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

Chapter 969 A Striking Contrast

Hindenburg's assessment of Charles was correct.

The reason Charles abandoned Saarbrücken and flew to Belgium alone to take charge was not because he had given up on Saarbrücken, but because he trusted it completely.

Now that the battle has progressed this far, Tijani is fully capable of handling things on his own and no longer needs Charles to oversee operations from the rear.

In Wilhelm II's eyes, the First Panzer Corps was an isolated, surrounded force.

The map confirms that this is correct.

Saarbrücken was partially encircled by the German forces, with only a narrow passage serving as its supply line.

Once the German troops stormed into the city and engaged the French in hand-to-hand combat, they could soon cut off the French supply lines with artillery fire.

Therefore, the First Armored Corps could only retreat from the minefield with the help of mine-clearing tanks.

In this way, the German army could not only gain the honor of defeating the First Chern Panzer Corps, but also recapture Saarbrücken to consolidate the Hinden Line. Moreover, by defeating the French army in a short period of time, they could also send troops to reinforce the Liege fortress.

The imagination is beautiful, but the reality is cruel.

Wilhelm II never expected that the First Panzer Corps of Saarbrücken would not defend or retreat, but instead launch an attack.

While the German army was attacking Saarlücken, the French First Panzer Corps launched a counter-offensive.

They spearheaded the attack with new tanks, which severely dampened the German army's momentum from the very beginning of the war.

……

Telegrams arrived at the General Staff in Berlin like snowflakes.

Wilhelm II stared at the telegram in disbelief, and uttered a series of questions in a low voice:

"A counterattack? What ability do they have to launch a counterattack?"

"If the First Panzer Corps launches a counterattack, who will defend Saarbrücken?"

“Saarbrücken is their last line of defense; they will lose all supplies, and their tanks can only advance a few dozen kilometers at most…”

Hindenburg interrupted Wilhelm II's reverie by looking at the map: "Your Majesty, the French army is likely to make a large-scale crossing soon."

"What?" Wilhelm II looked at Hindenburg in surprise. "What large-scale transit?"

Hindenburg pointed to Freeman's location:

"From here, Your Majesty."

"We thought this was a supply line, but now it seems that's not the case."

"Charles used it as a passage: French troops would be continuously replenished to the front lines through this passage."

"then……"

Wilhelm II understood.

This is a relay race, like a long snake.

This meant that the French army had completely abandoned the British and American forces, and they intended to defeat the German army on their own.

Therefore, even with the cooperation of British and American troops, it wouldn't work, because the French army didn't need them, and Charles didn't take them seriously.

Of course, Charles didn't take the German army seriously either.

……

Freeman Centipede Passage.

The French Third Armored Corps, led by Tassigny, is rapidly advancing along the roads to the battlefield; they will form the second echelon in the attack on the Ruhr industrial region.

The First Panzer Corps led the way, followed by the Third Panzer Corps. The two panzer corps cooperated with each other, like a sharp knife penetrating deep into German territory.

Along the roadside stood fully armed infantrymen marching in formation; they were Foch's Northern Army Group.

The infantry's mission was to advance and defend: they would closely follow the 1st and 3rd Panzer Corps, taking over all captured cities and fortifications, including Saarbrücken. ...

At the Freeman Joint Command, a panicked Haig sent an urgent telegram to Charles: "Lieutenant General, the battle has begun, and your troops are launching a large-scale offensive. Is this your plan? You should return to command immediately!"

He also found Pershing and said angrily, "Charles can't do this! We know nothing about his plans. It's obvious he intends to take all the credit for defeating Germany!"

“General,” Pershing said with a hint of helplessness, “don’t you understand? Charles has seen through your conspiracy.”

"What?" Hague stared at Pershing in astonishment, his eyes darting around. "I don't understand what you mean."

“You know what I’m talking about,” Pershing replied.
"What you can't get on the battlefield, you can't get at the negotiating table either. Your problem is that you want something beyond strength."

"Now, Charles is showing everyone through his actions that France can easily defeat its enemies without the help of Britain and the United States."

"So, do you still think you can benefit from this?"

Haig understood.

In order to cooperate with Wilhelm II, Britain and the United States, despite having an overwhelming advantage, were repeatedly defeated by the German army.

Now, the French army, relying on itself and just one of its units, was able to crush the German army and defeat the German forces of the British and Americans with overwhelming force.

A stark contrast, a strong comparison, and completely asymmetrical results.

All of this tells the world one message: the combat effectiveness of the British and American armies is far behind that of the French army. Even if the combined strength of the two armies is several times that of the French army, their combat effectiveness is less than one-tenth of that of the French army.

In this dog-eat-dog world, who cares about Britain and the United States?

Haig dared not think any further; he realized that Britain and America's subtle actions seemed to have personally placed the crown of world number one on Charles's head.

From now on, all countries in the world will follow France's lead.

If Britain is so weak that it cannot even defeat a dying Germany, what ability does it have to control its colonies?

Thus, with the support and call of France, the colonies will raise their flags and declare independence!

……

General Staff Headquarters in Berlin.

With cold sweat beading on his forehead, Wilhelm II suddenly remembered something. He gripped Hindenburg's arm tightly: "Marshal, airplanes! We still have airplanes! The new kind you mentioned! It can help us gain air superiority!"

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Hindenburg replied, “I have already sent it out. Only…”

"But what?" Wilhelm II asked.

"In this situation, its effectiveness may be quite limited," Hindenburg sighed softly.
"Even if the fighter jets successfully gained air superiority, they could not stop the French tanks from advancing."

"The French army has equipped itself with new tanks, which has caused a huge psychological shock to our troops."

"The soldiers say this new tank can ignore infantry, tanks, and all fortifications; it's the perfect war machine!"

The 75mm tank gun was a powerful weapon for destroying tanks and fortifications, including German anti-tank guns.

The bow machine gun and coaxial machine gun could riddle German soldiers who tried to get close with bullets.

The German soldiers were immediately at a loss as to how to deal with this thing, and they scattered and fled in terror at the mere sight of it.

After considering for a moment, Hindenburg drew a line on the map:

"I've deployed three artillery regiments to Düsseldorf."

"It was a route that the French army had to take."

"If we can gain air superiority here, and then coordinate with the air force and artillery, we might be able to hold them off here!"

This is Charles's tactic:
By utilizing air superiority to obtain artillery information, artillery gains an advantage in artillery battles.

Once the artillery gains an advantage, it can then use artillery fire to destroy enemy tanks.

This is a useful tactic that could potentially stop the enemy's offensive!
(End of this chapter)