"I understand," Gallieni replied. "But as I said, we cannot stand by and watch the British Expeditionary Force collapse. We must reinforce them."

Shire did not speak. He pointed at Charleroi in Belgium on the map with his finger.

(The above image shows the location of Charleroi in Belgium. The blue area is the Arden Highlands and Forest, with rugged terrain that is unsuitable for maneuver warfare, effectively splitting the battlefield into two disconnected parts. It was commonly believed at the time that armored units could not pass through this area. In World War II, the German Army bypassed the Maginot Line and entered France by passing through this forest.)

Gallieni looked puzzled, "Do you plan to attack Charleroi?"

"Yes," Shire replied. "This is a critical position that must be captured before an assault on the Liege Fortress. It is backed by mountainous forests, both offensive and defensive, forming a mutually supportive position with Liege."

Gallieni nodded in agreement.

Before this, Shire's battles in Belgium had always been in the north, rarely involving the complex terrain in the south.

If Belgium were to be completely liberated, advancing south was an inevitable choice.

"But," Gallieni asked in confusion, "what does this have to do with reinforcing the River Somme?"

"Aircraft, General," Shire replied. "Once our forces occupy Charleroi, our bombers can use it as a base to bomb the Germans' supply lines."

Gallieni thought for a moment and shook his head slightly.

"That would indeed help, Vice Admiral," he said.

"But we all know that bombers lack precision, and their destructive power against enemy facilities is not ideal."

"Moreover, the Germans have learned to avoid our bombing methods and have even strengthened their air defense."

This was a fact as the battle progressed.

The "Caproni" was not a dive bomber. It was effective for bombing large targets like German airfields or warehouses, but hitting small targets like railways and bridges was more a matter of luck.

Meanwhile, the Germans had learned to use smoke screens to obscure visibility and employed Becker machine guns for anti-aircraft defense, making low-altitude bombing by the "Caproni" even less effective.

Shire had to reveal his true plan, "I intend to pass through the Arden Mountains, General."

Gallieni still did not understand Shire's intention and replied dismissively, "That is not a good idea, Shire. Even if your army can pass through the Arden Mountains, without carrying heavy weapons and with insufficient ammunition, not only would they fail to threaten the Germans, but they might also be encircled and annihilated by them."

Military operations are not just about inserting troops into a position.

If logistics cannot cross the mountainous forest to continuously provide the troops with ammunition and supplies, those troops will soon find themselves in a desperate situation due to a lack of ammunition.

But Shire replied calmly, "I am talking about armored units, the First Armored Army!"

Gallieni was stunned and looked up at Shire in disbelief. After a long pause, he said, "That is impossible. There are no roads. Even automobiles cannot pass, yet you expect tanks to do so."

But Shire knew it was possible.

When the Germans passed through this mountainous area in World War II, they traveled an even greater distance.

The key was detailed pre-war intelligence work, sending scouts to carefully investigate every accessible mountain path, identifying places where bridges could be quickly constructed or roads widened and reinforced.

"Shire A1" weighed only 7 tons, just over a ton more than the German "Panzer I" in World War II. As long as scouts and engineers conducted field surveys, it would not be a major problem.

(Note: The "Panzer I" tank weighed 5.4 tons.)

Gallieni was still not convinced. He looked at the map and then back at Shire, "You, are you sure you want to do this? It is much more difficult than you think. How will you guarantee supplies? Armored units require more fuel, not to mention spare parts."

"Sidecars, General," Shire answered firmly. "If we can construct a path through the forest for the 'Shire A1,' it can surely allow sidecars to pass."

"But that is not enough," Gallieni replied. "Far from enough!"

It was indeed insufficient. Once battle commences, a tremendous amount of ammunition would be required. The French Army's bullets were not compatible with the German Army's, so captured German ammunition could not be used.

But Shire had already considered this problem, "So, I am training the armored army to use German rifles, including the machine guns mounted on the tanks."

These equipments were not difficult to obtain. The Belgian Army was equipped with German-made weapons, which could be produced by the "FN" company.

Shire added, "Moreover, I am also experimenting with 'Caproni' air-dropping supplies."

"Air-dropping supplies?" Gallieni was astonished by Shire's words. Could aircraft do such a thing?

"Why not?" Shire replied. "Air-dropping weapons and ammunition may be difficult and likely to break upon hitting the ground, but dropping food poses no problem. Bread and flour don't break; they just need to be properly packaged and waterproofed."

This took into account the possibility of the supplies getting wet or breaking apart upon landing.

However, these were not technically challenging.

Gallieni nodded slightly, looking at Shire with a half-believing expression, "It seems you have thought about this for a long time."

"Yes," Shire admitted bluntly.

Since capturing Hasselt and facing the Liege Fortress, Shire had considered bypassing the Liege Fortress by penetrating the Arden Forest.

At that time, it was for the purpose of bypassing the Liege Fortress to attack the German forces on the River Somme from the rear.

There was one more thing Shire did not tell Gallieni.

With his current strength, once his troops occupied a region in the Arden Forest and established or captured an airfield, supplies could be quickly transported there by "Caproni," and fighter planes could join the battle by deploying from the airfield.

Shire felt there was no need to explain too much.

At this moment, Gallieni still found it hard to comprehend this mode of operation and its benefits.

Gallieni was already quite shocked by the idea of armored troops crossing the mountainous forest, with sidecars providing supplies and bombers air-dropping provisions.

It seemed to Gallieni that Shire's forces had evolved to another level, far beyond the current era.

"However, it still carries risks, Shire," Gallieni reminded. "Have you thought about the consequences if your troops fail to pass through the mountains or succeed but cannot win?"

"I know, General," Shire replied. "The British Army will suffer heavy casualties."

This was the "risk" Shire was pleased to see.

But Shire did not mention this. Instead, he added, "But with high risk comes high reward. If we succeed..."

Gallieni turned to the map and, after a while, finally nodded in agreement.

As Shire said, the risk was the heavy casualties of the British Army, but success would mean a decisive victory in the Battle of the River Somme, pushing the front line forward by dozens of kilometers.

More importantly, it could lead to the complete encirclement of the German forces on the River Somme.

Another large encirclement, Gallieni sighed inwardly, the Germans might be facing a disaster!