I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France
Chapter 205: Revised - 205

Chapter 205: Revised: Chapter 205

It might be too late again today, the third Chapter will be posted later, my apologies!

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This was indeed a trap set by Shire.

The Germans’ A7V may not be an excellent tank, but it has very powerful firepower: a 57MM cannon along with 6 Maxim Machine Guns.

It might be clumsy, but no one can approach it, like a moving fortress that occupies wherever it goes, even the "Shire A1" tank is no exception.

The "Shire A1" tank has 25MM thick frontal armor, but only 13MM thick side armor.

As long as the A7V’s machine guns are equipped with K bullets, they can penetrate it from a distance of 100 meters.

Shire has to respond carefully, especially since the "Shire A1" is highly anticipated. It not only needs to win but to win beautifully and thoroughly.

Otherwise, the French Army would be unable to handle the ensuing battle, and tens of thousands would be unable to break through.

...

Paris City Defense Command, Shire pointed to the town of Samok on the map and said, "I plan to ambush the tanks here!"

"Ambush?" Gallieni didn’t quite understand Shire’s meaning: "It’s only a few kilometers from the enemy’s line; can you deceive the Germans?"

"I will carry out an aerial blockade in this area!" Shire drew a circle on the map with his finger: "Within a radius of more than ten kilometers, I’ll use machine gun planes to drive away the German reconnaissance planes!"

"That’s far from enough, Major, they can still get the news." Gallieni replied, "Tanks are not easy to hide, especially during the day."

Gallieni then added: "Besides, I’ve heard that the Germans have deployed a unit in the town of Samok because they worry that the French population there will provide us assistance."

With Germans in the town, there’s no need to say what will happen.

Once the tanks attack this town, the small unit might not hold out, but they will soon relay the information through the phone, making it a joke to ambush here.

"Maybe!" Shire persisted, "But they won’t know it’s a tank."

"What do you mean?" Gallieni looked at Shire in confusion: "Are you saying the Germans can’t recognize your new tank?"

If that’s the idea, then Shire is underestimating the Germans. As long as it has armor and tracks, they would know it’s a tank.

"No!" Shire shook his head slightly: "I mean that what’s attacking them isn’t tanks, but sidecar motorcycles!"

Gallieni exclaimed, "Oh! You use sidecar motorcycle troops to launch attacks, so the Germans will think they’re seeing reconnaissance units instead of tanks?"

"Yes!" Shire drew a small circle on the southern side of the town with a pencil: "Our main forces are roughly at this position, thirty ’Mark I’ tanks. The German scouts will be attracted by this force, and my new type of tank will be disguised as tractors..."

"Tractors?" Gallieni interrupted Shire: "Tanks are much larger than tractors."

"My new tank is very small, General!" Shire smiled slightly, "It weighs only around 8 tons."

(Note: The weight of the Renault Tank varies slightly depending on whether it’s equipped with machine guns or cannons. The model with machine guns weighs about 7.5 tons. It was exported to China, where Zhang Zuolin purchased 14 units, and later the Young Marshal acquired 36 units through various means. Because of a hook at the rear, it was nicknamed the "hook tank" in China.)

"Only 8 tons?" Gallieni was shocked, that’s indeed similar to a tractor.

If the tank is that small, disguising it as a tractor wouldn’t be a problem.

But Gallieni still felt somewhat concerned. How much combat power can such a light tank possess?

The "Saint Chammon" tank, which is a tank as well, weighs 27 tons, and the CA-1 is 14 tons.

However, Gallieni didn’t voice his concerns. He thought whether it had combat power or not would be known after the battle.

...

Shire’s plan was very successful. The "Shire A1" tank was surrounded by wooden frames and canvas, with its parts above the tracks wrapped within the frame, making it look like a tractor transporting ammunition and fuel while following the sidecar motorcycles.

Colonel Brownie classified this as a military secret, known only to a few.

As a result, even the sidecar motorcycle troops didn’t recognize it until the tanks reached Samok town and removed the wood frames and canvas, causing the French soldiers to exclaim:

"These things are actually tanks?"

"I thought they were transporting bread!"

"This must be the smallest tank, are we that poor?"

...

No wonder the soldiers thought so. It looked similar to Shire’s first-generation tank, leading them to think the tank was made so small due to funding issues.

Even Colonel Brownie, commanding this unit, was skeptical. That 37MM cannon, though a cannon, seemed too small to penetrate enemy tank armor or inflict damage on enemy tanks.

However, the actual battle surprised everyone.

As the battle commenced, a row of shells from 6 "Shire A1" tanks equipped with cannons destroyed 3 German tanks.

From a distance of over 200 meters, they easily pierced the side armor.

Those big clumsy things, though they seemed formidable, were actually less well-armored than the small "Shire A1" tanks.

As the German tanks slowly turned, another row of shells pierced one tank, causing it to shudder and stop moving, though the gun barrel kept turning, seemingly trying to aim at its target.

Brownie shouted, "Fire!"

The gunfire erupted instantly, with dozens of machine guns hidden in the residential area showering bullets on the enemy infantry behind the tanks, followed by mortars firing salvos at them.

Blood splattered as the German infantry, caught off guard, were pinned down and couldn’t advance.

They were flanked by the French defense line and were caught off guard by the French firepower, quickly being separated from the tanks.

The "Shire A1" tanks then moved, flanking through the enemy tanks and artillery as well as the dense machine gun fire.

Shells exploded nearby but never hit their targets.

Despite having suspension and being in a stationary position to aim, the A7V found it hard to hit moving targets, especially smaller ones.

Colonel Mateo kept watching through observation slits as the small tanks seemingly dodged shells, and when he saw the small tank’s turret turn, he shouted urgently, "Turn, turn, keep them facing straight!"

The driver responded promptly and started turning, but the messenger’s order didn’t reach the other tanks in time.

The tankers were in intense combat, with no time and difficulty noticing the signal flags of command tank 501.

Just as Colonel Mateo feared, the small tanks advanced while rotating their turrets, suddenly halting on flat ground, adjusting their turrets slightly before firing a row of shells.

(This image shows the hook at the rear of a Renault Tank with clear markings.)

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