German Red Prince

"The commune's army was full of high morale and vigor. I could feel the historical heritage and spirit that these troops inherited. They were as brave as the old guard under Napoleon. I really don't want to run into them again on the Main River."

This remark stung Duclos, whose Old Guard, as Napoleon's elite corps, had left an extremely deep impression on European countries.

However, this force was attacked twice by the Kingdom of the Rhine, once at the Battle of Leipzig and once at the Battle of Frankfurt.

Thorne meant that he hoped the commune's army would not repeat the same mistakes. The Kingdom of Rhine was willing to coexist peacefully with the commune, but if the commune insisted on escalating the conflict, the Kingdom of Rhine would fight to the death, and the commune's army might suffer another defeat.

“Haha, Your Highness Thorne is right.” Duclos understood the hidden meaning in Thorne’s words. “However, Your Highness must make one thing clear: the Commune’s army’s duty is to defend the motherland and the people, and at the same time, it harbors the lofty ideal of saving the oppressed people of the world, unlike Napoleon’s old guard.”

"The Commune's army was not a private army of any one person; it was the army of all the French people and the army of all the oppressed peoples of the world. The mission of the Commune's army was to eliminate all inequality in the world, which was what distinguished it from all the old armies before it."

"To eliminate all inequality, is the Commune really planning a world revolution?" Thorne thought to himself. No wonder the French Commune's army wasn't called the National Army.

"To eliminate all inequality in the world, it seems the French Commune's army wants to become the world's liberation army."

“World Liberation Army, that’s a good name.” Duclos was clearly satisfied with the name. “Of course, the main task of the commune’s army right now is to defend the country. As for the liberation of the world, that’s not something we’re considering right now.”

"Not now, but after we defeat Germany, right?" Thorne thought to himself.

"France is a beautiful country. This is my first time visiting the Commune. It's a pity I can't visit Paris. I really hope that the next time I meet you will be in Paris."

“Me too. I hope I can catch up with you at the Royal Palace in Frankfurt next time. I was born a pastry worker and don’t know much. I’ve never been abroad before,” Duclos replied.

After they finished speaking, they both laughed. To outsiders, the atmosphere seemed very harmonious. However, if you were sitting next to these two, you probably wouldn't think so. The amount of information in their conversation was explosive, and every sentence could become the headline of the next day.

The conversation was going off-topic, so Thorne quickly changed the subject; he didn't want it to escalate into a serious diplomatic crisis.

"Which unit is next? They look a little different."

Thorne watched the approaching troops. The troops were of different skin colors, but their spirit was in no way inferior to the troops that had passed by before.

"This is the commune's foreign legion. Its members are all elites selected from the International Brigades. Unlike the International Brigades, this unit has no French members. They come from all over the world and are willing to fight for an ideal."

Upon hearing Durok's words, Thorne suddenly remembered that he had encountered the International Brigades fighting in China and the fallen German soldiers during his previous trip there, something he had completely forgotten about.

He hadn't even gone to find the family of the fallen soldier yet. He had completely forgotten about such a big thing. If it weren't for Duclos, he didn't know when he would have remembered it.

“Having faith is good; without faith, an army has no soul.” Thorne didn’t say anything more, just gave an objective assessment.

After the infantry formations finished marching, the main event began: the French armored forces. This was Durok's masterpiece; as the founder of the Commune armored forces, he poured all his heart and soul into this unit.

As one of the first countries to prioritize armored forces, France has conducted far more in-depth research in this area than other countries, and the quality of their tanks should be among the top tier of their time.

The arrival of the tanks brought the atmosphere to a climax. This unit is not only the pride of Duclos, but also the pride of the French people. Armored warfare is an iron fist that they have explored and built step by step.

"Vive la France!" Many people present cheered loudly.

The tank formation slowly drove in, and as it passed the reviewing stand, the turrets suddenly turned to the right, causing many onlookers to exclaim in surprise, wondering if war was about to break out.

The German observers, who were taking notes on the platform, were startled. What was the commune doing? What if one of the more extreme gunners fired a shot at them?

"Be careful, Your Highness!"

Several accompanying officers blocked Thorne's way, while the rest prepared to escort him to a safe place for refuge.

"Do we want Europeans to think that the royal family of the Kingdom of the Rhine is a coward?"

Thorne pushed aside the guards who came to escort him down, then stood up like Durok, walked forward and saluted the tanks below the stage. They had even turned their turrets to the right, clearly paying tribute to the podium. Although the relationship between Rhine and the Commune was delicate, basic diplomatic etiquette still had to be observed.

If Thorne were to run down now, wouldn't he be embarrassing the Rhine in front of the world's journalists? The next day's newspapers would surely be filled with headlines like "The Rhine Prince is a coward."

As two countries that are sworn enemies, Thorne cannot afford to make any mistakes in diplomatic situations, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous.

So what if they have tanks facing the podium? So what if they want to see them make a fool of themselves? They just won't move. If they have the guts, they'll blow them up with one shot.

To be honest, now is the best time to act. Trading the General Committee Member of the Eastern Theater, the Commander-in-Chief of the Commune, and the most promising prince of the Rhine for one is not a bad deal.

Moreover, it cannot be ruled out that these veterans are willing to sacrifice themselves for the revolution. Thorne's actions are actually very dangerous, as no one knows what kind of trouble the extremists in the commune might cause.

The turret's "salute" moment just now gave the reporters quite a fright; if it had been hit by a shot, they would have truly witnessed history.

Faced with such a threatening and provocative act, the Rhine prince did not back down, but instead rose to return the salute to the troops below.

How could they miss such an important moment? They all had a feeling that this military parade between the two countries would be very interesting.

Chapter 149 The Red Armored Front

Le Goff has been with the 1st Armored Division of France for six months. As the steel vanguard of France, Le Goff was given a lofty mission from the moment he took his oath upon entering the armored division.

The commune's sole purpose in establishing the armored division was to break through the German defenses in the shortest possible time, and he has always kept this mission in mind since joining the armored division.

As the most prestigious branch of the commune's army, Legov was always proud to join the armored division, and as an ordinary person of humble birth, he had an immense love for the commune.

Similarly, Le Goff naturally harbored the same hatred for the German Empire, which was hostile to the Commune, as other Frenchmen.

This military parade was to showcase the strength of France. Although it was defeated by Germany in the war and its development was restricted for a long time, the achievements of the Commune cannot be ignored.

The armored division saluted the podium to intimidate the Germans, to scare this so-called European hegemon. However, to their surprise, the man did not leave but returned the salute.

Legov was somewhat surprised to see this scene. He hadn't expected the German to be so bold. However, he also felt a pang of regret. If only he could have fired a shot at this guy.

Many Frenchmen actually thought the same as Le Goff: how great it would be if they could give him a good shot and send those damned Germans away.

Before the parade, the security bureau had already arrested many people. One person even hid in a closet for two days in order to assassinate the Germans who came.

So Thorne's trip here was actually very risky; he might just come up with some wild ideas.

"Would Your Highness be willing to come with me to see those young men?"

Thorne did not dodge when the armored soldiers saluted, which made Duclos feel more favorably toward this prince of the Rhine Kingdom.

At the very least, this guy isn't a coward. He's the most promising prince in the Rhine Kingdom, and that's no empty title.

"Of course, with great pleasure."

After the armored troops passed by, the entire French military parade was almost over, but Thorne did not intend to leave so soon.

As the saying goes, "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win every battle." If the purpose of this trip is simply to watch the French military parade and see them display their strength, then it would be better not to come at all.

Thorne was most concerned about the quality and competence of the commune's armored troops, because he knew how powerful a qualified armored force would be.

If France has already trained a considerable number of elite armored divisions, Thorne will have to take the train back overnight to start a revolution, since the Kingdom of the Rhine doesn't even have a decent tank to its name right now.

Reporters were meticulously recording the details of the parade. The French army had a considerable amount of equipment on display, and judging from the quality of the troops, the Commune's army seemed completely unaffected by the Treaty of Versailles.

The commune cleverly exploited the loopholes in the peace treaty to build up a force of millions of elite troops among the people. Once war breaks out, these people will be armed immediately, forming a formidable force.

The communes' mobilization and organizational capabilities were unmatched by the Third Republic.

"Young men, come and welcome our guests from Germany."

Duclos raised his hand high, and the members of the armored forces, upon seeing Duclos, quickly lined up and then stared intently at Thorne.

"Hello."

With so many grown men staring at him, and each of them looking fierce, Thorne felt a little awkward. Could these Frenchmen, if they were a little more gentle, really kill them?

"What are you all standing there for? Why don't you say hello to our friend?"

Those people seemed to understand something when they heard Duklo's words, and Legov was the first to sing.

"We are the commune's armored division,"

We pressed forward bravely, and the tanks broke through the enemy's defenses.

For the sake of justice and freedom,

We are determined to safeguard the well-being of the people.

With Legov leading the way, the other members of the armored division joined in the singing.

"We used to be a group of scattered warriors,"

But now we have come together as a powerful team.

We bear the mission of defending our motherland.

To thwart the enemy's plans and strive for final victory.

......

"Tanks and artillery shells are our strength."

Courage and wisdom are our weapons.

Unity and trust are the keys to our victory.

Honor and pride are our greatest assets!

This was how the Commune's armored troops welcomed the Germans: singing their military songs in front of Thorne, wanting to show them what the Commune's proud armored forces were all about.

What's the name of this song?

Thorne found the French military songs quite appealing, and he thought he should write a song for his armored division to boost the morale of the unit.

"The Red Armored Front"

"A wonderful name, gentlemen. I hope you can protect your nation."

Thorne then looked at the tanks behind them. "May I take a look at your tanks?"

Legov glanced at Duklo and only agreed to Thorne's request after he gestured to him.

"However, you can only look at them, you cannot make contact with the tanks, and you certainly cannot enter the tanks."

“Of course.” Thorne nodded in agreement, and then invited the German observation team to tour the tanks with him.

The French army's current armored warfare strategy involves a group of light tanks coordinating with heavy tanks for an offensive, and the armored units participating in this parade also adopted this formation.

Several light tanks were paired with a heavy tank, but the heavy tank didn't really look like a heavy tank.

This tank looks to weigh no more than twenty tons, which would only qualify it as a medium tank. Perhaps it was designed this way to match the speed of a light tank.

Since he could only look at it and not handle it, Thorne could only estimate the performance of this latest French tank, the Somme S27, the latest tank produced by the Somme People's Company, which was expected to enter service with the French army around 1931.

This medium tank requires four crew members to operate, is approximately 5 meters long and about 2 meters high, and is armed with a main gun and a machine gun, likely a 45mm tank gun.

This tank gun should be able to deal with many tanks in this era. Thorne thought of the little guy he had made, the small water pipe tank he had built. The Soma S27 should be able to take it down with one shot.

This tank was considered very advanced for its time, and its armor should have been able to withstand attacks from tanks of most countries head-on.

Aside from performance, the most important aspect is tactical. If the French concentrate their use of this tank, it will be enough to overcome many performance issues.

I wonder if they've figured out the importance of air-ground coordination. If they figure out the true tactics of blitzkrieg, we won't have anything to stop the French steel onslaught.

All this data needs to be recorded so that we can show it to Guderian when we get back, let him analyze it, and give him some feedback on the Panzer II transitional tank that is currently under development.

It's not too late to catch up now. The Soma S27 tank gives Thorne the feeling that it's similar to the Panzer II that is currently being designed. If the Kingdom of Rhine produces the Panzer II in the future, its level should be comparable to it.

Moreover, the commune's definition of a tank seems to be problematic. After light tanks, there are heavy tanks. Did they think that the tonnage of a tank could only be around 25 tons at most?

"Thank you so much for inviting us to the parade. It has shown me such a powerful army."

Thorne thanked Durok, "It's almost time. Now it's my turn to invite you all to the Rhine Kingdom's military parade. Welcome to the Rhine."

"Haha, this is my first time going abroad," Durok laughed. As the chief commissioner of the Eastern Theater Command, he also wanted to personally investigate the Rhine Kingdom's secrets.

The French Commune has already demonstrated its strength; now it's Thorne's turn to show the power of the Kingdom of the Rhine.

Chapter 150 The Triumph of Will

Mainz, located west of Frankfurt, was chosen as the venue for this military parade of the Kingdom of the Rhine. As the birthplace of the kingdom, it was here that King Charlemagne rose to power and later unified the Kingdom of the Rhine.

The city of Mainz is located on the left bank of the Rhine River, the mother river of the kingdom, directly opposite the confluence of the Main and the Rhine.

As the birthplace of the Stemmetz family, Mainz holds a position in the Rhineland second only to the kingdom's capital, Frankfurt.

The fact that it stood out from the kingdom's several parade locations speaks volumes.

Thorne had profound considerations for this military parade. In addition to deterring the French Commune, he also wanted to take this opportunity to promote the Kingdom of the Rhine to the outside world.

The world is currently in a period of economic downturn, and the development of major capitalist countries is not ideal, so all countries appear rather "dejected".

The German Empire defeated the British Empire and the United States of America, becoming the leader of the capitalist world, and therefore suffered the most impact.

Although on the surface Germany is still a powerful capitalist country, and Germans are still proud to be German, the sluggish economy has affected ordinary Germans.

Domestically, this manifested as a rise in Germany's crime rate and a significant increase in the number of juvenile offenders; internationally, it manifested as Germany's rampant exploitation of its colonies.

As part of the German Empire, the Kingdom of the Rhine was also affected. The economic downturn and social conflicts also impacted the Kingdom of the Rhine, which is why Thorne promoted the military parade so extensively and invited celebrities from all over the world.

He wants to use this military parade to establish the international image of the Kingdom of the Rhine, and at the same time boost the morale of the kingdom. Rhine people, you must be confident!

Another point is to take this opportunity to showcase the kingdom's equipment. Thorne invited military observer groups from many countries, which is all business, and the arms trade is also a considerable source of income.