I Became a Tycoon During World War I - Chapter 116

Chapter 116: Asymmetric Warfare

Gallieni neither refused nor agreed.

He smiled faintly and said, “If you can prove they are worth the price, I am willing to pay 10% interest. Otherwise…”

Charles initially wanted to protest—it had nothing to do with him since the expenses he incurred for the military should be reimbursed.

But Gallieni added, “And I’ll also consider evaluating the Flying Club at a price of 300,000 francs!”

Charles immediately raised both hands in surrender. The 200,000-franc discrepancy was unreasonable, even if it followed protocol.

Seeing Charles’s helpless expression, Gallieni nodded with satisfaction and shifted the topic to the war: “Antwerp has fallen. Just last night, the Germans blew up Fort Wavre and destroyed the water supply system. The people panicked, and they had no choice but to evacuate Antwerp!”

This did not come as a surprise to Charles. He simply asked, “What about the king?”

“He left Antwerp and relocated to Ypres!” Gallieni ran his finger along the map near the coast and said, “He is a king worthy of respect! He could have gone to England, but he insisted on staying with his people to fight against the Germans!”

Charles hummed in agreement. King Albert I’s actions were indeed rare for a monarch. Still, whether this behavior was wise or foolish was another question.

“He wants to see you!” Gallieni’s face showed a hint of amusement. “He wants to apologize to you in person, but in my opinion, he hopes to keep you in Ypres. That is Belgium’s last remaining territory, and he will do everything to prevent the Germans from taking it!”

“You must have refused on my behalf,” Charles said.

Gallieni nodded slightly. “No one would be foolish enough to send you to the front line, not even to the second line alongside the king. That could negatively impact the battlefield!”

“Negatively impact the battlefield?” Charles didn’t understand what he meant.

Gallieni looked up at Charles. “Do you think the last time you were in Antwerp, why did the Germans completely seal off the city?”

Charles understood. “I might become bait!”

Gallieni smirked ambiguously. This young man thought he was just “bait”? Far from it—he was the ultimate weapon both sides would stop at nothing to claim.

However, Gallieni didn’t spell it out. He didn’t want to waste time on irrelevant matters. Right now, the priority was to help this young man understand the situation on the battlefield so he could devise a response.

“I don’t think we can achieve our goal of outflanking the enemy!” Gallieni pointed at the map and continued his analysis. “We’ve already lost the opportunity to encircle them. Now, even if we gain the upper hand in one area or mobilize faster than the enemy, all we can do is push the front line slightly closer to the Germans.”

Charles agreed with this assessment. Gallieni’s judgment was accurate. A stalemate was forming: the front lines would hold as reinforcements from both sides arrived, resulting in yet another extended line on the map.

“And it’s nearly impossible for either side to break through the other’s lines!” Gallieni frowned slightly. “The war may turn out to be even more brutal than we imagined—trenches, barbed wire, machine guns, and artillery will ensure that any attacking side pays a horrific price.”

Gallieni turned his gaze back to Charles. “Even your tanks won’t be effective!”

“True!” Charles readily admitted.

The French Army was currently using the original tanks produced by Francis. Those tanks could block bullets and intimidate enemies on flat plains but were no match for the Germans’ well-fortified trench defenses—they’d be nothing more than targets.

“We’ve also discovered German forces massing here!” Gallieni pointed to Ypres on the map. “The terrain in Ypres is flat, full of marshes and mud. It’s challenging to construct trench defenses there, making it a likely breakthrough point for the Germans!”

Gallieni’s assessment was based on the superior military training of the German forces compared to the French Army. On terrain where trench warfare was impractical, the Germans’ skills would give them a significant advantage.

But France’s manpower was critically lacking. They could only deploy untrained recruits to plug this gap. If the Ypres line failed, the entire front might collapse.

Charles listened quietly without saying a word.

Gallieni looked at him, puzzled, his tone tinged with frustration. “What’s your opinion?”

Charles responded softly, “General, have you heard of ‘asymmetric warfare’?”

Gallieni’s eyes lit up at the new term. It sounded impressive.

“No, I haven’t!” Gallieni replied bluntly, his gaze full of curiosity.

But after waiting a long while, he saw that Charles had no intention of continuing. His expression shifted to one of confusion, with a hint of urgency.

Charles smirked. “10%!”

Gallieni froze before realizing that this young man was negotiating terms.

“No, 6%!” Gallieni responded decisively. If this was just about a term, there was no way he’d give away all the interest!

“Fine!” Charles answered reluctantly. “‘Asymmetric warfare’ refers to suppressing the enemy on another level, aiming to create a domino-like collapse rather than pitting infantry against infantry or artillery against artillery. That would clearly be disadvantageous to France and result in heavy casualties.”

Gallieni gave an approving hum. This was interesting. “But how do we achieve suppression on that level?”

“9%!” Charles said.

“No, no… 7% at most!” Gallieni’s tone left no room for negotiation—his reputation as a miser wasn’t for nothing.

Charles rolled his eyes. Was such an advanced tactic only worth “1%”?

But Charles had no choice. Since he had to explain it anyway, he might as well earn something.

“In practical terms,” Charles began, “we can use planes to completely suppress enemy aircraft. Once we gain absolute air superiority, we can leverage it to disrupt enemy artillery positions. With the enemy’s artillery in chaos, our own artillery will be free to focus on the enemy infantry, creating a cascading effect of dominance.”

Gallieni stared at Charles in shock. He had never heard of such a tactic before, but it seemed feasible.

Unlike conventional warfare—where infantry clashed with infantry and artillery with artillery—this approach sought to stagger engagements for successive advantages. Planes would suppress enemy artillery, allowing their own artillery to hammer enemy infantry unchallenged. My God, this could lead to massive victories with minimal losses!

“But!” Gallieni asked, “How can our planes achieve complete dominance, let alone suppress enemy artillery?”

Using Congreve rockets? Those might be effective against balloons or bombing artillery but were useless against fast-moving aircraft!

“10% interest, paid monthly!” Charles said firmly. “And the Flying Club will be valued at 300,000 francs!”

Charles wasn’t worried about Gallieni refusing—planes were critical in this “asymmetric warfare.” If Gallieni didn’t agree, Charles would flip the table!

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