Chapter 385 Britain's Fear
Hello everyone, happy Mid-Autumn Festival! I have been visiting relatives and friends these days and have not been able to write three chapters. Sorry, I will adjust to the state of seclusion and coding as soon as possible. Thank you all!
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Charles's First Tank Brigade not only defeated the attacking German army, but also pushed the defense line forward by 8 kilometers, killing and wounding more than 10,000 German soldiers and capturing more than 8,000 people, while only losing 18 tanks and more than 500 casualties. It is undoubtedly a "remarkable" victory.
(Note: The casualties of the French First Special Artillery Division were not included in the statistics)
The French military and civilians were once again shocked by this victory. They spontaneously took to the streets to cheer and shouted:
"Long live France!"
"Long live the First Tank Brigade!"
Some people even said, "Why don't we fight to Berlin?"
There are still many people who agree with this idea, and major newspapers have also echoed:
"If our army can have such a big advantage, as long as Charles's troops go to the battlefield, they can defeat the Germans and completely end the war!"
"I think so too. I believe we have such strength, but it should be Charles's troops first."
"The only thing we need to consider seems to be whether the army is using the Charles model and whether the officers are using Charles' tactics!"
...
Charles doesn't care about these. He knows that it is too early to say "fight to Berlin" or "end the war".
The "Renault Tank" in history, that is, the "Charles A1" he used, was mass-produced in 1917, but even if this tank was put into the battlefield, it could not immediately end the trench warfare.
This is because the war at this time has gradually turned into "systematic warfare", and "systematic warfare" is not a single branch of the army or the development of a certain equipment that can completely change the battlefield situation.
For example, the German army has always had an advantage in long-range howitzers, while the French army's production speed is only 5 per month, and this output cannot even keep up with the war losses.
On the other hand, artillery technology is basically monopolized by Schneider, and there is a certain technical threshold. It is not easy to expand production and increase output in a short period of time.
This determines that the German army has the possibility of preventing tanks from breaking through the line, which is also one of the reasons why the First Tank Brigade was blocked after penetrating 8 kilometers.
Charles is interested in the German "Storm Commando". He flipped through the photos sent from the front line one by one.
Those were taken by the First Tank Brigade. They captured more than 100 "Storm Commandos" during the attack. These "Storm Commandos" are very conspicuous because they are wearing steel armor and can hardly run without car mobility.
Tijani's behavior was puzzled. He leaned over to look at the photos on the table and said, "Everyone is thinking about whether we are going to fight in Berlin, but you are looking at these! What's so special about them? Wearing steel armor?"
"Stormtroopers" was very stupid in Tijani's eyes. He couldn't believe that there were still people wearing medieval armor on the battlefield. What effect could that have?
"They are not as simple as you think, General." Charles said, "Steel armor can indeed be cancelled, but this tactic is quite advanced."
This is the concept of modern "special forces". They are similar to tanks. They can penetrate and carry out precise strikes on important enemy targets, and have better concealment and flexibility.
Tijani raised his eyebrows. He didn't take Charles' words seriously. He thought that nothing in this era could compare to tanks, and everything was vulnerable in front of tanks.
At this time, General Winter walked into the office. He looked at Charles with complicated eyes: "I need to talk to you alone, Brigadier General."
Charles nodded, stood up and took General Winter into the meeting room next door.
"What?" Charles motioned General Winter to sit down on the chair and asked: "Is this victory not 'remarkable' enough?"
"No." General Winter shook his head: "You did a good job, Brigadier General. We believe that the Italians will join the Allies because of this battle. They have even contacted us."
"That is..." Charles looked at General Winter in confusion.
"Your fighter plane." General Winter's eyes were slightly hesitant: "New fighter plane, I want to know if it is sold to the outside world?"
Charles suddenly realized that this was the fighter plane that Britain was afraid of his development.
...
Charles guessed correctly. When the news of the victory reached London, England, the Minister of the Navy was not only not happy about the victory, but frowned and looked worried.
The Minister of the Navy held a photo in his hand, which showed a "Camel" fighter plane flying in the air and fighting against German fighter planes.
He was stunned for a while, and asked Major Kell, the head of MI6 standing in front of the table, in a low voice: "Are you sure it can reach a speed of 180 kilometers per hour?"
"Yes." Major Kell answered with certainty: "We deployed personnel to monitor the speed of the German new fighter plane, but accidentally measured the new Charles fighter plane. Everyone was shocked by its speed. We verified it several times, and it may even exceed 180 kilometers."
The Minister of the Navy nodded with a heavy face and asked slowly: "How fast can our fighter plane, the most advanced one, reach?"
"140 kilometers." Major Kell was a little helpless: "It is still in the test flight and has not yet been put into service."
That is the De Havilland DH2 fighter plane, which was modified from the DH1 two-seater. One cockpit was removed to reduce weight and replaced with a 100-horsepower engine. The maximum speed is 140 kilometers per hour.
(The above picture shows the British De Havilland DH2 fighter plane, which successfully flew in 1915)
The Minister of the Navy snorted in dissatisfaction: "Do you know what this means? We may be far behind the French, or to be more precise, far behind Charles!"
As the world's number one power, he could not accept the reality of lagging behind other countries, even though this "other country" was an ally.
It should be said that allies were especially allies.
The allies were ahead, and Britain could only watch it continue to develop.
"Plane is everything, Kyle." The Minister of the Navy stared at the photo and said thoughtfully: "One day, if France becomes our enemy, their fighters will shoot down our fighters just like they shot down German planes!"
"I understand, sir." Kyle suggested: "Perhaps, we can strive to cooperate with Charles, or buy this fighter."
The Minister of the Navy looked a little embarrassed. As the largest country, he actually wanted to cooperate with Charles.
But what can he do now?
The result of not cooperating is to watch it surpass Britain, getting farther and farther!
So, "buying fighters" instantly became the highest priority event, even surpassing pulling Italy into the Allied Powers.
The latter is a matter for the entire Allied Powers, while the former concerns the safety of Britain.
After all, the narrowest part of the English Channel is only 34 kilometers. If France on the other side has such advanced fighters, it will make Britain feel cold.
France can take away the British sky at any time. How can Britain still be the world's number one power?