Chapter 617 The Cost of War

Pétain and Foch called to express their "trust" in Charles.

Pétain congratulated Charles in a friendly tone:

"Another world-renowned victory, Lieutenant General, I am proud of you, and France is proud of you."

"In addition, I heard that they nominated you as the commander-in-chief?"

"This is one of the few decisions I agree with the parliament. I even think you are the most suitable candidate, there is no doubt about this, even if you are the current commander-in-chief."

Pétain still stabbed Foch in the back.

...

Foch still maintained a skeptical attitude towards Charles on the surface. He published an article in the "Meritorious Newspaper", secretly pointing out that Charles' victory in this battle was very random and not the norm of war.

On the other hand, he sent a secret telegram to Charles through Weygand: "A wonderful battle, Lieutenant General, congratulations. In addition, I think your victory at sea is more important at this stage."

Charles nodded secretly in agreement.

No matter how many victories he achieved on land, they were all tactical in nature for Charles, and the parliament could use various excuses to control Charles.

Even a complete defeat of the Germans would be disadvantageous to Charles, because "the bow is hidden after the bird is dead", and then the parliament will be able to deal with Charles without fear.

On the contrary, the sea transportation line determines Charles' control over materials, which is strategic and blocks the lifeline of all capitalists including the parliament.

...

On the south bank of the Somme, Foch sat at his desk and stared at the map, which was a map of the deployment of British, French and German forces on the Somme.

In the distance, the sound of artillery fire came one after another, and the sound of gunfire continued.

The British army once again launched an attack on the German defense line.

Since Charles won the victory in Hasselt, the British were like crazy, launching rounds of attacks on the German army, and even the "Camel" fighter planes imported from Charles were sent to the battlefield.

Foch knew why.

Britain's prestige as the world's number one was unprecedentedly challenged. The colonial army had lost faith in Britain. Not only the African troops, but also the Indian and Australian troops, who were always known for their "loyalty", wanted to cooperate with the French army instead of the British army.

The equipment used by these troops was even British.

But Foch was not thinking about this, nor about the stalemate on the Somme River battlefield, but about Charles.

Foch was considering a question: If Charles was really allowed to be the commander-in-chief, would he accept it?

From a personal point of view, Foch was unwilling to accept it, and it was even difficult to accept it.

Because it meant a complete negation of Foch.

The tactical theory used by France at this stage is Foch's "offensive theory".

Even if Petain's "defense theory" and Charles' "adaptive theory" emerged, the "offensive theory" is still the mainstream, and Foch is still the most important founder of tactical theory, and still an unshakable existence.

Once Charles becomes the commander-in-chief and vigorously promotes his "adaptive theory", Foch's era will end, and the speed of his elimination may be much faster than expected.

However...

Is this really important?

Foch raised his head and listened to the direction of the artillery and gunfire.

The British used a typical offensive tactic, which means death, stalemate, and meaningless consumption.

Foch felt like a sinner, a murderer, and an executioner. In order to maintain the correctness of his theory, he pushed countless lives to the battlefield and became corpses, including the enemy.

However, Charles's tactics can surround and capture the enemy at a very small cost, while deciding the outcome and keeping most of the enemy and our soldiers alive.

No, I can't go on like this.

Charles is right. His theory and his tactics are the general trend. Anyone who stands on the opposite side will eventually fail.

So, I must support him, no matter from which perspective!

"General!" Colonel Bruce stood up and saluted Foch. After waiting for a while, he saw that Foch did not respond, and shouted again in confusion.

Foch suddenly woke up, looked up and saw Colonel Bruce standing in front of him. He was stunned for a moment, then asked expressionlessly with a mocking tone: "What are your instructions, Colonel?"

Colonel Bruce was Haig's staff officer. He was fluent in French and stationed on the south bank of the Somme. He was supposed to promote the coordination between the British and French armies, but in fact he was conveying the "needs" of the British Expeditionary Force to Foch.

Foch will never forget the hypocritical face of Colonel Bruce. He looked very gentlemanly on the surface, but his eyes were full of disdain, and his tone was threatening: "We will provide supplies for your army depending on the situation. General, I hope you can understand that in wartime, supplies are often not available even if you have money."

Now, Colonel Bruce stood in front of Foch again, polite and humble.

"It's like this." Colonel Bruce took out a document from his briefcase and handed it over: "We hope your army can cooperate with our army. This is tomorrow's battle plan."

Please...you...collect_6Ⅰ9Ⅰ书Ⅰ吧 (六\\\\\\九\\\\\\书\\\\\\吧!)

Foch took the document and saw that the French artillery moved to the front line to bombard the German army on the north bank of the Somme from the flank.

Foch frowned at first, then couldn't help laughing: "Such a perfect battle plan!"

Colonel Bruce could certainly hear the sarcasm in Foch's words, but he didn't change his face:

"You think so too? That's great!"

"We all know that the French defense line on the south bank has advanced about three kilometers, and the British defense line is still in the rear."

"Then, the French army only needs to pull the artillery to the front line to bombard the enemy's defense line or even the enemy's artillery positions from the flank."

"This will greatly help the British offensive."

(Note: The French defense line on the Somme River advanced 5 kilometers in one breath because of Charles's penetration along the river, and there was an uneven gap between the defense lines on both sides of the north and south)

Foch retorted:

"This will indeed greatly help the British offensive, Colonel, I admit it."

"But I don't know if you have considered that once our army pulls the artillery to the front line and fires, they will be caught in the crossfire of the German artillery on both sides."

"They may be blown up in an instant, without even a trace left."

Colonel Bruce raised his eyebrows calmly: "This is the price of war, don't you think?"

This is a double entendre, not only talking about the cost of war, but also the cost of the French army obtaining supplies.

Foch smiled: "Yes, this is indeed the price of war, but you seem to have forgotten that the French Navy sank 12 German submarines."

Foch threw the newspaper he had prepared long ago in front of Colonel Bruce.

Colonel Bruce's expression froze: "I don't understand what you mean, General."

Foch narrowed his eyes:

"I want to know, what price you will pay for the war, Colonel?"

"As long as I give an order, the British army will not get any supplies."