Reincarnated: Vive La France
Chapter 243: Sir… you carry Spain with you. Always did.

Chapter 243: Sir... you carry Spain with you. Always did.

Later that day at night General Gamelin entered Moreau room.

He paused, straight-backed and alert, before settling at the other end of the table.

Moreau remained standing, sleeves loosely rolled.

His tie was undone.

"We’re late getting started," said Moreau softly, offering a nod.

Gamelin took a seat and gave a curt nod in return. "Truth is more important than timing tonight."

Moreau poured wine into both glasses, lifting one in a quiet gesture.

They drank.

Gamelin broke the silence.

"Spain is lost to chaos. Franco has seized the north Bilbao, Zaragoza. Madrid teeters in the nationalist siege. The Republicans are splintered across internal factions, communists, anarchists, moderates. Foreign support sustains Franco. Germany’s Condor Legion roams freely Italy sends pilots and armor. England watches, wary. America preaches non-intervention."

Moreau traced a finger on Madrid. "And France remains neutral, while that blood runs red."

Gamelin folded his hands.

"Neutrality buys us time but at what cost? Our factories produce domestic steel. Airplane production barely hits fifty percent of capacity. Rural electrification, roads, rail everything competes. Financing intervention risks hyperinflation or market collapse."

Moreau watched Gamelin carefully. "I wear those costs on my sleeves, Maurice."

He leaned forward. "I traveled there. Fought in the Pyrenees. I watched children cower under bombed-out buildings and civilians use carts to bury the dead. We came too late. That memory still haunts me."

Gamelin cleared his throat. "You were lionized the ’Lion of Spain.’ You struck out against the current, saw what awaited."

Moreau’s reply was quiet. "That Lion he didn’t die in Spain. He lives in the heart of France now."

He touched his glass. "So here’s what I propose. Not hidden aid. Not black-market contacts. Official, engineers, technical brigades, logistical support. Noncombat roles but ready. Intervention framed as humanitarian assistance to stabilize infrastructure."

He tapped on the map near Barcelona. "We refurbish roads, we rebuild power lines, we supply emergency communications Republican zones will reap the benefit, and Nazi Italy and Germany will know France can’t be bullied."

Gamelin folded his arms.

"You want dual-use units. People see roads being built, not weapons stockpiled."

Moreau nodded.

"Primarily. Let them say it’s peacekeeping. We prepare them for conflict. And we build functionally, visibly with a one-month lead. If the Republic collapses, these divisions convert on the fly. No questions."

Gamelin.

"Sir... you carry Spain with you. Always did."

Moreau’s eyes deepened. "And Spain burns still. If Hitler finds a fascist Spain friendly to him, we surround ourselves with embers."

He paused. "Consider it should France go to war with Germany, do you prefer the Spanish border filled with fascist forces or a broken but neutral Spanish cordon?"

Gamelin’s voice was low but firm.

"I’d rather Spain be in perpetual civil conflict than one more Axis partner."

"Then we act not for glory, but for France’s future."

He shifted to his side.

"I’ve built this mission as part of the Emergency Budget. We hold at ₣100 billion engineers redeploy within existing lines. Airfields reconditioned as mail-run facilities, not bomber bases. Tanks reclassified. Communications brigades built under civilian schema. I’ve penciled in operational reserves."

Gamelin exhaled. "Then we need secrecy. This conversation is the only record."

Moreau nodded. "We save archives for later. Our staff your G-2 and G-3 will reference this in encrypted logs. Only your operations division sees the deployment maps. Ministers learn of general reconstruction efforts nothing more."

Gamelin looked back to the Spain map. "The timeline?"

Moreau returned to his glass and drained it. "Thirty days. By May 1st, engineers deployed to Pau, Toulouse, Perpignan dual-use for our rural electrification and highway efforts. Tanks sent disguised as tractors per agricultural aid in Hérault. Recon reconnaissance flights begin on May 5th photos of road cores, site surveys. Informal medical units for war refugees enter near Catalan border."

"Majors Morin and Lefebvre will lead operations under cover. They keep reports under the Ministry of Reconstruction channel."

Gamelin shook his head. "You’ve thought through this."

Moreau’s lip curved. "We live it. But we still lack. First, clear air transport capacity. We need to double flights disguised as mail drops. Civil aviation needs budget. An extra ₣500 million in runway repair appropriation."

"Possible," Gamelin nodded. "Next?"

"Second, intelligence monitoring. We need eyes in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia atmosphere, troop strength, any sign of third nations preparing to build a consensus. We lack observers."

Gamelin raised an eyebrow. "We’ll need clandestine agents. I can dispatch retired officers with civilian cover but that’s added risk."

Moreau shrugged. "Riskier to leave blind."

Gamelin tapped his pen. "Third?"

"Fourth supply chain. Food delivery and medical support. Spain’s infrastructure dies, and our dual-use aid ceases to look benign. We carry civilian goods only bread, medicines, tools." He paused. "Budget line of ₣250 million for humanitarian aid tied to dual-use units."

Gamelin’s face flickered. "That’d exceed the current budget."

Moreau gave a solemn smile. "We shift ₣250 million from the National Cohesion fund. Local exhibitions can wait three months. Reallocate to reconstruction in Spain. Show people we’re caring, not conquering."

Gamelin cradled his glass. "I’ll brief my senior officers. We need command order by midnight tomorrow."

Moreau nodded. "Yes, the plan stems from today. Deployment tomorrow evening. Transport convoys by May 2. Engineer units on May 5. Recon flights by May 10. Aid at field hospitals by May 15."

Gamelin paused. "One month. Then what?"

Moreau exhaled slowly. "Then we assess. If Franco’s lines push into Madrid’s outskirts, we pause. If Axis support overwhelms, we withdraw. If the Republic holds terrain, we extend engineering, food flows, envoy contact."

Gamelin swallowed. "We do this. But what of public reaction? If word leaks, France may riot or worse."

Moreau’s gaze locked with him. "That’s why we announced liaison funding, not Spain aid. We tell people we’re fixing French farms. We rehabilitate ports. We keep reconstruction domestic."

He waved at the Spain map lying on the table. "It’s an overlay a projection hidden by domestic deeds."

Gamelin nodded slowly.

"I’ll need your trust."

Moreau’s look steadied him. "You have it."

Moreau motioned to the papers beneath the lamp.

"Those are the operational charts. Coordinates, timings, relay points everything your teams need. When you begin, you copy them and burn these."

Gamelin retrieved the maps. "Understood."

Moreau paused. "One more ask. I want daily intelligence updates enemy movement, Axis reaction, internal stability. Your branch coordinates with Rivet’s network."

Gamelin placed the maps carefully at the center. "We’ll start tonight."

Moreau nodded.

"Anything you need from my office? Authorization? Logistics?"

Gamelin hesitated. "Just that you remain silent. The fewer footprints, the better."