Chapter 378: The Night Battle
When Charles received the telegram, he was momentarily stunned, but soon realized it was a plea for help from Christine.
Charles could fully grasp Christine's predicament. The capitalist Schneider and the politician Joffre wanted Christine to lead the "Saint-Chamond" tanks into a glorious battle to serve their interests.
However, the "Saint-Chamond" was of little use, especially the "Saint-Chamond M21," which excelled at nothing except holding others back.
This created a dilemma: Christine and his First Specialized Artillery Division were caught between the German forces and Joffre, making their situation untenable. It seemed their total annihilation was the only way to prove Joffre wrong.
But what would proving Joffre wrong even mean at that point?
...
In the past, Charles would have intervened without hesitation, for the sake of an entire division and the lives of 20,000 men.
But now, he hesitated. He had grown accustomed to weighing decisions from the perspective of interests and benefits.
From the standpoint of reputation and equipment, he should not intervene. The worse the First Specialized Artillery Division fared, the more deaths they suffered, the more Charles' command capabilities and equipment superiority would shine through. This would boost the sales of the "Charles A1" and deal Schneider and Joffre a heavier blow.
However, considering the influence within the military, he ought to help.
Christine was a war hero, and the soldiers of the First Specialized Artillery Division were elite troops of the army with considerable influence. If Charles set aside his rivalry with Joffre to rescue them, he would undoubtedly win the admiration and support of grassroots soldiers.
After weighing the options for a while, Charles deemed the latter more important.
Though suppressed by politics and capital in France, the military remained the "gun barrel," and at critical moments, they often saved lives.
Charles hesitated no longer and sent a reply to Christine—a telegram with just two words: "Night battle."
When Christine received the telegram, he was momentarily taken aback. "Night battle? What kind of suggestion is this?"
The Germans’ tanks had no night combat capabilities, and neither did theirs. Surely Charles was aware of this?
A sense of disappointment and humiliation surged within him. It felt as though he was being mocked even on the verge of death.
But after thinking more carefully, a slight smile appeared on Christine's face, and his furrowed brows began to relax.
If neither side's tanks had night combat capabilities, the distinction between advanced and outdated would become irrelevant. Whether a tank had a rotating turret or superior firepower no longer mattered, as both sides would be immobilized and unable to fire.
(Note: Tanks had poor external sensory capabilities, making it nearly impossible to distinguish friend from foe or navigate in the dark. Tanks only acquired night combat abilities with the advent of night vision equipment in modern times. Before that, tracer rounds were used to mark targets for tanks, providing limited effectiveness in night battles.)
As the sky darkened, Christine came to a decision.
He ordered everyone to rest and then sought out Lieutenant Colonel Gaston, the commander of the 2nd Artillery Regiment, a longtime subordinate and friend of his.
However, due to dissatisfaction with the "Saint-Chamond M21" tanks, Gaston had often clashed with Christine.
Gaston frequently grumbled to Christine: "I wouldn’t even call this a tank. Aside from its tracks and a machine gun, what does it have? A real tank should be like the 'Charles A1!'"
Christine could only reply helplessly: "I know, Gaston, but this is all they’ve given us. Unless you can build one yourself, there’s no other option!"
When Christine found Gaston, the latter was organizing ground crew members to repair the "Saint-Chamond M21."
Seeing Christine approach, Gaston gave him a sour look while wiping the grease off his hands with a rag. Gesturing toward the "M21" parked on the street, he said, "Look at them. They’re not just slow—they have a ton of problems. I’m tempted to rip off their wheels."
"If you want to, go ahead," Christine replied calmly.
Gaston sensed something off in Christine’s tone. He turned to look at him and asked, "What’s going on?"
Christine shook his head lightly. "We’re attacking."
Gaston froze and asked, expressionless, "When?"
It was practically a death sentence.
Christine glanced at the darkening sky and replied, "When the sky goes black—about an hour from now."
Gritting his teeth, Gaston said in a low voice, "This is murder, General. Tanks can’t fight at night!"
"I know," Christine replied. He glanced around. "But this isn’t an order from the Supreme Commander; it’s from Charles. This might be our only chance to survive."
Christine spoke softly, but Gaston heard him clearly.
Upon hearing it was an order from Charles, Gaston flinched as if pricked by a needle and turned to Christine, shocked.
"You’re insane, General!" Gaston exclaimed. "I admit Charles is a military genius, but he’s our rival. It’s in his interest for us to be wiped out! He’ll get us all killed!"
"He’s not that kind of person, Gaston," Christine answered calmly. "Think about it. If our tanks can’t fight at night, do you think the enemy’s can?"
Gaston stood there, stunned.
Christine continued, "Besides, the Germans know we’re a tank unit. They’d never expect us to use tanks for a night battle. This might be our only chance."
"Even so, but…" Gaston was still thinking about the lack of night combat capabilities.
"Open the top hatches," Christine interrupted.
"What?" Gaston looked at Christine in surprise. "But that means the enemy could toss grenades into the tanks."
Christine silently stared at Gaston.
Gaston understood Christine’s point. Faced with two dangers, one must choose the lesser. To gain night combat capabilities, they had to take risks.
(Image: The open top hatch of the "Saint-Chamond M21." Normally opened during road maneuvers to enhance external sensory capabilities and adapt to faster movement. If opened while in tracked mode, enemies could easily throw grenades into the interior.)
Finally, Christine asked, "I choose to trust Charles. Do you?"
After some consideration, Gaston nodded silently.
If Charles wanted them dead, he wouldn’t need to offer any suggestions—he could simply wait for the inevitable outcome.
Besides, Joffre could never be trusted—not ever!
Christine patted Gaston on the shoulder. "Once the battle starts, don’t stop. Push forward at full speed and kill anything you see."
In the dark, it would be impossible to distinguish friend from foe, but as long as the tanks maintained their maximum speed of 6 kilometers per hour, no friendly troops would be able to run ahead of them.
Ironically, this turned out to be a strength of the "Saint-Chamond M21." Its slow speed perfectly matched the infantry’s advance, creating a degree of coordination between the two.
After instructing the tank regiment, Christine went on to inspect the infantry.
As he walked around, he deliberately avoided returning to headquarters to report to Joffre.
Christine had no desire to stir up more trouble or face Joffre’s arrogance in this life-or-death moment!