Chapter 371: Forced Into Service
At the French General Headquarters, Joffre was in his office with several staff officers, poring over a map and discussing the upcoming offensive.
"We need artillery," Joffre pointed his pencil toward the enemy lines, "105mm howitzers."
"But, General," one of the staff officers hesitated, "we previously discussed that prolonged artillery barrages aren't advisable for the special artillery division…"
"You fool!" Joffre interrupted, not mincing words. "The reason we avoid long barrages is to prevent the enemy from concentrating their artillery on our tanks. The 105mm howitzers are precisely what we need to suppress enemy artillery—something the 75mm guns can't accomplish."
"Yes, sir." The staff officer quickly nodded.
Joffre shot him a disapproving look. This was precisely why he felt compelled to swallow his pride and try to extract plans and tactics from Charles. The headquarters was full of men with no sense of strategy beyond the narrow framework of French military doctrine. The army's rigid approach—relying solely on the 75mm guns for years—had dulled their thinking.
Pointing to two positions along their own defensive line, Joffre continued, "One 105mm howitzer regiment to the left, and one to the right. Only then can we provide sufficient fire support for our advancing units."
Another staff officer looked uncertain. "But sir, we only have one 105mm howitzer regiment."
"Then form another one immediately," Joffre ordered. "By whatever means necessary."
The 105mm M1913 howitzer, designed by Schneider, had been adopted by the French Army just before the war in 1913. However, because of the 75mm gun's reputation, it had been largely ignored. At the onset of the war, the French army possessed only three 105mm guns, and Schneider lacked the resources to scale up production. After a scramble to ramp up manufacturing, only 31 had been produced—just enough to arm a single regiment.
A while later, the staff officer returned, looking nervous. "Sir, Schneider's response is that there's only one option: we'd have to import from Italy."
A year earlier, Italy had obtained the rights to manufacture this model from Schneider and, unlike the French, had invested in its mass production. Now Italy likely had the largest stockpile of these guns in the world.
Joffre gritted his teeth. The idea that France might have to import French-designed artillery from Italy—who technically aligned with the Central Powers—was a blow to his pride.
As Joffre weighed the prospect of swallowing his pride and contacting the Italians, Deputy Chief of Staff Canet entered the office, holding a telegram. Glancing at the staff in the room, he gave Joffre a meaningful look.
Understanding the message, Joffre dismissed everyone else from the room, even sending away the communications officer. Although they weren't discussing classified information, Joffre's covert inquiries to Charles were something he preferred to keep discreet.
After carefully shutting the door, Canet handed Joffre the telegram. In a low voice, he reported, "Charles believes we shouldn't pursue anti-tank rifles. The recoil would make them difficult to handle, and they'd become obsolete as soon as enemy tanks got thicker armor."
Joffre considered this for a moment, nodding in agreement. Charles's analysis was logical. Indeed, captured German anti-tank rifles already had this issue.
However…
Without anti-tank rifles, how would the French army deal with the Germans' new tanks?
Their current strategy of pairing the heavy Saint-Chamond and the Saint-Chamond M21 was tailored to counter Germany's A7V tank. But now, Germany had suddenly introduced a new, lighter model.
Then Canet added, "Charles suggests we equip our infantry with 37mm cannons for anti-tank combat."
Joffre froze, then nodded. The 37mm gun on the Char A1 had proven capable of piercing the A7V's armor. It shouldn't have any trouble with a lighter German tank. Equipping infantry with these would indeed improve their anti-tank capability significantly.
But as he thought about it further, Joffre's brow furrowed.
"This cannon belongs to Charles," Joffre said slowly. "Buying it means giving him more business."
Due to Joffre's influence, the French army had yet to widely adopt the 37mm cannon, especially not in the central and eastern army groups directly under his command.
Canet suggested cautiously, "We don't need to buy them in large quantities, General. Just one or two hundred should be enough for the First Special Artillery Division…"
Joffre shook his head slightly. "The real problem, Canet, is that we don't know where the enemy tanks will appear."
Canet instantly understood.
He'd mistakenly assumed the Germans would use their tanks defensively, placing them wherever the French launched their attack.
In reality, that assumption was flawed. The French offensive would be carried out under strict secrecy; the Germans wouldn't know where or when the French planned to strike.
Only once the offensive was underway and initial positions had been taken could the Germans attempt a counterattack using their own tanks.
Looking back at the map, Joffre murmured, "If we breach the German line with our tanks, only for the Germans to break ours with theirs, that's no victory. Understand?"
"Yes, sir," Canet answered.
The British wanted a "decisive" victory, one that would sway Italy to join the Allies.
Canet grasped the full implications of Joffre's reasoning. "To defend against a potential German counterattack, we'd need to equip our entire force with Charles's 37mm cannon?"
Joffre nodded. "Only then can we guarantee a victory that's as decisive as the British need."
Canet thought for a moment, then sighed. Outfitting the entire force meant acquiring thousands of guns—an enormous business deal. Worse still, after the widespread adoption of Charles's mortar had already annoyed Schneider, Joffre would now have to explain the need for the 37mm to James.
"We don't have another choice, sir," Canet said carefully. "I'm sure Mr. James will understand."
Joffre chuckled dryly. Capitalists like James cared about profits, not logic. Expecting him to understand was wishful thinking.
For the mortars, there had been no other option; now, the 37mm cannon was equally essential. But if Charles continued to develop new artillery, then what?
Would they face an endless series of "necessary" purchases from him?
And if Schneider kept conceding, would that not signify his defeat in this competition?
Joffre paced to the window, gazing thoughtfully into the distance, and pondered an unsettling prospect:
What if this was only the beginning? Would he be forced to stand with Charles in the future?
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