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

Chapter 11 What kind of "monster" is this?
After a moment's pause, Francis asked again, "Where is Charles? Did his family leave too?"

"No, sir!" the butler replied, "They are at the tractor factory!"

Without another word Francis walked towards the tractor factory, his silver cane tucked under his arm.

The housekeeper followed in small steps, persuading earnestly:

"Sir, the Germans are right in front of us. They have already attacked. The tractor factory is in danger."

"If we go there now, we will be trapped. We should leave immediately!"

But Francis paid no attention to him. He strode down the stairs and headed straight for the tractor factory, walking faster and faster, so fast that the butler had to run to keep up with him.

Francis was not worried about Charles' safety, he just wanted to hear Charles' explanation before the Germans occupied the tractor factory. This arrogant and conceited little guy made him gamble everything, and now he had nothing!

Entering the tractor factory, Francis spotted Dejoka and Camille at a glance. They were hugging each other facing the square, and were frightened from time to time by the gunshots and screams coming from outside the wall.

"Where's Charles?" Francis asked.

"Father!" Djoka was a little surprised when he first saw Francis, but he immediately noticed that Francis' face was gloomy. After a slight hesitation, he realized that his father was angry with Charles.

Djoka was enraged. He gently pushed Camille away and stood in front of Francis with an expressionless face: "This has nothing to do with Charles, father! Everything is your decision!"

Francis pushed Djoka away and was stunned by what he saw.

Charles was standing on the stands in the square, calmly looking outside the wall with a telescope, and occasionally giving a few instructions to those below.

Hundreds of fully armed French soldiers gathered under the stands. They were divided into teams of more than a dozen "small tofu blocks", and each "small tofu block" had an "iron can" in front of it.

"What is that?" Francis looked at the "iron can" curiously.

"I don't know!" said Dejoka. "Char said it can keep us safe, and there are factories!"

A disdainful laugh escaped Francis' lips.

He recognized the tracks. Those "iron cans" were modified from tractors, but they were wrapped in steel plates all around. The exhaust pipes were emitting blue smoke, and it was clear that they had been started and were ready to go.

“He thinks he’s Napoleon!” Francis defines Charles: “With these modified tractors!”

But Francis didn't go forward. He wanted to see what else this little guy could do!
Ciel acted quite maturely, shouting like a commander:

"Hold on!"

"Hold on..."

"attack!"

The "iron can" made a muffled sound and slowly moved forward. The French soldiers following behind also moved, holding their rifles tightly and dividing into two teams to follow slowly behind.

There are a total of 12 "iron cans". The 9 in the front are lined up in a line and moving forward in unison, while the 3 in the back are following slowly as if they are intentionally keeping a distance from the front.

This was Charles' decision.

He divided the "tanks" into four groups of three. The first three groups took the lead in attacking the enemy formation, while the rear group served as a reserve ready to provide reinforcements or respond to emergencies at any time.

For example, if your flank is outflanked by the enemy and you need to fill the gap, keeping a reserve team is the key to victory.

The "iron can" rattled as it drove towards the wall, and then with a "bang" it easily pushed the wall down. The tracks crushed the broken bricks to raise the wedge-shaped front of the vehicle, and it appeared majestically in front of the charging German soldiers.

The German soldiers who were originally enjoying a great victory and were chasing the French army were instantly shocked by this scene, and they couldn't help but pause while charging at full speed.

"God, what is that?"

"Is it their (France's) secret weapon?"

"We have fallen into the enemy's trap. They deliberately lured us here!"

...It is human nature to be afraid of unknown things, and when people are afraid, they will have wild thoughts. The result of wild thoughts is that uneasy emotions and negative rumors spread quickly in the team. Many people even unconsciously moved back, holding their rifles but forgetting to shoot.

This unit is the elite of the First Army, known as the First Iron Regiment, and its commander is Colonel Jonas.

At this time, Colonel Jonas was in the middle of the troops. Seeing some unusual movements ahead, he hurried forward with his guards. He just happened to see several "iron cans" rumbling over the ruins and onto the flat ground.

Without thinking, Colonel Jonas shouted:

"Everyone, pay attention, raise your guns, and destroy it!"

Under his powerful command, the German soldiers mustered up the courage to raise their rifles and aim at the "monster" that was slowly approaching them.

At this time, the quality of the German army was reflected. Even though they were frightened by the "monster", no one fired randomly but waited for the colonel's order.

"Fire!"

"Boom!"

"Bang bang bang!"

……

Dense bullets flew towards the "monster", but a surprising scene appeared: the bullets hit the "monster" and only a few sparks came out. After a series of "clang clang" sounds, the "monster" was unharmed.

The German soldiers were all stunned. They stared at the thing in front of them, and most of them were thinking about one question:
If bullets are useless against it, how else can we destroy it?
Use a bayonet?
Or the peak on the helmet?
Colonel Jonas was no less shocked than the soldiers, but his long combat experience and the quality of his officers allowed him to suppress his panic and continue to give orders in a low voice:
"Raise the gun!"

The German soldiers mechanically pulled the bolt to load their guns and pointed them at the "monster" again, but many of them turned pale and had sweat on their foreheads, while some were so nervous that they were swallowing their saliva.

"Fire!"

"Bang bang bang..."

This time the gunshots were more coordinated than last time. They hoped to cause as much damage as possible to the "monster" through this "simultaneous" firepower.

But it was still useless. The bullets only made small white dents on the "monster"'s body, just like rain hitting a smooth beach and nothing happened. The "monster" still approached them little by little, making strange roars.

Charles in the stands was watching all this coldly with a telescope. The Germans' actions were doomed to be in vain. At a distance of about 9 meters, they could not penetrate a mm steel plate even if it was vertical armor, not to mention that the front of the "tank" was inclined armor.

Camille was stunned. After a while, she grabbed Djoka's hand and exclaimed:
"Djoka, did you see that? It worked!"

“I can’t believe it, it actually works!”

Camille turned his gaze to Charles, his eyes full of surprise and pride:

“He’s amazing!”

She unconsciously walked towards Charles, but was stopped by Dejoka:

"No, Camille!"

"The battle isn't over yet, we can't disturb him..."

Camille came to her senses immediately, and an awkward smile appeared on her tearful face:
"You're right, I almost did something wrong!"

As she spoke she kept her eyes fixed on Charles, repeating:
"He is our son! Our son..."

Francis looked at the shocking scene on the battlefield with a gloomy mood.

Could it be that this little guy had already thought of using this thing to stop the Germans when he persuaded him to bet everything?
If this is the case, such foresight and cunning are truly terrifying!

At this time, the battlefield has undergone new changes:
The machine gun in front of the "iron can" roared, and bullets "da da da" shot towards the German soldiers. The French soldiers hiding in the back also leaned out one by one and shot at the German soldiers.

(End of this chapter)