Chapter 705: Accepting the Benefits of Charles's Charity

Fort Saint-Michel in Verdun, headquarters of the French 3rd Army.

Pétain stayed awake all night, pacing anxiously in the dim light, asking from time to time about Charles's location, but he knew nothing except the occupation of Bizensi.

Pétain's anxiety was not due to the tense fighting on the Verdun front.

The fighting at Verdun had calmed down considerably since the Battle of the Somme.

With Charles' support, the Verdun Line has been built into an impregnable fortress:

All the fortresses have their artillery pieces complete, with three ranges: long, medium and short to meet different needs.

The trenches were also deepened and reinforced, and many concrete bunkers and hidden bunkers were added.

More importantly, various mines had been buried about 300 meters in front of the defense line. If the German army wanted to attack, they had to take the risk of clearing mines or crossing the minefield.

The reason why Pétain was restless was that he knew that Charles' most critical infiltration operation had already begun.

"Charles will definitely win," Pétain analyzed, "because no one knows where he will get in."

"What?" The staff officer didn't understand what Pétain meant.

Does “no one knows where he will infiltrate” have much to do with “Char will definitely win”?

Petain asked expressionlessly, "Have you heard of Charles' theory of 'attack is greater than defense'?"

"Of course, General," the staff officer replied.

That was the theory Charles had expressed at the officers' club of the Army Group Reserve in Paris.

Although the officers' club is not a formal occasion, it is even a place for drinking and bragging, and what is said is usually not to be taken seriously.

However, it was Ciel who came up with this theory.

So the next day, the theory of "attack is greater than defense" was published in the newspaper.

In addition, Gallieni immediately included it in the textbooks of all military academies, along with Charles' previous theories.

"You mean, this is in line with 'attack is greater than defense'?" The staff officer was skeptical: "But, Charles's troops are infiltrating the enemy, and he doesn't have much time to find loopholes in the German defense line..."

"You idiot!" Pétain interrupted the staff officer. "The core of the theory of 'attack is greater than defense' is that the enemy does not know where to defend, so they need to set up defenses everywhere, but they can't defend anything. Charles's penetration certainly fits the bill."

The staff officer said "Oh" and understood.

His understanding of "attack is greater than defense" is more about the "attacker" having plenty of time to find loopholes in the enemy's long defense line.

Pétain sighed inwardly. One of the weaknesses of maintaining a defensive posture was that most of his officers were in their comfort zone and unwilling to step out.

The defensive tactics were so simple that they had even become an art of building fortifications rather than fighting. Many people believed that as long as the fortifications were good enough, victory would be achieved.

(The Maginot Line beckoned to these officers. The French military theory during World War II turned to a one-sided "absolute defense", which had a lot to do with Pétain's success.)

Therefore, they could not truly understand Charles' tactics, even though they had practical experience.

Afterwards, Pétain stopped discussing the matter with his staff, thinking that these fools would not understand even if he explained it to them.

What worried Pétain was that, like the Germans, he didn't know where Charles's target was.

Le Taylor?

Sommerpita yul?

Or somewhere else?

Yesterday, when Pétain learned that Charles's troops had successfully captured Mézières, he was filled with jealousy.

It was not Charles whom he envied, but Foch.

The most suitable position for an infiltration from Mézières was Le Telère, where Foch was commanding an army group to attack.

This shows that this war was jointly launched by Charles and Foch, and they excluded themselves!

what to do?

If this continues, he will soon be marginalized and his future will end as an army group commander.

There is even a possibility of downgrade.

Everything he did in Verdun was, at best, "blocking the German attack", and at worst, "wasting a lot of resources but achieving nothing."

Just as Pétain was feeling anxious, the staff officer handed him a telegram with a suspicious look on his face: "General, Charles called and said it's time to counterattack."

Charles must be crazy. Verdun was well defended and there was no need for a counterattack.

Unexpectedly, Pétain snatched the telegram, took a look at it and burst into laughter: "Great, this guy, he is a trustworthy friend!"

Then he turned around excitedly and ordered: "Everyone, prepare for a counterattack!"

The staff officer was stunned for a while before responding, "Yes, General."

At this time, Pétain had confirmed one thing: Charles was not an enemy, because Charles was no longer someone he could catch up with.

Charles thought so too, which was why he took the initiative to give part of his military achievements to Pétain.

No one can match Charles' military achievements.

In this case, a little more or a little less doesn't matter and will not make any difference in prestige.

The parliamentarians still regard Charles as a thorn in their side, the citizens still marvel at Charles' wisdom and achievements as usual, and the officers and soldiers of the army still regard it as a classic for study.

However……

Politically it is quite different.

In the former, Charles took all the military achievements for himself, while in the latter, he shared them with Pétain and consolidated his ally.

This is a method that Charles learned from the congressman.

The most powerful forces in the military at this time were the Minister of the Army and Commander of the Reserve Army Gallieni, the French Commander Foch, the Commander of the 3rd Army Group Pétain, and the Director of the French Operations Department Gamelin.

Gallieni is a friend and Gamelin is an enemy. There is no need for any manipulation between the two and there is no room for any manipulation.

Foch and Pétain could be friends or enemies.

The correct approach was to divide and rule and cultivate the weak Pétain into an enemy of Foch.

Only when Pétain and Foch fought with each other could Charles better control them.

This is an immutable political law. The correct thing to do is to bind them to yourself through interests, rather than talking to them about emotions or reason.

Seeing the benefits, Pétain chose to actively cooperate with Charles.

After receiving the telegram, he immediately ordered the soldiers to advance along the passage in the minefield and cut the barbed wire, while secretly transferring artillery and troops to the front line to prepare for a counterattack.

…

Paris City Hall.

Lieutenant Colonel Dura happened to mention Pétain's problem: "If Pétain launches a counterattack, the mines and barbed wire he has laid in front of his defenses will become his own trouble."

"No, he will not counterattack." Briand said firmly: "His military theory is completely different from Charles's. They are more like competitors."

Clemenceau nodded in agreement.

Pétain was an ambitious man and he would not want Charles to take complete control of the military.

Therefore, they must be enemies, and it is impossible for Pétain to risk his life to save Charles.

What they didn't expect was that Pétain was not "fighting his life to save Charles" but "accepting the benefits from Charles' charity."

(End of this chapter)