Chapter 701 Target: Verdun
The midday sun shimmered like golden silk, swaying across the sky and dispersing the fog over Mézières, drastically improving visibility on the battlefield.
Even from the rooftop of the airfield control tower, Charles could see through his binoculars the First Armored Corps resting several kilometers away across the river.
That's the trouble with tanks: after any intense battle, they require maintenance—especially for those that had just crossed the Meuse River.
The crews had to deflate and stow away the flotation skirts, remove the external propellers and batteries to lighten the tanks for land movement.
It was at this moment that Tijani came storming up to the rooftop, waving a telegram furiously before he even reached Charles, his voice brimming with rage: "They've leaked our situation! Those bastards—this was deliberate, absolutely deliberate! They want us to die here!"
Charles took the telegram. It was from Gallieni, warning that rumors were spreading across Paris: Charles's force lacked infantry support. Gallieni added, "I'm certain the Germans know this now too."
Charles smiled faintly and handed the message back to Tijani.
He already knew who was responsible for leaking the information—those snakes in Parliament and the government. They seized every opportunity to drag him down.
Tijani frowned. "So what's your plan to solve this problem?"
Indeed, the First Armored Corps was short on manpower.
That was the price of forcing a breakthrough through the Ardennes. With supply lines so strained, they couldn't afford to bring large numbers of infantry.
Without follow-up infantry, every town, stronghold—even a tiny village—captured by the armored corps required the tanks to peel off units for garrison duty.
Soon enough, the corps would find itself scattered, fighting piecemeal across a sprawling front.
(Note: The more backward the communication equipment, the more dangerous it is to disperse forces—an attacked unit might not even be able to alert headquarters in time, effectively disappearing without a trace.)
The enemy, however, could quickly mobilize several infantry divisions—tens of thousands of men.
If Charles insisted on pushing forward without support, the First Armored Corps risked having its supply lines cut off or being completely surrounded.
Charles remained calm. "Do you remember the concept of 'elastic defense,' General?"
"Of course," Tijani replied. "We used it with the First Special Artillery Division. Our troops have trained for it."
Charles nodded but said no more.
At first, Tijani didn't understand where Charles was going. Then it struck him: "You're saying we should use elastic defense to deal with the enemy?"
But then he hesitated. "Wait. Elastic defense still requires a line and infantry. We don't have a single infantry unit—unless we turn the mechanized troops into line-holding infantry."
That clearly wasn't viable. Mechanized troops were meant to maneuver, not sit idle in trenches.
Charles pulled a map from his uniform pocket, walked slowly to the railing, and spread it out. Gesturing for Tijani to come closer, he asked, "What if our target is Verdun?"
Tijani stared at him in shock. He had assumed their next thrust would be toward Rethel.
Rethel was the closest contested city—just over 60 kilometers away. If the corps moved quickly, they could reach it in a single day.
(Above: Red circles show Mézières, Rethel, and Verdun. The Rethel-to-Verdun line lies at the junction of the French-German front, with the Aisne and Meuse Rivers forming a natural triangle in the area.)
At that moment, even the French high command believed Charles was headed to Rethel. Foch himself was leading a massive assault on the city.
If Charles's armored units struck Rethel from the rear, the German defensive line would collapse instantly.
"Verdun is more than 130 kilometers away, General," Tijani reminded him. "That's more than double the distance to Rethel—it would take at least two days."
"I know," Charles replied evenly.
"But don't you think the Germans are already prepared at Rethel?"
"Let me guess how they'll respond: mines on the road, ambushes in the forests and hills, blown-up bridges, or maybe explosives buried under the road—or they'll just tear the road apart."
Tijani went silent.
Indeed, the Germans would do exactly that. In the end, the 60 kilometers to Rethel might be far more dangerous than 130 kilometers to Verdun.
After a moment of thought, Tijani nodded.
"You're right, General. The Germans probably haven't prepared anything near Verdun."
"But we still don't have enough troops to secure our flanks."
"And the longer the route, the larger our vulnerability. The more dangerous our maneuver becomes."
A 130-kilometer push meant a longer, weaker supply line—harder to protect, easier to sever.
"Think about it, General." Charles traced a circle between Mézières and Verdun. "This area is nestled between the Aisne and Meuse Rivers. What does that tell you?"
Tijani blinked. Then his eyes lit up and he cried out: "That means elastic defense, General! We can use the rivers like natural defensive lines to shield our supply route—brilliant!"
Charles nodded. Tijani wasn't entirely useless after all.
"Elastic defense" doesn't require infantry to dig trenches.
The point of building a defensive line is to force the enemy to concentrate along predictable axes of attack—preventing them from spreading out, which would leave mobile armor without clear targets.
The Verdun region had a unique feature: two rivers served as natural barriers.
In the absence of fortified German troops, they would have no choice but to cross at bridges.
No one in their right mind would swim across or build a floating bridge with usable bridges nearby.
This would naturally concentrate the enemy. All the French needed was to control the tempo—swinging their armored units between bridges, smashing one crossing attempt after another.
"Know what we need to do now?" Charles asked.
"Absolutely," Tijani replied, his eyes darting over the map.
"The key is Buzancy. We need to take it lightning-fast and make it our base of operations."
"Then destroy select bridges, exclude the outermost areas."
"We'll also need aircraft to secure air superiority and monitor German movements…"
Charles silently praised him. He's finally learning.
At least during the trench warfare era, Tijani could've been considered an old hand.
(End of Chapter 701)
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