Chapter 384: The “Camel” Fighter Aircraft
The German 1st Stormtrooper Battalion launched a fierce assault on the French defensive line from their trenches.
They began by tossing a few grenades around the corners. After the explosions, soldiers armed with MG08/15 light machine guns would dash out and unleash a barrage of gunfire on the French soldiers, who were either still dazed or emerging from the dugouts. Riflemen would then advance to finish the job with precision shots, throwing grenades into any encountered tunnels before moving on.
Elsewhere, the main German forces charged the French defenses head-on, supported by tanks.
Caught off guard, the French soldiers were powerless to resist. Despite Christine’s efforts to halt the retreat, they fled en masse toward the rear.
Amid the German battle cries, Gaston crouched among the crowd, searching for Christine. Spotting him, he shouted, “Retreat, Colonel! If we don’t leave now, it’ll be too late!”
Christine yelled back, “We have no way out! We can’t outrun their tanks!”
“Yes, we do!” Gaston gritted his teeth. “We just need to leave the 2nd Artillery Regiment behind!”
“What?” Christine looked at Gaston in shock. The 2nd Artillery Regiment was Gaston’s unit.
“Yes, Colonel,” Gaston replied firmly. “We have no other choice. Otherwise, no one will make it out alive!”
“But you—”
Gaston interrupted by placing a hand on Christine’s shoulder. “Take care of my family. You made the right choice!”
Christine understood the implication. Gaston was referring to his decision to join Charles.
Without waiting for Christine’s order, Gaston raised his pistol and waved toward the signalman behind him, shouting, “2nd Artillery Regiment, forward!”
The signalman waved a signal flag, and the Saint-Chamond M21 tanks, stationed in the second line, rumbled out of their cover. They advanced against the flow of retreating French troops, heading straight for the incoming Germans.
“Leave now!” Gaston ordered Christine, his tone tinged with irony. “Tell Joffre I followed his orders to the letter and fought to the last moment!”
...
In this battle, almost all of the Saint-Chamond M21 tanks were destroyed, with only a few tank crew members surviving. Those who did escape were either burned or concussed.
The others met a gruesome end. Gaston’s body was never recovered, leaving no clue as to which charred or mangled corpse might have been his.
Nevertheless, their sacrifice allowed the main force of the 1st Specialist Artillery Division to retreat successfully.
As the Germans pursued Christine’s forces, Charles’s 1st Tank Brigade arrived just in time, halting the German advance.
Having precise intelligence on the new German tanks and their tactics, and with the Charles A1 tanks fitted with additional armor, the brigade rendered the German tanks ineffective. Even their 57mm cannons couldn’t penetrate the Charles A1's frontal armor, leading to their defeat by the superior French tanks.
However, the real game-changer wasn’t the cannons.
Knowing that the Germans relied on K-bullets, Charles ordered his troops to hang sandbags along the sides of their tanks, positioned at the height of enemy machine guns.
As expected, the Germans avoided using tank cannons and instead relied on machine guns loaded with K-bullets.
This tactic seemed sound in theory, as tank cannons of the time were notoriously inaccurate, even at close range, while machine guns provided consistent high-density firepower.
But as the two sides passed one another, the German machine gunners were horrified to find themselves firing at sandbags rather than vulnerable side armor.
Bullets poured into the sandbags, creating only small holes that leaked sand.
Meanwhile, the Charles A1 tank cannons rotated into position, waiting patiently. As the German tanks exposed their sides, the Charles A1s fired their 37mm shells with devastating accuracy.
German tanks were disabled one by one, left smoking and ablaze across the battlefield.
Ironically, the tanks designed to counter the Charles A1 ended up being countered by them instead.
...
After their devastating defeat on the ground, the Germans deployed their new aircraft in an attempt to regain control of the skies and turn the tide of the battle.
Major General Nicolas intended to use them to counter the despair-inducing carpet bombing runs of the French bombers.
Though the Fokker E1 fighter had a top speed of 133 km/h, slightly slower than the Caproni bomber’s 137 km/h, the difference was negligible. With its smaller, more agile frame, the Fokker E1 could indeed bring down a Caproni in combat.
Against the slower 100 km/h French Avro aircraft, the Fokker E1 held an even greater advantage.
Should the Germans achieve air superiority, they could use their 105mm howitzers in concert with aerial attacks to suppress Charles’s tank units.
But to their dismay, the French had also developed a new fighter aircraft, one that outperformed the Fokker E1 in both speed and maneuverability: the “Camel.”
The air battle was entirely one-sided. German aircraft were shot down like turkeys on fire, one after another.
In the end, though the Germans still had planes, they dared not send them into combat.
Major Immelmann, overseeing the air operations, stared blankly at the front-line report. It coldly recorded a harsh reality: a 43-to-1 kill ratio.
The Germans had lost 43 aircraft for every one they managed to shoot down, and the sole French loss was likely due to engine failure, not enemy action.
“This isn’t air combat; it’s a massacre,” Major Immelmann muttered through gritted teeth, ultimately issuing the order: “Pull all units back to the airfields.”
“But, Major,” his adjutant protested, “Major General Nicolas insists we deploy every available aircraft. He believes it’s vital to prevent the enemy bombers from decimating our infantry.”
Immelmann fell silent for a moment before shaking his head. “No. Tell Major General Nicolas that we can’t stop them. Deploying more planes will only result in more losses and unnecessary deaths.”
What mattered most were the pilots.
Immelmann understood this well. Germany’s skilled pilots had already suffered heavy casualties during the relentless French bombing. If he sent the remaining pilots to their deaths, Germany would lack the expertise to compete even if faster, more advanced planes were developed in the future.