I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France-Chapter 80: Smoking

General Gis is commanding troops at the front line.

Rather than commanding, it was more like acting, disguising, and setting traps, using the plan Shire mentioned about pretending that Wavre Castle was destroyed.

This plan sounded simple, but it was still somewhat difficult to execute; several people, including Albert I, discussed it until eleven o’clock last night.

"How can we deceive the Germans?" General Gis said with a frown. "The Germans have three observation balloons. They have observers with binoculars watching Wavre Castle. They clearly know if Wavre Castle has been destroyed!" free𝑤ebnovel.com

Observers’ task is to watch where the shells land, whether they are skewed left or right, short or long, then use signal flags to notify the artillery below to correct their aim, so the next shell could potentially hit the target more accurately.

Saying this, General Gis’s eyes showed self-blame. If the vegetation and trees around the fortress were still there, this might not be an issue. The enemy’s observers wouldn’t see the fort clearly and naturally couldn’t see through the disguise.

"That’s easy to solve!" Shire replied. "We can release smoke around the fortress!"

"Release smoke?" General Gis looked up at Shire in surprise.

"Yes!" Shire nodded. "Set fires around and throw rubber products or old tires into them. They will produce thick, black smoke that will cover the low altitude, blocking the enemy observers’ view. The downside is it might smell bad!"

General Gis was both surprised and delighted. For the first time, he sincerely praised, "Great idea, Lieutenant!"

This was great news for General Gis.

If the smoke could solve this problem, then his mistake of clearing the vegetation and trees around the fortress wouldn’t exist or couldn’t be considered a major fault, right?

The more General Gis thought about it, the more excited he became. The guilt and pressure that weighed on him suddenly disappeared. For Shire, it was just a simple idea, a single sentence. How did this kid come up with it?

General Winter and Albert were also surprised. It was indeed feasible and easy to do, but no one had thought of it before.

Shire just smiled lightly. This was common in modern warfare.

When aerial power is at a disadvantage, release smoke!

When supply convoys want to avoid enemy air strikes, release smoke!

If you’re outgunned and want close combat or melee, release smoke!

People of this era might not have thought of this because there was simply no aerial threat.

...

General Gis was the most proactive. He called on the whole city overnight to collect rubber products. Whether from motorcycles or cars, all tires were dismantled and handed over, even military vehicles were no exception.

Some officers and soldiers protested, "General, what if we need to transport ammunition and supplies?"

General Gis loudly retorted, "How many bullets have you fired?"

The officers and soldiers instantly fell silent.

Most of the time, the Germans bombarded the Belgian Army leisurely from beyond their range with heavy artillery; many fortresses were destroyed without firing a shot.

Moreover, the farthest part of Antwerp was only a little over ten kilometers. Horses or even manpower could solve the transport problem on the front line.

At dawn, General Gis ordered the troops to set fires around the fortress and burn the rubber. The effect was immediate as thick black smoke enveloped the area around the fortress.

The side effect, just as Shire said, was "somewhat unpleasant."

This was torture for the soldiers hiding in the fortress. The air inside was already mixed. The soldiers had hoped the ventilation could bring in some fresh air, but instead, it brought in the acrid "rubber air."

Immediately, fortress soldiers called the command headquarters to protest, including Colonel Aiden, stationed at Wavre Castle.

Colonel Aiden coughed while complaining, "General, if this continues, we’ll be choked by this smoke before the enemy attacks!"

General Gis replied concisely, "Make a decision, Colonel! Continue the smoke, or let the fortress be exposed to enemy artillery, choose one!"

Colonel Aiden didn’t expect General Gis to pass the buck to him. After considering for a while, he ultimately chose the former, "Continue the smoke, at least there’s still a chance to survive!"

Compared to smoke, the German bombardment was more terrifying, especially since the shells didn’t come all at once but one every half hour, like waiting for an execution. No one knew if they could survive the next half hour.

After putting down the phone, General Gis complained, "These guys, always looking for an excuse to complain!"

...

Meanwhile, things weren’t looking good for the German commander, Bessler.

At dawn, he noticed the target shrouded in black smoke, obscuring it completely. He turned his gaze to the balloons in the air. Observers were frantically waving their signal flags, indicating that they saw the same.

"General!" The radio operator came to relay the artillery’s question, "Major Frex says the artillery is ready. Should we start firing now?"

Bessler hesitated, firing now would almost certainly miss and waste shells.

But...

"Continue firing!" Bessler ordered through gritted teeth. "Fire at the center of the smoke!"

"Yes, General!"

Under other circumstances, Bessler wouldn’t have ordered the artillery to fire. But these were extraordinary times, Shire was in front, and he needed to keep the pressure on the Belgians to force them to hand Shire over.

Thus, even if they couldn’t hit the target, they had to fire!

Soon, a "boom" echoed as a shell whistled toward the smoke.

Before the shell landed, the smoke sunk like a deflated balloon, then suddenly erupted in a cloud of dust with a deafening explosion.

Bessler realized things were worse. The explosion’s smoke mixed with the dust in the air, and the enemy’s burning smoke formed a dark gray mass tightly wrapping the fortress, making it impossible to locate the center.

The staff officers all turned to Bessler, as if asking, continue?

Bessler gritted his teeth but still ordered, "Continue firing!"

Fortune smiled on them by the fifth shot, as this shell’s explosion was noticeably different. After a thunderous blast, thick smoke and roaring flames continuously rolled from the direction of the fortress and didn’t stop for a long time.

Observers on the balloon waved signals, and staff officers translated the flag signals excitedly, "Surviving enemies are fleeing, we see their wounded!"

The German troops cheered, and Bessler was equally elated.

This was Wavre Castle; destroying it meant the German Army could cut off Antwerp’s fresh water supply, making the Belgian surrender a matter of time.

What Bessler didn’t know was that he thought the flames and thick smoke were from the explosion of Wavre Castle, but it was actually General Gis having gasoline and gunpowder ignited...