Father of France

Chapter 64 The General's View

Alan was taken aback. He didn't know what Koeman was thinking, but he still said, "Isn't that an exaggeration? Citizens have always been proud of liberty, equality, and fraternity."

"Anyone can come up with a concept. Go to Moscow, there are all sorts of theories there," Koeman said with a grin. "The dominant ethnic group has no value. Just listen to me and don't worry about what they think."

The dominant ethnic group has no value in united front work. With such a large population, Huikoman cannot afford to provide benefits. Even if benefits are provided, people will feel that they deserve them. What can be done?
Otherwise, the world's major countries wouldn't all be more or less biased towards ethnic minorities. Why doesn't the US government know to condone the disgusting practice of zero-dollar shopping among white and redneck groups?
Did the Soviet government not realize that its long-term preferential treatment of ethnic minorities would lead to Slavic discontent?

Nobody was stupid. Both the United States and the Soviet Union knew this, but due to objective reasons, they had no choice but to do it this way.

Because many of the problems were inherent from the founding of the nation, these historical issues have been left behind for so long that they are not easy to solve. Even if the US and the Soviet Union had an absolute population advantage, it wouldn't have mattered.

If France really wanted to annex Algeria, it would be impossible for the so-called French people on the French mainland not to make sacrifices. Even if it meant using force against the Algerians, they would have to risk their lives to serve in the military to suppress them.
So whether it's a policy of appeasement or violent suppression, native French people have to make sacrifices, either by receiving money or by joining the army.

Now, Koeman believes that post-World War I Russian immigrants were more valuable than French immigrants, but this value is limited to the period of this war and the plundering of Germany.

If they were to encounter the Soviet Red Army, Koeman did not believe that the troops on the Western Front, who had remained motionless for several months, could engage in armed combat.

Russian immigrants could help the French army avoid this situation, but their value in uniting the French after the war automatically disappeared. To put it bluntly, Russian immigrants did not have any real value in uniting the French. It's just that Coman happens to find them useful now, so he lets bygones be bygones for the few French traitors.

The 16th arrondissement of Paris was a major residential area for immigrants from Imperial Russia, and also a residential area for Imperial Russian nobles. With the help of factors such as the patriarchal system, conscription points were quickly established in the 16th arrondissement. The conscription bulletin issued by the Youth Division did not conceal its efforts to recruit Russians.

"In the course of operations in Germany, the French army may cooperate with the Soviet army. Russian soldiers can help the two armies eliminate misunderstandings and conduct more effective joint operations."

This explanation is reasonable. Soon, people of Russian descent, including those from the 16th arrondissement of Paris, appeared at the recruitment points. To this day, not all people of Russian descent have French citizenship, but this recruitment was clearly a good opportunity to become a full citizen. Therefore, people of Russian descent enthusiastically joined the army and quickly reached the standard for the Youth Division.

There is not much of a problem with their beliefs. As troops from Syria, the second largest Christian group there, besides the Maronites, is the Greek Orthodox Church, so there is no conflict in terms of religious beliefs.

Inside St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, a group of men and women are praying. This Orthodox church is a spiritual sanctuary for the French Russian community. As a modernist Christian, it's not impossible for Corman to become an Orthodox Christian; it's not difficult to worship Buddha whenever you see him.

With his gaze fixed on a Russian woman giving a rating, Koman didn't notice Lefebvre entering through the door. His eyes fell on a black top military cap, and he headed straight for Koman's spot. The other men and women praying saw this but didn't make a sound to disturb him, silently watching everything unfold.

“Sir, so you’re here.” Lefevere’s low greeting finally drew Koeman’s attention away from the Russian girl. “Martin is outside the church, but he hasn’t come in.” “His Maronite faith is quite pure,” Koeman muttered, getting up and following Lefevere out of the church. Martin was waiting not far away.

It had been less than two months since the two last met, and neither of them had changed much. Martin's purpose in returning to Paris was simple: the 15,000 tons of tobacco he had accumulated in Syria over the years had been processed.

This was a huge asset during wartime. Koman didn't trust anyone else; he relied on his own comrades.

Martin knew that Koeman wasn't one for idle chatter, so he introduced his investigation in the Piedmont region, briefly outlining the child molestation case, which involved a wide range of people. However, as previously discussed, he hadn't revealed it, but instead kept it as leverage. "The Catholic Democratic Party now has the support of many religious figures in the Piedmont region, but the Italian Communist Party is too powerful. Although the Catholic Democratic Party has begun to consolidate its supporters, the situation is still not optimistic."

"A good start is good enough; whether it succeeds in the end remains to be seen." After listening carefully, Coman still expressed revolutionary optimism. "We've made a good start for France; the rest depends on the provisional government. How did you get back?"

"I came back with the 5th Mountain Division. Now Italy only has three lower-ranking divisions stationed there. Most of the combat troops in the Piedmont region have received orders to return home," Martin answered truthfully. "On the way back from Marseille, I saw a large number of artillery pieces and troops assembled."

General Dracon's First Army of France comprised a total of twenty-one divisions, which were mainly divided into several parts: former French Syrian colonial troops and French Foreign Legion troops, Maronite Christians and Greek Orthodox Christians, and Orientalists as a part.

The Alawites and Druze formed three divisions, which were mixed in with the Sunni conscripts.

The last part consisted of Christians from the Palestinian region and Iraq. This part was the most recently formed, and it was composed of these people from the 18th Infantry Division onwards.

In the French command headquarters in Paris, de Gaulle had just received a telegram from the Allied command and said to Dragon and Tassini, "Eisenhower and Montgomery have jointly decided to launch a full-scale offensive against Germany in twenty days. Our offensive direction is the 300-kilometer-long German defensive line, including the Saar region."

"I believe that in order to allow the Germans in the Saar district to escape to the greatest extent possible, it is necessary to use artillery clusters to carry out a devastating artillery barrage on the Saar district, requiring at least 200,000 tons of ammunition for 72 hours of bombardment."

General Dragon began, “This is only the German garrison in the Saar region. The Rhine River line is the main defensive zone for the Germans, so the ammunition consumption is absolutely terrifying.”

"A devastating bombardment? Covering all settlements?" General Tassini asked in return after hearing the question.

“Of course, including the Saar district,” General Dragon replied affirmatively. “The forty divisions, nearly nine hundred thousand men, deployed for the attack must ensure that the Saar district remains in France forever after its capture. The more Germans who flee, the greater this possibility will be.”

(End of this chapter)