CHAPTER 403: CHAPTER 403: CAN THIS DECEIVE THE GERMANS?

On the road from Arras to Combray, Fuxu sat in the speeding car with great interest, looking at the files in his hand. They were the equipment information of Shire’s troops.

Combray was under the jurisdiction of General Fuxu’s Northern Army Group, and most of the support and supplies needed for Shire’s operations in Combray were provided by the Northern Army Group. Fuxu needed to know the equipment situation.

"Interesting." Fuxu flipped through the documents: "He has armed all his troops with vehicles, be it tanks, armored vehicles, or trucks. Even artillery is no exception."

Fuxu then turned his head to look at Wei Gang, who was sitting beside him: "What do you think?"

Wei Gang was Fuxu’s chief of staff and the most loyal supporter of Fuxu’s "offensive theory." After gaining Fuxu’s appreciation two years ago, he was quickly promoted, serving as the chief of staff for the 20th Army and the 9th Army Group, and now as the chief of staff of the Northern Army Group.

(The image above is of Maxim Wei Gang, who served as Fuxu’s chief of staff during WWI and served as the French Army Chief Commander and Vichy France’s Minister of National Defense during WWII)

"With all due respect, General." Wei Gang replied stoically, "I do not think this is the right approach. It could easily be devastated by enemy artillery fire."

Fuxu nodded slightly in agreement. He had seen the data on those armored vehicles and artillery, and they seemed very fragile.

Especially the so-called "truck artillery," which was just a simple combination of a truck and artillery. If anything, the chassis was reinforced.

Scenes of these vehicles being blown up one by one under enemy artillery fire flashed through Fuxu’s mind.

"Moreover," Wei Gang added, "I doubt the effectiveness of these vehicles on the battlefield. Other units are on foot; they cannot keep up with Shire’s troops. Does Shire intend to defeat the Germans with only these two units totaling over ten thousand?

Fuxu did not retort; he did not know how to refute it.

Without the support of other units, the speed might mean rushing into an enemy encirclement even faster, leading to a quicker death!

"However," Fuxu said thoughtfully, "the fact is that he has been continuously winning, Colonel, never losing."

"It might be due to our tactics," Wei Gang responded.

"Our tactics?" Fuxu looked at Wei Gang in surprise. Could it be that he also doubted the "offensive theory"?

But soon, Fuxu realized he was mistaken.

Wei Gang explained: "Our tactics are no longer a secret to the Germans. They are using the same tactics against us. We know each other too well because they know what we will do next."

Fuxu interjected: "You mean, in the situation where the Germans have adapted to our tactics, Shire suddenly adopting different tactics confounds them?"

"Yes." Wei Gang nodded affirmatively: "Petain’s defensive tactics are similar, being different from ’offensive tactics.’"

After a pause, Wei Gang asserted: "Once the Germans get used to their tactics, their failure will follow. The battle will eventually return to the starting point, where ’offense’ is the only way."

Fuxu fell silent.

Though he was the one who summarized and proposed the "offensive theory" and trusted it unquestioningly in the past, his conversations with Shire had shaken his beliefs, and he no longer easily declared which one was correct.

At this moment, the car turned into a mountain pass, and several fully armed guards approached. The car slowed down for inspection.

...

Shire’s habit was not to camp in towns. Although it was more comfortable and convenient, it also presented the enemy with an opportunity to decapitate and posed a threat to civilians.

So, unless it was a special situation, he always set up his command post in the forest.

At this time, Shire had just received news of Grevy’s and Arman’s arrests.

He sighed; Grevy’s intelligence and caution far exceeded Shire’s expectations.

Who could have thought that the book hidden in the safe was unimportant, just a copy of Balzac’s "The Peasantry," fitting Grevy’s right-wing identity and ideals well.

But it was just to lure others into theft and warn Grevy.

Whenever Grevy put it in the safe, he carefully tucked a few strands of hair. If someone touched it, he would immediately know and then pretend that "The Peasantry" was a codebook, sending some irrelevant telegrams.

The real codebook was actually his diary, which he carried with him.

He would use old diary pages to send new diary entries, allowing his confidants in Germany to update their diaries simultaneously. As a result, the codes were changed almost daily with no repetition.

But Grevy’s one mistake was forgetting about Arman.

Sensing the vulnerability, everything fell into place. Hari got the intelligence from Arman, the infiltrated "servant" in Grevy’s house took pictures of the diary pages, and Grevy no longer had any secrets.

This was Shire’s significant victory, dealing a heavy blow to the right-wing forces.

A party leader colluding with the enemy?

And the target is Shire?

This is dragging all of France into the fire pit!

People would reasonably imagine:

The right-wing forces hoped for foreign intervention or collusion with foreign powers to restore the monarchy.

And it was probably not just Grevy; the entire right-wing force might be suspect.

...

Therefore, right-wing members of parliament would have to be more cautious, even if they were unaware of Grevy’s actions. Schneider would also sever ties with them to avoid tainting himself.

Then, it would be time for Shire to step up...

As he was thinking, the communications officer opened the door and reported: "Brigadier General, General Fuxu is here."

Before the words fell, Fuxu bent down and entered with a smile: "Is everything alright, Brigadier General? Long time no see!"

(Note: In 1910, the average height in France was 166.8 cm, and Fuxu was 175 cm tall, considered tall at the time)

"Everything is fine, General." Shire stepped forward to shake his hand.

Fuxu curiously looked around the shelter and praised: "You can share weal and woe with your soldiers. That surpasses most French generals."

"Actually, that’s not the case, General." Shire self-deprecatingly said: "I’m just more timid; I don’t dare to risk being assassinated by staying in the town."

Fuxu laughed. He certainly didn’t believe Shire for that reason.

Fuxu then turned to the main topic: "You purposely made everyone think you and your troops would appear at the Bastille Day parade, right?"

"Yes," Shire nodded.

"Can this deceive the Germans?" Fuxu was somewhat doubtful.

"If it was just that, maybe not." Shire replied.

Fuxu caught the underlying meaning in Shire’s words: "There’s more to it?"

Shire smiled: "Not only more, but quite a lot."

For today’s offensive, Shire had made a lot of preparations.