Major Brownie did not explain either, he rudely pushed Dejoka aside and rushed in, only then feeling somewhat relieved upon seeing Shire. He scanned both sides, quick-stepped toward the old table by the side, and started drawing on the dust-covered surface with his finger, speaking urgently:
"This is the river, this is Marne Bridge, the enemy has set up ten heavy machine guns at the bridgehead, forming a ring position. There are ring trenches before the position and possibly artillery behind!"
Major Brownie looked up and asked Shire who was blocked by Camille, his eyes anxious: "What should we do? Can the tank withstand such firepower?"
Dejoka and Camille realized that Major Brownie was only here to ask questions, then they relaxed their vigilance.
Shire stepped past Camille and walked forward, looking at the "dust map" under the lamp, and gave a straightforward negative answer: "No!"
Although the Maxim Machine Gun uses 7.92 rifle ammunition, its penetration is essentially no different from that of a rifle, the tank's sides in a ring position will still be hit and at close range, the tank will be turned into a sieve.
More concerning is the artillery. To reduce weight, the tank's top armor is made of 2MM steel plates, which are merely a layer of iron sheet, it is impossible to withstand artillery bombardment, no artillery could!
"Then what should we do?" Major Brownie asked nervously: "How do we attack? Do you have a plan? Tell me quickly, I don't have much time, the next round of attack is about to start!"
He wished he could directly pull Shire's thoughts from his brain and take them away!
After considering for a while, Shire pointed at the map and answered:
"Artillery cover, Major!"
"Bombard the enemy bridgehead fiercely with artillery, the smoke and dust from the shells will obscure the enemy's vision, the sound of the artillery will cover the noise of the tank's advance, and the enemy won't know the tank's position, they might not even know the tank has crossed the bridge!"
"This might avoid the enemy machine guns!" Major Brownie objected: "But what about the enemy's artillery?"
Shire's expression remained calm:
"During our artillery bombardment, the enemy's artillery is unlikely to participate, that would be a meaningless waste of shells!"
Shire picked up a stone and placed it on the position to act as a tank, advancing while speaking:
"So our artillery mustn't stop, continue shelling as the tank advances, making the enemy think we are still conducting indiscriminate bombardment…"
Brownie pointed at the drawn lines on the map and interrupted Shire: "Trenches, Shire, you forgot there are trenches, our tanks can only stay in front of the trenches, if they stop moving, they will eventually be discovered and blown to pieces…"
"Who said that?" Shire replied: "You can order the soldiers to advance with sandbags, when encountering trenches, use sandbags to create a path for the tanks to cross!"
Major Brownie's eyes widened, but after a brief pause, he turned and ran out, leaving behind a distant shout:
"You're a genius, Shire! Thank you, you've saved us once again!"
Dejoka and Camille looked at each other, Camille's face filled with incredulity, hesitantly asking:
"Shire, were you just… teaching them how to fight?"
The regular army's Major doesn't know how to fight this battle, but Shire does!
Not only does he know, but he also came up with a solution in an instant!
If previously Shire training French Soldiers to cooperate with tank warfare was because he was the inventor of the tank, this time, Dejoka and Camille were left astonished.
Where did Shire learn his military knowledge?
Did he fight in a war or was it from books?
What books would record the warfare methods that even the French Army wouldn't know?
Could it be, as Major Brownie said, Shire is truly a genius?
Just as Dejoka and Camille were waiting for Shire's explanation, Shire suddenly jumped up as if pricked by a needle, his face pale and breathing rapidly, muttering: "Matthew, Matthew, he's driving the tank!"
Shire was about to rush out when Dejoka, quick-eyed and deft-handed, intercepted him.
"Let go of me, father!" Shire struggled: "I've sent Matthew to the battlefield, I devised the battle plan…"
"No, Shire!" Dejoka said: "Whether or not you devised this battle plan, Matthew would have to go to the battlefield. If your plan is feasible, then Matthew has a chance of coming back alive, otherwise, he would only die on the battlefield! So, what you've done has given him a chance to come back alive!"
Shire slowly calmed down, realizing his father was right, this battle plan did not send Matthew to the battlefield into danger, it actually lowered his chance of death.
"But!" Shire said: "He still went to the battlefield, this plan is very dangerous…"
Indeed dangerous, Shire's battle plan sounded easy but was hard to execute.
It required the near-perfect coordination of infantry, tanks, and artillery, the tanks had to advance behind the artillery fire, if a shell missed or the tank moved too fast, or the infantry failed to fill the trenches in time, it would lead to tragedy.
It was not hard to foresee, the untrained French Soldiers in coordination would surely make mistakes, ultimately only a part of the tanks would successfully charge across Marne Bridge.
"You can't change anything, Shire!" Dejoka retorted: "Can you stop this war?"
Shire fell silent.
This was the reality, as long as Germans were still across Marne River, this battle had to be fought. As long as there was war, these "battlefield divine weapons" tanks would inevitably participate, and Matthew, as an experienced driver, would certainly be sent to the battlefield.
Camille gently held Shire's shoulder and comforted: "Matthew will be fine, Shire, we will win this war, he will come back alive!"
...
On the southern bank of Marne River, after intense fighting, the surroundings fell into a weird silence, like the darkness before dawn.
The soldiers of the 3rd Battalion of the 9th French Infantry Regiment were digging mud in the trenches and filling sandbags.
The tank crew was doing final checks on the tank… the tractor fitted with steel plates frequently malfunctioned, time had to be taken to check it over, otherwise, it might fail to move.
"I heard you are Young Master Shire's friend?" Machine gunner Yves pressed bullets into the retaining plate beside the tank.
Matthew, under the tank chassis, answered "mmh," tightening the final screw on the tractor, then he wriggled on the ground like a caterpillar and "moved" out, stood up, took a cloth to wipe his hands, and answered: "Yes, we grew up together!"
"He's remarkable!" Machine gunner Yves raised his head towards the tank: "He invented this thing, we're alive until now because of him!"
Assistant gunner Naji added: "I heard the major just went to find Young Master Shire, we are fighting according to his plan now!"
"Really?" Matthew smiled, this guy, I never knew he had this ability.
Machine gunner Yves was a bit surprised by Matthew's words: "You grew up with Young Master Shire and didn't know he had this ability?"
"Of course I know!" Matthew activated his bragging mode: "I know everything he does, including him thinking about a certain woman!"
The nearby soldiers couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Someone stopped what they were doing and shouted over: "Hey, Matthew, do you think this plan will work?"
"Don't worry!" Matthew replied confidently: "I bet my life, we will win for sure!"
"You cunning fellow!" Machine gunner Yves saw through Matthew's trick: "If we can't win, none of us will survive, and you use the least valuable life as a wager!"
"Then I'll bet a box of chewing tobacco!" Matthew responded without a blush, he had excellent psychological resilience in this regard.
Someone threw something toward Matthew, saying: "Here, you need this more than us!"
Matthew picked it up and was overjoyed, it was really a box of chewing tobacco. He immediately opened it, took a pinch with his dirty hand, and stuffed it into his mouth…
(Note: Chewing tobacco is made from scraps or finely cut tobacco used for cigars, mixed with licorice, honey, etc., chewed in the mouth for refreshing purposes. As it doesn't need to be lit and doesn't produce smoke, it's very suitable for use during special periods. During WWI, European armies often distributed it along with cigarettes)
Suddenly, an urgent whistle sounded, and an officer shouted: "Get ready for battle!"