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

Chapter 68: Sharbi Gallieni is more useful

As it was about to get dark, Brownie and his men returned to the barracks amid the cheers of the officers and soldiers of the 5th Army.

This was the fifth harassment campaign he and his subordinates had launched. Although there had not been much success, the key point was safety.

Brownie likes this tactic, not only because the harassment battle was proposed by Charles, but also because this tactic is safe.

"No one doesn't like safety!" Brownie joked with his subordinates while performing a mission: "If there is, let him come to me to sign up, and I will definitely make him fulfill his wish!"

The men laughed, thinking that Brownie was telling the truth.

Despite this, Brownie had lost more than thirty sidecars by this point in the battle.

Some of them were out of order, and some were caused by traffic accidents on mountain roads... Sidecars are difficult to control, especially on mountain roads.

But more tragedies occurred when the Germans shot the driver to death with rifles.

Before each mission, Brownie would emphasize again and again:

"Our goal is to harass the enemy and make them restless, so there's no need to get too close. As long as the bullets can barely hit them, that's enough!"

"Remember, when you can see the enemy clearly and aim, they can also aim at you, and may see it more clearly!"

"So, it is not wise to get close to the enemy. It will make you retire early and report to God!"

This should have been easy to operate. The firepower of the Maxim machine gun covered an area and could pose a threat to the enemy from a kilometer away, when the enemy could only see them through a telescope.

However, there were always those who wanted to see the enemy clearly and shoot him dead, whether they wanted to be heroes or out of habit, or simply wanted to try out the Germans’ marksmanship.

The result was that nearly twenty sidecars were left on the battlefield forever!
Brownie rode his sidecar to his tent and tiredly stepped down from the driver's seat with his stiff and numb legs.

Although harassment warfare is safer, it requires constant movement, which forces even the commander Brownie to learn how to drive and ride in rotation.

After a few days in a row, someone even said that he would rather spread his legs on the bed like a whore than ride on this thing again!

What Brownie wants most right now is to take a bath and have a good sleep. Other things can be considered later!

However, General Gard stopped him and said, "Everything is going well, Colonel?"

"All's well, General!" Brownie replied.

Brownie had been promoted to colonel, but to Brownie, there was no difference except that he had two more gold stripes on his cuffs.

He still rides a sidecar and still commands the same subordinates.

Oh, yes, the team of sidecars has become much larger, from the original 100 to 350, and two-wheeled motorcycles have been added. Brownie's subordinates may have two thousand people.

However, most of these subordinates were scattered in various places to carry out harassment warfare, and some of them were even separated without having the chance to see each other.

"Come to my headquarters!" said Major General Gard.

"Yes, General!" Brownie responded, walking towards the headquarters with numb legs and a painful look on his face. They were like countless ants gnawing at him.

After finally entering the tent and standing in front of Major General Gard, Brownie stood up and saluted in a standard military salute. Major General Gard flipped through a pile of documents for a while, took out a document and handed it to Brownie, saying:
"This is your new mission, Colonel!"

Colonel Brownie opened the file and took a look. He immediately frowned and complained:
"Reconnaissance intelligence? We also need to find the enemy's ammunition depot and headquarters!"

"We are soldiers, not spies, General! I don't think this is appropriate..."

Brownie's words were not an act of rebellion. He was appointed as the staff officer of the 23th Army Group after he led 5 men to charge at German troops, killing and wounding thousands of them and destroying dozens of artillery pieces while suffering only casualties himself.

One of his duties was to give advice to Major General Gard, including tactical advice!

"Really?" Major General Gard looked a little puzzled: "But this is General Gallieni's order!"

"No one's orders are effective, General!" Brownie shook his head. "This is too dangerous. We have never received such training..."

"But this is also the tactic proposed by Charles!" said Major General Gad.

"Xia...Charles' tactics?" Colonel Brownie looked at Major General Gad in surprise.

"Yes!" Major General Gard nodded. "Charles is now serving as a staff officer beside General Gallieni. I heard that he is a second lieutenant! Although Gallieni did not write this down in a document and make it public, he verbally informed people over the phone in order to make them confident in this tactic!"

This is Gallieni's strength. If he tells the person verbally over the phone, there won't be any evidence left, so it's not impossible for him to deny it one day.

However, there seemed to be no need to hide it. Charles' military talent could not be hidden no matter how hard he tried, especially since he was already in the army.

"Let me take another look, General!" Brownie turned his eyes to the document again, and after a moment's silence, his tone changed, and it was smooth and natural without any awkwardness: "It's a very interesting plan. Although it's beyond my expectation, it's a bold innovation!"

Major General Gard raised his eyebrows with a hint of humor on his face: "Do you think the plan is feasible?"

"Of course!" Colonel Brownie nodded heavily. "Of course it's feasible, General! It's very thoughtful. It allows us to pass through the enemy's defense line, park the motorcycle in the mountains and hide it, and then blend into the crowd wearing civilian clothes. No one will recognize us. You have to know that the Germans are on French soil, and the occupied areas are all French civilians. It will be easy for us to get their help!"

"So, what about the offensive phase?" Major General Gard asked again.

"The offensive phase is even more exciting!" Colonel Brownie's eyes were full of admiration, and his tone was even full of worship:

"He actually considered that the Germans also produce sidecars. It is true. The Germans tried to use sidecars to deal with our harassment tactics. Although not many, we also noticed it!"

"Charles immediately took advantage of this. He asked us to disguise ourselves as Germans and drive sidecars towards the enemy's headquarters and ammunition depots..."

"We happen to be using the German Maxim, and the rifles too!"

"Are these all coincidences? Or did Ciel already think of this? Incredible!"

Major General Gard finally asked: "So, do you accept this plan?"

"Of course, General!" Colonel Browne replied firmly, "Why not? It will work miracles again. This may be an opportunity for us!"

Major General Gad laughed. It seemed that Charles was much more useful than General Gallieni!

(End of this chapter)