I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France
Chapter 135: After the modification - 135 Swarm Tactics

"You could say that, Lieutenant!" Estiny nodded, "I believe it shouldn’t just be a pile of weapons, but also a kind of..."

"... equipment that can have a strategic impact!" Shire added.

"Yes, exactly that!" Estiny’s eyes sparkled with excitement.

Previously, he felt as if there was a layer of paper before his eyes, making everything blurry, but with Shire’s words piercing it, the whole world became clear.

"I think the most important thing is that it can lead the troops to break through enemy lines!" Estiny got into his stride, arranging trays and coffee cups on the table to illustrate, "Our tank should be able to cut through barbed wire and then cross the trenches, of course with the help of the infantry!"

At this point, Estiny glanced at Shire.

The method of infantry helping the tank cross the trenches was learned from Shire, who used sandbags to rapidly fill trenches during the Battle of the Marne, making a deep impression on everyone.

Estiny didn’t really want to copy this, but he couldn’t think of a better alternative.

Shire remained calm, because it wasn’t his method originally. It didn’t matter if it was used, as there were no industrial property rights to apply for that could bring economic benefits.

Estiny relaxed upon seeing Shire’s reaction, and continued drawing on the table as if he was already in the midst of a fierce battle:

"Once our tank, with infantry, breaks through enemy lines, we shouldn’t stop, but gather these dispersed forces into one cohesive unit to continue advancing!"

"In this way, we can attack the enemy’s weak rear. The unprepared rear enemy will be vulnerable against our combined forces of tanks and infantry."

"Then the enemy logistics will collapse like an avalanche, causing the front-line enemy to lose combat effectiveness due to a lack of supplies!"

...

Shire nodded slightly. This tactic had some semblance to a "Blitzkrieg," both emphasizing attacking the enemy’s weak rear to eventually encircle them.

In World War II, hundreds of thousands or even millions of troops were forced to surrender under such tactics.

However, it still differed from a "Blitzkrieg" since it was a rudimentary approach without considering air-ground coordination, essentially a two-dimensional ground operation.

"I call it ’swarm tactics’!" Estiny said, "Because they gather like bees in the rear, and can disperse to strike different targets when needed!"

As he said this, Estiny’s eyes gleamed with excitement and anticipation.

From Shire’s thoughtful expression, Estiny could tell that Shire understood and agreed with his tactics.

This was rare. Shire was different from the others like Grevy, which was exactly what Estiny wanted. He realized his trip was worth it!

However, Estiny did not expect this was just the beginning. He was soon to experience a shock from another era.

"So, you plan to have the tank cut through the barbed wire?" Shire asked.

"Of course!" Estiny replied, "Without doing this, infantry and tanks cannot quickly pass through the enemy’s defenses!"

This was a highlight of Estiny’s CA-1 tank design, and one of the reasons it won the contract over the "Saint Chammon." The "Saint Chammon" couldn’t cut barbed wire while the CA-1 could. Many members of parliament believed the two tanks could complement each other, so they bought both.

Shire brought up one point that left Estiny silent: "What if the enemy has a lot of barbed wire? Layer after layer, like a forest of wires in front of us, would you still try to cut through it with the tank?"

Estiny was stunned. He hadn’t considered this, but the fact was that the front lines did have many "forests" of barbed wire. Barbed wire was the cheapest and most effective barrier; as long as the enemy had any, they would place it in front of their positions.

Shire asked another question: "Or would you choose to attack from a different position?"

Estiny shook his head. This clearly wouldn’t work. If you just changed positions whenever you encountered barbed wire, the enemy would simply surround critical breakthrough points with it.

"Then what can we do?" Estiny asked in return, "This is the only way to pass quickly..."

"That’s the infantry’s task, Colonel!" Shire said softly, "You can’t expect the tank to do everything. The tank is not an independent fighting unit; it works with infantry. There are even artillery and planes—in designing it, if you could think of these, it would be much easier!"

Estiny had a moment of realization. This way, tanks would be much simpler; they wouldn’t need to cut barbed wire, destroy bunkers, and carry multiple machine guns to eliminate enemy infantry. It would be...

"... a part of a combat unit?" Estiny’s eyes widened as he looked at Shire, "Complementing with infantry and artillery?"

Shire nodded. This was a modern warfare concept: combined arms.

But knowing was one thing, realizing it on the battlefield was another, especially in the communications-poor World War I, achieving ideal coordination was extremely difficult.

Nonetheless, with planned and step-by-step training, initial coordination could still be achieved. This was the correct development direction for tanks.

Estiny was silent for a while, imagining this combat mode in his mind.

Previously, he designed tanks by adding capabilities, wanting tanks to do more and have more firepower.

Now, he thought about subtracting tasks for tanks, giving some tasks to infantry, and some to artillery...

Then he exclaimed: "Even the cannons are unnecessary. They can’t hit anything on a tank, and our 75 field gun is highly mobile, so why not leave it to the artillery to fire on the ground?"

Dejoka was shocked when he heard this, and then turned his gaze towards Shire.

For a while, Dejoka and Joseph had been discussing how to persuade Shire to mount cannons on tanks. They thought it was a serious mistake by Shire.

Now, hearing Estiny say this, Dejoka realized that maybe it wasn’t Shire who was wrong. He and Joseph were trying to use their ignorance to persuade Shire.

Shire nodded slightly. At least current tanks didn’t need to be equipped with cannons.

Shire looked at Estiny with a hint of regret: "By mounting cannons, your tanks would either have a speed of 5 kilometers per hour or 8.5 kilometers per hour. Do you know what that means?"

Estiny suddenly became aware. He stood up in shock: "My God, they would become targets for enemy artillery!"

(The picture above shows the CA-1 tank, with a pointed nose and baffle designed to cut through barbed wire)