I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France-Chapter 70 Mark I Tank

In history, the "Mark I" tank was classified as "male" and "female."

The "male" tank was equipped with two 57MM main guns (one on each side protruding from the sponsons), along with four Hatchkiss light machine guns.

The "female" tank was only equipped with six Vickers machine guns.

This made the "Mark I" require eight crew members to operate: a driver, a commander, and six gunners or two artillerymen and four machine gunners, with a total weight of 28.4 tons.

The "Mark I" tank developed by Shire cuts all equipment down to three machine guns: one Vickers machine gun at the front and one Hatchkiss on each side.

Thus, the crew was reduced to five: a driver, a commander, and three gunners.

Joseph and Dejoka felt regretful and suggested fervently:

"Our engine has 83 horsepower, it can probably move 23 tons. But now the ’Mark I’ with its crew weighs less than 19 tons, there is an excess of around 4 tons. We can totally replace the Vickers machine guns with artillery!"

"A cannon can cause more damage to the enemy than a machine gun!"

"Of course, cannons can destroy enemy sandbag fortifications which machine guns can’t do!"

...

Dejoka and Joseph’s calculations were very accurate.

When Britain invented the "Mark I" in 1916, the engine used had 105 horsepower.

horsepower drove a 28.4-ton tank, according to this proportion, the 83-horsepower "Holt 75" could drive a 22.45-ton tank.

This isn’t far off from their calculation of 23 tons, indeed, a small caliber cannon can be added.

However, Shire insisted on his idea.

"Just use the Vickers machine gun!" Shire said: "The battlefield doesn’t always need greater firepower; sometimes it needs more bullets rather than shells!" ƒreewebɳovel.com

But Shire did not completely reject their idea: "We can produce a small number of tanks with small caliber cannons, but the side machine guns must be removed, meaning it would only have one cannon, and the frontal armor should be strengthened!"

Dejoka and Joseph looked at each other, thinking this was not a wise choice because tanks need side machine guns for cover, otherwise, how to prevent enemies from approaching the flanks.

But Shire understood that their thoughts stemmed from their lack of military knowledge.

Joseph was a factory director of tractors, dedicating his life to researching tractors, without understanding the battlefield. Dejoka came from a merchant family, his knowledge of the military was limited to hunting rifles.

They naturally assumed artillery must be better than machine guns and that every tank’s defense must be all-rounded.

But the opposite was true.

Tanks of this era did not have dual stabilization systems, they used the most primitive rigid suspension, traveling on rough terrain could not even guarantee the vehicle remains level.

While artillery requires a level and stable base for calculating the trajectory to roughly hit the target.

Simply put, installing artillery on early tanks meant nobody could hit the target, it was all luck.

The artillery’s role on the battlefield would be terrifying the enemy with the dark muzzle.

Machine guns also had similar issues, but their bullets cover an area, the gunners can adjust the angle based on the bullet hit points, making them much more precise than artillery.

As for the defense of the tank’s sides and rear, that should be left to the infantry!

Shire’s reason for producing a small number of tanks with cannons was considering one scenario: encountering enemy bunkers, machine gun-equipped tanks would struggle, but artillery could approach close enough and use cannons to bombard the bunker’s shooting slots.

"How long will it take to complete?" Shire asked.

"Maybe a week more!" Joseph answered.

Shire was quite satisfied with the progress, historically, the "Mark I" took about six months from design to producing the test vehicle, while Joseph only needed a little over two weeks.

This was largely due to Shire providing a mature design and reducing many weapons, especially removing the two side turrets, which imposed a huge burden on the tank and made production very difficult.

However, the "Mark I" produced by Shire still had many flaws.

The most serious being the track problem, its maximum travel was only 35 kilometers, requiring constant repair, and after 35 kilometers, it wasn’t just repairable; the whole track needed replacement. Before any battle, the track needed replacement, otherwise, it would break shortly after deployment.

(Note: The original "Mark I" only had 30 kilometers)

But Shire was not worried about these.

This was World War I, both sides were still at trench warfare level, digging trenches and fighting each other.

Trenches were fixed, once dug they stayed there, the "Mark I" could always reach the battlefield and face enemy fire, dealing with replacing tracks wasn’t significant. It didn’t need to consider tank mobility like in World War II.

Most importantly, only if this tank wasn’t perfect could Shire possibly upgrade to a better, more perfect tank.

When capitalists succeeded in copying it, Shire’s more advanced new version of the tank would also be released, making the copied tanks instantly become unsellable scrap iron.

Shire and Dejoka were busy in the factory until nine o’clock in the evening before going home, during which they ate some dry bread with coffee when hungry.

When they drove home, they unsurprisingly faced Camille’s fury.

She mainly targeted Dejoka:

"Shire rarely comes home, and you make him come back at this hour, I even prepared dinner!"

"Do you know he has to return for military service tomorrow?"

"Before Shire came back, I didn’t see you working overtime till nine. Why work until now when he’s back?"

Shire tried to defend Dejoka, who indeed urged Shire several times.

But Shire couldn’t leave because many things about the "Mark I" needed Shire to decide; Dejoka and Joseph didn’t understand the military or the future.

Some things were just a word for Shire, but Dejoka and Joseph needed to produce, verify, and compare repeatedly.

However, Camille didn’t listen to explanations, she turned her anger on Shire:

"Shouldn’t adults care more about the factory?"

"Do the military need you, a 17-year-old, and likewise the factory?"

"Developing equipment for the military? Aren’t you worrying too much about this country?"

...

What Camille didn’t know was Shire wasn’t worrying too much for the country, he was worrying for himself.

Shire didn’t know how the aristocrats would deal with him in the future, he could only increase his bargaining chips as much as possible.

If he told Camille the reasons, she might not blame Shire, but she would be scared and anxious!

Shire didn’t want the latter, so he and Dejoka didn’t explain further.