Chapter 189: Wave of Mortars

Then, instead of talking about the cannon directly, Charles asked the officer a question: "Gentlemen, what do you think of the grenades? Give me some feedback!"

The officers answered one after another:

"That's a great invention, Major!"

“This invention fills our gap!”

"A good number of my soldiers no longer trust their rifles and choose to concentrate on practicing throwing grenades."

…

This statement brought laughter again, and many officers agreed with it.

At this time, the front line was turning into trench warfare. Rifles could not threaten the enemies hiding in the trenches, but this was not the case with grenades.

Therefore, many soldiers preferred grenades to rifles, believing that with enough grenades, they could blow up an entire enemy trench.

"But there are undoubtedly some problems with the grenade." Charles took over the topic, and he looked like he was reflecting on his invention.

"For example, if the enemy trenches were too far away, we would have to risk being exposed to the enemy's guns and crawl out of the trenches. Only in this way could we throw grenades into the enemy trenches."

The officers felt the same way:

"Yes!"

"That's right!"

"So we often do this at night when it's safer."

…

Charles stepped aside and waved his hand at the mortar on the podium. "Gentlemen, if you don't think of it as a cannon, but as a tool for throwing grenades, you will understand how to use it!"

The officers suddenly realized what was going on. After they exclaimed in amazement, applause suddenly broke out in the conference room, and someone shouted in the applause:

"Does this mean that we can bomb the Germans without having to crawl out of the trenches?"

"Yes, the Germans can't bomb us, but we can fire shells into their trenches!"

"This is something the 75mm gun can't do. It can't 'throw' shells into the enemy trenches."

…

Colonel Christian seemed to have thought of the use of this gun a long time ago. After the applause subsided, he asked calmly, "Major, can you tell me its maximum range?"

"Seven hundred meters!" Charles replied.

The officers exclaimed again, this range allowed them to hit almost all enemy trenches.

Charles added: "It can fire up to 25 shells in one minute!"

The officers were stunned when they heard this, especially the artillerymen.

They knew that the maximum rate of fire of the 75 gun was 30 rounds.

However, the 75mm gun could usually only fire at a rate of 15 rounds per minute, otherwise the barrel would overheat and have to stop soon.

This thing in front of me looks like just a bamboo tube. It has nothing in it, but it can fire 25 rounds per minute?

What does 25 rounds per minute mean?

It means being able to throw 25 grenades at the enemy trenches in one minute, but the enemy does not have such equipment, which almost means suppressing the enemy the whole time!

No one would dislike this feeling, especially the officers and soldiers on the front line who have to face life and death at all times.

Colonel Christian sat quietly in his seat, his face changing from gloomy to happy.

He came here with a special mission.

The day before departure, Deputy Commander Kanais found Colonel Christian and said to him meaningfully:

"We heard that Charles called all the troops together for training this time in order to learn how to use a cannon."

"No artillery can exceed 75 guns, understand? If there is, it was not developed by Ciel!"

Colonel Christian responded simply, "Understood, General!"

He did understand what was going on. Joffre and Schneider maintained some kind of tacit understanding, and Schneider was a capitalist who produced artillery. It would not allow anyone to get involved in the artillery industry, which was a naked provocation to it.

Colonel Christian had no intention of getting involved in this capitalist or power struggle, but he fully agreed with General Kanais's words: "No artillery can exceed 75 guns."

Just now, before Charles brought the mortar onto the podium, Colonel Christian thought that Charles was overestimating his own abilities.

The artillery is not as simple as he thought. The patent for the hydraulic recoil and recoil device is in Schneider's hands. What else can Charles do?

I didn't expect that Charles could really do something...

The moment the mortar was moved into the conference room, Colonel Christian saw its role. It was a piece of artillery that could compete with the 75 gun on a different level.

Colonel Christian looked at Colonel Deni, who was sitting not far to his left and was talking quietly with several officers.

Christine knew that they were also attacked by Ciel.

Unlike Christian, Colonel Denis is a staunch defender of the "offensive theory".

Before coming here, they believed that only the 75mm gun in the world could provide a basis for their offensive theory, so they did not hold out hope for Charles' new artillery. They even came here with resistance.

There is also Colonel Honoré sitting in the back. He is Pétain's subordinate. They are supporters of the "defense theory" and believe that the French army should completely replace the 75 gun with 105MM artillery with a longer range.

Before the meeting, he even made a bold statement: "Unless Charles can move out of 'Big Bertha', we will not hesitate to throw it into the garbage dump!"

But Colonel Honoré was silent at this time.

Colonel Christian felt it was a bit ironic that in this small conference room, with only 88 officers in total, they could be divided into several factions with different viewpoints and opinions. They all ignored each other and had their own ideas.

If there was one thing they all had in common, it was their disdain for the new Charles artillery.

This is also the real reason why the officers booed the instructor.

However, when Charles placed the mortar on the podium and listed the data as if he was chatting with his family, the combat concept hidden in it came like a wave that swooped down and covered all the differences and different ideas.

The officers were all thinking the same thing in their minds: This gun can save many people, and they might be among them!

Insist on not wanting it?

That would be playing with your own life and the lives of your subordinates!

What's more, this wave is unstoppable.

One day, mortars will become as popular as grenades throughout the army.

If anyone insists on not doing so, he will be hated and resented by his subordinates in the near future, and they may even find an opportunity to "eliminate" him.

There are too many things like this on the front line. If you block your subordinates' way out, they will certainly take risks to remove you as a stumbling block.

Thinking of this, Colonel Christian no longer hesitated. He stood up and said to Charles, "Major, I hope we can go to the shooting range to test the gun. What do you think?"

"Of course!" Charles nodded to the instructor on the podium.

The instructor understood, waved his hands excitedly and shouted: "Follow me, gentlemen! But be careful, every step must follow my instructions!"

(End of this chapter)