Chapter 370: The decision of the French Führer Pétain

The German H-44 Super Battleship is one of the German Hindenburg-class battleships built by the Blom & Foss shipyard in Hamburg. Pen, fun, and www.biquge.info

The ship has a total length of more than 300 meters, a width of more than 50 meters, and a range: 20,000 nautical miles / 18 knots; Maximum speed: 32 knots / h, main guns: 8 530mm, secondary guns: 12 203mm; Anti-aircraft guns: 16 105mm, 40 37mm, 60 20mm......

It is a battleship with good combat power, but Chen Yanlong only exchanged 5 battleships like this, and he has always exchanged other battleships for his favorite brands of Bismarck battleship and Tirpitz battleship.

However, the last hole card that Chen Yanlong just mentioned was not these battleships with strong combat effectiveness, but the submarine force that he secretly asked Marshal Hitthofen to prepare for him.

"Of course I still have my hole cards out yet! A battle has just begun, so how can you use all your hole cards at once! If this is the case, then what do we do to save our lives if the war is not in our favor? ”

So when Dönitz was shocked by his words, Chen Yanlong rolled his eyes and said.

"And what is the Führer, where did your last hole card come from?"

Seeing this, Dönitz also blushed in embarrassment and asked curiously.

"How do you feel if I say it's a submarine force?"

Chen Yanlong smiled with a relaxed smile on his face.

"Ahh Submarine forces, do you mean those U-boats of ours? ”

"But with the combat strength of these submarines, how can they engage in large-scale battles with the British and American fleets? Isn't that a life-giving to the enemy? ”

Hearing this, Dönitz was stunned for a moment, and then said with a look of surprise on his face.

"Did I say you're using those U-boats?"

Chen Yanlong shook his head, waved his hand and asked rhetorically.

"Gah! What type of submarine is that? How did I not know that the Führer gave me a new submarine, I am the marshal of the Navy! ”

After listening, Dönitz was even more full of question marks and puzzled.

"Hey! You can do a good job of this naval battle in front of me! ”

Chen Yanlong did not answer his question immediately, but suddenly interjected the topic seriously.

"Yes! Monarch! Embarrassing faux pas! ”

Seeing Chen Yanlong, whose face suddenly changed, Dönitz immediately responded cautiously.

When Chen Yanlong and Dönitz said this, they were thousands of miles away in Paris, France.

Philippe Petain, head of the Vichy government, was a very famous general in French history.

He was famous for his bloody battle with the Germans in Verdun in World War I, but he surrendered to Hitler in World War II and became the head of the Vichy government.

But the reason why he surrendered to Hitler was that he himself often told his henchmen to preserve the vitality of France, so that France could have a chance to rise again after defeat.

Of course, whether he is sincere or not, only he knows.

However, after the signing of the Compiègne Woods Agreement, Germany demanded that France's surrender conditions be very harsh: that is, France must cede one-third of the country, including Paris; The French government had to pay 300 million francs a day for the occupation of the German occupation forces; France's air force and army shall not exceed 100,000 men; The French government must be in line with Germany politically, economically, militarily, diplomatically, etc.

Moreover, all the policies and measures of the Vichy regime were aimed at safeguarding the interests of the big bourgeoisie and consolidating its reactionary dictatorship.

In addition, the Vichy government under his leadership also secretly engaged in a lot of criminal acts and cooperation with Hitler.

However, these things have little to do with Chen Yanlong now, and now Philippe Pétain is pacing around his mansion; Prime Minister Pierre Reival stood quietly beside him, waiting for the other to speak first.

"Has the Sicilian landing been fought?"

After a long time, when Petain's mood had calmed down, he sighed slowly, and then spoke to the silent Chancellor Reival.

"Hmmm! It's already a blast, and I've heard that the battle is still very fierce! ”

Prime Minister Reival nodded.

"Do you know how many troops the Germans sent in Sicily?"

Pétain thought for a moment, then asked.

"At the beginning, there were only two German divisions on the surface, one was Hermann Goering, and the other was the 15th Panzer Division! However, not long after the battle began, according to the reports of our spies who were lurking in the British and American forces, Hitler also secretly arranged several powerful SS divisions to ambush the British and American landing forces! ”

"But for some reason, in the middle of the fight, they suddenly and bizarrely evacuated!"

Prime Minister Reival told him all the information he knew.

"How many British and American troops have landed successfully?"

Pétain was silent for a moment, then continued to ask.

"At least there are more than 400,000 of them, and there are a large number of ships to assist in the operation!"

Prime Minister Reival replied without hesitation.

"What do you think of this war? Who do you think will emerge victorious? Was it Hitler, or Anglo-American? ”

At this point, Petain suddenly stared at the other party with a sharp gaze and asked rhetorically.

"I wasn't on the scene, so I don't know!"

Chancellor Reival met Pétain's strong eyes and said frankly.

"You're right, we're not on the front line, so there's no way we can completely guess where this battle is going based on just a little bit of information! However, I still believe that if Sicily is lost, then the situation of the German army on the Western Front will be in trouble, and it will also affect us in France! ”

Pétain worried.

"I agree with you, and if the Germans lose the Battle of Sicily, I'm afraid Italy will immediately mutiny! And before the outbreak of the Battle of Sicily, according to the intelligence of our spies, all major cities in Italy were subjected to massive bombardment by British and American air forces. ”

"And many of these bombed cities have been bombed beyond recognition, and there are heavy casualties!"

Prime Minister Reival added.

"If Italy withdraws from the battlefield and the Germans are defeated, then we will not end very well! What do you think, Prime Minister Reival! ”

When Pétain heard this, he turned to look at him worriedly.

That's not an easy question to answer! It seems that we have to find a way to make a new plan for our future destiny! Pétain Führer"

Prime Minister Reival sighed deeply.

"Yes! I agree with you, it's time for us to start our new plan of survival, and we can't afford to plunge France into a new defeated country again! ”

Pétain suddenly swept away his worries, straightened his chest, and regained his fighting spirit.