Chapter 330: The Deployment of the Chauchat Light Machine Gun
After the waiter cleared the dinner plates and brought out desserts and fruits, Steed spoke while eating: "They've decided to deploy the light machine gun. The first batch is expected to be at least ten thousand units, and they'll be sent to the Gallipoli front."
At this, Steed glanced up, secretly observing Charles' reaction.
If it were before, Charles would have hesitated.
The malfunction-prone machine gun being sent to Gallipoli would undoubtedly cause a series of "incidents," resulting in unnecessary casualties for the troops—a situation Charles would never allow.
But now, Charles merely gave a calm "hmm," as though he hadn’t heard, continuing to fork apple pieces into his mouth.
It wasn’t apple season, and the only reason they were able to eat apples was because industrial refrigerators had preserved them.
Of course, this was a luxury only the rich could enjoy.
Dominique, seeing that Charles had not responded, looked at him with confusion and asked, "Shouldn't we be the first to deploy our machine gun?"
Charles replied coldly, "We can wait a bit longer. Now is not the time."
"But..." Dominique’s expression grew tense. "It might have major problems. When we first designed this machine gun, we hoped it would be used in France, but now they plan to use it in Gallipoli."
The French battlefield was mostly inland, whereas Gallipoli was a peninsula, a high-salt, high-humidity area. Even without sand getting into the hollow magazine of the Chauchat, tiny salt crystals might form, and the gun would rust more easily in that environment.
These factors would lead to more malfunctions.
"Galliopoli really needs light machine guns," Charles answered, deflecting the issue. "Heavy machine guns are too cumbersome and require valuable fresh water for cooling."
This was Charles' battlefield experience—sometimes soldiers had no water to drink but had to save it for the heavy machine guns.
(Using seawater for cooling would create a series of problems, as it is corrosive to metals and causes rust; furthermore, after evaporation, seawater leaves salt crystals behind.)
"It’s not a matter of need, Colonel," Dominique emphasized. "We also have light machine guns, much better than the Chauchat, and we’ve already produced 30,000 units, enough for Gallipoli!"
Dominique implied that providing Gallipoli with our light machine guns could save many lives.
Steed chuckled and answered the question for Charles: "Dominique is right."
"Without comparison, there is no difference. We should first let people see how bad the Chauchat machine gun is, so they can indirectly understand how good our machine guns are."
"Then, we’ll have truly defeated our opponent!"
Dominique looked at Steed in shock, then turned to Charles with a look of disbelief.
It was understandable that Steed thought this way—he was driven by money, profit, and his own business.
But Charles—he wasn’t that kind of person!
Charles didn't respond, which was as good as agreeing.
This was just one of the reasons. Right now, despite the desperate need for light machine guns, the Chauchat, despite its numerous faults, would undergo emergency mass production over the next two years, manufacturing a total of 260,000 units.
To defeat the opponent, they had to wait for the "emergency mass production" phase, not during this "trial period."
Dominique waited for a while but saw no response from Charles, his gaze slowly shifting to disappointment. He said with sarcasm, "You've truly become cruel, Colonel. You’re living up to your combat experience!"
Steed glared at Dominique reproachfully:
"Are you talking about the soldiers in Gallipoli?"
"They are Australians, Dominique, as well as New Zealanders, Britons, and Africans. It’s none of our concern, Dominique."
"The only French regiment, the 105th Infantry, has already withdrawn!"
Dominique retorted, "But they are still lives, Father!"
Steed’s expression darkened, and he responded with a counter-question:
"Then, is it our responsibility that they’re killing each other on the battlefield?"
"Did we start this war? Or did we send the warships and troops?"
"We’re just selling equipment. It seems you’re directing your anger at the wrong target!"
Dominique did not respond, but his eyes still radiated anger, silently protesting. The restaurant fell into an awkward silence.
Steed smiled apologetically at Charles, "I’m truly sorry, Colonel. I hope this doesn’t cause you any trouble."
"No, of course not," Charles answered, turning to look at Dominique, calmly asking, "What’s it called, I mean, the machine gun we’re producing?"
"It’s called the 'Saint-Étienne Model 2' machine gun," Dominique answered.
Charles raised an eyebrow. It was a good name, and a clever approach.
This could boost the Saint-Étienne armaments factory’s reputation. Once this machine gun achieved great success on the battlefield, it would not be the machine gun itself that people recognized, but rather the Saint-Étienne factory.
"What if I gave you the decision-making power?" Charles asked again.
"What?" Dominique was taken aback.
"You decide when to deploy the machine gun," Charles spoke with firm resolve. "I’m serious."
"Of course, I’d push it out now," Dominique’s eyes rekindled with hope.
"You think they will definitely choose the better one?" Charles asked, seemingly reflecting on his past self.
Dominique was taken aback, as though he understood the issue: Even if the Saint-Étienne factory released the machine gun now, it might not be accepted by the parliament.
The Saint-Étienne factory was no longer the same as before. Its influence was being eroded by other capitalists.
"We could list it under wartime procurement regulations," Dominique said.
"So could my tank," Charles replied. "Do you know why I didn’t list the 'Char A1' tank under wartime procurement regulations?"
Dominique was speechless.
He knew the reason. Everyone knew.
At that time, the "Char A1" tank had almost no chance of winning in the "wartime procurement competition." It could only prove itself on the battlefield.
Now, the situation seemed similar. It wasn’t about who was better; it was about who had more influence and power.
"I’d bet," Charles continued, "that if you deploy the machine gun now, compared to later, the latter will likely spread faster and save more lives."
"How could that be?" Dominique countered. "Doesn’t the later deployment still need to go through parliament and wartime regulations?"
"Of course," Charles replied, "but it will also have victories in actual combat. The French military and civilians will already know our machine gun is better. Once the parliament rejects it, do you know what will happen?"
Marches, protests, strikes, and even military mutinies...
It was then that Dominique understood. Charles was actually using public pressure on parliament to force them to accept the Saint-Étienne Model 2 machine gun.