Chapter 196 Copy Tactics

Wilhelmstrasse, Berlin, Germany.

In previous years, Berlin mostly snowed in early December. Perhaps because of the cruelty of the war, the first snow came earlier this year.

The flurry of light snow fell to the ground and soon disappeared, leaving only a little bit of white hanging on the branches and walls, like the white hat worn by Santa Claus.

Within the General Staff, Falkenhayn sat at the table leisurely drinking steaming coffee. With the Seventh Transportation Department producing Germany's own tanks, he finally felt that the gap between Germany and the enemy was not that big.

What's more important is...

"The intelligence is confirmed!" Colonel Moritz replied with a telegram: "The person commanding the attack in the direction of Cape Town is Joffre."

"Are you sure it's not Charles?" Falkenhayn asked again.

"Not Charles!" Colonel Moritz replied firmly: "Our intelligence personnel have obtained the numbers of the attacking troops. They are Joffre's troops, not the 5th and 6th armies commanded by Gallieni."

Falkenhayn said "Hmm" with satisfaction, and then asked, "What's going on with the plane?"

The First Flying Group was formed by Charles. Wherever there is the First Flying Group, there is Charles. This has long been a secret.

…

Falkenhayn was shocked when he first learned of this situation, and he was even ready for reinforcements.

"Deploy three infantry divisions for reinforcements immediately!" Falkenhayn looked pale.

Colonel Moritz expressed his confusion: "The enemy currently has only three divisions of troops assembled, while we already have four divisions on the front line..."

"That's the Charles!" Falkenhayn interrupted Colonel Moritz: "We can never guess what he is going to do. We don't know where he will attack from, how many troops he will attack from, or what new tactics he will use. Equipment, the only thing we can do is to use more troops to block him!"

"Yes, General!" Colonel Moritz replied, turning around to pass on the order.

Soon, the atmosphere in the headquarters changed. It was tense and depressing, and some staff officers still had fear in their eyes. Like Falkenhayn, they had been beaten by Charles and lost their confidence.

This atmosphere spread outside the headquarters like a plague, and soon spread to the front line, making the 4th Reserve Army stationed in Cape Town panic-stricken. The entire army tensed up and prepared for the battle.

However……

At this time, word came from the front that the French commander-in-chief Joffre was commanding the attack, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Unbelievable!" Falkenhayn looked confused when he heard this information: "Charles has been winning, he has never failed, but they did not let Charles command, including the First Flying Group he formed. This Why?"

Colonel Moritz replied thoughtfully: "Perhaps it is because Charles's existence offended the French Commander-in-Chief."

Falkenhayn let out a "hmm", and then a smile appeared on his lips: "This is what they call parliament, right?"

"Yes." Colonel Moritz replied sarcastically: "The Parliament does not send the most capable to the battlefield, but the most powerful one!"

Falkenhayn nodded, with a hint of joy in his eyes.

"We have also found out about the plane!" Then Colonel Moritz handed over another telegram: "The one above the position is indeed Charles's 1st Flying Group, which was transferred to the front line by Joffre."

Falkenhayn's expression changed: "Has Charles also been transferred here?"

He knew that Charles was the captain of the 1st Flying Group.

"No, General." Colonel Moritz shook his head, with contempt in his voice: "They excluded Charles. Like I said, they wanted to compare Charles to the competition. Of course, they couldn't let Charles participate. This battle."

Falkenhayn chuckled: "I like this commander-in-chief!"

Colonel Moritz deeply agreed: "Me too, I really hope I have the opportunity to thank him in person!"

The two looked at each other and smiled.

After a while, Moritz asked: "So, do we need to reinforce three more infantry divisions?"

Falkenhayn put away his smile. He stared at the map for a while and said in a relaxed tone: "No, Moritz, we should reinforce four infantry divisions!"

Colonel Moritz thought he heard wrongly: "Four infantry divisions?"

"Yes!" Falkenhayn nodded slightly, picked up the coffee, took a leisurely sip, and asked in a nonchalant manner: "I heard that the tanks supported by Joffre have received new orders?"

"Yes!" Colonel Moritz replied: "'Saint Chamoun', and CA-1."

Falkenhayn said "hmm": "First Flying Group, tanks, and Cape Town..."

Falkenhayn tapped a point on the desktop map with his finger and reminded: "What did you think of?"

Colonel Moritz looked at the Cape Town defense line pointed by Falkenhayn, and suddenly understood: "Cape Town is a salient. What does the general mean, that Joffre plans to copy the battle of La Forks?"

Falkinhan smiled and said nothing, and took a breath of coffee while minding his own business, then put it into his mouth and took a swig.

"But, General." Colonel Moritz said: "This is a tactic that Charles just used, and Joffre plagiarized it so blatantly..."

"That's why he chose Cape Town." Falkenhayn put the coffee cup on the table and interrupted Colonel Moritz: "La Fox only has one infantry regiment and two artillery regiments. If Xia Xia Feineng surrounded all four divisions in Cape Town, do you think people will care whose tactics he used?"

Colonel Moritz thought that it was right, and the propaganda tools were still in the hands of Joffre. As long as they avoided the main issues and did not report the tactics, people would still cheer for Joffre's achievements.

Falkenhayn continued to analyze: "The three divisions used by Joffre for the frontal attack are probably just feints. His real main force should be placed on the two wings of Cape Town. I estimate that there will be one to two divisions on each side, and a large number of tanks will be equipped for penetration!"

Colonel Moritz was speechless. If this was true, Joffre would completely copy the battle of La Faux.

But on second thought, the French army had no tactics for decades. They always attacked, attacked, and attacked again, in a stereotyped and repetitive manner.

Now suddenly Charles jumped out and used this refreshing penetration and encirclement tactic. Copying it should be normal.

"Then!" Moritz pointed to the map and said, "If we divide the four divisions into two parts and ambush them on both wings, and wait for the French to break through the defense line and enter our defense zone before retaking the defense line, the troops they infiltrated will..."

Falkenhayn and Moritz smiled at each other. They seemed to have seen the scene of Joffre's exasperation.

(The above picture shows the modern street scene of Wilhelm Street in Berlin, Germany. It is a street in the center of Berlin, the capital of Germany. It has been the administrative center from the mid-19th century to 1945)