Chapter 374: Let It Burn
The lines continued to fold in France as the Germans and their allies continued to march forward with overwhelming momentum and power. Like a thunder strike, they march and they marched, obliterating every enemy position in their path.
With the nation’s shores blockaded by the Navies of the Central Powers, there was really only one way to escape the chaos, through the Pyrenees into Spain. A treacherous journey, which thousands or perhaps even millions had opted to take.
Of course, when the first few thousand illegal French migrants made their way to Spain, nobody truly batted an eye. But when the numbers became far more troublesome, the Kingdom of Spain sent its army to the borders to stem the tide of would be refugees who would overwhelm an already unstable and chaotic system.
To describe Spain in this era, and its internal politics was a difficult feat. While calling themselves a monarchy, they lacked all the stability that typically came with such governments.
Rather, the real power lied with their electoral system, which was prone to unchecked fraud, allowing sweeping and unilateral transitions between parties of widely different ideologies and policies in every election cycle.
Whoever had the ability to commit the most voter fraud usually ended up in power until someone else could supplant them with the same methods. As a result, the government was riddled with corruption, instability, and plenty of economic problems.
It was an impossibility for the Spanish to take care of French refugees and they were not willing to entertain the thought. As a result, France continued to burn in the background while the German 8th Army and its fellow combined arms counterpart surrounded Paris within a week of offensive.
An ultimatum was quickly given to what remained of the French Government.
"Surrender or die..."
What remained of the French Army that had not already been destroyed, captured, or routed into desertion, was held up within the city, planning to make a last stand in their capital rather than surrender.