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

Chapter 14 "Inventors"

Subsequent battles benefited from the counterattack of the main force of the French 5th Army.

Major Browne's troops had only more than 300 people. Even if they chased thousands of German soldiers, they would not be able to wipe them out in a short time, and they might choke to death if they were not careful.

In particular, this tactic of using "tanks" to cover the infantry's advance has a weakness:
Once the German soldiers made up their minds to launch a counterattack against the "tank" troops and engage in hand-to-hand combat with them, the "tanks" would become decorations.

Fortunately, the German soldiers at that time did not understand this. They were simply worried and afraid of being approached by these "monsters" and finally chose to flee even though there was a dead end behind them.

Then the main French force arrived. They were the ones who advocated attack, attack, and attack again. Their usual training habits made them rush across the "tank" line of defense towards the German soldiers in front without any hesitation.

When passing by the "tanks", many people looked at them with curiosity and fear. After confirming that they were their own equipment, they rushed towards the enemy with confidence.

There were shouts, sounds of fighting, wailing, and occasional gunshots.

Bayonets, rifle butts, stones, everything was used!
Everywhere there were French and German soldiers scuffling with each other, and they were easy to tell apart, since the French soldiers were wearing striking red trousers.

Charles was surprised that the German army still had fighting power. The momentum of the French main force was obviously stagnant as if it was blocked by a gate.

This is not an army that can be humiliated. Without the support of "tanks", France would have to suffer ten times the casualties to defeat them!

But it still doesn't help.

The German army had only a few hundred soldiers guarding the trench line, while the French had tens of thousands of soldiers, with more constantly coming in. The red tide quickly overwhelmed the German army and disappeared without a trace.

The French soldiers who rushed to the river bank raised their rifles again. While suppressing the firepower of the German troops on the other side of the river, they shot at the German deserters in the middle of the river.

With the sound of gunfire, German soldiers fell into the cold river. Most of them didn't even have time to scream because their mouths would be filled with river water as soon as they fell to the ground. The river was surprisingly quiet and no one knew whether they were killed by bullets or drowned by the river.

Then the French army set up machine guns, and the bullets skipped on the river, leaving streaks of blood. Corpses floated on the river, drifting with the waves like dead fish, and the blood dyed the surrounding river water into smoky red.

Kluck watched all this with a grim face. He originally thought that this battle was a sure win, and the outcome was decided when the First Regiment successfully captured the bridgehead.

However, the situation suddenly took a turn for the worse, and before Kluck could understand what was happening, the German army had collapsed and was defeated.

"What happened?" Kluck asked doubtfully, "Have the enemy reinforcements arrived?"

Kluck did not notice the "iron cans" on the river bank defense line.

The staff officers didn't know what was going on, but they knew what to do.

One survivor was brought before Kluck, the highest-ranking officer the staff could find.

This was a lieutenant. His face was covered in mud and blood and he seemed to be injured. Because of fear, he was shaking uncontrollably like a sieve and breathing cold air.

Kluck frowned and looked at the lieutenant with disdain. Is this an officer of the First Steel Regiment?

"What happened?" Kluck asked coldly, suppressing the urge to drag the lieutenant down and shoot him.

"General!" The lieutenant replied in a trembling voice: "The enemy has a new equipment, it is invulnerable to swords and guns, we... can't penetrate it, but it can use machine guns to shoot at us..."

The lieutenant looked across the river with lingering fear. Just then, a "tin can" happened to come into view. The lieutenant quickly pointed in that direction: "There it is! That's it, the monster!"

Kluck raised his telescope and looked in the direction indicated by the lieutenant, and sure enough, he saw a strange guy in the aperture.

Kluck's face changed. What was that thing? How could it be able to turn the tide at the last minute?
After thinking for a while, he ordered the staff officer beside him:
"Take him away and make him tell you everything he knows, every detail, without leaving out a single word!"

"Yes, General!" The staff officer responded and winked at the two soldiers. The latter understood and they controlled the lieutenant who was on the verge of collapse and going crazy.

The French soldiers on the other side of the river had completed the final finishing work. They cheered and waved at the last few German deserters, seemingly saying goodbye, but more like showing off.

In sharp contrast are the gloomy faces of the German soldiers on the north bank.

This was the first time the German army had suffered such a defeat since the war began. The riverbank, bridge, and river between the two armies were littered with corpses of German soldiers. A conservative estimate was that four to five thousand people were lost in just a moment.

What made them feel even more humiliated was that the French 5th Army, which they had been chasing all the way, was stationed on the opposite side!
These former defeated opponents finally tasted the taste of failure!
...Charles and Joseph rushed to the battlefield as soon as possible, worried that Matthew would be one of the "tanks" trapped in the trenches.

If you were trapped in a trench, you would be likely to be shot from the flank by German soldiers with rifles at close range, which was no joke.

However, Charles and Joseph were soon reassured because they saw Matthew walk out of the "tank" amid the cheers of the soldiers and waved proudly to the French soldiers!

Matthew is always so high-profile. He will show off and magnify every achievement he makes.

But he deserves it!

"He's fine!" Charles breathed a sigh of relief. If something happened to Matthew, he really didn't know how to explain to Joseph.

Joseph seemed to see through Charles's thoughts, and he was quite emotional:

"Even if something happens, I won't take my anger out on you, Master Charles!"

"He's fighting for France, it has nothing to do with you!"

"And you saved us all!"

Suddenly a soldier shouted:

"Hey, that's Master Charles. He invented this iron thing and helped us win the battle!"

Everyone turned their eyes to Charles, and then there was another wave of even louder cheers. Soldiers rushed up from all directions, vying to shake hands with Charles.

"It's my pleasure, Master Ciel!"

"Thank you so much, you saved us, you saved this battle!"

"You are our savior!"

……

The soldiers' demands were simple: they would respect whoever could lead them to victory, because that often meant they could survive.

Charles saw Major Browne in the crowd, and they exchanged glances and nodded slightly.

Before the war, Charles had agreed with Major Brownie that Major Brownie would be responsible for training, command and combat.

Major Browne was reluctant at first.

"You obviously did this!" Major Brownie said angrily, "I won't take the credit from you!"

Ciel asked back, "What do you think would happen if they knew I did this?"

Major Browne was stunned for a moment, then immediately realized the problem: "They may draft you even though you are a minor!"

"Yes," said Charles. "I don't want that, so..."

Major Browne nodded helplessly: "Okay, I'll do it! But if necessary, I will return these honors to you!"

After a pause, Major Browne added, "I will tell my subordinates to speak with one voice!"

That's why someone shouted at Charles: "He invented this iron thing!"

Compared to the glory of inventing the iron guy, Charles' military talent seems insignificant.

At the same time, Charles was also willing to accept the title of "inventor", especially since this invention helped the military win the battle.

This will give Charles a good reputation in France, and help Charles gain a place in the French military industry.

(End of this chapter)