Chapter 446: If Anyone Disagrees, Then Let Them Fight Us
General Winter was at a loss for words.
Because Charles was right—privately intercepting fuel and causing difficulties and uncertainties for the war clearly did not align with Britain's interests.
In the end, General Winter sighed and answered helplessly,
"Actually, this isn't entirely the 'First Sea Lord's' idea, Brigadier General. I, too, would like to see you return to the Dardanelles to command the overall situation."
"Because..."
"Every day, lives are lost there—hundreds, even thousands."
General Winter's eyes showed compassion; he had seen these numbers often and felt their weight deeply.
"That's something you should say to the 'First Sea Lord,'" Charles responded.
"What?" General Winter didn't understand Charles' meaning.
Charles didn't answer directly but asked, "Have you forgotten the purpose of the Dardanelles offensive?"
"Of course not," General Winter explained. "It was to open a new front and break the deadlock."
Charles spread his hands and looked around.
General Winter suddenly realized—the deadlock on the front lines had already been broken by Charles' armored units, which meant that the Dardanelles operation had lost its strategic significance.
"The Gallipoli campaign has already devolved into trench warfare, another deadlock," Charles continued. "The way to break it is right in front of you."
General Winter stared blankly at Charles, soon realizing: "You mean, armored units?"
"Yes," Charles nodded. "Use armored units to break through the trenches. But I don't know if you've considered the difficulties of deploying armored units in Gallipoli."
General Winter gently shook his head; as a naval officer, he had no concept of this.
Charles explained:
"First, you need to get the armored units to Gallipoli."
"Second, you must ensure they have fuel, spare parts, and maintenance in that high-salinity, high-humidity environment."
"Lastly, you'll need to order the troops to level the mountains of Gallipoli because they aren't suited for armored warfare!"
General Winter half-opened his mouth, realizing it was impossible.
At the same time, it was unnecessary. Instead of going to all that trouble in Gallipoli, it would be far easier to secure a larger victory on the main front. No one would make the foolish choice of taking the difficult route when the easy one was there.
"This is the First Sea Lord's insistence, understand?" Charles spoke bluntly. "The Gallipoli campaign should have ended a long time ago, but the 'First Sea Lord' refuses to admit it for his personal interests. So, you should go to the 'First Sea Lord' and tell him these casualty numbers."
"But he won't care about that..." General Winter's face turned pale.
He knew the "First Sea Lord" well; to him, soldiers on the frontlines were no different from ants.
"But others will," Charles reminded him.
General Winter understood—Charles meant that the power of public opinion could help remove the "First Sea Lord" from the command structure, including from the Dardanelles Committee.
Charles emphasized at the end,
"This has nothing to do with me; how you handle it is your business."
"I just hope you won't try to get me involved in the Dardanelles again, trying to turn defeat into victory."
"I won't do that foolish thing!"
General Winter reluctantly accepted Charles' words.
It was indeed a foolish idea, like forcing Charles to throw away the watermelon in front of him and go a thousand miles to pick up a sesame seed, which he might not even find.
But this simple truth had only just dawned on him.
At that moment, there was a cheer from the telecommunication room. A signalman rushed over to Charles, excitedly reporting,
"General, the Germans have sent an emissary to negotiate with our forces—they wish to surrender to us!"
Charles gestured at General Winter, implying, This is what I need to do.
General Winter nodded. "I know what to do now."
...
The news of the German surrender spread through Antwerp instantly, and everyone was celebrating.
Belgians flooded the streets, many playing instruments and dancing joyfully.
Soldiers climbed out of the fortresses and trenches to hug each other, as if the war had already ended.
All the phones and telegraphs were busy as people did everything possible to spread the good news to everyone they could reach.
Soon, the news reached Paris, and the Parisians were in a frenzy.
Although the victory had been inevitable, its arrival still brought excitement, and people praised Charles with extravagant words:
"Charles is the best! France is fortunate to have another Napoleon!"
"I think Napoleon never achieved such feats. Charles single-handedly changed the world."
"Indeed, he shattered the myth of trench warfare—everyone thought the war would be stuck in trenches forever, but he created a miracle!"
...
Lucia had tears in her eyes. After going through several difficulties, she had finally received the good news about her family's safety. Now, hearing that the Germans were ready to surrender meant that the "final madness" wouldn't happen, and she could truly relax.
...
Camille, surrounded by well-wishing neighbors, was in tears of joy. She finally believed that Charles could defeat dozens of Germans with just one French soldier.
She felt immense pride—Charles had such magic. Just recently, those Germans had pushed the Anglo-French forces back and even reached Paris, yet they had been defeated by Charles!
Deyoka, who had some military knowledge, secretly thought:
Whose talent has Charles inherited?
Camille's? Or mine?
Clearly, neither. It was his own.
But this talent... it seemed almost terrifying in its scale!
...
However, at this moment, some discordant voices emerged.
The newly appointed British "First Sea Lord," Balfour, stepped forward and made a formal statement:
"We acknowledge that Charles performed excellently in this campaign."
"But this victory cannot be separated from the persistence of the Anglo-French forces on the frontlines. They fought for nearly a year and sacrificed tens of thousands."
"Therefore, I believe the commander-in-chief of the Allied forces should be the one to accept the German surrender."
At that time, General Joffre was the commander-in-chief of the Allied forces.
The British move was quite obvious—they knew that Joffre and Charles weren't on good terms, and they hoped to use this opportunity to create some friction or even ignite a spark of conflict between the two.
Joffre made no response; he seemed to have tacitly accepted the suggestion.
Just like after the victory in the Battle of Paris, when reporters asked who should be credited, he replied, "I don't know who deserves the credit, I just know that if we failed, people would surely think it was my fault."
He cleverly linked both responsibility and credit together to steal the credit for the victory.
Charles didn't speak either. It wasn't his place to make a statement; doing so would be a denial of the front-line soldiers' contributions, even though the French people were furious on his behalf.
At this moment, the German commander, General Beyerd, spoke up:
"We are surrendering to Charles, and if anyone disagrees, then let them fight us!"
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