Dallang, the man who holds an important position in the French Vichy government, is sitting in his slightly dim office, frowning and unconsciously pounding his fingers on the desk. Outside the window, the sun shone warmly on the earth, but his heart was shrouded in haze. The Allied forces pressed forward clearly, which made him realize that the French army in North Africa would face a catastrophe. But surrender, this decision was not easy for him. He summoned his confidant to discuss this major issue related to life and death. The subordinates walked into the room one after another, and everyone had a solemn expression on their faces. There was a tense and depressing atmosphere in the room, as if the air had become sticky. "Everyone, I believe everyone is aware of the current situation." Darlang took the lead in breaking the silence, his voice was low and hoarse, "The Allies have gained an overwhelming advantage in North Africa. We continue to resist, but the result is that the entire army is wiped out." A young officer couldn't help but stand up and said excitedly: "General, how can we surrender easily? We are French soldiers, how can we bow to the enemy!" Darlang glanced at him, and there was both understanding and helplessness in his eyes: "Young man, I understand your patriotism. But everything we do now is not to surrender for surrender, but to preserve the vitality of France, The future of France.”
Everyone fell into silence, and they all understood in their hearts that what Darlang said was not unreasonable. But surrender is always an unacceptable choice. "General, what are you going to do?" asked an older officer. "I decided to negotiate with the Allies and surrender to them." Darlang said his decision slowly, "but before surrender, we must propose a series of conditions to ensure our interests and the dignity of France." So Darlang began to explain his conditions. First, he asked the Allies to recognize the legitimacy of the Vichy government in French and overseas colonies. This condition was proposed by Darlang attempting to reserve a place for himself and the Vichy government in the complex political situation in France. In his opinion, although the Vichy government was under the control of Nazi Germany, it was still the orthodox representative of France. He did not want the Vichy government to completely collapse because of his surrender. Secondly, Darlang asked the Allies to ensure the treatment of the French army after surrender, including retaining weapons and equipment, maintaining military organization, etc. He knew very well that the army was an important force in France. Only by retaining the integrity of the army can we have the right to speak on the French political stage in the future. Furthermore, he hopes that the Allies can provide certain guarantees for France's economic interests in North Africa. North Africa is not only a strategic location, but also an important source of economic output for France. Darlang is worried that once surrender, France's economic interests in North Africa will be completely deprived. These conditions were sorted into documents and delivered to the Allies through secret channels. After receiving the document, the Allies fell into heated discussion. "These conditions are too harsh!" said an angrily general. "Acknowledging the legitimacy of the Vichy government is simply a betrayal of the anti-fascist cause!" "But if these conditions are not agreed, Darlang may not persuade the French army in North Africa to surrender, and we will face more fierce resistance." Another general put forward a different view. After weighing the pros and cons, the Allies finally decided to negotiate with Darlang. The two sides met at a secret location. Dallang sat at the negotiable military uniform with a serious expression, a hint of firmness and confidence in his eyes. "General, we have received your conditions." The Allied representative said straight to the point, "but we really cannot accept some of these conditions."
"I understand your difficulties, but these conditions are crucial to us," Darlang responded slowly. "If you don't agree, I cannot guarantee that the French troops in North Africa will surrender." The negotiations were deadlocked, and the two sides were in a row and refused to give in. After a long period of bargaining, a compromise was finally reached. The Allied forces agreed to recognize the legitimacy of the Vichy government in France and overseas colonies to a certain extent, but they required the Vichy government to completely cut off relations with Nazi Germany; for the treatment of the French army after surrender, the Allied forces agreed to retain some weapons and equipment. , but the military organization must be greatly reduced; in terms of economic interests, the Allied forces promised to give France certain economic cooperation opportunities in North Africa, but the specific details need to be discussed further. Although Darlang was not very satisfied with the result, he also knew that this was the best choice at present. He returned to North Africa and began to persuade the local French army to surrender. Under Darlang's persuasion, the French army in North Africa gradually put down their weapons and surrendered to the Allies. The news came, which allowed the Allied forces to make a major breakthrough in military operations in North Africa. However, Darlang has not yet fully convinced the troops in France. The troops in France were controlled and influenced by Nazi Germany, and many of them were opposed to surrender. Some officers believe that surrender is a betrayal of France and a shame to the country and the nation. With the support of Nazi Germany, they tried to organize resistance to fight the Allied offensive. Darlang knew very well that it would be no easy task to convince the French army to surrender. He began to communicate frequently with senior military leaders in France, trying to explain to them the necessity and benefits of surrender. He wrote in his letter: "What we do now is not for ourselves, but for the future of France. Continuing to resist will only put France in deeper disasters. Only by surrender can France preserve its vital strength, The French revival laid the foundation.” However, these letters from him received no positive response. Some officers even made severe accusations against him, calling him a traitor. Faced with these accusations, Darlang felt extremely painful and helpless. He knew very well that his decision was for the benefit of France, but he did not gain the understanding of his compatriots. Cunyunsheng is closely monitoring every move on the battlefield in North Africa. When he learned that the French troops in North Africa chose to surrender, he did not show much surprise on his face. He sat quietly in the slightly dim room, the cigarette in his hand rose up, contrasting with the sky outside the window, which was reflected by the red fire of war. He knew in his heart that the French army had a compromise gene that was unfavorable to the war in its core. From past history, we can see that once the war reaches a deadlock or shows defeat, the French army will most likely choose to surrender. The surrender of the French army in North Africa was just something he expected. Looking back at the situation on the battlefield in North Africa, at the beginning, all forces were competing here, and the situation was complicated. France once had a certain military strength and influence on this land, and their troops were stationed in various strategic areas in North Africa. However, as the war progressed, the situation gradually became unfavorable to the French army.
The enemy's offensive was as turbulent as the tide, and the French defense line became crumbling under repeated impacts. The difficulties in logistics supply and the low morale of the soldiers all became straws that broke the French army. Now, the surrender of the French army has made the situation on the battlefield in North Africa much clearer. Cun Yunsheng's eyes fell on the map, his fingers slowly crossed the territory of North Africa, and then moved to Italy. "It's Italy left now," he murmured, "as long as Italy chooses to surrender, there will be only one German army left to fight alone." Italy, a country that has been in a delicate position in the war, has also been controversial in its military performance. In the early days of the war, the Italian army followed the German army to the battlefield with expansion ambitions. However, their performance was unsatisfactory. Although the Italian army is not behind in terms of equipment, it has many problems in tactical execution and soldier quality. Their soldiers lack firm will and tenacious fighting spirit on the battlefield, and often they seem to be timid in the face of enemy attacks. The performance of the Italian army was even more surprising in some key battles. No mistakes, one song, one content, one in 6, one book, one bar, one reading! For example, in a certain battle, the Italian army should have cooperated with the German army to launch a coordinated attack on the enemy. However, when the battle started, the Italian army was unable to cooperate effectively due to the chaos in command, resulting in the delay in the attack. The German army struggled to support the front line, waiting for the support of the Italian army, but what they finally came was news of the defeat of the Italian army. The failure of this battle not only seriously affected the German military's combat plan, but also caused the Italian army's prestige on the battlefield to plummet. The domestic political situation is also affecting the direction of Italy in the war. There are different political factions in Italy, and their attitudes towards war are different. Some advocated continuing to follow Germany and gaining more benefits in the war; while others saw the huge losses caused to the country by the war and began to call for peace and advocated withdrawal from the war. This internal political division puts the Italian government in a dilemma in making war decisions. On the economic side, Italy is also facing tremendous pressure. The war continued to consume the country's wealth, and domestic industrial production was seriously affected by the shortage of raw materials and insufficient labor. There was also a crisis in the supply of food, and people's living standards fell sharply. Under this situation, the morale of the Italian army became increasingly declining, and the soldiers began to doubt and get tired of the war. Cunyunsheng knew very well that Italy's surrender was only a matter of time. He seemed to have seen the scene where the Italian army retreated step by step on the battlefield and finally chose to put down his weapons. Once Italy surrenders, the situation on the entire European battlefield will undergo a fundamental change. The German army would lose an important ally and fall into isolation. The German army has always been a strong opponent in the war.
They have advanced military skills and well-trained soldiers. In the early days of the war, the German army quickly occupied a large area of territory with advanced tactics such as blitzkrieg, which made the entire Europe tremble. However, as the war continued, the German army also faced many problems. The long-term war gradually lost the German army's strength. Although they continued to recruit troops, the quality and experience of the new recruits were far behind those of the veterans. Moreover, the German army fought at the same time on multiple battlefields, and its troops were dispersed, so it was impossible to concentrate its superior forces to conduct effective attacks. The German army also faced difficulties in logistics supply. With the Allies bombing of Germany's mainland and its occupied areas, the German transportation routes were often cut off, and the supply of materials could not meet the needs of the front line in time. Strategically, the German army gradually fell into trouble. The Allies are constantly adjusting their strategies and strengthening their counterattack against the Germans. The Soviet Union's tenacious resistance on the Eastern Front battlefield caused heavy losses to the German army and fell into the quagmire of protracted war. On the Western Front, the Allies were also actively preparing for a large-scale counterattack. Once Italy surrenders, the Allied forces will be able to concentrate more troops and resources to launch a more fierce attack on the German army. When Cun Yunsheng thought of this, he couldn't help but feel a complicated feeling in his heart. The cruelty of the war has caused countless people to lose their lives and homes, and the ending of this war seems to have gradually become clear. "It's almost there. At most, the war will be over in a few months." Cun Yunsheng murmured. Just as Cun Yunsheng was thinking that it was only a matter of time before Italy surrendered, the situation in Tunisia changed a lot. There was obvious abnormal movement within the Italian army in Tunisia. Most of them were already desperate about this war with no end and longed to put down their weapons and return to a peaceful life. So the idea of surrender quietly spread among the army. Italian soldiers frequently exchanged surrender in private, and they secretly discussed how to get in touch with the Allies and how to end the war at the lowest cost. Some officers also began to waver. They knew that continuing to fight would not only not change the situation, but would also make more Italian soldiers die in vain. However, the German army was determined not to surrender. After the German commander in Tunisia received news of the Italian army's abnormal movement, he was furious. They believed that the Italian army was fleeing at the last minute and was a betrayal of the Axis Alliance. The German army quickly strengthened its surveillance and control of the Italian army, and added posts at the junction of the camps between the two sides, prohibiting the Italian army from being arbitrary to mobilize. The German army also tried to stabilize the morale of the Italian army through coercion and inducement. They promised Italian generals that as long as they continue to fight, they would give Italy more benefits after the war. But these promises are just mirrors and moons in the eyes of the Yijun. At the same time, the German army also threatened the Italian army that if they surrender without authorization, the German army would regard it as the enemy and attack without mercy. Under the pressure of the German army, the Italian army was in a dilemma. On the one hand, they long for peace, but on the other hand, they are afraid of the German revenge. Some brave Italian soldiers tried to break through the German surveillance and send a signal of surrender to the Allies, but were discovered by the Germans and brutal suppression. For a moment, the Italian military camp in Tunisia was panicked, and the soldiers became more excited and uneasy. (End of this chapter)