Chapter 507: The Former "Naval Minister"
Charles had originally planned to leave the rifle design entirely to Dominique and Browning, considering it a form of training and testing for Dominique.
However, the looming crisis ahead forced him to "accelerate" the process.
In the FN armory meeting room, Browning and Dominique huddled together, staring at the design sketches in front of them.
Browning widened his eyes and scrutinized every detail, not missing a thing. His expression was complex, alternating between confusion and surprise. Occasionally, he would look up at Charles, his eyes full of disbelief.
After a long while, Browning finally put down the sketch and remarked, "General, is this your design?"
Charles nodded. "I drew it in the car, so it's not very precise."
This once again left Browning utterly astonished—drawn in the car?
Antwerp was only 59 kilometers from Ghent. If one moved fast, it wouldn’t take an hour. How could such a complex rifle be designed in just an hour?
The most surprising thing was that everything looked perfectly reasonable and flawless, as though it had undergone countless tests and revisions before finally becoming the mass-produced version.
Browning's guess was correct. What Charles had provided was the finalized design of the M1 Garand rifle.
On the surface, this rifle didn’t seem particularly difficult, but the key was that it was designed to replace the bolt-action rifle. It was expected that each infantryman would have one, with mass production reaching millions.
With such large quantities, even a tiny flaw could lead to irreversible and massive losses.
As a result, the United States spent over a decade testing and revising it before reaching the final product.
What Charles provided was the final version of the Garand rifle, skipping the intermediate steps.
It was said to be "mostly" final because Charles could only roughly confirm the data for the foregrip, magazine capacity, and clip, but he couldn’t go into detail about every single internal component.
However, for Browning, who had previously designed a semi-automatic shotgun, this was not a difficult task.
"I hope this will be a rifle based on the new French ammunition," Charles said. "A 7.5mm rimless rifle cartridge. Given the urgency of the situation, I hope we can begin mass production next month."
"That’s impossible," Browning exclaimed. "General, you don’t understand what mass production entails. We must proceed with utmost caution…"
"We urgently need this rifle, sir," Charles reminded him. "I understand that you want more time for testing, but I believe the best testing ground is the battlefield. We are in wartime. We can’t afford to hope that it will be perfected before we use it, like in peacetime."
This situation was different from the United States, where there was no wartime pressure and they had time and conditions to make revisions.
Moreover, what Charles provided was already the finished product, with very little left to modify.
Charles added, "We can start with a small batch production, sir, just to equip my units, with the first batch set at... ten thousand units."
Charles was considering equipping mechanized divisions, who needed enhanced long-range firepower.
Browning nodded. "No problem, General, but I can’t guarantee the quality."
"Of course," Charles replied, casting a glance at Dominique standing nearby.
From start to finish, Dominique remained relaxed. He knew exactly what this situation would be like.
One day, when Browning tested the rifle after its production, he would exclaim, "My God, it needs almost no modification; this is exactly how it should be!"
Dominique had seen such things happen many times before and had grown accustomed to it.
Perhaps this was the difference between genius and effort, Dominique sighed inwardly, knowing that no matter how hard he tried, he could never surpass Charles, the towering figure of talent.
...
After these matters were settled, Charles finally felt a little more at ease.
His urgency was driven by the fact that the upcoming battle was likely to be the British-led "Battle of the Somme."
This battle in history was launched to relieve pressure on the Verdun front and to allow the British to demonstrate their strength and outshine the French.
However, under the onslaught of German heavy machine guns, the British set a record for the highest casualties in human history—60,000 dead and wounded in a single day.
What would happen if his armored units faced such an enemy?
Bombers?
German heavy machine guns were positioned in trenches to avoid artillery fire, then moved up only when the enemy advanced. Bombers, obviously, would be useless.
Tanks?
The Germans would dig one or more deep anti-tank trenches in front of their positions, which tanks couldn’t cross. Infantry would have to go ahead and clear the obstacles.
Mortars?
At that time, mortars had a range of only a few hundred meters, while a Maxim machine gun could reach up to a thousand meters!
After much contemplation, Charles concluded that only semi-automatic rifles would be effective: three semi-automatic rifles, alternating fire, could suppress a single enemy machine gun.
With the addition of their own light and heavy machine guns and tank firepower, only then could they hope to win the battle.
Before he knew it, the car had already reached the airport.
Charles was nearly asleep. Drowsily yawning, he climbed out of the car and saw several British officers standing on the open airfield. They were pointing at the aircraft and watching the fighter jets take off and land with great interest.
What on earth was going on? Charles wondered. Wasn't Vice Admiral Avis supposed to have left?
However, Charles quickly realized his mistake. The senior officer in front was wearing a naval uniform, and the captain beside him was from the army.
Before Charles could react, the naval officer noticed him and waved from afar, shouting over the roar of the aircraft engines, "Hey, Major General, we’ve been waiting for you for quite a while!"
Only then did Charles recognize him—it was General Winter.
No wonder they were so interested in the planes; the British Navy was not a group to shy away from adopting new equipment. Otherwise, there would be no Dreadnoughts or aircraft carriers.
(Note: The first aircraft carrier in the world is widely believed to be the British "HMS Argus," developed in 1916.)
Charles lazily walked toward General Winter and asked, "What’s going on, General? Has the work in the Dardanelles Strait been completed?"
This was a suggestion Charles had given, which General Winter had finally taken to heart. Afterward, he began withdrawing forces from the Dardanelles Strait.
"Almost done," General Winter replied, walking toward him with the army captain.
To Charles’s surprise, General Winter was highly respectful toward the army captain.
Moreover, the army captain looked somewhat familiar. He seemed to have seen him somewhere before.
As they approached, General Winter introduced him, "This is the former 'Naval Minister,' Major General. He wants to meet you."
Charles froze in place for a moment. The former "Naval Minister"? An army captain?