Beiyang reactionaries

Said: "Laval was very young 20 years ago, but at that time he was already a very famous anti-war figure in France. He was very opposed to France's participation in the last European war. After that, no matter how many When he was the French foreign minister for the first time, or when he was the French prime minister for the last time, he maintained the stability and peace in Europe very much. In order to prevent another war in France, he has made frequent concessions to many of his original enemies in recent years. "

"Especially after entering this year, Laval and Mussolini negotiated several times and gave up a lot of interests to ease the relationship with Italy. After Hitler promulgated the new 'National Defense Law' and broke through the 'Treaty of Versailles', Laval yelled loudly, but actually met Hitler several times. Facing Hitler’s request, he stepped back step by step, and never thought about going to war with Germany.”

Duan Xun and the others nodded.

Laval is a man who can be a tumbler in French politics, and he is currently becoming the French Prime Minister for the second time.It can be seen that his proposition has received great support in France and has a large public opinion base.In other words, many French people support Laval's proposition to prevent France from being involved in the war again, so Laval is able to mix in the French political arena with ease.

And Laval accurately touched the foundation of public opinion in France.

Therefore, he tried his best to avoid France's involvement in the conflict.In the face of relatively strong forces in recent years, Laval has retreated repeatedly.Including facing Mussolini and Hitler, he always chose to take a step back.

This Far East Conference is not the case.

Originally, China and Japan strongly intervened in Nanyang affairs. If it was the United Kingdom and France in the past, how could they choose to sell the Netherlands to appease China and Japan.It has long been united with all countries in the world, plus military preparations to suppress China and Japan.

After all, there is still a reason.

The First World War dealt too much blow to Britain and France, and their strength could no longer maintain their dominance in the world.In order to maintain the superficial hegemony and maintain the current world order, the only way is to choose a compromise.

"Prime Minister, judging from Laval's actions over the years, he will never allow France to be involved in any military alliance like the last war. Moreover, the leftist forces in France are also very strong, and many organizations are aligned with the Soviet Union. It has something to do with it, it is impossible for Laval to really form an alliance with the Soviet Union."

Yan Huiqing shook his head.

He did not believe that France and the Soviet Union would be sincerely aligned.He spoke mainly from the French point of view.But the reasoning is the same.France does not want to form a sincere alliance, and the Soviet Union certainly does not want to form a sincere alliance with France.

"Then what is their situation now?"

"I think there are two meanings. One is to deter Germany. After all, in the last war, France and the Soviet Union were allies and enemies of Germany. Moreover, France and the Soviet Union are now the most powerful industrial countries in Europe. This kind of alliance between the two countries , to keep Germany honest. The second meaning is that France should prevent Germany from forming an alliance with the Soviet Union. Everything France is doing now is to avoid war.”

"Makes sense."

Duan Xun agreed with Yan Huiqing's analysis.

The rise of China has begun to change the world situation.There is also a "French-Soviet Mutual Assistance Treaty" in history, but it is actually a decoration.Neither country took this treaty seriously.After France signed the treaty, it took almost a year for Congress to pass it.However, stimulated by the Far East Conference, it was passed so quickly.

However, according to Duan Xun's analysis, the treaty between France and the Soviet Union is still only on paper.It is impossible for France and the Soviet Union to form an alliance. Yan Huiqing's analysis is very reasonable.

"In other words, France is a fragile thing."

"Yes."

"Let's see. Look at Germany's reaction. Let Germany try whether France is a real tiger or a paper tiger. Try whether this treaty is a real military alliance treaty or a useless piece of paper."

"Hitler's courage is getting bigger and bigger, and this step is really dangerous."

"Prime Minister, France is also a paper tiger."

After the French Congress passed the "French-Soviet Mutual Assistance Treaty", Duan Xun has been observing the situation in Europe.Because the treaty between France and the Soviet Union, although it also has the meaning of targeting China, is still mainly aimed at Germany.

This treaty hit Germany most directly.

On the contrary, China was much less affected.Because the strength of the Soviet Far East was limited.The Soviet Union has just begun to reorganize the Far East's army, but compared with China's army in the Far East, it is much worse in all aspects.More importantly, in terms of logistics, the Soviet Union was even worse in the Far East.And France is only a colony in the Far East, and the troops it has are only colonial troops.Neither side has sufficient strength in the Far East, so it has little impact on China.

But Germany is different.

Germany, France, and the Soviet Union are the most direct opponents, and they are all within easy reach.Once there is a conflict, it will be the North and South fronts, besieged by people from the North and the South.Therefore, Germany has always opposed it when the two countries signed the "French-Soviet Mutual Assistance Treaty". Now that the French Congress has approved it, Germany's rebound is of course strong.

So Duan Xun has been observing Hitler's actions.

Who is Hitler?

How can you accept this happening.The last time France only changed the "Military Service Law", Hitler used this as an excuse to introduce the "National Defense Law" and broke through the "Treaty of Versailles".

What about this time?

Hitler was more daring than people think.Hitler had the guts to put all his eggs in one basket.Of course, others think that Hitler is a lunatic, but from another perspective, Hitler is smarter than others.He saw that France was bluffing, and that France would do nothing, so he might choose this step.

Anyway, whether Hitler was really crazy, or he was smarter than others, anyway, Hitler took the most important step in Germany's expansion.

In the early morning of August 1935, 8, Hitler entered the Rhine Demilitarized Zone on the grounds that the "French-Soviet Mutual Assistance Treaty" signed by France and the Soviet Union violated the "Locarno Convention".Not many troops were sent, but the move was risky.

The Rhine Demilitarized Zone is a demilitarized zone stipulated in the Treaty of Versailles, and later the "Locarno Convention" reaffirmed the existence of the Rhine Demilitarized Zone.This place is very symbolic.

It is the most concrete embodiment of the Treaty of Versailles.

But Hitler actually sent troops into the Rhine Demilitarized Zone, which was to completely break the "Treaty of Versailles."The French army just across the Rhine Demilitarized Zone has more than 20 divisions.Moreover, France and his two military allies, the Czech Republic and Poland, can easily mobilize 90 divisions of troops.Moreover, these three countries are all countries with very complete reserves, and 100 divisions can be mobilized again in a short period of time.

How many troops does Germany have at this time?

Although Hitler began to expand his army, there are currently less than 50 troops.It cannot be compared with France, the Czech Republic, and Poland at all.Not to mention that France and the Soviet Union signed the "French-Soviet Mutual Assistance Treaty", and Germany's strength is nothing compared to them.

If France did something, Hitler would have no power to fight back now.Although France's current economic crisis is severe, it can crush Germany in terms of military strength.Coupled with military allies such as Poland and the Czech Republic, it would not be easy to crush Hitler to death, but it will definitely not be difficult.

It's a pity that France didn't take any action. It just added more than a dozen divisions to the Maginot Line, that's all.This attitude of France made Hitler more and more emboldened.Soon the number of Germans in the DMZ exceeded 3.

"Poland and France proposed to cooperate to punish Germany, but France rejected Poland's proposal. If France agrees to Poland's proposal, plus the Czech Republic, Germany will definitely be scared now."

Dai Kan shook his head.

He even showed a rare smile and said: "In the European continent, France, the Czech Republic, and Poland cooperated, and Germany couldn't afford to make big waves. France, the Czech Republic, and Poland together can easily mobilize millions of troops. For Germany, which started to develop its army, it has an absolute advantage. But this time France took a step back, which is tantamount to playing tricks on its allies Poland and the Czech Republic. Especially Poland, this time it was teased by France, it was humiliating and offended Germany. Therefore, Poland can only hurriedly explain to Germany and apologize to Hitler. France and their alliance have completely disintegrated. There is no power in Europe that can stop Hitler’s pace.”

"Ah."

This time, France's approach can be said to chill the hearts of other European countries, and it has gone too far.

Especially the allies of France, the two countries of the Czech Republic and Poland are completely chilling.This time Hitler ventured into the Rhine Demilitarized Zone. Both the Czech Republic and Poland hoped that France could take the lead and suppress Germany.The two countries of the Czech Republic and Poland are close to Germany, and they are very worried about Germany's re-emergence.After the First World War, the Czech Republic and Poland also contributed to the suppression of Germany, and they did so vigorously.They are not top powers like Britain and France, and they are very afraid of Germany.Not to mention Germany in Bismarck's era, it was Germany in World War I. Thinking about that kind of combat power makes people shudder.

Even world hegemons like Britain and France have lingering fears about Germany back then.Not to mention the Czech Republic and Poland.

But France chilled them.

Although France immediately accused Germany, it did not move at all.Poland, which encouraged France, immediately fell into a dilemma, and the situation became very passive.Not only did France do nothing, but it also did not support Poland. As a result, it directly pushed Poland to the front.If there are France and the Czech Republic as allies, Poland is certainly not afraid of Germany.However, France should not take the lead. France did not make a military counterattack, and let Poland face Germany as a country, but it was immediately stupid.

What about Poland?

Immediately send someone to Germany to explain to Germany, or to apologize to Germany.

"This is France's last chance."

Duan Xun sighed.

For France, this time is actually the best opportunity.Germany has just stretched out its claws, and Germany's current strength has not recovered. If France makes a decisive move at this time, it will unite with the Czech Republic, Poland, and Italy to give Germany a fierce counterattack.So even if Hitler is a lunatic, he has to weigh the consequences.As long as Hitler is not really crazy, Hitler must take a step back.And once Hitler takes a step back, Hitler's prestige in Germany will be dealt a huge blow.

This is the best blow to Hitler and the greatest restriction on Germany.

It is a pity that the domestic problems in France are too serious, and the anti-war public opinion in France has become the mainstream, which led the French government to adopt a policy of appeasement. This time, it did nothing.Czechia and Poland are nothing without France.

The other UK, which was supposed to make a move, was watching from the other side.