Chapter 824 The battlefield is the best school

Just as Charles and Pershing were discussing air-ground coordination training, the staff officer hurriedly delivered a telegram: "General, a large-scale mutiny occurred in the British camp."

"Mutiny?" Charles pretended to be surprised.

"Yes," the staff officer replied, "It is said that it started with the Egyptian expeditionary force and then quickly spread to other colonial armies."

Pershing frowned and asked, "Do you know why?"

"It's not certain yet." The staff officer replied: "Some people say it's because of General Charles, and some people say it's because of the US military."

"What?" Pershing didn't understand what the staff officer said.

What does the British mutiny have to do with the Charles or the American army?

The staff officer explained:

"They said it was because of General Charles. It was because the colonial army strongly requested to fight under the command of General Charles."

“There have been such demands before, but they were suppressed by the British army.”

"They said it was because of the U.S. military because they knew that the British army had intended to place the U.S. military on the second line so that they would not have to go to the battlefield."

Pershing understood. He glanced at Charles and said, "Maybe, it's both reasons."

Pershing secretly felt lucky that he had not agreed to let Kitchener be on the second line.

Otherwise, the current US military would be in an awkward situation: on the one hand, they think they do not need to go to the battlefield and are not prepared; on the other hand, they may be forced to go to the battlefield because of a mutiny.

Going to the battlefield voluntarily and being forced to go to the battlefield are two different things.

The former has high morale, as well as military confidence and pride.

The latter are reluctant and absent-minded, and have negative emotions.

There is no need to say what will happen if a war breaks out.

Charles said nothing. He threw the training plan in his hand aside and said, "Are you ready, General?"

"Preparing for what?" Pershing looked confused.

"What else?" Charles asked, smiling. "War!"

Pershing was stunned, and then his eyes were filled with fear and confusion:

"You mean sending my troops to fight in the battlefield? No, Lieutenant General, they have only been training for more than a month."

"They have only just begun to master the coordination between infantry and tanks, and between infantry and artillery. Air-ground coordination has not even begun."

"So, of course they're not ready. Like I said, it'll take at least two months..."

Charles interrupted Pershing: "War is like this, it always comes suddenly when you are not prepared."

Pershing's voice trembled a little: "You, you mean, the Germans are going to attack?"

"Of course." Charles nodded affirmatively: "And it will be a massive attack."

"Because, because of the 'mutiny'?" Pershing asked again.

Ciel uttered a "hmm".

"No." Pershing said anxiously, "If we block the information immediately, the Germans will not know about the 'mutiny' and there will be no attack."

…

Charles just looked at Pershing quietly and said nothing.

After a while, Pershing compromised. He sighed and said, "Well, you are right. If the news of the 'mutiny' has reached us, the Germans must know it."

The British had no time to block the news. Their organization was too chaotic. The colonial armies from more than a dozen countries did not speak each other's language, so it was not easy to control and block the news.

Pershing's forehead was covered with sweat, and his eyes were filled with help: "But Lieutenant General, we still need time."

"The battlefield is the best school, General." Charles' voice was surprisingly calm. "If you don't intend to participate in this battle, then you have no choice but to withdraw from the Meuse River area."

Pershing was puzzled: "Withdraw from the Meuse River?"

Charles pointed to the map and analyzed: "France's most elite troops are stationed along the Meuse River. Once the Germans break through the Nancy Line, they will immediately turn to the northwest in order to encircle us."

(The picture above shows the direction of the German attack as guessed by Charles)

Pershing immediately understood what Charles meant: "The Germans are targeting your troops?"

"Of course!" Charles nodded affirmatively:

"This is a good opportunity to encircle us. On the other side of us is the Meuse River, and on the other side of the river there is a reinforced defense line of more than 200,000 German troops."

"Once our rear is surrounded by the main German forces, we will completely lose contact with the main force."

"By then, we may not even have the gasoline to run the tanks!"

Finally, Ciel spread his hands and said, "So, you can only choose one, either retreat or face the enemy."

Charles' analysis is reasonable, and the Germans would indeed do so.

Nothing is more important than destroying the elite troops of the Charles, as well as hundreds of thousands of poorly trained and inexperienced American troops.

The former would cause France to lose all its elite troops and collapse its faith.

The latter would put the US government under tremendous pressure.

If the German encirclement succeeded, it would almost defeat Britain, France and the United States in one fell swoop, and it would be difficult for them to recover.

Even the capital city of Paris would not have such great value.

However, Pershing still couldn't believe it: "But, but, the Nancy Line has more than a million troops and more than a thousand large-caliber artillery. They have built complete fortifications, and the British have also invested more than a hundred newly produced Camel fighter planes."

As long as there are Camel fighters, the British army will have air supremacy, coupled with cannons and sufficient reserves of artillery shells.

He couldn't think of how Britain could break through.

Charles raised his eyebrows and looked like he would just wait and see if he didn't believe it.

Many times on the battlefield, the outcome is not determined by the number of troops, but by how many troops can play a role and how big a role they can play.

…

The headquarters of the British Expeditionary Force was located at Thule, further back on the line.

Haig walked back and forth in front of his office with his hands behind his back. These cowards and wimps actually retreated at the critical moment and refused to follow orders like the French army.

How dare these inferiors?

If it was just the Egyptian expeditionary force, Haig would have ordered its suppression without hesitation.

However, the speed and number of the mutiny struck Haig as unusual.

Not only the Indian troops, the King's African Regiment or the South African Expeditionary Force, but also the Australian and New Zealand armies were involved.

God, Australia and New Zealand were volunteers, and they were the best treated and most motivated of all the colonial armies.

Why did they become part of the mutiny?

For Ciel's command?

Haig believed that this was most likely the case. The incident with the American army was only a fuse, and their ultimate goal was to fight under Charles' command.

Haig stopped and considered whether it was necessary to talk to Charles and ask him to appease the colonial troops.

Charles could even be made an honorary commander, but the actual command would still be in the hands of the British army.

Until this point, Haig had not realized the huge crisis that was about to come.

Even though the staff reported to him that four patrol fighters were missing on the front line, and they were the most advanced "Camel" fighters.

But Haig still thought it was just a coincidence and was nothing compared to the current "mutiny" crisis.

(End of this chapter)