I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France-Chapter 758: This Will Be an Encirclement Battle More Successful Than Shire’s
Bourbon Palace, the parliament is mired in a tug-of-war with evenly matched forces.
In the past, one side usually had an overwhelming advantage in the parliamentary debates.
Now, with Clemenceau and Shire standing together, even the side led by Briand, representing the interests of major capitalists, struggled to maintain their advantage.
This situation compelled Briand, who typically avoided parliamentary conflicts, to step forward and take charge.
"Gentlemen," Briand called out anxiously to the assembly below:
"I understand that you have your points, and General Gallieni’s views in the newspapers are also sound."
"Undoubtedly, the military’s request is beneficial to the war effort, and I do not deny that."
"However, do you remember the motto of the Third Republic: Liberty, Equality, Fraternity."
"It is precisely we, the parliament and the system, who ensure these values."
"If we compromise on this today, it might bring some advantages to us in the war."
"But it is also a step towards danger, a step that could destroy the Republic and the entire system!"
...
A chorus of opposition erupted from the assembly:
"No, the war is the most important thing right now. We have had enough of this life; people want change."
"We want to end this war, discussing these matters now is a show of mercy to the enemy."
"The military is merely making a request, the parliament still holds the decision-making power. We are exercising our authority, this does not threaten the system!"
...
The last statement was not true. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺
In reality, the parliamentarians were exercising their power under Shire’s coercion and facing immense pressure from the military.
But Shire’s faction would never admit this; they wanted to portray it as "the parliament is still functioning normally," and at least on the surface, it seemed so.
Clemenceau rose calmly and forcefully posed a question to Briand: "Prime Minister, I would like to know, regarding the military’s request, which part are you most dissatisfied with?"
Briand hesitated, unsure of how to respond.
Clemenceau provided the answer: "Is it Shire’s heavy armored corps, correct?"
Briand could not deny it.
If he denied, Clemenceau would immediately say, "Since you have no objections, then Shire becoming the commander of the heavy armored corps is settled, let’s move on to other matters."
"Yes," Briand replied cautiously, "the heavy armored corps is of great significance, I think it needs careful consideration..."
Clemenceau interrupted Briand: "Prime Minister, do you have a better candidate?"
Briand was speechless.
Besides Shire, who else was qualified to be the commander of the heavy armored corps?!
Clemenceau pressed on relentlessly:
"You wouldn’t want Fuxu to be the commander of the heavy armored corps, right? We all know he only knows how to attack."
"Nor would you want Petain to be the commander, am I right? Because he only knows how to defend."
"So, do you want Ganmelin to be the commander? Just like he served as the commander of the Reserve Army Group?"
Clemenceau spread his hands to the surroundings.
The meeting room erupted in laughter, and the parliamentarians discussed:
"Ganmelin has never commanded tanks in battle, let alone aviation."
"He always believed planes and tanks were useless, and we want to let him command these in battle."
"He would only lead the army to defeat, guiding France to surrender to the Germans, and squander all our current favorable situations!"
...
Briand glared at Clemenceau angrily, realizing he had fallen into Clemenceau’s trap and couldn’t escape.
...
Nesato, a city upstream of the Meuse River, served as the training base for the 2nd Specialized Artillery Division due to its flat terrain and convenient transportation.
(The image above shows the location of Nesato, 61 kilometers north from the French-German front, near Toul and Nancy.)
The training base was well concealed, located in a mountain fold on the outskirts, surrounded by barbed wire and guards, with landmines and trenches to prevent enemy infiltration and attacks.
Inside the base, the engines roared, with tanks training everywhere and soldiers conducting exercises.
In a corner of the base, within a half-buried fortification, Major General Ganmelin was staring at the intricate training subjects and schedules before him in the dim light.
He did not like these tasks.
As everyone knew, he did not like tanks and didn’t find them useful.
Ganmelin studied Shire’s tactics only to find evidence supporting the "uselessness of tanks," yet Briand placed him in the commander’s position.
"It’s an irony," Ganmelin turned over the organization chart with a lifeless expression, "if I take these things to the battlefield and defeat the enemy, does that mean I am proving myself wrong?"
From this perspective, Ganmelin thought perhaps losing a battle might be the correct choice.
At that moment, the phone rang, it was Briand.
"Are you ready for an offensive?" Briand asked.
"Offensive?" Ganmelin replied, "I’ve been here for less than a week, Prime Minister..."
He hadn’t even gotten to know all his subordinates yet.
"But the 2nd Artillery Division has been restructured for over three months," Briand sounded impatient, "I gave it the best food, the best equipment, and the most ample personnel and ammunition."
"I might need more time, Prime Minister," Ganmelin said.
"No, General," Briand rejected Ganmelin’s request firmly, "you should know the German tank division was recently destroyed by Shire, almost annihilated."
"They are reconstituting their tank division."
"So, the longer we wait, the more dangerous it becomes, understand?"
Ganmelin reluctantly answered, "Understood, Prime Minister."
After hanging up the phone, Ganmelin stared at the map, acknowledging that Briand might be right.
If the Germans did not have a tank division, or if the reconstituting division was weak, his 2nd Specialized Artillery Division would only face infantry.
"Although I don’t believe in these things," Ganmelin muttered to himself, "but using steel against German flesh and trenches isn’t a bad idea."
Where should we strike?
Ganmelin’s gaze followed the railway, moving from Toul to Nancy.
They were not far apart, and both were crucial transportation hubs.
If they could capture them, it would create a breach in the enemy’s defense line through which infantry could pour in like a tide, encircling the German Army along the Meuse River, which was fortifying westward.
"This will be a more successful encirclement than Shire’s," Ganmelin became excited, "I will reclaim Lorraine and Alsace, putting an end to this war!"
Ganmelin was envisioning victory without realizing he was treating the armored troops merely as infantry support.
In this operational plan, the role of the 2nd Specialized Artillery Division was simply to tear open the frontline for the infantry to advance.
