Chapter 145 Conditions
This was the first time that Charles was called to headquarters by Gallieni while on leave.
Charles was taking a nap at the time.
Several factories were put on the right track under Dejoka's leadership. The only drawback was that the aircraft manufacturing plant was too far away from the small town of Darvaz, making it inconvenient for Dejoka to manage it.
So Charles had time to himself to do his own thing.
Just when Charles had just woken up and was in a daze, Laurent's voice came from outside the door: "Lieutenant, the general asked you to return to the headquarters immediately!"
…
On the way, Charles learned the general situation of the war: more than a thousand casualties, the loss of 59 CA-1 and 15 "Saint-Chamond" tanks.
Most of the "Saint-Chamond" ships were not destroyed by the enemy but were stuck in bomb craters and unable to move. The Germans did not even discover them for quite a long time.
Even so, the French engineers still couldn't drag them back from the battlefield. These guys were too heavy, weighing 27 tons with tracks, and they were stuck in the bomb craters, and several cars couldn't tow them away.
Then, when the rain subsided, tragedy struck again. The German army discovered the tanks and bombarded the area. Not only was the "Saint-Chamond" blown to pieces, but hundreds of engineers were killed or injured, and more than a dozen vehicles were also lost.
Laurent sighed: "No one expected that Saint-Chamond, who had high hopes for the team, would perform so badly on the battlefield. Joffre even invited reporters from all major newspapers and media to gather at La Faux. He planned to publicize the victory immediately. Now he has shot himself in the foot!"
But Charles disagreed.
Joffre was a heroic image created by capitalists through propaganda in France. He was a stabilizing force and the capitalists would not let him fall easily, especially during this war.
On the other hand, the right-wing-supported CA-1 and the left-wing Schneider's "Saint-Chamon" participated in the battle. They both had propaganda tools in their hands, and some newspapers and media that were not under their control could be dealt with through money and deals.
Then, the final result of this matter is likely to be a diversion of focus or cold treatment. After a long time, people will forget about it and it will not affect Xiafei.
Sure enough, when Charles got off the car, he heard someone whispering:
"I heard that it was a design flaw in the tanks that caused the military to suffer heavy losses!"
"Yes, it has little to do with the soldiers who fought. They fought bravely!"
"This is because the designers do not understand battlefield conditions. They are out of touch with reality!"
…
This is the magic of having the right to speak. Capitalists will cleverly shift people's attention to the military, soldiers and designers, and let people choose one of them to be responsible.
But they actually have nothing to do with this matter. The people who are really responsible have already taken a large sum of money from the military and continue to hide behind the scenes.
Gallieni saw Charles coming up and walked straight into the lounge. He sat on the chair with a livid face and said helplessly: "What you worried about has really happened, Lieutenant. Our tanks didn't even see the enemy and were completely in a passive state of being beaten!"
This was within Charles's expectations. The tank soldiers had only a very small observation hole for external vision, and it was raining heavily or even rainstorms when the battle started, making it impossible to see the enemy clearly.
"Is your tank OK?" Gallieni asked.
Charles' attitude was ambiguous: "It should be possible, but I'm not sure, General!"
Charles is not in a hurry. If the military hopes to make a breakthrough in the defense line, it must consider tanks. Now Charles is the only one left with tanks, and the military has no choice but to buy them.
Therefore, Charles did not need to make any promises to the military. He acted as if “it’s up to you if you want it or not, if you don’t want it, forget it”, and looked indifferent!
Gallieni seemed to see through Charles's thoughts. He smiled slightly, tapped his fingers on the table, and said sternly, "Lieutenant, I need you to give me a detailed evaluation report on the tanks produced by the Charles Tractor Factory within half an hour. Can you do it?"
Charles was stunned. Another trick?
Then Gallieni added: "You're not trying to tell me you don't know about this tank?"
"No, General, I know this tank!" was all Charles could say.
"Very good!" Gallieni nodded with satisfaction. "So, are you going to tell me in the evaluation report, or give me the answer directly now?"
Charles stepped forward and said, "General, Charles' tanks can break through the enemy's defenses, but there are conditions!"
"What conditions?" Gallieni asked with interest.
Charles replied: "I need Colonel Browne and his troops from the Fifth Army!"
Gallieni nodded in agreement.
Colonel Browne was one of the first commanders to cooperate with Charles, which was already known to the world after the Battle of the Marne. They called Charles the "inventor" and Browne the "commander".
It was reasonable for Charles to ask Colonel Browne's troops to cooperate with him.
"And what else?" asked Gallieni.
"Maybe we need the First Flying Squadron!" Charles said again.
Gallieni nodded and agreed without thinking too much. This was originally a troop commanded by Charles, so it was not a big request.
Then Charles lowered his voice, with a slightly hesitant tone: "I also need an artillery colonel, his name is Estiny!"
Gallieni was stunned: "Estiny? Who is it?"
Ciel lowered his voice: "The developer of CA-1..."
"No, that's impossible!" Gallieni looked at Charles in confusion: "If he developed the CA-1, he must be a member of the Right Wing!"
The right wing had conflicts and contradictions with Charles, and Gallieni certainly knew who tricked Charles into Antwerp.
And now Charles is joining forces with the right wing?
"No, General!" Charles explained, "It's just Colonel Estiny. I have no intention of joining forces with the right wing. Colonel Estiny designed the CA-1 for the right wing for some reason, and he came to me!"
When Charles said that, Gallieni suddenly remembered: "Is that the guy Laurent beat up a few days ago?"
Laurent reported this to Gallieni, but Gallieni did not take it seriously.
"Yes!" Charles nodded: "I need him to train the tank troops!"
Brownie is more suitable to be a front-line commander on the battlefield. He only needs to "know the facts" and then command the operations according to a set of systematic rules.
Colonel Estiny must "know why", because only by knowing and fully understanding the military theory of coordinated operations mentioned by Charles can he train troops as a qualified instructor.
Gallieni replied expressionlessly: "I reserve my opinion on this one. I will investigate it and get back to you!"
As he spoke, Gallieni shook his head slightly, as if to say, this little guy is too trusting. If this Colonel Estiny is sent by the right wing, you will lose everything!
Then Gallieni snorted again. If Estinius was really a spy, he would regret it!
(End of this chapter)
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