Father of France

Chapter 7 General
For someone like Corman, who could be compared to Napoleon, to be born in France was a stroke of luck for France. It was just that he wasn't old enough, otherwise the Third Reich would have been no problem at all.

The next second, the Damascus steel knife was in Koman's hand. At this moment, he felt no burden, as if it was always meant to be his.

Koman had no good feelings towards these Kurdish drug dealers before, and hadn't even asked their names during their first conversation. However, considering that the second meeting was mainly because the other party had given him a gift, his attitude softened and he took the initiative to ask, "We've met twice already, and I still don't know your name."

This is a classic case of using people when they're needed and discarding them when they're not. If anyone else had done this, Koeman would find it disgusting, but he himself felt no problem doing it, and everything seemed perfectly logical.

“Warrant Officer Koman, my name is Bashir.” Bashir replied respectfully. He had heard that Koman’s unit was ready to depart, and the fact that Koman was willing to step in at this time to guide or at least help him open up the route to Beirut Port was worthy of respect.

“Bashir, a good name.” Koeman’s face was serious, and he solemnly brushed the other party off, his hypocrisy fully exposed at this moment. “We have established such a relationship, and there will definitely be opportunities for cooperation in the future.”

Corman's words were ambiguous, implying that the drug-dealing version of the Sacred Alliance would exist for at least another thirty years. Corman certainly wouldn't get involved; given his high standards, such an industry wouldn't make much money and would only bring trouble. How could a strict French soldier like himself associate with such despicable people?

It's only in poorer places that people turn to this kind of industry. If this stuff were really profitable, would the Kurds in remote mountainous areas even need to do it? Who do the Kurds think they are?

However, if something exists, there must be a reason for it, and he won't actively try to stop it; at most, he'll just stay out of it.

However, this kind of thing is actually quite in line with usury capitalism. After all, if addiction is tied to loans, it seems that ordinary people can be turned into walking blood-supplying machines.

"No wonder Western countries are still trying to legalize this thing and tax it decades later." Koeman chuckled as he realized this, finding the impact of capitalism truly astounding.

Although Koman returned to the barracks with a Damascus steel sword, he quickly forgot about Bashir. At seventeen or eighteen, he was at the age to make his mark and had no time to pay attention to such trivial matters.

"A Damascus steel knife." Alan was quite interested in the gift for Koman. How could he not have seen such an iconic knife while living in Syria? He played with it for a moment and said, "The workmanship and pattern are indeed perfect. It's definitely not a cheap knock-off. It's a bit longer than the usual Damascus steel knives."

A typical Damascus steel knife is not large, about the size of a dagger. It is an auxiliary tool in the lives of Arabs, similar to the boning knife worn by nomadic tribes.

Bashir gave Coman a Damascus steel knife that was nearly 30 centimeters long, which meant it had transcended the category of an auxiliary tool and could be considered a weapon.

Alan examined the Damascus steel knife for a moment, then returned it to Coman, praising, "It is indeed a fine piece, and the three gemstones are quite valuable. It's truly worthy of its place of origin."

"It's from India," Coman said calmly, clipping the Damascus steel knife to his belt.

If you don't know that the craftsmanship of Damascus steel knives originated in India, that sieves were invented in Egypt, and that the twelve constellations are an Iraqi tradition, how can you possibly compete in the keyboard community? Wouldn't it be embarrassing to call out "keyboard"? You might as well go to Egypt and build the pyramids; after all, Napoleon was building them while fighting the British army.

Now, Koman was simply waiting for the fleet to arrive so he could return home. Of course, before that, he needed to see his father, who had gone ahead of him. Being in Syria, limited by the technology of the time, Koman couldn't fully grasp the specifics of the European war situation. His only source of information was the radio, which, of course, reported on the Allied victories, with most broadcasts focusing on the British and American strategic bombing of Germany. This demonstrated the extent of British and American control over public opinion.

Before 1944, the strategic bombing by Britain and the United States had little effect on Germany; it was not entirely ineffective, but it was essentially useless.

However, starting in mid-1944, the strategic bombing, which began simultaneously with the Normandy landings, intensified to a new level.

The Normandy landings led to the retreat of German air force radar stations, resulting in fewer losses for the Allied air force while the effects of air raids became increasingly significant. The bombing was concentrated on Germany's oil industry, transportation system, and arsenals, while major cities continued to be bombed.

"The air forces of Britain and the United States are truly impressive." Alan was speechless after listening to the broadcast. Even a thousand people on the ground is not a small number, let alone a formation of a thousand aircraft in the sky.

"You can never achieve a decisive victory with the air force." Koeman glanced at his comrade-in-arms. So-called strategic bombing is only useful for countries that do not have industrial self-sufficiency. Even if a country does not have industrial self-sufficiency, as long as it is willing to make sacrifices, it can still make strategic bombing fail as long as it has a strong supporting country.

Otherwise, given the intensity of the US bombing in Vietnam, using bombs with even greater power than those used in World War II, turning Vietnam into a sandy beach riddled with craters, why didn't they achieve their objective? Ultimately, it's because they simply couldn't.

The reason Germany ultimately couldn't hold out was simple: the Soviet army on the Eastern Front was getting closer and closer to Germany's industrial areas, and bombs dropped by planes were never as effective as artillery barrages.

The radio broadcasts are now focused on reporting the strategic bombing by Britain and the United States, but there is no coverage of the ten Stalinist strikes against the Soviet Union. Koeman has no idea what stage the war has reached on the Eastern Front.

When Martin arrived at Koeman's single dormitory, he saw the two of them wearing masks issued by the Youth Division. The black masks had the Lorraine cross symbol on them, and he couldn't help but exclaim, "This?"

"What? Many people in the unit don't have a strong command of French." Koeman's words came through the Lorraine cross on his black mask. In reality, the Youth Division was returning to France not for combat but for other missions, so it was best not to reveal their true identities under normal circumstances.

Using mask badges to identify the unit is a last resort; he can't very well adopt the German practice of using armbands, as that would be politically incorrect.

As for what the mission is, Koeman cannot reveal it at the moment. The officers and soldiers of the Youth Division will naturally find out once they arrive in France. There is no need to know for now.

"General Fontaine is going to inspect and give a speech before the Youth Division departs. Should we still follow the previous welcoming ceremony?" Martin quickly asked, remembering that he had something important to do.

“Yes, just jump and clap your hands on the spot and shout ‘Long live France!’” Corman replied calmly. General de Gaulle had already experienced the awe-inspiring power of the sun in Damascus.

　I've signed the contract. I'm a complete newbie now, and I've forgotten all the procedures. Is there a role review process? I've forgotten that either. To avoid failing the review, I must mention here that the female lead is Gudrun Himmler.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)