I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France-Chapter 65: Special Operations

Shire straightened his military cap, it was as hard as stale bread, wearing it in battle would surely be uncomfortable and besides that, it offered no protection at all.

But for Shire, this was a good thing, he immediately thought they should provide a helmet for the French Army.

Though helmets are small, during the Great War about 8.5 million men from France were conscripted. If everyone needed one, the money earned could probably be no less than that from motorcycles...

Shire’s daydream was interrupted by Gallieni, "Are you thinking or are you daydreaming, Lieutenant?"

Shire gave an "uh" and refocused his attention back on the map:

"First, there’s the issue of the 5th Army’s safety."

He pointed at the map and said:

"The flanking 3rd Army and 8th Army are advancing steadily, and there are no major issues with the logistics of these armies, recruitment is relatively stable, so there’s no need to overly worry about being encircled by the Germans!"

Gallieni nodded slightly in agreement, this was in line with his thoughts.

Although the salient on the offensive line was dangerous, the 5th Army could indeed be encircled, but how would the Germans encircle it?

Cut off the 5th Army from other units?

Once the 5th Army slowed down, the 3rd Army and 8th Army would continue their advance, and they would quickly envelop the units the Germans send in to encircle the 5th Army.

Danger is relative, under the premise of "harassment warfare" this action would be even more dangerous for the Germans!

Gallieni knew well that there was no plan that was completely safe on the battlefield, only dangerous and more dangerous.

If the enemy was in more danger than oneself, then the plan was viable.

Other generals including Xia Fei, the reason they intended to halt the 5th Army was because they had been scared by the Germans, they were still afraid of the enemy and lacked confidence in the French Army as they had before.

However...

"Why are we accelerating?" Gallieni asked curiously, "Do you intend to lure the Germans into encircling them (referring to the 5th Army)?"

Gallieni didn’t think this was a good idea, the Germans weren’t fools, traps that are too obvious on the battlefield wouldn’t lure the enemy in.

Shire smiled lightly, "The Germans would think the same way!"

Gallieni immediately realized he had been outmaneuvered in this "match," Shire predicted his prediction.

"Interesting!" Gallieni picked up his pince-nez and placed it on his nose, this allowed him to see more clearly, "So, your aim is exactly to not let the Germans encircle the 5th Army?"

"That’s one way to put it!" Shire replied, "If the Germans do that, we’d have to fight a regular battle with them, at which point, the losses they might suffer wouldn’t be less than ours!"

Gallieni agreed, knowing the quality of the German Army, even if they were exhausted under harassment warfare, their combat power would still be comparable to the French Army. If both sides encircled and engaged in close combat, it would be a brutal war of attrition.

Then, Gallieni put himself in the shoes of the German commanders, he took the flag of the 2nd German Army and slowly pulled it back, saying, "If I don’t encircle, but continue to retreat?"

"Échec mat!" Shire slapped the pencil in his hand onto the rear of the German defense line, "I will take your queen!"

(Note: Échec mat is a French term used in chess, equivalent to checkmate.)

"What?" Gallieni looked up at Shire in shock, "You can’t do that, Shire, how can you break through my defense twenty kilometers behind..."

Before he finished speaking, Gallieni suddenly realized something, this gap was left by him; as soon as the 2nd German Army retreated, the 5th Army had already pushed twenty kilometers past the defense line.

At this point, dispatching flanking three-wheeled units along the mountain roads through the enemy’s defense line could directly threaten the rear of the German flanks.

"My God!" Gallieni couldn’t help but turn pale, "At that time, the flanking units wouldn’t encounter the regular German Army, but the German supply convoys, field hospitals, as well as vulnerable artillery!"

Shire neither confirmed nor denied. Gallieni was correct on one point, Shire’s target was never the frontline German troops.

Then, still confused, Gallieni asked, "Why is this tactic called special operations?"

Shire spoke softly:

"If, like you said, the flanking units only attacked supply convoys, field hospitals, or vulnerable artillery, that wouldn’t be special operations!"

"But if we plan and target attacks on enemy warehouses, ammunition depots, headquarters, train stations, and bridges, that is special operations!"

Gallieni was stunned. fгeewebnovёl.com

Warehouses and ammunition depots were clearly more important, they often required just one fire to burn down, and the supplies for an entire army would be gone.

Attacking the enemy headquarters could cause command confusion.

If train stations and bridges were destroyed, German military supplies wouldn’t be able to get through, forcing the Germans to retreat completely.

After thinking for a while, Gallieni asked again, "So, are the differences just in their targets?"

Shire secretly praised Gallieni, Gallieni indeed was Gallieni, he looked at matters from a different height.

Ordinary commanders hearing Shire’s idea might first think "Great, let’s fight them this way, we will win an unprecedented victory!"

Then they would begin mobilizing troops and preparing for battle.

These mid and lower-level commanders only thought of immediate victory.

But Gallieni, who valued military theory more, would, once he learned the theory and its key points, not just win the current battle, but could apply the theory to other campaigns and even integrate it into France’s tactics.

"Not just different targets, General!" Shire replied, "It’s much more difficult than attacking supply convoys or artillery, but the casualties could be lower and the gains higher!"

Shire’s words seemed paradoxical; greater difficulty, wouldn’t that mean higher casualties and fewer gains?

But Gallieni understood, nodding thoughtfully:

"If the targets are the enemy’s warehouses, ammunition depots, headquarters, and bridges..."

"Our first task would be to know their locations, the number of troops stationed there, and any defensive weaknesses!"

"So..."

Gallieni suddenly looked up at Shire, his voice trembling with excitement:

"I understand, it’s intelligence, Shire, we must have accurate intelligence!"

"Then complete the mission as quickly as possible and withdraw, leaving behind chaos the Germans can’t handle!"

Shire calmly nodded; Gallieni had grasped the essence of special operations.

Gallieni stared blankly at Shire, unable to believe his eyes:

"This cannot be simply described as ’genius,’ Shire!"

"You are a hundred times better than all of us combined!"

"You simply don’t belong to this world!"

Shire couldn’t answer this, because what Gallieni said was precisely the answer.