Chapter 129 Automotive Technical Service Department

In the drizzle, Foch, riding on a horse, controlled his horse to pace and observed the front line with a telescope. He was thinking about a question in his mind:

If reinforcements arrived and he was given command, what would he do? What would be the result?

The answer was obvious:

He would command the troops to launch a counterattack, because he believed that the best defense was offense.

The result was undoubtedly a long-term tug-of-war, with both sides constantly piling troops into the mud, and in the end there would be tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of casualties!

The difference with the battle in front of him...

Foch suddenly felt like a child who couldn't fight.

For many years, the military theory that had been as solid as a rock and unshakable in his mind was now shaky and precarious, and it would collapse with a slight push.

The Belgian officers and soldiers guarding the front line did not react until this time. They did not cheer, and everyone had a fluke of resurrection from the dead.

All of them thought that this battle was inevitable, and some were even ready to surrender or escape.

But suddenly, the Germans who wanted to capture and kill them did not come up, they were repelled, leaving a large number of corpses!

The Belgian officers and soldiers still did not dare to relax, they thought it might be a trick of the Germans, and soon the Germans would return and launch another wave of more fierce offensive.

Until the command center sent a message: the Germans were defeated, they were no longer able to attack!

Then the Belgian officers and soldiers gradually reacted.

All this was true, the victory came so suddenly that they were caught off guard and could not believe it.

Some people laughed happily, and some people sobbed softly, saying again and again: "I'm still alive, are we really still alive?"

This is a kind of desolation. "Alive" is the best wish for the soldiers, but it is just a negligible number in the war, it is even small enough to be ignored.

"Yes!" The officer responded softly: "Charles saved us again, he used artillery shells to form an indestructible shield in front of us!"

It was not until then that the soldiers really understood what happened.

...

Paris City Defense Command.

Gallieni nodded to Charles amid cheers: "So, this is 'asymmetric warfare'?"

"Yes!" Charles replied: "But it doesn't have to be this mode. It actually... is to magnify our own advantages to find a breakthrough, and then use this breakthrough to attack the enemy!"

Galieni agreed with this:

"In this battle, our advantage is to bring airplanes."

"You magnified this advantage and created an irreparable shortcoming for the enemy!"

"As a result, the enemy's infantry, which was originally in an advantageous position, could not exert its combat effectiveness and eventually lost the battle!"

Galieni's summary was very accurate, so Charles had nothing to add.

Galieni closed the combat record and quickly wrote a line on the cover: Asymmetric warfare, sent to the military academy for compilation as a textbook!

This is not the first time Gallieni has done this. Charles previously said that "harassment tactics" and "special operations" are also the same.

For Gallieni, every battle and even every idea of ​​Charles is worth serious consideration by French officers.

But Charles didn't seem to know this, he took it for granted, as if they had already happened and existed!

"I have always had a question, Lieutenant!" Gallieni handed the combat record to the staff officer and asked Charles casually: "You know that French military theory is roughly divided into two factions. The vast majority of officers support offense, and a small part supports defense. Which faction do you think is right?"

"Why choose one faction?" Charles asked back.

"You mean..." Gallieni was quite surprised. Could it be possible to choose both factions?

Unexpectedly, Charles did think so:

"It is possible that both are right, or both are wrong."

"'The situation of the army is unpredictable, and the shape of the water is unpredictable'. The battlefield is a place that changes rapidly. This determines that there is only the most suitable tactics, not the best, and there is no tactic that can win all battles!"

"I think we should adopt different tactics according to the specific conditions of the battlefield, rather than hoping to solve all problems with offense or defense alone!"

France's mistake is not actually tactical backwardness.

The backwardness of tactics is only the appearance. The fundamental reason for the backwardness of tactics is that they hope to use a single military theory to solve complex and ever-changing military problems.

That is why they emphasized offense unilaterally in World War I and defense unilaterally in World War II.

Gallieni nodded slightly. This is a very novel idea, and it seems to make sense. Some battles need to be won by attacking, while some battles need defense.

Just like the Battle of Ypres that just ended, Charles killed a large number of enemy forces in defense and finally won.

Gallieni thought for a while and wrote "adapt to local conditions and choose appropriate tactics" on the document!

Charles noticed this and felt a little funny. In fact, there is no need to remember this. Just buy a copy of "The Art of War" or "Thirty-Six Stratagems" and read it. There is everything in it.

The ancients have already made these issues clear and obvious.

At this time, although the European powers have achieved industrialization and their military equipment is very powerful, they are still younger brothers in front of China in terms of strategy and tactics.

Gallieni put down his pen and changed the subject: "I heard you are developing a new tank?"

"Yes!" Charles did not deny it. There was no need to hide this from the military, especially since this person was Gallieni, who had reached some kind of agreement with Charles.

"Then you have to be careful!" Gallieni said, "There are at least two companies competing with you!"

"Two?" Charles thought there was only Francis's family.

Then the other one is...

Gallieni seemed to see through Charles's thoughts. He said, "Have you heard of TAS?"

Charles shook his head blankly.

"A department of the government!" Gallieni explained, "The full name is 'Automotive Technical Service Department'. In principle, all vehicles entering the military are under the jurisdiction of this department. TAS found that someone bypassed them to develop a tank on their own, which was Francis' tank. So, they joined Schneider to develop a larger and stronger tank!"

Charles understood when he heard the three words "Schneider". It might be the key point!

Then Gallieni said, "This project is supported by General Joffre!"

Charles suddenly realized that he was no longer under Gallieni's control.

But Gallieni added: "I will try my best to include them all in the wartime procurement regulations. You know, just buy the best ones!"