Chapter 527 "Whippet"

Charles did not interfere too much in the public opinion surrounding the Battle of the Somme.

Charles thought there was no need to interfere, as some things could not be kept secret, and the Battle of the Somme was one of them.

Too many people knew about this battle, too many people died on the battlefield, and too many people survived being wounded.

If you want to cover up this matter, what you should do is not to kill all the people who know about it, but to resurrect those who fell on the battlefield.

…

Germany's Berlin Daily reported extensively on the battle situation in the past few days:

"The enemy was simply crazy. They charged at our guns and positions recklessly, regardless of life or death."

"In just one day, we killed or injured at least 100,000 of them. 100,000!"

"If this continues, all their soldiers will die at the hands of our guns. Isn't this handing victory to us?"

The Germans always grasped the essence of the general direction of the war, and they did not understand the radical approach of the Allies.

What was even more difficult for them to understand was that this was clearly a suicide mission, but they continued to launch meaningless attacks for one day, two days, three days...

…

German newspapers and public opinion are not important because she is a hostile country and all her statements can be promoted as "false information released to disrupt military and civilian morale."

However, a few days later, death notices flew to thousands of households like snowflakes, both in Britain and France.

French families seemed so used to it that they were not even sure whether their loved ones died at Verdun or on the Somme.

But the British were very sure that this was the Battle of the Somme because the British army was currently fighting in only this one place.

Naturally, people will have such doubts:

"Were we not winning the Somme? Why were so many killed?"

"And within a few days, many people around here have received it, which means they all died in the past few days!"

"What happened? Why did this happen?"

…

If it was just the civilian class, it might end up in nothing because no one would count the casualties.

But there were many children of aristocrats among them, and the casualty rate of students from Eton College who went to the battlefield was as high as over 40%.

(The picture above shows Eton College, which was founded in 1440. During World War I, it was an aristocratic school, and most of its students were aristocrats.)

The European aristocracy is often related to each other, and even if they are not relatives, they are good friends who frequently interact with each other, even if they are aristocrats from enemy countries.

So, when Haig was still at the front trying to cover up everything with the excuse of "military secrets", he didn't know that the House of Lords at home was already outraged:

"They concealed the truth. The fact is that our attack has made no progress. Countless of our soldiers are falling on the battlefield!"

"And our children. I have reason to believe this is a purge targeting us."

"Yes, many nobles lost their heirs because of this. They may have intentionally ordered their children to rush to the front line!"

…

The wind direction has been distorted, and it may even cause a split between the domestic nobility and the military.

The situation finally calmed down after Kitchener rushed back to England to explain things to them.

But word slowly trickled down to France.

French media outlets have raised questions one after another:

"If they are winning, why haven't they sent any reports of victory in so many days?"

"For example, which town or high ground was captured."

"Usually, they would hype up any victory, but now there's nothing. This is very abnormal!"

…

North of the Somme River, at the British headquarters, Haig was staring anxiously at the map in front of him, as well as the casualty reports that were flying in front of him.

Over the past few days, he had sent more than 20 divisions under his command to fight in turn, and the three cavalry divisions had suffered heavy casualties, but they were unable to break through the enemy's positions.

The German defense line formed by machine guns was like steel, so hard that it was unimaginable.

The battlefield was covered with the corpses of soldiers and horses, which had begun to rot and stink, but there was no way to clean it up.

Haig had hoped to wave a white flag to tell the Germans on the other side to temporarily cease fire, as he had done before, so that both sides could clean up the bodies.

But the Germans responded with loudspeakers:

"Sorry, it's not that we don't want to, but we can't stand the smell."

"But we must correct one thing: there are only your bodies, not ours."

"Also, we have mines planted on our positions, and even we're not sure where they are. If you're not worried about that, we have no problem with that!"

Haig was speechless for a moment.

Mine?

The mines invented by Charles for the defense of Verdun?

Used by the Germans in the Battle of the Somme?

I told you, Charles shouldn't have invented those things. Didn't he ever think that these inventions could also be used by the enemy against us?

The war should have been kept as infantry and cavalry charges, he messed up everything!

At this time, the staff officer handed a telegram to Haig, which was sent by Kitchener.

"They already know." There was a sense of powerlessness between the lines.

Haig knew what this meant. He sighed and called back:

"In a few days, just a few days, we will be victorious. Then everything can be explained!"

Nothing can be erased by victory. When the time comes, Haig can tell them with confidence: everyone's sacrifice is worth it, and we have grasped the lifeline of the war. They are a group of respectable people, and we will always remember their efforts and contributions!

Just a few words can make people forget these terrible casualties.

Kitchener, however, did not think Haig could do it.

"Are you sure?" Kitchener's call back was simple.

"Yes." Haig answered confidently: "The Germans are collapsing. It depends on who can hold on to the end. We can't give up!"

In fact, Haig was not sure either, he was more expecting a miracle to happen.

"Come on, Douglas," Kitchener said. "We have tanks, and I think you should use them."

The British Army did have tanks, and they took inspiration from the Shire's tanks to produce their own "Whippet" tanks.

(The picture above shows the Whippet tank, which was developed by the United Kingdom in 1917. It does not have a rotating turret, but has machine guns on all four sides with no blind spots for shooting)

Haig hesitated for a moment.

By using tanks, he admitted that his theory was wrong and that he could not defeat Charles even if he won.

At this time Kitchener sent another telegram: "I know what you are thinking. Nothing else matters. Only victory matters, Douglas. Otherwise, we will all be responsible for it!"

Although the words were spoken lightly, the tone was strong. "Being responsible" means being kicked off the stage.

Only then did Haig realize the seriousness of the matter. Comparison with Charles and face issues were not important.

What's more, those were the British's own tanks, not Charles's!

However, can tanks really save the war?

Regarding the participation of British aristocrats in World War I, there are claims online about so-called "chivalry" and "aristocrats saving the country." This is not accurate. The tradition of European countries is that the aristocracy monopolized the rights to education and war. A country consisted of dozens or hundreds of knights who exploited hundreds of thousands of peasants who had no education, no weapons, and no knowledge of how to fight.

In the eyes of the British aristocracy, another meaning of war is power, wealth and glory. Only by actively participating in the war can one occupy the top position in the country and decide the fate of the lower class civilians.

The emergence of muskets made it possible for an uneducated civilian to easily kill a well-educated and well-equipped noble knight, which ultimately destroyed the model of aristocratic rule.

World War I was the last attempt by the nobles to make a comeback.

(End of this chapter)