Chapter 425

France went crazy because of Charles's brilliant victory. People took to the streets to celebrate. Bars, clubs, restaurants, etc. were crowded with people, but there were still people gathering, even if they didn't order anything and just stood at the door.

Everyone was discussing this exciting and incredible day:

"This is the best National Day. Charles ended the battle before the end of the day."

"It's unbelievable. Everyone, including military experts, thought that this battle would take at least half a year, but Charles only took one day. One day!"

"I wasn't even mentally prepared, and it was over."

"We thought that winning in half a month or a month would be 'deification' of Charles, but it turned out that Charles was much more magical than we thought!"

...

It's not just France that went crazy. The world was shocked by Charles's magical battle.

At that time, Italian Chief of Staff Cadorna was commanding the battle on the front line.

A few days ago, he ordered the Italian 2nd and 3rd Armies (19 divisions with nearly 200,000 people) to attack the Austrian positions on the east bank of the Isonzo River in three directions, while the Italian Navy blocked Trieste's maritime traffic.

Cadorna's idea was that as long as the enemy continued to bombard and attack, the enemy would soon collapse because of the lack of logistics.

However, he did not expect that his own logistics would also have problems: although Italy's logistics were not blocked, the logistics materials required for continuous bombardment and attack were dozens of times that of the opposite side.

In just a few days, more than a month's artillery reserves had been exhausted, and more than 20,000 people were killed and wounded without any progress.

(Note: The first Battle of the Isonzo River lasted only 14 days and ended hastily due to a shortage of artillery shells. The Italian commander did not even calculate the basic ammunition plan clearly)

Just as Cadorna was sitting at his desk worrying about the map, the staff officer hurriedly ran to Cadorna with a telegram and excitedly reported: "General, Charles liberated Brussels, the capital of Belgium, and he also occupied Antwerp, a fortress in Belgium, which enabled the French army to complete the encirclement of more than 200,000 German troops."

The other people in the command center also heard it. They all cast surprised eyes here, and then burst into cheers, as if they had won the battle.

According to common sense, Cadorna should feel ashamed at this time.

Charles surrounded more than 200,000 enemies with a weak force in just one day, and he, in turn, attacked the weak enemy with a superior force of more than 200,000, but was beaten to a pulp and even fell into trouble in just a few days.

But Cadorna did not feel this way, nor did the staff officers around him who were overjoyed.

Italians are optimistic by nature. They are not likely to consider factors that are unfavorable or embarrassing to themselves.

"Very good." Cadorna smiled and nodded, and said complacently: "This shows that our decision to join the Allies is correct. With Charles here, victory is only a matter of time for us!"

The command expressed its agreement.

"General." In this self-anesthetization, a calm staff officer reminded: "But the problem in front of us still exists. What should we do now?"

Cadorna answered easily: "Don't worry, Ricardo. The worst case is that we can't move forward at all, but as long as France wins, we will win! So, what do we need to worry about?"

At this time, Cadorna did not expect that the worst case was far from "not being able to move forward at all"!

...

In London, England, the Minister of the Navy sat at the window of the villa with a lonely face looking at the ships coming and going on the Thames outside the window.

He resigned as the "Minister of the Navy" not long ago, withdrew from the core of power in frustration, and only served as a symbolic member of the Dardanelles Commission.

This is because the war in the Dardanelles was not satisfactory.

In fact, it was not just "unsatisfactory", but "very bad".

The report from the front line was:

The air was full of the stench of corpses, the water supply was insufficient to quench thirst, the sun in Gallipoli was very hot, and there was almost no shade. There were giant flies everywhere, and as long as you opened a can of food, you would be besieged by them immediately.

The most deadly thing was that the plague was spreading on the front line, and soldiers were dying in large numbers, not because of fighting, but because of disease.

In the end, the Minister of the Navy, who was the most enthusiastic and guaranteed to promote this campaign, became the target of public criticism. Under pressure from all sides, the "Minister of the Navy" had to resign.

Just as the "Secretary of the Navy" was staring out the window with a bitter face, the butler knocked on the door and brought in a telegram: "Sir, General Winter called and said that Charles had won a decisive victory last night..."

The "Secretary of the Navy" was stunned. He thought he had heard it wrong: "I remember that Charles launched the attack only yesterday morning."

The butler was at a loss. He hesitated and handed the telegram to the "Secretary of the Navy": "Do you need me to confirm it?"

"Of course." The "Secretary of the Navy" took the telegram and glanced at it.

When the butler went out, he couldn't help laughing. How could it be possible? It was only one day, and the soldiers' rifles were not even warmed up, but they won.

Is today April Fool's Day?

Or is General Winter using this method to laugh at himself?

However, the butler soon returned to the "Secretary of the Navy": "It has been confirmed, sir, Charles traveled more than 100 kilometers in one day, and his army surrounded more than 200,000 German troops."

The "Secretary of the Navy" was shocked beyond words.

More than 100 kilometers a day?

Surrounded more than 200,000 German troops?

This is actually true?

God, he has achieved unprecedented success, and it is no exaggeration to say that he has created history!

How did he do it? !

The Minister of the Navy was jealous of this talented young man, a real military strategist.

Then the "Minister of the Navy" thought about the mess in the Dardanelles again. If anyone could save this battle, it must be Charles!

The "Minister of the Navy" was not considering the life and death of the front-line soldiers, but his political career and his promise that "if the Battle of the Dardanelles fails, he will carry a rifle and go to the battlefield as a soldier."

After hesitating for a while, he rushed to the telecommunications room and sent a telegram to General Winter: "Ask Charles if he is willing to return to the Dardanelles to command the battle."

This is shameless.

When the Dardanelles was in trouble, Charles' appearance made the war develop in a good direction, and everyone even believed that the Battle of the Dardanelles would soon be won.

At this time, the "Minister of the Navy" used a trick to force Charles away. It was he who spread the word that "the German army knew that Charles was on the battlefield and would kill him at all costs."

Now, when the Dardanelles was in trouble again, he again proposed that Charles return to the Dardanelles to save the political future of the "Secretary of the Navy".

But the word "shameless" did not seem to be in the dictionary of the "Secretary of the Navy".