I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France
Chapter 138 Specialized Artillery Regiment

Chapter 138: Chapter 138 Specialized Artillery Regiment

Not sure when it started, a slight "anti-Shire" breeze began to blow in Paris.

It wasn’t brought about by the public, but by the media, which suddenly changed its tone from praising Shire to questioning him before people had a chance to react:

"Shire’s tanks didn’t participate in the bidding? Is it because they couldn’t compete?"

"Has Shire run out of talent? This is the industrial age, after all. One person’s wisdom can’t compete with established arms companies!"

"It’s said that his tanks don’t even have cannons equipped!"

...

Some newspapers even drew large comparisons between the "Saint Chammon" tanks and Shire’s original tanks, the original tanks!

Although to maintain confidentiality, the detailed data of the "Saint Chammon" tanks were not published, several key points were revealed: the "Saint Chammon" has a cannon, four machine guns, and an advanced electric drive engine.

People originally had full confidence in Shire, but under the overwhelming publicity and skepticism in the newspapers, it was hard for them not to be swayed.

They still acknowledged Shire with their words:

"For a 17-year-old boy, this is already quite remarkable!"

"Yes, the victories Shire achieved are unparalleled!"

"Shire is the best, at least no one has surpassed him yet."

...

However, doubts had been sown in their hearts:

Has Shire become outdated?

He provided the ideas, but the ones to carry forward the tanks should be the arms dealers, right?

Shire is still young and inexperienced. Perhaps the task of defeating the Germans should be given to a more experienced and strategic commander!

...

In the Lafox region, about ten kilometers from the front line, in Fairworth Town.

The rain suddenly started to pour after dawn, with bright raindrops happily falling down, like streams of waterfalls from the sky.

Xia Fei stood at the temporary command post window, frowning as he looked at the waves of rain being blown up by the storm outside, feeling quite heavy-hearted.

He had rushed here at dawn and set up the command post, even breaking his habit of going to bed and waking up on time.

But Xia Fei had no choice but to do this. He needed a victory to re-establish his heroic image among the military and civilians. He had to defeat Shire to secure his position and regain the part of his command authority lost to Gallieni.

"General!" Deputy Commander Kanes reported to Xia Fei, holding a document: "A hundred CA1 tanks and sixteen ’Saint Chammon’ tanks are already on the arriving trains. They are expected to arrive by two in the afternoon!"

Xia Fei responded with an "Hm," not turning his head, and asked, "What about Colonel Kristin? Are he and his soldiers ready?"

"Of course, General!" Kanes replied. "They are eagerly anticipating this battle!"

"Then have them ready!" Xia Fei ordered expressionlessly, "We will achieve this victory in an orderly manner! A perfect victory, allowing no mistakes!"

"Yes, General!" Kanes responded.

After leaving, he walked to his desk, opened a drawer to retrieve a pre-prepared document. He intended to hand it to the staff officer but, hesitating for a moment, ultimately decided to deliver it personally to Colonel Kristin.

Colonel Kristin was a combat hero of the First Army.

A month ago, during the battle for Alsace, when the First Army was routed by the German Army and almost everyone was fleeing, then-Major Kristin led over two hundred of his subordinates, disguising themselves as corpses lying on the ground.

When the pursuing German troops reached them, they suddenly jumped up from the ground and attacked the Germans with bayonets and sabers.

The Germans thought they had fallen into an ambush and were thrown into chaos. Kristin seized the opportunity to lead the Second Infantry Battalion to repel the enemy. Kristin personally killed seven men with his saber in that battle, leaving a scar on his face that remains to this day!

"France needs heroes like him!" Kanes murmured to himself.

He walked through the hallway, down the stairs, and finally to the sofa in the lounge. Standing up to an awaiting Colonel Kristin, he said, "Let’s discuss your task for the afternoon, Colonel!"

"Yes, General!" Kristin responded.

Kanes sat down on the sofa, gestured for Colonel Kristin to sit beside him, then opened the file bag and handed him a document with a tone of approval, "Your troops are very brave, so we plan to form the First Infantry Regiment into the ’First Specialized Artillery Regiment’!"

"Specialized Artillery Regiment?" Kristin was stunned, "But we are infantry, General! We don’t even know how to fire cannons..."

"You misunderstand, Colonel!" Kanes explained with a smile, "We don’t need you to fire cannons; you’ll still fight as infantry!"

"I... don’t quite understand, General!" Kristin was confused. If they were still to fight as infantry, why call it artillery?

With a hint of mystery in his eyes, Kanes asked, "Have you heard of tanks, Colonel?"

"Of course, General..." Kristin suddenly realized something, "You mean, we will be fighting alongside tanks?"

"Yes, and with France’s most advanced tanks!" Kanes’s eyes were full of pride. He took another document from the file bag, handed it over cautiously as if handling a treasure, and patted it twice meaningfully: "A total of 100 CA-1 tanks and 16 ’Saint Chammon’ tanks represent France’s most formidable force. They are entrusted to you, Colonel!"

Kristin carefully opened the document and found detailed data and firepower configurations of the "Saint Chammon" and CA-1 tanks, complete with photos from various angles.

Kristin looked somewhat puzzled, "But General, how do we coordinate with these tanks in battle..."

"As I said!" Kanes said with confidence, "You just need to fight like usual; the tanks will cut through the enemy’s barbed wire and lead you to break through their defenses!"

Leaning back on the sofa, Kanes spoke in a relaxed tone, "Think about it, each tank is equipped with a 75MM cannon and anywhere from two to four machine guns. They are miniature arsenals, Colonel. Following you into battle are mobile arsenals, a total of 116 cannons and 264 machine guns. They will destroy any enemy that stands in your way! All of them!"

Kanes concluded, "And your troops only need to follow them, then occupy the enemy positions. Understood?"

A hint of envy flashed in Kanes’s eyes as if he were saying, you lucky guy, the victory of the first large-scale tank warfare in human history is about to fall into your hands; you should feel honored!

"Understood, General!" Kristin replied, his tone stiff.

His gaze never left the document in his hands. He didn’t quite believe the battle could be this easy.

From his past experience, actual combat usually differs greatly from imagination.

Are these generals, who have been hiding in their offices for years, underestimating the Germans?