Father of France

Chapter 110 The Potsdam Conference

The world's first helicopter was indeed French. Frenchman Paul Corny developed the world's first helicopter, achieving continuous flight at a height of 0.3 meters for 20 seconds.

And that was it. Keman could draw the shell himself, but he couldn't solve the problem of the turboshaft engine.

The Ministry of Defense has assembled a 20-member inspection team, including officers from the Army, Navy, and Air Force, to depart for the United States in a few days. It seems that they intend to conduct a bargain-hunting operation in this post-war period to make up for the deficiencies in the French military industry.

Koeman joined relatively late. He went to visit several companies in France that had helicopter technology, including Aerospace, the company that manufactured the Ark helicopter.

He even inquired about the turboshaft engine, asking if the aerospace company had any new ideas regarding helicopter power.

In terms of operation and construction, turboshaft engines are very similar to turboprop engines. They both evolved from the principle of turbofan engines, except that the latter replaces the fan with a propeller, while the former replaces the fan with the rotor of a helicopter.

However, the response was that it was a good idea, but it needed to be tested with data; in short, there is currently no such technology.

Koeman, of course, couldn't waste any time. He quickly returned to the expedition team to report and discuss with the other officers who had accompanied him the urgent military technology needed. The Liberty was not something France needed, and Koeman didn't agree with that either.

These are a bunch of defective products manufactured by the US with shoddy workmanship. They are very expensive to produce and will soon become unusable.

Some people had a mission to inspect the U.S. Army Air Forces' fighter jets, but Koeman was not optimistic. France was indeed much more reliable in the eyes of the United States than the Soviet Union, but the United States did not even trust Britain, let alone share good things with France.

"Corman, what are you looking for?" Pierre asked Corman, who hadn't spoken until now, with great interest.

"Investigate something that can be used in Algeria, helicopters." Koeman had made up his mind. Even if he couldn't find anything useful, and given the current technical difficulties with turboshaft engines, he would still have to manufacture helicopters for the French military immediately.

He didn't have time to waste with the Algerians; he should have intensified his efforts against the anti-French forces from the very beginning.

Avoiding his true purpose, Coman changed the subject, saying, "It would be great if one of us had the surname DuPont; that might reduce some obstacles."

Currently, the United States has not yet seen the kind of conglomerates with such complex shareholding structures that it is impossible to analyze the ownership of capital, as was the case after the 1980s.

Many companies are still very family-run, such as DuPont, which is currently the sixth largest in the United States. The DuPont family itself started during the war, and explosives and arms production are DuPont's original business.

In the midst of a war of unprecedented intensity, such as World War II, the surge in demand allowed the DuPont family to accumulate even greater wealth.

The military-industrial complex that many US presidents refer to is, in essence, the DuPont family.

The DuPont family is best known for supporting the Manhattan Project, which had two technological paths for manufacturing the atomic bomb: one was using uranium-235, and the other was using plutonium-239 to irradiate uranium-238 in a reactor and then chemically separate it. DuPont was responsible for all industrial production stages of these projects.

It can be said that DuPont's factories could theoretically complete all aspects of nuclear bomb manufacturing independently.

“It’s a pity we don’t have any friends with the surname DuPont.” Pierre chuckled. “I never imagined that the DuPont family, which fled to North America during the French Revolution, would develop to this point. Life is truly amazing.”

A group of soldiers sat together and had many topics to discuss, such as the development paths of American and German tanks. In Koeman's view, neither was a good path, and the path for German tanks was already closed.

As for American tanks, haven't they just been a bunch of Patton modifications for a long time? The Soviet tank development path was the correct one.

France's approach of peeling the skin and filling the filling, and Britain's relentless pursuit of tonnage, were both misguided paths that only returned to normal in the 1970s.

Strengthening a tank is very easy; just take out the composite armor. The principle of composite armor is too simple: just fill the armor layers with materials of different densities.

As for what materials to use, fibers, rubber, and asbestos are all acceptable, as long as they offer higher defensive capabilities than pure steel plates, it will be considered a success.

If we want to develop a large-scale armor like Britain did, taking many years, the Chobham armor is also an option, but it would take too long.

In Koeman's eyes, armor that was stronger than steel plates was sufficient; there was no need to rush into battle right from the start. After the gathering, Koeman went to District 16 for coffee with Martin. His comrade was riding high, having acquired over thirty million dollars in wealth, and his entire tone of voice had changed, as if he didn't want to be a soldier anymore.

“Alain has also secured 20 million Swiss francs,” Coman reminded Martin at this point. “It’s not time to give up yet. As long as we continue to play a role in the military, what does the current income matter? It will be a continuous stream in the future. Half of Africa belongs to France. We can have whatever we want.”

Although French Africa was not as wealthy as British Africa, its land area does not lie, and poor natural conditions do not mean poor mineral resources.

British Africa in a broad sense includes South Africa, but does South Africa listen to Britain now? Aren't they just a bunch of traitors? French Africa is completely different; French Africa truly listens to France now.

"You're right, I was blinded by this small fortune." Martin instantly sobered up upon hearing this. Wealth without the backing of force is just a mirage. Now that he had come to his senses, Martin asked, "We can't just leave it in the bank to earn interest, can we? What do we do next?"

“When I return from the United States, the war will be over, and we should start developing properly.” Koeman decided that upon his return, he would become a competitor of Total, tapping into Algeria’s oil and gas resources so that France could maintain its long-term, uncompromising occupation of Algeria.

However, for their own benefit, it would be best to wait until after de Gaulle stepped down before doing so, so as to minimize interference from Paris and keep the wealth in the local area for development.

Martin didn't need to know about this at the moment; all he could do now was give Coman some funds for his activities.

The United States is not Germany. Koeman cannot act like an occupying force in the United States. He will definitely need money in the United States, and a lot of money at that. After all, it is a purely capitalist country.
Martin gave him a knowing look, but since collecting tobacco and poppies in Syria was indeed Koeman's intellectual property, he could say something. "Is two hundred thousand dollars enough?"

"All investments made today will yield hundreds or thousands of times the returns in the future." Koman, holding his coffee, displayed a composure no less than that of France raising the white flag. Before long, a young woman walked by and caught Koman's attention. With so many Russians in District 16, could she be a Russian girl?

In Coman's family, both father and son are soldiers. Como is too old, so if they want to start a business, Adile is the only one. Coman decides to talk to his stepmother and register the company first.

"Will your father object?" Adilé was aware of his position in the family and had always lived cautiously in the presence of his two stepsons.

“No problem.” Coman poked his sister Claire with his finger and answered absentmindedly, “France is not the Middle East. There’s no such thing as relying on men for everything and women not being able to leave the house.”

After teasing his little sister and listening to her baby talk for a while, Koman took out $100,000 in cash and placed it in front of Adile, saying, "If this family becomes strong, France will also become strong."

Koman hopes that when he returns from the United States, the company that Adile registered on behalf of the family will already be operational.

On July 17, U.S. President Truman, British Prime Minister Churchill, and Soviet leader Stalin met in Potsdam, a suburb of Berlin, for their third wartime meeting.

During the photo session before the meeting, Churchill cleverly sat to Truman's right instead of in the middle, subtly moving closer to Truman, making the photos appear more intimate.

Truman understood Churchill's intention and moved his chair toward Stalin. Stalin remained smiling and silent throughout.

France has no role in this meeting, but it has its own needs, which it expresses by supporting Britain. The biggest issue at present is post-war reconstruction.

European countries, including France, face great difficulties in rebuilding on their own. The first problem is the shortage of labor, because the French provisional government needs low-cost labor most of all. At present, the Rhine camp has five million prisoners of war as laborers that can be used.

What de Gaulle was eager to do now was to distribute the German prisoners of war in the Rhine camp and put them into the postwar reconstruction.

It's not just France that needs it; General Dragon believes Algeria needs it too. Two million migrants are currently heading to Algeria, which is different from the previous promise of immigration to France.

If we don't come up with a solution from a construction perspective, even if a large proportion of these Christians are Maronites, it will still be difficult to explain.

"The Maronites also need houses and their own land. Therefore, the Libyan land we have carved out cannot be returned, and we also need at least 300,000 prisoners of war to build settlements for immigrants."

General Dracon asserted that he was advocating for the interests of immigrants, stating, "Only in this way will they feel a sense of belonging to France."

“France also needs at least a million prisoners of war for reconstruction.” De Gaulle knew the demands reported by the Ministry of the Interior. “Then the labor shortage will be at least 1.5 million, and that number is not excessive. Churchill must speak for Europe; it’s already the second half of the year, we can’t wait any longer.”

(End of this chapter)