I Became a Tycoon During World War I - Chapter 241

Chapter 241: The Trap at Kobdo

Thirty kilometers southeast of Paris lies the town of Wissmann.

The town is roughly in the middle of the defensive line, and its unique geographic location allows it to connect quickly with both the northern and southern lines of France. Coupled with its easy transportation and defensible position, it was selected as the headquarters of the French High Command.

The command post is located in a villa with a garden, which offers abundant food, clean rooms, and all the necessary facilities. It even has a swimming pool, though it is of little use during the winter.

Joffre believes that only such an environment can allow him and his headquarters to work "in an orderly manner."

Joffre has always had a habit of reading the newspaper, but for the past few days, he hasn’t even glanced at one.

The newspapers are filled with news he does not wish to see:
"The army doesn't need airplanes; these tasks can entirely be handled by the flying squadrons!"

"Even if the army needs them, they cannot ensure the safety of these reconnaissance planes."

"The army's planes are only providing additional victories for the Germans!"

...

"Absurd!" Joffre sneered at these discussions: "These idiots don't even know what war is! War is about using limited resources to achieve maximum combat effectiveness. Can't they see that our army's planes are still fighting and making a difference under such harsh conditions? That, in itself, is a victory!"

Joffre was quite adept at sophistry.

In the months following the victory at the Battle of the Marne, people continued to argue over whether the savior of Paris was Gallieni or Joffre.

It seemed that Joffre had only done one thing: persuade the British Expeditionary Force to join the battle, while everything else, including commanding the troops in battle, had been Gallieni's work.

But at that time, Joffre said one thing: "I don’t really know, but I know that if this battle had been lost, I would have been the one to answer for it!"

The meaning behind his words was clear: if they lost the battle, as the Commander-in-Chief of France, Joffre would be held responsible. But now that the battle was won, the credit naturally belonged to him.

Thus, using this twisted logic, he smoothly took Gallieni’s credit for himself.

Similarly, he effortlessly transformed the chaos, simplicity, and disorder of the army's planes into a narrative of hardship, persistence, and greatness.

Had Joffre been clever enough, he should have chosen to step back at this moment.

But he was never known for his brilliance. In fact, he even had a nickname: "The Dull General."

Carnes saw the danger in this and cautiously approached to offer advice:

"General, if this were before, perhaps continuing down this path wouldn't be a problem, since we had absolute air superiority."

"But now, the Germans have machine-gun-equipped aircraft, and the army still only has reconnaissance planes."

"The Germans can easily shoot down all our reconnaissance planes!"

Without hesitation, Joffre replied: "Then why can't we equip these reconnaissance planes with machine guns? They should fight the Germans!"

Carnes paused for a moment. He had been in charge of commanding Charles’ flying squadron during the Battle of Cape Town and knew a thing or two about machine-gun-equipped aircraft.

"Yes, General!" Carnes answered, then leaned in and whispered, "Some reconnaissance planes aren't suited for machine guns; they’re too heavy for them."

He had to make sure that no other staff members heard this, or else the Commander-in-Chief would look like an ignorant fool who didn’t understand airplanes or aerial combat, yet kept shouting orders.

Then Carnes added: "Currently, only two-seater planes are suitable for being modified into machine-gun-equipped aircraft. But many of our reconnaissance planes are older models..."

Joffre calmly replied with a "Hmm": "Then let's order a batch of planes and have them fly in the air to protect the safety of the reconnaissance planes."

"Yes, General!" Carnes responded, but didn’t leave.

Joffre turned and looked at Carnes with confusion.

"General!" Carnes replied, "The most suitable model might be the 'Avro,' but that model is produced by Charles' factory..."

Joffre immediately interrupted him: "Use another model. You’re in charge of this!"

"Yes, General."

As Carnes left, he couldn’t help but feel helpless. No matter what, the formation of the aircraft squadron would inevitably involve Charles. Even if they didn’t use the "Avro," they would still need the "machine-gun firing coordinator."

But Carnes knew that it was best not to report this to Joffre—he could just handle it through government procurement.

At this point, Joffre wasn’t thinking about how to organize, train, or fight the enemy. He thought he had inadvertently discovered a new approach:

Everyone thought the army’s planes would be incorporated into Charles’ unified command, but why not let each army independently develop its own flying squadrons?

If each of the seven army corps had one... no, the two corps under Gallieni’s command should be weakened, and the five army corps under his command should each develop a powerful flying squadron.

Then, what would Charles’ flying squadrons amount to?
With this thought, Joffre felt it was necessary to give James a heads-up, to have him take care of this matter.

...

Soon, two opinions began to circulate in the media:
One supported the incorporation of army aircraft into a unified command under Charles.

The other argued that the army should have its own flying squadrons, allowing it to respond more quickly and become stronger.

Joffre represented the latter position. He urgently placed an order for two hundred two-seater "Gotha" planes and one hundred two-seater "Newport 10" planes, and called for the recruitment of pilots to form flying squadrons.

When Gallieni saw the intelligence, he merely smiled. Joffre was walking straight into the trap at Kobdo.

The Commander-in-Chief of France was being tricked by a journalist—wasn’t this a kind of irony?

Gallieni held the telegram and waved it towards Charles, who was sitting just a few meters away: "Are these two models useful to you?"

Charles knew which models they were and understood Gallieni’s meaning.

At this rate, all these planes would end up in Charles' hands. Everything Joffre had done was only preparing the way for Charles—he just didn’t know it yet.

Gallieni’s question stemmed from concern that these planes might be bought and not used, which would represent a huge waste for the military.

"Any plane is useful," Charles answered. "If nothing else, they can be used as training planes for pilots. We really need that!"

What Charles truly valued, however, were the pilots that Joffre had trained.

Of course, he also knew not to expect much from the pilots trained by Joffre.

"Alright," Gallieni nodded calmly. "Let him buy them. As for the rest, that’s up to the Germans!"

If it had been before, Gallieni might have tried to avoid this situation, because it would inevitably result in innocent pilots losing their lives.

Now, he seemed to understand that these sacrifices were unavoidable—and the sooner they came, the smaller they would be.

Table of content - Next Chapter >>>