Chapter 147 Basic Functions of a Tank
Colonel Brownie was a daredevil. He and his Third Infantry Regiment arrived at the small town of Davoise at one o'clock in the morning. There were nearly two thousand people and more than five hundred sidecars, with rumbling motors and headlights on, and they were armed with live ammunition.
They were stopped by guards when they reached the entrance to the town.
Normally, the guards would not dare to stop these soldiers coming back from the battlefield, but because of the experience of the "artillery colonel" last time, they could only bite the bullet and step forward to ask this troop that did not look "very friendly".
As expected, an argument broke out between the two sides, and the noise alarmed the residents of the town. They thought that the capitalists had sent troops to harm Charles in the middle of the night, and they actually organized a militia in a short period of time.
Charles was sleeping soundly at home when he was suddenly awakened. When he opened his eyes, he saw Camille, who was pale with fear. Before he could figure out the situation, he was taken away by the nervous Deyoka. They tried to evacuate from another intersection under the cover of the militia.
Finally, Major Laurent arrived. He called the headquarters to inquire and found that there was indeed a transfer order for Colonel Brownie, which cleared up the misunderstanding.
Colonel Brownie was totally unaware of the trouble he had caused. When he saw Charles, who was disheveled and in a state of disarray, he excitedly greeted him:
"Hey, Lieutenant, long time no see! Where are you going so late?"
"How about we send you there? The sidecar you invented is very useful, and your tactics have helped us defeat many enemies!"
“Hehehe…”
Seeing murderous looks everywhere around him, Colonel Brownie's laughter finally turned into an awkward laugh like a dead tree cracking.
Charles looked helpless, he originally wanted to keep a low profile, he didn't want the media to know too early about his transfer to the army for special training, but Brownie ended up making the whole town in chaos and everyone knew about it.
Sure enough, the next day the newspapers launched a series of associations and speculations:
"The 'commander' of the Battle of the Marne has been transferred back to the small town of Darvoise along with his troops, and is currently stationed in the factory in the Shire!"
"Is Gallieni trying to recreate the victory of the Battle of the Marne? With a sidecar?"
"The sidecar has no protection. Can Charles defeat Schneider and create another miracle with it?"
…
Now there are no secrets at all. The Germans only need to buy a newspaper to know Charles' preparation schedule, and even the unit number and where it is trained. Charles' tanks will be exposed sooner or later.
As soon as the thought came to my mind, I found that the photo of "Mark I" had been published in the newspaper.
The media started mocking:
"My God, this is the new tank that Ciel developed? It looks weird!"
"It is said that it has only three machine guns, two of which are Hotchkiss!"
"He hoped to defeat the Germans with such a tank? And the military actually bought a hundred of them!"
…
Gallieni was very annoyed by this. The enemy had already figured out all the details before the war even started. Should he tell the enemy the battle plan next?
"You should consider the confidentiality of the factory!" Gallieni never lost his temper with Charles, even if he did it was half-joking, but this time he kept a sullen face: "If you can't do it, I will help you solve it!"
"No, General!" Charles answered. "I can do it, but..."
"Just what?"
"One day my tank must be driven from Darvoise to the Paris train station!" Charles's expression was helpless: "This is the only way to send the tank to the battlefield. How can we hide the whereabouts of the tank on the road?"
Gallieni thought about it and felt that this made sense. As long as the reporters stayed near the factory, they would be able to accurately know the departure time of the tanks, and then the Germans would know the time of Charles' attack.
He thought for a while and ordered: "It's not difficult. Build the railway to Davoise!"
As a result, five construction teams were working on a railway at the same time. Gallieni planned to open it to traffic two weeks ago. There would be no stops along the way, and it would go directly to the Charles Tractor Factory. A dedicated train station would be set up inside the factory.
As for the confidentiality work in the factory, Charles just told Djoka casually and told him not to take it to heart. Anyway, what should be revealed had been revealed.
…
Colonel Estiny arrived in Paris the next evening, and was immediately captured by Gallieni's men as soon as he got off the train.
What followed was a whole night of interrogation, and they released Estiny only after confirming that he was not in trouble.
When Estiny arrived at the Shire Tractor Factory, his eyes were bloodshot and his face was deformed from sleepiness.
This is a common method used by Gallieni to interrogate suspects. He believes that when people are extremely tired, they often speak without thinking, and are more likely to tell the truth at that time. This cannot even be called "corporal punishment", it is just a simple questioning.
Apparently, Astinhos got through this.
Charles brought Brownie and Estiny to the "Mark I" and nodded at the tank: "You have two weeks to learn to cooperate with it and defeat the Germans!"
Brownie was calm. He was neither excited by the huge body of the tank nor disappointed that it had no artillery.
This is what Charles hopes to see. A professional soldier should pay more attention to whether the tank is suitable for the battlefield and whether it is helpful for the mission, rather than whether it has powerful weapons.
Estinni walked around the tank half a circle. The more he looked at it, the more excited he became. The fatigue on his face gradually disappeared, and he seemed to have become several years younger.
"Lieutenant!" Estiny returned to Charles, with some uncertainty in his eyes, and said hesitantly: "I guess it is... used to cross the trench?"
Charles nodded. As an expert in tank design, he could tell the main purpose of "Mark I" at a glance.
Charles walked forward and walked around the tank for a while. Estiny followed Charles with his head down and his hands hanging like a student. Colonel Brownie was carefree, holding the sword at his waist in his left hand and touching and looking at this and that with his right hand, as if he was shopping in a supermarket.
Charles ignored Brownie and asked Estiny, "Colonel, what do you think is the most basic function of a tank?"
Astinni thought for a while and answered cautiously as if answering a teacher's question: "Cover the infantry's advance and break through the enemy's defense line!"
He thought of the Battle of the Marne, where Charles's original tanks had served in exactly that role.
Charles nodded: "If we can't even achieve this goal..."
Estiny suddenly realized: "Then all weapons will be meaningless. God, we all overlooked this point, and that's why CA-1 and 'Saint Shamon' suffered such a disastrous defeat!"
This is the key point. During World War I, the biggest function of tanks should be shields, providing cover for infantry and preventing them from being killed on a large scale by enemy machine guns.
In order to achieve this goal, the tank must have a certain speed so that it will not be easily blown up by enemy artillery fire.
In addition, the tank must have a certain degree of protection and trench-crossing capabilities.
Otherwise, on the battlefield, you will either be stuck in a shell hole or penetrated by the enemy's rifle, and you won't even be able to get in front of the enemy. What's the point of piling weapons on top?
Hello everyone, happy Dragon Boat Festival!
I was too late to finish today because I was spending the holidays with my family, so there are only four chapters.
Allow me to rest for a few days. Normally I will update three times a day. Please forgive me if I fail to update three times a day occasionally!
It will be fully revived in a few days, and there will be more updates!
(＾v＾)
(End of this chapter)
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