Chapter 364 A Prepared Battle

It is chilly in spring and yellow catkins are flying.

When the fruits of the sycamore tree are ripe, they will burst open and release dark yellow fruit hairs. They dance in the wind, floating in the air like snow, or gather in a ball in a corner.

Charles sat in the command center, drinking coffee and looking at the scenery outside the window.

Charles doesn't like the fluff of the sycamore trees. Although it looks romantic, it can get into clothes, eyes and noses, making it hard to guard against.

However, plane trees can be seen everywhere in the streets and alleys of Paris. They are almost the most common street trees, and they inevitably suffer in May.

In this situation, Charles would rather stay in the office and look at documents.

Tijani seemed to be used to it. He went to the training ground and was with the soldiers as usual. Especially recently, several "Char A1" tanks were transferred from the tank brigade to increase the training subjects of tank coordination, which made Tijani even more interested.

There were two knocks on the door, and after getting permission, the guard pushed the door open and reported: "General, General Winter wants to see you. He is now at the gate of the base."

The police training base is a key military location and no one is allowed to enter without permission, including General Winter.

Charles was quite surprised. Shouldn't Winter be commanding the battle in Gallipoli?

But Charles did not hesitate, nodded and ordered: "Let him in."

"Yes, General."

Soon, General Winter appeared in front of Charles.

He walked up to Charles and shook hands with him enthusiastically. Then he patted Charles on the shoulder and glanced at the military rank on his shoulder: "Look, you are already a brigadier general!"

"General," said Charles, "if you mean to ask me if there is any way to break the impasse at Gallipoli. I am sorry to say that I cannot."

"I know, Charles." General Winter smiled and shook his head. "I noticed it too. It seems to be a continuation of the Western Front. If you can break the stalemate in Gallipoli, it means you can do the same on the Western Front."

Then General Winter sighed and said, "You are always right. We could not have attacked Gallipoli from the beginning. The mistake made by the Minister of the Navy was that he did not listen to your advice, so that now he is stuck in the quagmire and cannot extricate himself."

Once a war begins, it is not easy to end it, even though many people know it is wrong.

For example, is there still a possibility of victory?

For example, will the First Lord of the Admiralty keep his promise to serve as a soldier at the front?

What impact will it have if we admit defeat and withdraw our troops completely?

(Note: The Navy Minister did fulfill his promise to fight on the front line, but he only served for less than a month. As an officer, he was not on the front line. Later, this became his political capital, and he established himself as a politician who had been on the battlefield.)

"We can't withdraw our troops at this time." General Winter said firmly, "Not at this moment."

Charles looked at General Winter in confusion. If he knew he was on the wrong path, wouldn't it be better to end it as soon as possible?

"I should warn you, General." Charles made a cup of instant coffee and handed it to Winter, saying, "Spring is almost over, and with it comes the hot summer and the rainy season in Gallipoli. Then there will be problems such as disease, plague, and supply difficulties."

In battle, there will inevitably be corpses exposed in the wilderness that cannot be buried. The summers at the seaside are hot and humid, so the corpses will quickly rot and spread diseases.

The historical Battle of Gallipoli had to be abandoned after an epidemic broke out.

"I know." General Winter nodded: "But this period of time is critical."

Charles misunderstood: "Do you have a new battle plan?"

He thought General Winter and others wanted to make a final attempt.

General Winter took a sip from his coffee cup, shook his head slightly, and replied, "It's Italy. We plan to try to get her to join."

Charles immediately understood that if he wanted Italy, a centrist country, to join the Allies, he could not lose the war.

Not only should we not lose the battle, we should also have a victory...

Thinking of this, Charles looked at General Winter in astonishment: "Is this why you are here?"

General Winter laughed. "Nothing can be hidden from you. Yes, we hope you can command a battle, or to be more precise, a spectacular victory. We all agree that only you can do it."

Since Charles' victory at Gallipoli, even the Secretary of the Admiralty has come to trust only Charles.

General Winter then explained: "This is why I came to see you in person. The fewer people who know about this, the better. I have not informed anyone in the French military, including General Gallieni."

Charles was silent for a while, then asked, "In this battle, we can only win and not lose, right?"

"You can say that." General Winter nodded. "If they lose, Italy may be more determined to stand on the side of the Allies. It will be more difficult for us to win her over, and it may cost us a greater price."

Charles said, "Well, then you should let the French military know."

"What do you mean?" General Winter cast a puzzled look at Charles.

"You may know something about the Germans," said Charles. "They have new planes and new tanks."

"Yes." General Winter nodded.

General Winter's information came from MI6, and Charles, of course, came from the "Lady in White".

"But that's all I know." Charles asked, "Do you know more about them? For example, the speed and weapons of the new German fighter planes, the armor thickness and firepower of the new tanks, etc."

"No, we don't know." General Winter shook his head.

MI6 is not omnipotent.

Charles spread his hands and said, "So, you should tell it to the French military."

Looking at General Winter who was still confused, Charles added: "Schneider has recently developed a new type of tank, and they are planning to show their strength."

General Winter suddenly understood: "You mean, the French military will send Schneider's new tanks?"

"Why not?" Charles asked back, "Schneider has been trying to prove that his tanks are better than mine. On the other hand, if his tanks are useless, he won't get any orders later, so..."

"So they will seize this opportunity!" General Winter suddenly realized, "and once their tanks go to the battlefield, it will lead to the Germans' new tanks and new planes, and then you will be prepared!"

Charles nodded gently: "This battle can only be won, not lost. I can only fight a battle that I am prepared for!"

General Winter smiled meaningfully. Is Charles doing this for the public or for his own benefit?

For the public good, fighting this way does give us a better chance of winning.

For personal reasons, he can take the opportunity to suppress his competitors.

But what does it matter?

As long as the goal can be achieved and it is beneficial to Britain!

(End of this chapter)