Chapter 724: The Roots of U.S. Military Involvement

“In fact, given the current situation, the French should not hesitate to use chemical weapons.”

When meeting with General Bilton, the commander of the British forces in British Malaya, Allen Wilson opened his speech with this paragraph. It almost made the British commander’s jaw drop in shock, “Allen, you’re serious.”

“Honorable General, I am able to tell when it is okay to joke.” Alan Wilson’s face was stoic, with no intention of joking, “Actually, Germany has a large amount of chemical weapons reserves and production experience, if the French don’t mind. I can help play a certain role from it.”

“It’s fortunate that you were born a few decades later, otherwise I really can’t imagine.” General Bilton sighed with a bitter smile, “I can’t even imagine what would have happened if you were the commander of a colonial army.”

“It’s just a matter of learning from the advanced experience of the East, no big deal.” Alan Wilson nonchalantly shook the wine glass in his hand, he just couldn’t believe that after killing half of the thirty million Vietnamese, the rest would still dare to resist.

After returning to Kuala Lumpur, and after a few days of discussions that could not be called morally burdensome at all, Alan Wilson now felt that the small spectacle of napalm alone was still totally inadequate.

But nuclear bombs were not available in France, so the only alternative was to think of chemical weapons.

Germany is a chemical weapons powerhouse, in the Second World War in the production of chemical weapons is calculated in accordance with the tons, but never used, in the post-war reserves of a large number of chemical weapons, he believed that the French hand must have.

Germany did not use chemical weapons is not the root cause of how civilized the Germans, otherwise stockpile so much for what?

The fundamental reason lies in the fact that none of the European countries’ industries are weak, and the Soviet Union, Britain, France and even Czechoslovakia, which Germany faced on the battlefield, all have the ability to produce chemical weapons, and if Germany dares to use them once, all countries will retaliate.

And World War II Italy and Japan have used, Italy mainly used in Africa, and Japan in the battlefield large-scale use of poison gas, the fundamental reason is that the two countries face the opponents, used will not be retaliated against.

The United States later used Agent Orange in Vietnam, of course, also belongs to a kind of chemical weapons, the Americans use the French can of course.

While the two men chatted, General Navarre had arrived at the British Army Command in Malaya, and this time he came to British Malaya as the commander-in-chief of the French forces in Vietnam, having been invited to come by General Bilton.

The fundamental reason lies in the fact that to enlist the help of the nearby Britain in logistics, but also to visit the production line of napalm, with the help of his wife Pamela Mountbatten, this production line of weapons used to supply the French army in combat has been put into production.

General Navarre and Alan Wilson have met, also know that General Bilton is the commander of the British forces in Malaya, the same military two people have no strangers, and soon get to the point, confirming that the French army is preparing for a large-scale offensive.

“The current Vietnam is a big problem, those who resist the armed clearance is not endless, through a certain degree of attack to lay the advantage, in a good negotiation environment, my idea is to establish an independent country where France enjoys special interests.”

General Navarre articulated his inner truth, feeling that a strong retention of the colonies was probably out of the question. The core idea of formulating this operation was to establish a protectorate.

“That’s actually not bad!” Alan Wilson heard this I’m familiar with ah, Britain has quite a few protectorates in the Middle East now. Iraq and Egypt no longer count, but Yemen, Oman and these places, the British protectorate there are still many.

First expressed his approval, Alan Wilson turned the tables and said, “I never doubt that in the offensive battle in the French army’s combat effectiveness, just a long time to consume for us these countries 10,000 miles away consumption is huge. If the real battle, or to be careful, if Vietnam is like the U.S. Army in the Pacific theater in the face of the Japanese, fight to the end you are also at a disadvantage.”

Alan Wilson used the Japanese army, a second-rate army, as a comparison, the Pacific War of World War II, the Japanese army killed one million one hundred thousand, the U.S. army’s casualty figure is less than one hundred and ten thousand. It was roughly a one to ten ratio.

The U.S. Army lost 400,000 men in WWII, and it makes sense that less than a third died in the Pacific theater.

With a population of nearly thirty million, Vietnam had no difficulty pulling off a million-sized armed force. And the French army killed one less than one, the total number of 180,000 French troops, the real French only 50,000, the survey of German soldiers is only 20,000, stretched to the limit, even Allen Wilson can see.

If Britain and France hadn’t joined forces after the war and forced Thailand to cede the Kra Isthmus in the name of punishing Japan’s accomplices, he might now be suggesting that France should have persuaded the Thais to become cannon fodder.

But with this business of the Isthmus of Kra, France was on its own. Soon General Bilton was saying that the British forces in Malaya were fending off Indonesian infiltration and really couldn’t do much to help.

This is considered a polite rejection of the previous, the French army put forward a request for help from the British army, Allen Wilson added on the side, “The British army is not known for its land forces, our elite troops are all in Europe, the Asian side of the Royal Navy, after the parade of ships are on their way back, if the French army needs help, we are willing to mobilize sea forces to provide help, but may be limited to coastal cities help too.”

Speaking of this, Alan Wilson, who had the words of many movie queens, looked constricted and seemed very embarrassed. He was very starry-eyed to help his close ally France do something, but General Navarre should have seen that there was a limit to what a colony could do.

General Navarre nodded and sighed that this was probably the limit of what the British could do on this side of Asia.

The limit is not necessarily the limit, but it’s a shame that the French can’t be like the United States and move the Korean army over to help. In the final analysis, France’s colonies in Asia are relatively isolated, at least also another large chunk of French Africa compared to, indeed, can not lend a hand.

France was able to maintain its status as a great power after the war, and whether the French recognized it or not, it had nothing to do with Britain’s help. Britain, in the last glorious years of the British Empire, sort of did its best to help this centuries-old rival.

Even this colony in Vietnam was surrendered by British troops and subsequently transferred to the French, and Britain was at the UN to make sure France took over the colony again, so the French had little to say about it by any measure.

Eventually, after a tour of the napalm production line and an air-drop test at the range, Alan Wilson couldn’t help but say, “General Nawal, if Vietnam doesn’t have the industry to counter it, then chemical weapons are a viable option.”

General Navarre, not unlike General Bilton’s reaction, looked at Allen Wilson with amazement, “Commissioner Wilson, that’s a very constructive suggestion.”

“Equally destructive! In fact, on a moral level, I shouldn’t have made this suggestion.” Allen Wilson sighed, “But war is like this, it doesn’t matter if it’s moral or not.”

“In fact, I once suggested that the government ask the United States for assistance in the Vietnam theater.” General Navarre shook his head slightly and said, “Unfortunately, the Paris government did not respond to this.”

Allen Wilson was not sleepy at once, it turned out that the US army first intervened in the Vietnam War, it was the French who took the initiative to ask for help?

This is a good thing ah, Allen Wilson also thought about how to get the Americans to intervene in it, after all, he did not know the historical source, can not wait for the Americans to love their own figured out over.

Hear General Nawal so say, the original U.S. military involvement in the Vietnam War in the root of this? Then he had to say a few words to express his approval of General Navarre, “General Navarre, in a neutral position, as a British, we are very surprised at the political chaos in France over the years, the government’s confusion to a certain extent affects the actions of the French army.”

Both explicitly and implicitly agreed that General Navarre’s idea of opening his mouth to ask for help from the United States was absolutely correct, and compared the French military action in Vietnam to the significance of the Korean War, which had just ended.

General Navarre heard, even the British also think so, want to return to Paris a trip to the government to present the idea again, he previously was through the telegraph for advice, did not get the response of the Paris government, this time it wants to return home a special trip to seek the support of the government.

If someone asked Allen Wilson if he was in favor of it, of course he was, how could he be against this kind of benefit to the balance of the international situation, and he even expressed his willingness to provide his own special plane to save General Nerval’s time in going back and forth.

General Navarre, who already had an idea, refused the request, but had already made up his mind to make a trip back to the country, the government and the military have very different opinions, which will certainly affect the attack, both sides must keep the same opinion.

After an interval of one day, General Nawal left from Kuala Lumpur to return to Saigon, via Saigon’s Air France Comet airliner, embarked on a journey back to the country, the main purpose of two, to ensure that the government and the military position of unity, the second point is to strive for U.S. assistance, and then open a large-scale offensive.

If both of these points could be accomplished, General Nawal would have the confidence to make plans for a strategic offensive.

General Navarre’s idea was to conduct an offensive battle and fight hard with the Viet Minh, and through the experience of the French army in offensive warfare, to kill and maim the Viet Minh’s vital forces to the greatest extent possible.

Whether Paris would agree to all of General Navarre’s demands, Allen Wilson did not know, but he hoped that the French attack would go well this time. Anymore, it would be okay to have the U.S. Army send some military advisors to Vietnam first.

Don’t look at the military advisors as if they are of little use, once this kind of thing starts, the follow up will be constant, and a large number of American troops will naturally come over in time.

Nurture the enemy to self-importance this kind of thing, the U.S. military to do simply do not too skillful, once found that there is a legitimate tube Congress to ask for money for the war can be utilized, can still hold back?