Chapter 857: Cooking without Rice
As soon as the colonial army representatives arrived, the huge conference room was filled with people, both black and white, and it looked a bit messy.
The representatives came forward enthusiastically to shake hands with Charles and introduce themselves. They were from Kenya, Uganda, Gold Coast (now Ghana), etc.
Haig sat in the main seat with confidence on his face. He was sure that Charles would be in a dilemma this time.
What equipment and qualities does the French Armored Corps have?
Suddenly, they are replaced by a low-equipped army like the colonial army, which has problems even communicating and can do little more than load bullets and pull the trigger. How can they lead them to victory?
Easier said than done!
Moreover, as long as Haig secretly made some moves to make the officers "neglect their duties", problems would immediately arise in the battle commanded by Charles.
Let me give you a taste of the pain of being a British commander. The colonial army is not as easy to command as you think.
"Gentlemen!" Haig stood up and waved his hand towards Charles who was sitting next to him: "Allow me to introduce you. This is Lieutenant General Charles, the commander of the French Heavy Armored Army Group you have heard of."
Charles stood up and saluted, and warm applause broke out in the conference room.
However, the British officers were somewhat absent-minded, especially Lieutenant General Ives, who had suffered several losses at the hands of Charles.
Haig swept his eyes across the room and said, "This can be considered a coincidence. The French Army Department temporarily appointed Charles as the deputy commander of the expeditionary force due to the needs of the campaign."
Although these words may seem meaningless, Haig was actually warning the colonial army representatives: Don't think that letting Charles participate in the command means I'm compromising with you. This is just a coincidence, a coincidence!
After a pause, Haig started to build momentum for Charles, contrary to his usual behavior:
"As we all know, Charles is a general who has never been defeated so far. He is a miracle on the battlefield."
"He captured or annihilated hundreds of thousands of Germans at a minimal cost."
"That's why people called him 'Mars of France'."
"I firmly believe that under his command, we will also be able to achieve a remarkable victory. And I am also looking forward to this moment!"
As he spoke, Heiger nodded at Charles with a smile, and handed the right to speak to Charles amid applause.
Charles understood Haig's intention.
What he said seemed to be praising Charles, but in fact he was roasting him on the fire.
If Charles fails to achieve what he said, "small price for big gain" and "victory", it will be Charles' failure.
But Charles didn't care. He stood up slowly and distributed the prepared combat deployment map to the representatives.
"Gentlemen," Charles said as he spoke, "The battle is simple. All we have to do is hold our line and pull the trigger at the Germans!"
The representatives laughed. They thought Charles was joking, but after getting the deployment map, they found that what Charles said seemed to be true.
Haig also got a copy. He took a look and his face was instantly filled with surprise.
This was not what he thought.
He thought that the British army was going to block the German army's retreat route at every level, but he didn't expect that Charles would deploy his troops on the flank of the German army's retreat route.
If it is on the flank, there is indeed no need to attack and there will not be too intense a battle.
Because this was to clear the way for the Germans to pass.
Just like Charles said, all you have to do is pull the trigger at the German troops that might appear in front of you.
"But." Haig raised the deployment map in his hand: "If this is the case, how can we stop the retreating German army?"
Charles replied: "We don't need to stop the Germans, we just need to tire them out, inflict casualties on them, and prevent them from taking away their equipment and supplies."
Ciel pointed at the deployment diagram and analyzed:
"We all know that it is the rainy season and it will rain again soon."
"We will deploy artillery on the second line and block the road with artillery fire."
"There will also be aircraft to scout the Germans' passage and coordinate with the artillery fire, which will basically ensure that the Germans cannot take back vehicles, tanks, artillery and other equipment."
Only humans can go back, those who carry rifles and dry food. Everything else that depends on the road must be abandoned, otherwise it will be difficult to move forward.
Charles did not wait for Haig to retort and continued:
"These German troops lost their heavy equipment, ammunition and supplies, and they would inevitably be seriously short of ammunition and supplies after they fled back to the defense line."
“So even if we add more people, it won’t be of much use.”
"Leave the rest to the French Eastern Army Group. They will be responsible for the main attack!"
This was the countermeasure that Charles had thought of early on, and in general it was "collect in the west and release in the east."
The composition of the British Expeditionary Force in the west was complex. In addition, Haig wanted to embarrass Charles, so it was basically impossible to lead the British Expeditionary Force to attack and win.
Therefore, their only task was to build a line of defense and block the road with artillery fire.
In the east, Charles needs the Eastern Army Group commanded by Gamelin to fight a tough battle.
Only by fighting tough battles can soldiers and junior officers have a chance to make meritorious contributions, and only then will those incompetent senior officers expose their stupidity.
Tasini will record these one by one.
It is very likely that Gamelin would not give Tassini real power to promote soldiers.
But it didn’t matter. With the Minister of the Army Gallieni backing him up and a real record of military achievements, Gamelin had no way to resist.
(Note: One of the duties of the Minister of War is to manage the promotion of mid- and senior-level officials. In principle, commanders such as Gamelin have no right to interfere with promotions because they are worried that commanders will use nepotism to gain control of their troops. But if they have the support of the Minister of War like Charles, that is another matter.)
Therefore, the Eastern Army Group, especially the 2nd Special Artillery Division and the Mechanized Division, will launch a fierce attack on the German Nancy Defense Line under the command of Tasigny.
Charles' aviation group will also actively cooperate with it.
At the same time, Charles's 1st Panzer Corps would once again force a crossing of the Meuse River to attack the German flank.
Charles would not let this battle end too quickly, or even too smoothly.
But by the time the battle ended and Lorraine and Alsace were recovered, the grassroots and even middle-level officers of the Eastern Army Group had been "cleansed".
Gan Molin and his command system can only wait for the end of the world!
It is impossible to restore the original state. Even if Tassigny and his staff team are withdrawn, the Eastern Army Group will only recognize Charles' command.
Haig looked at the deployment map and thought for a while, then raised his eyebrows and said with a hint of sarcasm: "Very good, this seems to be a simple task. It seems that we can easily win a victory. The lieutenant general has put a lot of thought into this, right?"
Charles asked in return: "If the general is not satisfied, can I consider another plan? For example, let the troops attack and cut off the Germans' retreat..."
Haig's face changed.
This bastard, the colonial army definitely doesn't want to do this, Charles is bringing trouble upon himself.
"No, Lieutenant General." Haig immediately changed his tone: "I am very satisfied with this plan. I will do as you say!"
(End of this chapter)
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