Chapter 116 Asymmetric Warfare

Gallieni did not refuse, but he did not agree either.

He smiled and said, "If you can prove that they are worth the price, I am willing to pay 10% interest for them. Otherwise..."

Charles originally wanted to protest that this had nothing to do with him and that the money he spent on the military should be reimbursed.

But Gallieni added: "And I will also consider the Flying Club's valuation of 300,000 francs!"

Charles immediately surrendered. The difference of 200,000 was unreasonable, although it was also in line with the procedure.

Seeing Charles' helpless look, Gallieni nodded with satisfaction and changed the subject to the war: "Antwerp has fallen. Just last night, the Germans blew up Fort Wavre and destroyed the water supply system. People fell into panic and they had to choose to evacuate Antwerp!"

This was within Charles's expectations, so he simply asked, "Where's the king?"

"He left Antwerp and moved to Ypres!" Gallieni pointed his finger at the map and dragged it along the sea, saying, "He is a king worthy of respect! He could have gone to England, but he insisted on fighting the Germans with his people!"

Charles nodded in agreement. It was indeed rare for a king like Albert I to do this, but it was not sure whether this behavior should be considered stupid or wise.

"He wants to see you!" Gallieni showed a hint of amusement on his face. "He wants to apologize to you in person, but in my opinion, he wants to keep you in Ypres. It is the last piece of land in Belgium. He doesn't want the Germans to occupy it anyway!"

"You have refused me again, no doubt!" said Charles.

Gallieni nodded slightly: "No one will be stupid enough to send you to the front line, even if it is on the second line with the king. This may even be disadvantageous to the battlefield!"

"Unfavorable to the battlefield?" Charles didn't understand what this meant.

Gallieni looked up at Charles. "Why do you think the Germans completely blockaded Antwerp the last time you were in Antwerp?"

Ciel understood: "I might become a bait!"

Gallieni smiled noncommittally. This little guy actually thought he was just "bait"?! He was clearly the ultimate weapon that both sides of the war were desperate to get!

However, Gallieni did not point it out. He did not want to waste too much time on other things. Now he had to make this little guy understand the situation on the battlefield as soon as possible so that he could come up with a way to deal with it.

"I don't think we can achieve our goal of outflanking the enemy!" Gallieni pointed to the map and continued to analyze: "We have lost the opportunity to outflanke. Now, even if we have the upper hand in a certain position or assemble faster than the enemy, we can only push the defense line in the direction of the Germans!"

Charles agreed with this statement. Gallieni's judgment was correct. A stalemate was now forming: the defense line was there, the reinforcements of the enemy and our side met, and then an extension line appeared on the map.

"It will be difficult for both sides to break through the other side's defenses!" Gallieni frowned slightly. "War may be more brutal than we imagined. With trenches, barbed wire, machine guns, and cannons, the attacking side will definitely pay a heavy price!"

Gallieni turned his gaze to Charles again: "Even your tanks are useless!"

"Yes!" Charles admitted it generously.

The French army is now using the original tanks produced by France. Tanks of that level are good at blocking bullets and scaring the enemy on the plains, but they can only be targets when facing the enemy's well-equipped trench fortifications.

"We also found that the Germans are gathering here!" Gallieni pointed to Ypres on the map and said, "Ypres is characterized by its flat terrain, swamps and mud everywhere. It is difficult to build trenches here. The Germans are likely to choose this place as a breakthrough point!"

Gallieni made such a judgment because the Germans' military quality was generally stronger than that of the French army. In this terrain where it was difficult to build trenches, the quality of the German army was better demonstrated and they were more likely to win.

However, France was seriously short of troops and could only send untrained recruits to plug this breakthrough... Once the gap in Ypres could not be blocked, the entire defense line might collapse.

Charles listened quietly and said nothing.

Gallieni looked at Charles in confusion, and asked with some dissatisfaction: "What do you think?"

Charles replied softly, "General, have you ever heard of 'asymmetric warfare'?"

Gallieni's eyes lit up. It was a new term. It sounded very impressive.

"No, I haven't heard of it!" Gallieni answered bluntly, his eyes full of desire.

But he waited for a long time and Charles didn't continue speaking. His eyes gradually turned into confusion, and there was a hint of urging.

Ciel curled his lips: "10%!"

Gallieni was stunned, and immediately realized that the little guy was bargaining.

"No, 6%!" Gallieni answered straightforwardly. If you want to take away all the interest with just one noun, forget it!

"Okay!" Charles replied helplessly: "'Asymmetric warfare' means that we have to suppress the enemy at another level, trying to make the enemy collapse like a domino, rather than purely using infantry against infantry and artillery against artillery. This is obviously not good for France, and there will be great casualties!"

Gallieni hummed, somewhat interestingly: "But how can we achieve this level of suppression?"

"Nine percent!" said Charles.

"No, no... 7% at most!" Gallieni's tone left no doubt. His nickname of "stingy" was not undeserved.

Ciel rolled his eyes. Such an advanced tactic was only worth “1%”?

But there was nothing Charles could do. He had to say that every penny earned was a penny earned.

"In terms of specific implementation!" Charles said, "We can use aircraft to completely suppress enemy aircraft. After we have absolute air superiority, we can use our air superiority to suppress the enemy's artillery and cause chaos. Our artillery will be free to deal with the enemy's infantry without worry... In this way, we will suppress the enemy layer by layer and put them in a completely passive state!"

Gallieni looked at Charles in shock, he had never heard of such a tactic, but it seemed feasible.

It is not like a conventional battle where infantry fights against infantry and artillery fights against artillery. Instead, the two forces are staggered and strive to win at every step: aircraft suppress enemy artillery, and artillery easily suppresses enemy infantry... God, the result is likely to be a huge victory with minimal casualties!

"But!" Gallieni asked again, "how can our aircraft achieve complete victory and even suppress the enemy's artillery?"

With Congreve rockets?

It might be useful for attacking balloons and bombing artillery, but it is powerless against high-speed flying aircraft!

"10%, interest paid monthly!" Charles said firmly, "And the Flying Club is buying it at a price of 300,000 francs!"

Charles is not worried that Gallieni will not agree, because in this "asymmetric warfare" aircraft are the key. If you don't agree, I will turn the table over!

(End of this chapter)