I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France-Chapter 739: France’s "Silicon Valley

The Meuse River frontline gradually stabilized under the collective efforts of several generals.

Petain was responsible for the defense south of Bicangxi, while Fuxu’s troops took charge of the north, roughly splitting the frontline in half.

The defense zones were also divided, approximately drawing a line centered on Bicangxi, with each area managed by one general.

The primary task at present was to handle prisoners, and both sides, as well as the army, had many disagreements over this issue.

The reason was that the line, with the center as the boundary, inevitably crossed certain villages and towns, leading to the question of which forces the German Army in those towns should surrender to.

In some towns, the German soldiers stationed there were surrounded by large numbers of French Army troops. They had already surrendered, but the uncertainty about to whom they should surrender delayed the process by three to four days.

This caused the German officers to sigh, "Defeating the French Army is much easier than expected. We just need to surrender, and they start fighting among themselves."

This was a unique trait of France, where government departments balanced and checked each other. This tendency inevitably extended to the military.

The newspapers did not report this incident, as the military considered it a disgrace and issued a news blackout.

However, soldiers discussed it privately:

"Fuxu is in favor of offensive strategies, while Petain supports defensive tactics. They naturally have endless debates."

"The parliament emphasized the need for diverse military tactics, thereby ordering Fuxu not to interfere with Petain’s command. Such situations were expected."

"Fortunately, we have Shire, otherwise, there might have been conflicts over the defense of Bill Bridge."

(Note: Bill Bridge is a small bridge near Bicangxi, marking the boundary between Fuxu and Petain’s defense areas. Their different combat philosophies led to clearly defined defensive lines to the north and south of the bridge.)

...

Shire did not participate in these "struggles." He methodically worked on building roads and railways from Verdun to Mezieres.

He always believed that logistics and supply were most crucial.

Once the battle began, soldiers and munitions had to reach Mezieres, and coal, steel, and other materials from Mezieres had to be transported to the arsenal. This would be half the battle won.

Finally, setting the airfields and aviation regiments behind the Meuse defense line turned Shire’s troops into a "stabilizing force."

Shire did not care about the debates between Fuxu and Petain, for even if the German Army breached their lines, Shire’s air force and mechanized units could immediately respond and annihilate them.

This was a form of dimensional reduction strike, not just against the German Army but also Fuxu and Petain.

The future development was clear.

As armored units, mechanized troops, and aviation forces continued to mature, the role of pure infantry, though still indispensable, was continually diminished.

...

The Brest Shipyard became busier than ever.

After the war began, the navy’s demand decreased while the army’s demand surged. Many workshops were converted to produce military trucks, artillery mounts, and even rifle parts.

Shire’s order of 10 destroyers injected new energy into the shipyard, reviving it with new vitality.

Professor Fursden remained oblivious to all this, even indifferent to the war itself.

Sometimes, his researchers would tease him, "Professor, one day the war will end, and you might not even know how it happened."

Professor Fursden would respond with a slight smile, disdainfully saying, "I only need to read the reports about Shire. What difference does the rest make?"

The researchers were speechless.

Over the long 700-plus kilometer frontline, the same routines of digging trenches, constructing defenses, attacking, and dying repeated daily.

If there was any change, it was only in the casualty numbers and the frontline positions, which moved back and forth like ants.

Only Shire’s troops could bring change to the battle.

Therefore, Professor Fursden was right. To understand this war, just pay attention to Shire.

Professor Fursden was troubled by the stability of the "Echo Detector." It used a large number of vacuum tubes, and these glass tubes were easy to burn out or malfunction on the vibrating, damp ships.

Even one vacuum tube’s failure could cause the "Echo Detector" to malfunction, a significant weakness.

(The image above shows a vacuum tube radio transmitter used in WWI, invented in 1904. At that time, vacuum tubes were large, costly, and, most seriously, fragile with a high failure rate. This is one reason why radios, though available, were not commonly fitted to airplanes during WWI.)

Fursden believed the only solution was to fit more "Echo Detectors" onto destroyers, but destroyers didn’t have that much space, creating a dilemma.

While Fursden was mulling over this issue, his assistant handed him a telegram: "Professor, a telegram from Shire. He requests you come to Paris. His private plane will pick you up."

Fursden was stunned, Paris?

At this time, he wants me to go to Paris? Doesn’t Shire know how busy the lab is?

However, Fursden still replied, "Alright, I’ll prepare."

He hoped Shire had a good enough reason, Fursden thought.

Fursden was deeply engrossed in his work, and pulling him away abruptly made it difficult to seamlessly return, possibly causing him to miss something or lose inspiration!

This was more agonizing than cutting him with a knife.

"Shire should have come to Brest," Fursden murmured: "That would have saved a lot of time."

...

Paris, Davaz Town.

Under Shire’s management, this place had clearly become the "Silicon Valley" of France, gathering talents in various fields: engine, artillery, tank gun, aircraft manufacturing, tractor, and automobile manufacturing, among others.

The once quiet town had gradually become busier, filled with workers moving back and forth. Factory buildings and dormitories sprang up inside and outside of town, large chimneys vigorously spewed smoke into the sky, and the roads and railways multiplied to meet transportation needs.

Shire set up his research center here not only because this was where he grew up but also because of its unique geographical location.

Davaz Town was close to Paris, making it easier to attract Parisian workers, technology, talent, and other unexpected resources.

At the same time, it was a safe distance from the frontline, a reason why talents were willing to stay.

More importantly, it was relatively isolated. By stationing Major Laurent’s guard troops around, Shire could effectively block information and prevent technology leakage.

"My God, is this still the same town?" Professor Fursden exclaimed, looking out at the changing town from the car window. He had been away for less than a year and could barely recognize it upon his return.

Major Laurent, who was ordered to pick up Professor Fursden, responded while driving, "Our factory area has at least tripled, professor, and my troops have also tripled, but it’s still not enough."

Professor Fursden suddenly had a premonition that he might have to stay here.

The reason was simple: Shire wouldn’t want his scientists to develop their work elsewhere, even if "elsewhere" was the Brest Shipyard aligned with Shire.