Chapter 385 Britain's Fear
Hello everyone, happy Mid-Autumn Festival! I have been visiting relatives and friends in the past few days and have not been able to post three chapters. I am sorry, I will adjust to the state of seclusion and coding as soon as possible. Thank you everyone!
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Charles's 1st Tank Brigade not only defeated the attacking German army, but also pushed the defense line forward 8 kilometers, killing and wounding more than 10,000 German soldiers and capturing more than 8,000 people, while they themselves only lost 18 tanks and more than 500 casualties. It was undoubtedly a "remarkable" victory.
(Note: The casualties of the French 1st Special Artillery Division are not included in the statistics)
Once again, the French soldiers and civilians were shocked by this victory. They spontaneously took to the streets and cheered, shouting:
"Long live France!"
"Long live the 1st Tank Brigade!"
Some even raised the question, "Why don't we fight to Berlin?"
There are still many people who agree with this idea, and major newspapers have also echoed it:
"If our army can gain such a great advantage, once Charles' troops go to the battlefield, they can defeat the Germans and end the war completely!"
"I think so too. I believe we have the strength to do so, but the first priority should be Ciel's troops."
"It seems that the only thing we need to consider is whether the army is using the Charr mode and whether the officers are using the Charr tactics!"
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Charles didn't care about this. He knew it was too early to say "take Berlin" or "end the war".
The historical "Renault Tank", that is, the "Charr A1" he used, was mass-produced in 1917, but even this tank was put into the battlefield and could not immediately end the trench warfare.
This is because the war at this time has gradually turned into "systematic warfare", and "systematic warfare" does not mean that a single branch of the military or the development of a certain equipment can completely change the battlefield situation.
For example, the German army always held an advantage in long-range howitzers, while the French army's production rate was only 5 guns per month, which could not even keep up with the war losses.
On the other hand, artillery technology is basically monopolized by Schneider, and there is a certain technical threshold. It is not easy to expand production and increase output in a short period of time.
This determined that the German army had the possibility to prevent the tanks from breaking through the line, which was one of the reasons why the 1st Tank Brigade was blocked after advancing 8 kilometers.
Charles was interested in the German "Storm Troopers". He flipped through the photos sent from the front line one by one.
That was taken by the 1st Tank Brigade. They captured more than a hundred "Storm Troopers" during the attack. These "Storm Troopers" were very conspicuous because they were wearing steel armor and could hardly run without motor vehicles.
Tijanichal's actions showed confusion. He leaned forward to look at the photos on the table and said, "Everyone is wondering if we are going to reach Berlin, and you are looking at these! What's so special about them? Wearing steel armor?"
In Tijani's eyes, "Storm Troopers" was a very stupid thing. He couldn't believe that there were still people wearing medieval armor on the battlefield. What effect would that have?
"They are not as simple as you think, General." Charles said, "Steel armor can indeed be removed, but this tactic is quite advanced."
This is the concept of modern "special forces". They are similar to tanks and can penetrate and carry out precise strikes on important enemy targets, and have better concealment and flexibility.
Tijani raised his eyebrows. He didn't take Charles' words seriously. He thought that nothing in this era could compare to a tank, and everything was vulnerable in front of a tank.
At this time, General Winter walked into the office. He looked at Charles with complicated eyes: "I need to talk to you alone, Brigadier General."
Charles nodded, stood up and led General Winter into the adjacent conference room.
"Why?" Charles motioned General Winter to sit down on a chair and asked, "Isn't this victory 'remarkable' enough?"
"No." General Winter shook his head. "You did a good job, Brigadier General. We believe that the Italians will join the Allies because of this battle. They have even contacted us."
"That is..." Charles looked at General Winter in confusion.
"Your fighter plane." General Winter looked a little hesitant. "A new fighter plane. I want to know if it is for sale?"
Charles suddenly realized that Britain was wary of the fighter jets he developed.
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Charles guessed correctly. When the news of the victory reached London, England, the Minister of the Navy was not happy about the victory. Instead, he frowned and looked worried.
The Secretary of the Navy was holding a photograph of a Camel fighter plane flying in the air and fighting against German fighter planes.
He was stunned for a while, and asked Major Kyle, the head of MI6, who was standing in front of the table, in a low voice: "Are you sure it can reach a speed of 180 kilometers per hour?"
"Yes." Major Kyle answered confidently: "We originally deployed personnel to monitor the speed of the German new fighter plane, but we accidentally detected the new Charles fighter plane. Everyone was shocked by its speed. We verified it several times, and it may even exceed 180 kilometers."
The Navy Minister nodded solemnly and asked slowly, "How fast can our most advanced fighter planes reach?"
"140 kilometers." Major Kyle said helplessly: "It is still in the test flight and has not yet been put into service."
It was a de Havilland DH2 fighter, modified from a two-seater DH1. One cockpit was removed to reduce weight and a 100-horsepower engine was installed, with a top speed of 140 kilometers per hour.
(The picture above shows the British De Havilland DH2 fighter, which successfully completed its test flight in 1915)
The Navy Minister snorted in dissatisfaction: "Do you know what this means? We may be far behind the French, or to be more precise, far behind Charles!"
As the world's most powerful country, he cannot accept the reality of lagging behind other countries, even though these "other countries" are allies.
It should be said that allies in particular.
The allies took the lead and Britain could only watch it continue to develop.
"Plane is everything, Kell." The Navy Minister kept his eyes on the photo and said thoughtfully: "One day, if France becomes our enemy, their fighter planes will shoot down our fighter planes just like they shot down German planes!"
"I understand, sir." Kyle suggested, "Perhaps, we can strive to cooperate with Charles, or buy this fighter."
The Navy Minister looked a little embarrassed. As the largest country, they actually wanted to seek cooperation with Charles.
But what can we do now?
The result of non-cooperation is to watch it surpass Britain further and further!
As a result, "purchasing fighter planes" instantly became the highest priority, even higher than bringing Italy into the Allied Powers.
The latter was a matter for the Allied Powers as a whole, while the former concerned the security of Britain.
After all, the narrowest part of the English Channel is only 34 kilometers. If France on the other side had such advanced fighter jets, it would make Britain feel cold.
France can take over the British sky at any time. How can Britain still be considered the world's number one power?
(End of this chapter)
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