I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France

Shire was commanding battles at the police training base, but there wasn't much intelligence to handle, leaving staff like aides, signalmen, and typists a bit idle.

This was because the aerial combat was still in the probing stage, and the Germans were preserving their strength without using new aircraft, which Shire was happy to continue negotiating.

Moreover, Xia Fei had forcibly separated air and ground operations, so Shire only had a general understanding of the intelligence on the Combray battlefield.

Shire knew Combray well, as there had been a historical battle there where the British Army concentrated over two hundred tanks to launch humanity's first tank mass attack against the German Army and achieved victory.

(Note: After the British Army's victory, due to logistical issues and severe communication problems, the troops urgently needed rescue, but the nearby allies were unaware, resulting in the German Army pushing them back to their original position, with each side losing over forty thousand men. Life during this period seemed worthless, as an experimental offensive could consume over eighty thousand lives.)

(The image above is of Buerlong Forest, one of the main battlegrounds of the British Army's attack.)

The only thing Shire knew was the intelligence returned by the pilots:

"The German Army has reached Combray Town, and they seem to be ready to launch an attack."

"Our troops exited the town to engage, and the enemy deployed their forces outside the town."

"Our troops blocked the enemy's attack, but suffered heavy losses; the heavy 'Saint Chamond' tanks were almost completely wiped out!"

…

Tijani listened to the outcome, somewhat surprised, he made an "hmm" sound and turned to pick up the photo labeled "Saint Chamond M21" on the desk, taken by a pilot.

"It surprised me," Tijani said, "that this thing could actually block the German's attack?"

"This was not due to its capabilities," Shire replied, "It was thanks to the commander, Kristen, who timely switched the offensive posture to defensive."

Tijani thought for a while and slightly nodded, "Under defensive circumstances, the lack of a turret on the 'Saint Chamond M21' is less obvious."

Shire acknowledged with an "mm," realizing they managed to save themselves a nightmare, otherwise, the battle would have been extremely brutal, with at least half of the French Army's First Specialized Artillery Division left on the battlefield.

Now, Shire obtained the information he wanted:

The 37mm gun can penetrate the German Army's new tanks from the front at a known distance of 150 meters.

The German Army's new tanks have a speed of around 10 kilometers per hour, possibly faster.

The tactical approach of the German tanks is to use machine guns to target the side-rear armor of the enemy.

…

At that moment, Shire's phone rang; it was General Winter calling. He had been monitoring this "noteworthy" victory from Paris, as nothing else seemed more important at the time.

"How's it going?" General Winter asked, "Are we confident?"

"Almost there," Shire replied.

Beside him, Tijani listened in confusion—what did "almost there" mean?

General Winter asked again, "How much preparation time do you need? One day? Two days?"

"Two days," Shire answered, but then questioned, "Can you manage to transfer command authority to me?"

Shire wasn't doubting General Winter's "capabilities," as Britain's influence over France was still strong at this point, and transferring command to Shire by leveraging national strength wouldn't be difficult.

The challenge was to transfer it seamlessly without arousing suspicion.

General Winter chuckled, "Next comes the British Army's reinforcement, Brigadier General, we have the right to choose our allies."

Shire instantly understood and agreed to the plan immediately.

Hanging up the phone, he looked up to see Tijani's inquisitive gaze.

"What's going on?" Tijani asked, "Shouldn't I be asking?"

"Nothing," Shire replied calmly, "It's time for the First Tank Brigade."

This seemed fine on the surface, but what did "it's time for the First Tank Brigade" mean?

Could it be that all of this had been part of Shire's plan from the beginning?

Tijani thought deeper and pieced together prior events, suddenly staring blankly at Shire. After a while, he smiled and shook his head, "Goodness, they've all fallen into your trap, haven't they? The Germans and Xia Fei..."

Shire turned to glare at Tijani, who immediately closed his mouth and raised his hand in surrender, "No, that's not it, I don't know anything."

He chuckled meaningfully, leaned closer to Shire, and lowered his voice, "I'm glad I'm not your enemy, Brigadier General."

…

In Combray Town, Kristen had already led the troops back into the town.

It was a desperate measure; only by doing this could he preserve the First Specialized Artillery Division.

However, just as he returned to his command post in the town and hadn't settled in, Xia Fei's call came through, "What's going on? Why did you retreat?"

"General!" Kristen explained, "We suffered heavy casualties; the heavy 'Saint Chamonds' were almost wiped out..."

"I know that," Xia Fei impatiently interrupted Kristen, "But didn't they successfully stall the enemy? Don't we still have 'M21's'?"

Then Xia Fei angrily scolded Kristen, filled with rage and without holding back:

"You missed an opportunity for victory, Kristen!"

"As long as you aggressively attack, you can win! The fact that your defense blocked the German's assault proves this."

"All you need to do is boldly advance, advance, ADVANCE!"

"Weren't my orders clear?"

…

Kristen was speechless. Did they really not know what the 'M21' was? Or did they emphasize advancing and attacking even if they knew?

Kristen believed it was the former, as this could only indicate poor communication or lack of understanding of warfare.

If it was the latter, it meant sacrificing soldiers pointlessly into the fire!

At that moment, Xia Fei roared through the receiver, issuing orders:

"Now, while the Germans haven't stabilized their position, attack immediately!"

"Don't hesitate, the victory is within reach, Kristen, just grab it!"

"It's that simple!"

…

Kristen didn't respond, thinking, the ones who haven't stabilized are us, you fool, and that victory fruit could be a bomb!

He didn't say it, knowing it wouldn't change anything, it would only invite another round of scolding.

However.

Refusing to obey orders? He would be executed.

Following orders? He and the First Specialized Artillery Division would be doomed!

Kristen was in a dilemma, and in urgency, he furrowed his brow and said, "General, I will attack, but this time I hope to get aerial support. So, I need to discuss with Shire."

Xia Fei was eager for victory, a high-profile victory, by any means necessary, including Shire's air forces.

Thus, he quickly agreed, "Get it done soon, the Germans won't give you much time!"

Kristen sighed in relief and ordered the signalman to send a telegram to Shire.

The content of the telegram was simple, "Do we have a chance to survive?"