I was a tycoon in World War I: Starting to save France

Chapter 1012: Persuading them to surrender is the best solution.
"Is everything alright, Winter?" Charles contacted General Winter via radio.

By this time, General Winter had been transferred to the battleship HMS Prince of Wales. His face was blackened by gunpowder smoke, half of his eyebrows were singed, and his right hand was wrapped in bandages and hung from his neck.

Those were the injuries he sustained while being evacuated from the "Canada". The fire and the white, hot gas spewing from the steam pipes made visibility very low, and it took him quite a while to find the gangway attached to the side of the ship.

“Very well, Charles,” General Winter replied, but his expression did not reflect this.

“I warned you,” Charles said, “you will not succeed.”

“Yes, I lost, Charles.” General Winter’s expression was complex, his tone tinged with anger.
So stop saying these useless things.

"Can we be more direct and just tell me what you want?"

"I mean, what are you going to do to us?"

Charles smiled:
"What do you think I'll do to you? Throw you into the sea? Or shoot you in the head?"

"No, Winter."

“I will treat prisoners of war well; this has always been my practice.”

General Winter grunted in agreement: "You'd better keep your word."

At this moment, General Winter was like a wounded beast.

It wasn't a physical injury, but a psychological one.

Charles's excellence completely shattered General Winter's pride and arrogance, even making him feel ashamed of himself.

But that's how people are; the more insecure they are, the more they show their self-esteem.

Therefore, General Winter's wording in the telegram was not very polite.

“If that’s the case, then we have nothing more to say.” General Winter wanted to end the conversation: “Remember your promise, Lieutenant General.”

Just as he was about to turn and leave, a French guard blocked General Winter's way.

With his right hand resting on the holster at his waist, he said politely, "Please continue this conversation, General, until Lieutenant General Charles agrees to end it!"

General Winter gritted his teeth and returned to the radio.

"Don't rush, Winter." The communications officer handed the translated telegram to General Winter:

"That's right, you've surrendered, and I can guarantee your safety."

"But don't you consider the problems of other people?"

General Winter immediately guessed Charles's intention:
"You want me to persuade my troops to surrender?"

"Don't dream, Ciel, I'm not that stupid."

"They will fight to the last moment, they will destroy Malta airport to achieve final victory, and then Toulon port..."

General Winter rattled off a long string of boasts and unrealistic fantasies, seemingly venting his emotions.

Charles didn't reply, quietly waiting for him to send telegram after telegram.

Several minutes later, when General Winter was speechless, Charles finally replied:
Do you know the losses we suffered in this naval battle?

There were two pilots in total.

"One of them died in a crash during landing and fell into the sea. The other fighter jet malfunctioned on its return flight, but he was successfully rescued after parachuting."

General Winter broke down instantly.

His fleet lost two of the most advanced battlecruisers of the time.

(Note: During World War I, the most advanced warships were generally considered to be dreadnoughts, and the next most advanced were battlecruisers used to hunt enemy ships.)

The flagship was bombed and crippled, with more than 2,000 crew members killed or wounded, and nearly 20 warships in the entire fleet surrendered. Yet, the Shire's aircraft carrier only lost two aircraft and one pilot?!
While General Winter remained silent, another telegram from Charles arrived:
"So, you think there's any point in continuing this war?"

“You’re the target, Winter. If this were the Atlantic or the North Sea, I might have some reservations, but this is the Mediterranean.” “You know why?”

The French guards promptly handed General Winter a map and spread it out in front of him.

Charles continued:
"My aircraft carriers cannot move freely in the Atlantic or the North Sea."

"Because we may have to pass through the La Manche Strait, which is a graveyard for aircraft carriers."

General Winter agreed.

The advantage of an aircraft carrier is that it can use bombers to carry out long-range strikes; entering the La Manche Strait would be suicidal.

"We also need to worry about fighter jets taking off from the UK mainland."

General Winter nodded again.

He knew the vulnerability of aircraft carriers; if they were bombed by the enemy, even just damage to the runway could render them combat ineffective.

"But in the Mediterranean, I can say with certainty that no matter how many warships come in, even the entire Royal Navy, they will not return."

General Winter laughed:

“You’ve forgotten we still have Egypt, Lieutenant General.”

"In addition, we also have Greece, both of which will become our ports and bases."

"Even if our fleet does not return to the mainland, it can still hold its own against the French Navy in the Mediterranean."

Ciel simply replied with two words: "Is that so?"

Then he stopped talking.

General Winter waited for a while without any movement, then looked around in confusion: "What does this mean?"

As General Winter was wondering what Charles was up to, a French staff officer walked into the communications room from outside. He took two documents out of his briefcase and handed them to General Winter: "General, these are our next operational plans."

"Operation plan?" General Winter took the document with some skepticism, glanced at it, and instantly turned pale.

These two documents are the "Operation Plan for Greece" and the "Operation Plan for Egypt".

General Winter flipped through the documents in disbelief.

So, all of this was planned by Charles?
Then another telegram from Charles arrived:

“You know that Britain will not have the initiative in Greece. The French have more than 200,000 troops there, as well as the support of the Greek military and civilians.”

"As for Egypt, they will receive news of the British fleet's crushing defeat tomorrow."

"Do you think that it, having long been oppressed by Britain, will seize this excellent opportunity to seek independence?"

General Winter broke out in a cold sweat instantly.

Britain was able to control these colonies because it possessed the world's strongest navy.

Now that the navy has been utterly defeated by the Charles, Egypt will naturally seize the opportunity to rise up.

And it's not just Egypt, but also Africa, Canada, and Australia...

"Give up!" Charles continued.

“Continuing this will only increase casualties and make no difference.”

"I will use the ports of Toulon and Malta to blockade the Strait of Tunisia, rely on the port of Piraeus in Greece to supply the aircraft carrier, and attack the port of Said in Egypt."

"You are trapped in the Mediterranean with nowhere to go."

(The image above shows the location of Port Said, Egypt, at the exit of the Suez Canal.)
Finally, Charles said coldly, "Persuading them to surrender is the best solution!"

(End of this chapter)