Expedition to Europe

Nivelle was a man with a strong attachment to castles. Just like in the Verdun area, Nivelle's headquarters was located in a castle called "Eye of Thunder".

"Thunder" is one of the three Cyclops in Greek mythology, and the name "Eye of Thunder" is very symbolic.

There is an infantry regiment stationed near the Eye of Thunder. This regiment is a hunting cavalry unit and is also the guard regiment of the French commander-in-chief in the traditional sense. It is considered to be the personal guard of the French commander-in-chief.

Foch wanted to drive Nivelle out of the position of the French commander-in-chief, and taking command of this regiment was the first step.

Therefore, Foch's first stop was the Château-Thierry Forest, where the "Eye of Thunder" was located and the guard regiment was also stationed nearby.

No matter how tight the supply of the French army was, the supply of the commander-in-chief's personal guards would definitely not be less. Therefore, the turmoil that had affected almost all French troops did not affect the guard regiment, and this unit still maintained normal training and patrols.

When Qin Zhiyuan came out, he brought with him the escort company led by Gao Hongshi. This company had a staff of 150 people, equipped with mortars and Lewis light machine guns, and equipped with a large number of shotguns, as well as 15 trucks and 20 sidecar motorcycles.

Sidecar motorcycles, which were once three-wheeled vehicles. In another time and space during World War II, three-wheeled vehicles and jeeps were very popular and almost became the symbol of the SS. Since the SS has not appeared yet, Qin Zhiyuan wants to turn these two things into the symbol of the Chinese army.

The Renault factory itself produces motorcycles. Converting motorcycles into three-wheeled vehicles does not require much technical content, but making a jeep is a big project that requires more time and money. Qin Zhiyuan is not short of time and money, so a laboratory for automobiles has been established, and it is an automobile laboratory jointly established with the Renault factory. The person in charge of Renault is Pierce, and the person in charge of Qin Zhiyuan is Long Chengyuan.

Although the jeep has not yet appeared in person, a convoy consisting of three-wheeled vehicles, Renault cars and trucks is conspicuous enough. The convoy has green lights all the way to the checkpoint of the military camp.

This unit obviously still maintains its loyalty to the French government. When Foch's secretary Gary stepped forward to identify himself, the commander and deputy commander appeared in front of Foch in less than a minute.

"Hello, Commander. Gregory Moore, the commander of the first regiment of the Chasseurs, salutes you." Gregory stood upright in front of Foch, and his salute gesture was very standard and meticulous.

Gregory was about 40 years old. Compared to a middle-aged man, he had a very muscular figure. He had a rare beardless face, and a scar on his cheek looked very obvious. Gregory had a square chin and sharp edges. He wore a gorgeous uniform of the Colonel of the Chasseurs Guards. This uniform from two centuries ago may not look appropriate now, but it was one of Napoleon's favorite clothes.

"Hello, Colonel." Foch saluted back. He was still wearing the 1916-style general uniform and had the rank of a general of the first class: "Gather all officers, I want to announce the order of the Ministry of War."

"Yes, Commander." Gregory stood at attention and saluted, then led the convoy into the barracks.

Since the order from the Ministry of War was to be read out, it could not be hastily announced in front of the barracks, but had to go to a special meeting room.

Nivelle had not been the commander-in-chief of the French army for long, and this unit had not been with Nivelle in the Château-Thierry Forest for long, but even if it was just a temporary camp, the meeting room, restaurant, and church in the camp were all built and well-equipped, and they had all been renovated to a considerable extent, not the kind of standard that would be demolished after use.

The luxury of the French can be seen.

In an infantry regiment, all the officers added up, there were about 100 or so. The number of hunting cavalry was less, about only more than 30 people. Of course, this might also be the reason why many low-ranking officers were not qualified to attend the meeting.

Foch's appointment letter was not long, only a few sentences. When everyone was present, Foch immediately announced that Nivelle was relieved of his post as the commander-in-chief of the French army and transferred to the Ministry of War to manage archives.

That is, to manage archives.

Thanks to Nivelle, this job was previously handled by Foch, and now it is handed over to Nivelle by Foch. It really has a mysterious taste of feng shui turning around. But looking at Nivelle's current performance, I'm afraid he may not necessarily take office.

The best time for Nivelle to step down was when the mutiny just broke out. If Nivelle had resigned in accordance with Raymond Poincaré's wishes, then Raymond Poincaré would have saved some face for Nivelle. But Nivelle refused to resign, and even refused to appoint Foch as the new commander-in-chief of the French army when Raymond Poincaré had already appointed him. This is a face-saving move. It is really his own fault to be in such a state of being deserted by everyone today.

He was indeed deserted by his friends and relatives. Even though the troops in front of him were the traditional French Army Commander-in-Chief's Guards, no one spoke up for Nivelle.

"Notify all officers of the headquarters and all members of the staff to come here for a meeting. Also, prepare a place for the headquarters staff to stay. Also, notify the headquarters office immediately to bring me all the reports submitted by all the troops in the past few days. If there are any phone calls, I want to see the phone records..." Foch did not hesitate and immediately issued a series of orders.

In fact, the best way to stabilize the morale of the army is to keep everyone busy. As long as there is no idle time, the soldiers will have no time to think about it. When the rhythm returns to the original track, the mutiny will naturally subside.

The way Foch used to remove Nivelle's power was simpler than Qin Zhiyuan thought. In Qin Zhiyuan's view, if he wanted to carry out the so-called rebellion, he might have to kill people and kill his head.

Unexpectedly, Foch used a more moderate method.

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Think about it and you can understand that Nivelle's power comes from the French government, so the French government naturally has a way to take back these rights. Rebellions in the era of hot weapons are actually easier to quell than those in the era of cold weapons, because the army in the era of hot weapons relies on weapons and ammunition. As long as the logistical supply of the rebel troops is cut off, the rebel troops will collapse without a fight.

Foch only needs to put up a big flag here, and then announce the recall of all members of the headquarters, and Nivelle will become a bare commander. Although Nivelle is now a lone commander, it is impossible for a madman to have a clear understanding of his surroundings, otherwise he would not be a madman.

At dusk, all members of the headquarters had gathered around Foch, and even the large radio transmitter was moved over, leaving Nivelle alone.

That night, Gregory came to report that Nivelle was no longer conscious and was forcibly sent to Paris for treatment.

An era ended.

At the same time, a great era began.