Chapter 146 Special Training
Charles also considered this possibility: Could Colonel Estini be a spy sent by Grevi?
If so, it is undoubtedly a good move by Grevi. Astinni will learn the design direction of tanks and even advanced combat theories from Charles.
But Charles believed that Colonel Estini was not a spy.
If he were, Grevi should have learned from Estini about the CA-1's shortcomings and prevented it from entering the battlefield.
Grevi is not short of money. All he does is to increase the influence of the right wing on the military. Losing the war and making a fool of himself is obviously contrary to this goal.
More importantly, Colonel Estigny is a celebrity in history. He is known as the "Father of French Armor". Not only did he develop the CA-1 tank, he also developed a heavy tank "Char B1".
When the latter invaded France in World War II, a "Char B1" encountered 13 German tanks. As a result, all 13 German tanks were blown up but the "Char B1" remained intact. This tank was also called France. Become a "Battlefield Giant".
People like Colonel Estini, a tank designer and developer who was obsessed with tank combat theory, were incompatible or even opposite to those on the right who opposed industrialization.
If Grevy really puts Estine next to Charles as a spy, the most likely possibility is that he will not be able to take it back after he releases it. Grevy is too smart to do this.
"Are there no other conditions?" Gallieni asked.
"No!" Ciel replied: "But it may take two to three weeks to train!"
"Two weeks!" Gallieni's tone left no room for doubt.
"General..."
Gallieni interrupted Charles: "Colonel Browne and his troops have training and actual combat experience, two weeks should be enough!"
Charles knew why Gallieni was so anxious. Xiafei would still use the two failed tanks to continue attacking on the front line. If this tactic didn't work, he would change to another tactic until it succeeded, and then he could use the media to publicize it.
Therefore, if Charles's tanks entered the battlefield a day later and won, the troops on the front line would have to pay more casualties.
Gallieni did not want to see this scene unfold, so he could only ask Charles to speed up the process.
Charles didn't answer, which was considered acknowledgment. He said: "Maybe you should be more concerned about how much my tank sells for, General!"
These words hit Gallieni's heart as soon as he came out. At this time, the military not only had no money but also suffered a serious deficit.
But Gallieni just hesitated for a moment and then said: "They can spend more than 13 million francs on a bunch of useless garbage, so they should also have money to buy your tank!"
"No loan?" Charles was a little surprised.
"No loan!" Gallieni replied firmly: "But your price must be within a reasonable range!"
Charles hesitated for a while and then gave a price: "Ten thousand francs..."
"It's a deal!" Gallieni agreed before Charles finished speaking.
Charles was shocked. The "Mark I" he produced directly used ready-made drawings and engines, and was modified and pieced together with tractor tracks, so the research and development costs were very low and the cost was not high. Each tank only required less than 3,000 yuan. franc.
According to the previous transaction with the military, doubling the price by five to six thousand francs would be enough. This is already a 100% profit.
But considering Gallieni's iron-rooster character, Charles deliberately raised the price to let him chop it off, but he didn't expect him to agree with such a hearty bite.
What Charles didn't know was that Gallieni had another set of thoughts in his mind:
The CA-1 tank costs 12,000 francs and the "Saint-Chamont" tank costs 21,000 francs, but they are both vulnerable on the battlefield.
Calculated this way, the tank that Charles has that can win the war costs 20,000 francs anyway!
Who would have thought that Charles's asking price would be 10,000... Charles is indeed a conscientious capitalist, so hurry up and seal the deal!
So I agreed on the spot without much thought!
Gallieni added: "Is it okay to order 100 vehicles in the first batch?"
He was a little worried that the order quantity was too small. After all, 400 units of each of the two tanks that had lost the battle were ordered at one go!
"No problem!" Charles swallowed, another deal worth 1 million francs.
The point is that his "Mark I" was originally a transitional product, and the production plan was only about 100 units. It would be useless if there were more, and it would be eliminated soon.
Charles felt a little regretful. He should have raised the price a little higher if he had known earlier!
…
Estini was taking his family on vacation in Provence, more than 700 kilometers away. It took them a full day and a half by train and car to get to their destination.
I originally thought I could relax for a few days in this place far away from the battlefield and the smoke of gunfire. Unexpectedly, I woke up this morning and bought a newspaper. I saw the headline on the front page that read "CA-1 tank and 'Saint Chamoun' had a bad start, suspected Design Issues".
Instead of being angry, Estini was happy. He threw away the newspaper, and while changing his clothes, he said to his wife who was still in bed: "You and the child continue to stay here, my dear! I left the money to you, I have to hurry up." Go back!"
The wife hadn't woken up yet. She said "hmm" in a daze and fell asleep again. Suddenly she realized that she opened her eyes and found that Estini had left.
…
The 5th Army is stationed in the Lecar area near the Somme River. As the defense line gradually stabilizes, Colonel Browne and his three-wheeled troops can no longer carry out harassment warfare and special operations as before.
General Gard decided to "utilize" this sidecar unit and let them go back and forth to transport supplies and wounded soldiers.
Colonel Brownie was resistant to this kind of task. He thought that transporting supplies did not require soldiers like them, but he was worried that if he said so, all the sidecars would be confiscated.
"You don't need them anyway! Why not assign them to the logistics troops and return to the infantry sequence!"
Therefore, Colonel Brownie could only act very actively and command the troops to run back and forth.
That night, when everyone returned to the camp to rest after a busy day, Colonel Browne received a call from General Gard: "Congratulations, Colonel, General Gallieni plans to transfer you to Paris to participate in the special training organized by Charles!"
"Really? Great!" Colonel Browne exclaimed: "Thank you, General, thank you very much!"
"But your sidecar is the material of the 5th Army, you should leave it behind..."
"What? I can't hear!"
"I said, you must leave the sidecar behind!"
"Sorry, General! The signal is too bad, I can't hear clearly..."
"Leave the sidecar behind!"
"Okay, General! I'll report right away, I'll go now, I won't be late!"
After that, Browne hung up the phone with a "bang", waved to his subordinates and shouted: "Did you hear it, special training organized by Charles! Get ready to go!"
The soldiers cheered!
(The above picture shows the Charles B1 heavy tank, with two upper and lower guns)