I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France

Almost all the soldiers were cheering for the arrival of Shire, but Major General Lacos was deeply worried.

It was not that he didn't believe in Shire's ability, but because Xia Fei had added a line after affirming the command authority in the telegram: "Shire can only stay at the frontline for one day, starting from the handover."

What can be done in one day?

Shire's arrival could indeed boost the morale of the frontline soldiers, but after he leaves the next day, the backlash will immediately follow. By then, the soldiers' morale will be completely gone, perhaps even worse than before, like the weakness after the effect of a stimulant fades.

However, Major General Lacos still tried to do his job well. He analyzed the current situation in Verdun for Shire while looking at the map:

"We can retreat no further; the Suville defense line is our last effort."

"But this defense line seems to be useless because we are always attacking the enemy. Those unaware might even think we are winning the battle..."

Shire interrupted Major General Lacos: "That was Xia Fei, not me, General. You don't need to worry about that."

"But." Major General Lacos looked at Shire perplexedly: "I heard you only have one day."

When he said this, Major General Lacos lowered his voice, worried that others might hear it.

"I indeed only have one day," Shire nodded, "but that doesn't mean I'll initiate a counterattack."

Major General Lacos still didn't understand: "If you don't launch a counterattack, how can you change the course of the battle in one day?"

Shire's answer was simple: "I will make sure you hold the position and make the attacking Germans pay a price. If possible, we'll reclaim some fortresses. Does that count as changing the battle's course?"

Major General Lacos was stunned for a moment, then let out a bitter laugh: "You probably don't understand our current situation, Brigadier General."

Shire spread his hands, indicating that he was all ears.

Major General Lacos pointed at the map and said: "The most serious issue is that our defense line is split in two by the Marne River. The Germans concentrate their main force on attacking the right bank, while our 30th Army, deployed on the left bank, is stuck in place and almost useless."

(The red circle in the picture above shows the Suville Fortress, which was the last line of defense for the French Army against the German Army. To the south is Verdun City, with a population of ten thousand. The Marne River is to its left, flowing northward towards Belgium.)

Shire looked at the map and asked, "How many men do you have?"

"More than seven thousand," Major General Lacos answered with difficulty, "including many wounded."

If Shire hadn't come, the 2nd Army would have completely collapsed tonight due to the final attack.

In this regard, Major General Lacos was still very grateful for Shire's arrival. He had won a day's life for the 2nd Army, albeit only one day.

"And the Germans?" Shire asked again.

"Currently, it's not very clear, but it's estimated at least a group army of hundreds of thousands," Major General Lacos replied, "They don't seem to be in a hurry to attack, otherwise, they would have already taken Verdun City."

Shire nodded slightly in agreement.

Major General Lacos' feeling was correct. Fajin Han's goal was not to occupy Verdun but to use Verdun to deplete the French Army's effective strength, treating it as a meat grinder.

In other words, they encircled to attack the reinforcements, waiting for more and more French reinforcements to arrive and then be depleted here.

Of course, this required Xia Fei's offensive tactics to cooperate.

Major General Lacos suddenly thought of something, and his eyes suddenly filled with hope: "Did you bring your armored troops?"

Shire shook his head.

"Then... air force, will we receive air force support?"

Shire shook his head again.

Major General Lacos' freshly ignited enthusiasm cooled down again. There was nothing, only Shire himself, perhaps only bringing short-lived morale boost!

"Tell me about the Germans' attack characteristics." Shire steered the topic back to Verdun.

Major General Lacos weakly pointed at the map and said:

"During the day, the Germans mostly use heavy artillery to bomb our fortresses."

"Once it gets dark, they become active. If we don't attack, they will launch an attack."

"They first fire a few gas shells to force us to put on gas masks."

"Then their attack becomes much easier. With gas masks on, we can barely see any silhouettes, sometimes not noticing the enemy until they are right in front of us."

...

Upon saying this, Major General Lacos turned his gaze to Shire.

He suddenly remembered that gas masks were also invented by Shire. Could he improve the gas mask to provide better visibility?

But he quickly dismissed this thought. It was unrealistic; even if it could be done, there wouldn't be enough time to deliver them.

"What about the artillery situation?" Shire asked again.

"The gap in artillery is even larger," Major General Lacos responded in agony:

"We now have just over two hundred cannons in total, mostly small-caliber 75mm ones, while the enemy has at least over two thousand of varying calibers and ranges."

"But the key is not this; the key is we can't even utilize them."

"Moving them into the fortresses, their range is shorter than the enemy's, rendering them ineffective. Placing them on heights, they become targets for the Germans."

"Once it gets dark, the Germans use gas shells to attack our artillery positions, turning them into scrap iron."

Shire nodded in understanding.

The 75mm cannon was best at direct firing at the enemy within visual range, taking advantage of its rapid-fire rate.

However, during the day, it was suppressed by the enemy's longer range, and at night, the artillerymen were forced to wear gas masks, restricting their vision to a few dozen meters or less, rendering the cannons nearly useless.

This might also explain why over two hundred cannons were still surviving.

Without hesitation, Shire pointed at the defensive map and ordered: "Abandon the hilltop positions, pull back the defense line."

Major General Lacos was stunned: "Abandon the hilltop positions?"

"Yes," Shire affirmed.

"But where can we go after abandoning the hilltop positions? Retreat?" Major General Lacos' eyes flashed with anger, his tone becoming agitated.

He didn't expect Shire would come up with such a foolish move, while all the soldiers regarded him as a savior.

"Not a retreat, General." Shire ignored Major General Lacos and lightly drew a line thirty meters behind the fortress: "Build a new line of defense here."

"But this, this is impossible!" Major General Lacos looked at the so-called "new defense line" in disbelief: "No one would do this, this is simply..."

"Seeking death?" Shire asked.

"Yes, it is," Major General Lacos replied, "This is giving up our geographical advantage, Brigadier General!"

Major General Lacos glanced at Colonel Klein behind him.

Colonel Klein was equally bewildered. Who would fight like this, giving the high ground to the enemy?!