It took Churchill's confidential secretary a full quarter of an hour to explain to the Prime Minister the identity of de Gaulle and the purpose of his visit.
It must be said that after Churchill listened to de Gaulle's introduction, he admired the ambition of this little French major general.
An ordinary major general, among the many generals in France, it can be said that there is nothing special about him.
But such an ordinary little person actually has the ambition to reorganize a new French government!
"I understand what you are thinking." Facing de Gaulle standing upright in front of him, Churchill sat on his chair across a desk and said slowly: "Then, why do you want me to
Do you believe that you can successfully form a new government?"
Churchill's words were very straightforward. After all, the other party was just a major general. Let alone a major general from a defeated country. Even among the officers and soldiers of the Commonwealth countries, there were more than hundreds of people of the rank of major general.
thousand.
If every major general had to listen carefully to his thoughts, then even if Churchill had two heads, two sets of ears would not be enough.
"I have to say, Dai, Dai... I'm sorry, I really can't remember your name." Churchill, who had just finished processing a large number of documents, couldn't remember the name de Gaulle, which he had only heard a few times.
.
Of course, this also showed from the side that Churchill did not attach great importance to de Gaulle who volunteered.
"De Gaulle," Major General de Gaulle on the side did not show any embarrassment, but said seriously and expressionlessly: "My name is de Gaulle, dear Mr. Prime Minister."
De Gaulle's reaction was quite good, and he did not show any discouragement because the other party did not take him seriously. This made Churchill suddenly have a good impression of him, or a little recognition.
After all, Churchill was also a positive and stubborn character who was not easily discouraged.
"Oh, yes, Major General de Gaulle." Churchill nodded and looked at the calm French major general in front of him with interest: "You told me that you wanted to re-establish a new French government. But, you can't
You are just a small major general, why should I believe that you have this ability?"
Churchill's worries were not unreasonable. Although he had a personal favorable impression of de Gaulle's tenacious character and ambition, he did not feel that de Gaulle's reputation could shoulder the important task of establishing a new French government.
To put it bluntly, Churchill was worried that the French would not pay de Gaulle's account.
In fact, in Churchill's mind, there were many people more suitable than de Gaulle to lead an anti-Allied French government.
For example, Marshal Pétain led France to victory in World War I and was trusted and respected by the vast majority of French people.
Unfortunately, Pétain chose to form a pro-German government and lead France to join the German camp.
This also eliminated the possibility of Churchill wooing Pétain, after all, someone else had already made a clear choice.
The other candidate in Churchill's mind is the new generation of famous French general Jean-Baptiste, who has recently shone brightly. When the army was defeated, he led the French army to defeat more with less and defeated 32 Italian divisions with 5 divisions. He became famous in one battle.
Ronte.
It is also a pity that Marshal Pétain, who surrendered to Germany, also saw the huge reputation of Berante, and with lightning speed, sent Berlant to Algeria as colonial governor, leading France to be able to
The last force of control.
Nominally, Berante's colonial army was loyal to the Vichy French government formed by Pétain, which was equivalent to surrendering to Germany.
But in fact, Berante's troops were not controlled by Germany at all and were in a state of autonomy. Its governor, Berante, had actual independent command power.
In other words, this is a backup force left by Pétain for France's revival, and it is an important bargaining chip that France can use on the international negotiation table in the future.
Because they are not nominally opposed to Germany, and Germany has just defeated the French local army and is eager to absorb the industrial power of the French occupied areas and has no time to look south, Berante's army can sit in Africa, calmly watch the situation in Europe, and
Waiting for favorable opportunities in the future.
In order to win over such a force that has already formed a certain strength and has no urgent needs, and makes it join the British camp to oppose Germany, Churchill knew with his ass that it would never be easy.
As if he had seen through Churchill's psychological activities, de Gaulle was not in a hurry at this time, but said very forcefully: "Dear Mr. Prime Minister, in fact, you don't need to believe in my ability. The point is, you have no other choice.
, so you can only believe me!”
It seems that de Gaulle is not an idiot with empty ambitions. At least, he has enough brains and knowledge to explain Churchill's current predicament in one sentence.
Yes, Churchill had no choice now!
The better choice was either chosen in advance by Reinhardt, or secretly saved by the French themselves. The only anti-German government spokesperson sent to him was de Gaulle.
"Oh? You see it very clearly." In just a few words, Churchill not only felt de Gaulle's ability, but also felt the man's unruly temperament.
Now, Churchill understood that de Gaulle might indeed have certain abilities and might be worthy of the important task of forming an anti-German French government.
But at the same time, he also understood that this person was not easily controlled by the British Empire, and the government he formed would never obey the British Empire like the Pétain government did to Germany.
No matter what, it was nothing more than mutual use. Churchill was confident that his political methods were much better than de Gaulle, a half-time politician with a military background.
With this in mind, Churchill did not recommend a cooperation with de Gaulle in which each would get what he needed.
"Since you and I both understand the needs of both parties, I won't tolerate twists and turns." Churchill raised his lips and smiled slightly: "I will prepare the venue, manpower, and limited financial support for you, and you can also
Make some reasonable requests.”
"It's just..." Churchill paused.
"It's just that the new French government I established must take a firm anti-German stance and continue to maintain a deep alliance with the United Kingdom." De Gaulle continued half of what Churchill left.
After listening, Churchill nodded with satisfaction. It is comfortable to communicate with smart people!
"That's right!" After reaching a consensus, Churchill immediately asked de Gaulle with a casual expression and deliberately acted very casually: "Can you help me contact General Darlan in Algeria, Africa? I want to give him
Send a telegram imploring him to lead the navy to continue to maintain neutrality."
"After all, the English Channel maintains the security of our British and French governments. The navy left by France must not join forces with the German army." Churchill said inductively.
Hearing that the other party had already referred to his future government as the French government, de Gaulle, who felt secretly happy, relaxed his guard for a moment: "No problem, I will be responsible for helping you contact him."
If de Gaulle observes carefully at this moment, it is not difficult to find that there is a little guilt in Churchill's eyes. After all, Churchill's telegram can be said to be completely malicious and even extremely vicious.