Chapter 247 Foolish People

It is impossible to get exact data on the bombing results.

That is because the bomber pilots only dropped bombs and could only look at the bombed scene from a distance in the sky. There is no way to know how many planes were destroyed and how many enemy pilots were killed.

But there is no doubt that France has regained control of the sky over the defense line... The German Air Force, which was originally fierce, suddenly disappeared, and was replaced by the "Avro" of Charles's First Flying Squadron.

People thought that Charles's First Flying Squadron scared the German Air Force away as soon as it was dispatched.

On the surface, it was true.

They only knew that during this period, Joffre's Army Air Force was beaten terribly by the German Air Force. Almost every day, fighter planes or airports were shot down or attacked by the German Air Force, which frightened Joffre to move and hide the fighter planes.

Joffre's method was to drag the planes outside the airport and cover them with canvas, so that the German fighter planes that came to attack could not find them and of course could not destroy them.

Although this was safe, it obviously could not train new people: whether pilots or trainees, they could only stay on the ground.

Then Charles's First Flying Squadron appeared, and the German Air Force disappeared.

People speculated that it was Charles's First Flying Squadron that drove the German Air Force away!

The next day, the "Meritorious Newspaper" published a photo taken from a distance in the newspaper, and reported ambiguously: Charles's new aircraft model made great contributions. They carried 16,000 kilograms of bombs and destroyed two German airports.

It was not until then that people suddenly realized that the battle had already started without their knowledge, and they had won.

Public opinion was boiling again, and people spontaneously organized themselves and shouted at the door of the House of Representatives:

"Support the incorporation of army aircraft and let Charles unify the command."

"Let those poor pilots go, their only fate in Joffre's hands is to escape or die."

"We should let people who understand air combat command aircraft operations, rather than those laymen who have been dealing with the army all their lives!"

...

There were even many army pilots who exposed the chaos of the army airport. When they faced reporters, they complained with fear:

"All we do every day is dodge and dodge, and we are not pilots at all."

"Many people still can't fly planes, let alone fly into the air and shoot down enemy planes!"

"Plane is a waste in our hands, and we don't understand why this situation has occurred!"

...

The ball was kicked to Joffre's feet.

At the headquarters, Joffre was standing in front of the window looking at the sky in a daze, where there happened to be several "Avro" fighters flying in the snow.

Kanes stood aside and didn't dare to speak.

If Kanais himself was in this situation, he would choose to let go without hesitation.

The situation at this time was very clear. Joffre had already lost the battle for the aircraft, and lost miserably.

Every decision he made seemed to be wrong, from the setting of the airport to the purchase of aircraft and the training plan for pilots.

They all had obvious army style and offensive spirit, but air combat was obviously different from land combat.

If he didn't admit defeat at this time, he would have to wait for the parliament to make a decision and then enforce it. At that time, he would not only lose the aircraft but also lose face.

But Joffre was never the kind of person who let go easily. He thought for a while and said slowly, his tone full of complaints: "Stupid people, they can't tell the difference between the two. Charles used bomb planes instead of his First Flying Squadron to defeat the Germans. If we had such a bomber, we could also win!"

Kanes couldn't help but widen his eyes.

What Joffre said seemed to be right. This kind of bomber could win no matter who had it.

But the key is that this is a new model developed by Charles. They defeated the Germans under Charles' command. Not long ago, the Germans had caused heavy casualties in the army's aircraft and had to hide everywhere. As the commander, Joffre had no way to deal with this.

Now, Charles did it in this way, but Joffre said easily: "If I had such an aircraft, I could do it too!"

Then he wiped out all of Charles's contributions and told people that the army's aircraft still had a meaning to exist, and Joffre could even do better than Charles...

Kanes couldn't listen any more, and his expression became awkward.

But Joffre remained calm, as if he firmly believed that he was right: "What we need to do is not to hand over the army planes to Charles, but to buy a batch of bombers, and then we can change the current situation!"

"But General!" Kanais said: "How should we explain to the public?"

"That's for the newspapers." Joffre cast his eyes on the map: "As long as we hold a press conference to explain this matter clearly, and then win a few more victories..."

Kanais suddenly realized that Charles' bombers could create a perfect victory for Joffre: In the past, it was necessary to show off some results to the media, but if there were such bombers, they only needed to be sent out, and then they could brag to reporters about what brilliant victory the army bombers had achieved by bombing something.

Reporters and people could not verify it because these results and victories occurred in the enemy-controlled area.

At this time, a staff officer reported to Joffre with a microphone a few meters away: "General, Mr. Clemenceau, member of the Army Committee!"

Joffre's expression changed, and he stepped forward expressionlessly to answer the phone:

"Yes, Mr. Committee Member."

"Okay, I understand!"

"I have no objection, sir, I will obey the decision of the parliament!"

After hanging up the phone, Joffre's face became very ugly.

He understood what was going on. The social resentment during the war was boiling. The truce during Christmas was actually a "silent protest" by the soldiers to the government. This put pressure on the government and parliament that had promised to end the war as soon as possible. They were unwilling to take more risks for Joffre.

"These bastards!" Joffre murmured and cursed: "They only know their own interests and don't consider what is good for France. They will regret their decision!"

"General?" Kanais felt that things had changed, and asked cautiously.

Joffre gritted his teeth and ordered: "Hand over all the planes and pilots to the Paris City Defense Command!"

"Yes, General!" Kanais responded very straightforwardly.

(The picture above shows Clemenceau, the former Prime Minister and current member of the Army Committee. He is best known for proposing a series of reform measures that are beneficial to workers to win the hearts of the people, including the 8-hour workday, which was never implemented. Not only did he not implement it, he also sent troops to suppress the general strike for the 8-hour workday.)