Chapter 397: Charles' Tactics
General Winter recounted Charles' exploits in Antwerp with fervor, detailing how he lured the Germans' "Big Bertha" into range, used Congreve rockets mounted on aircraft to shoot down German zeppelins, invented depth charges to destroy submarines, and turned the tide at Gallipoli by leading troops in person. He even shared Charles' "feint-and-strike" strategy at Gallipoli without holding anything back.
In the end, Winter remarked, "Charles was right. If we had attacked the Dardanelles from the start as he suggested, we wouldn't be in the current stalemate. Our fleet would already be in the Sea of Marmara, possibly victorious. Now, all we feel is regret."
Hearing Winter's words, Cadorna nodded to himself. Winter's story was seamless; if it had been a fabrication, it would be impossible to tell it so flawlessly on the spot. Finally, Cadorna's hesitations faded.
Charles was worth far more than any victory at Cambrai. With a military genius like him on the Allied side, victory was only a matter of time. It was a no-brainer for Italy to join the Allies. However, Cadorna, on behalf of Italy, still laid out a series of demands:
"Apart from Austro-Hungarian territory, we expect to gain lands in Croatia, Slovenia, and Albania after the war."
Cadorna clearly didn't see Austria-Hungary as a serious threat, assuming the exhausted Austro-Hungarian army would be easy to defeat, so he casually extended Italy's territorial claims beyond Austro-Hungarian borders.
"No problem," Winter replied smoothly, locating the regions Cadorna had mentioned on the map. They did not conflict with French and British interests.
"And we have interests in Africa as well," Cadorna continued. "Once Germany's African colonies are divided, we hope Britain and France will transfer some of the colonies in Northeast Africa to Italy."
Winter hesitated—this would be akin to prying assets from the jaws of Britain and France. But after only a brief pause, he nodded and said, "I have no personal objection, but the decision will require approval from London and Paris."
Ironically, this response reassured Cadorna. Indeed, Winter couldn't make such a decision alone.
"Finally," Cadorna added, "we expect Britain and France to ensure the Adriatic Sea becomes an Italian-controlled inland sea after the war and agree to modify the borders between Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, and Libya in Italy's favor."
Winter found the location on the map and replied earnestly, "That will also need approval, General."
"Naturally," Cadorna agreed.
Winter promptly transmitted Italy's conditions to the British and French governments. In response, the British and French put on a show of lengthy negotiations, calling together key officials late into the night. Hours later, they reluctantly agreed to Italy's terms.
Satisfied with the outcome, Cadorna left to mobilize Italian forces and officially declared war on Austria-Hungary. What he didn't realize was that Britain and France had no intention of honoring these promises. They had already decided that Italy would keep only what it could capture independently. Any territory taken by British or French forces would remain firmly in British and French hands, and under no circumstances would they relinquish their African colonies.
(Note: After the war, Italy gained almost nothing. Britain and France argued that Italy's contributions were insufficient and refused to honor the agreement. With over a million soldiers lost and its economy devastated, Italy could do nothing to counter this betrayal.)
…
In Paris, at Schneider's munitions plant, James Schneider sat at his desk, pressing a weary hand to his throbbing forehead. Unlike the rest of Paris, he found no joy in the news of Italy joining the Allies—this had little to do with him.
Instead, he was overwhelmed by a slew of unexpected issues.
First was Cambrai: the "Saint-Chamond" tank had lost its military contract entirely, both for heavy and light models. Even though the light "M21" variant had seen some success, soldiers attributed that victory to the element of surprise in night raids and still considered the "M21" a dangerous, unreliable piece of equipment.
Next, there was Charles' acquisition of five British heavy artillery production lines. It was said each line could produce six large-caliber cannons per month, totaling thirty guns, while Schneider's 105mm cannon line had a capacity of only five per month. This vast difference would put the 105mm cannons at a clear disadvantage in the market, no matter how high their quality.
The most troubling issue was the recent machine gun controversy sparked in Gallipoli. The machine guns themselves weren't the problem. James now realized he had fallen into Charles' carefully laid trap: he had invested over 70 million francs to ramp up production, with more than 20,000 machine guns in inventory. With the debut of Charles' "Saint-Étienne 2" machine gun, his investment was now practically worthless.
The total loss could easily exceed a hundred million francs. Schneider was a powerful corporation with deep pockets, but even they could be dealt a critical blow by such losses.
The real blow, however, was public perception. The people believed that this was yet another example of Schneider's underhanded tactics to suppress Charles—"backroom dealings," "dirty political games," and "corruption between government and industry."
Now, protestors gathered outside Schneider's factory, chanting:
"Schneider is blocking France's victory. Stop this disgraceful behavior!"
"We need Charles, not Schneider!"
"Schneider is killing our soldiers with shoddy weapons and vile schemes. Without Schneider, we'd be better off!"
…
Amidst the shouting, protesters threw stones, leaves, and rotten eggs at the factory.
Puzzled, James turned to Pauline, his assistant. "Have I forgotten something? I don't recall us suppressing Charles' machine guns in any way."
"It's not that you've forgotten, sir," Pauline replied calmly. "We really haven't. This is Charles' doing."
"Charles' doing?" James echoed, confused. "You think Charles sent those protesters here?"
Pauline shook her head. "Charles probably didn't have to do anything. The public automatically assumes it's our fault."
Suddenly, James understood.
This wasn't the first time this had happened. In the past, Schneider had engaged in enough unsavory practices that people now reflexively blamed them. Normally, he would ignore the protests, letting them rage on with no real harm to Schneider. But this time was different.
Schneider's own workers had joined in the protests by striking, and the public had begun boycotting Schneider products. The factory was quickly gaining a reputation for valuing profits over soldiers' lives and national security. If this continued, Schneider could be driven out of the competition, regardless of its wealth or technological prowess.
Just then, the phone rang. Pauline answered, then looked at James in surprise. "Deyoka wants to speak with you, sir."
"Deyoka?" James raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Charles' father? What does he want?"
Then, he scowled. "He probably wants to see what it looks like to watch me lose to his son!"
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