Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 935 Surrender is also an art

The big figures in Cairo are still making their last struggle, and the French soldiers scattered outside are different.Knowing that the Egyptian battlefield is unable to return to the sky, and is blocked again, the fool will smash to the end.

The surrender conditions promised by Austria were only a catalyst, and it was that there were not many materials in hand that spurred everyone to make up their minds.

In particular, some fortress strongholds trapped in encirclement have begun to supply limited amounts of food.If you drag on like this, they will be finished without waiting for the enemy to attack.

Aswan, located on the east bank of the Nile, is just an inconspicuous small city. It is well known because of the great uprising a few years ago.

The rebels blew up the "Aswan Dam" and flooded the downstream deltas, which attracted the attention of the European media and became famous all over the world.

learn from mistakes.After the suppression of the rebels, the Egyptian colonial government deployed heavy troops in the Aswan area. The humble small city of Aswan has become a military location.

After the outbreak of the European War, in order to avoid repeating the tragedy of the flooded delta, the French once again increased their troops to the Aswan area, with a total force of more than 80,000.

With strong forces, the defenders in the Aswan area smashed the Austrian offensive many times.It is a pity that this is useless, and large-scale wars cannot be reversed by the gains and losses of one city and one place.

Over time, the surrounding friendly forces fell under the enemy's guns one after another, and the French army in the Aswan area gradually became a lone army.

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The French command in Aswan, at this moment, is gathering the stars, and almost all the high-ranking French officers who can come have come.

"The defenders of Kom Ombo surrendered five days ago. The enemy's siege has been completed. The situation in other areas is not optimistic. There will be no reinforcements. What should we do now?"

No one is willing to bear the political disaster of surrender, and Lieutenant General Armand, the coach of the Aswan garrison, is no exception.

In order not to go to a military court after the war, generally speaking, the best way to encounter this situation is to make a collective decision, and everyone should bear the responsibility together.

"Your Excellency Lieutenant General, the orders given to us by the veterans of the War Zone Command are to stick to Aswan, without considering the actual situation.

Since the war, we have paid more than 30,000 casualties, and our total strength has dropped from 80,000 at its peak to 50,000 now.

What's worse is that our stock of strategic materials is insufficient, medicines are almost exhausted, and weapons and ammunition can support another campaign at most.

In order to reduce food consumption, we even expelled civilians from our jurisdiction.But this is still not enough. Even if it is rationed according to the minimum standard, it will last for a month at most.

We simply don't have the conditions to stick to the Aswan region.Even if the enemy does not attack, we will be starved to death soon."

The population of Aswan is limited, and there will be 200,000 people here in later generations, not to mention now.After the war broke out, the number of troops exceeded civilians.

As the cotton land in France, the Aswan region is no exception. A large amount of farmland is used to grow cotton.

It doesn't matter in normal times, it is tragedy in times of war.Even after expelling civilians, the defenders still did not raise enough food.

All strategic materials are lacking, so the quartermaster's life is naturally difficult.The other quartermasters are all in big fish. As the quartermaster of the Aswan garrison, Major General Altil is almost bald.

Within a few days of the good days, the enemy cut off logistics supplies.Let alone fishing for oil and water, how to fill the stomachs of soldiers has become a problem.

It is not that Altiel is conscientious, in fact, he is also a standard French quartermaster, and he is absolutely not hesitating when making money.

The reason for stopping now is to worry about the soldiers' mutiny. This is a precedent. The French army has no tradition of starving to death and not causing trouble.Even if you don’t eat well, you can turn your face in minutes if you are not full.

On the other hand, he knows that to make money, he must first ensure that he has a life flower.Until now, Major General Artil had lost faith in the Aswan defenders.

If you fail to win, the final result is nothing more than annihilation or surrender.Major General Altil had no glorious determination. He was just a quartermaster and did not need to be responsible for the defeat and surrender.

Regardless of the Austrian army's promise to protect the safety of personal and property, if you really become a prisoner, the huge wealth is a reminder.

In the war years, it was normal for people to die, especially those who died were prisoners of war, and no one would ever bother.

Major General Altir's net worth is already not low, and it is still unknown whether he can keep it. No matter how much he is, he will become a fat sheep. Naturally, he dare not take risks.

All the people who can sit here are smart people, and everyone understands Major General Altiel's intentions. The logistics can't support it, which is undoubtedly a good excuse for surrender.

As for whether the logistical pressure is so great, whether there is really no ammunition, or whether the cooking is about to be cut off, this question is not important at all, anyway, everyone defaults to it.

A middle-aged officer echoed: "Major General Altiel said rightly. Now we really do not have the conditions to defend the Aswan area. Without reinforcements and logistical supplies, it is only a matter of time before the Aswan area falls.

It is said that the enemy also has a car covered with steel plates. It is very powerful and can be called invincible in the field.Our main force was defeated by them, and it was the failure of the last battle that led to the collapse of the situation.

Now we have no way to deal with these iron bumps, and want to restore the logistics supply line in a short time, and there is almost no hope.

Moreover, the strategic material resources we have hoarded in Egypt are limited. Even if the enemy's blockade is opened, the general headquarters cannot provide materials to support us.

Since the Aswan area is destined to be unguarded, we do not need to make unnecessary sacrifices.In order to defend Egypt, France has sacrificed more than 200,000 people, and there is no need to continue now.

The key to determining the outcome of this war is Europe, not Aswan.Even if it is lost, as long as the European War is won, what is lost now will return to our hands in the future."

"Your Excellency, you are secretly changing the concept. The Aswan region does not affect the outcome of this war, but the ownership of the Egyptian region affects the balance of victory.

Once the Aswan region falls, the enemy will be able to blow up the dam, flood the lower delta area, and destroy the social order in Egypt.

When the time comes, the homeless Egyptians will rise up to rebel, causing a fatal blow to our rule, which will bring the entire Egyptian region to fall.

For France, we must persevere, even if we persevere for a day, it will be of great help to the domestic battlefield."

There is no shortage of passionate men in any country, and France is no exception.I said earlier that there was a shortage of strategic materials, and Major General Antoine could not refute it.He couldn't bear to speak directly of surrender now.

You must know that surrender is also contagious. The French army in the Aswan region wants to surrender, but in fact it is also affected by the friendly forces.

The first to surrender was the Italian divisions who came to the reinforcements. The Paris government originally sent them to cut off their ties with Italian independent organizations and reduce security risks.

After all, the relationship between Italians and Austria is not good. Under the deliberate propaganda of the French government, many Italians hate Austria.

However, none of this can stop their determination to surrender.After being severely beaten by the Austrian army, these guys decisively chose Congxin.

In contrast, this is not bad.If the European continent remains, this purely Italian division, the Paris government will not dare to use it at all.

Once entangled with independent organizations, it is not a question of surrender, but a direct mutiny.

Up to now, three purely Italian divisions have turned on the battlefield and almost collapsed the southern front that the French had painstakingly managed.

Fortunately, there are not many such purely Italian divisions. They are all historical relics of the French annexation of the Italian states. They have been abolished by the French government over the years.

Taking advantage of the opportunity of this war, the Paris government directly seized the military and political power of several Italian states. The former two kingdoms of Sicily and Tuscany became rubber stamps.

If France wins this war, these Italian states will probably completely become history, and there will be no chance to make rubber stamps.

The internal troubles were solved, but the French army in Egypt was miserable.Coming with the head of the main force, they had a record that was not as good as the colonial force.

In the previous battle, the French army was defeated so quickly. In addition to the armored forces, they were also great.

Although it is impossible to fight a war, it is the first place to run.

If someone conducts statistics, it will be found that in the previous battles, the Italian division not only defeated the fastest, but also had the lowest casualty rate.

After the war, they were scattered and stationed in various places. These guys also did not give up, continuing to play the role of fraud.Not only surrendered by himself, in order to sell a good price, many times also mobilized teammates to surrender together.

As for the hatred with Austria, is it important to have national independence or an Aegis?

When someone came out to sing the opposite, everyone's expressions became gloomy.Everyone wants to be a hero, no one wants to be a coward, but the price of being a hero is too high.

Seeing that the situation on the field has changed, the coach Lieutenant General Armand persuaded with all his heart: "Major General Antoine, please calm down. No one wants to see the fall of Egypt, but we really can't fight.

Maybe you don't want to believe it, but that is the case.The telegrams we communicated with the outside world were all left deliberately by the enemy.

So far, two-thirds of the cities in Egypt have fallen into the hands of the enemy. More than 200,000 French troops have surrendered their weapons. The remaining cities that are still resisting, including Cairo, are all shaky.

The enemy has mastered the initiative on the battlefield. There is no need for them to blow up the dam. The strategic value of the Aswan area has disappeared.

If it were not for the Nile, the enemy would not even need to occupy the Aswan area.

For this war, France has paid too much.If you count the country, the number of people killed in action may have exceeded one million.

This is nearly two percent of our total population, but the end of the war is still far away, and no one knows the final casualties.

Since the Aswan area is destined to be unprotected, as the commander, he is obliged to take the boys back safely.We cannot just light up this generation just for a moment."

The previous ones are all excuses, but the last sentence is the truth from Lieutenant General Armand.

The French Empire seems to have a population of 60 million, but the Italians are alienated from them, and the true population is more than 37 million in the headquarter.

After the war broke out, although the Italians were also enlisted into the army, the main force of the enlistment was still the French, and the French were also the most killed on the battlefield.

People hate less when they use it.Since the war, the French government has clearly felt the lack of manpower, and the elites have also realized the importance of population.

But all this is too late, and the population cannot increase in one or two days.Even if it is to create a human right away, it will take twenty years to be useful.

In the face of the cruel reality, Major General Antoine was caught in a fierce psychological struggle. After a long time, he said fiercely: "If this is the case, then we will blow up the Aswan Dam first and then surrender. Anyway, the Egyptian region cannot be protected. , Simply leave a mess for the enemy."

As soon as the words landed, Lieutenant General Armand hurriedly retorted: "No! There are still our troops downstream. If the dam is suddenly blown up, our troops will inevitably suffer heavy losses.

Every soldier is a hero of France. They can die on the battlefield, but they must not die in our own hands."

There is no doubt that this is just an excuse.The telegram has not been cut off, and the defenders in the Aswan area are still in contact with the outside world. Just report the news in advance.

It's just that in this way, the downstream defenders can surrender reasonably, and all the responsibility for losing the city and land will fall on them.

As the coach, Lieutenant General Armand is naturally the first responsible person.After the war, not just to be held accountable by military courts, but to be shot directly.

Not only is the coach finished, but everyone present will also follow suit, and no one can escape.Patriotic return to patriotism, if you want to lose your name, everyone still respects you.

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