Chapter 759: Heavy Armored Army Group

Charles nodded and accepted it happily, and then said: "As for the commander of Army Group Center, I think it can only be handed over to Pétain."

Charles used the word "can only" in his words, and his eyes showed helplessness.

This was to tell Foch that he did not want Pétain to be the commander, but Pétain had made contributions in garrisoning Verdun, and his "defense theory" was quite popular and had many supporters, so it would be unreasonable not to give the position to him.

Foch had no objection: "Although I have different ideas from General Pétain, his achievements on the battlefield are undeniable. I agree."

"Finally, it is the Commander-in-Chief of Army Group East..." Foch looked at Charles with hesitation.

Lieutenant General Castelnau, commander of the Eastern Army Group, is a member of the parliament. This army group is also the most infiltrated one. Can Charles still uproot them?

Charles had no such intention.

Gallieni, Weygand, Pétain, and Foch, the commander-in-chief, can be considered part of the alliance.

The ratio against the Army Group of Castelnau was already 3 to 1, and Charles already had control over the military, so there was no need to "clear the field" entirely.

What's more, as long as Clemenceau is successfully promoted to the position of Prime Minister, it is only a matter of time before he can control the parliament. There is no need to rush to fight for the command of the Eastern Army Group.

"Lieutenant General Castelnau has done a good job," Charles said. "He may not have done much, but at least he has kept the enemy from getting past the line."

"Yes." Foch understood and was secretly happy.

The four army groups were: Parliament, Offensive, Defensive, and Gallieni who supported Charles.

This is a four-way confrontation, and Charles can't gain much advantage.

But he soon realized he was wrong.

Charles went on to say:

"Your Excellency the Commander-in-Chief, during the battle I discovered that some troops were quite special."

"For example, the Aviation Regiment, the First Armored Army, and the motorized infantry division that is being formed."

"They are very different from ordinary troops both strategically and tactically. For the sake of ease of command, I think it is necessary for us to separate these troops and form a new army group."

Foch was stunned. Was he going to take all the elite troops away from others?

However, Foch did not ask this question. These elite troops were originally trained by Charles and had always been under his control. It was natural for them to be under his command.

"That makes sense." Foch remained calm. "If these troops fight together with other troops, they will probably fall into chaos."

"What should we call it..." Charles considered: "How about calling it the Heavy Armored Army Group?"

"It's a very suitable name." Foch nodded and praised: "This unit has planes, tanks, armored vehicles, artillery, cars, and motorcycles. It is truly 'heavy-armored'."

"Then," Charles asked hypocritically, "Commander-in-Chief, who do you think is more suitable to be the commander of the heavy armored army group?"

Foch did not hesitate at all: "Of course you will take the position, Lieutenant General. Who else in the country can have the same military achievements and command experience as you?"

Let someone else take the role. No one can’t do it!

That is the 1st Armored Army, the 6th Army and the air force. Not to mention whether those fierce officers and soldiers recognize the command of others, the planes, tanks, self-propelled artillery, motorcycles, etc. in this unit are all produced by Charles.

Anyone who was not ignorant enough to compete with Charles for the position of commander would be kicked out in disgrace within two days.

Charles did not refuse. He stood up and saluted Foch generously: "Yes, Commander-in-Chief, I will not let you down."

Foch felt powerless.

It is not difficult to imagine that the heavily armed army group of Charles will soon be expanded, and talents and backbones from all over the country will flock to it.

Soon, the heavy army will stand out from the crowd and surpass all other army groups.

Foch and Pétain may still be able to restrain Charles now.

By then, the military would not even have anyone to compete with Charles.

…

After leaving Mézières, Charles went to Buzency again.

Charles's purpose was to find Tijani, but before that he went to Pétain's headquarters.

Needless to say, the purpose was to give Pétain a drug of delusion:

"Major General, I am honored to inform you that you will become the commander of Army Group Center."

"Yes, it was a decision I made after discussing it with Commander-in-Chief Foch."

"I think you did an excellent job at Verdun and you deserved it."

"You're welcome. This is my job. What's more important is your own efforts."

Charles didn't say much, but Pétain knew:

Foch and I are enemies, so of course he would not be willing to let me become the commander of this army group.

Therefore, Charles must have put himself in this position despite Foch's objections.

Yes, that must be it.

I will follow Charles from now on!

…

On the outskirts of Bizangxi, the headquarters of the 1st Mechanized Division.

Tijani frowned and stared at the pile of data in front of him in a daze.

That was the task Charles assigned to him to form a motorized division. Two divisions of the 6th Army had been transferred here, but Tijani had no idea how to train this force.

He originally thought this wouldn't be difficult.

If you put the infantry division on this side and the armored division on that side.

The mechanized division is in the middle, close to the armored division, while the motorized division is closer to the infantry division.

So, in principle, we only need to remove the slow tanks in the mechanized division.

However, after the exercise, Tijani found that the speed of the troops did not increase much, and it made little difference whether they had tanks or not.

Just as he was in trouble for comparing the data, a car stopped outside the command center.

Tijani looked up and his eyes lit up when he saw Charles getting out of the car.

"You must be here to help me solve the problem, General." Tijani happily stepped forward and hugged Charles.

"What?" Charles joked, "What else can stump you? You are now the French killer that the Germans are terrified of!"

That was the fame that Tijanibizansi gained in the battle. He used the mobility of mechanized troops to launch continuous attacks, and with the cooperation of bombers, he defeated the German breakout forces eight times.

The result was that the Germans gave Tijani this rather murderous nickname.

Tijani chuckled, "I'm just fighting according to your plan. If they call me a 'war artist', I might be more willing to accept it."

Charles laughed. What Tijani wanted was not fame, but a nice nickname that suited his taste.

Ciel sat at his desk, and Tijani immediately threw data and questions at him: "Motorized troops, General. The artillery slowed down the troops!"

Mainly 75mm guns.

The infantry obviously couldn't do without artillery cover, and the cars towing the artillery couldn't move fast enough on the muddy road.

This became the lower limit of the speed of motorized troops.

(End of this chapter)