Chapter 407: Can This Fool the Germans?
On the road from Arras to Cambrai, Foch sat in a speeding car, leisurely flipping through the file in his hands. It contained details about the equipment of Charles' troops.
Cambrai was part of Foch's Northern Army Group's war zone, and the bulk of the support and supplies for Charles' operations there were to come from his army group. Foch needed to understand the equipment status.
"Interesting," Foch muttered as he read through the file. "He's armored his entire force with vehicles, either tanks, armored cars, or trucks. Even the artillery is mounted on vehicles."
Turning to his side, Foch looked at Wei Gang, his chief of staff. Wei Gang was also one of the staunchest supporters of Foch's "Offensive Theory." Two years ago, he had caught Foch's attention, and since then had swiftly risen through the ranks to become the chief of staff of the 20th Army, then the 9th Army Group, and now, the Northern Army Group.
"What do you think?" Foch asked.
Wei Gang, his face emotionless, replied, "With all due respect, General, I don't think this is the right approach. It's too vulnerable to enemy artillery strikes."
Foch nodded slightly, agreeing. He had seen the data on those armored vehicles and artillery. They appeared to be rather fragile, especially the so-called "truck-mounted guns"—essentially just a combination of trucks and artillery, with only minor reinforcements to the chassis.
Foch could not help but imagine the grim scenes of these vehicles being overturned under enemy fire.
"Moreover," Wei Gang continued, "I doubt these vehicles will be effective on the battlefield. The rest of the troops are on foot, and they won't be able to keep up with Charles' force. Does he really think he can defeat the Germans with just over 10,000 men?"
Foch did not respond immediately. He didn't know how to counter that claim. Without support from other forces, speed could lead to disaster—charging right into an enemy encirclement, and getting wiped out even faster.
"However," Foch said thoughtfully, "the fact is, he has been winning. Colonel, he has never lost."
"That may be because of our tactics," Wei Gang replied.
"Our tactics?" Foch was surprised. Was Wei Gang beginning to doubt the "Offensive Theory"?
But quickly, Foch realized his misunderstanding.
Wei Gang explained, "Our tactics are no secret to the Germans. They're using the same strategies against us. We know each other's next move, because they know what we're going to do."
Foch added, "Are you saying that since the Germans are already accustomed to our tactics, Charles' sudden change in strategy will throw them off balance?"
"Exactly," Wei Gang confirmed with a nod. "Pétain's defensive tactics are similar. They're a different type of strategy from 'offense.'"
After a pause, Wei Gang asserted, "Once the Germans get used to their own tactics, that's when they'll fail. The battle will eventually return to square one—only the 'offensive' can prevail."
Foch fell silent.
Though the "Offensive Theory" had been his own creation and he had once been a firm believer, his recent conversations with Charles had made him uncertain. Now, he was no longer so quick to declare one strategy as the absolute truth.
The car suddenly turned into a mountain pass. A few fully-armed guards stepped forward, and the car slowed to a stop for inspection.
Charles had a habit of avoiding setting up camp inside towns. Though it would have been more comfortable and convenient, it also created opportunities for enemy decapitation strikes and posed risks to civilians. Unless absolutely necessary, he always set his command posts in forests.
At that moment, Charles had just received news that Grévy and Armand had been captured.
He couldn't help but marvel at how much more clever and cautious Grévy was than he had anticipated. Who could have guessed that a book hidden in a safe would be a mere decoy? The book was Les Paysans (The Peasants) by Balzac, which fit Grévy's right-wing ideals perfectly.
But it was only there to entice others to steal and alert Grévy.
Every time he placed the book in the safe, Grévy would carefully insert a few strands of hair to detect if anyone had tampered with it. If they did, he'd pretend the book was a codebook and send out meaningless telegrams.
The actual codebook was his personal diary, which he used to send out daily updates to his trusted men in Germany. The code changed every day and was never the same.
But Grévy had made one fatal mistake—he had forgotten about Armand.
That oversight was enough for everything to fall into place. Harry had obtained intel from Armand, and the "servants" in Grévy's household had photographed pages of his diary. Now, Grévy's secrets were completely exposed.
This was a major victory for Charles. The right-wing forces were about to suffer a devastating blow.
The party leader had betrayed the country?
And their target was Charles?
It seemed the entire French right was conspiring to drag the nation into the fire!
People even began speculating:
Was the right-wing trying to provoke foreign intervention or collude with external forces to restore the empire?
It seemed likely that Grévy was not the only one involved. The entire right-wing faction was under suspicion.
The right-wing parliamentarians would now crawl into the shadows, cutting ties with Grévy for fear of being tainted by scandal. Even Schneider would distance himself, afraid of being associated with such affairs.
And now, it was time for Charles to step forward...
Just as he was thinking about this, a messenger entered and reported, "Brigadier General, General Foch is here."
Before he could finish speaking, Foch bent low and entered, smiling, "How are things, Brigadier General? Long time no see!"
(Note: In 1910, the average height in France was 166.8 cm, and Foch, at 175 cm, was considered tall for his time.)
"Everything is good, General," Charles responded, shaking his hand.
Foch curiously glanced at the shelter and said appreciatively, "You're willing to endure hardship with your soldiers. That sets you apart from most French generals."
"Actually, not quite," Charles said, laughing at himself. "I'm just a bit cowardly. I'm not willing to take the risk of being assassinated by staying in a town."
Foch chuckled heartily. He didn't believe for a second that Charles' reasoning was that simple.
Then Foch shifted to the main topic: "You intentionally let everyone believe you and your troops would appear in the National Day parade, right?"
"Yes," Charles nodded.
"Do you think that will fool the Germans?" Foch asked, skeptical.
"If that's all, perhaps not," Charles replied.
Foch heard the underlying implication in his words: "There's more?"
Charles smiled, "Oh yes, there's quite a bit more."
To prepare for today's offensive, Charles had done a lot of planning.
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