Chapter 620: Is it possible for the Navy to win?
Charles walked up to General Winter and said sarcastically, "Hello, General, is this how you cooperate with me?"
This is probably the eating style of the "Minister of Munitions". He never cares about the ideas of his allies and will do anything as long as there is benefit.
General Winter replied calmly, "Isn't that what I'm talking about? It's in our best interests, Lieutenant General."
Professor Versenden did not understand the pros and cons of this. He looked at Charles in confusion and said, "General, General Winter is not talking about purchasing the property rights, but authorizing production."
"It is not a question of licensing, Professor," Charles replied. "Once England has acquired the rights to produce the Echo Sounder, the Royal Navy will abandon the French Navy as it has done before."
Professor Versenden was stunned for a moment, then suddenly woke up.
The British Royal Navy has the largest fleet in the world, and the UK has strong industrial production capabilities. If they are willing, they can mass-produce "echo sounders" in a short period of time and equip the Royal Navy.
At that time, the Royal Navy will no longer need to cooperate with the French Navy, and the French Navy will be left alone with nothing to do as before, even with the "echo sounder".
Another meaning of having nothing to do is losing the opportunity to control the sea and engage in actual combat.
(Note: This is the same reason why the children of nobles actively participated in the war during World War I. The tradition of the European aristocracy is that the nobles monopolize the right to war and turn the war into a war between noble knights, so that the nobles can bully the common people. Because they have no training and no equipment, dozens of common people cannot beat a knight, so the nobles can hold power. It was only the emergence and development of muskets that broke this monopoly, and World War I ended this monopoly. It is not the so-called chivalry and the nobles defending the country.)
The consequence of not having control of the sea is losing control of supplies.
At that time, control of the French army will be transferred from the British Army to the British Royal Navy!
Professor Versenden was stunned. He didn't expect this to be a trap and have such serious consequences.
After a long while, Professor Versenden said to Charles with a look of horror: "I'm sorry, General, I, I didn't expect..."
"I understand, Professor." Ciel nodded: "Can you leave this to me?"
"Of course." Professor Versenden agreed readily: "You are solely responsible for the property rights and authorized production. I will not have any objections."
Everything was given by Charles, and Versenden believed that he could take it back as long as Charles was willing.
Then, Versenden glanced at General Winter with a defensive look, stood up and walked out of the meeting room.
General Winter was very relaxed. He was not embarrassed at all. He spread his hands generously and naturally: "Sorry, Lieutenant General, I have to do this in my position."
There is nothing wrong with this. As he said before, each of them has their own national stance.
Therefore, there is a saying in Chinese: "Those who are not of our race must have different hearts."
Ciel nodded in understanding: "So, I have to refuse as well."
"Of course," General Winter replied, and then he said with a look of regret: "We should have acted sooner."
"So, what's the reason why you didn't take action until now?" Charles was interested in this.
The first victory a dozen days ago had proved the value of the "echo sounder", and General Winter should have appeared in front of Professor Versenden at that time.
"It's because of the war," General Winter replied.
Charles was puzzled: "Hasselt's interlude?"
This is one of the reasons why Charles cannot come back in his own body, but it seems to have nothing to do with the British Royal Navy.
"No." General Winter shook his head. "The German warships have made new moves, which makes us nervous, so we put the submarine's victory aside for the time being."
Charles suddenly realized that after the German submarines were defeated, they would definitely turn to a breakthrough with the surface fleet.
…
In Berlin, Germany, the originally picturesque Palace of Forget-Souls Palace has been covered in white by heavy snow. Even the fountains on the statues have been frozen into icicles, like lines of teardrops hanging on them, highlighting the fear and sadness on the faces.
Inside the bedroom, William II, dressed in military uniform, sat on the sofa in front of the fireplace with two generals. Although there was red wine and cakes on the coffee table in front of them, they were left untouched. The atmosphere was particularly depressing in the firelight and silence.
After a long while, William II asked in a muffled voice: "More than 200,000 troops were captured, and you still believe in Nicholas and Erwin?"
"Yes, Your Majesty." One of the two generals was Falkenhayn. His face was stern and sad, but his tone was firm.
"Why?" asked William II.
"Because," Falkenhayn answered, "his opponent is Charles."
William II was speechless.
Charles was the guy who led the French army to advance 5 kilometers easily on the Somme River, the guy who successfully penetrated Antwerp, and the guy who created miracles again and again using the German army as a negative example.
It is no shame to be defeated by him.
Then Falkenhayn added: "At least in Erwin's plan, there was hope of defeating the Charles."
William II nodded in agreement.
The others were frightened just by hearing that their opponent was Charles. They didn't even dare to face Charles face to face.
But Erwin and Nicolas dared to challenge the Charr and even learned Charr tactics and used them boldly on the battlefield.
This alone is worthy of praise and trust.
However……
William II sighed lightly: "The battlefield is very realistic, General, it doesn't make sense. There is no room for failure in the Belgian direction."
Belgium only had one last stronghold left: the fortress of Liege.
The Fortress of Liege was the gateway to Belgium. Once Charles took the Fortress of Liege, all the Belgian troops could be gathered here to defend it.
Charles and his troops could move south and surround the German troops stationed on the Western Front from the flank and rear, and the entire Western Front would collapse completely.
"That will not happen, sire," Falkenhayn replied. "We have a strong garrison at Liège and have repaired the fort."
But he thought to himself that Charles could always find loopholes in the defense and break through, and the Liege Fortress might be no exception.
"That would be better." William II replied indifferently. He had no confidence in this.
After a moment of silence, William II asked again in a low voice: "From the current situation, it is basically impossible for us to win on land, right?"
Falkenhayn hesitated for a moment, then nodded with difficulty: "As long as Charles and his troops are here, we can only remain on the defensive."
He didn't want to admit it, but he had to admit it.
The German troops were retreating in Verdun, Belgium, and even the Somme River.
The only difference was that the German army used defense as offense and killed a large number of enemies in the direction of the Somme River, which could barely be considered a victory.
Therefore, there is basically no hope of winning from land.
"Then," William II turned his gaze to another general, "we should consider whether the navy has a chance of winning."
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
