Father of France

Chapter 242 Two Reports
Although Admiral Dragon wore a stern expression, he was clearly pleased that his eldest son had returned to Paris. He instructed Adilé to prepare food, saying, "Now that you have your own home, I won't keep you here. Let's have a meal together as a family and have a good chat. Things have been tough back in French Indochina..."

At this point, Admiral Dragon glanced at him and seemed to think something was amiss. Apart from his skin appearing somewhat darker, Coman didn't seem to be suffering at all.

They sat down together and inquired about their experiences in French Indochina and their prospects for the future back in France.

His Excellency the Chief of the Army General Staff is indeed not a person who seeks fame and fortune. He values ​​family very much and does not reject nepotism.

"This is a report on the security situation in French Indochina that I wrote while on a ship."

Koeman presented the results of his thirty-five days of work, excluding rest time at shore, to Admiral Dragon, saying, "The security situation in French Indochina does not lie in itself, but in the spillover effects of the fighting results of the American and Soviet supporters in East Asia. From my observations in Saigon and Hong Kong, the situation of pro-American parties is not optimistic, and is much worse than in Greece."

"Can't the United States save them?" Admiral Dracon asked with a serious expression. France received relatively little information about Chiang Kai-shek, but he never expected that the United States, as the only major power that was not affected by the World War, would be no match for the Soviet Union.

"Unless the United States is incapable of doing the math." Koeman still stuck to his previous judgment: given Chiang Kai-shek's situation, it was beyond the limits of any country's ability to support him. Although Truman and Marshall were often criticized by unidentified individuals decades later, abandoning Chiang Kai-shek was absolutely the right thing to do.

During the same period, the Greek Civil War cost the United States $700 million to this country of ten million people and a land area of ​​just over one hundred thousand square kilometers. The Eastern superpower had forty times the population and nearly ninety times the land area of ​​Greece.

The aid alone needed to stabilize the front lines would cost far more than the Marshall Plan, not to mention winning the war.

Chiang Kai-shek's opponents were far more powerful than the Greek Communist Party. At any point after the start of the war, the exchange ratio was one to five. Chiang Kai-shek was not the father of the Americans, so why should more than 100 million Americans work day and night to supply such a bottomless pit?

"How could this be? It's not visible on the map at all." Paris received very little information from the Eastern power, but it did receive some basic information. The situation didn't look so bad on the map, but according to Coman, Chang's defeat was only a matter of time.

"Because we are now in a strategic stalemate. Before 1944, Germany seemed to have an absolute advantage over the Soviet Union. But in the following year, ten Stalin raids pushed the front line to the border, and the situation is similar to that in Eastern Europe in 1944."

Koeman used the front lines of the Soviet-German War as an example to prove that Chiang Kai-shek's situation was far from as safe as it appeared on the map, but rather on the verge of collapse.

The Soviet-German War is now the core of military research in postwar European countries. As for the argument that the United States was the main force in resisting Germany and that the Soviet Union was merely a ranger without engaging in direct combat, few Europeans believed it back in 1948.

General Dragon had been in Paris the whole time, and at this stage, it was impossible for him to have such a clear understanding of the situation in a distant country. However, he understood what Corman meant: "Corman, you want to publish your report and let the military know about it? You need to know that once you sign it, you will be responsible."

This is no longer the 21st century where winning mentality is rampant. The Soviet Union is still close at hand, and European countries are still competing on performance.

Once Coman signs the report and it is discussed within the French military, the British and Americans may not necessarily know about it. But if the French military knows about it, what if the future situation is contrary to the analysis in the report?
Then Koeman can forget about becoming a super genius. His military career will inevitably be greatly affected. This is actually unnecessary. Even without submitting this analysis report, Koeman has already become a major at this age, and his future is destined to be bright.

"Father, do you believe me?" Koeman suddenly asked this question, just as he had asked in Damascus in 1941.

At that time, Dracon was a major and a commander of the French Foreign Legion in Syria. He was about to face the Commonwealth forces' offensive against Syria. It was at that time that Coman began to conclude that if he resisted, they would be doomed and he would become a traitor to France. He should jump ship in time.

“Of course, if I don’t trust my own child, why should I trust someone else?” General Dragon gave the same answer he had given before, then pointed to the security report of French Indochina with his finger and said, “I’ve read it, so I’ll have you sign it and send it to the General Staff as reference material.”

Since Koeman was willing to take the risk of being at the center of public opinion, Admiral Dragon would certainly not stop him and let things unfold naturally.

Having been away from Paris for over a year, Corman couldn't just abandon Eva Gardner on his first day back. After dinner, he took a taxi to Rue Victor Hugo, thinking, "I still need to work hard for my military rank."

Officers of Koeman's rank wouldn't be provided with cars. Post-war France was still in a difficult period, and the idea of ​​a British general leaving in a Pagani after retiring was something that could only be imagined in this era.

Although he and his wife, Eva Gardner, who was of equal status, did indeed own a Bugatti to drive around Paris. "I thought you weren't coming back." Eva Gardner, who ran to open the door when she heard the knock, reached out to welcome Coman in, her eyes filled with a sorrowful glint.

“How could that be? This is our home.” Koman, with a bright smile, reached out and put his arm around the femme fatale’s waist, speaking in a reporting tone, “I’ve been waiting for news lately, to see if I can pull some strings for a good position. What do you think?”

This basically means that Corman now has plenty of time to spend with Eva Gardner in Paris and enjoy some quality time together.

Nothing happened that night. After a day of rest, Koman, who was in the prime of his life, took Eva Gardner for a stroll in Paris in the morning, and in the afternoon the two went to General Dragon's residence to wait.

When General Dragon returned home after get off work, he didn't react to the two men. Eva Gardner was an American, and even though relations between the two countries were good now, he wouldn't directly mention a report containing military information in front of Americans, even if the report seemed unrelated to France.

"The report is very bold, with its denigration of US allies and pessimism about French Indochina. Once it is signed and published, you will face a lot of pressure for some time to come," General Dragon said frankly. "Especially since you set the timeline for a major shift in the situation in about a year, which seems ridiculous to many people."

When World War II broke out, some politicians predicted when the war would end, but those predictions were made publicly by figures like de Gaulle. Koeman was just a major; even if his predictions circulated only within the military, they would likely be considered a joke.

"Then I can produce another analysis report, which should take about six months to complete. Wouldn't that alleviate some of the pressure?"

Hearing General Dragon's words of concern, Koeman not only didn't back down, but went even further, saying, "Won't the partition of Israel and Palestine begin after the British mandate? It's practically certain that war will break out on that very day. Father could even do this: write a report under your own name on the imminent Israeli-Palestinian war. That would be very interesting. Two reports, one by a general and one by a major, one earlier and one later. If both ultimately come to fruition, we can both cultivate a positive image and establish our authority within the military."

“I’m already a general and chief of the general staff, there’s no need for that,” General Dragon said with a smile. Generals of his rank had to be careful about their reputation.

“Let’s take another approach. A large portion of the Syrian army comes from the First Army Group. As the former commander of the First Army Group, it’s normal for you to pay attention to some of your former subordinates.” Koman didn’t mind after refusing and immediately proposed another roundabout method: “Discussing potential wars is the duty of a Chief of the General Staff. War games are perfectly normal.”

The General Staff originally did this. The German army's first stunning feat in front of European countries was created by a group of theoretical staff officers. From then on, European countries began to establish staff systems.

Admiral Dragon didn't need to sign his name at all; he could have used the opportunity of a potential war to do his job instead of publishing an analysis report under his name like Koeman did.

Who can blame him when he's a general, while Coman is just a major? With a lower rank, he can only gamble on turning a single game into a motorcycle.

Planning is never a problem for someone like Coman who is into keyboards. He came up with a bunch of plans on the way back, some of which he was about to push forward, such as submitting a spot for military academy training.

This also includes the character of Eva Gardner, who was designed as France's number one love-struck star, mainly because Eva Gardner is nominally very rich.

Although Koeman himself was very wealthy, he was a soldier and could not spend money in his own name.

This time, the money is going towards building a university in Algeria's overseas province, which is his second major project after the Mediterranean Railway project.

When we were in the overseas provinces, the war had just ended and there had just been riots. The security situation was very bad, and there was no basis for the idea of ​​establishing a university. Now, at least on the surface, Algeria is very safe.

"I want to establish three science and engineering universities and a military academy, recruiting students from all of Francophone Africa." Koeman always felt that he should never hide his boasting from his woman, and he always did.

"What do you want me to do?" Ava Gardner gave a satisfactory response, and just that one sentence was enough for Koman to feel that the two were of one mind.

(End of this chapter)