Chapter 525: Rocket Artillery Tactics
At Antwerp Airport, Tigani hurried over to Charles after receiving a telegram from Gallieni.
“They’re winning,” Tigani said with some nervousness. “This is good news, but if you have any plans to attack Namur, shouldn’t we implement them as soon as possible?”
Rumors were circulating that the Battle of the Somme would end in victory in just a few days, and General Nivelle had said as much.
However, Charles responded calmly, “No rush, let’s wait a bit longer.”
“Wait for what?” Tigani asked in confusion.
“If our army is winning, shouldn’t the Germans be sending reinforcements toward the Somme?” Charles answered, “Especially artillery.”
Tigani furrowed his brow. “But if this battle is going to end with a victory for our forces in just a few days, the Germans might not even have the time to send reinforcements!”
“Don’t worry, General,” Charles said confidently. “They’ll have time.”
Charles knew what was happening. The historical Battle of the Somme lasted almost five months, not just a few days.
In recent days, the Anglo-French attacks had ended in heavy casualties, with no real victories.
Afterward, Haig, who had always distrusted machine guns and tanks, reluctantly decided to deploy tanks on the battlefield, which led to some progress.
Tigani changed the topic. “Let’s talk about your plan to attack Namur, Major General. You seem confident.”
Charles didn’t answer directly but instead asked, “What do you think is the most troublesome aspect of the Namur defenses?”
Tigani’s gaze shifted to the map of the Namur fortress spread out on the table. He replied slowly, “Undoubtedly the artillery. The Germans have five artillery regiments stationed there, positioned across the river to block the crossings, and we have no way to counter them.”
Even amphibious landing craft would be of no use.
The Germans had dug trenches along the riverbank in a location they called the “Bay Area,” with an infantry division there, along with machine guns, mortars, and 77mm artillery.
Any enemy attempting to cross the river would be immediately struck by a storm of fire.
In the rear, five artillery regiments equipped with 105mm howitzers were also ready to join the barrage.
The fragile amphibious landing craft might not even make it to the river before being blown to pieces.
Charles nodded. “So, we need to destroy those artillery pieces, at least neutralize their ability to block the first and second crossings.”
There were two narrow paths leading to the Namur fortress, formed by forests and rivers: one to the north and the other to the west. Charles had named them the first and second crossings.
“The key is how to destroy those artillery pieces!” Tigani objected. “Are we really going to use those rocket artillery?”
Charles remained silent, watching Tigani quietly.
Tigani realized that Charles was serious, and he exclaimed, “My God, you’re crazy. This isn’t going to work, Major General!”
Charles smiled at Tigani, teasing him. “Now, I just want to know: do you still want this rocket artillery?”
Tigani was stunned, then understood Charles’s meaning. “You’re saying, in order to have this rocket artillery, we have to use it against the German 105mm howitzers?”
“You’re smart,” Charles complimented, though his tone was insincere.
Tigani was speechless. Why couldn’t the man just give him a pleasant option?
He had always thought that rocket artillery was meant for infantry.
When the enemy launched a massive charge, suddenly a volley of rocket shells would saturate their position, clearing the field in an instant. That feeling must have been exhilarating.
But Charles had a fixation. He insisted on using this rudimentary weapon against the 105 howitzers.
If rocket artillery could take out the 105mm howitzers, then what was the point of the Germans even producing them?
Tigani hesitated for a moment. “Is there something I don’t know?”
Charles’s only response was, “Do you want it, or not?”
Tigani sighed helplessly. “Alright, you win! I’ll use it against the enemy artillery. Now, give me your answer!”
Tigani glared at Charles. Compared to the risk of being bombarded by the enemy, he was more eager to learn how this rocket artillery could deal with the Germans' long-range howitzers, especially given their range.
“The key is its rate of fire, General.”
“Rate of fire?” Tigani didn’t understand.
Charles nodded and explained slowly, “Artillery has a characteristic: once it fires, it generates a lot of smoke and flashes, and the enemy can use that to pinpoint its position, even the artillery positions.”
Tigani murmured, but then asked in confusion, “Isn’t the same true for rocket artillery? It even exceeds artillery in this regard. The smoke is much thicker, and there’s a long trail after firing.”
“You’re right,” Charles answered. “But rocket artillery can fire all its rockets within a few minutes and then leave.”
It was that simple.
But Tigani stood frozen for a while. If the rocket artillery fires and is discovered by the enemy, then what? And if it doesn’t fire, the enemy would find it hard to pinpoint its exact location, especially since the air superiority is still with the French.
In other words, rocket artillery could easily slip into an 8-kilometer range, suddenly opening fire and launching a bombardment on the target.
By the time the enemy artillery responds with suppressive fire, the rocket artillery would already be gone!
Using this tactic, no matter how far the German artillery can fire, they won’t be able to respond.
Realizing this, Tigani became excited, his hands moving in wild gestures.
“Yes, it can indeed deal with artillery. It’s invincible, as long as we do proper intelligence work and preparations for concealment.”
“Excellent tactic, Major General. You really amaze me!”
“Incredible! You’ve turned a useless piece of equipment into a treasure. No one thought rocket artillery could be useful. Only you would think of using it like this!”
Almost giddy, he rushed back to his desk to pull out his notebook, which recorded and analyzed all of Charles’s tactics.
“You shouldn’t do that,” Charles stopped him. “At least not right now.”
Tigani paused and then immediately realized. “You’re right, Major General. It hasn’t been tested on the battlefield.”
It was undoubtedly dangerous to record untested tactics in a notebook. If the Germans’ spies saw it, they would turn the Namur fortress into a trap and wait for Charles to walk right into it.
Excited, Tigani mentally visualized this tactic, but suddenly had a thought. He turned to Charles. “Since we have a method to deal with the enemy artillery, why still use the Battle of the Somme as bait?”
“Because the production of rocket artillery is insufficient,” Charles answered bluntly. “To be precise, the production of rocket shells is insufficient.”
That statement was half true.
The shortage of rocket shells was one of the reasons.
But more importantly, only after the “bloody slaughter” of the Battle of the Somme became known could the victory Charles achieved form a sharp contrast in the minds of everyone, dealing Haig a double blow!