Paris has always been known as the romantic city. Those exquisite and elegant buildings and the scenery on both sides of the Seine River have always been a place where people linger. French loves romance, which is known to the whole world. However, this also makes the combat effectiveness of the French army not very good. Except in the Napoleonic Empire era, when the French army was invincible across Europe, the French army performed very poorly at other times. Among Franco-Prussian War, they were beaten to the point of kneeling down and begging for mercy by the Prussia people, and even the emperor was captured.
In this World War, the performance of the French army was also not very good. After the war broke out, the reorganization of the French Army had not yet been completed. As a last resort, the troops that had not yet completed reorganization had to be sent to the battlefield to resist the Germany people's attack. Coupled with strategic errors, the French army suffered heavy casualties in the early stages of the war.
If it weren't for British Expeditionary Force's timely reinforcements, and if there were problems with the German Army's strategy, France might have failed in this war.
Even now, German military has advanced to the Marne River, which is only dozens of kilometers away from Paris. This is undoubtedly a fatal threat to Paris. If German military makes a breakthrough again, he might push the front directly to Paris's city. By then, this beautiful city will be destroyed in the war.
The current situation is also very unfavorable for France. The Russian allies they relied on collapsed directly, and the newly established Bolshevik Party Russia even made peace with the Germany people and directly withdrew from the war. The entire Russia has now been reduced to a pot of porridge, and they can no longer be expected to contain the Germany people. This leaves France having to bear the strong pressure brought by Germany alone.
Although, the number of Expeditionary Force sent to France by Britain has increased to millions. The total scale of the French Army has also been mobilized to more than two million. However, the French generals had no idea whether they could withstand German offensive.
However, Britain people are obviously unreliable. Royal Navy, who was once the number one in the world, was actually defeated by German Navy. All the main players were wiped out. It seemed that they were only one step away from being defeated. This made people in France even more panicked. Some senior officials of French government even began to declare that there was no possibility of winning this war. If they wanted to preserve more interests in France, they could only make peace with Germany. Of course, this is not the mainstream view. Most French senior officials and military generals still want to continue to resist.
After all, they knew very well that with the greedy character of the Germany people, if they made peace with the Germany people, they would definitely be brutally slaughtered by the Germany people. This is undoubtedly unacceptable to France. What's more, they still have so many troops, so they want to fight again.
When British First Sea Lord Churchill went to United States to discuss the purchase of warships, Britain Ministry of Foreign Affairs also contacted France, hoping that French Navy could fully support British Navy and then have a decisive battle with German Navy.
However, France did not agree immediately.
Before the rise of Germany, France could be regarded as a maritime power second only to Britain. Especially during the Louis XIV König and Napoleonic Empire periods, they once competed with Britain for maritime hegemony. Of course, they failed in the end. Coupled with the threat of Germany to France, France can only shift its focus to the construction of the army.
But even so, France still retains one of the top five navies in the world. Because France also has vast colonies overseas, and the security of those colonies is also very important to France.
"Gentlemen, Britain has made a formal request to us. We hope to get the cooperation of our navy to defeat German Navy and reverse the situation. What do you think we should do? Should we agree to the Britain people's request?" asked French President Raymond Poincaré.
"Your Excellency, I think we should cooperate with the Britain. Now, we are allies. In the war against the Germany people, we must cooperate closely. Only in this way can we defeat the Germany people and win the war." Government Prime Minister Rene Viviani first expressed his position.
"Yes, Your Excellency the President. I also agree to cooperate with British Royal Navy and find a way to defeat the Germany people. Although Royal Navy has failed once and suffered very heavy losses. But if, as they said, they can buy a batch of warships from Americans, and add If we and Capital Ships from Italy have the ability to have another decisive battle with Germany, if we can win this time, then our disadvantageous situation will be greatly improved," said Secretary of the Navy Victor Gagnur.
"Will Americans sell battleships to the Britain people? Even if we and the Italy people are added, it will probably be very difficult to defeat the Germany people!" Minister of War Alexander? Millerand was a little worried.
"Indeed, Germany people are too powerful. So, I am also worried about this." Ministry of Foreign Affairs Chief Theophile Delcasse said.
"No matter how great the chance of winning is, we always have to give it a try. Otherwise, we can only sit back and watch the Germany people's advantages continue to expand and eventually lose this war!" Prime Minister Rene Viviani said.
"Yes, I completely agree with the Prime Minister's point of view. French Republic has reached the most critical moment, and we must try our best. Otherwise, we will definitely fail in the end." Raymond President Poincaré said.
Although the combat effectiveness of France's troops is not strong now. However, their determination to fight is undoubtedly strong. French knows that if they don't work hard, they will have to taste the consequences of Franco-Prussian War's failure again. In fact, this time Germany people's requirements will be more stringent than after their failure in Franco-Prussian War.
With the full support of both the president and the prime minister, other Cabinet Ministers in France will naturally have no other opinions.
Immediately, French President Raymond Poincaré signed an order, agreeing to form a coalition with British Navy and fight German Navy decisively. This time, French Navy will dispatch all ten Capital Ships, as well as 15 Light Cruiser and 30 destroyers to join the coalition. You know, this has already mobilized all the main forces of French Navy. If it fails again this time, French Navy will never recover from this.