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

Gallieni asked half-believingly, "Are you sure? A cannon that can reach Paris?"

"No, I'm not sure." Shire shook his head. "I just received the information. As for the source, I'm sorry, but I must keep it confidential."

Gallieni nodded in understanding.

Revealing the source of the information publicly would threaten the intelligence personnel, tantamount to telling the Germans who the spies are.

Major Fernan joined the discussion: "I think this is unreliable, Brigadier. Why wouldn't they use airships to bomb, like they did with London?"

After last night's incident, many suspected the Germans would bomb Paris in the same manner.

"Bombing Paris with airships is not feasible." Shire answered firmly.

"Why?" Major Fernan was puzzled.

Shire walked to the large map hanging on the wall, drawing and explaining as he went along:

"Considering both strategic and tactical directions, it's unlikely the Germans would use airships to bomb Paris."

"Strategically, the Germans bombed London to cooperate with their submarine blockade of Britain, aiming for a pincer attack to force Britain to surrender."

"Then why bomb Paris?"

Gallieni nodded lightly. Paris, being on the mainland and with developed transportation, had no practical significance for bombing.

Shire continued, "Tactically, London is not far from the coastline. The German airships crossed the English Channel, which is a vast ocean. Even with the Royal Navy there, it's hard to spot airships overhead."

Major Fernan understood immediately: "But Paris is deep inland. To bomb Paris, airships would have to traverse hundreds or even thousands of kilometers of land. They would be easily spotted and reported to us in advance!"

"Exactly." Shire continued to analyze: "And once the slow-moving airships' positions are locked on, it's almost inevitable they will be tracked and shot down, unless they can escape back to their airspace before dawn."

"Escaping back into their airspace doesn't seem useful either," Gallieni remarked.

"Indeed." Shire agreed.

The French Army was equipped with numerous "Camel" aircraft, which overwhelmingly dominated the skies. Even if airships returned to the German airspace, they would still be pursued and destroyed.

Fernan added: "Even if they land at their base, they might not be safe."

"That's right." Shire nodded.

With the "Caproni" bombers around, even the airship bases had to worry about being bombed.

"So," Gallieni concluded, "they can only develop a cannon that can reach Paris."

"Is there really such a cannon?" Fernan was still in disbelief: "From the German-controlled area to Paris, it's at least a range of over one hundred kilometers, right?"

It was hard to imagine during World War I, as the common range of artillery was about 10 kilometers.

Gallieni calmly replied: "Think of 'Big Bertha,' Major. The Germans like to do things this way!"

Major Fernan was stunned, then he nodded. This seemed to be a hallmark of the Germans.

Once confirmed, the headquarters became tense.

"A cannon that can reach Paris" was not to be compared with airships. If the Germans really succeeded in developing it, they could bomb not only Paris but also the logistical supply lines behind the Western Front.

If the roads, railways, and bridges within a hundred kilometers behind the front lines were all destroyed, the French Army wouldn't know how to hold the line.

The French Army would then be forced to retreat layer by layer until they lost all their territory!

(The picture above shows the "Paris Cannon." The barrel is 36 meters long, over ten stories high, with a maximum range of 131 kilometers. A total of nine cannons were produced; one was destroyed by French artillery, one was rendered unusable by a breechblock explosion, and eventually only seven were used to bombard Paris)

In fact, they misunderstood.

The Germans indeed developed such cannons, but there were only nine in total, with high costs, low output, and poor accuracy. They were not mass-produced equipment and were more of a psychological weapon.

Hearing "cannon," the staff officers immediately imagined scenes of concentrated artillery shelling on the battlefield.

But Shire didn't reveal the truth because this was what he wanted to see; only then could he sell anxiety.

"Perhaps," Major Fernan still held on to a glimmer of hope: "We can destroy them with bombers since we have air superiority!"

The advantage of air superiority is that bombers can strike anywhere they want.

But Shire shook his head, giving a negative answer: "If it were me, knowing I don't have air superiority, I would build sturdy concrete fortifications to protect these cannons."

Major Fernan was speechless.

Currently, the Caproni bombers carried small bombs weighing only a few dozen kilograms, which couldn't threaten sturdy concrete fortifications.

...

Things went exactly as Shire had hoped. Soon, the news of the "cannon that can reach Paris" spread from the City Defense Headquarters.

This wasn't due to loose lips at the City Defense Headquarters, but because Gallieni believed the information was crucial and countermeasures needed to be discussed as soon as possible, so it was reported to the government and military high command.

As more people knew, the news naturally spread, and people talked:

"If the Germans have such a cannon, Paris will become a wasteland!"

"Even Shire can't do anything?"

"That's a cannon that can hit targets over a hundred kilometers away, and it's said the Germans will hide it in fortifications. What could Shire do?"

"I also heard that the Germans will use both cannons and airships simultaneously!"

...

Amid the panic and doubts, the insurance companies wavered.

They might receive more policies and more money because people believed their property was in danger.

However, with the precedent of many insurance companies going bankrupt in Dunkirk, they were well aware of their situation.

If one day, the German long-range cannon fires, their companies would soon face numerous high compensation claims.

But refusing these high-risk businesses?

Then it seemed unnecessary to keep the insurance company running?

At this time, the insurance companies were desperate for someone to take over their business; the risks were too great, beyond their tolerance!

Dejoka, who was busy at the tractor factory, also heard the news. At first, he was amazed that such a cannon could exist in the world.

However, the Germans did produce many large-caliber cannons, and this was also information from the military, making it quite credible.

Wait, the military!

Dejoka suddenly realized that this was the "change" Shire had mentioned to him.

In other words, this was likely information deliberately released by Shire.

This information might be true or false, but it didn't matter. What mattered was that it could frighten the insurance companies.

So Dejoka knew it was time to buy low!