I Became a Tycoon During World War I - Chapter 212

Chapter 212: The Psychological Warfare

Tigani's gaze passed over the observation hole, sizing up the troops of General Christine outside the bomb-proof shelter, his eyes filled with envy. "I would rather bring more men back, General Christine!"

Tigani's forces had been encircled by the German army in the Samock Strait, caught under artillery fire and crossfire from both sides. They had suffered losses of at least five thousand men.

More importantly, his troops had been so demoralized that they were nearly ready to surrender, while Christine's First Special Artillery Division still maintained their morale.

Christine smiled wryly. "We were saved by Charles too!"

Tigani turned around in astonishment, his eyes full of surprise. "You too?"

He had thought that Charles’s forces had only made a single-wing breakthrough, rescuing only the Second Special Artillery Division. He hadn't expected that Christine's forces were also saved by Charles.

Christine nodded, his expression somewhat complicated, and his words carried a hint of reluctance. "Charles directed us on the breakthrough route using planes, and that played a crucial role!"

Tigani uttered a soft "Oh": "The planes could scout enemy positions; they can see much more than we can!"

"That’s not all," Christine shook his head lightly. "Could you have thought of breaking out through the Tremen River?"

"The Tremen River?" Tigani, who had participated in the battle plan, of course knew of this river—it was a small river west of the quarry.

Christine nodded gravely and succinctly described the entire process. "Charles told us to abandon all heavy equipment and break out through the Tremen River. The Germans thought it impossible for us to break out from this direction because there were few troops deployed here. Our forces used mortars to suppress the enemy's fire on the opposite bank, then waded across and threw grenades in close combat..."

Tigani understood; this was not just about aerial reconnaissance, but also about Charles’s tactical guidance for Christine.

Christine was an experienced veteran, while Charles was only seventeen, a major who had never seen a battlefield, yet he had guided Christine and achieved victory...

No wonder Christine’s expression was somewhat awkward; he seemed to be blaming himself for not thinking of this solution.

What Tigani didn’t know was that Christine wasn’t just thinking about this.

Before the battle, he had ignored Gallieni's objections and, under pressure, equipped his men with mortars. Had he not done so, would they have had to suffer heavy casualties just to break out?

Why did everything seem to be related to Charles? Tactics, mortars, grenades...

At this moment, a soldier yelled, "Enemy sighting, east side!"

Everyone tensed. Christine quickly emerged from the bomb-proof shelter to command his troops, turning their guns toward the east.

This was the awkwardness of being surrounded in enemy-controlled territory; they couldn’t even be sure from which direction the enemy would appear.

Then someone exclaimed in alarm, "Tanks! German tanks!"

"Prepare for battle!" Christine shouted, raising his binoculars to look in the direction indicated by the sentry.

Indeed, several kilometers away on the road, the silhouettes of tanks gradually appeared in the field of view through the binoculars. They were clearly not "Mark I" tanks—these were undoubtedly German tanks.

"Tigani!" Christine turned to Tigani, who had caught up, and asked, "Would you mind letting me command your tanks?"

"Of course, I have no objections!" Tigani answered immediately.

He had been so worn down by the battlefield that he had lost all confidence. His mind was now blank, not knowing what to do.

Christine was about to give the order when a plane flew overhead, its shrill whistle followed by a dropped intelligence capsule.

Soon, someone shouted excitedly, "It’s our people! It’s Charles’s troops! And Charles’s new tanks!"

The crowd erupted in cheers. Both Christine and Tigani breathed a sigh of relief.

Christine was still a bit uneasy, so he continued to watch the approaching troops through his binoculars. When he saw a convoy of three-wheeled vehicles wearing bright red military trousers, he finally ordered the alert to be lifted.

He hesitated for a moment before turning to Tigani and saying, "We should prepare to break out, Major General Tigani."

"Break out? Now?" Tigani asked, shocked.

Christine nodded firmly. The sooner they broke out, the better. Charles must have thought the same.

His only concern was that the tanks seemed small. Would they be able to break out successfully with the troops?

...

As it turned out, Christine’s worry was unnecessary. The "Charles A1" tanks performed in the breakout battle with what could only be described as "a show of power."

Their frontal armor was 25mm thick, which was the same as the armor penetration of the German anti-tank rifles at a distance of 200 meters.

This might still be risky, but the mortars had a range of 700 meters. Once the mortar operators spotted a large gun in the trench, they would quickly focus their fire on that spot.

Then, just like the previous tank tactics, the tanks would advance with infantry, tossing grenades into the trenches. The infantry would rush in and tear a hole in the German defense line.

Before the battle, many had worried whether small tanks like the "Charles A1" would be able to cross the trenches.

But the actual combat convinced everyone of the tank's design: the "Charles A1" had a tail hook at the back. While crossing a trench wasn’t exactly smooth, it was just a jolt, and the driver could hardly feel the process of crossing.

(Above: The Renault tank crossing a trench without a tail hook.)

(Above: The Renault tank crossing a trench with a tail hook. The tail hook provides support, maintaining the balance of the tank when crossing.)

When Major General Tigani saw the tanks crossing the trenches one after another, he, who had previously looked dejected, seemed to regain his energy. While commanding his troops to break out, he excitedly shouted, "Now this is a tank! A real tank, a tank that can fight!"

In that moment, he made a decision in his heart—his idol was no longer Napoleon, but Charles.

Because Napoleon could never create such equipment. It was born for war, an art of the battlefield, the most advanced and marvelous invention in the world...

The soldiers didn’t think as deeply as Tigani. They simply followed the tank brigade, breaking through the defense line and then expanding their victory at the gap torn open by the tanks.

...

At the Berlin General Staff, Foch, upon receiving the intelligence about the Cape Town reverse defense line being broken, let out a soft sigh.

Although this had been anticipated, when the moment actually came, he still felt a sense of reluctance.

Looking back, this battle could have been won if he had just held on to Cape Town. No matter which direction Charles attempted to break out, his flanks would have been exposed to the 4th Reserve Army.

However, Foch had made a series of wrong troop movements, overly worried about Charles’s methods, which allowed Charles to seize the opportunity.

Otherwise, just nine tanks—even if they were Charles’s new type—would not have been enough to break through the line.

Charles wasn’t just fighting tactics, or just using equipment; he was also playing a psychological game!

He had figured out his opponent’s psychology!

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