Chapter 335: Gas Masks
Charles didn't take the "military uniform incident" too seriously.
He knew that this matter would eventually be resolved because it hadn't overly infringed on the interests of the capitalists, but it would provoke strong resistance from society. So, why not do a favor for the authorities?
Moreover, it was foreseeable that the military uniform change would not only pass but also be expedited through the "fast track." After all, the parliamentarians also needed to gain people's support to secure their positions.
Thus, Charles focused all his energy on addressing the "gas warfare."
...
Tigani's headquarters were on the second floor of an office building.
This four-story office building hadn't existed before. Prior to this, the office area and the training building were part of the same structure because police training didn't require a large, separate, and well-defined headquarters.
When Tigani arrived with the 105th Infantry Regiment, he immediately used his own funds to start constructing the building.
"A training base can't be without a headquarters," said Tigani. "Especially mine!"
By the time the 105th Infantry Regiment was still engaged in combat at Gallipoli, the building had been completed.
Everything here was new and fully equipped: lounges, telecommunication rooms, operations departments, logistics departments... Each department had a telephone and a radio.
The headquarters was more luxurious than Gallieni's city defense headquarters.
Inside the headquarters, the windows were spotless, and the crackling firewood in the fireplace added warmth to the room.
Tigani made a cup of instant coffee and brought it to Charles, who took it with a nod. Tigani himself took a sip, frowned, and complained, "I'm afraid I can't get used to the taste of battlefield coffee."
Tigani was referring to the instant coffee, which he thought of as a sacrifice, unaware that many people during this time couldn't afford such processed instant coffee.
"We should make some preparations," Charles said.
"What?" Tigani looked up at Charles. "You mean changing military uniforms? Does that need preparation?"
"No, Tigani," Charles replied. "I mean the war. I think new situations will arise."
Tigani raised an eyebrow. "You mean Gallipoli?"
If the Gallipoli campaign resulted in a victory, things would indeed be different. Tigani instinctively glanced at the map on the wall.
But Charles shook his head. "No, I mean gas warfare."
"Gas warfare?" Tigani turned to look at Charles, completely confused.
Charles explained the situation to Tigani, stressing at the end, "Though it's just a guess, if it comes true, our defenses will have a huge gap, and they might even collapse."
What Charles was truly concerned about wasn't this.
In history, after the Germans launched gas attacks, they caused severe casualties to the Allies, and their lines had a huge gap, stretching 10 kilometers deep and 7 kilometers wide.
However, since the Germans had to deal with both the Eastern and Western fronts, they could only send a limited number of troops through this gap. Ultimately, the French reinforcements stopped them.
What Charles was truly worried about was that if the Allies lost 70,000 men in this campaign, and if the 105th Infantry Regiment was one of those lost with Charles among them, what would happen then?
"I can't convince them," Charles said, placing the coffee back on the tray with a helpless tone. "No one thinks it's true, and they even worry that my statements will shake the morale of the army."
Tigani was quite certain: "They are wrong. If you believe it, then it will happen!"
Charles was a bit surprised. He had thought Tigani would at least ask a few questions, like whether there was a more in-depth investigation or other supporting intelligence, but he asked nothing.
The only question Tigani had was, "How should we prepare? I mean, if the enemy releases gas, we might not be able to do anything!"
They shouldn't doubt Charles, Tigani thought, because Charles had never been wrong. Everything Charles said or did was later proven to be correct.
Those idiots always thought they were smarter than Charles!
Charles paused for a moment. He had prepared some arguments, like "we can prevent it before it happens" or "it's better to be prepared than not," hoping to convince Tigani, but now none of them were useful.
Charles shrugged, skipped over all of that, and reached for his briefcase. He opened it and pulled out a gas mask, handing it to Tigani.
It was a sample produced by Steed, and it wasn't complicated. Simply put, it was an air-breathing device that covered the face and used a filter canister to purify the air—nothing technological about it.
Charles had also avoided one issue: The first gas filter canister invented during World War I contained cotton soaked in sodium bicarbonate solution. It would react with chlorine gas to absorb it, thus filtering out the poison.
However, if he used this kind of filter, Charles would have to answer one question: it only worked for chlorine gas. How could he possibly know in advance that the Germans would use chlorine gas? And how could he produce gas masks for it in advance?
Therefore, Charles used more advanced activated carbon particles, which worked on all gases and allowed for smoother breathing.
"What is this?" Tigani asked, holding it in his hands and inspecting it.
"A gas mask," Charles said, putting it on his own face. Through the two eye windows of the mask, he looked at Tigani.
Tigani found it interesting. He also tried putting it on, but suddenly realized something. When he took it off, he looked at Charles in shock.
"Do you mean that with this, we don't have to worry about enemy gas attacks?"
"This is your new invention?"
Charles nodded and admitted, "This is the preparation I was talking about. If we can't convince them, if we can't get them to prepare, the only ones who can be prepared are the 105th Infantry Regiment..."
However, Tigani wasn't interested in that. He was more interested in the "art of war."
"Colonel!" Tigani interrupted Charles. "How did you come up with the idea to invent this? Does it really work?"
Charles couldn't answer.
The reason the gas mask was invented was that after the Germans used poison gas, people found that many wild animals, including birds in the woods, frogs buried in the soil, and insects, couldn't escape the effects. Only wild boars were unharmed.
Scientists discovered through experiments that wild boars had an extremely sensitive sense of smell. When they detected a pungent odor, they instinctively shoved their noses into the ground and stayed still. They filtered the poison in the air with soil particles.
At this time, the Germans hadn't used poison gas yet, so this experiment couldn't have happened.
Charles could only evade the question. "I just thought of it. I can't really explain why."
Tigani laughed. "Well, that's true. Who can explain the reason?"
Then his eyes lit up.
"If it really works, and the Germans think we're already poisoned and dead on the front lines..."
"Then it's them who will be in trouble!"