I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France-Chapter 755: Armored Army Corps Group

Shire nodded, gladly accepting, and added, "As for the commander of the Central Army Group, I can only entrust it to Petain."

Shire used the word "only" in his speech, his eyes revealing a hint of helplessness.

This was to inform Fuxu that it was not his wish to let Petain be the commander, but Petain had the credit of guarding Verdun, and his "defense theory" had certain popularity and quite a few supporters. It wouldn’t be reasonable not to give it to him.

Fuxu had no objections: "Although I have differences in ideology with General Petain, his achievements on the battlefield are undeniable. I agree."

"Lastly, the commander of the Eastern Army Group..." Fuxu’s gaze towards Shire was uncertain.

The commander of the Eastern Army Group, Vice Admiral Castelno, was someone from Parliament. This army group was also the most heavily infiltrated. Could Shire still uproot them?

Shire had no such intention.

Gallieni, Wei Gang, Petain, plus Fuxu as the supreme commander, they could be considered members of the alliance.

Against Castelno’s army group, it was already 3 to 1. Shire already had control within the military; there was no need to clear the field completely.

Besides, as long as Clemenceau succeeds in becoming Prime Minister in a while, controlling Parliament would be a matter of time. There’s no need to rush to vie for the command authority of the Eastern Army Group.

"Vice Admiral Castelno has been doing quite well," Shire said. "Even though he hasn’t contributed much, at least he didn’t let the enemy cross the line."

"Indeed," Fuxu agreed, while secretly feeling pleased.

The four army groups respectively were: Parliament, attack faction, defense faction, and Gallieni who supported Shire.

It was a situation of a four-way balance of power, and Shire couldn’t gain much advantage.

But he soon realized he was wrong.

Shire continued:

"Commander, I’ve discovered in battle that some units are quite special."

"For example, the Aviation Corps, the First Armored Corps, and the Motorized Infantry Division now being formed."

"They differ greatly from ordinary troops both strategically and tactically. To facilitate command, I think it necessary to separate these units and form a new army group."

Fuxu was dumbfounded. Was this to strip all the elite units from the hands of others?

However, Fuxu didn’t ask this. These elite units were originally trained by Shire and had always been under his control, so it was natural for him to command them.

"Makes sense." Fuxu maintained his composure: "If these units fight alongside other units, it’s likely to cause confusion."

"What’s a good name..." Shire pretended to ponder: "How about calling it the Heavy Armored Army Group?"

"It’s a perfectly fitting name," Fuxu nodded in approval. "This unit has planes, tanks, armored vehicles, artillery, and cars, motorcycles—truly ’heavy armored’."

"Well then." Shire asked insincerely, "Commander, who do you think is the most suitable to command the Heavy Armored Army Group?"

Fuxu didn’t hesitate for a moment: "Of course, you should be the commander, Vice Admiral. Who else in the country has achievements and command experience like yours?"

If someone else were to command, they wouldn’t be able to handle it!

That’s the First Armored Corps, the 6th Army Group plus the Aviation Corps. Not to mention whether the fierce officers and soldiers would accept other commands, the planes, tanks, self-propelled artillery, motorcycles, etc., were all produced by Shire.

Whoever dared to contend with Shire for this position would find themselves disgraced and ousted in no time.

Shire didn’t decline. He stood up and saluted Fuxu generously: "Yes, Commander, I won’t let you down."

Fuxu felt a sense of helplessness.

One could easily imagine that Shire’s Heavy Armored Army Group would soon expand, attracting talents and key players from across the nation.

Before long, the Heavy Armored Army would stand out as an elite force dominating all other army groups.

Currently, Fuxu and Petain might still be able to restrain Shire somewhat.

In the future, there wouldn’t be anyone in the military capable of "competing on the same stage" with Shire.

...

After leaving Mezieres, Shire went to Bicangxi.

Shire’s goal was to find Tijani, but first, he went to Petain’s command post.

There’s no need to say outright, but to flatter Petain:

"Major General, I’m honored to inform you, you will become the commander of the Central Army Group."

"Yes, it was decided after discussions between Fuxu and me."

"I believe your performance in Verdun was excellent, and you deserve this."

"You’re welcome; it’s my duty, and more importantly, your own efforts."

Shire didn’t say much, but Petain understood:

Fuxu and I are like water and fire, and Fuxu naturally wouldn’t want me to be the commander of this army group.

So, it must be Shire who insisted on putting me in this position against Fuxu’s opposition. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Yes, it must be this way.

From now on, I’ll follow Shire!

...

Outskirts of Bicangxi, the command post of the First Mechanized Division.

Tijani was frowning at a heap of data, deep in thought.

It was the task Shire gave him to form the Motorized Infantry Division. Two divisions from the 6th Army Group had already been transferred here, but Tijani had no clue how to train this unit.

Originally, he thought it wouldn’t be difficult.

Just place the infantry division here, the armored division there.

The mechanized division would be in the middle, close to the armored division, and the motorized division closer to the infantry division.

So, theoretically, just removing the slower tanks from the mechanized division would suffice.

However, after exercises, Tijani found that the unit’s speed hadn’t increased much; whether or not the tanks were removed made little difference.

Just as he was comparing data and feeling troubled, a car stopped outside the command post.

Tijani looked up, his eyes brightening upon seeing Shire step out of the car.

"You must be here to solve my problem, General." Tijani happily stepped forward to embrace Shire.

"What’s wrong?" Shire teased: "What could possibly stump you? You are now the French killer who terrifies the Germans!"

That was a nickname Tijani earned in the Battle of Bicangxi, where he used the mobility of mechanized units to launch continuous attacks, in collaboration with bombers, to rout the German breakout units eight times.

As a result, the Germans left Tijani with this rather intimidating nickname.

Tijani laughed, "I was just following your plan. If they called me a ’war artist,’ I might like that more."

Shire laughed. Tijani didn’t care about fame; he cared more about a pleasing, fitting nickname.

Sitting at the desk, Shire was immediately presented with data and problems by Tijani: "Motorized unit, General. Artillery slowed down the unit’s speed!"

Especially the 75 artillery.

Infantry without artillery cover was clearly unacceptable, but cars towing artillery on muddy roads couldn’t go fast at all.

This became the lower limit of the motorized unit’s speed.