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

Chapter 8 Rumors
In the evening, the setting sun shone through the gaps between the branches of the sycamore trees and into the second floor of the 6th Army Headquarters, casting a series of faint afterimages on the busy officers and soldiers inside.

After receiving a call, the staff officer walked towards Gallieni with a puzzled look on his face:

"General, a rumor spread in the city today that we have abandoned Paris and the army is retreating. It also said that all troops will withdraw from Paris tonight!"

Gallieni was stunned. The Paris army clearly did not retreat, not a single one. Why did such a rumor appear?

The Germans spread it? To disrupt the morale of the army?

The next second, Gallieni denied this statement, saying that it could only disturb the people of Paris but not the army! At most, it would make the hesitant people withdraw from Paris.

If it wasn't the Germans who spread this rumor, who could have done it and for what purpose?
Just as Gallieni was considering several possibilities, another staff officer hurried forward to report:
"General, we discovered that the German First Army has changed its marching route. They are chasing our Fifth Army around to the east of Paris!"

"What?" Gallieni's eyes widened. "Are you sure there's nothing wrong with this information?"

"Confirmed!" the staff officer replied, "Our pilots saw clearly that the Germans changed their marching direction!"

Gallieni walked quickly to the map and swept the paper, pen, ruler, etc. on it to the ground. He drew a line on the map and said:
"If this is the case, the flank of the German First Army will be completely exposed to Paris. They can even be said to be jumping into our encirclement! Why do they do this?"

Major General Monuri, commander of the 6th Army, also found it strange. He thought for a while and said uncertainly, "General, could this be related to the rumors?"

"Rumors?" Gallieni looked up. "You mean, the rumors that we are evacuating Paris?"

Major General Monuri nodded and explained:
"If the Germans knew there was an army group in Paris, they certainly wouldn't have changed their route to pursue the Fifth Army like this. But if..."

Gallieni responded: "If they think Paris is an empty city, there is no point in encircling it. The best option is to continue pursuing the Fifth Army!"

"Yes!" said Major General Maunoury. "That's a reasonable explanation! The Germans were advancing at a high speed, which made them underestimate the enemy. So they didn't seriously verify whether the rumors were true, and naturally thought that Paris was an empty city."

Then Major General Maunouri added: "If you look at it this way, this rumor is very beneficial to us. It successfully led the Germans into our encirclement..."

Gallieni's eyes lit up: "No matter who spread it, it is certain that our good luck has come, Monuri! Get the soldiers ready for battle immediately!"

"General, any action we take requires General Joffre's permission!" Major General Monouri reminded.

Gallieni frowned: "Then ask him for instructions and prepare for battle!"

Gallieni cursed in his heart. He thought, I don't need to ask for permission to prepare for battle, right?

……

As the sky gradually darkened, Major Browne and his soldiers were still training behind the tractor in the square.

The square is large, about two acres.

This is the testing ground of the tractor factory, with various terrains: highways, muddy roads, bumpy vegetable fields, and even swamp-like fields.

This is very suitable for use as a training ground for the troops, but the open space outside the factory does not have such a complicated terrain. There is an open grassland on one side, and the Marne River is one kilometer to the north.

There were more than three hundred soldiers, most of whom were Major Browne's men.

At this time, the French army had a company of about 268 people and a battalion of 4 companies. Although Major Browne was only a battalion commander, he had more than a thousand men under him.

Unfortunately, only these three hundred people were able to reach the town of Davoise safely.

"Major!" Charles heard a soldier shout, "What's the point of following these tractors? Will they take the bullets for us?"

The tractors on the training ground were original "Holt 60" tractors, and "tanks" had not yet been used.

The "tank" was not yet completed, and it was loaded with thick steel plates and was likely to break down after being used for training for a short time.

More importantly, Charles did not intend to put the "tank" in front of the world so early. When the British invented the tank, in order to make the tank catch the enemy by surprise on the battlefield and cause the greatest psychological shock to the enemy, they called this thing called "Land Cruiser" a "water tank", that is, a "tank".

Charles felt that confidentiality was necessary.

Major Browne was the only person who knew the truth besides Charles. He looked at Charles who was watching from the side, as if to say: It's about time, the workers have gone home after get off work, and it's time to let the soldiers know the truth!

Charles stepped forward and said to the soldiers:
"You are right, they can indeed block bullets for you, because when you go to the battlefield, you use tractors equipped with steel plates!"

The soldiers were in an uproar, whispering:

“Will this work?”

"Are you sure it's not a child's toy?"

"Can it go to the battlefield?"

……

Of course there was skepticism, not only because Charles was a teenager, but also because tanks had never been seen before, and the soldiers couldn't help but wonder: If this works, why didn't it be used before? Why didn't others think of this idea?

Charles joked: "These grumpy ladies (referring to the tractor) are willing to take bullets for you, aren't you happy?"

The soldiers laughed knowingly, and then they figured it out:

"It's better to have something than nothing!"

"That's right. How about we just charge at the enemy with our rifles as before?"

“I think it’s better to have a tractor!”

……

"Charles!" Djokovic and Camille appeared behind him with anxious looks on their faces.

When they saw that it was getting dark and Charles had not returned yet, they came all the way here and were surprised to see Charles with a group of dirty soldiers.

Deyoka quickly stepped forward and pulled Charles behind him, and said to the soldiers with some fear in his eyes:

"Sorry to bother you, gentlemen. I'll take him back now..."

"No, father!" Charles interrupted Deyoka, "I'm just about to go find you. We'll stay here tonight and tomorrow too! Believe me, this is the safest place!"

Then Charles turned to the soldiers and gave them an order:

"Keep training, you should learn how to cooperate with each other!"

Major Browne shouted:
"Did you hear what Master Charles said? Get moving, you guys, the Germans won't be polite to you!"

"Yes, sir!" the soldiers responded loudly and threw themselves into training.

Djokovic and Camille were so shocked by this scene that they stood there for a long time without reacting.

Charles actually gave them orders?
These ferocious soldiers actually obeyed Charles' orders?

Just now, the two were worried that the soldiers would do something bad to Charles!

(End of this chapter)