I Became a Tycoon During World War I - Chapter 211

Chapter 211: God, We've Been Fooled!

The German artillery positions were in disarray, with howitzers overturned by tanks everywhere, and groups of German gunners huddled on the ground, surrendering with their hands on their heads.

Colonel Brown simply ordered them to surrender their weapons and destroy their guns before letting them go.

Several Western European countries were relatively humane toward prisoners of war, with a combat philosophy that bore some resemblance to "chivalric spirit."

In their view, combat was one thing—it was about fighting for the country against the enemy, and doing so with full dedication was expected, much like how knights shed blood for their emperor—it was an honor, a spirit.

However, if the battle was lost and the outcome could not be changed, surrender was the only option. Once surrendered, one was no longer a soldier, and both sides should treat each other with friendliness.

...

On Wilhelmstrasse, Berlin, at the German General Staff Headquarters.

Falkenhayn was nervously pulling together every available unit, all heading toward the same target: reinforcements for Trame and Rhodes.

"These are Charles's elite forces!" Falkenhayn paced excitedly behind his desk, speaking as he walked, "They have been under Charles's command since the Battle of the Marne, they know his tactics, and they know his equipment. If we can surround and destroy them, it will be like cutting off Charles's right and left arms!"

What Falkenhayn didn’t say was that he hoped to capture a few prisoners, so he could learn about Charles’s new tactics and equipment, which might help advance the German army.

This was particularly important to Falkenhayn. He had even come to believe that the French so-called "special artillery divisions" were no longer significant.

If they could, he would have no issue abandoning them in exchange for Charles's First Tank Brigade.

"They must be stopped, Charles's forces, at all costs!" Falkenhayn muttered to himself.

Colonel Moritz understood at once.

Charles's forces held immeasurable strategic value to the Germans.

Perhaps even Charles himself wasn’t fully aware of this, which was why he had recklessly sent this unit into a trap.

Suddenly, a messenger rushed in, his face pale with terror. "General, Charles's forces have crushed our First Tank Regiment! Two tank battalions were nearly wiped out, and Colonel Matteo has fallen in heroic duty!"

Falkenhayn stopped abruptly and turned to the messenger in disbelief. "No, that can't be!"

How could a "Mark I" without artillery have wiped out the artillery-equipped First Tank Regiment so quickly?

Colonel Moritz said nothing. He swiftly stepped forward and snatched the decoded telegram, glancing at it hurriedly before looking up at Falkenhayn. "General, it's true, Charles has deployed a new type of tank!"

"A new type of tank?" Falkenhayn was stunned, his face a picture of confusion. "But why didn’t we hear anything about it? It's a tank! From Rhodes to Samock, that's at least a ten-kilometer stretch, it should have taken an hour, how did no one notice?"

Moritz thought for a moment before speculating, "Perhaps Charles intentionally concealed its existence. He meant for us to focus on the 'Mark I,' and then this new tank appeared out of nowhere, catching us completely off guard..."

Before he could finish, Colonel Moritz froze in place, realizing something else.

Falkenhayn understood too. He exchanged a stunned look with Moritz. Both could see the shock in each other's eyes.

"My God, we’ve been fooled!" Colonel Moritz exclaimed. "He made us believe he only had the 'Mark I,' and because of that, we misjudged that the French could only break through at either Trame or Rhodes... no, no..."

Moritz helplessly walked up to Falkenhayn. "We need to recall the troops! Charles will break through from the Cape Town region, just as we thought earlier. They'll come at us from both sides..."

Falkenhayn gently shook his head, a look of helplessness on his face. "It’s too late, Moritz. Charles fooled us. He succeeded again!"

Moritz took out his pocket watch, glanced at the time, and then looked at the map. With a long sigh, he slowly nodded.

Falkenhayn was right. From the moment Charles broke through the Rhodes defensive line, the Germans had urgently redeployed forces to support their flanks. It had already been an hour and a half.

This meant it would take another hour and a half to bring those forces back.

In that time, Charles's forces could easily bypass Samock and head straight for Lorca.

...

The actual situation was even faster than they had imagined.

The "Charles A1" tank, equipped with an advanced suspension system, could reach speeds of 13 kilometers per hour and could travel over 30 kilometers without needing maintenance.

This had much to do with its lighter weight. With the same tracks, the "Charles A1," which supported 8 tons, was a very different machine compared to the "Mark I," which weighed 17 tons.

Moreover, the First Tank Travel Corps still coordinated with infantry: the tricycles scouted ahead to check the terrain, marking muddy and rigid surfaces with flags as warnings.

(Note: Some roads were paved with uneven stone slabs. If a tank sped over them, the impact between the tracks and the stones could easily break them.)

Reconnaissance planes also played their part, dropping "intelligence bottles" to warn of small enemy forces, German supply convoys, and German engineers ahead.

The tricycle units moved first, breaking through where they could, seizing what they could, and fixing any bombed craters they could find. The "Charles A1" tanks followed smoothly.

As for the "Mark I" tanks, Colonel Estigny directed them to gather at the intersection of the Samock town road and set them on fire.

Their final mission was to block the rear, preventing enemy reinforcements from catching up.

...

At Lorca Town, in the rear of Cape Town.

Major General Tigani and his Second Special Artillery Division arrived and successfully met up with the First Special Artillery Division.

Amidst the soldiers' cheers, a disheveled Major General Christine found Tigani, and their hands grasped tightly.

Christine, crouching down with Tigani in a makeshift anti-artillery trench, eyed the area warily. It was enemy territory, and he couldn’t afford to be careless.

Before entering the trench, Christine glanced at Tigani's troops, his eyes showing surprise.

Before the battle, Christine had looked down on Tigani.

He didn’t believe someone like Tigani, who had risen to the rank of Major General through connections, could make a significant impact on the battlefield.

Now, seeing that Tigani's unit still had thirty or so "Saint Chamond" and CA-1 tanks, he couldn’t help but regard Tigani with newfound respect.

"Well done, Major General Tigani!" Christine said with an apologetic look. "As for those tanks, I’ve completely abandoned them. Not a single one was brought!"

Tigani awkwardly replied, "If it weren't for Charles's forces, we wouldn’t even be here, let alone with those tanks."

Then he added, "In fact, I should have left them for the enemy. They seem to be no better than decorative vases!"

Tigani thought to himself, at least vases could be pleasing to the eye, but these tanks would only get people killed.

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