When France surrendered, many people lamented that France would never recover and lose its role as a great power in international affairs.
Now it seems that surrender may be the best solution for France. Pétain is not a fool, he has always been a very smart man.
Unlike the last world war, France had lost its ability to fight Germany in World War II.
With the strength of France, it cannot even support Britain to complete its national mobilization, let alone wait for reinforcements from southern Africa thousands of miles away.
Therefore, surrender is the optimal solution for France.
As for international status——
Sorry, with the rise of the United States and southern Africa, there is a rising star like Germany. Even the Russians, who have been widely criticized, have shown strong resilience in the war with Germany. Even if France resists to the end, it will be defeated.
With the last bullet and the last man fighting, can he maintain his international status after the war?
Not to mention France, not even the UK can do it.
It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s that I can’t.
According to Gu Long, people cannot help themselves in the world.
The same goes for zooming in to a country.
surrender--
The French do not think that they are surrendering, but simply stopping resistance. Although there is essentially no difference between the two, at least "stopping resistance" can give the French some psychological comfort.
After cessation of resistance, Vichy France withdrew from the war and became a neutral country under German control.
The status of a neutral country has brought many benefits to France. At least French merchant ships will not be attacked in any sea area around the world.
After all, France was once part of the Allied Forces, and the British could raid the French navy and still maintain a bottom line against French civilian ships.
The Southern African Navy will not target civilian ships. Let alone French civilian ships. Even German civilian ships are rarely attacked by the Southern African Navy. Therefore, merchant ships in Southern Africa are rarely attacked by German submarines.
attack.
Not to mention the Axis Powers. After the cessation of resistance, France became the only channel for communication between the Axis Powers and the Allies. This channel may not be used, but it must be available.
Then something magical happened.
Just when the war between the Axis Powers and the Allies has reached a fever pitch, France has actually found a wonderful balance between the two major groups, getting both sides right and left, like a fish in water.
Even because of France's neutrality, France has become a hot spot for immigrants in recent months. Europeans who are unable to escape Europe have turned to France as their best choice to escape the war.
This is also an unexpected surprise.
The same goes for the Far East.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. and Southern African navies joined forces to fight. Japan became an isolated island in the world, and sea lines of communication were seriously threatened by the Southern African navy and the U.S. navy.
Compared with the old industrial powers such as its allies, Japan's foundation is much worse. Germany sank a British merchant ship, and southern Africa can help the British build ten.
Japan's merchant ships are losing one by one. After the interruption of trade with the United States, Japan has lost the best way to obtain industrial raw materials. Relying on plunder is not enough for Japan to maintain the war.
In the past year of 1941, Japan's steel production reached an all-time high of 7.7 million tons. This was mainly due to Japan's overseas plundering. The Japanese occupying forces couldn't wait to snatch away all the iron pots from residents in the occupied areas, so they came up with this.
Yield.
In Southern Africa and the United States, steel production is almost 16 times that of Japan.
Since the middle of last year, Southern Africa has increased its supply to the East Indies, delivering more than 140 "Ghost" submarines to the East Indies throughout the year.
East India now has more than 200 submarines, more than in southern Africa.
While the fierce fighting between Russia and the Far East was in full swing, no fighting broke out in the North African battlefield after entering 1942. Rommel did not launch a new offensive, and the Allies did not advance forward. There was a brief and strange peace in North Africa.
It can be said that the progress of the North African battlefield depends entirely on the results of the Russian battlefield.
During the most difficult period for Russia last winter, the Allied forces stepped up their offensive efforts in North Africa, and the Southern African Army was able to enter North Africa to join the battle. This had never happened before.
With the addition of the Southern African Army, the pressure on the North African Army led by Rommel doubled, and it had to withdraw the troops that had invaded Egypt. Tobruk, which had changed hands several times, also returned to the hands of the Allies.
Seeing that the Allies were able to drive Rommel out of North Africa in one go, Alexandria was raided and the Mediterranean fleet suffered heavy losses. Coinciding with Russia's victory in the Battle of Moscow, the Allies immediately stopped their attack.
There was a good reason to stop the attack. After the British Mediterranean Fleet was severely damaged, the Allies' control of the Mediterranean was seriously affected. Rommel received reinforcements from Italy. The Allies needed time to accumulate strength and give Rommel the final blow.
This reason is obviously perfunctory. Roque knows it, Big Beard knows it, and De Gaulle also knows it.
After the Third Army led by Patton entered Algiers, De Gaulle began to run between Algiers and Pretoria. Algiers was not only the headquarters of the French Foreign Legion, but also the headquarters of the Free French Army under De Gaulle.
.
The total strength of the Free French Army under de Gaulle now exceeds 200,000, and de Gaulle himself serves as the commander-in-chief of the Free French Army.
The prime minister of Free France is Leonard Capet, a famous French industrial tycoon.
Algiers thus became the capital of Free France.
In the early morning, Leonard Capet came to de Gaulle's office, and the two met every day.
"François hasn't agreed yet?" Leonard Capet was very concerned about Darlan's choice. Darlan is now France's third pole.
France now has two governments, one is the Vichy government in mainland France, and the other is Free France in North Africa.
Darlan, who served as the commander of the French Navy, became France's third pole. Both the Axis and Allies were wooing Darlan, hoping to win the support of the French Navy.
After "Operation Ballista", Darlan broke with the British Navy and would not accept the command of the Royal Navy under any circumstances.
The Axis Powers are also not a good choice. If Darlan agrees to accept the command of the Axis Powers, then the tragedy of "Operation Ballista" will be staged again. The weak Italian Navy obviously does not have the will and ability to protect the French Navy.
What's more, Darlan got the news that once the French Navy chooses the Axis Powers, the French Navy will be under the command of the fat bald Italian, which is also absolutely unacceptable to Darlan.
In the Mediterranean, the French navy is not weak.
The French Navy currently has more than 80 warships, including 3 battleships, 8 cruisers, 17 destroyers, 16 torpedo boats, 16 submarines, 7 communication ships, 3 reconnaissance ships and more than 60 other ships of various types.
ship.
The most eye-catching among them are the three battleships, namely "Dunkirk", "Strasbourg", and the second ship of the "Breton-class" battleship "Provence".
"Provence" started construction in 1912. "Dunkirk" and "Strasbourg" are both "Dunkirk" class battleships started in recent years, and are no more than ten years old.
The "Dunkirk" class battleship has a full load displacement of 35,500 tons and a maximum speed of 31 knots. The armament system is two quadruple-mounted 330mm main guns and can carry three seaplanes.
Compared with the cutting-edge battleships of Britain, the United States, Japan and other countries, the performance of the "Dunkirk" class is not outstanding.
But in 1942, the combat power formed by the three battleships was extremely precious, and both the Axis powers and the Allies wanted to get this fleet.
Mustache's attitude is very urgent. If the French navy obeys the command of the Axis powers, then the French navy and the Italian navy can join forces to break the blockade of the Mediterranean Fleet and the Cyprus Squadron and give Rommel a greater degree of support for the North African Army.
The Allies' attitude was more urgent.
In the past, neither southern Africa nor the United Kingdom were too worried about the threat of the French navy.
The situation now is different from the past. The strength of the Mediterranean Fleet has been greatly damaged, and the Southern African Navy has not been able to contribute much. Winston urgently needs the support of the French Navy to make up for the losses of the Mediterranean Fleet.
As a result, Darlan's choice has become the focus of attention from many parties.
De Gaulle also attached great importance to Darlan.
In order to obtain Darlan's support, De Gaulle even promised that if Darlan leads the French navy to join the Free France, then De Gaulle can give up his position to Darlan and let Darlan serve as the commander-in-chief of the Free French army in North Africa.
All armies in North Africa will be under Darlan's command.
"No, the resistance now comes not only from François. Laborde's attitude is even more resolute. He refuses to cooperate with the British in any form." De Gaulle was helpless. "Operation Ballista" caused too much damage to the French navy.
The cracks are irreparable.
Darlan is the commander of the French Navy, and Admiral Laborde is the commander of the fleet. His influence on the fleet is no less than Darlan.
De Gaulle had previously bypassed Darlan to win over Laborde, hoping to gain Laborde's support.
Laborde's response was "Merde," which means go to hell, or go to hell.
"If possible, I don't want to have any form of cooperation with the British." Leonard Capet was helpless. This is the difference between politicians and soldiers.
The world of soldiers is all black and white, there is no gray area to speak of. You can say they don't know how to adapt, but this is a pure emotion.
Politicians and businessmen are much more tactful. One day they are at war with each other, but tomorrow they can be brothers. As long as there is benefit, the devil can also cooperate.
"We cannot put too much pressure on Francois and Laborde to avoid pushing them towards the Axis powers." De Gaulle wanted to take things slowly. This is the best choice at the moment.
"If Francois agrees to come to Algiers, we can guarantee his command of the fleet and will never hand over command to the British." Leonard Capet is confident that Southern Africa's thighs are comparable to those of the British
It's much thicker, so you have to choose a good partner to hug your thighs.
The results of the Guam Battle proved that battleships had lost their decisive role in naval battles and were completely marginalized.
Japan's powerful battleship formation did not even have a chance to fire in the Battle of Guam. The aircraft carrier was performing from the beginning to the end. The role of the battleship was not as good as that of the cruiser. The cruiser could at least keep up with the speed of the aircraft carrier and provide anti-aircraft firepower for the aircraft carrier.
Compared with the Mediterranean Fleet and the Cyprus Squadron, the biggest gap is also in the aircraft carrier.
The Cyprus Squadron now has three aircraft carriers, all of which are comprehensive supply ships converted into secondary aircraft carriers. Their strength is actually not weak, at least much stronger than the French Navy, which does not even have an aircraft carrier.
"No, no, no, Ray, you have not understood that Laborde does not want any form of cooperation with the British, do you understand? Even if it is only a nominal ally, the British have lost all the trust of the French navy." De Gaulle emphasized,
Nowadays, everyone in the French navy has probably reached the point where they feel physically uncomfortable when they hear the name "Britain".
Leonard Capet was completely helpless.
Leonard Capet can donate all his wealth to Free France. Money can buy advanced equipment, but it cannot buy the loyalty of the French navy.
"François, the key is still Francois. Let Francois find a way to remove Laborde from his position and replace him with an obedient person." Leonard Capet used the ultimate method. Since the problem could not be solved
, then solve the problem.
"Lei, the army is not a government, and it cannot use such simple and crude methods." De Gaulle tried his best to be as tactful as possible. The army is not a commercial organization, and Leonard Capet's method will not work for the French navy.
The French navy now neither listens to tunes nor propaganda, neither obeys orders from Vichy France nor is it attached to Free France, and maintains a relatively neutral position.
This has a lot to do with Pétain's protection.
After France stopped resisting, it was forced to disarmament. The entire country could only retain 50,000 troops. The navy, as a highly specialized service, was retained to the greatest extent.
Pétain wanted to keep the spark for the French Navy. When the Vichy government was established, Darlan was appointed Minister of the Navy, and soon Darlan also served as Minister of Foreign Affairs. Last year, Darlan was appointed Minister of Defense, and the French Navy became the leader of Pétain and
The final bottom line in Darlan's hands.
Laborde's tough attitude was not friendly to the Allies, but within the French navy, Laborde had a high degree of support, as much as Darlan.
If Darlan removes Laborde from his post, the French navy may mutiny, which Darlan never wants to see.
For other countries, mutiny is a vicious event that can shake the country's foundation.
For the French army, mutiny is almost a tradition, just like Japan's rebellion.
"Why not? Even if we destroy the French Navy, we cannot allow the French Navy to become an accomplice of the Germans." Leonard Capet is ruthless. Not to mention Laborde, the French Minister of Defense can be replaced if necessary.
of.
After the war is over, the current leaders of Vichy France will definitely become the criminals of France, and they will all be brought to the trial stand to be judged.
Not only French officials, but everyone in France who has relations with the Germans will be tried, whether they are active or forced.
