I Became a Tycoon During World War I - Chapter 197

Chapter 197: Completely Unchangeable

Falkenhayn immediately issued a series of targeted orders to the front lines.

He handed over the command of the front to Major General Justin, who was stationed at the Cape Town defense line. Major General Justin, the commander of the 4th Reserve Army, was in charge of four divisions and two cavalry regiments in Cape Town.

Falkenhayn believed that Major General Justin was more familiar with the local terrain and better suited to directly command the overall situation.

...

At this time, Major General Justin was standing at the entrance of the command post, observing with binoculars the "Avro" aircrafts roaring across the sky.

His command post was hidden on a highland five kilometers away from the front lines, surrounded by bushes and hills. Not far off, a 105mm howitzer position was camouflaged.

This wasn’t a matter of Major General Justin sharing hardships with his soldiers. Rather, it was because Major General Justin knew that if he set up his command post in one of the nearby towns, his position would soon be exposed.

After all, this was France, and although French capitalists often made foolish decisions, its civilians were always full of brave men.

More importantly, Major General Justin knew that Charles had proposed a "special operations" tactic, specifically targeting deep German command posts for surprise attacks.

For the sake of his life, he had no choice but to live like a savage in a safe place near the front lines.

When Charles' planes appeared in the sky, Major General Justin silently rejoiced at his own decision.

Had he been living in a house or villa in town, he might now be facing a savage machine gun attack from aircraft!

Major General Justin fixed his gaze on the "Avro" passing overhead through his binoculars, not taking his eyes off until it disappeared from view. It seemed like he wanted to figure out how the machine guns were mounted or where they were placed. Unfortunately, he didn’t succeed in his goal.

As he put the binoculars away, a messenger stepped forward and reported, "General, the General Staff has ordered that four infantry divisions be reinforced, along with two units of ammunition and the strengthening of an artillery regiment!"

Major General Justin was puzzled but showed no sign of it. He coldly asked, "So, does this mean they got it wrong? Is Charles still in command of this attack?"

"No, General!" the messenger replied. "It’s confirmed that it’s still Charles in command. However, the General Staff believes that Charles may replicate the tactics he used at Lafox!"

Major General Justin was taken aback, then couldn’t help but laugh mockingly. "Interesting, will Charles really do that?"

...

Charles didn’t want to do this.

In a villa located northwest of Cape Town, the wealthy owner had already fled south due to the ongoing battle in the area. It was just right for Charles to use it as a command post.

The command post was as busy as usual, as this was the nerve center of the French army, where intelligence from all directions would eventually converge. After proper processing, new orders would be issued.

Charles was sitting at his desk, staring blankly at the map. The desk lamp beside him emitted an orange light, flickering occasionally, perhaps due to a loose connection.

But Charles didn’t notice it at all. His eyes were vacant, and his mind had already jumped to another dimension.

Charles had been feeling depressed lately. He had always tried to ensure that his troops fought in an "orderly" manner. He believed that as long as he was organized and methodical, the enemy would inevitably panic, and victory would eventually belong to him.

This was also one of the reasons why he kept a strict routine.

However, Charles’ appearance had shattered all those rules. He didn’t play by the book at all, and since the start of the war, there had been almost no repetition of tactics.

The Battle of the Marne was a direct breakthrough with tanks, exploiting the enemy’s fear of new equipment;

In Antwerp, deception tactics and rocket planes were used to destroy the enemy’s key targets, "Big Bertha" and the airship;

At Ypres, machine gun aircraft controlled the air superiority, perfectly coordinating with artillery to defend;

At Lafox, Charles astonishingly combined tanks, infantry, and planes to carry out a breakthrough and encirclement!

My God, which tactic is correct? Charles felt a bit dizzy.

If you don’t understand, just copy...

No, I can’t copy!

If the next day’s newspaper headline read, "French Supreme Commander Achieves Victory Using Exactly the Same Tactics as Charles," what face would he have left?

So even if he copied, he would have to make some changes, that way he could proudly reply, "No, they only look similar on the surface. In reality, they are two completely different tactics!"

The citizens didn’t understand tactics. If they noticed any differences, they would believe Charles' explanation.

However...

Charles was despairing, realizing he couldn’t change it, not at all!

Leave out the planes and ignore air superiority?

No, if the Germans fly their planes into the sky for reconnaissance, the flanking forces would be discovered in advance when gathering at the sides, and there would be no surprise, no chance to break through quickly.

Moreover, it was necessary to use "machine gun aircraft" to suppress and block the German artillery.

The first flying squadron was essential!

Direct frontal assault?

No, although the "Saint Chamond" and CA-1 tanks had been improved, they still struggled to cross trenches in testing.

In real combat, sandbags were still needed to fill in trenches to allow them to pass, and "sandbag filling" was a tactic invented by Charles.

Could the "simultaneous flanking maneuver" be changed to a "single-flank maneuver"?

The answer was still no!

A simultaneous flanking maneuver meant that each side only needed to cover half the distance, reducing the enemy’s reaction time by half, and the tanks would only travel half the distance.

The latter was crucial because, given the current state of tank maintenance, it was almost impossible for a single-flank maneuver to cover the entire distance without the tracks breaking.

"My God!" Charles was deep in distress. "This was a tactic devised by a seventeen-year-old. It’s so tight and coherent, with every step being indispensable. How did he come up with it?"

In the end, Charles compromised. He decided to copy the plan exactly as it was.

As long as he achieved victory, the media could handle the rest, with Schneider’s help.

But inevitably, after Charles conveyed the battle plan, the atmosphere in the command post turned strange.

The staff didn’t say anything, but their expressions looked as if they had stolen something. They couldn’t help but wonder: if this is the way to win, then why was it Charles and not Charles who was in command?

Vice Commander Carnes understood their expressions. He didn’t know how to explain and could only shout to break the awkwardness, "Cheer up, boys, our goal is to encircle the 4th Reserve Army!"

Then Carnes added, "This time, we’re encircling an entire army! It’s completely different from the last time at Lafox!"

The staff responded half-heartedly:

"Yes, General!"

"This time it’s much harder!"

"This might be the largest encirclement battle in history."

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