"Major Murray, tell the soldiers to throw a few more mortar shells at that position. We can't let those French people be too lazy. ”

Dougan stood upright on top of the bunker of the forward command post, holding a telescope to observe the French positions in the distance, and behind him stood the two battalion commanders and several staff officers.

"Yes, sir."

Major Murray replied loudly, and he gestured to the communications soldier standing aside, who hurriedly handed the major the receiver of the field phone.

"Sir, you can rest now, you only slept for two hours last night. It looks like the French won't be able to organise an attack in an hour or two, so we can go back to the command post and sit down for a while, and I'll ask the soldiers to get you something to drink. Norman said on the side.

"Well, let's take a break and let the observation post keep a close eye on the movements on the opposite side, and the soldiers will continue to stay in the trenches to keep their guards, and no one will be allowed to leave their combat posts without my orders. By the way, let the kitchen make some coffee or something for the soldiers at the front, the soldiers have been squatting in the damp trenches all night, and they are in need of something hot right now. ”

"Yes, sir."

The officers accompanied Dogan and jumped out of the trench and into the command post. Dougan sat down at the conference table in the command post, and the orderly immediately served the officers hot coffee. Dogan sipped his coffee while casually flipping through a few French newspapers on the table.

Suddenly, Dogan seemed to remember something, he raised his head and said to the communications staff officer who was sitting in the corner of the bunker with a coffee cup in both hands and taking a sip: "Second Lieutenant Noval, does the command have any new instructions?" ”

"Not yet, sir, the last order of the command is to closely observe the movements of the French army and make all preparations for battle." The communications staff officer stood up and replied loudly.

"Oh, I see." Dougan frowned, then lowered his head and continued to read the papers.

"Sir, it's not a wise idea to spend time with the other side like this now, I don't think this kind of passive beating is not the style of the German ** team. I ask you to suggest to the headquarters that we be allowed to launch a small-scale attack, which can not only test the strength of the opposing French team, but also achieve the purpose of disrupting the opponent's deployment. Murray said on the side.

"Major Murray!" Dogen raised his head and glared coldly at the young subordinate.

"Don't you think you're a little too arrogant? There must be reasons for the headquarters to remain unmoved now, and these are not the issues that our group of front-line commanders have to consider. We just need to do our best to carry out the tasks assigned to us by the headquarters. The command gives you ample inducement in directing how your battalion operates, but that doesn't mean you can influence the overall deployment of the command.

Also, those words that preceded you, can I understand that you are skeptical of the military talents of our great Führer? Do you think you are more proficient in commanding an army than your Excellency our Führer? Dear Major Murray? ”

Speaking of this, a grim smile appeared on the corner of Dogen's mouth, and the chill revealed in his eyes made all the SS officers present can't help but shiver.

"No, Your Excellency District Captain, I didn't mean that. I beg your pardon for my rude words. Sir! I swear I have absolutely no intention of doubting our great Führer, and trust me...... I...... Sir......"

Murray's face turned white with fright. Under the pressure of Dogen's cold momentum, Murray's tongue knotted.

"And what do you mean by that, Major?"

Dogen asked coldly.

"Sir...... I...... I ......" Murray, who was covered in cold sweat, suddenly had an idea, he desperately puffed up his chest, then straightened his right arm and shouted with all his strength: "Hi, Reinhardt! Long live the Führer! ”

"Long live the Führer!"

All the SS officers present reflexively jumped up from their seats, and shouted loudly as they raised their hands.

"Long live, Führer!"

Dougan also stood up and responded that he was only trying to scare the SS officers, and he didn't want to do anything to the impulsive subordinates. I didn't expect that guy to hold back such a sentence in the end, and seeing that Murray is now at your disposal, Dorgen can't continue his game anymore.

"Well, forget it this time, and the next time I hear anything wrong with your superiors' orders, I'll throw you to Poland to see the woods." Dogen said with a frown.

"Understood, sir!"

"To be honest, the command orders are a bit confusing. According to the original arrangement, we had a plan to take the enemy by surprise while they were not firmly on the ground. I don't know why the command abandoned this plan, but I think the biggest possibility is that there must have been something new in the situation on the French side, didn't they catch a French herald last night, he may have told the command some new information. ”

After speaking, Dougan picked up the coffee cup on the table, and continued to read the French newspapers leisurely amid the rumbling explosions of mortar shells from the French positions in the distance.

"Confusion, it's just too much confusion. Weirle. ”

Xu Jun threw the documents in his hand onto the desk of the office, and then rubbed his swollen temples and said.

"Yes, Führer. That's how I felt when I first saw these things. It seems that the French high command is determined to completely confuse its own front-line commanders. Wehrle replied with a smile.

"Look at these things, they will give their commanders two completely opposite orders in one day. Look at this again, and this, the French ** team was able to continue their operations under such chaotic command, which is really a great achievement. Xu Jun pointed to the documents on the table and said with a wry smile.

"That's true, but don't you see something in it?"

Werler walked over to Xu Jun's desk and sat down, smiling at the young Führer.

"They want to retreat! The French have given up their last struggle! Or rather, Weygand and Pétain had achieved their goal. They didn't think they would win this battle in the first place, they played both of us! Xu Jun said depressedly.

Listening to Xu Jun's answer, Weierle put away his smile and replaced it with a surprised expression.

"Please don't look at me like that, my chief of staff."

Xu Jun poured himself a glass of cold water from the glass bottle on the table, and he said lightly: "Actually, you have already seen this." If we hadn't seized these classified documents, we might have thought that the French really wanted to finish the battle with us.

I didn't expect that the lieutenant colonel was also the liaison officer of the French High Command on the front line, and it was really incredible that this guy would bring so many classified documents to the battlefield. By the way, the sentry who caught him...... What's his name? ”

"Ralph, Private William. Ralph, of the 79th Reconnaissance Battalion. Wehrle replied.

"Yes, Ralph. Hehe, that rifle butt can be really ...... Ruthless enough. Xu Jun smiled and gestured on his nose.

"A good soldier, sir."

Weller felt a chill run down his back when he remembered the miserable appearance of the magistrate, and the butt of the rifle almost knocked the Frenchman's towering nose back into the head.

"The medal may not be qualified enough, it's better to give him a promotion."

"Yes, sir."

"Okay, what's the point? That's right, the true intentions of the French. What do you think, General. Xu Jun asked.

"Same as you think. The French are going to retreat. ”

Weierle replied respectfully: "According to their deployment, they have put most of their forces on the two flanks, and these infantry divisions are desperately resisting the squeeze of our troops on both flanks. It looks like they're doing this to maintain their supply lines, but in fact they're trying to maintain a retreat route.

In addition, in accordance with these two orders, Wei Gang had transferred the only two formally trained infantry divisions in this huge reserve to this passage. And I believe that these two infantry divisions are in a rapid retreat to the French lines, which of course needs to be confirmed by air reconnaissance. ”

"These alone do not prove your argument, my Chief of Staff." Xu Jun said with a smile.

"Yes, it's all based on my personal speculation, so I need more evidence. And this document gave me the necessary evidence to confirm my own speculation. Wehrle pulled out a document from the pile.

"This is an order sent by the French High Command to the commander of the 6th Panzer Division during the day yesterday, ordering him to speed up his march and must reach us this morning. But this is not the crux of the matter, the key is in the latter sentence, they want the Sixth Panzer Division to carry enough supplies for three days of offensive to advance lightly, and abandon the heavy and cumbersome logistics troops. Although this order is ordinary in every way, and there is nothing wrong with it, if you look at this order to the 17th Infantry Division, it is clear. ”

Wierle picked up another document.

"The order stated that the 17th Infantry Division would immediately take over the remaining logistics units of the 6th Panzer Division, and then move with those supplies to the vicinity of the village of Radol, which was the center of their retreat.

The 17th Infantry Division was a regular French army, and Weygand would not be willing to waste them in a battle that could not be won under any circumstances, and he wanted this army to withdraw with those precious provisions.

From this it was clear that the 6th Panzer Division would never be able to wait any longer for its logistics to catch up, and that they would not receive any more supplies other than the three-day supply ammunition they carried with them.

The French High Command abandoned their 6th Panzer Division. But why did they do this, the most plausible answer I can find is that the French want this force to be used as a decoy to hold us back. They want to use this division to give us the illusion that they will continue with this project.

When we are deceived by this illusion and turn all our attention and energy to the defense of these attacking forces, the rest of their forces can take the opportunity to flee back to the defensive line. This document makes it even clearer that they abandoned not only the 6th Panzer Division, but also all the second-rate infantry divisions that had been crippled. Four infantry divisions, crippled by our Air Force, received the same order. And their logistical units, which had been left behind, were ordered to stay where they were and wait to join up with the rest of the troops.

These documents tell us of a horrific conspiracy in which they deceived not only our own troops, but also their own troops, and that the French were playing a game with the lives of their own soldiers. I don't understand why they only think of retreating now, why they didn't do it before they suffered heavy losses, didn't they care about the lives of their soldiers at all? ”

Later, Weierle's emotions began to turn agitated, and the usually calm chief of staff was enraged by the plans of the French high command.

"This is politics, this is dirty politics. Your Excellency, my Chief of Staff. ”

Xu Jun put down the document in his hand, he shook his head and said: "When we look at this battle from a military point of view, the French are playing a political game.

And this stupid offensive, the successive changes of plans, the chaotic command, all this testifies to this fact.

I now understand why Weygand and Petain would have agreed to this ridiculous plan of attack, which they never thought would succeed in the first place. The reason they agreed to this plan was that they wanted a truce with us. ”

"How is this possible? If they want a truce, why are they launching this offensive, why don't they just come and contact us? Wehrle asked, confused.

"That's the problem, they can't come up with anything to make peace with us. First of all, the young men in the French government would not let him go, and the French people would not agree to their surrender to us when they seemed to be able to hold out resist. They had to think about their own political lives, and if he proposed this now, their political lives would have come to an end, and Weygand and Petain were not fools.

And de Gaulle's sudden plan of attack gave them a chance, and of course they would not let go of this opportunity to achieve their goals and also strike at the disobedient young heroes.

So this ridiculous plan was adopted, and tens of thousands of French soldiers were sent to hell. Xu Jun said lightly.

"I kind of see what you mean. Monarch. Weierle replied depressedly.

"The implementation of this plan is a win-win deal for Wei Gang and Pétain. If, in all of a sudden, the German High Command had gone insane and had made this plan come true, they would have won the admiration and gratitude of all the French as Supreme Commander-in-Chief.

Of course, this is not possible, but if the plan fails completely, then all the responsibility for this will be borne by the person who made the plan, the representative of the French government and the young military faction, Charles de Gaulle. They can be said to have been completely deceived by de Gaulle, or that de Gaulle strongly encouraged them to agree to the plan. As a result, under the unanimous crusade of the French people, those young Zhuang factions will be in a state of collapse, and power will continue to be firmly in the hands of politicians and generals with their old qualifications.

Another thing they want most is that they can find the opportunity to make peace with us from the defeat of this campaign. If this campaign fails, France will lose most of its reserves, and Weygand and Petain will have no reason to continue to resist, and they can make peace with us in the name of saving France.

I think if we agree to give them the same power as they do now, they will be willing to surrender even unconditionally. These two men are no longer the heroes of the last war, and the years have worn out their courage and confidence. And the power and prestige they have held for a long time have also corrupted them into a pair of cunning and out-and-out politicians. Xu Jun said indifferently, as if he was talking about something that had nothing to do with him.

"So what do we do next, Führer. Are we going to watch their conspiracy get punished, and watch those law teams flee back to their defenses? Weirle asked.

"How is it possible, Wei Gang and Petain dare to play me like a fool, I want to let these two old fellows know how serious the consequences of doing this will be."

Xu Jun sneered and said: "But now, what we have to deal with at the moment is the attack of those French ** teams that have been kept in the dark. Especially the 6th Panzer Division, although these documents do not say how much strength she has, but we know that they did not suffer any losses in our bombing, and it can be said that she still retains all her strength.

Unexpectedly, they came up with a way to march at night and hide during the day to avoid our bombardment. It seems that our level of aerial reconnaissance still needs to be strengthened, and even this large armored division can be missed, and they don't know how much they have missed. ”

"Got it, sir, I'll keep all the troops informed of the situation now." Wehrle walked to the side of the telephone, and just as he was about to pick up the receiver, the telephone rang violently.

"Sir!" Velle covered the microphone of the phone in his hand and reported to Xu Jun with a strange look: "Colonel Dougan called from the forward command post, and French armored units appeared in the forward positions, and the French began to attack us. But...... I don't know how to say it, or if he reports back to you personally. ”

"Oh, has the French Panzer Division arrived? I didn't expect them to attack us in such a hurry. What does Dougan want to report to me? Xu Jun stood up and walked towards Weierle.