Chapter 147 Basic Functions of Tanks

Colonel Brownie was a reckless man. He led his Third Infantry Regiment to the town of Davoise at one o'clock in the morning. There were nearly two thousand people and more than five hundred sidecars. The motors were rumbling and the lights were on, and they were armed with live ammunition.

They were stopped by the guards at the intersection of the town.

Usually the guards did not dare to stop these soldiers coming down from the battlefield, but because of the experience of the "artillery colonel" last time, they could only bite the bullet and go forward to ask this army that did not look "very friendly".

As expected, there was a quarrel between the two sides, and the noise alarmed the residents of the town. They thought that the capitalists had sent troops to harm Charles in the middle of the night, and they actually organized a militia in a short time.

Charles was sleeping soundly at home at the time. He was suddenly awakened. He opened his eyes and saw Camille, who was pale with fear. He was confused and had not figured out the situation, and was led by the nervous Deyoka. They tried to withdraw from another intersection under the cover of the militia.

Finally, Major Laurent arrived. He called the headquarters to check and found that there was indeed a transfer order from Colonel Brownie, which cleared up the misunderstanding.

Colonel Brownie was completely unaware of the trouble he had caused. When he saw Charles, who was disheveled and embarrassed, he greeted him excitedly:

"Hey, Lieutenant, long time no see! Where are you going so late?"

"How about we take you there? The sidecar you invented is very useful, and your tactics helped us defeat many enemies!"

"Hehehehe..."

Looking at the murderous eyes everywhere around him, Colonel Brownie's laughter eventually turned into an awkward laugh like a dead tree cracking.

Charles looked helpless. He originally wanted to keep a low profile. He didn't want the media to know too early that he was transferred to the special training of the troops. As a result, Brownie made the whole town a mess and everyone knew about it.

Sure enough, the next day, the newspaper launched a series of associations and speculations:

"The 'commander' of the Battle of the Marne and his troops were transferred back to the town of Darvaz and are currently stationed in Charles' factory!"

"Is Gallieni doing this to recreate the victory of the Battle of the Marne? Using a sidecar?"

"Sidecars have no protection. Can Charles defeat Schneider and create another miracle with it?"

...

Now there are no secrets at all. The Germans only need to buy a newspaper to know Charles' preparation schedule, and even the unit number, where they are training, and Charles' tanks will be exposed sooner or later.

As soon as the idea came up, I found that the photo of the "Mark I" had been published in the newspaper.

The media started to mock:

"My God, this is the new tank developed by Charles? It looks weird!"

"It is said that it only has three machine guns, two of which are Hotchkiss!"

"He hopes to defeat the Germans with such a tank? And the military actually bought 100 of them!"

...

Galieni was very annoyed by this. The enemy had already figured out the details before the war even started. Should he tell the enemy the battle plan next?

"You should consider the confidentiality of the factory!" Gallieni never lost his temper with Charles, even if he did, it was half-joking, but this time he kept a sullen face: "If you can't do it, I will help you solve it!"

"No, General!" Charles replied: "I can do it, but..."

"But what?"

"One day my tank must drive from Darvoise to the Paris train station!" Charles's expression was helpless: "Only in this way can the tank be sent to the battlefield. How can we hide the whereabouts of the tank on the road?"

Galieni thought it was right. As long as the reporter stayed near the factory, he could know the exact departure time of the tank, so the Germans would know the time of Charles' attack.

He thought for a while and ordered: "This is not difficult. Build the railway to the town of Darvoise!"

So, there was a railway that was rushed to work by five construction teams at the same time. Gallieni planned to open it two weeks ago. There was no station along the way to the Charles Tractor Factory, and a dedicated railway station was set up in the factory.

As for the confidentiality of the factory, Charles just casually told Deyoka and didn't take it seriously. Anyway, what should be revealed had been revealed.

...

Colonel Estiny arrived in Paris the next night. He was immediately controlled by Gallieni's men as soon as he got off the train.

Then there was a whole night of interrogation, and Estiny was released only after it was confirmed that there was no problem.

When Estiny arrived at the Charles Tractor Factory, his eyes were full of bloodshot and his whole face was deformed.

This was a common method used by Gallieni to interrogate suspects. He believed that when people were extremely tired, they often spoke without thinking, and it was more likely to be true at that time, and this could not even be called "corporal punishment", but just a simple question.

Obviously, Estiny passed this level.

Charles brought Brownie and Estiny to the "Mark I" and raised his head to the tank: "You have two weeks to learn to cooperate with it and then defeat the Germans!"

Brownie was very calm. He was neither excited by the huge body of the tank nor disappointed that it had no artillery.

This is what Charles wants to see. A professional soldier should pay more attention to whether the tank is suitable for the battlefield and whether it is helpful for the mission, rather than whether it has powerful weapons.

Estiny walked around the tank for half a circle, and the more he looked at it, the more excited he became. The fatigue on his face gradually disappeared, and he seemed to be several years younger.

"Lieutenant!" Estiny returned to Charles, with some uncertainty in his eyes, and said hesitantly: "I guess, it is... used to cross the trench?"

Charles nodded. He was indeed an expert in tank design. He could see the main purpose of the "Mark I" at a glance.

Charles stepped forward and walked around the tank for a while. Estini lowered his head and lowered his hands like a student and followed behind Charles. Colonel Browne was carefree, holding the sword on his waist with his left hand and touching this and that with his right. Like going to the supermarket.

Charles ignored Brownie and asked Estiny: "Colonel, what do you think is the most basic function of a tank?"

Estini thought for a while and answered cautiously as if answering a teacher's question: "Cover the infantry forward and break through the enemy's defense line!"

He thought of the Battle of the Marne, where Charles's original tanks played this role.

Charles nodded: "If you can't even achieve this goal..."

Estini suddenly realized: "All weapons will be meaningless. God, we have ignored this. That's why the CA-1 and 'Saint Chamoun' suffered a tragic defeat!"

This is the key. The biggest role of tanks during World War I should be shields, which provide cover for infantry and prevent infantry from being killed by enemy machine guns on a large scale.

In order to achieve this goal, the tank must have a certain speed so that it will not be easily blasted into the sky by enemy artillery fire.

In addition, the tank must have certain protection and trench crossing capabilities.

Otherwise, on the battlefield, you will either get stuck in a crater or be shot through by enemy rifles, and you won't even be able to drive in front of the enemy. What's the point of piling weapons on it?

Hello everyone, happy Dragon Boat Festival!

Today I am too late to spend the holidays with my family, so there are only four chapters.

Allow me to rest for a few days. Normally, I update three times a day. If I don’t make it three times a day, please forgive me!

It will be resurrected with full health in a few days, and there will be more updates!

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