I Became a Tycoon During World War I - Chapter 286

Chapter 286: The Convoy

One week later, the 105th Regiment finally set off.

Thanks to Wells' efforts and the Navy Minister's green light, Charles' reinforcements were transported in a truly luxurious convoy.

The convoy consisted of five transport ships, two of which carried troops, while the other three were used for supplies. Among these, two ships also carried landing boats and amphibious assault ships.

Additionally, there were three destroyers and two Q-ships providing escort.

The so-called Q-ships were armed vessels disguised as merchant ships, invented by the British to deal with submarines.

They would let the armed vessels pose as unarmed merchant ships, sailing alone.

When German submarines encountered these "merchant ships," they typically wouldn't sink them with torpedoes right away. Instead, they would opt for a more economical method: surfacing and attacking at close range. At that moment, the Q-ship would suddenly counterattack the submarine.

However, these ships didn't prove effective in actual combat. After the Germans suffered a loss or two, they no longer made the same mistake, especially since the mass-produced Q-ships looked quite similar to each other.

Charles boarded the Henri transport ship, and Tigani was on board as well.

This was Tigani's suggestion. Before setting sail, he asked Charles with a request in his tone: "Colonel, usually, you would travel on the flagship Adventure, which is a destroyer, faster and safer. But..."

Before he could finish, Charles understood his meaning: "You want me to train the soldiers with you?"

"Yes," Tigani nodded, "They are from the army, and many of them have never been on a ship before, or even seen the sea. Now, they must conduct an amphibious assault. It will take us five days to reach our destination, and I hope to use this time to let the soldiers get accustomed to operating the landing boats."

"That's fine," Charles agreed. "I'll be on that ship."

Tigani chose the Henri because it was a transport ship carrying landing boats.

Before embarking, Tigani had made preparations. Two landing boats were placed on the deck, real ones. The soldiers practiced boarding the boats in shifts.

But the problem was...

Not long after the fleet set sail, they encountered strong winds and rough seas, and Charles immediately began to feel unwell.

Charles had his own room, small but furnished with a bed and a desk, which had a fixed desk lamp. For such a crowded transport ship, it was a fairly decent setup.

But Charles felt that what he really needed was a bucket.

He had no idea that traveling by ship could be like this.

The sky was overcast, with strong winds whipping up, and the entire world seemed to be spinning. At times it tilted this way, then that way, and the angle of the ship's lean seemed to threaten capsizing at any moment.

Charles kept telling himself in his mind:

"It's fine, Charles doesn’t get seasick, Charles cannot get seasick!"

But in the end, he couldn't hold it in, and with a loud "wah," he vomited on the floor.

Apparently hearing the sound, the steward Adrian knocked and entered. Seeing the vomit on the floor and the sour stench in the air, he immediately understood what had happened.

"Wait a moment, Colonel," he comforted. "It's fine!"

In no time, Adrian returned with a rag and a wooden bucket, which contained a little water, seemingly to prevent it from spilling.

Charles, unable to believe it, asked Adrian with difficulty: "You can clean this up under these conditions?"

"Of course, Colonel." Adrian replied calmly, busying himself with the task. "Perhaps you don't know, but I’m the child of a fisherman, and I’ve been used to life on boats since I was young. To me, all ships are the same."

Charles suddenly felt a sense of respect for Adrian.

He was already seasick, feeling like his world was being tossed upside down, yet Adrian was cleaning the floor.

And his movements were skillful. In no time, the mess was cleaned up, and not long after, Adrian returned with the freshly cleaned bucket. He placed it by Charles' bedside and whispered, "Don’t worry, Colonel. I’ll keep this secret for you."

Charles gave a bitter laugh. "They'll find out sooner or later. I feel it will take at least a few days."

"The secret is not to fight it," Adrian said like a sage. "Relax, feel the rhythm, and tell yourself: I know you're going this way, I know you're going that way... Before long, you'll get used to it."

Charles tried Adrian’s method, and indeed, he felt somewhat better.

Seasickness was, in fact, a psychological fear.

Moreover, it was also a result of being so used to the "solid ground" on land. When the ship started rocking too much, it was hard to adjust.

Tigani lived directly across from Charles.

Charles believed Tigani must have known what had happened, but he never came out to check. That was another one of Tigani's strengths—he was very aware of human nature.

A sleepless night passed, and by the next morning, after the winds had calmed, Charles felt somewhat better.

After the storm, Charles found that the light rocking of the ship was nothing compared to what he had just experienced. However, he still had no appetite and didn’t want to eat.

At that point, he was so exhausted that he fell into a hazy sleep.

...

What Charles didn't know was that while he was still heading for the Dardanelles, a French fleet had already arrived at the Dardanelles.

This fleet had been sent by Joffre, with two landing boats converted from coal ships. It was commanded by Rear Admiral Honoré and included an infantry regiment of about 4,000 men.

Upon reaching the Dardanelles, Rear Admiral Honoré eagerly submitted a request to General Gaplat: "I hope we can engage in combat as soon as possible, General. We can help the British take V Beach."

General Gaplat was somewhat puzzled: "Perhaps you should wait for Charles, he will only need a few days to arrive, and then we can review the landing plan..."

"No, General," Rear Admiral Honoré insisted on landing immediately. "We should catch the enemy off guard. Everyone knows Charles is on his way, and both the Ottomans and Germans know it as well."

This was true. When Charles had set off, even journalists had taken photos at the port, and many people had come to see him off.

But this was James' idea—he wanted to launch the attack and secure victory before Charles arrived.

James was worried that once Charles arrived at the Dardanelles and took command of the French fleet, he would soon discover the Clyde and Cedile landing ships.

If these two landing ships were put into Charles' hands, his invention would pave the way for Charles' success, and James certainly didn't want that.

General Gaplat couldn’t make the decision on his own, so he consulted Rear Admiral Robeck.

But that question was unnecessary. Rear Admiral Robeck was British, and the French were willing to fight. How could he possibly refuse?

With a sweeping gesture, he immediately agreed to Rear Admiral Honoré’s request, even praising him for his initiative and encouraging others to follow his example.

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