Chapter 515
It was clear that Nivelle intended to launch an offensive.
Or rather, the British had decided to attack.
Gallieni glanced at Petain, who showed no reaction, sitting quietly in his chair, maintaining silence. He seemed to still be hesitating.
Gallieni could only look up and say, “I don’t believe this is the right time for a counterattack, Generalissimo.”
Nivelle’s gaze shifted from the map to Gallieni, and he smiled while nodding, adopting a look of understanding. “Please, share your thoughts, Minister.”
Gallieni slowly stood up, turned slightly, and addressed the generals around him:
“I admit the Germans have committed a lot of troops and equipment at Verdun, but to say they are throwing everything into a final, all-out effort is, in my opinion, an exaggeration.”
“We need to assess Germany's strength on the defensive objectively.”
“They still hold dominance in Russia, and in Belgium, they have set up a new defensive line to face off with our forces.”
“We have even tried a few probing attacks in other areas, and the results have proven that the Germans’ defenses are very solid, with no sign of the ‘weakness’ you mentioned.”
As he spoke, Gallieni’s gaze fell upon the Commander of the Eastern Army Group, General Castelnau, who was seated behind him.
General Castelnau stood up:
“Yes, as per General Gallieni’s orders, I initiated several attacks, and the German defenses were indeed strong.”
“I’ve also heard they’ve equipped themselves with new heavy machine guns.”
“These machine guns are lighter and more suited for mobile warfare…”
Before he could finish, Haig coldly interrupted him in halting French: “Think about Charles!”
“What?” Gallieni looked at Haig in confusion, not understanding what Charles had to do with their plan to attack.
“I mean the battle where Charles attacked Antwerp,” Haig said, lounging with his legs crossed, his eyelids slightly lifted, speaking lazily. “Why was Charles able to reach Antwerp in one day? Was it really because Charles’ tanks and his troops were invincible?”
Gallieni angrily retorted, “So, what do you think that was? Was the enemy too weak?”
These men were actually openly denying Charles’ achievements!
“Pretty much,” Haig replied expressionlessly, nodding. “To be precise, it’s not that the enemy was too weak; it’s that the German defenses only had one outer layer. Once that was breached, the interior was empty, with many places even left undefended.”
Haig looked up, fixing Gallieni with a challenging stare. “Did I get that wrong, Minister?”
“That is indeed the case,” Gallieni emphasized. “But only Charles’ tank forces and mechanized troops could make a quick breakthrough, and only a fast breakthrough would reveal that the ‘interior was empty’.”
Infantry could not advance as quickly on foot. When they broke through, enemy reinforcements would arrive from all directions, blocking them and stalling their progress.
Gallieni added, “In the battle for Antwerp, the 9th Army of Foch was blocked by the Germans at Mons, which is a clear illustration of this.”
The generals nodded in agreement.
The battle of Antwerp had been analyzed in great detail by military experts, and the consensus was that Charles was able to break through in one day because his armored and mechanized units were fast, strong, and flexible.
The speed prevented most enemy reinforcements from arriving in time.
The strength ensured that the few reinforcements that did arrive could not stop them and were swiftly defeated by Charles' forces.
The flexibility allowed Charles’ troops to bypass cities and strongholds they could not capture quickly, rather than engaging in prolonged battles.
Infantry simply could not achieve these feats.
Haig smiled faintly, then stood up and shrugged to the others: “Gentlemen, it seems you’ve forgotten one thing: infantry also has its own fast-moving units. It’s with those units that we’ve won battle after battle.”
Gallieni froze for a moment, then understood. “You mean cavalry?”
Haig nodded slightly, a disdainful smile crossing his face.
“What Charles used is no great tactic, is it?”
“We’ve done that a thousand times on the battlefield.”
“Open a breach in the enemy line, then use cavalry to rapidly maneuver through the breach and attack their flanks and rear. The only difference is that Charles used tanks and trucks.”
The British generals nodded in agreement, some even shouting:
“Tanks and trucks have inherent flaws. They’re overly dependent on gasoline.”
“Without gasoline, they’re just piles of scrap metal. And gasoline is easily attacked. Charles’ offensive almost failed because of gasoline!”
“Cavalry doesn’t have that problem. They can maneuver just as well, shoot from horseback, and don’t rely on roads.”
...
Haig’s smug expression spoke volumes.
This was why he believed tanks and machine guns were redundant.
Why use tanks when you have cavalry?
Why use machine guns when you have rifles?
Cavalry can do what tanks do, and a machine gun is just a few extra rifles!
Gallieni was at a loss for words. He could hardly believe that in this day and age, there were still people who were so devoted to cavalry and believed it to be superior to tanks and trucks.
But Gallieni was alone in his stance. He couldn’t argue with all the British generals.
As for the French generals, they were either deep in thought or nodding in agreement. Some, though they disagreed with the British view, chose to remain silent.
Clearly, the British generals were more united.
At this point, Nivelle spoke:
“Our battle plan is almost like that, but we will add artillery.”
“Just like the Germans used concentrated artillery fire to bombard Verdun, we will concentrate our artillery on a section of the German defensive line.”
“Then, we will use infantry to break through, and finally, cavalry will rapidly exploit the breach.”
Unlike the British, Nivelle believed more in the power of “artillery.” In his mind, war was about “artillery conquering, infantry occupying.”
He believed that artillery defeated the enemy, and infantry was just there to “occupy” after the enemy had been defeated.
Gallieni couldn’t help but ask, “Is this the British plan or your plan, Generalissimo?”
Nivelle’s face darkened instantly. “What do you mean by that, Minister?”
“Nothing,” Gallieni replied. “If you wish to use such tactics to send men to their deaths, I might not be able to stop it. But as Minister of War, I will do everything I can to prevent the French army from participating…”
“No, Minister,” Nivelle interrupted Gallieni. “You won’t be able to stop it.”
At this moment, Haig spoke, his tone dripping with disdain: “Our supplies are only for soldiers who fight valiantly on the battlefield, not for cowards hiding in trenches, afraid to die!”
Gallieni understood immediately. They would eventually use their supplies to pressure the parliament into compromising.