Chapter 239 A Theme

Military organization usually follows this principle:

If communication equipment is poor and command capabilities are insufficient, military services should be separated as much as possible. This can reduce command pressure and avoid confusion.

On the contrary, with good communication equipment and high command level, various arms can be mixed and commanded under one roof.

The latter is the concept of "combined battalion". A modern battalion is simultaneously organized into infantry, artillery, armored troops and even aviation. The various arms can work closely together to form a strong combat effectiveness.

But this can only be achieved on the basis of modern communication equipment and high command levels. Otherwise, it will not only be unable to form combat effectiveness but will also fall into chaos.

The most typical example is Maozi in the early days of World War II. They dispersed tanks, artillery, and aircraft into infantry for use.

The concept of this approach is very advanced, and the idea is also very beautiful: any division will have tanks, artillery, and even air force. It has everything, and its combat effectiveness will certainly be strong.

But the reality is... they were in chaos under the German attack. Each branch of the army did not know what they were going to do or how to do it. They fought like headless flies and were eventually defeated or even surrounded and annihilated by the German army.

It was out of this consideration that Charles wanted to integrate army aircraft and unify their command.

During World War I, communication equipment was extremely backward. Even before radio stations became popular, even telephone calls were unreliable. If infantry and aviation are forcibly combined, it will be a nightmare for the aviation.

They should be independent, form unified tactics under unified training, and coordinate operations with other arms in an orderly manner under unified command. Only then can they be effective on the battlefield.

But at this time, problems came one after another.

Gallieni sat on the chair and replied helplessly: "It's useless for you to convince me, colonel. You should convince the French commander-in-chief. I can only command two armies, and other than that I only have the right to make suggestions... I can You submit this idea to the headquarters as a suggestion, but you don’t have to think about it, you know what the result will be.”

"Yes, General," Charles replied.

Needless to say, Xiafei would not cooperate with Ciel and easily hand over the troops to Ciel's command.

Seeing Gallieni's indifferent expression, Charles felt a little angry: "General, if we cannot collect the army aircraft in time, they may be defeated by the Germans one by one!"

Gallieni spread his hands: "You are the captain of the flying group, colonel, and you also proposed this idea. But I am not sure which one is right."

Lie, you just expressed your approval.

Lieutenant Colonel Fernand, who had been listening, interrupted: "If the consent of the Commander-in-Chief cannot be obtained directly, can it be passed through parliament..."

Gallieni shook his head and rejected the plan.

Although Charles has achieved some results through his efforts during this period, it is still far from enough to face the combination of Schneider and the entire right wing.

Among them, the right-wing factions account for more than 200 of the more than 500 seats. They may not be able to compete with the left, but as long as they unite with any left-wing group, they can occupy the "majority."

Ciel knows this, so he doesn't consider the Council, at least not yet.

Then, perhaps the only thing that can work is... Ciel turned his attention to Khovd who was immersed in writing something at his desk.

Gallieni and Fernand also understood, and their eyes turned to Khovd in unison.

At that time, Kobdo was troubled by the "Christmas Truce" incident. This was originally a good news topic. He had written a bunch of articles and even roughly arranged them.

But at this time, the commander-in-chief issued a "media control" order: all media were not allowed to report on the "truce" incident, otherwise they would be punished for "endangering national security."

(Note: The media blockade on the Christmas Truce incident was not limited to France, but also the media in the United Kingdom, the United States and other countries. It was not until 6 days later that the New York Times in the United States broke through the blockade and reported, and the United Kingdom subsequently reported)

So, what to report during this time?

The food and joy of Christmas?

There seems to be no such thing on the front line, which will only stimulate the hearts of the soldiers who are already on the verge of collapse!

Fight bravely?

They already hate war, this seems out of place!

Maybe we can spread a little knowledge about 37 guns...

At this time, Kobdo felt the eyes of others. He turned to look at Charles and the others and asked doubtfully: "What happened?"

"A subject, Khovd!" Charles said with a slightly mysterious expression: "You are very busy!"

Great, Cobdo thought, he just needs a subject!

…

Snow-capped and covered with silver.

The airport of the 9th Army of the French 2nd Army is located in the town of Morfi, seven kilometers away from the front line.

This airport is very simple. It has only one runway and seven aircraft, and they are all old "Gaudron" and "Pigeon" aircraft. They are parked randomly in the corner of the airport. The roof is made of several pieces of canvas and is supported by wooden strips. Keep snow off the plane.

There are no walls around the airport. Just a few fences and barbed wire are used to stretch out an isolation belt, and then a sign reads "No entry to the military area."

After Kobdo arrived with two reporters, he used his camera to take pictures of the airport facilities. He emotionally asked the airport director, Major Langoff:

"Is this always the case at your airport?"

Major Langoff, who was in his fifties, had a gloomy look on his face: "No, that's not the case, sir. Everything you see now is the result of our efforts, and it should be in its best condition now!"

"Is this the best situation now?" Kobdo expressed surprise.

Major Langoff nodded:

"Of course. This place was originally a muddy mess with many craters and even bodies that needed to be cleaned up."

"Did you see that runway?"

"We built it ourselves with an engineer shovel. Now we have to shovel away the snow every day, otherwise we can't perform any missions!"

Kobudo hurriedly directed the reporter to take a few close-ups of the runway. It already had obvious potholes, which was obviously a hidden danger to the plane taking off.

Kobdo cast a sympathetic look at Major Langev: "Are other troops similar to this? I mean, other aircraft troops."

"Of course!" Major Langev nodded affirmatively: "Most of our troops are fighting on the front lines, and there is a shortage of manpower everywhere. Of course, no one helps us build airports. So, yes, other aircraft troops are similar to this situation, and we are still good."

Then Major Langev added: "Except for the Paris Flying Club!"

"Really?" Kobdo seized this opportunity to ask: "Why is the Paris Flying Club an exception?"

"Do I need to ask this?" Major Langev laughed: "That's Charles's troops. Charles is different from others! He is willing to spend money on his own flying brigade. Their pilots receive at least 60 francs in allowances per month, which is three times ours!"

Thanks for the reward after 15 digits, thank you very much!