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

Chapter 41 Keeping up the pace
It was just entering the afternoon.

Warm sunlight shone into the canvas tent through the window. Kluck sat on the camp chair and silently looked at the coffee in his hand. It clearly exuded an alluring aroma, but in Kluck's eyes it was like a cup of coagulated black blood, filled with death and pain.

"According to the statistics sent by various departments, our army has suffered more than 60,000 casualties!" The staff officer reported the latest intelligence while marking it on the map:
"The 2nd and 3rd Armies are on our left, the 4th Army is on our right, and the location of the 9th Army is unknown. They should be scattered behind our army and have not yet been organized..."

Kluck, who had been motionless like a statue, suddenly raised his head and said in a low but unusually cold voice: "Remove Major General Dimke and have Major General Baldwin take over. Order him to organize the 9th Army before dark tonight!"

"Yes!" The staff officer responded and immediately asked the signalman to pass on Kluck's order.

One of Kluck's strengths is his excellent memory. The main commanders of each army and even each division under the First Army, as well as their specialties and personalities, seem to be engraved in his mind. He can easily deploy them without looking up documents and has never made mistakes.

After a moment of silence, Kluck asked again: "Where is the 2nd Army now?"

The staff officer glanced at the map and replied, "Five kilometers behind us, they have stopped advancing, considering that our army is retreating!"

Kluck hummed and said calmly, "Tell them that they can move on early tomorrow morning!"

"But General!" The staff officer was a little anxious: "The Chief of the General Staff's order is to continue retreating. There are two enemy armies in front of us, and the British Expeditionary Force has also rejoined the counterattack sequence..."

Kluck didn't say anything, but just glanced at the staff officer coldly, which scared him so much that he didn't dare to say anything more. Finally, the staff officer just responded with a light "yes" and passed the order on again.

Kluck knew he still had a chance.

Although the First Army suffered more than 60,000 casualties, it still had more than 200,000 troops and their strength remained.

And the two French armies... they just look scary because of their large numbers.

The French tactics were so repetitive that Kluck could guess what they were going to do next.

The German army only needed to hide in bunkers, kill their manpower and frustrate their morale, and then launch a counterattack to defeat them and win.

As for the Chief of General Staff, he was merely frightened by the enemy's strength. Once the First Army defeated the French again, he would change his mind.

I will definitely win, Kluck thought, even if the enemy has "armored monsters", my artillery will blow them all up!

Kluck stood up and stood at the window looking at the soldiers who were resting in the open area. They were three mixed infantry brigades directly under the army group, with a total of more than 20,000 people.

They are the most loyal and elite troops of the empire. They are well-trained and never discouraged even in the face of adversity.

Seeing how methodical they were, Kluck made a confident judgment: "Nothing can stop them from marching to Paris! Nothing!"

However, it was like a response to Kluck.

Suddenly, dense gunfire rang out, and the orderly military camp immediately became chaotic. Several soldiers were hit by bullets in Kluck's sight and fell to the ground screaming.

"What happened?" Kluck shouted.

He recognized the sound as that of a Maxim machine gun, but the enemy was not equipped with a Maxim.

Could it be that the friendly forces mistook them for enemies and attacked them?
Just as Kluck was wondering, several bullets pierced through his tent with a sound of breaking through the air, and a three-wheeled motorcycle sped past Kluck in his surprised eyes, only a dozen meters away from him.

Before Kluck could see clearly, the commander of the guard battalion rushed in and pinned Kluck under him. The next second, machine gun bullets flew over his head with a "da da da" sound.

With just a glance, Kluck had confirmed that it was an enemy.

The German army did not have this kind of motorcycle, and the riders were wearing the red pants unique to French soldiers!
But why did the enemy come here? Why didn't the regiment carrying out the covering mission in the rear send any warning?
Did they get wiped out before they could even react?

impossible!
However, the fact was that the enemy was right before their eyes and almost shot him, the army commander, into a sieve!
……

It was Major Browne's 3rd Infantry Battalion that broke into Kluck's camp.

They set out from the motorcycle factory at daybreak on their sidecar tricycles, and while buying supplies in the small town, they found two locals who were familiar with the terrain in the area to lead the way.

On the way, they successfully got rid of Major General Gad's main force and entered the mountain road.

The convoy of motorcycles circled around in the mountain roads and took several hours to get back to the road.

Not far on the road, after turning a high ground, a large open area and a huge military camp suddenly came into their sight.

Due to lack of mental preparation, the motorcycles slowed down one after another, and the soldiers stared blankly at the densely packed enemies in front of them.

The Germans did not react. They did not think the enemy could get here, so they naturally treated the convoy as their own.

"God, there are at least 20,000 people!" Machine gunner Yves, sitting in a sidecar, reported to Major Browne who had just arrived: "What should we do, Major?"

Major Browne craned his neck to look past the motorcycle in front of him into the open field, and gritted his teeth and responded, "What else can we do? We have no way out!"

Major Browne turned his head to look at the sidecars that were following behind him, waved his hand and ordered: "Enemy ahead, prepare for battle!"

"Enemy ahead, prepare for battle!"

……

The orders were passed down one after another.

The motorcyclist lowered his body and buried his head under the armor as much as possible, while the machine gunner pressed the ammunition belt, pulled the bolt, and held the gun handle with both hands.

Major Browne was one of the machine gunners, operating a machine gun while sitting in a sidecar.

"Keep the speed!" Major Browne added, "Rush as fast as you can and don't look back!"

The soldiers responded sparsely:
"Yes, Major!"

Someone asked fearfully: "Major, what if we charge forward and there are still enemies ahead?"

Major Browne replied calmly: "Then kill them!"

Without waiting for the soldiers to ask more questions, Major Browne grabbed the machine gun with one hand and waved forward with the other, shouting:

"Go on, boys! Kill them all!"

The motorcycles left the road with a roar and rushed into the open space. Like a sharp knife, they cut in diagonally along the left side of the German camp...

The Maxim machine gun located on the right side started firing as it approached the military camp. The dense bullets were like a hurricane, sweeping madly towards the German camp!

(Note: France changed to driving on the right after Napoleon, which is different from the UK, so the French sidecar is the right sidecar)

(End of this chapter)