Chapter 491 Landmines
Charles gave Pétain more than just this.
Charles thought, now that directional mines have been released, there should be ordinary mines as well, right?
Wasn’t Pétain good at defensive warfare?
How can a defensive battle be without mines!
The reverse slope, mines and directional mines were basically the plan for the Battle of Verdun. No matter how Pétain played his tactics, he could not escape my shadow. No matter how he fought, people would think that he was following my tactics, and there was no doubt about it.
Thinking about this, Charles took out his notebook and drew a modern flat round mine on it. He also drew the internal structure next to it. As he drew, he said, "The structure is not complicated. When the target steps on the pressure plate, the fuse opens, and the spring device inside pushes the firing pin forward, hitting the primer and causing it to explode."
Steed stood beside Charles and watched. He didn't react at first, but after listening to Charles' explanation, he understood: "This is, a landmine?"
He stared blankly at the picture Charles had drawn.
Landmines already existed in this era, but they were large and inconvenient to carry. In addition, they were not taken seriously due to a series of shortcomings such as unreasonable shape, complex structure, and difficulty in detonation. They appeared like a flash in the pan during the Russo-Japanese War ten years ago and then disappeared. They were rarely used on the European battlefield.
The mine solution proposed by Charles directly solved all these problems and reached its final form.
He thought it was not something complicated and just did it in one step.
(The picture above shows a mine from the Russo-Japanese War. It was designed to kill people, so it had a large charge, a large volume, and a large weight. The wide bottom was not conducive to burying it. The biggest flaw was that it was detonated with an electric ignition device. The wooden box next to it was the battery box, which required temporary wiring and was easily damaged by moisture and failed in actual combat.)
After a long time, Steed finally reacted: "This means, stuffing everything into the mine? And using a fuse to detonate it?"
Steed had been engaged in military industry for many years and realized that doing so could simplify many operations and make mines easier to prevent moisture, which was a major improvement in modern mines.
Dominic came over, looked at the size of the mine, frowned slightly, and reminded: "Brigadier General, it may be difficult to kill the target with a mine of this size. After all, it is buried underground, and a considerable part of the shrapnel and power will be absorbed by the soil..."
"I didn't intend to kill the target." Charles interrupted Dominic.
"What?" Dominic looked at Charles in confusion: "Isn't the goal of war to kill the enemy?"
Charles replied calmly: "No, Dominic, the goal of war is never to kill the enemy, but to win."
Dominic was stunned, as if he understood something, with a hint of sadness on his face. In order to win, humans can really do anything.
Steed still didn't understand: "I don't think there is any difference between killing the enemy and winning, Brigadier General!"
Steed was a businessman after all, even if he was an arms seller he was still a businessman, so his understanding of arms was always superficial. Like many people, he believed that victory could be achieved as long as the enemy was killed.
"Father," Dominic explained, "Breaking off an enemy's legs on the battlefield is much more useful than blowing him to death."
"Much more useful?" Steed looked at Dominic doubtfully, then turned his gaze to Charles.
Ciel nodded at Dominic, motioning him to continue.
Dominic sighed softly. "With his legs blown off, the enemy is actually unable to fight and will not pose a threat to us. But he still needs a few soldiers to carry him away for treatment. He will also need military doctors, medicines, supplies, and nursing care. If he survives by chance, it will be difficult for him to create value. He will only continue to consume the already tight supplies of the Germans."
Steed was stunned, then suddenly laughed: "That's right, Dominic, that's how it should be, that's how it should be, causing trouble for the enemy, a little bit of explosives can slow them down, why not?!"
Then he took the blueprint as if he had found a treasure, and said to Charles confidently: "I will produce it soon, Brigadier General, it will only take a few days."
After that, he glanced at Dominic.
He was accustomed to Charles' genius, so he was not surprised by his performance.
But today I realized that Dominic also has talent. It would be better if he could change his unnecessary "womanly kindness".
"Also," continued Charles, "we can produce larger mines to use against tanks."
"Of course, General," said Steed. "Of course we need anti-tank mines."
At this point his expression froze: "But how can we make it blow up the tank? I mean, the enemy's infantry can also trigger it."
"Pressure, Mr. Steed," Charles replied. "A person weighs at most two hundred pounds, but a tank is different."
Steed said "Oh" and understood, and was instantly surprised: "Yes, as long as we do some pressure control, it will only explode if a tank runs over it. God, what a genius idea!"
Dominic looked at Charles in shock. Although the idea was simple, it was not easy for Charles to say it casually in a moment, as if he had known it for a long time.
However, this is not the end.
As the two looked at him in astonishment, Charles began to write and draw in his notebook, saying:
"We can also produce a smaller mine."
"It can be divided into two parts, the thunder shell and the thunder body."
"When it is triggered, the explosive charge in the mine shell can throw the mine body to a height of one meter, and then the delayed fuse will detonate the mine body..."
(The picture above shows the S-type mine developed by Germany in 1930. It bounces to a height of 1 to 2 meters and explodes. It is nicknamed "Bouncing Betty".)
After finishing, Charles placed the notebook in front of the two people and said, "Of course, in addition to explosives, there must also be steel balls in the mine body, just like a directional mine."
Steed and Dominic were stunned on the spot. Is there such a landmine?
It jumped to a height of one meter and exploded, and there were steel balls inside? !
The two of them looked at their lower bodies at the same time. Just imagining the scene made them feel terrified.
Then Steed became excited. What he saw were countless orders, rolling in wealth, and the revitalization of the "Saint-Etienne" Arsenal.
He once again confirmed how wise his strategy of following Charles was back then.
If Charles was a competitor now, "Saint-Etienne" would have been rubbed to the ground and spat on.
Dominic swallowed hard and said to Charles hesitantly, "Is this too cruel, Brigadier General?"
"This is war, Dominic." Charles' voice was cold: "There is a saying that goes, 'To be kind to the enemy is to be cruel to yourself', do you agree?"
Dominic was silent for a moment and nodded slightly.
The battlefield is a place where it's either you or me. If you are merciful when you can kill the enemy, you will be killed by these enemies in return.
If you have to choose between the two, of course you would choose to kill the enemy.
Dominic sighed:
"You are right, General, and I apologize."
"I am not a soldier. I have not faced the enemy on the battlefield. I have not had to face this kind of life-or-death situation, so I have no right to judge."
Dominic thought that Charles developed these things only to save his own life and the lives of his subordinates.
What choice would you make if you were in such an environment?
Allow the enemy to kill you?
Maybe this is the only way!
(End of this chapter)
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