Chapter 348 France Owes You

At the Ypres railway station, a train coming from France slowly pulled into the station and stopped. Then, with a long sound, it released steam with a smell of gas, and instantly the place was filled with smoke, as if it were a fairyland.

Ypres, a coastal city in Belgium, originally had no rail connection with France.

As a small country, Belgium is wary of both sides, and it should be.

This is the fate of small countries. They have no other choice but to strike a balance between big countries.

After the outbreak of the war, Belgium quickly sided with the Allies, and the railway from Paris to Ypres was successfully connected half a month later.

A group of French recruits got off the train. Their uniforms were spotless, and their backpacks, belts, ammunition, etc. were all in their proper places.

However, there was confusion on their faces and fear in their eyes. They got out of the carriage hesitantly and looked timidly at the strange city in front of them.

"I heard that Ypres was the most difficult and dangerous section of the line."

"Yes, the living conditions and battlefield environment here are simply hell on earth. The Germans have made it a focus of their attack and have recently used poison gas."

"God, why were we assigned here!"

"Because many people died here, Vincent, and soon we will be one of them!"

…

These words were chilling, and the fear in the soldiers' eyes increased unconsciously.

Suddenly, cheers came from the front. Pedestrians, porters, station staff, etc. nearby all stopped what they were doing and waved and shouted towards the other end of the street.

The recruits looked curiously in the direction the crowd was looking, and saw a team covered in mud and in disarray appearing at the other end of the street.

This is a not-so-good unit. This was the first impression of the recruits. They even thought it was a defeated unit.

Because many people in this team changed their red military trousers, the red color on their military caps was also covered with mud, which was explicitly prohibited during training.

The recruits looked down upon this group, seeing it as an act of cowardice as they had abandoned the dignity of France in order to survive.

Suddenly, the crowd cheered even louder, and they shouted in all kinds of languages, including French, English, Dutch, and even German:

"Good job, Ciel!"

“You’re the best!”

"You're our hero, Ciel!"

…

(Note: Belgium is a multilingual country. The dominant language in the region near the French border is French, and the dominant language in the region near the German border is German.)

The recruits looked at each other, and saw shock in each other's eyes:

"That's Ciel's unit, the 105th Infantry Regiment!"

"She is different from what we thought, we thought..."

"Maybe this is how war should be, and only this way can we achieve victory, not what the instructor said!"

…

The recruits looked at their red military trousers and caps, then turned their gaze to the 105th Infantry Regiment, weighing in their hearts whether their lives were more important or the so-called French dignity.

The 105th Infantry Regiment marched forward with their heads held high, waving proudly to the cheering people on both sides as they advanced. They deserved it, so they accepted it graciously.

The new recruits in bright uniforms were perhaps impressed by the might of the 105th Infantry Regiment and consciously divided into two lines to make way for them. They looked at the veterans passing by with envy and respect in their eyes.

Charles mixed in with the team and deliberately covered his shoulder straps with mud to prove that he was a colonel.

However, he still underestimated people's ability to discern:

"There he is, Ciel, it really is him!"

"God, the rumors are true, he really went to the battlefield, facing the enemy's poison gas, he was so brave!"

"I heard that he captured the enemy commander with just one attack?"

"Not just the commander, but the entire headquarters, the German 26th Army Headquarters!"

…

This was an unprecedented achievement. When everyone was helpless against the poison gas and thought that France would surrender soon, Charles reversed the situation and severely damaged the German army.

This made everyone crazy, especially the Belgians who had been saved by Charles before and felt that they owed Charles.

Many people wanted to bring food to Charles, but he declined. The thing the 105th Infantry Regiment had the most was food, as they had captured the German supply transfer station on the front line.

At this time, several cars stopped in front, and an old French general in a neat uniform and a mustache stepped out of the car surrounded by guards. He stood in front of the train waiting for the approaching 105th Infantry Regiment, his eyes full of satisfaction.

Someone recognized the old general and exclaimed:

"It's Lieutenant General Foch!"

"He came in person to greet Ciel and his troops."

"General Foch never did that!"

…

Charles was a little confused.

This seems a little inappropriate. Foch told Charles tactfully on the phone yesterday:

"What you said does make sense, but even so, I will still stick to my theory!"

"I hope this will not affect our cooperation."

Charles answered simply, "Of course, General!"

He could understand Lieutenant General Foch. Although his theory was wrong, his approach was right.

Learning military theory and establishing a system requires time and a process.

From Foch's point of view, Charles' theory may not be correct.

Even if Charles' theory was correct and Foch agreed with it 100%, it would be impossible to immediately overturn the "offensive theory" and replace it with the "Charles theory".

"Offensive theory" is the core of the French army. It is like a thread that strings the French army together into a whole.

Overthrowing it is tantamount to cutting this thread. The French army will instantly scatter like beads from a broken string, and the commanders on the front line will not know how to command or how to fight.

This is very dangerous in wartime.

Therefore, it should be a steady advancement in a planned and step-by-step manner.

But now, Foch went to the station in person to greet Charles and the 15th Infantry Regiment. Was this to tell everyone that he recognized Charles?

With doubts, Charles and Tijani quickly stepped forward and saluted Foch.

Foch shook hands with both men with a smile on his face, and when he shook hands with Charles he said with emotion: "We finally meet, Colonel."

"Yes, General!" Charles stepped forward and responded.

"Don't worry." Foch looked at Charles and said, "I just came to greet the triumphant French warriors and thank you for repelling the enemy and helping us stabilize the defense line."

"This is what I should do, General." Charles answered mechanically.

"No." Foch shook his head gently: "Others may say 'what should be done', but you are different, Colonel! You are Charles, you don't owe France anything, France owes you!"

(End of this chapter)