Chapter 525 Rocket Artillery Tactics
At Antwerp Airport, Tijani received a telegram from Gallieni and hurried to Charles.
"They are winning." Tijani was a little nervous: "Although this is good news, if you have any plans to attack Namur, shouldn't you implement it as soon as possible?"
Everyone was saying that the Battle of the Somme would be won in a few days, and Commander-in-Chief Nivelle said so too.
However, Charles calmly replied, "No hurry, wait a little longer."
"Waiting for what?" Tijani asked puzzledly.
"If our army is winning, shouldn't the Germans send reinforcements to the Somme?" Charles replied: "Especially artillery."
Tijani frowned: "But if this battle can end with our victory in a few days, the Germans may not even have time to send reinforcements!"
"Don't worry, General!" Charles was confident: "They have time."
Charles knew what had happened; the Battle of the Somme had historically lasted nearly five months, not a few days.
The attacks by the British and French forces in the past few days have ended in heavy casualties and there has been no victory at all.
After this, Haig, who had always distrusted machine guns and tanks, had no choice but to bring tanks onto the battlefield, and only then did there be progress.
Tijani changed the subject: "Tell me about your method of attacking Namur, Major General. You seem to have a plan in mind."
Instead of answering, Charles asked, "What do you think is the most troublesome thing about the Namur Line of Defense?"
Tijani turned his eyes to the map of Namur Fortress on the table and answered slowly: "It is definitely the artillery. The Germans have five artillery regiments there. They are deployed on the other side of the river to block the passage. We have no way to deal with it."
Even amphibious landing ships were of no help.
The Germans built trenches along the shore in what they called the "Bend of the River," where an infantry division was stationed, with machine guns, mortars, and 77MM artillery.
If any enemy attempts to cross the river, they will be immediately hit by a violent storm.
At the same time, the five artillery regiments equipped with 105MM howitzers in the rear can also join this blocking battle at any time.
The fragile amphibious landing ship might be blown up before it even sees the river.
Charles nodded. "So we have to destroy these artillery pieces, or at least make them unable to block passages 1 and 2."
There are two roads leading to Namur Fortress, which are narrow passages formed by forests and rivers, one heading north and the other west. Charles named them Passage 1 and Passage 2.
"The key is how to destroy these artillery pieces!" Tijani objected: "Should we really use those rocket launchers?"
Charles said nothing, just looked at Tijani quietly.
Tijani realized that Charles was serious and exclaimed, "God, you are crazy, this can't work, Major General!"
Charles looked at Tijani with a smile and asked teasingly: "Now, I just want to know if you still want to have this rocket launcher?"
Tijani was stunned for a moment, then he understood what Charles meant: "Does this mean that if we want this rocket launcher, we must use it to deal with the German 105MM howitzer?"
"You're very smart." Charles praised, his tone very fake.
Tijani was speechless. Couldn't this guy give a pleasant option?
He had always believed that rocket launchers were used against infantry.
When the enemy launched an overwhelming charge, suddenly a barrage of rockets launched a saturation attack on the opposite side, clearing the area in front of the position in an instant. That feeling must have been extremely refreshing.
But Charles was obsessed with the idea of using this crudely made thing to deal with the 105mm howitzer.
If that is something that rocket launchers can deal with, then what is the point of the Germans producing 105 howitzers?
Tijani hesitated for a moment: "What is there that I don't know?"
Charles only replied: "Yes, or no?"
Tijani sighed helplessly: "Okay, you win! I decided to use it to deal with the enemy artillery. Now, tell me your answer!"
Tijani stared at Charles fiercely. Rather than risking being bombed by the enemy, Tijani would rather know how this thing could deal with the Germans' long-range howitzers. After all, the range was there.
"It's all about how fast it fires, General."
"Fire speed?" Tijani didn't understand.
Charles nodded and explained calmly, "Artillery has a characteristic. Once it fires, it will produce a lot of smoke and fire. The enemy can use this to accurately determine its position or even the artillery position."
Tijani hummed, but then asked in confusion: "Isn't it the same with rocket launchers? It's even worse. It produces much more smoke than artillery, and there is a long tail after firing."
"You're right," Charles replied, "but the rocket launcher can fire all its rockets in a few minutes and then leave."
The answer is that simple.
But Tijani was stunned for a long time. If he just left after the fight, what would happen even if he was discovered by the enemy?
However, if the rocket launcher did not fire, it would be extremely difficult for the enemy to know its exact location, especially since air superiority was still in the hands of the French army.
In other words, the rocket launcher can easily sneak into the range of 8 kilometers and suddenly open fire to bombard the target.
By the time the enemy artillery reacted and launched suppression, the rocket launcher was no longer there!
With this tactic, the German artillery could not be used no matter how long its range was.
After figuring this out, Tijani danced with excitement:
"Yes, it can indeed deal with artillery. It is invincible as long as we do a good job of intelligence and concealment."
"Great tactics, Major General, you are amazing!"
"It's unbelievable that you turned a piece of trash into a treasure. No one thought that rockets would be useful, but you were the only one who used this tactic!"
A little carried away, he immediately returned to his desk and took out his notebook, which contained notes on and analysis of all Charles' tactics.
"You shouldn't do this." Ciel stopped him: "At least not now."
Tijani stopped what he was doing, and the next second he understood: "That's right, Major General, it has not been used on the battlefield yet."
It is undoubtedly dangerous to write down tactics that have never been used on the battlefield in a notebook. Once seen by German spies, the Germans will turn the Namur Fortress into a trap and wait for Charles to fall into it.
Tijani excitedly imagined this tactic in his mind, and suddenly thought of something. He turned to look at Charles: "Since we have a way to deal with the enemy's artillery, why do we need to use the Battle of the Somme as bait?"
"Because the production of rocket launchers is insufficient." Charles answered simply: "To be precise, the production of rocket shells is insufficient."
This is half true and half false.
Insufficient rocket production is one of the reasons.
More importantly, only after the "bloody massacre" of the Battle of the Somme was exposed could Charles' victory form a sharp contrast in everyone's mind and deal a double blow to Haig!
(End of this chapter)
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