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

Chapter 966 Lure the enemy deeper
Pershing was not a traitor.

Baker, Haig, and Wilson all agreed that "Pershing is not trustworthy" and "he might reveal the plan to Charles."

Therefore, they considered removing Pershing and replacing him with someone more obedient and cooperative as commander of the American Expeditionary Force.

However, the U.S. military, which had only recently entered the war, clearly did not have a more suitable candidate than Pershing. They worried that removing Pershing, who had a distinguished record, without any reason would incite resistance among the U.S. troops or affect morale.

So they came up with a "win-win" solution.

One day, Haig found Pershing:

"Brigadier General, we need to implement a secret plan."

"In this plan, British and American troops would retreat under the German attack, but not in a real way. Instead, they would concentrate their forces in the plains and encircle and annihilate them."

"Because this is a secret operation by the British and American forces, this plan cannot be told to anyone, including Charles, understand?"

Although Pershing sensed something was amiss, under Baker's "supervision," he had no choice but to carry out orders and keep the secret.

Pershing was not able to record Baker and Hague's phone call because of this.

He had previously promised Charles "an explanation".

"The British are shameless," Pershing thought. "Hagg and Beck actually leaked Charles's battle plan to the Germans!"

That's why the Germans were fooled into transferring a large number of troops to the east bank of the Rhine, that's why Saarbrücken was left with few troops, and that's why Charles was able to stir up such a huge storm with only 5000 paratroopers.

This is espionage, this is treason, even though they keep saying it's for the national interest!

Pershing decided to investigate the matter, and he sent someone to connect to and record Baker and Hague's private phone line.

As a result, Pershing discovered a shocking secret.

“Good news, General.” Baker called Hague: “We have reached an agreement and they will launch a counterattack in five days.”

“Excellent, Your Excellency Minister,” Haig replied. “Now, it’s time to tell Pershing about the plan.”

Then the two of them smiled knowingly.

The phone call sounded ordinary, and at first glance, it didn't seem to contain anything of value, but Pershing's mind suddenly went blank.

"We have reached a consensus"—who are we referring to?

"They will launch a counterattack in five days," but who are they? If they are Germans, why would Baker know about the German counterattack in advance?
"Tell Pershing the plan"—is this the so-called secret plan?

Connecting all the dots, and recalling the previous intention of the British and Americans to leak intelligence to the Germans, Pershing was startled by his own conclusion.

"God!" he exclaimed.

"They joined forces with the Germans."

"This is not a plan to lure the enemy in deep."

"It was a plan by the British, Americans and Germans to eliminate the First Panzer Corps and even Charles."

After calming down, Pan Xing decided to pretend he knew nothing; he didn't want to get involved in this mess.

However, when he saw the disappointment and despondency on Charles's face, he felt that this could not continue.

Because this is not in the interest of the United States, nor in the interest of humanity, at least that's what Pershing believed.

……

Charles did not use the recording to expose the British and American conspiracy; instead, he hoped to give them a resounding slap in the face in his own way.

The British and American defensive lines retreated little by little, sometimes by a few hundred meters, sometimes by a mile, and sometimes they would stop for a few days. More than a month later, they finally retreated to the "super defensive line".

The British and American troops had nowhere left to retreat. If they retreated any further, they would be facing Pétain's Army Group Center and a formidable defensive line that had taken several months to build.

This defensive line not only has bunkers, gun emplacements, barbed wire, and landmines, but also a complete underground tunnel system, with artillery positions and armored trains behind it.

Once they engage the French, the Germans, lacking ammunition, may not be able to complete the entire operation.

Only then did the defense line stabilize.

However, the 1st Panzer Corps stationed in Saarbrücken became a salient, in danger of being surrounded by the Germans and having its supply lines cut off.

The Germans were prepared to besiege Saarbrücken: artillery, armored forces, air force, and an army group of 30 men dug trenches to encircle Saarbrücken in a semi-circle.

The only area that couldn't be encircled was the southwest, because it was a 20-kilometer-long minefield, covered with uncleared mines. The French army even brought in more mines, extending the minefield to a depth of 3 kilometers.

In addition, two French motorized divisions were protecting the supply lines in this direction.

With a major war seemingly imminent, Hindenburg and Wilhelm II hesitated to launch an attack.

……

General Staff Headquarters in Berlin.

With Wilhelm II leading his troops to a series of "incredible" victories on the Western Front, he had successfully established himself in the army, and his position was even showing signs of surpassing Hindenburg's.

Many people are thinking:
"Was Hindenburg's tactic too conservative? He has always focused on defense, and even built a defensive line."

"Yes, our troops are better at offense; perhaps offense is the best defense."

"The emperor's command is correct, and his achievements during this period prove it!"

……

The German army even experienced a period of "revival," with soldiers' morale soaring, citizens cheering loudly, and more and more people signing up to join the army.

William II enjoyed immense power and prestige for a time.

Hindenburg and Ludendorff had doubts about the unusual situation on the battlefield, but they didn't think much of it, assuming it was a problem with the fighting capabilities of the British and American forces, as well as Wilhelm II's luck.

"Impossible!" Hindenburg said, looking at Saarbrücken on the map. "Charles can't possibly keep the First Panzer Corps sitting idly by in Saarbrücken. He must have something up his sleeve!"

Wilhelm II remained silent.

Prior to this, his ideas differed greatly from Hindenburg's; Hindenburg advocated defense, while Wilhelm II strongly demanded offense.

This time, however, Wilhelm II agreed with Hindenburg's view, and Charles certainly wouldn't sit idly by and wait for his doom.

After thinking for a while, he said in a muffled voice, "The important thing is, what can Charles do?"

“Mine-clearing tanks.” Hindenburg frowned. “They can move freely in and out of minefields with their mine-clearing tanks, so they don’t have to worry about their retreat route.”

Hindenburg was reluctant to mention this.

A minefield laid by the German army at great expense under his command has now been used by Charles, which is his mistake.

“Then we can use mine-clearing tanks too.” Wilhelm II stared at Hindenburg: “Are they difficult to copy?”

“No, Your Majesty,” Hindenburg replied. “We have successfully copied them, Your Majesty, but the key point is that they have air superiority, and our tanks can be easily destroyed by their artillery fire.”

What was going on? Hindenburg was puzzled. How could someone who didn't even know this command his troops to repel the British and American forces?
(End of this chapter)