I Became a Tycoon During World War I - Chapter 248

Chapter 248: The Air Corps

The task of incorporating the army’s airplanes and pilots wasn’t as simple as Gallieni had imagined. He thought that once he nodded, Joffre would immediately take over.

The reality was the opposite of what he expected. Gallieni repeatedly declined:
“I am very sorry, Commander-in-Chief. We are already stretched thin managing our own flying unit, and we simply cannot take on so many additional airplanes and pilots. This is beyond our capacity.”

“Moreover, these airplanes are different from the ones used by the 1st Flying Squadron. Hastily integrating them could cause confusion.”

“Your pilots have also been trained under a different system, with different training directions and combat philosophies. There could be conflicts!”

“Yes, I am worried that they are accustomed to your combat methods and will not be able to integrate into Charles’s operational system.”

...

The implied meaning was clear: Gallieni was suggesting that Joffre’s defeatist tactics had no place in the victorious army of Charles.

Of course, Joffre could easily detect the sarcasm in Gallieni's words, but since this was a parliamentary decision, he could only suppress his fury and pretend not to understand:
“No, you need not worry about that. I trust Charles’s capabilities.”

“They are actually very eager to serve under Charles’s command. I believe this is the right decision; I have thought so for a long time.”

“Charles’s achievements speak for themselves. They are more than willing to follow his orders!”

...

No matter how Joffre tried to argue, Gallieni remained firm in his refusal to accept the planes and pilots, infuriating Joffre to the point of fury.

In a fit of impulsive anger, Joffre thought, “Why not just assign the army's aviation units to the infantry or disband them entirely? Then Charles will get nothing, and we'll see if Gallieni keeps up his fake ‘refusal!’”
But reason prevailed, and Joffre did not act on this impulse.

The parliament had given Joffre clear instructions: “Hand the flying units over to the Paris Defense Command intact, without losing a single pilot.”

The purpose of this was to appease the public and extinguish their anger. If Joffre tried to act secretly in full view of everyone, it would only stoke more outrage and make the public even angrier.

At that point, the parliament might even be forced to sacrifice Joffre!
Having been entrenched in military and political affairs for so long, Joffre understood this well. He knew that he had to swallow his pride and accept the situation.

After much consideration, Joffre had no choice but to ask Clemenceau to intervene and mediate.

It was then that Gallieni relented, reluctantly accepting the army’s planes and pilots.

For some unknown reason, news of Gallieni’s refusal to accept the pilots leaked out to the media.

The next day, major newspapers rushed to headline the story:

“Joffre finally admits his mistake. He has agreed to incorporate the army’s planes into the Paris Defense Command, but the Defense Command refuses to accept them, claiming that Joffre’s pilots are not ‘real pilots!’”

“Although the outcome satisfied the public, any civilian with no command experience would know what to do. Yet, Joffre, as Commander-in-Chief of France, only made this obvious decision after suffering heavy losses. Does this imply that he is not up to the task?”

“Are his other decisions also similarly flawed?”

“The taxes of France and the lives of its soldiers should not be used as pawns in the hands of some individuals! This is criminal!”

...

Joffre could only feel bitter, knowing that Gallieni was the one who had leaked the information, but there was nothing he could do about it.

All Joffre could do was roar at the staff to ensure that no newspapers were brought into his office, not a single one!
For the following month, Joffre, who had always been accustomed to reading the papers, dared not touch a single newspaper!
...

Charles then reorganized the pilots.

He took a headcount, and including the Paris Flying Club, there were 617 experienced pilots capable of performing combat missions.

Charles divided them into 6 air divisions, each containing 5 air squadrons, with 3 fighter squadrons and 2 reconnaissance squadrons. Each squadron had about 20 members.

One of the 6 air divisions remained stationed at the flying club to ensure air superiority over Paris, while one bomber division was based at the Eric Aircraft Manufacturing Factory. The other 4 divisions were deployed to the frontlines, stationed at 4 different airfields to support combat operations.

For those pilots who had the skills and experience but were unable to perform combat missions due to injury, age, or health reasons, Charles assigned them as instructors, tasked with providing strict technical and tactical training to over a thousand students.

The airfield setup was modernized, with airfields located in convenient locations and equipped with road-building engineers, who were specifically trained in the repair of roads and railways to ensure a steady supply of fuel, ammunition, and spare parts.

Warning units extended 30 kilometers in the direction of the enemy, with one radio station for each direction. Each unit had at least two telephones connected to the airfields.

Each airfield also had to send an advisor to the infantry units on the front lines, with at least one advisor per army and equipped with telephones, and in some cases, radios.

This was to ensure coordination between the infantry and air forces.

In addition, Charles set up several methods of air-ground and ground-air communication:

Aircraft could use message bottles or fly in specific patterns, such as the "8" or "0" shapes, to convey basic information to the ground units.

Ground units would use signal flags or signal boards to provide information to the aircraft.

Charles had adopted modern air force practices, with some methods adjusted to fit the specific conditions.

For example, signal boards, which were usually white and reflective, would be arranged by ground infantry into shapes or arrows to indicate directions and distances for attacking aircraft.

However, these signal boards were obviously ineffective in Europe’s winter, with the snow-covered ground making it impossible for white boards to be visible to pilots.

Charles had them replaced with black or bright red boards, allowing the infantry to choose the color based on the circumstances.

In just a week, the newly formed French Air Corps was stabilized and became operational.

The bomber squadrons repeatedly launched attacks, bombing German artillery positions into flames, boosting the morale of the frontline troops.

Gallieni, observing Charles's arrangements, couldn’t help but be impressed. He had Lieutenant Colonel Fernand record every step Charles had taken.

“This is what air forces should do!” Gallieni exclaimed. “From now on, our air forces should operate like this. This is practically an air combat manual!”

Afterward, he complained, “That guy, Charles, even claimed that he had no experience commanding aerial combat. Yet he can command an entire corps with ease, systematically and without a hitch!”

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