Chapter 85 The Internationale Outside the Palace of Versailles

"Rise up, slaves who are starving and cold!

Rise up, suffering people all over the world!

The blood is boiling.

We must fight for the truth!

The old world will be crushed to pieces.

Slaves, rise up!

Don't say we have nothing,

We want to be the masters of the world..."

A closed-door meeting of the Paris Peace Conference is about to begin with the loud and clear sound of "The Internationale". Of course, the people who sing are not the representatives of the countries participating in the conference, but the masses gathered outside the Palace of Versailles, a considerable number of whom are Chinese. They are here to protest the transfer of Germany's rights in Shandong to Japan by the conference. However, more protesters are French, who came for the Russian Civil War and the Hungarian War.

These French working people are certainly not here to support the French government's interference in Russia and oppression of Hungary, otherwise they would not sing "The Internationale". They are all from the anti-war French Socialist Unity Party, and the leader is a French member of parliament named Marcel Cachin.

Although Clemenceau and Bichou were extremely tough in shouting and killing at the conference, in fact, France has reached the point where it is strong on the outside but weak on the inside. France is not the United States, which joined the World War in April 1917. The French people have endured the World War for four years and three months, and have long been fed up with it. Before the United States joined the war, the anti-war movement in France was even higher than that in Germany. If it were not for the peace-loving Woodrow Wilson who led the United States to join the war, the peace of "no cession of territory, no compensation" would have been realized in Western Europe long ago.

And now, although the French are happy to accept the cession of German land and compensation from Germany. However, the obligation to dominate the European continent, to extinguish the Bolsheviks in Russia and Hungary, and to restore the order of the old world is something that most French people are unwilling to bear.

Because Soviet Russia and Soviet Hungary seem to be very difficult to deal with!

Needless to say about the former, Soviet Russia has at least obtained more than half of the legacy of the Russian Empire, claiming to have 3 million Red Army! Moreover, Russia is also the place where the Napoleonic Empire suffered nightmares in history. All French people with brains are unwilling to fight Moscow again. So the French troops sent to Russia are now making all kinds of noises, but they are unwilling to fight well.

Just a few days ago, the fighting enthusiasm of the Hungarian Red Army inspired the French sailors stationed in Odessa - they launched an uprising to oppose the war! Although it was suppressed in the end, it still lost the face of the French.

As for Hungary, it was originally thought to be a soft persimmon. But when you pinch it, you will find that this persimmon is not soft at all! The four-nation coalition of Romania, Czech, Serbia and France rushed in with more than 200,000 men and women, and they failed to take Budapest after fighting for several months, and they also beat countless guerrillas.

And this is not the end. A week ago, a Hungarian Red Army force of about 100,000 (actually not that many) raided the Chalduc Pass and invaded Romania in one fell swoop!

Then this Red Army made a feint outside the Romanian capital of Bucharest, which scared the Romanian king and the headquarters into a cold sweat. They thought that the Hungarian Red Army was going to liberate Bucharest and establish the Romanian Soviet Republic!

So the Romanians desperately mobilized troops to support the capital, but this left a bigger loophole, allowing the Hungarian Red Army to cross the Carpathian Mountains again along the Olt River (west of Bucharest) and counterattack back to Transylvania occupied by Romania.

With the cooperation of the guerrillas, they swept away the scattered Romanian troops (all retreating to Bucharest) along the way, and recaptured Sibiu and Cluj, cutting off the retreat of the Romanian troops that invaded Hungary. The railway and highway from Bucharest to Budapest were also the main supply lines for the four-nation coalition that invaded Hungary. At the same time, the main force of the Hungarian Red Army concentrated in Budapest also began to launch a counterattack, defeating the exhausted and panicked coalition forces.

When the news reached Paris, everyone knew that the invasion of Hungary had suffered a heavy blow, and it was lucky that half of the coalition forces of more than 200,000 people could escape.

To completely subdue Hungary, more French troops would have to be mobilized for the expedition, and judging from the situation, it would take at least one or two years to deal with the Hungarian Bolshevik Party. Most French people were unwilling to sacrifice their lives in Hungary, which had nothing to do with them.

So after a few months of silence, the anti-war movement in France suddenly rose.

"Yes, some of the weapons and equipment used by the Hungarian Red Army were provided by us, but that was before the Compiègne Forest Agreement, when we were allies with the Hungarians. And Hungary was not a Soviet Republic at that time..."

"Yes, your intelligence is correct. Some retired German soldiers were indeed hired by the Hungarian Bolsheviks. We admit this and are willing to take corresponding responsibilities, but you don't let us take responsibility now..."

In the faint sound of the Internationale, von Seeckt, the military representative of the German delegation, was explaining Germany's role in the Hungarian War to the leaders of Britain, France and the United States in a very sincere tone.

"Nonsense!" French Prime Minister Clemenceau interrupted Seeckt angrily, "When did we not let you take responsibility?"

"You ask us to cut the army to 100,000, so there will be more unemployed officers and non-commissioned officers. They will not do anything else but fight. They have no jobs, cannot buy bread, cannot feed their families, and can only Go to Hungary to help the Bolsheviks fight..."

"Whereas we were going to keep them all in the military, you had to put them out of work," Sekter said.

"Hmph, keep the 300,000 army, do you want to make a comeback?" Marshal Fuxi smiled. "it's out of the question!"

Seckert shook his head and looked at the French Prime Minister and French Marshal Foch who were so angry that they almost jumped. He replied in standard French: "We lost Alsace and Lorraine, which are rich in iron ore and coal mines, and we lost West Prussia. After losing Posen and the entire main fleet...how can we make a comeback? If you French people are not worried, we can just disarm as planned. However, those laid off officers and non-commissioned officers have to go abroad to work, but there is no other way. ”

"You have nothing to do, but we French people have a way!" Marshal Foch shouted, "We will catch every German who goes to Hungary and hang them all!"

"Get up, hungry and cold slave..."

As if he was accompanying Marshal Foch, when he was speaking, the international singing outside suddenly became louder and spread into the conference hall, which was really frightening.

Von Seeckt whispered: "The singing outside reminds me of Germany in November 1918 and Russia in March 1917!"

"What did you say?" Clemenceau looked at von Seeckt fiercely.

However, the British and Americans present felt the same as von Seeckt. France now is really a bit like Russia in 1917 and Germany in 1918!

Von Seeckt said: "Mr. Chancellor, let's do this... Before the heroic French army destroys the Bolsheviks in Hungary, the German Army will temporarily remain at 300,000 men, and the General Staff will also be temporarily retained. At the same time, we will strictly maintain Control the flow of materials and people to Hungary.”

"George, I think we can consider reducing the number by 100,000. How about temporarily retaining 200,000?" British Prime Minister Lloyd George quickly persuaded Clemenceau, "In addition, the Germans must recall all retired soldiers from Hungary. , all must be recalled within a month... In this way, the heroic French army will wipe out the Bolsheviks in Hungary by the end of the year at most."

Does this mean that the British will not go to Hungary? Clemenceau was stunned and did not speak.

U.S. President Woodrow Wilson also echoed: "Yes, yes, that's it. But it's just 100,000 more iron rice bowls... In addition, the Allies can send a military supervision team to monitor the border between Germany and Austria. In this way The heroic French army will soon win in Hungary, and then let the Germans disarm."

In other words, Americans who are not very heroic will not go to Hungary to suffer. Americans are not the European hegemons anyway.

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