Chapter 556: It’s Often Not the Enemy That’s Scary

After Charles dealt with Major General Raymond, he immediately converted the luxurious command center into a field hospital center.

The reason why it is called the "center" is that more than 200 square meters is not enough to accommodate seriously injured patients.

He could only order tents to be set up around the luxurious command center, which served as an operating room and high-risk ward, and was responsible for providing food, clean drinking water, clean bandages and other services to the wounded.

The supplies stored in the basement did not need to be moved and could be converted into supplies for the field hospital on the spot.

No one would have an objection to Charles' arrangement. Treating the wounded well is a quality that a commander should have. Only commanders who only care about fame and fortune and military exploits would ignore the lives of the wounded.

What's more, the soldiers will all think in their hearts: one day in the future, they may very likely become a wounded soldier lying in a field hospital waiting for help. If they oppose it today, it may very likely be a boomerang hitting them tomorrow.

…

After doing this, Charles followed Christine back to the headquarters of the 1st Special Artillery Division.

Christine's command post was much more normal: a dark and damp tunnel, kerosene lamps emitting a foul smell, more than a dozen people crammed into a small space, the shouting of signalmen was close at hand, the only place to sit was a bed, the table was made of shell boxes, and messy documents were piled everywhere.

"The situation is improving." Because the tunnel was very low, Christine could only crouch down and report: "Some soldiers are willing to obey orders, and those who escaped from the defense line have returned one after another. According to preliminary statistics, there are about 100,000 people."

Charles said "hmm".

Only 100,000 soldiers out of a force of 210,000 can be counted, and not all of these 100,000 soldiers may obey orders, so the situation is still not optimistic.

"We need to speed up." Charles frowned slightly.

He had never felt the crisis so close to him as he did now, not even when the war broke out and the German army was at the gates of Paris.

When the German army approached Paris, the French army still had strength and room for maneuver.

Now, the French army is facing the German army on the front line and is in a scattered state without command. A single counterattack by the German army will be enough to destroy the main force of the French army.

Christine frowned: "But we have done everything we can, and the only thing left is a matter of time."

By negotiating with the soldiers, dealing with the arrogant officers, replenishing supplies and improving the food and environment, and with Charles's reputation and credibility, the situation was stabilized and improved in a short period of time.

It seems all we can do now is wait.

But Charles shook his head: "No, there is still something we can do."

"What?" Kristen looked confused, he couldn't think of anything else to do.

Charles looked up at Christine and said word by word: "Let's fight!"

Christine's eyes widened in shock:

"General, they mutinied because they were afraid of war."

"Many people are worried about being driven back to the battlefield to die, but you want to fight a battle at this time?"

"This may not be appropriate..."

Charles interrupted Christine:

"No, Christine."

"They are not afraid of war, nor are they mutinous because of it."

"They are afraid of dying meaninglessly!"

There may be cowards among them who use this as an excuse to flee the battlefield, but there is no need to pull them back.

Christine nodded thoughtfully.

However, he still believed that fighting a war was too risky and that if he was not careful, he might destroy the good situation he had just created.

Christine didn't realize that Charles was worried about more than just the mutiny itself.

Charles looked at the map on the table and his gaze turned to the British war zone on the north bank of the Somme.

Sometimes, the scary thing is not the enemy, but your own ally!

…

The sky gradually darkened, and the British attack on the north bank of the Somme, separated from the French army by a river, temporarily stopped.

After all, the lack of a simultaneous attack by the French army on the south bank would make the Germans feel strange and suspicious.

The situation of the British army was not optimistic either. After more than ten days of attack, they lost nearly 200,000 people.

The British army had never suffered such heavy casualties in hundreds of years. The Boer War lasted for three years and only resulted in more than 40,000 casualties, including deaths from illness and missing persons.

However, even though the situation was not optimistic, Haig still looked excited.

"The French troops have mutinied and they refuse to fight," the signalman reported.

This is not good news. After all, the French army is an ally. If the French army collapses completely, the British army will be unable to hold on alone, and even the Allied Powers will collapse completely.

"Nivelle has been dismissed. Charles is the commander of the 6th Army Group and is in charge of the situation on the Somme River. The parliament is urgently electing the next commander-in-chief."

This is also not good news, it can even be said to be bad news, as Charles' strength has increased as a result.

Charles's troop strength was originally limited to the two divisions under his command, and no one dared to continue to increase his troop strength, even after he was promoted to a higher rank.

This bastard, two divisions of more than 20,000 people infiltrated Antwerp and captured hundreds of thousands of German troops. If he were given more soldiers, he would have the final say in France, right?

This is something the parliament does not want to see.

But due to the need to stabilize the situation, the parliament at this time had to appoint Charles as the commander of the 6th Army. After all, no one was more suitable than Charles to stabilize the morale of the army.

The result was that the number of troops under Charles' command increased more than tenfold in an instant!

However, when Haig considered the two pieces of news together, he found that they became extremely good news.

Charles was in charge on the Somme, and the French army was out of control. All he had to do was reveal this information to the Germans at the right time...

It doesn't get any more perfect than this!

He could use the Germans to weaken both the Charles and French armies at the same time. God gave him a good opportunity.

As long as we grasp the "degree" and provide appropriate reinforcements to the French army, Charles and the French army will have to rely on the British army in the future, and they will all be under their control!

Thinking of this, Heger's lips curled up into a smile unconsciously.

"Blaze!" Hager turned his head and shouted.

"Yes, General." The staff officer who was sorting documents responded, trotting over and standing in front of Haig.

"It's time to put some pressure on the Shire." Haig's face was expressionless and his voice was cold: "Give some information to the newspapers and Parliament, tell them that the Shire cannot control the situation on the Somme."

"Yes, General."

After the staff officer left, Haig snorted.

The British army has deployed hundreds of thousands of troops on the Somme River. If Charles with 200,000 mutinous soldiers can make a big wave, the British army will lose its reputation. And Haig, as the commander, may even trigger a chain reaction in the colonies and shake the foundation of the British Empire!

Haig was determined that he had to make sure this did not happen.

Whether it is on the battlefield, in public opinion, or in politics!

(End of this chapter)