The Road to War IV: France
The Road to War IV: France
By 1915, the 20-year plan to maximize French self-sufficiency was coming to an end. While France was working to keep the true extent of its efforts a secret from the outside world, leaks, emigrants, and trade ensured that word of the advances made would slip outside and shape the plans of the nations that expected to be in its path.
The most important part of this buildup in the eyes of the world was the French military. After the stellar performance of the French Army in the invasion of Spain, the German General Staff began an exhaustive investigation into its capabilities, a task that would take several years to complete. Studying the Spanish campaign, the battles in which French advisors and weaponry had been deployed in the Balkan War, public reports from the Franco-Italian wargames, and conducting secret interviews with French officers from French West Africa, the General Staff came to the conclusion that French doctrine emphasized lighting swift strikes initiated by fierce, but short, artillery bombardments followed by assaults by infantry. After the infantry had broken through, mobile elements, ideally armored vehicles, would exploit the breakthrough and secure the encirclement of forward operating forces. If all things went according to plan, the result would be an enemy pinned down and systematically eradicated by artillery.
But doctrine alone would not win wars, it required the men behind it to be effected. German estimates put the population of Metropolitan France at around 42 million, of which 6 million were suitable for service and 550,000 were currently under arms. Should France decide to fully mobilize, Germany expected that they would be able to raise an army of 1.3 million in a week and 5 million in six months. While a significant portion of that would likely be tied down for coastal defense, watching carefully for a British invasion, or garrison duty over two thirds of the initial mobilization and over 85% after a total mobilization would be available for frontline deployment. While hundreds of thousands of men would be tied down in logistical roles, the potential strength of the French army left the General Staff extremely nervous.
Fortunately for Germany, their investigation into French naval strength showed it to be practically non-existent. In order to fund the massive growth of the army and immense sums invested into R&D and the economy, naval spending had been stripped to the bone. By all reports even as far back as 1904 the French navy had been left adrift, with the landings on the Balearics only achieved by total surprise on the part of the French. Had the Spanish military not collapsed so rapidly, it was almost a certainty that the French forces on the islands would have been isolated by the Spanish Navy and slowly starved into submission.
Due to the practically non-existent French navy, Germany and its allies would be able to enjoy total naval supremacy. Although no naval invasions were planned, raids of the French coastline were expected to be numerous and a way to whittle down French morale.
While Germany was confident in its estimations of French military strength, they lacked a solid picture of its economic state. Exports from France had experienced a precipitous dropoff since the British blockade of the French Atlantic coast, something that would be a recipe for economic recession for most nations. But France had seemingly weathered the past decade with little damage. Indeed, their economy appeared to be thriving as more efficient modes of production were introduced and employment expanded.
The secret to this resilience lay in their neighbors. As Garibaldi’s Italy was well aware, the majority of French exports passed through Italian auxiliaries to avoid the blockade. Taking advantage of legal loopholes, French goods would either arrive by train or sail into Italian ports before swapping hands. French ships would suddenly begin sporting the Italian tricolor and its crew staffed with men whose Italian had suspiciously French accent as Italian dock authorities, perhaps distracted by the money mysteriously appearing in their possession, seemed to be eternally absent when said ships appeared.
With the establishment of the FRE-AIT government in Spain, France received a new outlet to the world. While Italian ports would remain the main destination for French exports, the ability to enter the Atlantic directly and bypass any potential British security checks in Gibraltar meant that La Coruna would become the main port of call for French exports from Spain.
What the Italians were most concerned about in the case of was wasn’t the pace of whether French goods could leave the country, but if the rate of French exports would remain the same. Based on joint economic discussions and planning, the Italians did not expect the French economy to collapse as it would still have numerous nations around the globe who viewed it as a safer source of industrial goods than other European powers and the now-thriving arms industry. Civilian goods would also make up a significant portion of French exports, with French wines and glassware continuing to be popular with upper classes in nations that viewed it as a bastion of anti-imperialism.
Even if France was cut off in the event of war, the Italians viewed the French domestic economy as strong enough to support the war effort. While the northeast of the country was the center of industrial output, efforts under Beaumont to build up French industry meant that the once rural nation was home to numerous booming cities across the nation that housed their own factory complexes. Utilizing the iron-ore and coal of the northeast, France boasted a production rate rivaling that of its German and Russian rivals and eclipsed only by the economic powerhouses of Great Britain and the United States. Domestic agriculture production meant that it could feed itself while retaining a surplus even during wartime if total mobilization was avoided. It was clear to Rome that in any war, it would not be France to buckle under economic pressure first.
Where Germany concentrated on French military strength and Italy studied its ally’s economic health, the United Kingdom was most concerned with France’s diplomatic situation. While initially isolated, the forty four years since the Revolution had seen French influence and international ties grow. Franco-Korean ties were restored in the 1880s under the Seo-Martel Commercial Treaty, allowing the restart of trade between the two nations, while under Beaumont French efforts to expand its influence saw it gain friends from Tehran to Santiago. Her southern and southeastern borders were secured by friendly regimes, giving France the room to concentrate its strength along the German border. While her naval capacity was pathetic, French West Africa scraped together a fleet strong enough to show the flag when needed.
Although not even half a decade previously Britain was fiercely opposed to French expansion, the Indian Revolt, expansion of Russian influence in China and the Balkans, and a renewed war with the Mahdists in West Africa meant that a realignment in policy toward France was acceptable. Soon after the beginning of the Chinese Civil War, Prime Minister David Lloyd George sent diplomats to Paris to discuss a possible detente and French aims on the Continent.
The British outreach was met with warm arms by Paris, who stated that they were willing to come to an understanding with Britain in exchange for a free hand against Germany. The British were wary about granting this level of freedom to France, but had to start somewhere. Negotiations were able to get the French to agree to a “reasonable” peace with Germany in the event of victory in exchange for Britain loosening its embargo. Further talks would see France agree to halt the sale of arms to Indian rebels while Britain agreed to enforce the demilitarization of the Channel, a move both sides knew meant that Britain would be taking a de-facto anti-German stance in the event of war. It was a high price that Britain felt was necessary to cut off the flow of arms to the Indians, especially as France had threatened to sell heavy weaponry at massive discounts if the deal was not accepted.
The subject of Africa was broached toward the end of conference as Mahdist armies laid siege to the South Nigeria Protectorate and threatened to destroy Britain’s presence in West Africa. Britain’s request was for French West Africa to dispatch an expeditionary force to reinforce the Nigerian Army as Britain would not have reinforcements available in the near future. The Toucouleur Empire had already been beseeched for aid, but their rejection of Britain’s request meant that unless Germany, unlikely due to France's clear desire for war, or Portugal dispatched significant forces, France was their last hope for relief.
The British request for a West African expeditionary force caused the peculiarities of France’s colonial empire to rear its head as French diplomats explained that West Africa’s regime could not simply be ordered around by Paris. Roland Beaumont himself would become embroiled in these discussions as he attempted to hammer out an agreement that Britain would be satisfied with. At the end of the day, the decision remained with Dakar to decide if they would dispatch a relief force. A telegram was sent on May 27, 1914, to see if Dakar was willing to accommodate Britain’s request.
Fortunately for the United Kingdom, Francois Valiere’s successor Paul Joalland was more than willing to help out. Joalland, the son of a naval artillery officer who had moved to Senegal in the years after the Revolution, had followed his father in serving the colonial military and had made his name in numerous campaigns against rebels and bandits in the interior. There, he had come to despise the Islamic fundamentalists who all too often inspired anti-French actions and viewed the Mahdists as the ultimate source of these evils rather than recognizing them as a reaction to French colonialism. In his eyes, if the Mahdists could be destroyed, then European civilization could spread into the West African interior and finally replace the barbarous cultures that called it their home.
Joalland’s affirmation to the dispatch of an army to Nigeria was the final piece needed to conclude Anglo-French talks. A secret treaty was signed between French and British diplomats on the 30th affirming the agreements between the two nations and giving Britain’s assent to the invasion of Germany.
The Brooke-Feraud Pact would be the final major incident before the French initiated Operation Lothar, the French plan for an offensive war with Germany. Lothar relied on the element of surprise, assuming that Germany would be caught in the middle of a hasty mobilization rather than fully prepared, and the support of French paramilitaries covertly organized behind enemy lines, a fact that was by no means certain. The politics in Alsace-Lorraine had been split between the Protesters, who wished for reunification with France, and the Autonomists, who were content with maintaining their position in Germany, and was reminiscent of the old pre-Revolution politics in France itself. The Protesters were a reflection of the old liberal side of French politics, in favor of republicanism and opposed to monarchy, while the Autonomists were filled with those who had supported Napoleon III in his reign.
For the majority of the late 1800s, the Autonomists had been dominant in Alsatian politics as the Protesters were left without a proof of concept due to their rejection of Socialist thought. Allying themselves with the more conservative side of German politics, the Autonomists had tied the Reichsland closer to the Empire, their efforts being rewarded by Alsace-Lorraine being elevated to an autonomous state in 1895. The Autonomists could boast the preservation of French language in the Reichsland and the protection of Alsatian culture from German overreach and socialist degradation, but would slowly lose ground to Zentrum and the Sozialdemokratische Partei.
The election of Beaumont would serve as an earthquake in Alsatian politics as the Protesters were no longer tarred by reunification with France being tantamount to orthodox socialism. Beaumontism’s emphasis on Catholicism and traditional French culture meant that it was far more palatable to the French Alsatians while its diehard republicanism meant that it provided an alternative to the monarchist Autonomists. Although the more liberal Protesters opposed Beaumont’s authoritarian rule, they were gradually pushed out of power as the Protesters converted to Beaumontism. Following an alliance between the new regional branch of l’Esprit du Nation and Catholic politicians, Beaumontism would become the dominant force in both the anti-German and anti-monarchist parts of Alsatian politics.
Reeling from the loss of power to the Beaumontists, the liberal elements of the Protesters fell back and regrouped, taking with them the socialists who were unwilling to support Beaumont’s authoritarian ideology. While still supportive of reunification with France, such a matter was now viewed as an ideal until France was returned to a true democratic regime. Unwilling to see themselves fade into complete irrelevancy, the liberals approached the SDP and asked to join the party in 1900.
At this point, the old division of Autonomist and Protester became more and more irrelevant as the original lines between the two sides became more blurred. Beaumont’s authoritarianism and appeals to tradition swayed many former Autonomists, resulting in an influx of members during the elections of 1903, while the merger of the liberals with the SDP meant that those in favor of cooperation with Germany no longer had to ally themselves with monarchism. The collapse of the old dynamic would see the rapid growth of l’Esprit du Nation in Alsace as it propelled itself forward as the defender of French culture and in opposition to the German Empire. Taking the Reichsland by storm, l'Esprit became the largest party in the Alsatian Reichstag in the 1903 elections.
This ascendancy would prove short-lived as Berlin came crashing down on the province after the French invasion of Spain. In early 1905 the Reichstag banned l’Esprit du Nation as a dangerous threat to national stability and demanded that all members, including those in the Reichstag, renounce their position or be arrested. The party was deserted in droves as people sought to avoid the crackdown, with a new pro-French party styling itself the Parti Radical Alsacien (Alsatian Radical Party) coming into existence and many others jumping ship to the SDP. A handful of diehards would refuse to renounce their membership, including two members of the Reichstag, but by and large the party was erased from existence almost overnight.
Despite the seeming destruction of l'Esprit du Nation in Alsace-Lorraine, Beaumont’s influence was not extirpated. Numerous members of the PRA and those who had defected to the SDP continued to be loyal or sympathetic to Paris, providing French agents a way to continue the infiltration of Alsace-Lorraine. Recognizing the need to step carefully, however, Beaumont ordered cooperation between the PRA and SDP in pursuit of a potential social democracy in Germany as a way to give the former a veneer of legitimacy. Believing that even the limited reform of social democracy to be far away in Germany, Beaumont calculated that this act would allow for increased political turmoil in Germany while building up a base of sympathetic supporters in the event of a French victory.
Where the paramilitary part of this equation came in was with the diehards who refused to abandon l’Esprit du Nation. Although contact with these diehards was extremely limited as they attempted to go underground or maintain their camouflage, the last major order sent out was to prepare “partisan battalions” who would take up arms when the time was right, paving the way for the French army by disrupting enemy logistics and occupying key positions during the initial stages of fighting. Due to the extremely secret nature of their existence, not even a confirmation of if they had been formed was allowed to leak out of Alsace-Lorraine, only that the French would know friendly partisans if they flew the Cross of Lorraine. Germany had searched quite vigorously for any proof of these cells, but if they had found any proof they had kept quiet on it.
But before France could launch its invasion of Germany, it had to get its own affairs in line. Domestically, the result was a rise in anti-German propaganda over the second half of 1914 as the French secretly stockpiled supplies near the border and began launching war games simulating a conflict with an unidentified hostile power invading from the east in which France halted their invasion and drove to a “defensible perimeter” across the border. The exercises with the Italians later in the year drew significantly more attention than normal as they concentrated on if France could rapidly mobilize its reserves and overwhelm the Italian border forces before Italian reserves halted them rather than the more traditional exercises involving just the professional armies.
The largest diversion of French preparations in Europe were French preparations in Africa. Britain had made its stance on the Brooke-Feraud Pact quite clear: it expected French West Africa to fulfill its end of the bargain before Britain would do the same. This was complicated by French West Africa’s small industrial base. Although developed somewhat under Francois Valiere, the colony’s industrial base was geared to low-intensity warfare and peacetime efforts, not equipping and supporting a foreign campaign. Stockpiles of weapons and ammunition were rather low as, outside of border skirmishes with nomads, West Africa’s military had little expectation of fighting and served mainly as an internal police force. France, with the help of British shipping, would send tens of thousands of rifles, hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammunition, and two dozen artillery pieces to West Africa to ensure the expedition force was properly equipped, an effort that made a fine smokescreen for the gradual increase of French arms production and the shift to a war economy.
After two months recruiting or conscripting new soldiers and giving them a crash training course, the Senegalese Expeditionary Force was finally ready in August 1914. Numbering 14,000 men armed with modern rifles and accompanied by 14 120mm artillery pieces, the force boarded ships belonging to the Senegalese Navy and the British West African Squadron and set sail on their three-day journey from Dakar to Lagos.
The arrival of Senegalese reinforcements was a godsend to the embattled Nigerian garrison. Utilizing naval gunfire to cover their disembarkment, the Senegalese rapidly deployed and set up their artillery on Lagos Island, with their first shell being lobbed into Mahdist positions two days after the initial landing. The Mahdists, who had expected the arrival of the Senegalese but not the presence of field artillery, withdrew from several parts of the city and consolidated their positions by constructing numerous bunkers to protect their soldiers. These bunkers were incredibly rudimentary, often being made of wood, but proved to be quite effective when either built into the ground or covered in copious amounts of mud and earth. Those bunkers without such protection soon made their status as deathtraps infamous as artillery, even if it didn’t destroy the emplacement, would shred everything inside by transforming the ceiling into wooden shrapnel.
Despite the presence of the bunkers, huge portions of the Mahdist army remained in the open and easy targets for artillery. Rather than seeing their forces slowly shelled into oblivion, the Mahdists withdrew all but 20,000 of their soldiers from artillery range until they could devise a way to silence the Senegalese batteries. This withdrawal offered a golden opportunity for the Senegalese-Nigerian forces, who used the first half of September to pry the Mahdists out of their positions in brutal trench warfare. By the 13th, Mahdist forces withdrew from Lagos entirely to avoid their complete destruction and retreated into the interior. France had fulfilled its promise.
With Britain satisfied, stockpiles filled, and mobilization taken as far as it could go without giving away the game, Beaumont decided in late December that the time had come for his move to be made. On January 3, 1915, mobilization orders were sent out as Paris declared a state of emergency and completely shut off travel and communication out of the country. Accusing Germany of oppressing French minorities in Alsace-Lorraine, with the suppression of l’Esprit du Nation’s regional branch, investigations into the successor PRA, and an incident involving a German lieutenant referring to the locals with the slur “wacke” used as proof, Paris sent an ultimatum late on the 4th demanding the withdrawal of the German military from Alsace-Lorraine, allowing French soldiers to occupy the region while French authorities investigated abuses against the locals, and allowing for a French-administered referendum to determine the future of the region. Berlin was given 18 hours to respond and begin negotiations.
The German government had already been in meetings for several hours discussing the blackout from France when the ultimatum came in and immediately scrambled to respond. It was already 19:00 when the telegram arrived, meaning that any potential mobilization would have to wait nearly half a day to even begin. Nevertheless, it took them less than half an hour to decide on mobilization and order the military to be placed on high alert before even considering negotiations. By the time Emperor Wilhelm II, Chancellor Hugo Haase, Chief of Staff Helmuth von Moltke the Younger, and the Cabinet had finished meeting at 23:17, they had already come to the conclusion that the French demands would be rejected but that Germany would drag the process out as long as possible to gain time for mobilization to proceed.
German plans would end up being for naught as French artillery opened up along the border at 10:00. Roland Beaumont, claiming that the German decision to mobilize before beginning negotiations was a sign of Germany’s hostility, had officially declared that a state of war existed between France and Germany not ten minutes prior to a crowd gathered in Paris. As German trains carrying reservists raced westward to their destination, French infantry slammed into German positions and began a race to see if the Germans could arrive before a French breakthrough occurred.
For time immemorial, it has been the way of man to oppress man. To crush them under heel, to exploit their labor, to siphon their wealth until naught but a husk remains. So it has been for thousands of years as the parasites known as landowners, nobility, and merchants have existed since the foundation of civilization itself. Yet like many things, these too shall be discarded in time as the workers of the world see their shackles, see their numbers, and see their power. In time, Frenchmen, the shackles of the world will be undone!
Here in la Belle France, we have already begun the work necessary for this. Since we overthrew the last vestiges of the monarchists in 1871, we have strode forward into a better future. Despite the misled fathers of the Social Republic who wrongly viewed the Church as their enemy, despite the fumbling incompetence of the Center that suceeded them, despite the well-intentioned half-measures of President Boulanger, we have stepped forward into the future stronger and more committed to the ideals of the Revolution than ever before! We will not only advance into the future, we shall do so at the head of a brotherhood of Socialism that stretches from the Andes to the Land of the Rising Sun!
This ideal is no mere dream! Our brave soldiers have already taken steps to affect this world, with our forces liberating our comrades in Spain and supporting the Italians against the diseased Austro-Hungarian Empire! In Africa, our Senegalese comrades fight alongside the people of South Nigeria to drive back the barbarous Muslims of the Mahdist caliphates and protect the Christians of Africa and the very concept of civilization itself! Far away in East Asia, the Viet Hoa of Viet Nam stand as a proud bastion of Socialism and modernity, fusing the benefits of European culture and the virtues of the Orient into a beautiful whole that will doubtlessly be a shining symbol of prosperity spoken about in the annals of history! In Paraguay, the Coalition of National Unity has set aside the factionalism that plagued that backward country for decades and have begun the long and hard journey to Socialist utopia, a project that we are proud to have contributed to! In China, the forces of the Nanjing Government fight for their own Socialist dream against the Russian puppets in Beijing and the Monarchists in Shanxi, a fight in which they are supported by our comrades in Japan and Korea! Truly, the forces of reaction are on the backfoot as the Red Tide advances and sweeps away all those that would oppose the people!
It is for this future that nearly twenty years ago that you elected me to this office! It is for this future that you have continued to support me! It is for this future that I have worked tirelessly to bring about! But this effort is not one that can be done alone, as none of this progress could have been completed without the people of France and their own tireless efforts! Through your hard work, we have created wonders of science, unearthed secrets long abandoned by the world, and created a nation based on relentlessly pushing the boundaries! We have revolutionized agriculture, we have taken immense steps in freeing ourselves of the constraints of natural resources, and we have begun to utilize machines to free the hands of men for tasks more befitting them than mere factory work could ever be!
Yes, it is with these tools that we have turned our nation from a broken country, occupied by the damned Prussians, into a titan of technology and industry. It is with these tools that we have prepared ourselves for the inevitable, for the day that we no longer allow ourselves to be constrained by the past, that we no longer allow for the humiliation of our nation to continue. The time is soon coming in which Sedan will be cast down and shown to the world the abomination that it is!
It was the Treaty of Sedan that turned France into a pariah. It was the Treaty of Sedan that stole Lost Provinces from us. It was the Treaty of Sedan that drained our country dry in a time in which we needed to reconstruct ourselves! IT WAS THE TREATY OF SEDAN WHICH DEIFIED GERMAN TREACHERY AND PORTRAYED FRANCE AS IN THE WRONG FOR DEFENDING ITS HONOR! I say once again, SOON SEDAN WILL BE AVENGED!
Friends, comrades, countrymen, I stand before you today to tell you that today is that day! For too long, we have sat by and allowed the German Empire to abuse our countrymen in the Lost Provinces. For too long, we have tried to be good Christians and hope they see the error of their ways. But such patience has its limits, for even Christ was pushed to anger by the Jews of the Temple violating the holy structure with their beasts and frivolous goods and services. We have given the people of Germany every opportunity to set things right, to undo their mistakes, yet they continue to spit in our faces.
For many years past, Germany has oppressed our people in Alsace-Lorraine, even having the audacity to ban our very own l’Esprit du Nation and threaten Frenchmen showing their support for their country with unlawful arrest! Even when attempting to work with the restrictions placed upon them have been rejected, with Frenchmen being ordered to give up on their independent identity and join with Germans or face persecution, investigation, and arrest! At least one such individual, Georges Weill, has been forced to give up his seat in the Reichstag and flee to his nation for fear of his life! Even after all this, we still attempted to settle things peacefully by opening negotiations on the future of Alsace-Lorraine!
How did the Germans respond? WITH MOBILIZATION! According to our sources, it took the Germans less than half an hour to commit themselves to war, only to turn around and expect us to wait while they gather strength! Just like in 1871, just like in the Congo, just like in the Balkans, Germany has seen itself in the wrong and has elected to turn to the force of arms to silence its critics! It is Germany, not France, that chooses war! We GAVE them a chance for peace! We have given them far too many chances for peace! And they still choose war! My countrymen, what shall we do with such a beast as this?!
I’ll tell you, my countrymen. WE STRIKE FIRST! We will not allow the Bosche to defile our homeland yet again, to find some excuse to pry more Frenchmen away from their homeland! In a matter of minutes, the French military shall cross the border into Alsace-Lorraine and engage the German hordes in a fight for the future not only of France, but the future of humanity itself! Your brothers and sisters, sons and daughters shall soon commit themselves to ensure that the flame of Socialism does not die under the German serpent! I call upon you, the people of France, to give your all in support of this grand crusade! I call upon you to show the indefatigable strength of a nation roused to righteous anger! I call upon you to commit yourselves to a war more total and radical than any before it! Even the Great Wars of the Revolution and Napoleon shall pale in comparison to this struggle! Now, people of France, rise up and storm, break loose!
Here in la Belle France, we have already begun the work necessary for this. Since we overthrew the last vestiges of the monarchists in 1871, we have strode forward into a better future. Despite the misled fathers of the Social Republic who wrongly viewed the Church as their enemy, despite the fumbling incompetence of the Center that suceeded them, despite the well-intentioned half-measures of President Boulanger, we have stepped forward into the future stronger and more committed to the ideals of the Revolution than ever before! We will not only advance into the future, we shall do so at the head of a brotherhood of Socialism that stretches from the Andes to the Land of the Rising Sun!
This ideal is no mere dream! Our brave soldiers have already taken steps to affect this world, with our forces liberating our comrades in Spain and supporting the Italians against the diseased Austro-Hungarian Empire! In Africa, our Senegalese comrades fight alongside the people of South Nigeria to drive back the barbarous Muslims of the Mahdist caliphates and protect the Christians of Africa and the very concept of civilization itself! Far away in East Asia, the Viet Hoa of Viet Nam stand as a proud bastion of Socialism and modernity, fusing the benefits of European culture and the virtues of the Orient into a beautiful whole that will doubtlessly be a shining symbol of prosperity spoken about in the annals of history! In Paraguay, the Coalition of National Unity has set aside the factionalism that plagued that backward country for decades and have begun the long and hard journey to Socialist utopia, a project that we are proud to have contributed to! In China, the forces of the Nanjing Government fight for their own Socialist dream against the Russian puppets in Beijing and the Monarchists in Shanxi, a fight in which they are supported by our comrades in Japan and Korea! Truly, the forces of reaction are on the backfoot as the Red Tide advances and sweeps away all those that would oppose the people!
It is for this future that nearly twenty years ago that you elected me to this office! It is for this future that you have continued to support me! It is for this future that I have worked tirelessly to bring about! But this effort is not one that can be done alone, as none of this progress could have been completed without the people of France and their own tireless efforts! Through your hard work, we have created wonders of science, unearthed secrets long abandoned by the world, and created a nation based on relentlessly pushing the boundaries! We have revolutionized agriculture, we have taken immense steps in freeing ourselves of the constraints of natural resources, and we have begun to utilize machines to free the hands of men for tasks more befitting them than mere factory work could ever be!
Yes, it is with these tools that we have turned our nation from a broken country, occupied by the damned Prussians, into a titan of technology and industry. It is with these tools that we have prepared ourselves for the inevitable, for the day that we no longer allow ourselves to be constrained by the past, that we no longer allow for the humiliation of our nation to continue. The time is soon coming in which Sedan will be cast down and shown to the world the abomination that it is!
It was the Treaty of Sedan that turned France into a pariah. It was the Treaty of Sedan that stole Lost Provinces from us. It was the Treaty of Sedan that drained our country dry in a time in which we needed to reconstruct ourselves! IT WAS THE TREATY OF SEDAN WHICH DEIFIED GERMAN TREACHERY AND PORTRAYED FRANCE AS IN THE WRONG FOR DEFENDING ITS HONOR! I say once again, SOON SEDAN WILL BE AVENGED!
Friends, comrades, countrymen, I stand before you today to tell you that today is that day! For too long, we have sat by and allowed the German Empire to abuse our countrymen in the Lost Provinces. For too long, we have tried to be good Christians and hope they see the error of their ways. But such patience has its limits, for even Christ was pushed to anger by the Jews of the Temple violating the holy structure with their beasts and frivolous goods and services. We have given the people of Germany every opportunity to set things right, to undo their mistakes, yet they continue to spit in our faces.
For many years past, Germany has oppressed our people in Alsace-Lorraine, even having the audacity to ban our very own l’Esprit du Nation and threaten Frenchmen showing their support for their country with unlawful arrest! Even when attempting to work with the restrictions placed upon them have been rejected, with Frenchmen being ordered to give up on their independent identity and join with Germans or face persecution, investigation, and arrest! At least one such individual, Georges Weill, has been forced to give up his seat in the Reichstag and flee to his nation for fear of his life! Even after all this, we still attempted to settle things peacefully by opening negotiations on the future of Alsace-Lorraine!
How did the Germans respond? WITH MOBILIZATION! According to our sources, it took the Germans less than half an hour to commit themselves to war, only to turn around and expect us to wait while they gather strength! Just like in 1871, just like in the Congo, just like in the Balkans, Germany has seen itself in the wrong and has elected to turn to the force of arms to silence its critics! It is Germany, not France, that chooses war! We GAVE them a chance for peace! We have given them far too many chances for peace! And they still choose war! My countrymen, what shall we do with such a beast as this?!
I’ll tell you, my countrymen. WE STRIKE FIRST! We will not allow the Bosche to defile our homeland yet again, to find some excuse to pry more Frenchmen away from their homeland! In a matter of minutes, the French military shall cross the border into Alsace-Lorraine and engage the German hordes in a fight for the future not only of France, but the future of humanity itself! Your brothers and sisters, sons and daughters shall soon commit themselves to ensure that the flame of Socialism does not die under the German serpent! I call upon you, the people of France, to give your all in support of this grand crusade! I call upon you to show the indefatigable strength of a nation roused to righteous anger! I call upon you to commit yourselves to a war more total and radical than any before it! Even the Great Wars of the Revolution and Napoleon shall pale in comparison to this struggle! Now, people of France, rise up and storm, break loose!
