Chapter 191 Tank Base

In the end, the price of the shell was set at 15 francs per round, exactly ten times that of a grenade.

But of course, Charles still made a lot of money.

The cost of a mortar shell was only 5 francs, and one shell could earn 10 francs. Thousands of them would be fired at the enemy on the battlefield. Charles' pockets would "jingle" every time a shell was fired. No wonder there was a saying that "a cannon shot is worth a fortune."

…

That morning, just over two hours after the start of the Charles training course, Schneider headquarters received detailed information about the mortar.

Paulina handed the statistics table to James' desk, with a helpless tone: "The military has already placed an order. The first batch of 200 mortars and 50,000 shells will be equipped with an infantry division and a tank unit. If the trial goes well, this type of artillery will be equipped with all 44 divisions on the front line, and even the reserve army!"

James, who was staring at the document in a daze, nodded solemnly: "A division needs 100 guns, and the entire army needs more than 5,000 guns. If you add in the battle damage, malfunctions and aging, Saint-Etienne will receive a steady stream of orders and an astronomical number of shells!"

Paulina sighed softly: "They have tried their best, but they can't stop the use of mortars in the troops because they all agree that this is the artillery needed on the front line, and refusal means death."

James said "hmm" to show his understanding. He hesitated for a moment and said to Paulina word by word: "I don't care about the money. I just want to know where we lost? Is it technology, experience, funds, or something else? Why are we unable to fight back against the attack in Shire?"

"Sir!" Paulina replied, "I think it's the same reason as before."

James recalled for a moment and said, "Practical experience? But Charles doesn't have any either!"

"But Charles can think of what the army needs!" Paulina also didn't understand this, but she still thought it was like this: "He seems to know how to win, how to defeat the enemy, strategy, tactics, and even what weapons can work on the battlefield. All he has to do is produce these weapons, and we don't even know that such weapons exist!"

James nodded slightly. Paulina's analysis was very accurate, from tanks to rocket planes to machine gun planes, and then to the most recent grenades and mortars...

Each piece of equipment can defeat the enemy at a critical moment, and each piece of equipment is irresistible.

As the officers said, "Rejection means death and failure."

James was a little frustrated: "Such an opponent holds the lifeline of the war. How can we defeat him? Or can we just watch him eat away at our territory?"

Pauline stood up straight and answered: "I think we should study him himself, sir!"

"Study him?" James' eyes lit up and he nodded in agreement: "That's right, Paulina! I need to know the detailed process of his command of every battle!"

"Yes, sir!" Paulina responded calmly.

…

It was rainy and cloudy in the 12th arrondissement of Paris. A few kilometers east of the Gare de Lyon train station, it was deserted. This place is on the edge of Paris and can even be said to be a suburb.

Among the hills and trees, people would not notice that a barbed wire fence has been set up and armed soldiers have set up guard posts to mark a military restricted area.

The core of this military restricted area is a basin surrounded by small mountains, where France’s first tank base was located.

This was done for reasons of confidentiality; after the tank unit's victory in the La Faux area, France's only tank unit was moved to this base for protection.

All the high ground and woods were checked and guarded, and the area within a three-kilometer radius was cleared. Fighter planes were even arranged to patrol the air to prevent close reconnaissance by enemy aircraft.

The tank unit was organized into the 1st French Tank Brigade, with Colonel Browne as brigade commander and Colonel Estiny as chief of staff.

Gallieni’s idea was that such troops should not be sent to the battlefield in a hurry to fight, but should summarize a complete set of tactics through training in the rear. After they had more tanks and replicated the tactics, they could be sent to the battlefield in batches for verification.

"They represent the highest combat power of France!" Gallieni said firmly, "The tactics of this unit may overturn all French combat theories. If their victory can be replicated, it will prove that they are correct, and this will become a solid tactical theoretical foundation. Therefore, we cannot allow any possibility of leakage!"

Therefore, people were only allowed to enter the tank base but not leave, except for people like Charles and Estinni.

But even Charles needs to apply in advance and explain the reason, and he has to go through layers of investigation.

When Charles saw Colonel Brownie, he was sitting in the sidecar of a sidecar looking at a training map. A hundred meters away, several "Mark I" tanks were roaring and carrying infantry through muddy exercises.

Brownie was so absorbed in staring at the blueprint in his hand that he didn't notice Charles approaching until the guard reminded him.

"Charles!" Brownie exclaimed. His tense face blossomed into a smile the moment he saw Charles. He quickly jumped up from his seat and gave him a warm hug: "I was just thinking about you. I didn't expect you to come! Look at you, you're already a major. You'll be my superior soon, right?"

Charles smiled and didn't answer, but asked casually: "How is it here? Colonel, is everything okay?"

Brownie chuckled: "This place is great. As a tank base, we have everything we need. The only thing that makes me regretful is that you are not here."

Brownie raised the training map in his hand and complained, "They asked me to come up with a set of tactics. Isn't that your and Colonel Estiny's job?"

"You are the brigade commander, Colonel!" Charles explained. "In principle, everything is related to you. To put it another way, if you don't have a full understanding of tactics, it will be difficult for you to accurately command your troops in the future!"

"I know!" Brownie rolled his eyes. "But I kind of miss the old days. In the past, I didn't have to think about anything except how to kill the enemy!"

"So, any questions?" Charles raised his chin towards the training chart in Brownie's hand.

"Oh, yes!" Brownie then remembered the problem that had troubled him just now. He took the training map and came close to Charles, writing: "I'm thinking about a question. What if our tank troops encounter the enemy's ambushed artillery troops? I mean, the German 77MM field artillery!"

Charles nodded slightly, this was something Germans often did.

The German M96 77MM field gun was far inferior to the French 75mm gun in terms of range, rate of fire and accuracy. Therefore, the Germans often hid it near the defense line to provide fire cover for the infantry within visual range.

Since there was no way to fight the enemy's artillery, they might as well hide close to the front line and wait for the French to pull up their artillery before suddenly launching an attack on them.

And this kind of fighting style poses a huge threat to tanks!

(End of this chapter)