Tricolor flags, tricolor flags everywhere.
On the walls, windows, and the tops of buildings, tricolor flags fluttered in the wind.
That was the French flag.
France was liberated.
On Tuesday, August 15, Napoleon's birthday, the Allies launched Operation Dragoon and landed in southern France.
On the 23rd, although all 121 docks in Marseille were destroyed by the Germans, none of them could continue to be used; the explosion of explosives and thousands of mines turned every dock and warehouse into a ruin of steel, concrete and cables. 11 large ships, including a transatlantic passenger ship, were destroyed to block the entrance to the harbor, and 257 cranes were thrown into the water.
But the task force led by George still entered Marseille by boat. In order to avoid mines, everyone could only take a landing craft to land on a beach far away from the city. Because there were only two landing crafts, the team of more than 3,000 people took three days to land.
After landing, they naturally contacted the Allies as soon as possible. Although the task force had the permission of the Allied Command, they found that things were not that simple when they arrived on the battlefield. The troops fighting on the front line had no intention of cooperating with them at all. They even felt that this was a waste of transportation capacity. Because the port was destroyed, the shortage of supplies gradually threatened the US Seventh Army, and thousands of tons of ammunition were pressed on top of other goods in the cargo hold of the ship.
In this case, naturally no one cooperated with them, and they were even worried that the task force would squeeze their logistics supplies. However, despite this, in just a few days, the task force still seized more than 300 cannons and tens of thousands of rifles from the German defense line near the coast.
"All of them are cannons over 100 centimeters! Some are French, some are Russian..."
Compared to the excitement of Zhao Xiyong and others, George was not very interested in these scrap metals. After all, there were weapons everywhere from France to Germany. After entering Germany, they would find planes everywhere-because there was no fuel, nearly 10,000 German planes were hiding in the forest beside the airport runway and the roadside woods.
Because there is no fuel, abandoned tanks are everywhere on the roadside and in the city. Not to mention other countries, France alone has picked up one or two hundred Panther tanks. There are even hundreds of submarines that are about to be completed or have been completed in the shipyard.
"General Zhao, you see what I said is right, I can tell you for sure that the further inland you go, the more weapons you will pick up. Our few thousand people are still too few!"
George's words made Zhao Xiyong nod repeatedly.
"Captain George is right. A few thousand people may seem like a lot, but if they are dispersed, they are not enough at all. Moreover, the French are also picking up equipment, especially heavy equipment. The French have many acquaintances, and we are not familiar with the terrain, and we have few people. This will be a big loss..."
While saying this, Zhao Xiyong took the initiative to ask.
"Captain George, if the country sends more people, are you willing to accept these people?"
After saying this, he looked at George expectantly. Don't look at his rank of major general, but that was in the past. He is now just a company employee. In fact, even if he holds the rank of major general, it is useless in France. The Americans recognize the task force, and the captain of the task force is the gentleman in front of him.
Although the battlefield is full of abandoned guns and ammunition by the Germans, there are not enough people to handle it, so he has the idea of asking the country to send more people, but this requires the consent of Captain George.
With such a good thing, George didn't even think about it, and immediately agreed, saying,
"I am like Han Xin selecting soldiers here, the more the better. I estimate, well, another 10,000 people should be enough."
"Not enough, not enough."
Zhao Xiyong shook his head and said.
"Captain George, France is so big. If we want to collect as many weapons as possible, the more people, the better. With so few people, we can't even search the defense line in this area. I think it must be at least 20,000. How about 20,000?"
Twenty thousand!
George was so shocked by the figures Zhao Xiyong gave that he couldn't even speak.
After all, he was too conservative!
It's easy to make a big mistake if you take a big step, but being conservative will lead to mistakes!
Seeing that George didn't say anything, Zhao Xiyong thought he was calculating the expenses, so he whispered.
"Captain George, are you worried that the United States won't bear the expenses? Captain George, don't worry, although the domestic situation is a bit tight, we can still raise enough salaries for 20,000 people..."
Before he finished speaking, George waved his hand and said.
"They are all employees of our company. How can we let the domestic government pay? That money should be kept for fighting the Japanese."
George, who seemed generous, didn't pay a penny at all. The expenses of the task force's search for supplies were all borne by the United States and were part of the Lend-Lease Act.
The reason why he didn't react for a while was entirely because of Zhao Xiyong's generosity... 20,000 people!
Wow!
With this 20,000-person task force, our North Borneo can truly have its own army.
Even though this unit is still a castle in the air, it does not prevent George from starting to make some plans for it.
First of all, this unit must have its own artillery, tank soldiers, and even its own air force.
Why?
Nothing else, because the task force is the foundation for the future return of the North Borneo Company to Borneo.
Of course, the cost of more than 25,000 people is definitely not small, but this is no problem. After all, the cost is borne by the Americans. In fact, the cost is not large, just one million US dollars a month.
"It seems that we have to keep some weapons for our own use."
"What?"
Zhao Xiyong was stunned and surprised.
"Aren't our weapons all supplied by Americans?"
Looking at the surrounding team members carrying M1 carbines, Zhao Xiyong was full of doubts. The task force is equipped with weapons according to the logistics personnel, only M1911 pistols and M1 carbines, and as for heavy weapons, there are a small number of M1919 heavy machine guns, and some German MG34 and mortars.
If the country really sends 20,000 people to me now, heavy equipment must be put on the agenda, and tanks, artillery and the like must be prepared.
"What the Americans provide is some light weapons. The braver the people, the more productive the land. If we have enough manpower, we can follow the Allies. They fight in front and we pick up the weapons in the back. At that time, we will definitely be able to collect more weapons. However, the Germans fight in a roundabout way. If we encounter the Germans, we can also fight back. Don't you think safety first, safety first."
"Captain George, it's a good idea. Safety first. Only when we are safe can we send more weapons to the country, right!"
Zhao Xiyong complimented him hurriedly. Then he called in several other liaison officers to discuss it. They all agreed to send more people. After all, there are too many weapons all over the mountains and plains!
So soon, a telegram was sent to the country. The content of the telegram seemed to be quite a lot, but in fact it was just one sentence - few people, many guns, come quickly!