Chapter 517: Artillery and Machine Guns
The M1 semi-automatic rifle had only been in service for two days when five 107mm rocket launchers were transported from Paris to Antwerp.
It was only during production that it was discovered that the cost of each launcher was just over a thousand francs, so much so that Steed could hardly believe it was true. He asked several times for confirmation:
"Is this really true, General?"
"Do you really need this thing? Can it really have an effect on the battlefield?"
"I'm worried something might go wrong. It's just too cheap!"
Charles smiled as he read the telegram. Its advantage was precisely because it was cheap. If it weren't cheap, he wouldn't want it.
Tigani had never been optimistic about the rocket launcher and reluctantly joined Charles for the test out in the countryside.
They were at the "Bueno" fortress. After Charles took Antwerp, he used it as his headquarters and lived there for a while. In front of the fortress, aside from a trench, was a vast, barren wasteland with a few scattered craters. These were left by German soldiers firing randomly in the dark during Charles' attack.
Although this place was quite suitable for testing the rocket launchers, for reasons of confidentiality, the Belgian military police had to clear the area, including the nearby several kilometers and the area ten kilometers in front, a full day in advance.
This caused quite a stir for King Albert I.
When Albert I heard about this, he personally rushed to the airport headquarters and asked with eager anticipation: "General, I hear you're testing new equipment tomorrow?"
"Yes," Charles replied absentmindedly while signing documents.
"Is it part of the fortress defense system?" Albert I asked again.
Charles was momentarily taken aback, his hand slowing as he thought about it.
The rocket launcher did seem to be usable in a "fortress defense system."
The cannons inside the fortress typically had a shorter range than the enemy’s, as the enemy would always develop longer-range guns to deal with fortresses.
But the rocket launcher could ignore the "range" issue.
For example, when the Germans once again used the "Big Bertha" to bomb the fortress, the army could use the rocket launcher to suddenly unleash a barrage to destroy it, and then quickly retreat.
Thinking about this, Charles nodded and said, "Perhaps, if you're interested..."
"Of course," Albert I said, visibly excited. "Of course, I’m interested. So, can I participate in tomorrow's test?"
"Yes," Charles responded. "However, for confidentiality reasons, only you and Brigadier Eden can participate."
"No problem," Albert I quickly agreed, then curiously asked, "Can I know what it is?"
Charles reserved some details: "We’re publicly calling it a cannon. You can think of it that way as well."
Albert I's eyes immediately lit up.
A cannon, a new type of cannon! That’s wonderful! What the fortress defense system needs is cannons. As long as we have enough cannons, we can keep all the enemies outside the defense perimeter!
Albert I was filled with anticipation for this cannon, eagerly picturing it in his mind. Upon returning to the estate, he immediately called Brigadier Eden to share the good news:
"We’ll have a cannon soon, a new type, invented by Charles!"
"With this cannon, we’ll be invincible. No one will be able to break through our fortress defenses!"
Eden agreed, "Of course, Your Majesty. Charles' inventions are always the most advanced: airplanes, tanks, machine guns, and landmines. Many of these have never been seen before."
Naturally, they both started imagining what this cannon could look like and made a series of reasonable guesses. Since Charles had gone to such lengths to keep the tests secret, this cannon must be very advanced and excellent.
It must be large and powerful, firing far and accurately, capable of blowing "Big Bertha" to pieces with a single shot.
Its size should be small, because Charles said it could be used in the fortress defense system, which meant it could fit inside the fortress.
Albert I's only concern was the price, as Belgium's budget was not very large!
He did not know that this was exactly the one thing he need not worry about.
...
The next day, when they saw the few crude and lowly "row of pipes" at the "Bueno" fortress, the huge contrast left them speechless.
Albert I didn’t even think those were the weapons Charles was about to demonstrate. He asked Charles, "Brigadier, where’s the cannon you mentioned?"
Charles raised his head toward the "pipes" and said, "Your Majesty, what you're seeing is it."
Albert I was left dumbfounded.
Though he repeatedly told himself that this was Charles’ equipment, and it must have some incredible feature, he still couldn’t hide his disappointment.
Brigadier Eden, on the other hand, was a bit suspicious. Could this be another form of secrecy? Maybe Charles was just showing them something insignificant, and the real cannon would be tested after they left? Yes, that must be it!
Tigani was completely out of focus, still thinking about the M1 semi-automatic rifle and how it could be used on the battlefield.
Before long, the soldiers, under everyone’s contemptuous gaze, began loading rockets into the rocket launchers.
When Eden saw the rockets, he was more certain of his suspicions.
The rocket was nothing new. "Congreve" had been used long ago. And this thing couldn’t hit its target well—there was no reason for Charles to go through all the trouble clearing the area for this.
However, when Charles gave the order to fire, everyone was stunned by what they saw.
The rockets emitted a terrifying "whoosh whoosh" sound, one after another, spewing thick smoke and fire as they flew toward the target, their trails visible in the sky.
"Boom boom boom."
"Boom boom!"
...
After a burst of fire and explosions, the rockets detonated several kilometers away, forming a curtain of shells, and the few small trees in the target area were immediately engulfed in smoke.
As the smoke cleared, the trees were gone, leaving only small stumps to show they had once existed.
Albert I was stunned, unable to believe that these seemingly ordinary "pipes" could have such devastating power.
Eden suddenly began to doubt his previous thoughts. Could this actually be the main feature of the day?
Shocked, Tigani snapped out of his daze and suddenly exclaimed, "I get it! This is another type of machine gun—a cannon machine gun!"
Albert I was bewildered. A cannon is a cannon, and a machine gun is a machine gun. How could there be such a thing as a cannon machine gun?
Eden nodded thoughtfully.
"You're right, General."
"It relies on quantity, compensating for its lack of precision with sheer numbers."
"Like a machine gun, except it fires shells instead of bullets!"
Albert I finally understood, but then looked at the distance with a regretful expression. "Too bad its range isn’t far enough."
"About 8 kilometers," Charles said calmly. "But that’s enough!"
Everyone was puzzled by Charles' words.
Isn’t the range of artillery supposed to be as long as possible?
How could 8 kilometers be considered "enough"? They couldn’t even reach the German 105mm howitzers with that range! How could it be enough?