Chapter 491: Land Mines
Charles gave Petain more than just these.
Charles thought, since directional mines have already been developed, ordinary land mines should be in the works too. Isn't Petain good at defensive warfare?
How could defensive warfare be complete without land mines?
With reverse slopes, land mines, and directional mines, it's as if I've already planned the Battle of Verdun. No matter how Petain plays, he will never escape my shadow. No matter how he fights, everyone will believe he is following my tactics, and they will be absolutely certain.
With that in mind, Charles took out his notebook and sketched a modern flat-oval shaped land mine, and beside it, he drew the internal structure, explaining as he sketched, "The structure isn't complicated. When the target steps on the pressure plate, the fuse is triggered, and the spring mechanism inside pushes the striker forward, which strikes the detonator cap, causing it to explode."
Steed, standing next to Charles, was initially puzzled. Only after hearing Charles' explanation did he understand, "This is... a land mine?"
He stared blankly at the sketch Charles had made.
Land mines already existed at this time, but they were large, cumbersome to carry, and had a variety of other drawbacks such as awkward shapes, complex structures, and difficulty in triggering, which made them not widely used. They briefly appeared during the Russo-Japanese War ten years ago but then disappeared, with few examples of their use on European battlefields.
Charles' land mine design solved all of these issues in one go, reaching its final form.
He didn't think this was anything complex, so he decided to go straight for the final product.
After some time, Steed finally responded, "So, you're saying, you’ve packed everything inside the mine? And it’s detonated by a fuse?"
Steed, who had worked in military manufacturing for many years, realized this method could simplify many operations and be more resistant to moisture, marking a major improvement in modern land mines.
Dominique leaned in and observed the size of the mine. He frowned and cautioned, "Brigadier General, with this size, the mine might not be powerful enough to kill the target, since it’s buried underground. Much of the shrapnel and explosive power would be absorbed by the soil..."
"I wasn’t planning to kill the target," Charles interrupted Dominique.
"What?" Dominique looked at Charles, confused. "Isn’t the objective of war to kill the enemy?"
Charles calmly replied, "No, Dominique, the objective of war has never been to kill the enemy. The objective is to win."
Dominique paused for a moment, as if he understood something. A faint sense of sorrow appeared on his face. For the sake of victory, humanity truly would go to any lengths.
Steed still didn’t understand. "I don’t see the difference between killing the enemy and winning, Brigadier General!"
Steed, after all, was a businessman. Even though he sold arms, he still saw things from a commercial perspective. Like many others, he believed that simply killing the enemy was enough to secure victory.
"Father," Dominique explained, "On the battlefield, blowing off an enemy’s leg is far more useful than killing him."
"More useful?" Steed looked at Dominique skeptically, then turned to Charles for confirmation.
Charles nodded at Dominique, signaling him to continue.
Dominique sighed, "If you blow off his leg, the enemy is unable to fight and poses no further threat to us. But he will need several soldiers to carry him away for treatment. Then he’ll require medical care, supplies, and attention. If he survives, he won’t be able to create any value; he will only continue to consume the already scarce resources of the Germans."
Steed was stunned, then suddenly began to laugh. "That’s right, Dominique! That’s exactly what we should do, cause trouble for them. A little bit of dynamite and we can tie them up! Why not?!"
With that, he grabbed the blueprint eagerly, looking at Charles with confidence. "I’ll have it produced in no time, Brigadier General. Just a few days."
He shot Dominique a glance.
He had grown used to Charles' genius, so nothing Charles did surprised him anymore.
But today, he realized Dominique also had talent. If only he could rid himself of unnecessary "human kindness"...
Charles continued, "Additionally, we could produce larger land mines to deal with tanks."
"Of course, Brigadier General," Steed said. "We definitely need mines to deal with tanks."
At that moment, Steed froze. "But how do we make it detonate on a tank? I mean, the enemy’s infantry would trigger it too."
"Pressure, Mr. Steed," Charles responded. "A person weighs maybe just over 200 pounds, but a tank is a different matter."
Steed's eyes lit up as he exclaimed, "Ah, I see! As long as we adjust the pressure sensitivity, it will only explode when a tank rolls over it! Oh my God, that’s a brilliant idea!"
Dominique stared at Charles, astonished. The idea seemed simple, but the fact that Charles could come up with it so effortlessly made it seem like he had already known the solution beforehand.
But that wasn’t the end of it.
Charles, amidst their astonished looks, started sketching and explaining further.
"We can also produce smaller land mines."
"They can be split into two parts: the mine casing and the mine body."
"When triggered, the explosive in the casing will launch the mine body to a height of one meter, and then the delayed fuse will detonate the mine body..."
After finishing, Charles placed the notebook in front of both of them. "Of course, in the mine body, we’ll also include steel balls, just like in the directional mines."
Steed and Dominique were both dumbfounded. Another kind of land mine?
It bounces to one meter before exploding, and it’s filled with steel balls?!
They both instinctively looked down, and just imagining the scene made them feel terrified.
Then Steed became excited. He saw countless orders, rolling wealth, and the revival of the "Saint-Étienne" armaments factory.
He once again affirmed that following Charles’ strategy all those years ago had been a brilliant decision.
If Charles were now his competitor, "Saint-Étienne" would have long been flattened and spat on.
Dominique swallowed hard, hesitating before saying to Charles, "Isn’t this a bit too cruel, Brigadier General?"
"This is war, Dominique," Charles' voice was cold. "There’s a saying: ‘Mercy towards the enemy is cruelty towards yourself.’ Do you agree?"
Dominique fell silent for a moment, then gently nodded.
The battlefield is a place where it's either you or the enemy who survives. If you hesitate to kill when you have the chance, the enemy will end up killing you instead.
If one must choose between the two, of course, the answer is to kill the enemy.
Dominique sighed, "You’re right, General. I apologize."
"I’m not a soldier," he continued, "I’ve never faced the enemy on the battlefield. I haven’t been forced to make life-or-death decisions, so I have no right to judge."
Charles' development of these weapons was merely to protect his own life and that of his subordinates, Dominique thought.
What would he choose if he were in such a situation?
Let the enemy kill him?
Perhaps there was only one choice!