Chapter 900: Order from Italy
There was no movement for two consecutive days. The snow that was originally falling stopped, and the outside was filled with a silent white.
Charles remained on the sidelines, waiting for the United States to put pressure on the Secretary of the Navy.
If it were in the past, the attitude of the United States would not have any impact on France. After all, it is a country on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, and its influence is far less than that of Britain, the world's number one power right in front of it.
But now.
When the United States' supplies and manpower are sufficient to influence the outcome of a war, its attitude cannot be ignored.
Charles planned to take advantage of the favorable situation and attack the Secretary of the Navy when the United States expressed dissatisfaction with him. Then the opposition lawmakers and capitalists would not dare to protect him easily.
Ciel was patient, and continued planning his "super line of defense" while he was busy.
Lately he's been working on an armored train.
Although armored trains are huge, they are much simpler than tanks. Unlike tanks, they do not require strict consideration of the balance between power, weight, fuel and firepower.
The small size of the tank means that trade-offs have to be made and calculated.
The train's ample power, much larger space, and additional supply stations along the way give it a great deal of tolerance.
The armor thickness of 13MM is enough to protect against bullets at close range.
The artillery used is 75mm gun, which is the strongest artillery at close range, no doubt about it.
Equipped with the "Saint-Etienne 2" light machine gun and the Maxim, the combination of the two is the strongest combination of this era.
In addition, there are several open carriages prepared for the infantry, who can get off the carriage and fight when necessary.
As for anti-aircraft firepower, Charles was not willing to waste any weight on them.
If a train encounters an enemy bomber, it will be doomed. Anti-aircraft machine guns and anti-aircraft cannons will be useless except wasting space and load.
After finishing the sketch, Charles looked away to admire himself.
Yes, his painting skills have improved recently, and Charles is very proud of himself.
This thing actually has the intention of diverting other countries' tactical thinking.
Time and again, Charles invented new tactics that were proven correct on the battlefield.
It can even be said that Charles shattered the old trench warfare tactics and single-handedly pushed world tactics to another level.
Therefore, military strategists and military experts around the world are very superstitious about Charles.
Whenever Charles did something, they would immediately write a theoretical analysis to prove that Charles was right.
Armored trains will be no exception. As long as Charles does it, other countries will surely follow suit.
What they didn't know was that the armored train was only useful if they had absolute air superiority, and air superiority was in Charles' hands.
So the result is: the armored trains of other countries are targets, only the armored trains of Charles are "steel monsters".
This is the real-life version of "Those who imitate me will die."
While Charles was thinking about what else to add, the staff officer came forward and reported: "General, General Cadorna wants to talk to you."
"Cadorna?" Charles looked confused. He was unfamiliar with this name.
The staff officer lowered his voice and explained: "General Cadorna is the Italian Chief of Staff. I think he came to seek help because of Italy's difficulties."
Charles said "Oh", is it the ally who had all the advantages but was always "attacking" on the Isonzo River?
"Let him in." Charles said impatiently.
Cadorna should go to Gallieni instead, as the Minister of War is in charge of diplomatic matters, and Charles has been a little annoyed with receiving people lately.
After a while, Cadorna appeared in front of Charles. He was dressed in casual clothes and a bowler hat, dressed like a businessman.
Charles guessed that he did this because he was worried about being assassinated by German spies.
Charles couldn't help but laugh. He believed that the Germans would not have the slightest interest in assassinating the Italian general. They would even try to protect his safety.
(The picture above shows Italian Chief of the General Staff and Commander-in-Chief of the Army Cadorna, who was Lieutenant General during World War I and was promoted to Marshal after the war)
"Nice to meet you, Lieutenant General Charles." Cadorna shook hands with Charles. He looked a little nervous, but his eyes showed confusion and a little disappointment.
Is this the rumored Charles?
He still looks like a child. What experience can he have at this age?
It seems like this trip is in vain!
Charles saw something, but he didn't care: "Nice to meet you, His Excellency the Chief of Staff. Are you here to buy equipment from me?"
Charles was giving Cadorna a way out. "Purchase equipment" obviously sounds better than "seek help", much better.
Cadorna was stunned: "Well, yes, you can say that."
"Welcome." Charles replied: "I will do my best to serve you. This is the purpose of the Bernard Group."
At this time, Charles has become a capitalist doing business and is entertaining customers who come to purchase.
But Charles added: "Of course, due to the parliamentary ban, I cannot sell some equipment, and I apologize for that."
"Of course, Lieutenant General, I understand." Cadorna replied, and at Charles's signal, he sat down on the chair brought by the staff officer.
"I hope to buy tanks from you." Cadorna's eyes were full of hope. "I heard that the 'Charter A1' tank is not within the scope of the ban?"
"Yes." Charles replied in the affirmative.
"That's it." Cadorna nodded. "We need 100 of them, the sooner the better."
This was something that Cadorna had discussed with the Prime Minister before he came. They believed that only a large number of "Charle A1" tanks of the Bernard Group could save Italy from danger.
Charles smiled gently, and Italy finally lowered their proud heads.
Before this, Italy always vowed to the outside world that they could defeat the enemy with their own strength, so they rejected France's new equipment.
Now, when the Germans had reached the Piave River and the entire country was facing destruction, they were forced to accept Charles' new tactics.
(In fact, it was a change in mentality, from following the tactical thinking of the world's first superpower, Britain, which had Haig, to following France's recognition of Charles' tactics)
"Of course, Your Excellency, the Chief of Staff," Charles said. "I can."
A hint of joy flashed in Cadorna's eyes: "Thank you, Lieutenant General, thank you very much. I believe that France is our most solid ally, and it will always be so!"
But Ciel changed the subject: "But I don't think you need 'Ciel A1'."
"What do you mean?" Cadorna's smile froze on his face.
Charles explained:
"Don't get me wrong, Mr. Chief of the General Staff, if you need tanks, I can certainly provide them to you."
"But I think what you need is a quick-turnaround equipment to solve the current crisis. Tanks require time to produce, training, and learning supporting tactics to form combat effectiveness."
“It takes time, and you don’t have enough time.”
Cadorna frowned. Charles was right. The crisis in Italy was imminent and there was no time to wait for the tanks to form combat effectiveness.
(End of this chapter)
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