Chapter 170: The "Tactician" Who only Talks on Paper

Kobdo acted quickly. He chose to rent a factory opposite Eric's aircraft factory to run the "Meritorious Newspaper".

The reason for choosing this location is that the 20th district of Paris, like the 19th district, is a poor area, where rent is cheap and cheap workers can be found.

On the other hand, Kobdo took Charles into consideration.

The companies were gathered together, and if Charles wanted to visit or inspect, he only needed to go to one place, without having to run around.

Charles liked subordinates who would think for himself, and he was very thoughtful.

Gallieni's attitude was similar to Charles's. They didn't care much about the newspaper itself. They cared more about the newspaper and how much role the newspaper could play in the army.

As a result, it was an amazing success when it was published. 200,000 copies were sent to the front line and were instantly snatched up by the soldiers, and 100,000 copies sent to the public were in short supply.

This was thanks to Kobdo's strategy. Lieutenant Colonel Fernan even argued with him about this:

"The front-page headline must be the battle of La Fox!" Kobdo insisted on his point of view.

"I don't think so!" Lieutenant Colonel Fernan objected: "Our goal is to teach soldiers how to use grenades, and we can't put it in a secondary position!"

"Lieutenant Colonel!" Kobdo asked back: "If it were you, you could lose your life at any time in the trenches on the front line. Would you rather have a newspaper that makes you excited, happy, and energetic, or read the boring and dogmatic tutorials and learn from them?"

"You may be right!" Lieutenant Colonel Fernan objected: "Soldiers prefer to see victory, but learning to use grenades may save their lives!"

"The point is that we must first make the soldiers like this newspaper!" Kobdo explained earnestly: "Only in this way can they read the grenade tutorial, otherwise, even if we put the grenade tutorial on the front page, the soldiers will just use it to wipe their butts!"

...

Kobdo looked at the problem from the perspective of a reporter, while Lieutenant Colonel Fernan considered it from the perspective of importance. The two argued and refused to give in.

In the end, it was Charles who solved the problem.

Charles said to Fernan:

"Lieutenant Colonel, maybe we can look at the problem this way. Putting the Battle of La Fox on the front page may attract more people's attention."

"After reading this hot topic, the soldiers were still not satisfied, and they learned the grenade tutorial by the way, so more people learned to use grenades."

"On the contrary, if we put the grenade tutorial on the front page... not only will it fail to achieve the expected effect, it may also have a counterproductive effect!"

Cobdo agreed: "That's right, that's what I want to say."

Then Cobdo added:

"Just like... Joffre has been using 'Saint Chamon' and more troops to launch a frontal attack on La Fox, but it cost a huge price but got nothing."

"But the lieutenant only brought two thousand people and less than a hundred tanks, and easily broke through from the side and won an amazing victory."

"There are two options in front of us. Which one will you choose, Lieutenant Colonel?"

Lieutenant Colonel Fernan was finally convinced, and even Gallieni, who did not participate in the discussion on the other side of the office, nodded slightly.

Gallieni glanced at Kobdo, with a flash of surprise in his eyes. This reporter was good at speaking and had a thorough understanding of Charles' tactics.

"Lieutenant Kobdo!" General Gallieni raised his head to Kobdo and motioned him to come forward.

Kobdo was flattered and saluted.

This was a very strange feeling. It was difficult for him to meet Gallieni at ordinary times, but now he had the opportunity to talk face to face, and they were superiors and subordinates.

"Have you served in the army before?" Gallieni asked.

"No, General!" Kobdo replied: "I just... out of my interest in military affairs, coupled with the needs of work, I consulted a lot of information!"

Gallieni seemed to understand that this was a "tactician" who talked about war on paper.

Perhaps he had never served in the army or studied in a military academy, so he was not influenced by the stubborn and biased "offensive tactics" of the French army, but was more likely to accept Charles' new tactics.

Gallieni believed that Kobdo should not be used for actual command on the battlefield. He only understood but could not use it on the battlefield, which was different from Charles.

But...

Galieni quickly thought of how to use this "talent".

"You may be able to play a role in another place, Lieutenant!" Gallieni looked at Kobdo with interest and asked, "Do you know the Saint-Cyr Military Academy?"

"Of course, General!" Kobdo was confused. He didn't understand what relationship he had with the Saint-Cyr Military Academy.

"It's like this." Gallieni glanced in the direction of Charles, who was discussing the issue of leaking military newspaper content with Lieutenant Colonel Fernan.

Gallieni lowered his voice and said, "I summarized Charles' tactics and battle examples, and sent them to the Saint-Cyr Military Academy for them to compile into teaching materials."

Kobdo agreed with this very much. He nodded heavily and leaned closer to whisper, "It's a wise move, General! One day when these officers go to the battlefield, if they can use one tenth of Charles' tactics, the French army will be different!"

"But it has no effect!" Gallieni shook his head slightly with regret: "No one takes these tactics seriously. They have become accustomed to the set of 'offensive tactics' and regard them as a treasure. Although these tactics were compiled into teaching materials under my order, they were thrown into a corner and no one cared about them!"

Kobdo understood why this situation occurred.

The teachers and instructors of the military academy were those who had studied the French "offensive tactics" for a long time, and they were firm supporters. Otherwise, they would be regarded as "heretics" and expelled from the school.

The students had not been tempered by the real battlefield. They still knew nothing and waited for the teachers and instructors to instill the so-called tactics in them.

They had formed a solidified pattern and "operated normally" over and over again.

Although Charles' tactics were proven to be correct on the front line and on the battlefield, in the rear, it was a foreign "sand" for the "normally operating" machine of the Saint-Cyr Military Academy. It would undoubtedly be isolated from the military academy theory as a "dangerous idea".

"But..." Kobdo asked doubtfully: "General, what can I do?"

"I need someone to give lectures at Saint-Cyr Military Academy!" Gallieni stared at Kobdo: "This person is talking about Charles's combat theory. I think as long as someone talks, there will be students thinking about which combat theory is correct. This is what I need!"

Kobdo swallowed his saliva: "General, you don't want to send me, do you?"