I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France
Chapter 170: The Killing Power of the Media

Chapter 170: Chapter 170: The Killing Power of the Media

(Above image is Count von Spee)

Kobudo should be the busiest person in the headquarters, he’s even busier than Gallieni who keeps analyzing the map while munching on bread.

Kobudo works at the City Defense Headquarters during the day.

This is because City Defense Headquarters is the place where he can access the most accurate, fastest, and comprehensive information. As soon as there is any military activity or information, Kobudo receives it first and immediately calls the newspaper to send reporters.

Sometimes, he doesn’t even need to dispatch reporters as Major Fernan can simply order the related units to take some photos along with maps and other documents, providing material that serves both as military intelligence and military newspaper content, achieving two goals at once.

After night falls, Kobudo, the editor-in-chief, returns to the newspaper office to organize the layout and printing. Sometimes, he works through the night and takes a nap on his desk when tired.

Shire was somewhat worried that Kobudo couldn’t sustain this, but Kobudo was very confident:

"Don’t worry, Lieutenant, it’s almost the same as before. I always interviewed during the day and wrote articles at night; I’m used to it!"

"Part of the reason is that my team is all novices. They don’t know what to do, but once they get accustomed and everything runs smoothly, it will be easier for me!"

"It won’t always be like this!"

Shire thought about it and felt it was reasonable. The beginning of everything is difficult. During the era of great industrial development, no industry was easy, especially during wartime, where it’s not just the frontline soldiers risking their lives.

At this moment, Kobudo received a phone call and suddenly exclaimed, "Something happened, Colonel, naval battle!"

Everyone stopped what they were doing and cast puzzled looks at Kobudo.

After several days of interaction, they understood that Kobudo was not a simple journalist. He had formed some kind of "exchange agreement" with foreign journalists, maintaining a certain level of information sharing.

This occasionally allowed Kobudo access to more objective, comprehensive, and timely intelligence compared to the City Defense Headquarters.

"Colonel?" Gallieni looked at Kobudo in confusion and then turned his gaze to Major Fernan, as it was a completely unfamiliar place name.

Major Fernan also shook his head in confusion, indicating he didn’t know either and hadn’t received any related information.

Kobudo listened to the phone for a while longer, then hung up the phone and explained:

"Colonel is a port in Chile, General."

"The battle took place yesterday afternoon. The Royal Navy encountered a small German fleet near Colonel, and two cruisers were sunk."

"It’s said to be the ’Cape of Good Hope’ and ’Monmouth’; the Royal Navy lost over a thousand men."

The command room was in an uproar, many faces changed instantly.

The Royal Navy was considered invincible, but in the first battle, they were defeated by the German Navy with a score of 2 to 0. Naturally, they wondered: would Germans create miracles at sea, just like they did on land?

Shire continued to organize the files in his hand, consistently uninterested in maritime affairs because he knew Germans hadn’t succeeded.

A naval battle is not the same as a land battle, where the quality of soldiers, the abilities of officers, and more flexible tactics can help win battles with fewer troops. Naval battles are primarily about accumulating warships, experience, and industrial capability.

In this aspect, Germany catching up with Britain was fundamentally impossible.

Gallieni was somewhat anxious, he frowned and ordered Major Fernan: "Verify with the British side!"

Soon, the British Army telegram arrived, confirming the facts.

Those were German Navy warships stationed in overseas colonies, totaling eight ships. The four ships appearing in Colonel this time were led by Count von Spee.

Amidst the heated discussions among the command staff, Shire did not lift his head and said blandly, "Don’t worry, this German fleet will ultimately fall into Kobudo’s hands!"

The staffers collectively laughed, Kobudo was also somewhat embarrassed by the praise, and everyone thought Shire was joking.

Gallieni initially thought so too, he figured this little guy might have a psychological shadow from being surrounded by reporters and admirers recently, leading to such thoughts.

But thinking carefully, Gallieni felt Shire’s words had deep meaning.

Gallieni guessed correctly, Shire knew what would happen in the future.

The German Navy’s success this time was because they strived to keep a low profile and conceal their whereabouts, even entering neutral ports in single ships to resupply, avoiding attention.

In an era without radar, undeveloped aircraft, and unpopularity of radio communication, finding a fleet’s location on the vast ocean was exceedingly difficult.

However...

This victory shattered such scenarios, everyone believed Count von Spee was a rising naval star, global media speculated and tracked his whereabouts.

Counting von Speer fleet’s movements were now traceable, the British needed only to flip through newspapers to roughly locate him. Eventually, this fleet was annihilated by British battlecruisers, with Spee and his sons sank with his flagship Scharnhorst.

Shire sighed in his heart, this might be the first fleet in history to die by media, Count von Spee surely wished he hadn’t become famous.

Shire even felt a sense of shared sorrow, as he too suffered from it, struggling with reporters and admirers daily might end up like Count von Spee...

Bah, bah, good fortune!

...

Though it was still raining the next day, Shire decided to visit the flight club.

The pilots had already changed into military uniforms, as stipulated in the contracts, all were Lieutenants, they addressed Shire with his rank instead of his name but still spoke in a carefree tone:

"Hey, Lieutenant, we heard you won another battle!"

"We saw from the sky, the tank division looks awesome!"

"When can we try driving tanks? They seem much more durable than planes!"

...

This was a group of adventurous people without formal training, always a bit unruly.

However, Shire didn’t mind, as long as they followed orders and fought successfully, what more could he expect from them?

Shire found Carter who was preparing to receive a batch of new planes.

Seeing Shire, Carter immediately put down his work, approached and saluted: "Lieutenant, great to see you!"

Shire asked, "How’s the situation with the airport?"

"Everything goes smoothly, Lieutenant!" Carter looked at the busy pilots and ground crew with some emotion: "We’ve never had so many planes and manpower. Now, I plan to replace all models with ’Aphro’, even the reconnaissance planes. All other models will be used for training."

Shire nodded, this would obviously make combat more efficient, Carter’s management was indeed reassuring.

However, Shire reminded him: "Have you considered, you need more preparation?"

Carter puzzled asked: "What do you mean, Lieutenant? We now patrol or bomb enemy balloons, don’t seem to need much preparation!"

(Above image is Scharnhorst)