Chapter 203: Charles A1
Gallieni put down the phone, clearly satisfied, and turned to Charles. "They're convening Parliament immediately."
Charles gave Gallieni a look of exasperation. "Minor? 'Acting like a child'?"
"It's a great excuse," Gallieni replied, glancing at the map. "Besides, maybe you should focus on figuring out how to rescue them instead of sulking over me reading you so well!"
Charles was speechless. No matter what, being "underage" was always used against him—as if any dissatisfaction he voiced was just "childish tantrums."
"Joffre's approach was clearly flawed!" Charles said, pointing to the map. "If the Germans already anticipated Joffre's plan to flank, then they'd certainly prepare for him trying to break through the middle."
Gallieni nodded but remained skeptical. "And yet, what could they do? This salient can't take much more. The Germans only have five divisions here, while we have five divisions positioned right in front of Cape Town, and that number's growing. If even a single army presses them from behind, we could break out."
Charles countered calmly, "What if the Germans built a reverse trench line around Cape Town?"
Gallieni's face changed. "A reverse trench line? As in encircling themselves for protection?"
"That's my suspicion," Charles replied. "If it were me, I'd do it that way. A trench can hold with a minimal force, provided they have enough machine guns, artillery, and ammunition. Even if we attack from both sides, we'd be caught in a deadly choke."
Gallieni studied the map, nodding slowly. "Before the flanking move, Joffre spent five days staging a diversion. He thought he could fool the Germans, but they must have already guessed his strategy."
"So, while he was busy with the diversion, the Germans set up their reverse trench around Cape Town," Charles said. "The line could be just past Lorca, right around the two positions where Joffre's artillery divisions are trapped."
Charles saw Gallieni nod in agreement. "Because that would make the line as short as possible. A straight defense line past Lorca would only need to cover twenty kilometers."
"Yes," Gallieni said, his face darkening. "And with even a division or two reinforcing them, they'll turn this whole salient into a trap. Joffre's so-called 'pincer move' is actually marching right into it."
Gallieni turned to Charles. "So, from which direction are you planning to break out?"
The phone rang before Charles could answer. It was Wells. "Gallieni, Parliament is meeting in half an hour, but I believe you should attend in person to defend the motion. Otherwise, our agenda might be rejected."
"Understood, sir. I'll be there right away."
Gallieni hung up and looked back at Charles with a sigh. "They think we're slacking on the war effort, so…"
He shrugged, getting up and putting on his overcoat. "This is yours now, Major. My battlefield is the National Assembly. I think a little verbal sparring with those old codgers will be refreshing."
"But, General—what about here?" Charles glanced around the room.
Gallieni was already heading to the staircase, his voice carrying back, "Call me if there's an issue. I'm sure you'll manage just fine!"
Fernand and the others looked stunned. Could the command center coordinate an operation to rescue their besieged troops without Gallieni?
Charles took only a moment to process it all. He quickly organized his thoughts and realized he didn't need many extra troops for his plan. Then, he placed a call to the tractor factory and reached Colonel Estigny.
"Prepare for combat," Charles said.
"What?" Estigny paused in surprise before replying, "Yes, sir. I'll head back to the tank base—"
"No, stay at the factory to organize transport," Charles cut him off. "I need every tank ready, along with fuel, ammunition, and mechanics."
Estigny stiffened. "Sir, I'm not sure I understand. We only have the new model tanks here, and they're not yet battle-ready…"
"Is the 37mm cannon installed?" Charles asked.
The ten prototype tanks had four machine-gun-equipped models and six with newly produced 37mm cannons.
"Yes, but we're still testing their armor-piercing ability…"
"Then battlefield testing will have to suffice," Charles replied.
There was a pause, then Estigny replied with a tone of reluctant acceptance, "Understood, sir."
The tractor factory was soon buzzing with activity. Under Estigny's orders, each tank was rolled back into the warehouse, loaded into train cars, and prepared for transport.
Mattieu, one of the engineers testing the prototypes, limped over and asked, "What's going on, Colonel? Where are you taking them?"
Estigny simply shook his head, not saying much.
Mattieu instantly caught on. "But the drivers have barely learned how to operate them!"
Estigny only nodded at the line of tanks. "We haven't even given them proper names."
For now, the new models only had their prototype designation: Type A1.
Mattieu took a step forward, leaning on his cane thoughtfully. "Then we should call them Charles A1, don't you think?"
Estigny glanced over, surprised, then nodded. "You have a knack for naming things, Mattieu."
Next, Charles called the tank base. "Assemble the unit. We have a combat mission."
"Yes, sir!" Brony seemed to have been expecting this call. "Is it Cape Town?"
It wasn't difficult to guess; only Charles had a shot at saving the trapped units.
"Yes," Charles confirmed. "Bring all tanks, and make sure we have two full loads of ammunition."
"Which unit will be backing us up?" Brony asked, somewhat puzzled.
As a dedicated tank unit, the First Tank Brigade specialized in tank-infantry coordination, but they couldn't handle the entire perimeter on their own. They needed infantry support to secure their rear.
Charles replied, "There's no other unit. It's just us."
Brony felt his heart skip a beat. Just them?
So… a full breakthrough without worrying about covering their rear?
Interesting.
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 15 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Franklin1