Edel was right in lamenting that Germany is currently not ready for the punishment of the Allies.
After Kaiser Wilhelm II issued an abdication edict and took refuge in the Netherlands, the German Empire collapsed and millions of German troops on the front line lost their allegiance.
At home, Friedrich Ebert, who was preparing to take over as head of the government, asked Max von Baden, the last chancellor of the German Empire, to sign an armistice treaty with the Allies before he could take over as head of the reorganized government.
Because signing the armistice agreement after the defeat was a complete disaster for a politician, it would ruin his political life. For Albert, who was determined to integrate post-war German political forces, this was an impossible condition to accept.
Therefore, in the face of this obviously career-ruining move, only Baden, who was pushed to power specifically for this purpose, could do it. So on September 16, the Baden Prime Minister, who was pushed to support the package, took the current
A small number of government personnel rushed to France to negotiate the armistice. When the German peace talks car arrived at the station in the Compiègne Forest northeast of Paris, the train of Foch, the commander-in-chief of the Allied Forces, happened to pass by.
In order to be eager for peace talks and to facilitate peace talks, Prime Minister Baden hurriedly boarded the carriage where Foch was riding.
"How similar all this is to Russia in March 1917!"
At 5 o'clock in the morning, after breakfast and waiting for the German delegation to surrender, the Allied Commander-in-Chief Foch was in a good mood. The civil strife of his mortal enemy made him feel happy. At this time, standing in his command train, he felt very proud of himself.
Chief of Staff General Weygand said: "If we refuse their surrender, the People's Commissar in Berlin will collapse within a few weeks!"
The skinny and short General Maxime Weygand looked at Marshal Foch, who was already elderly, had personally experienced the Franco-Prussian War, and was determined to take revenge. He said in a hoarse voice, "If the People's Commissars in Berlin collapse, what will happen if the People's Commissars in Berlin collapse?"
I'm afraid it will be the Spartacists... They are the real Bolsheviks, just like the Russian Bolsheviks!"
It seems that General Weygand is a little worried about Germany's situation. He is worried that Germany will become red like Russia.
"so what?"
Philippe Foch touched his white beard and said nonchalantly: "We can defeat them! The Bolsheviks in Germany, the Bolsheviks in Russia! This is the time when these two countries are at their weakest, do you understand? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
!”
In Foch's view, the Allied Forces currently have several million soldiers armed to the teeth, and they have to give back weapons and supplies to the wealthy American. The Bolsheviks in Germany and Russia are so weak. If the war lasts for another year or two, they can all be wiped out.
Crush it so that France can dominate Europe and peace will be truly guaranteed.
Faced with Marshal Foch's warlike words, General Wei Gang replied seriously. "But we the people will not agree to this. We have sacrificed too much for this war. In fact, France is already standing on the edge of the cliff."
!”
Indeed, among the Allied Powers currently participating in the war, apart from the collapsed Russia, France suffered the greatest losses. In addition to losing millions of young adults, its northern territory was completely reduced to scorched earth.
If the Americans hadn't taken action in time, France would definitely have collapsed now. Moreover, the United Kingdom and the United States would definitely not accept the idea of continuing the fight and taking chestnuts from the fire for France to dominate Europe. Therefore, Marshal Foch's idea is completely unworkable.
"But by treating Germany so lightly, what we get is not peace at all, but a twenty-year armistice!" Marshal Foch once again reiterated his point of view. "Twenty years from now, we will regret today's short-sightedness.
"
The reason why Foch said this was that he believed that the armistice agreement was too benevolent. In Foch's view, it was best to return Germany to the state it was in before the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. Only in this way could Germany's influence on France be eliminated.
threaten.
Foch's request for France to be the dominant force cannot be accepted by the United Kingdom and the United States. They do not want to defeat Germany and allow France to gain the maximum benefit. Therefore, this decision that seems to benefit France the most cannot be accepted.
Both countries accept it.
Facing Fuxi's words, General Wei Gang could only shake his head helplessly. In fact, in Wei Gang's view, the current armistice terms were too harsh for Germany.
He had already read the terms, which required that the German army withdraw from the left bank of the Rhine River and the bridgehead on the right bank within 30 days and be occupied by the Allied Forces. This clause would cost Germany its life, as the left bank of the Rhine River was famous.
The Ruhr area is Germany's coal and iron base. This area produces 80% of the country's hard coal, 90% of its coke, and concentrates 65% of the country's steel production capacity. It can be said that this alone can hold the Allies in check.
Germany's seven inches made it unable to move.
In addition, the German army was also required to withdraw from occupied Belgium, France, Luxembourg and Alsace-Lorraine within 15 days. Yes, the Alsace-Lorraine region that France has never forgotten will finally return to the embrace of France. This
What we are talking about is the handling of the German troops on the Western Front, and then it is the turn of the Eastern Front.
All German troops still stationed on the territory of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Turkey before the war and fighting in East Africa should be immediately withdrawn within the German borders of August 1, 1914. All German troops stationed on the territory of Russia before the war should be withdrawn immediately.
The Allies believe that when the time is right, they should return to Germany. Yes, the Allies do not think that now is the time to withdraw the German troops on Russian territory before the war. Their hatred of Soviet Russia makes the Allies temporarily need the German troops to continue stationed in the former Russian territory.
The next step is that the prisoners of war of the Allied Powers should be repatriated immediately, and the German prisoners of war should be resettled by the Allied Powers as they deem appropriate, and the Treaty of Bucharest should be abrogated.
The last and most critical one at present is that the German army should completely hand over its main equipment and transportation means of land, sea and air force. This is the intention to disarm the German armed forces, which will also mean that as long as Germany signs the armistice agreement, its fate will be completely controlled.
in the hands of the Allies.
While Fu Xi and Wei Gang were talking, the guard came up to report, "The German delegation is here."
"Let them in."
Following Foch's words, Chancellor Baden, the German government representative who had just arrived in the Compiegne Forest after spending ten hours on the road, immediately boarded the carriage.
"We already know your purpose of coming."
Marshal Foch said as he took out an armistice treaty and handed it to Baden. "This is our request. If you agree, sign it. If you don't agree, we will continue to fight."
Faced with Fuxi's cold words, Baden immediately picked up the armistice treaty and read it. As a result, his face became uglier as he read it. Finally, he put down the treaty and said, "This armistice treaty is too harsh."
Facing Baden's words, Fuxi picked up his pipe and took a puff and said: "You don't need to tell me this, you just need to sign or leave."
Fuxi's words caused some commotion among the German representatives. They did not expect the Allies to be so tough. So the group chatted quietly, but the results of the exchanges were discouraging. At present, Germany has no ability to oppose this armistice agreement.
So in the end, after more than ten minutes of struggle, Baden signed the agreement on behalf of the German government.
