Father of France

Chapter 45 The Ardennes Counterattack

It's definitely not a deception. A conference that the Italian Communist Party is planning in Turin will certainly be noticed by the free world.

Moreover, it's hard to say that a party like the Italian Communist Party doesn't have fifth columns from other countries within its ranks. Rather than that, it's better to let Koeman openly attend the meeting to demonstrate that it's aboveboard.

Koeman wouldn't do anything that wouldn't benefit him. He could create a persona, using the name of a foreign comrade to observe the movements of the Italian Communist Party. Although these kinds of conferences are always formulaic from beginning to end, whether or not one can extract anything useful depends entirely on their individual comprehension.

Antonio was in a real dilemma. He didn't mind, but how could he convince his superiors that Koeman was an internationalist fighter who had given a lot of advice on reconstruction?
“Comrade Koeman, I will report, but whether or not to invite him is not up to me.” Antonio hesitated for a long time before deciding to give it a try.

"Thank you so much." Koeman's thanks were brief and to the point; he felt there was no problem.

Now that he has explained the situation, if the Italian Communist Party does not cooperate, it would indicate that this conference has some ulterior motive, which would be like creating trouble for the million Allied troops currently in Italy.

The last time Europe experienced a surge of revolutionary fervor, disregarding the reactionaries, the result was a tragic end—the Paris Commune. The Italian Communist Party is unlikely to be so foolish as to side with the Paris Commune.

While Coman was siding with the Italian Communists, most of the members of the Youth Division were attending Mass in Turin’s largest church, presided over by Cardinal Cardinal Cardinal Cardinal, who praised the Christians of the eastern Mediterranean for their steadfastness and loyalty as descendants of the Crusaders, especially the Knights Templar’s ​​achievements during the Crusades.

Cardinal was aware that the French occupying forces were composed of Maronite Christians, and of course, they would not forget to glorify Saint Maron's outstanding historical contributions.

Although Italy does not meet the standards of imperialist powers in other aspects, it is quite authoritative in the religious field. Major Italian cities have cardinals, and cardinals account for one-third of the world's total.

In Latin American countries, Catholicism has always been a major force in containing the spread of socialism, as evidenced by examples such as the Spanish Civil War and the Mexican Civil War.

"Sir, we've arrested several family members and located the division headquarters." Lefevere appeared again, looking travel-worn. "Shouldn't we communicate with Battalion Commander Celt?"

“No need. Finding the division headquarters won’t change anything.” Koeman looked relaxed. From Paris to Marseille and then to Turin, he could feel the constraints on him easing.

But Paris is the capital of France, so he couldn't just skip it. He had to lay a solid foundation by bowing his head to everyone he met, and then let Alain handle the rest.

After arriving in Italy, Koeman finally felt like he was in the free world, no longer needing to guess what the bigwigs in Paris thought. "Let a few families worry for a few days first, and then we'll step in."

Lefebvre immediately turned to work. He never asked for reasons; after all, Koeman was of a higher rank, and he wouldn't be the one to take the blame.

After Koeman plundered Turin's talent and technology, he began to collude with the Italian Communist Party and then arrested a suspected royalist family leader in Turin.

Italy is still a kingdom, so of course there is a noble class, if not a large one, but still quite powerful. What's wrong with the existence of royalists? Koeman has even gotten close to religious forces, so it's only natural for him to come into contact with royalists as well. Bismarck could dance on three eggs, so he felt he could too.

When Latin countries faced socialist ideas, they always united as religious and aristocratic forces to deal with them; the Spanish Civil War is a prime example of this, as this was the only way to have a chance of victory.

Although the Italian royalists were destined to fail and Italy would eventually become a republic, that was two years from now.

Many resources are still concentrated in the hands of the kingdom's nobles. Now that Coman has plundered public property, he needs the noble class to contribute. He certainly won't go too far; he just needs to cooperate with France's post-war reconstruction.

General Dragon, who had just welcomed a daughter in Paris, received a letter from Corman in Italy. He initially thought it was just another routine report of safety, but upon opening it, he found something different. The letter read, "The Italian Communist Party's strength within Italy is even greater than that of the French Communist Party, almost reaching the level of the Spanish Civil War. Currently, the occupying forces are suppressing the situation, and things seem calm, but if the various classes of Italian society do not unite, it is very likely that the Spanish Civil War will repeat itself. Therefore, while appeasing the Italian Communist Party, measures should be taken to unite religious forces and royalists to jointly combat it…" "Italy and France have deep historical ties; as Latin countries, they should unite. Their cultures are similar, and if the methods used in Italy work, they should also work in France. Therefore, a party should be established with royalists and religious figures at its core…"

In his lengthy letter, Coman requested that Admiral Dragon provide protection, if not outright support, but at least as much as possible. This made the operation much more manageable.

The Catholic Democratic Party's idea was excellent, and Koeman accepted it without hesitation. Even if the last proxy he supported couldn't gain control, they could still have some proxies in Italian politics.

This could be achieved not only by Italy's defeat in the war, but also by hostility towards the Italian Communist Party.

One moment Koeman was all comrades-in-arms with Antonio, and the next he was using American methods to do French things, uniting all the reactionary classes in Italy.

"My dear, when are you going to rest?" Lady Adile came into the study and invited him in a tone that suggested she was the only one who cared about the general.

"Rest now, take a shower first, I'll be there in a bit." Admiral Dragon looked up at Adile, and the little woman's behavior warmed his heart.

In the early hours of December 16th, the Ardennes Forest was silent. More than two months had passed since the Market Garden freebie operation. The battle on the western front had reached a stalemate, with little change in the past two months. Compared to the fierce fighting on the eastern front, it was far too peaceful.

The snow fell all night, accumulating to a depth of half a meter. German engineers lay prone in their foxholes, their fingers numb with cold, yet still gripping the handles of their MP40 submachine guns tightly. Their breath frosted over the edges of their helmets.

"Fire!" Commanders at all levels relayed Marshal Model's order, and in an instant, the roar of thousands of cannons shattered the silence of the snowy night.

The distant horizon was tinged with orange-red—not from sporadic artillery fire, but from the entire horizon ablaze.

The roar of diesel engines mingled with the crunch of tracks crushing the frozen ground. There were no lights, no radio communications, not even infantry escorts—only the deep growl of engines.

A total of 200,000 German troops, driven by their desire for victory, launched their final attack on the Western Front. The inclement weather made it impossible for aircraft to take off, but the German Luftwaffe still came to pave the way for the ground offensive forces.

　A new book by a commoner from Zhejiang begins with the smashing of Dunkirk.

　　Synopsis: Lucius was just playing a game when he inexplicably traveled back to 1914 and became an army corporal.

　　The moment he opened his eyes, his superior told him, "Go and hold this coastal highway and withstand the breakout attempt by an enemy force two hundred times your size!"

　　Those kings and emperors who don't treat their people like human beings deserve to die! It's the same on both sides!
　　To the east, a hundred times more enemies are trying to break through; to the west, a hundred times more enemies are trying to provide support.
　　To the south, there were raging floods; to the north, the vast North Sea and enemy cruisers.

　　Can this war still be fought?
　　"Of course we have to fight! If we don't fight, we'll die! So what if one company fights five divisions? The advantage is on our side!"

　　"But after the battle, I will sweep all those kings on both sides who disregard human life into the dustbin of history!"

　　
　
(End of this chapter)