I Became a Tycoon During World War I - Chapter 120

Chapter 120: Machine Gun Synchronizer

Gallieni raised his head high, his gaze contemptuous as he looked down at the parliamentarians seated below. His voice rang out with unshakable confidence as he delivered his concluding remarks:

“Gentlemen, determining which equipment is useful on the battlefield and which is not should be left to those who have actually fought in battle and understand what war truly entails.”

“It's like a farmer attempting to discuss legal issues or a lawyer trying to farm—utterly absurd!”

“Soldiering is a unique profession. It is not as simple as you imagine, and we should approach it with caution.”

“Rather than pretending to be experts on matters you don’t understand—trying to teach others how to shoot a gun or even how to wage war, and dictating what equipment should not be purchased—you are only setting yourselves up for ridicule.”

“And ridicule is all you’ll gain for it!”

Without so much as a glance at the assembly, Gallieni turned and strode confidently off the podium, chest puffed out as he left the chamber under the awkward stares of the parliamentarians, a faint smile never leaving his face.

Gallieni had never experienced such a triumphant moment before. He had delivered a powerful rebuke to the parliamentarians, leaving them speechless. For Charles had indeed won a battle, transforming what was deemed “impossible” into “possible.”

In truth, it wasn’t just the parliamentarians who doubted it. When Charles had first spoken about the "machine gun synchronizer," even Gallieni himself had been skeptical.

“That’s impossible!” Gallieni, well-versed though he was, had exclaimed in astonishment when he heard Charles’s idea. “The propellers spin so fast that we can’t even see the blades! How could bullets pass through without shattering them?”

“We don’t need to see the blades, General!” Charles explained. “We just need to add a small device that prevents firing when a blade is in front of the barrel. It’s not that difficult!”

The key to many inventions lies not in their complexity, but in the realization of the idea.

Once the idea was conceived, the execution often required only combining existing components. The "machine gun synchronizer," for instance, utilized a hydraulic mechanism that was already in use.

Gallieni was still puzzled. He excelled in military theory and command, but mechanical knowledge was not his forte—one of the reasons he had steadfastly chosen Saint-Cyr Military Academy.

However, just a few hours later, when Charles had a prototype built, Gallieni had no choice but to believe.

The test was conducted at a flying club using two Vickers machine guns mounted on either side of the nose of an old, soon-to-be-scrapped Avro aircraft. This plane, plagued by engine failures, was no longer deemed flight-worthy and thus ideal for experiments.

The pilots placed a wooden target in front of the aircraft. The initial test proved that the wooden target was no match for the experiment. Before anyone could determine if the bullets had hit the bullseye, the target was obliterated into scattered splinters.

But that wasn’t the main point.

The focus was that all 500 rounds fired from the two machine guns had been discharged without causing any damage to the propeller.

The pilots stared dumbfounded at the intact propeller. Carter even reached out to touch the blades, exclaiming, “My God, there’s not a single scratch! Every bullet perfectly avoided the blades!”

“It wasn’t the bullets avoiding the blades, Uncle Carter!” Charles corrected him. “The blades avoided the bullets!”

In Charles’s view, the motion of the blades was the active factor, so they should take precedence in the explanation.

“What’s the difference?” Carter retorted. “I just want to know how it was done!”

“This is the magic of machinery!” Charles sidestepped the question. “Machines react far faster than we can imagine. Our minds can’t fully grasp their workings!”

Gallieni studied the propeller with a stern expression, then glanced at the shattered wooden target. A moment later, he gave a sharp order to the guards:

“Deploy a guard battalion to seal off the club. From now on, no one leaves without authorization!”

“Yes, General!” The guard immediately went to make the call.

Gallieni then turned to the pilots. “Congratulations! As of now, you are soldiers!”

Carter, confused, asked, “Who do you mean, General?”

“Everyone!” Gallieni replied. “Everyone at the club, including the cooks!”

Carter stared blankly at Gallieni’s retreating figure, then turned to Charles. “Lieutenant, you told us this might happen, but I didn’t expect it to be so soon!”

Charles was equally surprised. He had assumed the pilots would at least be trained to march, fire a rifle, or even have their hair trimmed short enough to fit military caps.

But Gallieni had unilaterally declared them soldiers.

After some thought, Charles understood.

His newly invented "machine gun synchronizer" had elevated aerial combat from rudimentary tactics like throwing bricks or needles—or even ramming planes—into an era of machine gun strafing, and not just with one machine gun, but two.

To Charles, it was merely a “simple gadget,” but in this era, it was a “top-secret invention.”

Gallieni might not understand machines or airplanes, but he understood warfare. He knew this invention required absolute secrecy.

Charles realized his oversight. He should have “invented” this device under confidential circumstances. Now, he had implicated Carter and the other pilots, thrusting them into the fray without proper preparation.

Gallieni maintained utmost caution, personally overseeing the guard deployment at the club until the battalion arrived. Only then did he relax and take Charles back to headquarters.

On the ride back, Gallieni posed a question to Charles: “Do they need additional training?”

Gallieni was referring to preparing the pilots for combat.

After a brief consideration, Charles replied, “Almost none. They don’t even need to learn to shoot. Everything is prepared by the mechanics. If there’s anything they should bring, it’s a hammer.”

“A hammer?” Gallieni asked, puzzled.

“Yes!” Charles said. “If the machine gun jams, they just need to hammer it. Other than that, there’s not much they can do.”

Gallieni chuckled. “Then all they lack is the courage to pull the trigger!”

Charles nodded, agreeing with Gallieni’s assessment.

Pilots who had never killed before, or who weren’t psychologically prepared for it, might find it difficult to fire upon an enemy pilot when they saw them in the cockpit, even knowing the enemy was a threat.

“But that’s okay!” Charles said gravely. “Even if they hesitate, the enemy won’t kill them.”

Because the enemy’s planes weren’t equipped with machine guns.

Unlike infantry, who rarely had the luxury of time to adapt, these pilots had a unique advantage.

Gallieni nodded with a smile. “But it won’t stay that way for long. They’ll need to learn quickly!”

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