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

Chapter 975 Ruhr Industrial Region

The Ruhr industrial region was as busy as ever, with dense factories piled up like building blocks on the outskirts of the city, huge chimneys constantly spewing out thick smoke, and the air filled with a suffocating smell of coal.

Workers come and go in the factory. Trucks transport iron ore to the smelter, where workers then put it on conveyor belts, where it is finally processed into steel and transported to other factories.

They would be transformed into artillery, tanks, ammunition, and other supplies needed on the battlefield, providing the material basis for Germany's ongoing war.

(The image above shows one of the ruins of the Ruhr industrial region)

Suddenly, several gunshots rang out from outside.

The workers didn't take it seriously; they were used to it.

Workers who are subjected to high-intensity work but are often underfed may do outrageous things, such as stealing, robbing food, or selling off supplies.

At this point, the guards would use their guns against them, sometimes firing blanks as a warning, and if they still didn't behave, they would get serious.

But this time it seemed different; the gunfire continued for a long time, and even became louder and more frequent.

The workers stopped what they were doing, puzzled. The truck also stopped, and the driver stuck his head out to look in the direction from which the gunshots were coming. Only the machines and conveyor belts were making a "whooshing" sound.

"What's going on?" someone asked. "Have the French attacked?"

"Impossible!" the foreman shouted.
"Our army will never let them get this far."

"Go back to work. Maybe it's just an exercise, or maybe some unit is doing target practice."

The workers agreed with the foreman.

The Ruhr industrial region is extremely important; it accounts for 80% of Germany's total coal production and 70% of its steel production, in addition to chemical, petroleum, and machinery manufacturing industries.

If the French army were to reach and occupy this area, it would almost certainly mean the collapse of the German military industry.

However, just as the workers were about to return to their posts, two airplanes flew overhead with a whoosh.

The workers exclaimed in surprise:
“That’s not our plane. I’ve never seen a plane like that before.”

"They are French."

"The French have reached this point, we're doomed!"

……

The workers were still hesitant, unsure whether it was a "rumor" or the "truth".

The workers only confirmed this when a plane swooped down from the sky with a piercing roar and dropped a bomb that accurately blasted the bunker at the factory gate into ruins.

Workers screamed and rushed out of the factory amid the explosion. The once orderly industrial area was instantly filled with people, and panicked figures were running everywhere.

The streets were packed with people, and the German soldiers who had come to reinforce them waved their rifles and shouted angrily at the crowd: "Make way and get back to your posts!"

But no one listened to them. The crowd blocked the German troops moving against the tide, and stampedes occurred frequently. The German troops were squeezed and unable to move, and were soon scattered.

However, some soldiers were doing it on purpose; they were unwilling to go to the battlefield and fight the enemy.

They knew more: the 2nd Panzer Corps of Charles had arrived in the Ruhr industrial region, while the main German forces had been diverted away from the Ruhr.

They can also make judgments:

The Ruhr, with its depleted military strength, will inevitably fall, and then Germany will surrender.

Who would willingly lose their life at the last moment before surrendering?
So they drifted along with the crowd, the troops became more and more scattered and fewer and fewer, and soon disappeared, leaving only a few officers shouting and firing shots into the air in a fit of rage, but they could not change anything.

A few minutes later, German troops who had withdrawn from the front lines also joined the crowd.

But before they could retreat, the rumble of a tank engine came from behind them. A French tank, like a steel giant, appeared behind them, followed by fully armed French soldiers, rifles in hand, their dark muzzles pointed at the crowd.

"Put down your weapons!" Christine shouted into the crowd from behind a tank, "We are the Charles army, we are not the enemy. As long as you surrender, we guarantee your safety!"

The name "Charles" seemed to have a magical power; the workers gradually quieted down, and then the crowd, including the soldiers, raised their hands to surrender to the French army.

……

"Breaking news! Breaking news! The Charles have captured the Ruhr industrial region!"

"The Charles has achieved a decisive victory."

"With the fall of the Ruhr industrial region, the Germans have no ability to resist!"

……

On the streets of Paris, the cries of newsboys attracted the attention of citizens, instantly sparking a buying frenzy that soon turned into a carnival.

Having inside information, the Merit Newspaper seized the opportunity and took the lead in information. As usual, it laid out and printed the newspaper and even delivered it to various retail outlets.

As soon as the minister's office in Gallieni received the news, Kobdo immediately ordered the newspaper to hit the market, with the two orders falling within a minute of each other.

So much so that when the newspaper was published, French Prime Minister Clemenceau had not yet received the intelligence.

At that time, Clemenceau was holding an emergency meeting at the Grand Hotel Crillon, where he proudly announced to the delegates:

"Ladies and gentlemen."

"As you may have heard, our army, under the leadership of Lieutenant General Charles, has captured the Liege fortress."

"This signifies that we are one step closer to peace!"

Although the delegates had already received the news, they still cheered and applauded in support.

Only General Winter and the British representative had somber faces.

Not long ago, they heard that demonstrations were taking place in many colonies, with colonies demanding that the British army restore their autonomy, including countries vital to Britain such as Canada and Egypt.

This was clearly no coincidence, and General Winter believed it was related to the Charles's victory: because of the Charles's great triumph, the colonies saw the weakness of Britain.

Therefore, they can follow in Charles's footsteps without any hesitation, uphold Charles's "French spirit," and respond to his call.

Clemenceau discussed the details of the capture of the Liège fortress with great interest to the delegates:

"In this battle, Charles deployed two newly developed pieces of equipment."

"One type is the directional parachute, which allows paratroopers to control their descent trajectory and land precisely on the target fortress."

"Another type is the dive bomber, which in extreme cases can carry a 500-kilogram bomb and blast through 3 meters of reinforced concrete in the Liege fortress!"

……

Representatives from various countries marveled at the equipment, which was beyond their wildest imagination.

At that time, most of their countries were still in the stage of pilots manually dropping bombs, and some small countries did not even have the ability to produce aircraft, while France had already developed to the point of using dive bombers for precision bombing!

Thus, their confidence in following France was strengthened once again.

Clemenceau's secretary suddenly burst into the meeting room, holding a newspaper and reporting breathlessly with a gleeful expression: "Your Excellency, they say that Charles has occupied the Ruhr!"

(End of this chapter)