I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France
Chapter 142 Special Training

Chapter 142: Chapter 142 Special Training

Shire also considered this possibility: Could Colonel Estiny be a spy sent by Grevy?

If so, it would undoubtedly be a clever move by Grevy, as Estiny would learn the tank’s design direction and even advanced combat theories from Shire.

But Shire believed Colonel Estiny was not a spy.

If he were, Grevy should have known the shortcomings of the CA-1 from Estiny and then prevented it from entering the battlefield.

Grevy does not lack money; he does all this to enhance the right-wing’s influence on the military, and losing battles and being embarrassed is clearly contrary to this goal.

More importantly, Colonel Estiny is a historical celebrity known as the "Father of French Armor." He not only developed the CA-1 tank but also developed a heavy tank known as "Shire B1."

During the German Army’s invasion of France in World War II, one "Shire B1" encountered 13 German Army tanks, resulting in the destruction of all 13 German Army tanks while the "Shire B1" remained intact. This tank was thus called the "Battlefield Giant" by France.

A person like Colonel Estiny, who is a tank designer and developer and obsessed with tank combat theory, is incompatible and even contrary to right-wing anti-industrialists.

If Grevy is smart enough to place Estiny beside Shire as a spy, the most likely scenario is that once out, he will not be able to reel him back in, and a clever man like Grevy would never do this.

"No other conditions?" Gallieni asked.

"No more!" Shire replied, "But it might require two to three weeks of training!"

"Two weeks!" Gallieni’s tone was undeniable.

"General..."

Gallieni interrupted Shire: "Colonel Brownie and his troops have training and combat experience; two weeks should suffice!"

Shire knew why Gallieni was in such a hurry. Xia Fei on the front line would still use those two failing tanks to continue attacking; if one tactic didn’t work, he would switch to another until he succeeded, then he could use the media to boast wildly.

Therefore, every day Shire’s tanks delayed getting to the battlefield and achieving victory would mean more casualties on the front line.

Gallieni didn’t want to see this scenario unfold, so he pressured Shire to accelerate the progress.

Shire didn’t answer, implicitly acknowledging it, and said: "Maybe you should be more concerned about how much my tanks sell for, General!"

This statement hit Gallieni’s sore spot - at this time, the military not only lacked funds but had severe deficits.

However, Gallieni only hesitated for a moment before snorting: "They can spend over thirteen million francs on a pile of useless junk, and they should have money to buy your tanks too!"

"No loans?" Shire was somewhat surprised.

"No loans!" Gallieni stated firmly, "But your price must be within a reasonable range!"

Shire hesitated for a while and gave a price: "Ten thousand francs..."

"Deal!" Before Shire finished speaking, Gallieni agreed.

Shire’s jaw dropped - the cost to produce the "Mark I," using ready-made blueprints and engines, and adapting tractor tracks was very low, totaling less than three thousand francs per tank.

Based on previous transactions with the military, doubling the cost to five or six thousand francs would already yield 100% profit.

But considering Gallieni’s stingy nature, Shire intentionally set a higher price for Gallieni to haggle down. Unexpectedly, he agreed so readily.

What Shire didn’t know was that Gallieni had a different calculation in mind:

CA-1 tank costs 12,000 francs, "Saint Chammon" tank costs 21,000 francs, yet both are ineffective on the battlefield.

By this calculation, Shire’s tank, capable of winning battles, should cost at least 20,000 francs!

Unexpectedly, Shire opened with a price of 10,000... Shire indeed was a conscientious capitalist, quickly sealing the deal!

Hence, without much thought, Gallieni agreed on the spot!

Gallieni also said, "The first order is for 100 tanks, is that okay?"

He was somewhat worried that this order volume was too small. After all, those two failing tanks had orders of 400 each!

"No problem!" Shire swallowed hard; another deal for 1 million francs.

The key point was that Shire’s "Mark I" was originally a transitional product, planned production was around 100 tanks; any more would be unnecessary and soon to be phased out.

Shire regretted somewhat, wishing he had set the price even higher!

...

Estiny was vacationing with his family in Provence over 700 kilometers away; the journey took them a day and a half by train and car.

He thought he could relax for a few days away from the battlefield and gun smoke, yet that morning he woke up and bought a newspaper. The front-page headline read "CA-1 Tank and ’Saint Chammon’ Unsuccessful in Initial Deployment, Suspected Design Flaws"

Estiny, rather than being angry, was thrilled. He tossed the newspaper aside, while changing clothes, and said to his still-in-bed wife, "You and the kids stay here, sweetheart! I’ll leave money for you, but I must go back!"

His wife, still drowsy, murmured an "Hmm" and went back to sleep. Suddenly she realized and opened her eyes, finding Estiny already gone.

...

The 5th Army Group was stationed near the River Somme in the Lekar Region. As the front line stabilized, Colonel Brownie and his sidecar troops found it increasingly difficult to conduct harassment and special operations.

General Gade decided to make "scrap use" of this sidecar force, assigning them to transport supplies and wounded from the rear.

Colonel Brownie was resistant to this task, believing that transporting supplies didn’t require their caliber soldiers, but he feared voicing this might result in seizing all their sidecars.

"Anyway, you don’t need them! It would be better to allocate these to the Logistics Corps and have you return to the infantry ranks!"

Thus, Colonel Brownie pretended to be enthusiastic, directing his troops back and forth.

That night, as everyone rested after a busy day back at the camp, Colonel Brownie received a call from General Gade: "Colonel, congratulations, General Gallieni plans to transfer you to Paris for Shire’s special training!"

"Really? That’s fantastic!" Colonel Brownie exclaimed, "Thank you, General, thank you very much!"

"But you should leave your sidecars behind, which are the 5th Army Group’s assets..."

"What? I can’t hear you!"

"I said, you must leave the sidecars behind!"

"Sorry, General! The signal is bad; I can’t hear clearly..."

"Leave the sidecars behind!"

"Okay, General! I am heading to report now, right away, won’t be late!"

With that, Brownie slammed the phone down, waved to his subordinates, and shouted, "Did you hear? Special training organized by Shire! Prepare to depart!"

The soldiers cheered!

(The picture above shows the Shire B1 heavy tank with dual cannons)

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