I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France-Chapter 819: Arrangements for the US Army

France’s rainy season arrived early in early September.

The torrential rain caused the Meuse River to flood, and asset prices soared fivefold due to the successful landing of 300,000 US troops and a mass of supplies transported from the United States.

But the Egyptian Expeditionary Force, located in the front trenches near Nancy, felt demoralized.

They murmured complaints while constructing fortifications in the rain:

"We’re always put on the front line, leading the charge at the forefront."

"What else? Do you think the British would shield us from bullets?"

"Well, they should at least make sure we have enough to eat!"

...

"Shut your mouths!" Lieutenant Desia glared angrily at the murmuring few: "What we need are people who work, not bastards who just move their lips!"

Desia was one of the few Egyptians who managed to become a lieutenant.

In the Egyptian Expeditionary Force, even junior officers like lieutenants were typically British, even if they were fools.

The reason is obvious.

The Egyptian Expeditionary Force did not volunteer for service; they were conscripted by the British, who could only control the army using such high-pressure tactics to force them to act as cannon fodder.

Desia achieved the rank of lieutenant simply because he commanded some respect in the Egyptian military, and the British needed him to boost morale or set an example.

This was not his wish, Desia sighed lightly, continuing to wield his entrenching tool, forcefully shoveling a chunk of mud and dirty water out of the trench.

After the outbreak of war, the British forcibly listed themselves as Egypt’s "protectorate."

Then, at a third of the international price, they forcibly purchased Egypt’s food and mineral resources.

They also conscripted 100,000 laborers and 125,000 soldiers to form the Egyptian Expeditionary Force, with casualty compensation less than a fifth of the normal level.

In their eyes, Egyptians weren’t human but slaves, cannon fodder, tools!

But what can be done about this?

Complaining would result in being driven to die in a no man’s land, or being shot and displayed as an example.

As Desia vented his anger on the muddy water, communications soldier Amir ensured no British officers were around, leaned in, and whispered:

"Lieutenant, did you hear?"

"The British originally planned for the US Army to handle logistics security, meaning they wouldn’t have to go to the battlefield."

"But the Americans refused; they preferred training with Shire!"

Desia froze, then heavily stabbed his entrenching tool into the muddy water inside the trench, standing blankly as the rain drenched his face and blurred his angry eyes.

Nearby, a subordinate spoke Desia’s mind:

"What right do they have to decide who enters the battlefield and who doesn’t?"

"This war has nothing to do with us; we’re fighting for the British, yet placed in the most dangerous and troublesome spots, while the Americans don’t have to see battle!"

"If we wish to be commanded by Shire, we’ll be shot, but Americans can easily have it. What do they take us for?"

...

After being dazed for a while, Desia seemed to make a decision, squeezing out a few words through clenched teeth: "All troops, rest here!"

The order quickly spread:

"Rest here."

"Rest here!"

...

The British major avoiding the rain in the trench sensed something was wrong outside, donned his raincoat, and stormed out, shouting angrily: "What’s going on? Who told you to stop? Pick up your shovels and keep..."

The major halted mid-sentence.

The Egyptian soldiers did not pick up their shovels; instead, they gripped their rifles, fingers on the triggers, glaring with murderous intent.

...

At the Bicangxi training base, Shire was busy in the office supplying the US Army.

Pershing spared no effort, forming an armored division and a mechanized division.

However, they were essentially "two."

An armored division was sized at 27,000 men, more than double the Shire Armored Division’s numbers of over 10,000.

The mechanized division had the same structure.

Thus, this armored army reached a scale of 54,000, plus logistics and engineers, totaling 70,000 American soldiers at Bicangxi.

Most of them were elite, many officers being veterans like Patton with military experience, and cavalry were the most numerous.

Because Pershing believed armored and mechanized division tactics shared many similarities with cavalry, such as attacking weak enemy points with speed.

The difference is that cavalry rides horses, lacking defense and combat capabilities during maneuvers.

Armored and mechanized divisions, however, balance offense and defense during maneuvers.

Pershing’s idea wasn’t flawed; by WWII, cavalry was mostly eliminated, transforming into armored or mechanized units, even the Neon’s cavalry wasn’t an exception.

This kept Shire busy for a good while.

All factories ran at full speed around the clock, and by bringing out all the inventory, they barely equipped one armored brigade and one mechanized brigade.

Pershing was satisfied with this:

"I understand, Vice Admiral."

"It’s wartime now, and France has been in a persistent state of material shortage; expanding production capacity takes time."

"It’s okay; we still have time. These guys need at least three months of training before they step onto the battlefield."

Shire outwardly agreed, knowing that the Germans wouldn’t let you wait that long.

The longer you wait, the more unfavorable it is for the Germans. Can’t see this situation clearly?

Though Pershing had military talent, he lacked war sensitivity.

But undeniably, Pershing had foresight; he repeatedly told Shire: "I hope to equip ’Camel’ fighters and ’Caproni’ bombers, especially the ones with radios that can fly!"

He understood the importance of air superiority.

Not to mention, without air superiority and aerial reconnaissance adjustments, even long-range howitzers would be in danger.

But at this moment, Shire would always reply:

"General, as you know, pilots aren’t trained in just a day or two."

"Your military has very few pilots now; even if I hand these equipments to you, I’m afraid there will be no one to fly them."

"Even if they do take off, it’s hard to ensure they’ll perform."

Pershing nodded reluctantly.

This was America’s shortage aftermath; the country only had 150 pilots, flying outdated JN-4 unarmed reconnaissance planes, many not fully proficient.

But, even if America had enough pilots, Shire would find other excuses to block them.

Shire was strategizing.

The tactics he taught the US Army were mostly heavily reliant on air superiority and the intelligence, adjustments extending from it.

Currently, these all had to be provided by France’s air force to the US Army.

In other words, once the US Army left France’s air force, they couldn’t fight or would struggle greatly; their combat system would lack a critical component.

On the other hand, airplanes are high technology. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

As long as Shire maintained a leading position in aviation, he’d remain undefeatable against the US Army.