the amount of work completed will definitely not be less than the Maginot Line!" "There must be some weak sections!" said de Gaulle. "No! There are no weak sections! Absolutely not..." The elderly major seemed to have guessed de Gaulle's thoughts, and immediately shouted, looking at de Gaulle and Lieutenant General Putrera who was silent beside him with pleading eyes. "Please, don't let the children go to die... Our generation has died enough! Why should we let our children be killed by the Germans again? This is too cruel!" The old major was so anxious that he was about to cry. He knew how cruel war was! He lost two younger brothers in the last war, and now he didn't want to lose his son again. "Major, how can you talk like that!" De Gaulle looked back at Lieutenant General Putrera, as if asking the lieutenant general to punish this coward.

"Colonel! What I said is the truth!" The major seemed to not care that de Gaulle's rank was higher than his. Instead, he said confidently, "It's easy to give the order to attack. Let the children climb out of the safe line of defense, charge at the German position, and then watch them all be killed by the German machine guns!

If you think it makes sense to do this, then please give a formal order!"

This was very unpleasant to hear, but Lieutenant General Putrera did not mean to be angry at all. Instead, he persuaded the "old major" with a few words and took de Gaulle away from the front line.

"Lieutenant General!" De Gaulle said dissatisfiedly in the car returning to the headquarters, "The morale of the troops is low, no one wants to fight, how can we launch an attack like this?"

It turned out that Putrera and de Gaulle went to the front line to make an offensive plan-at the strong request of the British, French Prime Minister Daladier asked French Army Commander-in-Chief General Gamelin to study the issue of a large-scale attack on the Siegfried Line.

So, the commanders of several French army groups stationed behind the Maginot Line all went to the front to inspect and see if it was possible to break through the German defense line.

Putrera also took Charles de Gaulle to wander around the Agno front for a few days, and what he saw was a peaceful and silent battlefield.

Although they were on the battlefield, no one wanted to attack, and not many people were ready to sacrifice their lives for the country. The battalion commanders and regiment commanders on the front line were all reluctant to hear the word "attack".

"So Charles," Lieutenant General Putrera asked, "are you sure you can break through the Siegfried Line with your tank troops?"

Use armored troops to break through the fortified area? Charles de Gaulle, like the "old major", shook his head again and again this time: "Lieutenant General, this is impossible... The German Siegfried Line has anti-tank trenches and dragon tooth systems, as well as a large number of reinforced concrete artillery forts, all of which are used to deal with tanks. If you use tank troops to attack, the losses will be very heavy!"

Charles de Gaulle didn't know the specific situation of the Siegfried Line. But the German propaganda department spent a lot of time bragging about the "anti-tank trenches" and "dragon teeth" there - these two obstacles can block the advance of tanks, while the anti-tank guns placed in the reinforced concrete fortresses in the rear will destroy French tanks.

If the French want to concentrate tank groups to break through the line of defense, the losses will be unbearable!

"So, who should go?" Lieutenant General Putrera frowned and looked at Charles de Gaulle.

"Use infantry divisions!" Charles de Gaulle said, "Concentrate a large number of infantry and artillery on the Agno salient, launch a strong attack under the cover of infantry tanks, and strive to break through the Siegfried Line within a month. Then we can put in tank troops and motorized troops and attack all the way to Berlin."

The Siegfried Line was originally an anti-tank fortification area. Unlike the Polish-German border, it was impossible to force a bloody path with armored troops. The only way to break through the defense line was to use the tactics left over from World War I - tanks covering infantry, and taking steady steps with the support of artillery, and spending enough time and shells. Only after breaking through the defense line can armored and motorized troops be deployed...

Of course, there are shortcuts!

"Or..." Charles de Gaulle paused, "through Belgium and the Netherlands!"

The Siegfried Line starts from Clervaux, Germany, near the Dutch border, and extends along the borders with Belgium, Luxembourg, and France to Basel, Switzerland. It is 630 kilometers long. There is no defense line at the German-Dutch border to the north.

"What?" Lieutenant General Putrera was shocked by de Gaulle's suggestion, "Destroy the neutrality of Belgium and the Netherlands?"

"If we don't want millions of people to fall in front of the Siegfried Line!" de Gaulle said in a heavy tone, "Passing through the Netherlands is the best way!"

...

Chopin's "Polish Dance" once again sounded from a Siemens radio. Congressman Natalie Lesinskaya, who was enjoying lunch, knew that the nonsense noon news was about to start again - the Polish news was absurd and outrageous. Since September 1, it has been full of news of victory, but the front line is getting closer and closer to Warsaw.

On the night of September 5, the news that the Polish government would move out of Warsaw had spread in the city. And this morning (September 6), the government really left. Now the largest headquarters in Warsaw is the Polish Army Headquarters led by Rydz-Smigły. After learning that the Polish government had left Warsaw, Natalie Lesinskaya immediately wrote to Rydz-Smigły and asked for a meeting.

"Ms. MP," her secretary John Liberski walked in at this time, "Rzez-Śmigły's adjutant just called the embassy and said that the Polish marshal agreed to meet with you."

Lesinskaya now lives in the Italian Embassy - her public identity in Warsaw is a member of the Polish National Socialist Party (Ciesin constituency), but the Polish intelligence department knows who she is. Therefore, when the war started, Natalie hid in the Italian Embassy. She had a good personal relationship with the Italian ambassador, so she could happily take refuge here.

However, Natalie did not intend to hide in the Italian Embassy until the end of the war. She still had the mission given by Hessman to complete - to act as a Polish traitor!

Natalie did not have any psychological burden about becoming a "Polish traitor" because she was just a Polish (in fact, she also had a lot of German ancestry). Before following Ciesin back to Poland, she had never taken Polish citizenship. She was first a Russian citizen, then a Soviet citizen, and then a German citizen. Until now, she has not given up her German citizenship - she is white, can speak fluent German, and has some German ancestry, so she is also an honorary Aryan.

But the German Empire was not her homeland. In fact, she would not be loyal to any country. She was just doing things for General Hessman. In her opinion, since Hessman was not her man, he was her "boss". Since Hessman gave her protection and enough wealth for her to squander, she should do things for Hessman.

"Okay," Natalie put down her knife and fork, and then said to John Libelski with a smile, "Bring the poison."

"Here it is."

A small white box was placed in front of Natalie. Natalie opened the box. Inside was a denture - a denture that could be bitten hard and filled with poison.

Natalie picked up the denture and was about to put it in her mouth.

John Libelski said, "Ma'am, you don't have to do this..." Natalie smiled and shook her head, saying, "Everyone has to pay for what they get, and I am no exception... Since he doesn't want my body, then I am ready to sacrifice my life for him! Only in this way can I continue to have everything I have now!" As she said this, she put the dentures filled with poison into her mouth - the possibility of biting it was actually very low, and Rez-Shimigwe was not such a person without taste. However, putting poison into the mouth is an attitude, and Hersman will know this attitude, and then he will continue to treat Natalie as a confidant.