Chapter 513: A Guerrilla Weapon
Just after Wells and Professor Fessenden left, Steed entered the conference room. In fact, Wells and Steed had briefly crossed paths in the hallway, merely nodding politely without exchanging words. It was an unspoken understanding between them—they usually maintained a public façade of unfamiliarity or even rivalry, despite both privately supporting Charles. This appearance made their arguments in parliament more persuasive.
They also deliberately distanced themselves from Armand, not solely because he was politically right-wing, but particularly because he was a monarchist. Most French citizens at this time viewed monarchism as backward or regressive, with many openly hostile toward its revival.
(Background Note: General Boulanger was politically ruined precisely because he secretly accepted funding from monarchists. Capitalist rivals seized on this, portraying him as a puppet aiming to restore the monarchy. Having grown accustomed to parliamentary democracy, the French public rejected him—even though he'd never openly advocated monarchy.)
Charles, for his part, intentionally avoided meeting Armand, occasionally even publicly criticizing him. Parliamentary politics, beneath their polished surface, involved hidden power struggles and secret compromises—truths ordinary citizens rarely glimpsed.
…
Charles stood by the window sipping coffee when Steed entered. Halloween was approaching again; through the large floor-to-ceiling window, he could see several teenagers enthusiastically carving pumpkins below. Charles felt a pang of envy—only these children could set aside war and worry, freely enjoying the holiday spirit.
Steed lightly knocked to announce his arrival before stepping forward to shake Charles's hand. "The rocket propellant and rocket production are proceeding smoothly, General. We've grasped the manufacturing process within just three days."
Charles nodded calmly. With detailed production instructions, personal instruction from technicians, and the capable personnel at Saint-Étienne Arsenal, rapid mastery was unsurprising.
Yet Steed appeared perplexed. "However, General, I don't quite see its advantage over the Congreve rockets we currently use."
"Really?" Charles asked mildly, offering no immediate explanation.
Steed elaborated carefully, "Although this new rocket might fly farther, that doesn't automatically mean improved accuracy. Wind interference remains significant. In practice, we'll likely still need to engage balloons within a few hundred meters, just as before."
This represented the current predicament with balloon-busting. German troops persisted in deploying balloons despite heavy losses to French aircraft, much like French infantry continued suicidal frontal assaults despite repeated failures. The battlefield bred innovation, forcing adaptation—but it was also stubbornly resistant to certain changes.
Yet Charles had no intention of using rockets merely against balloons.
"These British rockets were around seventy millimeters, correct?" Charles asked, vaguely recalling data he'd glimpsed back in Antwerp.
"Indeed," Steed confirmed promptly. "Precisely 76.2mm, with a ground-launch range of roughly 2.7 kilometers."
(Note: These were specifications of Britain's "Mattress" naval rocket systems.)
Steed added quickly, "That's ground-based range; airborne launches from aircraft would likely be much shorter due to winds."
Indeed, winds severely impacted rockets, sometimes diverting them dangerously—even looping them back toward the launch point.
"Don't worry about that," Charles calmly assured him. "Can we scale them up to 107mm?"
Steed blinked in confusion. "Of course, General—but as I've said, without solving accuracy issues, increased caliber has limited practical value—"
Had a subordinate offered such pointless suggestions, Steed would have angrily thrown him out. But this was Charles, who'd repeatedly introduced groundbreaking technologies. Facing Charles's confidence, Steed hesitated, questioning himself—perhaps he'd overlooked something vital.
Then Steed brightened hopefully. "General, have you solved the accuracy problem?"
Charles slowly shook his head. In this era, rocket accuracy remained unsolvable. (Note: Precision-guided rockets would only become feasible decades later.)
Steed visibly deflated. Without accuracy, merely increasing range seemed meaningless.
Unperturbed, Charles returned to the conference table, placing his coffee cup down. Casually, he pulled a sketch from his briefcase and handed it to Steed.
Steed studied the design curiously, momentarily stunned by its extreme simplicity. It depicted multiple metal tubes arranged in three stacked layers, each containing four tubes—so rudimentary it seemed almost childish.
(Above: China's Type 63, 107mm multiple rocket launcher—famously nicknamed one of the three "guerrilla warfare essentials," alongside the AK-47 rifle and RPG launcher.)
(Above: A modified 107mm rocket launcher mounted on a civilian pickup truck, demonstrating rapid conversion from civilian to military use.)
Realization quickly dawned on Steed. He glanced incredulously back at Charles. "You don't mean—these tubes are for firing rockets?"
"Exactly," Charles confirmed with satisfaction. "I call it a rocket artillery system."
Steed hesitated, clearly skeptical. The design appeared embarrassingly crude. Surely accuracy would remain problematic; without precision, how useful could it truly be?
Charles read Steed's expression easily, patiently explaining:
"The key factor, Mr. Steed, is affordability."
"No expensive artillery manufacturing required—these launchers can be rapidly produced at minimal cost. The rockets themselves, likewise cheap, can be mass-produced quickly. Correct?"
Steed nodded thoughtfully—true enough. Traditional artillery was costly, mainly due to barrels, expensive and difficult to manufacture, prone to defects or even bursting. Rockets eliminated costly barrels, focusing costs instead on cheap, mass-produced rockets.
Charles summarized decisively, "So why not use inexpensive weapons to launch waves of rockets? Even random hits can cause substantial damage. On battlefields, artillery regularly bombards without precise targeting anyway. That's precisely the role of rocket artillery."
Steed was genuinely stunned by the logic. True enough—even artillery bombardments often lacked accuracy, firing endlessly into enemy trenches for days on end. Precision mattered little when firing blind.
Under these conditions, inexpensive rockets could replace artillery entirely!
"I understand now, General," Steed nodded eagerly. "This significantly reduces costs—a critical advantage given our shortages."
Charles smiled knowingly, offering no further explanations. Cost efficiency was just the beginning. Coupled with tactical adjustments, these rocket launchers could severely disrupt enemy artillery—even the Germans' powerful 105mm howitzers.
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