Anti-Japanese War: The whole world is a base vehicle

A young officer secretly raised his head, a trace of cowardice flashed in his eyes. Just as he was about to open his mouth, he was frightened by Governor Degu's sharp gaze and quickly lowered his head. An unclear sound came out of his throat, and then there was no more words.

An elderly officer clenched the armrests of the chair tightly with both hands, his knuckles turned white due to the force, his lips trembled slightly, as if he was trying to organize his words, but in the end he only let out a heavy sigh.

Governor Degu looked at these officers who were usually high-spirited but now looked like eggplants hit by frost, and his anger grew even stronger. He strode to the conference table and slammed it, causing the documents on the table to fly everywhere: "Think of a solution, we can't just sit there and wait for death! Our honor and our mission will not allow us to retreat!" But in response to him, he was still met with the desperate silence and the strong smell of failure in the air.

"Your Excellency Governor, we have no choice but to retreat." Finally, a young official could not help but stand up, his voice trembling slightly, breaking the suffocating silence.

His forehead was covered with fine beads of sweat, and his eyes revealed helplessness and despair.

Upon hearing this, Governor Degu's brows were instantly furrowed and the muscles on his face twitched slightly. It was obvious that he was extremely dissatisfied with this answer.

He glared at the official fiercely, as if blaming him for his cowardice and retreat.

Governor Degu slowly stood up, put his hands on the conference table, leaned forward, and his eyes swept over everyone present, as if looking for even the slightest different opinion.

"Governor, we have no money." Others followed suit, their voices full of bitterness and helplessness. This sentence was like a bombshell, creating even greater waves in the already depressing atmosphere.

French Indochina, a colony regarded by the French as a source of wealth, existed from the very beginning to make money for the French, rather than to fill the pit.

In the eyes of the French, this is just a place where resources can be exploited at will, and they have never thought of carrying out large-scale, cost-effective construction here.

Because of this, the French fortifications in French Indochina were in terrible condition.

It is well known that the construction of fortifications is very expensive.

Take the Maginot Line, which the French once spent 50 billion francs to build. It was simply a bottomless pit of money.

In this era, steel bars and cement were extremely precious strategic materials, far from the cheap prices they were commonly seen at in later generations.

It would be more accurate to say that the Maginot Line was built with more than 200 tons of gold rather than reinforced concrete.

The land of French Indochina is not rich in steel bars, and can only produce a small amount of cement, and most of it has to be shipped from faraway France.

However, the situation in France at this time had already undergone tremendous changes.

The Vichy government was firmly controlled by the Germans, and transportation routes became extremely complicated and difficult.

The Germans might even turn a blind eye to shipping raw materials from the colonies to France, after all, this would also bring certain benefits to them.

But if you want to transport strategic materials from France to French Indochina, it is almost an impossible task.

The Germans would not allow the French to strengthen the military power of their colonies under their noses, which would undoubtedly pose a threat to their strategic layout.

The French have always been shrewd, and naturally would not easily use expensive reinforced concrete structures on fortifications in these remote areas.

Cement is already scarce and is also used to maintain aging facilities at ports, airports and major cities.

These infrastructures are vital to France's rule and economic interests in Indochina. Any problems with them will affect the operation of the entire colony.

Therefore, the amount of cement that can be used for fortification construction is very small and almost negligible.

Looking back at France’s original ambitions in Indochina, the current situation is truly regrettable.

Once upon a time, the French easily stepped into this land and incorporated it into their colonial territory with advanced weapons and powerful military force.

They thought they could easily obtain endless wealth here, and the rich resources such as tea, rubber, and minerals made them salivate.

However, they did not expect that with the changing international situation, their rule over this land would become so precarious.

Governor Degu slowly sat back in his chair, his eyes became empty and confused, and his thoughts involuntarily drifted back to the past.

He recalled that when he first came to French Indochina, he was full of energy and had infinite vision for the future. He wanted to make great achievements here and create more wealth and glory for France. But now, everything seems out of reach.

"Are we really going to give up like this?" Governor Degu murmured to himself, his voice full of unwillingness.

He was deeply conflicted. Retreat would mean that France's many years of operations in Indochina would be wasted. Not only would it lose a huge amount of wealth and resources, but France's international prestige would also suffer a serious blow.

But if they continue to hold on, they will face the desperate situation of no money and no supplies. How long can they hold out?
The officials present looked at each other, and no one could answer the governor's question.

They all knew that whether they retreated or held on, they would face huge risks and challenges.

At this moment, there was a sudden noisy sound outside the window, as if something happened in the city in the distance.

An adjutant hurried into the meeting room and whispered something in Governor Degu's ear.

Governor Degu's expression suddenly became even uglier. He slammed the table and stood up.

"What's happening outside?" an official asked cautiously.

“It’s the local people. They seem to have noticed our predicament and started to behave restlessly.” Governor Degu said gritting his teeth.

This undoubtedly made the situation worse. Under internal and external troubles, the situation in French Indochina became more complicated and dangerous.

If they fail to make a decision soon, I'm afraid a bigger disaster will be waiting for them.

Governor Degu once again glanced at the officials present. He knew that this difficult decision had to be made by him.

"Let's discuss it again and come up with a feasible plan before tonight." Governor Degu took a deep breath and said slowly.

Although his tone remained firm, everyone present could hear the fatigue and helplessness in it.

The meeting continued, officials expressed their opinions and discussed intensely, but no perfect solution was found.

Just as everyone fell silent, a senior staff officer who had been silent all this time slowly spoke up with a serious tone, breaking the silence: "Governor, we should now consider the rear." His voice was low, but it carried an unquestionable force, as if he was announcing a grim fact to everyone. "What do you mean?" Governor Degu was stunned. He was originally immersed in his own thoughts, but was suddenly brought back to reality by this sentence.

He looked at the staff officer in confusion, his eyes full of puzzlement, as if saying, what problem could there be in the rear?
Our main forces are on the front lines.

"Do you suspect they are going to cut off our retreat?" Governor Degu asked immediately, as if he couldn't believe that such a situation would happen.

His brows furrowed slightly, and a hint of vigilance appeared on his face. As the supreme commander of this colony, he knew very well what it meant to have his retreat cut off.

Once the retreat route is cut off, the troops on the front line will be isolated and helpless, with no supplies or personnel to retreat, and the fate that awaits them will be annihilation.

"Yes." The staff officer nodded firmly, his expression as serious as a taut bow.

His eyes revealed deep worry, which was a profound insight into the situation and a premonition of impending danger.

He knew very well that if the enemy really cut off the French retreat, the French defense line in Indochina would completely collapse.

"No, I don't think this possibility is true." Governor Degu immediately retorted. He shook his head slightly with a hint of disdain on his face.

The corners of his mouth rose slightly with a hint of sarcasm, as if he was mocking the staff officer's unfounded worries.

In his opinion, the enemy did not have the strength and courage, nor did they have sufficient logistical support to carry out such an operation.

"If you want to go around our rear, you must have logistics." Governor Degu straightened his back, crossed his arms in front of his chest, and his tone was full of unquestionable confidence.

He held his head high, with a gleam of arrogance in his eyes, as if showing everyone his deep understanding of war.

In his view, logistics is the key to war. Without logistical support, all actions will be in vain.

"Logistics. Without logistics, even the best weapons will become firewood sticks. They don't know how to fight at all!" Governor Degu sneered, his laughter full of contempt for the enemy.

His laughter echoed in the room, sounding particularly harsh. It was a kind of condescending arrogance, as if in his eyes, the enemy was just a group of rabble who could not compete with the well-equipped French army.

In his opinion, without logistical support, no matter how many free soldiers arrived in the rear, they would not be able to cause any trouble and would not pose any threat at all.

He believed that his understanding of the war was extremely correct, and that those so-called enemies were just struggling in vain.

He was so immersed in his own confidence and arrogance that he turned a blind eye to the potential danger.

However, the senior staff officer was not intimidated by Governor Degu's momentum. He frowned slightly, his expression still solemn, as if he was worried about the Governor's blind confidence: "Your Excellency Governor, there is a problem. The nails on our front line are being knocked out one by one, and a winding logistics line is about to be opened up."

His words were like a heavy hammer, striking everyone's heart, making the already depressing atmosphere even heavier.

Every word seemed to carry a huge weight, making it hard to breathe.

"Although we have set up permanent fortresses in some important places, each with four heavy artillery, they are difficult to conquer." The staff officer continued, with a hint of helplessness in his voice.

There was a hint of fatigue in his eyes. Those fortresses were an important support for their defense, but now it seemed that they were unable to stop the deterioration of the situation.

He knew very well that although these fortresses were strong, they gradually revealed their flaws under the enemy's continuous attacks.

"But those natives obviously know a few trails. Once they cut down the obstructing trees and fill the two ditches." The staff officer's eyes revealed worry. He paused, as if organizing his words, "They can transport supplies to the front line through these trails." His voice trembled slightly, which was the fear of the impending danger and the helplessness of the situation getting out of control.

He described in detail the enemy's possible routes of action, making everyone present realize that danger was imminent.

Hearing this, Governor Degu's face instantly became extremely ugly.

The image of the enemy transporting supplies through the trail quickly emerged in his mind, and a strong sense of uneasiness surged in his heart.

If everything goes as the staff officer said, it means that the enemy's logistics line has been unblocked and the so-called blockade they had previously made has become a joke.

The enemy's advance into the rear was about to turn from a seemingly impossible farce into a sharp knife, stabbing straight into their vital points.

Governor Degu's heart was filled with regret and self-blame. He realized that his blind confidence might have put them in a desperate situation.

Governor Degu's mind quickly emerged with terrible pictures: the enemy's troops continuously passed through those small roads, transporting supplies and replenishing troops, and they were helpless. Once the rear was cut off, the French army on the front line would be isolated and helpless, and a disastrous defeat would be waiting for them.

Thinking of this, Governor Degu couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat on his back. He felt a chill rising up his spine, as if he had already seen the end of failure.

He slowly stood up and paced back and forth in the room, each step seemed extremely heavy. His footsteps dragged, as if he was dragging a thousand-pound burden, and each step seemed to be a struggle against fate.

He kept thinking about how to deal with the situation in his mind, but he could not find an effective way.

The other officials looked at him quietly, not daring to make a sound.

The room was silent, with only the heavy footsteps of Governor Degu echoing.

After a long time, Governor Degu stopped, took a deep breath, and tried to calm himself down. There was a hint of determination in his eyes, which was an unyielding struggle in a desperate situation.

He knew that now was not the time to panic and he had to come up with a plan to deal with the situation.

He glanced at the officials present again, his eyes revealing a hint of fatigue, but more of determination.

"We must reassess the situation and formulate a new defense plan." Governor Degu said slowly, his voice was low but full of power.

The meeting once again fell into a heated discussion, with officials expressing their views and putting forward various suggestions.

Some advocated strengthening the front-line defense, some suggested sending troops to cut off the enemy's logistics lines, and others proposed negotiating with local forces.

But Governor Degu was in an extremely heavy mood. (End of this chapter)