Chapter 391: The Cannon of Paris

Gallieni asked doubtfully, "Are you sure? Cannons that can reach Paris?"

"No, I'm not sure." Charles shook his head: "I just received the news. As for the source of the news, I'm sorry, I have to keep it confidential."

Gallieni nodded in understanding.

Disclosing the source of the information would pose a threat to intelligence personnel, as it would be tantamount to telling the Germans who the spies were.

Lieutenant Colonel Fernando joined the discussion. "I don't think that's credible, Commodore. Why don't they just use airships like they did with London?"

After what happened last night, many people are speculating that the Germans will bomb Paris in the same way.

"It is not feasible to bomb Paris by airship," Charles answered with certainty.

"Why?" Lieutenant Colonel Fernando was puzzled.

Ciel walked to the large map hanging on the wall and explained while drawing:

"From both a strategic and tactical perspective, it is unlikely that the Germans would use airships to bomb Paris."

"Strategically, the Germans bombed London to cooperate with their submarine blockade of Britain, striving to force Britain to surrender by attacking both inside and outside."

"They bombed Paris. Why?"

Gallieni nodded slightly. Paris was on the continent and had developed transportation, so bombing Paris had no practical significance.

Charles went on to say: "In terms of tactics, London is not far from the coastline. The German airships have to cross the English Channel to bomb it. That is an empty ocean. Even if the Royal Navy is there, it is difficult to detect the airships overhead."

Lieutenant Colonel Fernan understood after hearing this: "And Paris is deep inland. If the airship wants to bomb Paris, it must pass through hundreds or even thousands of kilometers of land. It is easy for people to discover it and report it to us in advance!"

"Yes." Charles continued to analyze: "Once a slow-moving airship is locked in position, it is almost inevitable that it will be tracked and shot down, unless it can escape back to its own airspace before dawn."

"It seems useless to flee back to our own airspace," said Gallieni.

"Indeed," Charles agreed.

The French army was equipped with a large number of "Camel" fighters, which had overwhelming air superiority. Even if the airship escaped back to German airspace, it would still be caught up and destroyed.

Fernando added: "Even if it returns to the base and lands, it may not be safe."

"That's right." Charles nodded.

There is something wrong with this. With the Caproni bombers around, even the airship base itself has to worry about being bombed.

"So," Gallieni concluded, "they can only develop cannons that can reach Paris."

"Is there really such a cannon?" Fernando still couldn't believe it: "To fire from the German-controlled area to Paris, the range must be at least more than 100 kilometers, right?"

This was hard to imagine during World War I, when the range of artillery was generally around 10 kilometers.

Gallieni calmly replied: "Think of 'Big Bertha', Lieutenant Colonel, that's what the Germans like to do!"

Lieutenant Colonel Fernan was stunned for a moment, then nodded, which seemed to be the German's sign.

After it was confirmed, the command center immediately became nervous.

"Cannons that can hit Paris" are not comparable to airships. If the Germans succeed in developing them one day, they will be able to bomb not only Paris, but also the logistics supply routes behind the Western Front.

If all the roads, railways, bridges, etc. within a hundred kilometers behind the defense line were destroyed, the French army would really not know how to defend.

Then, the French army will be forced to retreat layer by layer until all the land is lost!

(The picture above shows the "Paris Cannon", which has a barrel length of 36 meters, more than the height of a 10-story building, and a maximum range of 131 kilometers. A total of 9 guns were produced, one of which was destroyed by French artillery fire, and one could not be used due to a burst breech block. In the end, only 7 guns were used to bombard Paris)

This is actually a misunderstanding on their part.

The Germans were indeed able to develop such a cannon, but there were only 9 of them. It was expensive and had low production volume, poor accuracy, and was not a mass-produced equipment, so it was of little use and was more of a scare tactic.

When the staff heard the word "cannon", they would immediately think of the scene of artillery shells pouring down on the battlefield.

But Charles didn't say it out loud, because that's what he wanted to see, only in this way could he sell anxiety.

"Maybe." Lieutenant Colonel Fernan still held on to a glimmer of hope: "We can use bombers to destroy it. After all, we have air superiority!"

The advantage of having air superiority is that bombers can bomb wherever they want.

But Charles shook his head and gave a negative answer: "If it were me, knowing that there was no air superiority, I would build a solid cement fortification to protect these cannons."

Lieutenant Colonel Fernando was speechless.

The Caproni bombers currently carry small aerial bombs weighing dozens of kilograms, which cannot pose a threat to solid concrete fortifications.

…

Things happened just as Charles had hoped, and soon news of "cannons that could reach Paris" spread from the city defense headquarters.

It was not that the city defense headquarters was lax in keeping their mouths shut, but Gallieni believed that the information was very important and countermeasures must be discussed as soon as possible, so he reported it to the government and senior military officials as soon as possible.

As more people knew about it, the news spread quickly and people started talking about it:

"If the Germans had such cannons, Paris would be a ruin!"

"Is there nothing Ciel can do?"

"That's a cannon that can fire a hundred kilometers away, and it's said that the Germans will hide it in their fortifications. What can Charles do?"

"I also heard that the Germans will use both artillery and airships!"

…

Amid panic and doubts, insurance companies wavered.

They may receive more policies and make more money because people believe their property is at risk.

However, with the precedent of a large number of insurance companies going bankrupt in Dunkirk, they are well aware of their situation.

One day, as soon as the Germans fire this super-range cannon, their company will soon be faced with huge claims.

However, rejecting these high-risk businesses?

Then it seems that there is no need for the insurance company to continue operating?

At this time, the insurance companies are eager for someone to take over their business. The risks are too great and beyond their tolerance!

Deyoka, who was busy at the tractor factory, also heard the news. He was also surprised at first that there was such a cannon in the world.

However, the Germans did produce many large-caliber artillery pieces, and this was news from the military, so it was fairly credible.

Wait, the military!

Djokovic suddenly realized that this was the "change" Charles had told him about.

In other words, this was most likely news that Charles released intentionally.

This news may be true or false, but it doesn't matter. What matters is that it can scare insurance companies.

So Djokovic knew that it was time to buy at the bottom!

(End of this chapter)