Chapter 205: The Contingency Plan

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A massive cannon was slowly raised on its railway tracks. Along the tracks, many French soldiers were reinforcing the surrounding railway. A French officer stood on high ground, watching all of this, his eyes filled with pride.

“General de Gaulle,” he said, showing off his great cannon to his colleague beside him. “All of Germany does not have such a huge cannon. And here, we have deployed five such cannons in one go.”

De Gaulle also had a very happy expression on his face. “I hope your cannons can bring victory to this offensive.”

It had been a full sixteen days since France had declared war on Germany, but France had still not launched any substantial offensive against Germany. Everyone was waiting for the outcome of the war in Poland. Once Germany was bogged down in a stalemate on the battlefield, then other countries would begin to truly attack Germany’s western border.

But this time, all the countries had miscalculated, completely miscalculated. The imagined stalemate did not appear. The war turned into a one-sided military exercise. The German troops had advanced more than 40 kilometers on the first day of the war and had maintained this dumbfounding speed of advance for most of the time since.

The British were forced to send 10,000 men to Belgium to strengthen the border defenses, because the Belgian royal family was worried about the terrifying combat effectiveness of the German army. If such an offensive speed were to appear in Belgium, then the small territory of Belgium could be overrun in a few days. Similarly, a division of French troops had also entered Luxembourg.

And the French high command began to notice a small battle on the northern Polish border. This battle seemed insignificant in the magnificent eastern campaign, but it still made all the French generals uneasy: a permanent defensive fortification made of reinforced concrete had been completely destroyed by the German Air Force.

Giant bombs, combined with napalm, made it possible for the German army to quickly break through the Maginot Line, and the solid Maginot Line had thus become as fragile as a piece of paper. France was unwilling to let the steel Great Wall, built with huge investment, become a farmer’s wooden fence, so they hurriedly began to strengthen this border defense line.

They believed that the Maginot Line could withstand any impact from the ground; the only thing to worry about was the threat from the sky. Therefore, the French military finally chose a two-pronged approach. One was to begin strengthening the performance of their fighter aircraft; the other was to supplement their ground-based anti-aircraft fire.

However, September 1937 was a lean time for the French aviation industry. Some mature aircraft models seemed obsolete in the face of Germany’s advanced fighters, while some experimental models were not yet mature and needed further testing. Watching the large number of German aircraft slaughtering old-fashioned planes over Poland, the French Air Force had no choice but to produce the MS.406 fighter, whose performance was still passable, to alleviate the pressure caused by the German Air Force.

On the ground, France began to deploy anti-aircraft guns in the main sectors of the Maginot Line. There was also an interesting little episode here: the French had also taken a liking to the Swedish Bofors 40mm anti-aircraft gun, but unfortunately, Germany had already booked all orders for the next three years, so the French had no choice but to use their own domestically produced anti-aircraft guns of average performance.

At the same time, the French began to plan an offensive to force Germany to give up its plan to destroy Poland. But at this time, they found that they did not have a complete operational plan to attack Germany.

However, the appearance of one person gave the French government a glimmer of hope. This person was Major General de Gaulle, an army general who had always advocated the use of force against Germany. He proposed a complete operational plan, including the use of giant cannons on the border to destroy Germany’s Siegfried Line, and then the concentrated use of tanks to attack western Germany, just as Germany had attacked Poland.

Poland was now on its last legs. If they didn’t act now, it would be too late. As a great power on the European continent, France also had its own considerations. Britain could sit by and watch Germany grow strong to check France, but France could not tolerate such an outcome. So this time, the French finally decided to leave their British allies behind and try to fight Germany on their own.

At least this time, de Gaulle felt that the timing was very ripe: Germany had concentrated more than eighty percent of its main forces in a surprise attack on Poland and had achieved results there that had shocked the world. In that case, Germany’s strength on the western front must not be sufficient. If France were to act at this time, it could gain an advantage over the German army on the western front. This would force Germany to withdraw troops from Poland and once again fall into the awkward predicament of a two-front war.

“Our army has not done much research on Germany’s new secret incendiary bomb, so we don’t have a good way to deal with the Siegfried Line,” de Gaulle said, pointing to the French railway guns in front of him. “This type of weapon is our only means of dealing with the German Siegfried Line. I hope it can achieve the desired effect.”

“A few days ago, we tested the destructive capability of this 500mm cannon on reinforced concrete fortifications. The effect was very good. At least the Germans didn’t deceive us this time. These cannons are indeed fortress killers,” the artillery officer said with a smile, looking at de Gaulle beside him. “We won’t be fooled in this regard, because our weapons experts also have to conduct tests. Only after proving they are useful will they be put into mass production.”

“Tomorrow at dawn, we will show the Germans that the French army of today is not that bunch of fools from Poland!” de Gaulle said, waving his hand to his adjutant. The adjutant nodded and ran down the slope.

And on the other side of the slope, dozens of French heavy tanks, leading hundreds of light tanks, were slowly advancing on the highway. With these tanks were thousands upon thousands of French infantry. At regular intervals, there was a horse-drawn cannon. The column stretched to the end of the mountain road, submerged in a cloud of grey dust.

“Heil Führer! General Gascoigne, an urgent intelligence report just sent from the French side,” an officer said, holding a document with the words “Top Secret” written on it as he walked into the office of the German Wehrmacht High Command’s Intelligence Bureau and stood at attention.

Gascoigne opened the document, and his expression immediately changed. “Such important intelligence, how could it have only just been delivered here?”

“The French have sealed the Luxembourg border. Our intelligence personnel only found an opportunity to send this report out this evening,” the officer said with his head bowed. “After suffering several hidden losses, the French intelligence department has also begun to carry out a cleansing plan against our deployments. A few days ago, the operation to sabotage the French MS.406 fighter production line failed because of this.”

“Call the Führer’s office at once! Say I need to see the Führer,” Gascoigne said, looking at his pocket watch. He knew that Akado had already flown back to Berlin this afternoon. He immediately stood up. “Send a message to the intelligence branch in France. Tell them to gather as many details of this French operation as possible, including troop strength, direction of attack, and all other information… If there is any news, have them contact me directly, without going through anyone! Understood?”

“Yes, General!” the officer replied, saluting again.

“I’m very sorry to disturb you so late, my Führer,” Gascoigne said apprehensively, looking at the weary Akado with his head bowed. “But this news is very important. I could only inform you as soon as possible, in the hope that you can make preparations early.”

“Regarding the French side?” Akado knew that this capable subordinate of his would not come to disturb him for no reason. It must be a very tricky major event. And speaking of major events, right now, it was nothing more than the issue of the western front. So he swept away his fatigue and asked with narrowed eyes.

Gascoigne stepped forward and handed the intelligence file to Akado. “The French are preparing to attack. We don’t know the time or place of the attack, but this offensive will break out in the near future. They have sealed the Luxembourg border region.”

Akado nodded. He walked to his desk and picked up the phone. “Get me the Propaganda Ministry… Fanny, it’s me, Akado… Arrange for a speech. I need it ready by tomorrow morning. The core theme is to condemn France for launching a war against Germany, disregarding Germany’s resistance to the westward advance of communism… Yes, get it arranged as soon as possible and wait for my instructions.”

He put down the phone and immediately picked it up again. Akado continued to issue his orders. “Get me the Wehrmacht High Command… This is Akado. Please put General von Brauchitsch on the line… You’ve already seen the intelligence? Yes, its accuracy should be beyond doubt. Immediately have the western front forces enter a state of full combat readiness. All officers’ leave is canceled. Troops are to move to their respective defensive sectors.”

“My Führer, do we need to activate the ‘Contingency Plan’?” Brauchitsch’s voice came from the other end of the line. “If the French army attacks in full force, the western front will suffer losses. We must counter-attack at the first opportunity to contain the French offensive. Because the Siegfried Line, after all…”

“Tomorrow morning, the government will declare a state of emergency. The Wehrmacht will be expanded by another twenty divisions, which will be sent to the western front,” Akado said with full confidence. “I authorize you to use the ‘Contingency Plan’ for the defense of the west… but everything must wait until the French fire first. Understood?”

“As you command, my Führer!” Brauchitsch replied. “I will do my best to stop the French in the designated areas.”

After hanging up, Akado called Schacht. “Send a message to all the businessmen connected to us. Tell them to sell off their French bonds and assets. The ‘Contingency Plan’ has just been approved for execution. The real war has begun.”

Inside the Wehrmacht High Command, Brauchitsch dialed the number for the frontline command post. “General von Rundstedt. This is Brauchitsch. On behalf of the Führer, I announce that you have been appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Western Front, responsible for executing the ‘Contingency Plan’.”

Late on the night of September 29, the German Wehrmacht’s western front forces began to leave their barracks. The canvas covers on the aircraft were torn off by the ground crews. The “Contingency Plan” was fully implemented, and the German Western Front entered a state of Level One combat readiness.