Trench Bolts and Magic

Chapter 237 Equipment Application Report
One good news, one bad news.

One is heaven, the other is hell.

Joffre and his generals were caught in an unprecedented dilemma.

Why abandon the favorable situation in the south and call up the main force to defend Paris?

This means that all their previous efforts and sacrifices will be in vain.

This was unacceptable to Joffrey, who always believed that "offense is the best defense."

But if Paris is left unattended, the consequences will be disastrous.

"We cannot retreat! We absolutely cannot retreat from the south!"

A general noticed Joffre's hesitation and immediately said excitedly;

"This is our only chance! If we can advance into Saxony from the south, we can force them to retreat and the siege of Paris will be lifted!"

"But what if the Saxons don't care? What if they're determined to take Paris first?!"

Another general immediately retorted.

Inside the command center, the arguing grew louder and louder.

Marshal Joffre frowned deeply, remaining silent. He too was engaged in a internal struggle.

After a long while, he slowly raised his head and made his decision.

“Draw two armies from the southern group and immediately send them to reinforce Paris by rail.”

"At the same time, have the Sixth Army immediately formed in Paris and the surrounding area, and appoint Gallieri as its commander!"

"Tell him to keep the Saxons out of the capital at all costs!"

"in addition."

Xiafei's voice became somewhat hoarse:
"We should also notify the cabinet simultaneously and have them begin preparing a contingency plan to move the capital to Bordeaux immediately."

When Joffre's order was given, some generals in the command post immediately voiced their opposition.

"Two armies? Your Excellency Marshal! How could two armies possibly hold Paris!"

"The Saxons have two army groups marching towards Paris! We need to send at least four corps, no, an entire army group back, just to have any chance of stopping them!"

"Yes, Marshal! If we lose Paris, we will be in a very passive position!"

Faced with his subordinates' questions, Xiafei simply waved his hand wearily.

"Gentlemen, do you think I don't want to?"

His voice was filled with helplessness; the battle had progressed to the point where many things were beyond his control.

Xiafei looked at everyone, paused for a moment, and continued:
"But our offensive on the southern front is equally important! That's the only place where we can pose a threat to the Saxons!"

"If we recall all our main forces to Paris, what will happen to the southern front? All the sacrifices we've made will have been for nothing!"

He pointed to the pieces on the sand table that represented the First and Second Gallic Armies, which had been deeply embedded in the Alsace and Lorraine regions.

"Look here! We're just a stone's throw from the Saxon industrial zone! If we can take this place, we'll cripple their war potential! Then, even if they conquer Paris, they'll only have an empty shell!"

Xia Fei became more and more excited as she spoke, as if she could already see the dawn of victory.

"Moreover, don't forget, we still have the Britannians! Although their expeditionary force has temporarily retreated, their home fleet is still on the coast, and the second expeditionary force has already arrived! As long as we can hold out, they will not stand idly by!"

Xiafei's words eased the atmosphere in the command post somewhat.

Indeed, the situation on the southern front is their only hope at present.

If we can seize this opportunity and deliver a decisive blow to the Saxons, we might really be able to turn the tide of the entire battle.

"But what about Paris?" a general asked, still looking worried.

Joffre: "The cities surrounding Paris can delay the Saxon offensive, and with the newly formed Sixth Army, I believe they can at least buy us enough time."

"Moreover, I have already sent an urgent telegram to Marshal John French, requesting that his expeditionary force hold the flank of Paris no matter what."

Upon hearing this, the generals fell silent.

They knew that Joffre had made what he considered the most reasonable decision.

Although this decision was fraught with risk, given the current situation, they seemed to have no better option than to take the gamble.

"Alright, execute the order immediately!" Xiafei gave the final command.

Soon, radio waves were sent from the General Headquarters of the Gallic Army, flying to various fronts.

In the southern group, two armies began an emergency assembly and boarded a train bound for Paris.

The soldiers' faces were filled with bewilderment and unease at the sudden order to return to defend the capital.

Meanwhile, in Paris, a city hailed as the most prosperous city in Europe, an unprecedented panic has engulfed the region.

News of the Saxon army's advance spread like a plague throughout the city.

In the newspapers, the government was still confidently declaring that "the enemy has been stopped outside the border." But the wealthy people and officials who fled in panic with their families silently revealed the truth.

The train station was overcrowded, and the roads leading south were completely blocked by various vehicles.

The entire city was filled with an atmosphere of despair and impending doom.

At the same time, a new round of emergency mobilization began in Paris and the surrounding area.

Large numbers of women also took to the streets, calling on all the men in Paris to go to the front lines to fight and defend the capital.

Whether they are underage children or elderly people, they have all become targets for them to join the army.

This behavior quickly became radicalized, with these women's groups even distributing white feathers as a form of humiliation to those who did not serve in the military, and condemning them as cowards.
In this environment, countless young people, middle-aged people, and even some elderly people with gray hair and minors responded to the call of the government and these women's groups, put on military uniforms and took up arms.

This 'Sixth Army,' hastily assembled from citizens, police officers, and firefighters, was thus hastily dispatched to the northern defense line of Paris.

They were prepared to use their flesh and blood to stop the seemingly unstoppable advance of the Saxon Empire.

The Gallic Republic, a once-powerful nation that dominated the continent, is now facing the most dangerous moment since its founding.
All of this, for the time being, had nothing to do with Morin, who was recuperating in a field hospital.

He wanted to take advantage of this rare period of leisure to write down all his ideas about the future equipment and organization of the training assault battalion, turn them into formal reports, and submit them.

His idea of ​​popularizing 'magic affinity' was distant and grand. But one must eat one bite at a time and walk one step at a time.

The most realistic goal at present is to secure better weapons for our troops and enhance their combat effectiveness within the existing framework.

He picked up a pen and wrote the title of the report on the paper:

Urgent Request for the Acquisition of 75.8mm Grenade Launchers and the Establishment of a Flamethrower Unit for the Training Assault Battalion

Morin took a deep breath, and the tip of his pen moved quickly across the paper.

He knew that the moment the report was submitted, the training assault battalion, this "unique" unit, would undergo another evolution.

Morin's report was written quickly, and was well-organized and logically sound.

Mortars have always been something Morin wanted.

However, since there were no other options at the moment, Morin could only apply for 12 75.8mm 'grenade launchers'.

This weapon wasn't widely deployed in the Saxon Army... two per brigade, and most infantry brigades didn't have one.

It can be considered a prototype of a mortar, but its structure is quite different from the mortar that Morin remembered.

The barrel is 23.5 cm long and has 6 rifling grooves. Hydraulic cylinders on both sides and the back of the barrel reduce recoil and springs return the barrel to its original position.

The cannon is mounted on a rectangular base, with a muzzle elevation angle of +45° to +78° and a horizontal firing arc of only 7°.

Using muzzle loading and rope firing, a skilled gun crew can achieve a rate of fire of approximately 45 rounds per minute.

Although this 'grenade launcher' is still somewhat cumbersome, it's better to have it than not for the training assault battalion.

In the section of his application regarding the 75.8mm 'grenade launcher', he did not elaborate at length on the brutality of urban warfare.

Instead, it directly cited the actual difficulties encountered by the training assault battalion and friendly forces in the Battle of Amiens during the assault operations.

"Faced with the fortified buildings held by the Britannian army, our troops and friendly units, lacking effective indirect fire support, could only resort to tactics of breaching enemy positions with explosives or trading lives for space, resulting in a large number of unnecessary casualties."

"The .75.8mm grenade launcher, with its lightweight (compared to conventional field guns) and excellent curved trajectory, enables our infantry to gain valuable independent assault capabilities when facing fortified enemy positions, without constantly needing to call in artillery support."

He even thoughtfully included a hand-drawn tactical diagram of his own:
An infantry squad advanced under the cover of machine guns, while a grenade launcher team, in a relatively safe position behind, carried out precision strikes against the enemy's machine gun positions.

As for the idea of ​​a 'fire-breathing platoon', his reasoning was even more direct.

"During the house-to-house battles in southern Amiens, our troops encountered numerous instances where the enemy used complex terrain (such as basements, corners, and behind furniture) to put up a stubborn resistance."

"Conventional firearms and grenades are inefficient and extremely risky when clearing out such targets."

"The high-temperature liquid flame released by the flamethrower can not only cause devastating damage to clustered targets in open areas, but its splashing and flowing characteristics can also effectively kill stubborn enemies hiding in bunkers, trenches, and blind spots in buildings, and create a huge psychological deterrent to the enemy."

To add credibility, he also mentioned at the end of his report a piece of information he had received from an engineer in an army group's fortification unit at a field hospital.

"It is said that the army group's fortification troops have been equipped with a small number of two-person operated '40-meter' flamethrowers, and have achieved good results in battlefield testing."

"We earnestly request the General Staff to consider whether such mature equipment can be prioritized for distribution to front-line assault troops, in order to reduce the sacrifice of our heroic soldiers."

Mo Lin wrote several thousand words in one go.

He checked the report several times to make sure that the wording conveyed the urgent need while remaining humble and professional, so as not to offend the important figures who were approving it.

After putting down her pen, Morin finally breathed a sigh of relief, and the wound on her waist had gradually healed after resting for the past few days.

He lay back on the bed, closed his eyes to rest, but his mind was still racing.

These two pieces of equipment were just the first step in his plan.

They can solve the problem of 'having or not having' in urban warfare and positional warfare, but they are essentially still in the category of conventional weapons.

But compared to the ethereal 'magic-affinity soldiers,' these tangible things can obviously provide help much faster.

(End of this chapter)