Chapter 1153: Chapter 866: The Troubles of a Pig Teammate_3
This ultimatum caught the Belgian governnt off guard. More importantly, the German governnt only gave the Belgian governnt 24 hours to think it over.
If the Belgian governnt did not agree to the demands of the German governnt within 24 hours, the German Army would enter Belgium’s territory directly, without any negotiation with the Belgian governnt.
Clearly, this was blatant robbery.
The ssage from Germany was simple—if Belgium agreed, well and good, if not, they would have to agree anyway.
The question was, would the Belgian governnt believe the Germans, who claid that this military operation was only against France and not against Belgium?
Looking at Poland and the Austrian Empire around Germany, the Belgian governnt shook its head firmly, indicating its disbelief of the Germans’ words.
Two hours after Germany issued its final ultimatum, the Belgian governnt urgently contacted the British and French governnts, requesting that they adhere to the neutrality treaty and provide the support due to Belgium to guarantee its neutrality.
Britain and France also instantly understood the Germans’ intentions. Since the Maginot Line was situated on the Franco-German Border, the Frenchn certainly could not possibly take the initiative to defend Belgium.
After all, Belgium was just one of Europe’s small and dium-sized countries, and looking at its land area, industry, economy, and population size, Belgium was no match for the French, nor could it pose any threat to them.
This also made Belgium, located in Northern France, one of the gaps in the Maginot Line. If the German Army were to march powerfully southwards through Belgium, it would indeed be a crisis for France.
The first reaction of the French governnt upon learning of the German ultimatum was not to think about helping the Belgian governnt but to frantically muster the army to protect their own Paris.
Why would they do that?
The French capital city of Paris was nearly 300 kiloters away from the German-French Border, which was a relatively safe distance. Moreover, with the Maginot Line, the French governnt felt quite safe in Paris.
But Paris was only about 170 kiloters away from the Belgian border, which was roughly half the distance from the German-French Border.
More fatally, there were not many military fortresses along the Franco-Belgian border. Once the German Army marched powerfully southwards through Belgium, considering the terrifying military record of the German Army, the fall of Paris was only a matter of ti.
In order to protect their capital city of Paris, the French governnt made a decisive decision and decided to mobilize a large number of troops from the central and western parts of France.
At the sa ti, the French governnt notified the British Governnt, requesting that they fulfill their alliance obligations and dispatch an army to join the war in a tily manner.
The French governnt pointed out that more than a month had passed since the outbreak of the war. The British Empire, being the strongest country in the Anglo-French-Austrian alliance, had not yet dispatched any army troops to participate in the war, failing to fulfill its responsibilities as an ally.
The French governnt demanded that the British Governnt should dispatch at least 100,000 troops to France within half a month and at least 250,000 troops within a month, to be deployed at the Franco-Belgian border and to help the Belgians defend their land.
After all, the issue at hand ultimately rested on Belgium. As long as the Belgians could hold their territory, there would be no danger at the Franco-Belgian border.
However, the French did not believe that the Belgians could truly defend their territory. This was also why the French governnt requested British troops to land in France.
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