Chapter 330: The Deployment of Chauchat Light Machine Guns
Having the waiter clear the plates and serve dessert and fruit, Steed said as he ate, "They are already planning to deploy light machine guns. The first batch is estimated to be at least 10,000, and will be sent to the Gallipoli battlefield."
Having said that, Steed looked up at Charles and secretly observed his reaction.
If it were in the past, Charles would definitely hesitate.
Sending this machine gun with numerous faults to Gallipoli would inevitably lead to a series of "accidents" causing unnecessary casualties to the troops, which Charles would not allow.
But now Charles just said "hmm" calmly, as if he didn't hear it, and continued to put the apple piece in front of him into his mouth.
It is not the season for apples to ripen, but the reason we can still eat apples is that they are preserved in industrial refrigerators.
But of course, this is a pleasure that only the rich can experience.
(The picture above shows the first household refrigerator with an electric compressor invented in 1923. The refrigerator principle was first invented in 1834, but it was only used industrially for a long time and was not popularized for household use.)
Seeing that Charles hadn't expressed his opinion, Dominic looked at him in confusion and asked, "Shouldn't we be the first to launch our machine guns?"
Charles replied coldly: "You can wait a little longer. Now is not the right time."
"But..." Dominic looked a little nervous: "It might cause big problems. When we designed this machine gun, we hoped it would be used in France, but now they plan to use it in Gallipoli."
Most of the battlefields in France were inland, while Gallipoli was a peninsula, a place with high salt and humidity. Even if no sand entered the Chauchat hollow magazine, there might be tiny salt crystals. In addition, it was more likely to rust in that environment.
These will all lead to failures and more failures.
"Gallipoli is in great need of light machine guns," Charles answered evasively, "Heavy machine guns are too heavy and require precious fresh water for cooling."
This is Charles' combat experience. Sometimes soldiers have no water to drink, but they have to save water for heavy machine guns.
(If seawater is used for cooling, there will be a series of problems. It is corrosive to metals and causes them to rust. In addition, a large amount of salt crystals will be left after the seawater evaporates.)
"It's not a question of whether we need it or not, Colonel." Dominic emphasized: "We also have light machine guns, which are much better than Chauchat's. We have produced 30,000 of them, which is enough for the Gallipoli battlefield!"
Dominic's underlying point was that if we provided Gallipoli with light machine guns now, many fewer lives might be lost.
Steed smiled, and Daishaer answered the question:
"The Colonel is right, Dominic."
"Without comparison, there is no gap. We should first let people know how bad the Chauchat machine gun is, so that we can indirectly let them understand how good our machine guns are."
“Only then can we truly defeat our opponents!”
Dominic looked at Steed in shock, then turned to look at Charles with an expression of disbelief.
It's normal for Steed to think this way. All he cares about is money, profit, and his own business.
But Charles, he is not that kind of person!
Charles didn't answer, which was considered as his consent.
This was just one of the reasons. At that time, there were no light machine guns but they were urgently needed. Although the "Chauchat" had many faults, due to the huge demand on the battlefield, it was urgently expanded in production in the next two years and a total of 260,000 were manufactured.
If we want to strike our opponents, we must of course wait until we have “urgent production expansion” rather than during this “trial period”.
Dominic waited for a while but Charles didn't answer. Disappointment gradually appeared in his eyes, and he said sarcastically: "You have really become cruel, Colonel. You deserve your combat experience!"
Steed glared at Dominic reproachfully:
"You mean the soldiers who fought at Gallipoli?"
"They are Australian, Dominican, New Zealanders, British and Africans, it has nothing to do with us, Dominica."
"The only French Army's 105th Infantry Regiment has been withdrawn!"
Dominic retorted: "But they are lives too, father!"
Steed's face darkened and he asked back:
"So, is it our responsibility that they fight each other on the battlefield?"
"Did we start the war? Or did we send the warships and troops?"
"We are just selling equipment. It seems your anger is directed at the wrong person!"
Dominic did not refute, but his eyes were full of anger as he continued to protest silently. The restaurant suddenly fell into an awkward silence.
Steed gave Charles an apologetic smile: "I'm very sorry, Colonel, I hope this doesn't cause you any trouble."
"No, of course not." Charles replied, turning his head to look at Dominic and asked calmly: "What is it called? I mean the machine gun we produce?"
"It's called the 'Saint-Etienne 2' machine gun," Dominic replied.
Charles raised his eyebrows. It was a good name and a smart approach.
This can create momentum for the Saint-Etienne Arsenal. Once this machine gun is a great success on the battlefield, the military and civilians will identify not with it itself, but with the Saint-Etienne Arsenal.
"What if I leave the decision to you?" Charles asked again.
"What?" Dominic was stunned.
"It's up to you to decide when to use the machine guns." Charles said firmly, "I'm serious."
"Of course I'll push it out now." Hope rekindled in Dominic's eyes.
"Do you think they will definitely choose something better?" Charles asked again, as if he saw his former self.
Dominic was stunned and seemed to understand the problem: even if the Saint-Etienne Arsenal launched a machine gun now, it would most likely not be recognized and accepted by the parliament.
The current Saint-Etienne Arsenal is no longer the same as it used to be, and its voice is being eroded by other capitalists.
"We can list it as a wartime procurement regulation," Dominic said.
"My tanks are the same," Charles replied. "Do you know why I didn't include the 'Charter A1' tank in the wartime procurement regulations?"
Dominic was speechless.
He knew the reason, and everyone knew it.
At that time, it was almost impossible for the "Charr A1" tank to defeat its opponents in the competition under the "Wartime Procurement Regulations". It could only prove itself on the battlefield.
The current situation seems to be the same. It is not about who is better, but about who has more power and more say.
"I bet," Charles continued, "if you launch a machine gun now, it's more likely that the latter will be more popular and save more people than if you launch a machine gun later."
"How is this possible?" Dominic asked back, "Will the introduction of machine guns not require approval from Parliament or wartime regulations?"
"Of course it is necessary." Charles replied, "But it also has actual combat victories. The French military and civilians already know that our machine guns are superior. If the parliament does not pass it, do you know what will happen?"
Parades, demonstrations, strikes, and even a military strike in protest...
Dominic then realized that Charles was actually using the public to put pressure on parliament, forcing the members of parliament to accept the Saint-Etienne 2 machine gun.
(End of this chapter)
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