CHAPTER 412: REVISED: CHAPTER 412 SHIRE’S LUCK

Lagden, the French Army headquarters was as idle as usual.

After getting up in the morning and walking into the office, Xia Fei had been pretending to be busy, trying hard not to think about the National Day parade.

As the Commander-in-Chief of the French Army, he should have been receiving the cheers of the French people at the parade, but he could only face a pile of documents and intelligence in the office.

The government did indeed invite Xia Fei to attend, but he refused.

Xia Fei knew what would happen if he went; the cheers of the people were reserved for Shire, while he, as the commander-in-chief, was an empty title, receiving only boos and sympathetic glances.

At the party, someone might even sarcastically ask, "Your Excellency, could you tell us which battles you won?"

At that point, Xia Fei would fall into embarrassment, unable to answer:

"No, sir, I have not won any victories."

"All the victories are Shire’s; I am just responsible for holding things back."

...

To avoid this embarrassment, Xia Fei gritted his teeth and replied to the inviting Clemenceau:

"Sorry, Your Excellency, I think I should be at my post."

"You know, the Germans also know today is our National Day, and they are likely to seize this opportunity to attack when many officers are not on duty."

"Let me, as the commander-in-chief, guard the front lines. It is my duty!"

Clemenceau, of course, knew this was an excuse from Xia Fei, the lines had long been stabilized and did not require command, and the front-line officers knew what to do.

More importantly, Xia Fei’s command was not significant, his presence or absence made no difference, it might even be better.

But the smooth and astute Clemenceau did not reveal it. He responded, "Salute to you, Your Excellency, there indeed needs to be someone to command the front line. I will explain this to the government!"

Even though things went as Xia Fei wished, and he pretended nothing happened, he still felt a pang of bitterness inside.

This was not what Xia Fei wanted. He truly wanted to be worshipped by thousands at the parade, to give a speech amidst the people’s cheers, hearing the whole of France shouting crazily for him...

But now, all of this was enjoyed by Shire, Shire!

Just as Xia Fei was biting his teeth in hatred, Kanes approached him cautiously, handing over a telegram: "General, I think you might want to know this."

Xia Fei glanced at the telegram and suddenly looked up in shock: "Shire did not attend the parade?"

"Yes." Kanes replied, "He led the 1st Tank Brigade and the 105th Infantry Regiment in an attack on Cambrai."

Xia Fei’s face darkened, feeling a sense of humiliation.

Shire was supposed to join the Eastern Army Group, and Xia Fei was patiently waiting for the Italians to break through Austria-Hungary’s lines, but Shire ran to the Northern Group Army and launched an attack.

Untrustworthy!

And as the commander-in-chief, Xia Fei knew nothing about it, not only did Shire not mention it, even Fuxu said nothing.

"They must have colluded." Xia Fei muttered to himself.

Kanes was stunned, Shire and Fuxu?

They were on the same side, how could they "collude"?

Besides...

"This telegram was sent by General Fuxu." Kanes explained, "He said he just learned about it too."

Xia Fei snorted.

Of course, that was not true, even a fool knew that deep penetration tactics required the support of the Northern Group Army’s forces and supplies, which needed detailed planning.

But Xia Fei could do nothing about Fuxu.

Although Fuxu, being the deputy commander-in-chief, should theoretically follow Xia Fei’s orders, Fuxu laid the groundwork for the French Army’s tactical theory and had a higher prestige in the army than Xia Fei.

Another similar general was Gallieni, who became famous in the Battle of Paris. Although he was in a relatively unimportant position as the commander of the Reserve Army Group, he also had considerable autonomy.

Xia Fei picked up the telegram again and looked at the map.

Kanes quickly pointed to the location on the telegram: "Here, their marching speed is very fast, from the start of the battle at nine o’clock until now, just over two hours, they have already advanced near Mons."

Xia Fei looked up at Kanes: "Fifty kilometers in just over two hours?"

His tone carried questioning, his gaze held blame, you must have got the position wrong, this is a basic mistake!

No wonder Xia Fei thought this way, at this time there were no concepts of armored units or mechanized units, in Xia Fei’s mind, an army advancing at five kilometers per hour was the maximum, and that was without any enemy obstruction.

But now, Shire’s advance speed reached over twenty kilometers per hour?

This is impossible!

"Yes, General." But Kanes insisted, "Shire has fully motorized his units, making their mobility very fast. At the same time, the Germans’ rear is very empty, there are no troops all the way to Brussels, and most of the police are Belgians who launched an uprising and took control of the police stations before Shire’s troops arrived."

The German management model was to organize the police force with a small unit, and then the police force managed law and order.

This method seemed fine in peacetime, but once the front line was breached by the French Army, the Belgians, including the police, would compete to revolt.

Therefore, Shire’s army not only faced no resistance but also received much help along the way.

For example, there was no need to worry about food supplies, and people would provide Shire with vehicles, gasoline, and even wished to join the French Army...

(Note: In World War II, Germany learned from this and changed its occupation model to have the Wehrmacht fight on the front lines, with the SS following behind to manage law and order and combat partisans.)

Xia Fei was stunned for a long time before he could digest all this.

Then he sighed lightly, no matter what the battle, it always went smoothly in Shire’s hands, while others often suffered heavy casualties and could not advance even a step.

Staring at the map for a while, Xia Fei asked, "Are there German troops stationed in Brussels?"

"Of course." Kanes replied, "There is a reserve division of over twenty thousand troops."

Xia Fei made a sound and gave his evaluation of the battle: "This is a reckless advance, showing off. Once stopped by the enemy in Brussels, his troops will face the predicament of being surrounded."

Then Xia Fei’s eyes lit up: "Is Shire with the army?"

"Yes." Kanes confirmed, "He is advancing with the 105th Infantry Regiment."

Xia Fei couldn’t help but smile slightly, this was the best news he had heard all day.

However, at this moment, a staff officer came in with a telegram, reporting excitedly: "General, the German army in Brussels has retreated."

"Retreated?" Xia Fei was stunned, "Why did they retreat?"

"It is said that an ammunition depot exploded." The staff officer replied.

Xia Fei was dumbfounded, was this a coincidence? Luck?

Or... Shire’s arrangement?!