I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France-Chapter 782: Hindenburg Line

Although the parliamentary discussions have concluded, the bombing and panic persist.

Shells are bombing Paris at a frequency of almost every 20 minutes, with several hitting the suburbs without causing much harm, but those that strike Paris invariably result in casualties.

Reports flew onto General Gallieni’s desk one after another.

General Gallieni had moved to the City Defense Headquarters, as it was more convenient to command the Reserve Army Group from there.

However, he was not primarily commanding the Reserve Army Group, but rather the neighboring police station.

The military found it challenging to be effective under these circumstances, and the police were severely undermanned. In a moment of crisis, General Gallieni had no choice but to assign soldiers to the police, letting the police command them to engage in disaster relief, clear traffic, and maintain public order.

Yet the dangers continued to flow endlessly.

Major Fernan nervously reported holding a document:

"An explosion on Charles V Avenue destroyed a building, killing 8 and injuring 32."

"A large crater was blasted near the Paris Railway Station, resulting in 7 deaths and 23 injuries, halting train operations."

"Stabuhl Avenue was bombed, causing 4 deaths and 25 injuries, and the traffic was disrupted!"

...

"Enough." General Gallieni interrupted Major Fernan.

Although he regretted the civilian casualties, he understood that a general should not be troubled by tactical-level issues. He should address this problem from a higher strategic perspective.

He turned his gaze to Shire, who was sitting at the staff desk staring at the map, with a sense of urgency in his voice: "You know the critical issue isn’t here."

"Yes, General." Shire calmly replied: "The key issue is public panic; shop doors are shuttered, traffic is disrupted, and even the subway has ceased operation, which will affect the normal life of Paris and could even impact industrial production."

(Note: The Paris subway was completed and put into operation in 1900)

But this was precisely what Shire wanted, even beyond his expectations.

Capitalists were frantically selling their assets at low prices, not just land but also power stations, textile mills, food processing plants, etc.

A rumor was circulating in society:

Currently, it is only because Germans do not have enough of these cannons; in the future, as more cannons are produced, it will not be one shell every 20 minutes but several per minute. By then, will Paris still exist?

Thus, everything was worth little, asset prices were halved overnight, yet still had no takers, and the prices continued to fall.

Shire’s insurance company was raking in money, almost having its doors burst by people.

"I need solutions." General Gallieni stared at Shire: "What I need is solutions."

Shire shrugged his shoulders and responded helplessly: "There is no solution, General. If there is one, it would be to invade Germany, forcing their surrender."

Shire was speaking the truth, but also not the truth.

The fact was there was no need to worry; Germans did not have many "Paris Cannons," and notably, these "Paris Cannons" caused significant damage to their barrels, requiring reboring at the factory every time 50 shells were fired.

(Note: Reboring means that severe wear and tear has rendered the barrels unsuitable for firing shells of the original caliber; they have to be returned to the factory for smooth turning to fire larger caliber shells)

Therefore, the scenario where more and more cannons are produced leading to a widespread bombardment covering Paris would never occur in the way the people imagined.

But as long as Shire remained silent, who would know?

"I’ve also heard Germans are constructing a Hindenburg Line." Shire handed the map over to General Gallieni, drawing a line with his finger along the border area: "Located in Lorraine and Alsace, you know why."

General Gallieni nodded heavily.

If they had "Paris Cannons" capable of bombing Paris from within their country, there would be no need to attack; they only needed to defend the line, further producing "Paris Cannons" to continuously bombard Paris, eventually leading to Paris’s collapse.

"Can you break through this line?" General Gallieni asked.

Shire shook his head again: "This line is much shorter than the Western Front and specially designed for armored troops."

Shire then handed over a sketch to General Gallieni: "This is a model of the defense line as observed by front-line soldiers. Clearly, the Germans are thoroughly prepared; they have even changed tactics."

(The illustration shows the layout of the Hindenburg Line, featuring specialized anti-tank trenches and vast barbed wire, with a security line set up ahead of the main defense line, placing a small number of soldiers on guard and coordinating with artillery to inflict heavy casualties upon enemy forces.)

General Gallieni glanced at the sketch and sighed lightly: "Because Hindenburg has taken office, his fighting style is completely different from Fajin Han’s."

"It’s not just that, General." Shire reminded: "If Hindenburg constructs such a solid defense line that we cannot break through, while bombing with ’Paris Cannons’ they can simultaneously break through our flimsy defenses at will, which would severely damage our army’s morale and confidence."

General Gallieni exclaimed: "Right, we either need to break through this defense line or construct a similar one ourselves."

This was what General Gallieni expressed, not Shire.

...

After leaving the City Defense Headquarters, Shire flew to Bicangxi to find Petain and likewise presented the sketch of the Hindenburg Line.

Petain, who was most keen on defense, frowned as soon as he saw the sketch:

"Is this true? Are there reinforced concrete underground bunkers behind?"

"These bunkers can store ammunition and food, serving as perfect shelters from artillery."

"Such a defense line is almost impassable!"

(The illustration shows the cross-section of the Hindenburg Line, a prototype of Germany’s famous Siegfried Line after the war, confronted by France’s Maginot Line.)

"Indeed, it’s true, Major General." Shire replied: "The Germans are playing a significant chess game; they aim to replicate the success of the Battle of the River Somme, targeting our active forces as their objective."

"Yes." Petain nodded emphatically:

"The Germans are fighting on multiple fronts; their troops are gravely insufficient so they can only hope for increasing their casualty ratio against us with such defense lines, it’s the only way they might win."

"And us..."

Petain looked up at Shire: "Vice Admiral, frankly speaking, we also need a defense line, a similar one, or even sturdier than the Germans’."

"I’m not sure, Major General." Shire replied: "But General Gallieni said the same; I don’t know if General Fuxu will oppose, also we need parliamentary support."

This is indeed a large project.

Moreover, this project would naturally fall into the hands of Bernard Group; Shire certainly did not wish it to be "self-proposed," "self-produced," and ultimately "self-benefited."

Therefore, having Petain take the lead with General Gallieni’s support was the best solution.

Bernard Group simply needed to "passively" harvest the profits afterward.

One day, capitalists will abruptly realize that Bernard has seized control over all the lifelines of France!