Chapter 560: The Somme River Maneuver
Hearing the phrase “Charles has begun his counterattack,” Avis smiled faintly, his eyes brimming with mockery. “After all, he is only eighteen. In the face of such a grand battle, he cannot maintain the composure required.”
Avis’s remark naturally reminded the assembly members of earlier discussions regarding Charles’s lack of experience in commanding large-scale frontal battles.
The members of parliament nodded in agreement:
“How can he launch a counterattack at this time? Shouldn’t he focus on organizing the defenses?”
“The soldiers on the front lines negotiated based on defensive positions. Charles, however, has chosen to do the opposite. This could lead to another mutiny among the troops.”
“The Germans managed to kill or wound 100,000 British troops in one day while defending. We could do the same. God, Charles has squandered a golden opportunity by going all in!”
...
Gallieni couldn’t believe that Charles would recklessly launch a counterattack at this moment, let alone take such a gamble. If this was indeed a counterattack, it would be one carefully prepared.
He rose and called out to the floor, “Why don’t we give Charles a little more time? Things may not be as you all think…”
But his voice was quickly drowned out by the objections of the assembly:
“We don’t have time, Minister. An already chaotic army could collapse entirely.”
“This is clearly a mistake. We must stop Charles immediately.”
“Yes, we should transfer command to General Haig and let him take charge of the front lines!”
In the audience, Wells and Steed exchanged a glance and smiled faintly.
They knew Charles was prepared—thoroughly so—even though they were unaware of his exact plan.
...
On the southern bank of the Somme River, Charles’s counteroffensive had officially begun.
In the past few days, Charles had made careful arrangements. He secretly transferred a regiment of Tigani’s rocket artillery to the Somme.
Only the artillerymen, though—not the rockets themselves.
Charles was concerned that a large-scale troop movement would arouse German suspicion, causing them to abandon their plans to attack the Somme River.
On another front, Charles requisitioned a batch of landing crafts and amphibious boats from Wells.
Among them were twelve modified landing crafts, each equipped with ten rocket launchers. Another twelve large landing crafts were capable of carrying one "Charles A1" tank each.
...
At the Bourbon Palace in Paris, Lieutenant General Avis directed his aide to project a map of the Somme River onto the screen behind the podium. With confidence, he pointed at the map with his command stick:
“The Germans’ defenses on the Somme are extremely robust—virtually impenetrable.”
“The heavy casualties suffered by the British and French armies here are not due to tactical errors but purely because of the unforgiving battlefield environment.”
“What I mean to say is that even if Charles leads a counteroffensive at the Somme, it will not change anything simply because he is Charles.”
...
At the headquarters of the First Special Artillery Division on the southern bank of the Somme River, Charles pointed to the river on the map and said to Christine, who was responsible for the main offensive:
“Everyone has overlooked one critical detail: the Somme River runs from west to east, cutting straight into the German rear.”
Christine’s eyes lit up. Yes, the Somme River could be exploited for a rapid thrust. Why hadn’t he thought of this before? But he quickly furrowed his brow:
“General, isn’t this strategy too risky? The Germans have artillery on both the northern and southern banks. Once we are discovered…”
Their artillery fire would form a deadly crossfire over the Somme, reducing any units advancing along the river to rubble in an instant.
However, Charles calmly replied, “We can wait for the Germans to launch their attack.”
Christine was stunned before suddenly realizing:
“The Germans will inevitably carry out preparatory artillery fire before any assault, typically just before dawn.”
“Darkness and the noise of artillery will mask the sounds of our advancing troops,” Charles added. “And it will also reveal their artillery positions.”
Christine’s face lit up with joy. “Brilliant, General! While the enemy artillery is still targeting our defensive lines, our infiltration units will already be landing near them. We’ll be able to crush their artillery immediately!”
...
Back at the Bourbon Palace, Lieutenant General Avis continued his dramatic performance. Adopting a tone of profound grief, he sighed deeply in front of the projected map:
“It’s easy to imagine—this will be another massacre.”
“What’s worse is that it’s still dark, which is a significant disadvantage for the attacking side.”
“All the Germans need to do is fire a few flares to decimate our soldiers, who will be slogging through mud, craters, and barbed wire.”
The assembly members, outraged, denounced Charles’s reckless behavior:
“This is sheer murder. He doesn’t know what he’s doing.”
“He’s going to get us all killed. We can’t let him continue this folly.”
“We must act now, or it will be too late!”
...
On the southern bank of the Somme, as the German artillery began their preparatory bombardment at five in the morning, the French infiltration units hidden along the shoreline sprang into action.
Carefully prepared channels were used to push landing crafts into the river, and tanks were methodically guided onto the boats via ramps.
A bearded officer was in charge of coordinating the fleet.
This task should have fallen to Tigani, given his naval knowledge and experience in amphibious operations.
However, Tigani had to remain stationed at Namur Fortress. Summoning him here would have been far too conspicuous, signaling to the Germans that something significant was underway at the Somme.
Thus, Charles sought suitable personnel within the ranks.
To his surprise, he discovered several soldiers with naval backgrounds—one of whom was the bearded man, who identified himself as Darlan.
Darlan? The future naval marshal? Charles was astonished.
Yet this same Darlan was one of the representatives of the mutineers?
Perhaps, Charles mused, Nivelle’s redeployment of troops originally assigned to Verdun to the Somme had brought Darlan here.
“But,” Charles asked, looking at the disheveled future “naval marshal” before him, “why did you…”
“Become a representative of the mutineers?” Darlan finished the question for him.
“Yes.” Charles nodded. It was odd for someone destined to be a naval marshal, presumably of noble birth, to play such a role.
“Because, like everyone else, I thought I was going to die, General,” Darlan replied earnestly. “I didn’t want to die a meaningless death!”
He glanced gratefully at Charles. “Fortunately, that never happened.”
Charles nodded in understanding. “And if this battle is meaningful? I mean, there’s a chance you might not survive.”
Darlan stood tall. “I believe in you, General. Give the order! I’ll prove my courage through my actions.”