Chapter 705 – Accepting the Benefits Charles Offered
Fort Saint-Michel, Verdun – Headquarters of France's 3rd Army Group.
Pétain had not slept all night. Under the dim yellow lamplight, he paced anxiously, asking over and over about Charles's whereabouts. But apart from the confirmed capture of Buzancy, no further details had emerged.
His nervousness had nothing to do with the situation on the Verdun front.
Since the outbreak of the Battle of the Somme, fighting around Verdun had eased considerably.
Thanks to Charles's earlier assistance, the Verdun defense line had been transformed into an impregnable fortress.
All fortress artillery had been restored and upgraded, organized into long-, medium-, and short-range groups to meet different tactical needs.
The trenches had been deepened and reinforced. Numerous concrete bunkers and pillboxes had been added.
Most importantly, the land 300 meters in front of the line had been densely mined. If the Germans wanted to attack, they'd have to risk marching through the minefields.
But Pétain's anxiety came from somewhere else: he knew that Charles had begun his most crucial maneuver.
"Charles will succeed," Pétain murmured, analyzing aloud. "Because no one knows where he's going."
"What?" his staff officer blinked in confusion.
What does "no one knows where he's going" have to do with Charles succeeding?
Pétain's expression was unreadable. "Have you heard of Charles's 'offense over defense' theory?"
"Of course, General," the officer replied.
That was something Charles had said during a gathering at the Paris Reserve Army Group officers' club.
Though it was hardly a formal setting—more a place to drink and chat—because the words came from Charles, the theory made headlines the next day.
Gallieni had even ordered it added to every military academy's curriculum, alongside Charles's other theories.
"You mean this maneuver fits that theory?" the staff officer asked, somewhat skeptically. "But General, Charles's troops are deep behind enemy lines. He doesn't have time to probe for weaknesses…"
"You fool!" Pétain snapped. "The core of 'offense over defense' is that the enemy doesn't know where to defend. So they try to guard everything and end up guarding nothing. Charles's maneuver perfectly fits this logic."
"Oh…" the officer finally understood.
His mistake had been in interpreting "offense over defense" too literally—thinking it meant the attacker had time to look for holes in a long enemy front.
Pétain sighed internally. That was the weakness of most staff officers trained in static defense.
Defensive strategy had become too simple. It had devolved into the art of fortification, rather than the art of war. Many believed that with strong enough bunkers, victory was guaranteed.
(The Maginot Line, years later, would be a tragic product of this belief. France's World War II military doctrine would tilt toward a blind faith in "absolute defense"—in part thanks to Pétain's success at Verdun.)
So despite their combat experience, these men still couldn't understand Charles's methods.
Pétain decided it was useless to explain further.
What truly troubled him now was the same question the Germans were asking: Where is Charles going?
Rethel? Somme-Py? Or somewhere else?
When Pétain had first heard that Charles had taken Mézières, he was consumed with jealousy.
Not at Charles—but at Foch.
From Mézières, the ideal target for a breakthrough was Rethel. And Foch was already there, commanding an entire army group in a massive assault.
That meant this battle was a coordinated effort between Charles and Foch—and Pétain had been excluded.
What did that mean for him?
He feared being marginalized, his future limited to the 3rd Army command.
He even worried about being demoted.
All he had done in Verdun could be summed up optimistically as "holding back the Germans." But to critics, it was "wasting huge resources with no tangible results."
As these thoughts gnawed at him, a staff officer approached, holding a telegram with a strange look on his face.
"General, a message from Charles. He says… it's time to counterattack."
Has Charles gone mad? Pétain thought.
Verdun had already been turned into a rock-solid defensive bastion. What was the point of attacking now?
But to everyone's surprise, Pétain snatched the telegram and, after glancing at it, burst out laughing.
"Excellent! That man—he's a reliable friend!"
Then he spun around and shouted: "Everyone, prepare for a counterattack!"
The staff stood frozen for several seconds before someone finally responded: "Yes, General!"
At that moment, Pétain understood something with absolute clarity:
Charles wasn't his rival. Because Charles had become someone he could never catch up to.
Charles saw it the same way. That was why he had deliberately shared the credit for this victory with Pétain.
At this point, Charles's military achievements were beyond comparison.
Whether he earned more or less from this battle didn't matter. His prestige was already unmatched.
Parliament still saw him as a threat, citizens still idolized his brilliance, and soldiers across the army continued to study his tactics like scripture.
But in politics, it was a different story.
If Charles kept all the glory for himself, he would appear greedy, threatening. If he shared it with Pétain, he gained a powerful ally.
This was a trick he had learned from the politicians themselves.
The most powerful men in the army were:
Gallieni – Minister of War and commander of the Reserve Army GroupFoch – Commander-in-Chief of the French ArmyPétain – Commander of the 3rd Army GroupGamelin – Director of French Army Operations
Gallieni was a friend. Gamelin, an enemy. Nothing could change those two.
But Foch and Pétain? They could be either friends or foes.
The right move was to divide and rule—cultivate Pétain as a rival to Foch.
Only if Foch and Pétain were busy competing with each other could Charles maintain control over both.
That's the unchanging rule of politics: bond people to you with shared interest, not loyalty or reason.
Now, Pétain saw the opportunity. He chose to cooperate with Charles.
After receiving the telegram, he immediately ordered troops to move through mine-cleared lanes, cut through barbed wire, and quietly shifted artillery and infantry to the front lines.
…
Paris City Hall.
Colonel Dura happened to be discussing Pétain.
"If Pétain launches a counterattack, then the minefields and wire he placed in front of his own line will become his biggest obstacle."
"No, he won't attack," Briand said with confidence. "His military doctrine is the polar opposite of Charles's. They're more rivals than allies."
Clemenceau nodded in agreement.
Pétain was an ambitious man. He would never want to see Charles completely dominate the military.
So logically, he and Charles should be enemies. Pétain wouldn't risk his life to save him.
What they didn't realize was that Pétain wasn't "risking his life to save Charles."
He was simply… accepting the benefits Charles had offered.
(End of Chapter 705)
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