I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France-Chapter 729: The American Solution

The next morning, Shire chose to go to the factory with Dejoka.

Although they called it work, it was really about monitoring the progress in various aspects.

The "Shire B1" tank successfully entered mass production, with over 20 units already produced and initially passing the tests.

Shire considered this tank as a secret weapon, intending to accumulate a substantial number before deploying them suddenly on the battlefield, thereby shocking the German Army.

During this phase, Shire redeployed some frontline tank soldiers back to the factory for secret training.

The difference between the "Shire B1" and the "Shire A1" tanks was that the latter was operated by two people.

The fewer the number of people, the easier the coordination, so for the small "Shire A1" tank, the gunner and commander could merely kick the driver’s foot to signal the direction to move.

It basically required no coordination training; just knowing how to operate it was enough to take it easily into battle.

But the "Shire B1" was different. It had a crew of four: the commander, gunner, loader, and driver.

This required tight cooperation and coordination between the crew to bring out its full potential, sometimes even considering coordination with the infantry and among the tanks themselves; otherwise, it might not perform as well as the "Shire A1".

Shire believed it necessary to exercise sufficient caution in this regard, and given that the "Shire A1" was still adequate for now, he didn’t rush its deployment.

The development of the Stokes tank gun was also proceeding smoothly. Combining the French 75 mm gun with the British 6-inch howitzer, and drawing experienced craftsmen from the artillery production line, a prototype of the tank gun had been produced and was undergoing testing.

Shire felt a little excited hearing this news.

He couldn’t wait to see a tank armed with just one 75 mm gun.

The two cannons on the "Shire B1" tank – a 37 mm cannon on the turret and a 75 mm cannon in the hull – were a compromise to battlefield demands, but they actually harbored significant flaws.

For instance, when this tank was approached head-on by enemy infantry.

The depression angle of the rotating turret’s 37 mm cannon was limited, making it difficult to engage close-in infantry while dealing with enemy tanks.

The hull-mounted 75 mm cannon had a large caliber and was powerful, but using it to deal with close-in infantry would be overkill, and the shrapnel and blast could threaten friendly troops or even the tank itself.

Therefore, the most reasonable approach, as in modern tanks, would be to merge the two types of cannons into one, replacing them with a shortened 75 mm dedicated tank gun and installing a hull machine gun.

If possible, a coaxial machine gun could also be added to the turret.

Using a machine gun to deal with close-in infantry would be much more effective than a slow-firing, high-powered cannon.

Shire thought about it and felt it could be achieved, as removing the hull-mounted 75 mm cannon would free up a lot of space.

After a rough tour, it was already the afternoon, and Shire returned to Dejoka’s office.

"Everything going smoothly?" Dejoka asked with a smile, while signing documents.

"Everything is going smoothly," Shire replied.

"So, you’ve encircled over 300,000 Germans this time?" Dejoka glanced up at Shire.

Compared to the factory matters, Dejoka was more interested in Shire’s battlefield exploits.

Dejoka felt somewhat regretful.

He sometimes couldn’t help but wonder if Shire’s astounding military talent meant he might have some as well.

If he went to the battlefield, would he too achieve success?

But of course, this was merely an occasional fantasy. Now in his forties, Dejoka knew the terrors of the battlefield were unimaginable to those living in peace.

Therefore, he often told Camille, "We should be grateful to Shire; he has kept us away from the artillery fire and suffering."

"Yes," Shire replied simply.

He didn’t want to over-discuss the matter, as it had already been covered in the newspapers, albeit without some secrets and details.

Dejoka noticed this and quickly changed the topic, drawing a report from the drawer and handing it to Shire: "Our business in Britain, France, and Belgium is going well. Currently, monthly profits have exceeded 15 million US dollars."

Arms, insurance, shipping, and mining – all extremely lucrative industries, all controlled by Shire.

Shire picked up on Dejoka’s underlying meaning. He turned the pages of the report nonchalantly and casually asked, "So, business in the United States is not going well?"

Dejoka got up and made a cup of coffee for Shire: "Let’s put it this way, your battlefield successes have brought us enormous wealth in other countries, but it’s the opposite in the United States."

"What?" Shire looked up at Dejoka, not understanding for a moment.

"It’s simple," Dejoka took his seat with his coffee: "The more successful you are, the more the United States believes there is no risk or necessity to join this war. So yes, the US military has reduced our orders; they are now focusing entirely on domestic issues."

This time, Shire understood.

Previously, with an uncertain situation, the Allies and Central Powers were in a back-and-forth struggle. Though Shire had victories, Russia and Britain were suffering depressing setbacks.

The United States thought they might eventually be dragged into the war, so they increased their orders.

But now.

Shire had achieved massive victories, and Russia had also made breakthroughs, not to mention Italy’s and Romania’s entry, leaving the Central Powers surrounded on all sides.

Under such circumstances, everyone thought the Central Powers were doomed, and the US military was no exception.

So, would the United States still increase orders to prepare for war?

"They seem to have found a new solution," Dejoka said: "I think it’s because the US military doesn’t want to be led by the nose, so they intend to solve the problem at its root."

"Cracking down on the gangs?" Shire asked.

Dejoka nodded: "They have launched several large-scale operations against the gangs, which seem to be quite effective."

Shire smiled; gangs couldn’t be dealt with just by "raids," as this was treating the symptoms rather than the cause. The root cause lay in the lagging US legal system, which left significant room for gang activities.

"Do we need to scale down production in the United States?" Dejoka asked: "Now a large number of goods are piling up in warehouses, especially helmets. Joseph thinks there is no need to produce them or maybe ship them to France for sale..." 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

"No," Shire stuck to his idea: "There will be a turnaround, Father."

Shire thought that the situation in Russia would soon change.

Brusilov’s offensive could have crushed the German Army on the Eastern Front; after all, the entire Austro-Hungarian Army was collapsing and the German flanks were threatened.

But unfortunately, there were always people who would hold them back.

(The above image shows Russian Western Military Group Commander Admiral Aleksey Evert, who failed to cooperate during Brusilov’s victory, causing Russia to miss its only chance to turn the tables in World War I.)