Chapter 507: Former "First Lord of the Admiralty"
Charles initially intended to completely entrust the rifle design to Dominique and Browning, seeing it as a means to train and test Dominique. However, the imminent crisis forced him to accelerate the process significantly.
In the conference room of the FN Arms Factory, Browning and Dominique were leaning closely over the blueprint spread before them.
Browning's eyes widened as he scrutinized every detail meticulously, his face cycling through complicated emotions—sometimes perplexed, sometimes astonished—and occasionally he glanced up at Charles with incredulity.
After a long silence, Browning finally put down the drawings and sighed, "General, is this really your design?"
Charles nodded casually. "I sketched it in the car; it's not very precise."
This casual remark sent Browning into yet another profound shock. Drawn in the car?
Antwerp was only 59 kilometers away from Ghent; at high speed, it wouldn't even take an hour. Could such an intricate rifle design truly have been created in just one hour?
More importantly, the design appeared perfectly rational, thoroughly refined, as if it had already gone through countless tests and revisions to reach the state of a finalized mass-production model.
Browning guessed correctly—the design Charles had presented was indeed that of a finalized, mass-produced weapon: the M1 Garand rifle.
Superficially, this rifle did not seem overly complex, but its significance lay in its intended purpose—to replace bolt-action rifles. It was intended for widespread infantry use, meaning millions would have to be produced. With such massive numbers, even minor defects could lead to irreparable losses.
For precisely this reason, the United States had spent over a decade testing and refining it before finally arriving at the mass-produced model.
(The M1 Garand semi-automatic rifle was initially designed in 1919, successfully developed in 1921, yet due to continuous adjustments and the lack of wartime pressure, it wasn't officially mass-produced until 1937, spanning a total of sixteen years of development.)
Charles had directly provided the finalized version of the Garand rifle, essentially bypassing the lengthy development phase altogether. The reason it was "essentially" finalized rather than completely so was because Charles could specify general details like stock design, ammunition capacity, and the clip system, but couldn't precisely outline each internal component.
For Browning, however, who had already designed semi-automatic shotguns, these internal details were not particularly challenging.
"I'd like this rifle to be chambered in the new French ammunition," Charles said, referring to the 7.5mm rimless rifle cartridge. "Due to the urgency of the military situation, I'd like mass production to begin by next month."
"That's impossible!" Browning exclaimed in shock. "General, do you understand what mass production entails? We must approach this cautiously—"
"We urgently need this rifle, Mr. Browning," Charles reminded firmly. "I understand your preference for extensive testing, but I believe the best proving ground is the battlefield itself. We're at war now; we can't afford the luxury of peace-time conditions, refining it endlessly."
This situation was entirely different from America's leisurely decade-long refinement period. Back then, the U.S. had no immediate wartime pressure, allowing time for meticulous adjustment. Moreover, what Charles had provided was already virtually complete, needing minimal revisions.
Charles added quickly, "We can start with a small-scale production run. Initially, we'll equip only my troops. Let's set the first batch at... ten thousand rifles."
Charles specifically considered equipping his mechanized divisions first, as they urgently needed enhanced long-range firepower.
Browning nodded, conceding, "That can be arranged, General, though I can't guarantee absolute perfection."
"Of course," Charles responded, glancing subtly toward Dominique, who appeared completely relaxed. Dominique knew exactly what was unfolding.
Dominique imagined that someday, once Browning produced and tested the rifle, he'd exclaim, "My God, it hardly needs any modification—this is exactly how it's meant to be!"
Dominique had witnessed similar scenes numerous times before and was thoroughly accustomed to them. Perhaps this was the fundamental gap between natural genius and mere effort. Dominique sighed internally; no matter how hard he tried, he could never surpass the heights Charles had reached.
…
Only after arranging all this did Charles feel somewhat reassured.
The reason for his urgency was that he anticipated the next major battle might be the British-led "Battle of the Somme."
Historically, the Somme Offensive was launched partly to alleviate German pressure on Verdun, and partly because the British wanted to showcase their military prowess, even attempting to overshadow French forces. Tragically, under relentless fire from German heavy machine guns, the British suffered the greatest casualties ever recorded in human history, losing 60,000 men in a single day.
What would happen if his armored forces faced such a formidable defensive line?
Could bombers neutralize them?
No. The Germans positioned their machine guns dynamically, sheltering them in trenches during bombardments, and only brought them out once enemy troops advanced, rendering air bombardments largely ineffective.
Tanks?
The Germans would undoubtedly dig multiple deep anti-tank ditches in front of their trenches, rendering tank advances impossible without infantry clearing obstacles first.
Mortars?
At this time, mortars had effective ranges of only a few hundred meters, while the Maxim machine gun had a range of about a thousand meters!
After considering all options, Charles concluded that the solution had to be semi-automatic rifles. Three semi-automatic rifles coordinating continuous suppressive fire could effectively neutralize a single enemy machine gun. With added support from friendly machine guns and tanks, victory might be achievable.
Lost in contemplation, Charles barely noticed when the car pulled into the airfield. He had nearly fallen asleep, yawning drowsily as he stepped from the vehicle. Suddenly, he noticed several British officers standing on the open tarmac, pointing at planes and curiously observing fighter jets taking off and landing.
What was going on now? Charles wondered. Hadn't Lieutenant General Ives left already?
However, Charles immediately realized his mistake. The lead officer wore a naval uniform, while the captain beside him belonged to the army.
Before Charles could fully react, the naval officer noticed him. Waving enthusiastically from a distance amid the roar of aircraft engines, he called out, "Hey, General, we've been waiting for you!"
Only then did Charles recognize the officer—it was General Winter.
No wonder they were so interested in aircraft; after all, the British Navy had never been hesitant to embrace new technologies. Otherwise, they wouldn't have developed dreadnoughts or aircraft carriers.
(Note: The world's first aircraft carrier is widely considered to be the British "HMS Argus," developed starting in 1916.)
Charles walked lazily toward General Winter, asking casually as he approached, "Is there something important, General? Has the cleanup at the Dardanelles concluded already?"
This had been Charles's recommendation, which General Winter had eventually taken seriously, beginning the withdrawal from the Dardanelles.
"Almost," General Winter responded, approaching with the army captain at his side.
To Charles's surprise, General Winter treated this army captain with considerable respect, and Charles found the officer vaguely familiar, as if he'd seen him before.
Coming closer, General Winter introduced him solemnly: "General, this is the former First Lord of the Admiralty. He wished to meet you."
Charles froze instantly, stunned by the revelation.
Former First Lord of the Admiralty?
An army captain?
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