Father of France

Chapter 263 Merging of Occupied Zones

In times of unprecedented deterioration, correct decisions are needed, otherwise the Jews could be driven into the sea.

Ben-Gurion's desire to gain some ground before seeking reinforcements has seen a glimmer of hope emerge with Syria's offensive on Haifa, though it remains a difficult decision.

Once this decision is made, it will be tantamount to leaving the Jews of Haifa to face the Syrian army's attack alone. This is beneficial to the overall situation, but the Jews of Haifa will have to make some sacrifices.

Ben-Gurion would not have done this unless absolutely necessary, but now was the last resort. Facing simultaneous attacks from three directions and four armies, Ben-Gurion could only rely on 35,000 Jewish militiamen. He could not hold out in any direction, so he had no choice but to choose the main direction and defeat one country first.

Moses believed that Egypt was the easiest to defeat. Compared to the Jordanian and Iraqi coalition forces commanded by the British, and the regular Syrian army that had fought alongside France in World War II, the Egyptian army was a pushover.

The sacrifice of the Jewish defenders in Haifa is heartbreaking. As an important port and city in northern Palestine, Haifa was a key target for the Syrian expeditionary force and also a huge test. Ben-Gurion ordered the local Jewish forces in Haifa to snipe the Syrian army's offensive because the local Jewish armed forces were not weak and had a total population of 70,000, which could hold out for a period of time.

The Syrian army, led by Adib Shshaq, decided to capture this important city to avenge his Arab brothers.

Upon receiving Ben-Gurion's orders, the Jewish garrison in Haifa decided to hold out for reinforcements, because at this point, if the fleeing Jews left the city of Haifa, they would likely be caught up by the Syrian army.

Regardless of how high the probability is, even if the probability is low, we cannot entrust the lives of tens of thousands of Jews to a possibility.

The Syrian army has seen along its route Arab villages burned down by Israeli militias before the British mandate expired, and many Arab refugees see the Syrian army as their hope for regaining their property.

The scene they witnessed enraged the soldiers. Many Syrian officers and soldiers believed that they had done the Jews a favor, while the Jews were repaying kindness with enmity with the Arabs.

When they were French soldiers, they liberated Jews during the World War; otherwise, this ethnic group would have perished in German concentration camps long ago.

For the Jews of Haifa, this was a battle for survival. Right and wrong were not important. Facing the ever-approaching Syrian army, they were no longer the pitiful creatures imprisoned in concentration camps with no tomorrow. If they had to choose one, of course, it would be for the Arabs to die.

The transformation from victim to perpetrator can happen so quickly. The Arabs, who drove them out in Operation Scissors just two months ago, don't believe that surrendering will bring them good fortune.

The Jews who decided to hold out encouraged each other. They were mentally prepared for the inevitable, and their past tragic experiences became a vow to never be captured by the other side, even at the cost of their lives.

Otherwise, they would lose the honor of a soldier, and their families would be disgraced by their capture. Only death is the best end for martyrs, and if they could take one or two enemy lives with them, then they would become heroes.

Having already become incredibly despicable in their struggle against the Palestinians, they do not reject any of the methods known as terrorism in the 21st century, methods that the Jews themselves are the ancestors of.

They had already learned a whole host of tricks and tactics on the battlefield. They first lay down by the roadside pretending to be dead, which successfully fooled the armored vehicles driving by. Fortunately, these infantrymen were not equipped with explosives or other weapons, otherwise the armored reconnaissance platoon might have suffered a great loss.

Once the armored vehicles left, the Syrian infantry followed, creating the perfect opportunity for an attack. Three Syrian soldiers were killed and two were wounded, including a sergeant.

Such attacks were unprecedented for Syrian soldiers fighting in the Italian theater. After all, the Italians were quite disciplined in their fighting; they fought seriously, but once the terms were agreed upon, they wouldn't cause trouble.

Clearly, the Jewish militia were not like that. After suffering losses several times, the commander ordered that any corpses be shot, regardless of whether they were attackers or not, with their first priority being to ensure their own safety.

Along the way, the Jewish Haganah militia, as well as the better-equipped and more ruthless "Palmach" commandos, made use of every inch of terrain to put up a fierce resistance.

However, such assault tactics were still unable to hinder the advance of the former French regular army. This time, the Arab militias had made a mistake in their tactics.

Finally, outside Haifa, the Syrian Expeditionary Force was about to face the first major test of this war. Although the city was not large, it was sure to be a tough battle.

Former French soldiers, now in the Syrian army, do not possess many heavy weapons from World War II, since France itself doesn't have many either.

However, in gratitude for Syria's contributions during World War I, France transferred a sufficient number of Renault tanks and 75mm rapid-fire guns to Syria. While not comparable to European nations, this was a fully equipped force within the Arab world, and the Syrian army was far from being a disorganized rabble. The Syrian army, having surrounded Haifa, immediately set up artillery positions. They were ready to reason with the 75mm shells! Even though the 75mm shells seemed somewhat weak, a direct hit could still blast through or destroy the fortifications converted from civilian houses in Haifa.

After the smoke and fire from the explosion dissipated, the city of Haifa was shrouded in smoke from afar. Under the cover of Renault tanks, the Syrian army launched wave-like assaults.

The Jewish defenders' machine guns spat fire from their carefully camouflaged fortifications. In an instant, a bloody and brutal close-quarters melee erupted. Soldiers from both sides fired at each other at a distance of five or six meters. Then, the soldiers who survived the barrage, without even having time to reload, charged at the enemy with their bayonets fixed. The two fierce infantry units clashed face to face.

For the first time, the Jews faced a severe test from the Arabs, which came as no one expected.

The first country in the world to conduct bayonet training was none other than France, which had been pursuing European hegemony in modern times, and the Syrian army was originally the French army.

Within the small territory of Palestine, a chaotic battle has broken out, with the wounded groaning in pain and thick smoke obscuring the sun.

"Autumn is the start of the new semester. I wonder if the local authorities have prepared the new textbooks yet." Koman opened his arms, and Ava Gardner was carefully adjusting Koman's military uniform.

After examining the place with satisfaction for a moment, Ava Gardner nodded and replied, "It should be fine. School can start then. The overseas provinces are too militaristic right now. We should put more effort into education, otherwise the provinces will all look like one big military camp."

“A large military camp? This is nothing,” Koman said with a chuckle. “Algeria is now composed of three military provinces. What you see is not the entirety of the military provinces.”

“Not all of them? You can’t find an administrative region like this anywhere in the world.” Eva Gardner sighed softly. Even in French Indochina, where a war was raging, France didn’t send 400,000 troops there.

Koman glanced at Eva Gardner but didn't speak. Of course, not all of them. The education system is also integrated into military training; there's just no opportunity now. Once the education system is fully implemented, all schools in Algeria, from higher education to primary school, will be required to dedicate time to military training, starting from primary school.

Just like Guangxi, it serves as a reserve force for the French army, enabling rapid mobilization when needed. Without this on-campus military training system, military control would feel somewhat incomplete.

Currently, the number of people in Algeria who should be receiving education, including all cultural groups, should be around 2.4 million. This is only a rough estimate because the census is not yet complete.

"More than two million people have been brought into the Boy Scout system?" Ava Gardner was also hearing this idea from Koman for the first time and said in great surprise, "Most of these military-trained Boy Scouts are Muslims whom you consider unreliable. Aren't you afraid?"

Ava Gardner understood the military training system to be the Boy Scout system, which is a youth organization in the United States, and she believed that the military training system in the overseas provinces was similar to that of the Boy Scouts.

But the Boy Scouts of America only have a little over two million members, while the population of the United States is more than ten times that of Algeria. Wouldn't Koeman be militarizing all the people here?

The Boy Scouts that Koeman understood were the ones that were embroiled in scandals, with American instructors always doing things to minors. San Fernando even had a special category for Boy Scouts, and that one didn't have much military training content; it was more like a summer camp.

In many ways, the United States is very similar to Germany before World War II. The oaths and ceremonies that American students take at school are not much different in form from those of the president.

However, the level of development was far inferior. After the war, the United States' victory over Germany became a credit for its rise to hegemony, and it would have been strange for the United States to continue using the same methods as Germany. Gradually, the oath was changed, and the militaristic practices were abandoned. But even in the 21st century, American patriotism is still reflected in all aspects.

"Not everyone goes to school, so there's nothing to be afraid of," Koeman replied nonchalantly, not out of feigned confidence.

What is he afraid of? He is afraid of the Arabs and the French waging guerrilla warfare, but he is not afraid of the soldiers trained by this military training system at all. The more dogmatic the soldiers are, the better, because they are easy to deal with.

Soldiers trained under this system would be ideal for positional warfare against the French army, and for counterinsurgency operations, they could be used to resolve the issue in one fell swoop.

Dressed in new clothes, the passenger ship sailed in the Mediterranean when news of the merger of the occupied territories of the United States, Britain, and France shook the already fragmented Allied nations.

(End of this chapter)