"Surrender, we surrender!"
"God! We don't want to fight, we want to go home!"
Countless British Expeditionary Force officers and soldiers walked out of the trenches one after another. They threw away their weapons, raised their hands high, and surrendered to German military. Under the fierce bombardment of the German Navy fleet, their fighting will has collapsed. In addition, several major Commanders fled, which made them lose the courage to continue fighting.
The desire to survive transcends personal and national honor and disgrace. Under such circumstances, surrender became their only choice for the British Expeditionary Force officers and soldiers who just wanted to survive.
Facing British Expeditionary Force's surrender, German military was a little surprised, but he still accepted their surrender with a smile on his face. Of course, it is very easy for them to eliminate these British Expeditionary Force officers and soldiers who have no fighting spirit. However, the so-called rabbit bites people when it is anxious. In a battle, no matter how successful it is, the winning side will pay a certain price. It is simply impossible to fight a battle with zero casualties. Therefore, the surrender of Britain people is also of great benefit to German military. This allowed them to capture Le Havre at minimal cost. Moreover, it takes the least time and causes the least casualties.
General Kluck and Lieutenant General Ludendorff are also happy to see the outcome of this situation. Whether it is capture or annihilation, it is victory. They don't care about the process, only the final result.
"General, the last resisting British Expeditionary Force has put down its weapons. The Le Havre battle is over!" A smile appeared on Lieutenant General Ludendorff's face. At the same time, he felt relieved. After all, this Le Havre battle can be described as full of twists and turns. They originally thought they could win easily, but due to the sneak attack of the Royal Navy fleet, they suffered heavy losses. Fortunately, Carrier-based Aircraft Unit and the fleet of Imperial Navy gave them support. Otherwise, they really wouldn't be able to win Le Havre.
"The fight is finally over. Fortunately, although there were some accidents. But overall, the result is quite satisfactory to us." General Kluck said.
"Yes! The whole French front is almost over, and there won't be any big battle." Lieutenant General Ludendorff said.
Although, the French army is still resisting. German military's main armies are also continuing to move south. However, the French army continued to retreat on the battlefield and simply did not have the courage to continue fighting German military. It is foreseeable that once they retreat to southern France and there is no way to retreat, they will have to make a choice. In other words, there is no other choice.
The surrender of British Expeditionary Force of Le Havre is undoubtedly a heavy blow to French government. This makes them even less confident about the current war. In other words, I no longer have the courage to fight.
Among French government and the military, those militant factions who insist on continuing the war are losing weight as the war situation develops. Even France's President Poincaré and Prime Minister Rene Viviani began to think that the war had reached this point, and it seemed that there was no need to persist any longer.
However, even so, French government and the main militant faction of the military have not given up completely. They still hope that France can end this war as a winner rather than a loser.
"Gentlemen, British Expeditionary Force failed at Le Havre. More than 200,000 people surrendered to the Germany people. This allowed the Germany people to mobilize more troops to attack us. It is foreseeable that the future situation will be even more unfavorable to us!" President Poincaré said.
"Yes! Everyone, I am now very pessimistic about whether we can win the war. After all, the current situation is very unfavorable to us. And our enemies have too much and too obvious advantages on the battlefield!" Prime Minister Rene Viviani also said.
"Your Excellency the President, Your Excellency the Prime Minister. I do not deny that the current situation is very unfavorable to us. The Germany people have indeed taken an absolute advantage. However, we still have a glimmer of hope. If Combined Fleet can defeat German Navy. Then the situation will develop in our favor. By then, a large number of people will come from colonization The resources of the land and the assistance from United States will make us stronger again. On the other hand, the Germany people will be in a blockade situation again. At that time, they will become weaker and weaker. The balance of victory will gradually tilt towards us again, and in the end, we will win the war." Marshal Joffre said.
Although, Marshal Joffre himself was a little unsure. However, as the commander-in-chief of the French army. At the same time, he is also the leader of the main war faction, so he naturally has to show great confidence. Otherwise, even he would not have the confidence to continue the fight, so how could the battle continue?
"However, half of our country has fallen now. If we continue to fight, we will lose more land, a large number of cities will be reduced to ruins, and a large number of people will die in the war. This will be very detrimental to French Republic." Prime Minister Rene Viviani said.
After all, if the losses in the war are too great. Then, the entire country and nation will be severely affected by this. Even if the war ends in the end, it will be very difficult to recover.
"Your concern, Prime Minister, is correct. But it is precisely because of this that we need to continue the war. Now, we have paid a lot of losses in this war. If we end the war now, our losses will never be recovered. Moreover, the Germany people will definitely put forward very demanding ceasefire requirements, and we need to pay a greater price for this. And if we can If we can finally win the war, we can in turn kill Germany people. In this way, all the losses we paid in the war can be recovered from Germany people, or even doubled. By then, French Republic will quickly regain its strength and even become stronger." Marshal Joffre said.
President Poincaré and Prime Minister Rene Viviani were moved by Marshal Joffre's point of view. Therefore, they decided to bite the bullet and continue the war.
However, the two also made it clear. If Combined Fleet fails to defeat German Navy in the decisive battle. Then, the war must be ended immediately. No matter how high the price is, you still need to stop your losses immediately.