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I Became a Tycoon During World War I - Chapter 161
🕑 Added 2025-04-18 17:01:14 +0000 UTCChapter 161: Only Charles Could Do It
In the town of Fervaux, the rain miraculously stopped, and a faint seven-colored rainbow appeared in the sky.
However, the reporters had no interest in admiring the post-rain scenery. They gathered together to discuss the current battle situation:
“It’s said that the command center doesn’t know the latest situation, though perhaps they just don’t want to tell us.”
“They’re only saying that Charles’s troops have broken through the defensive lines at Andelussy and Tamon.”
“Then, they probably won’t reach Lafox that quickly, right? It’ll take at least two days, so we’ll have to wait here for another two days!”
...
In the reporters’ minds, war was a process where both sides positioned themselves and launched attacks against each other, with the front line steadily advancing bit by bit.
Therefore, even though Charles’s forces had tanks and were breaking through one defensive line after another, it seemed reasonable that it would take two days to reach the Lafox defensive line, which was several kilometers away.
However, the military correspondent Cobbodo from Morning Post did not think so.
He understood that the situation on the battlefield couldn’t be thought of in this way. Both sides had concentrated all their forces on the long line of defense in front of them, and the rear was very empty.
It was like an egg: the outer shell was hard, but the inside was hollow.
Once any part of the defense was broken through, it would be like piercing through the hard shell and reaching the hollow interior. If fuel and ammunition resupplies kept up, Cobbodo even believed that this force could fight all the way to Berlin.
Of course, Charles’s target was not Berlin, but Lafox, so it was possible that the battle could be over in a few hours.
Cobbodo didn’t share these thoughts with his fellow reporters, who were also his competitors. From time to time, he raised his binoculars to look toward the enemy's direction.
There was no rain, but he could see nothing—only a faint glimpse of his own trenches and soldiers hurrying back and forth.
Cobbodo pulled his assistant, Swan, aside.
Cobbodo hoped to get closer to the front line for an interview so that he wouldn’t miss the possible upcoming opportunity. But Swan thought this was too dangerous.
“You don’t know what this means!” Cobbodo said anxiously. “We could get first-hand news, hours ahead of everyone else. That’s enough for a special edition!”
“Or maybe not!” Swan didn’t believe it. “If that were true, the command center would have reacted! And those soldiers…”
Swan nodded toward a passing patrol: “Look at them, do they look like they’re winning? Victory doesn’t just appear suddenly, Cobbodo. There are always signs!”
“That’s because they don’t know!” Cobbodo explained urgently. “No one realizes how fast this battle might end, but it could be much faster than we think!”
But Swan still shook his head.
...
As Cobbodo suspected, the French command did not anticipate what was happening, nor did the soldiers entrenched in the German-facing trenches.
General Joffre and his staff were still speculating on the location of Charles’s forces.
The soldiers at the front were standing by, fearing that the Germans might suddenly launch an attack on them.
However...
A white flag slowly rose in the German trenches. It waved cautiously a few times, trying to catch the attention of the French forces.
“Don’t fire! Don’t fire!” Colonel Cort shouted loudly, thinking it was a messenger sent by the Germans with some message.
However, when he saw that the person approaching was a German officer, and a colonel at that, he realized things were not as simple as he had thought.
“We surrender, Colonel!” the German officer said in awkward French, his face full of helplessness.
“What?” Colonel Cort froze and asked in confusion, “You mean, how many people?”
Khalil stared at the French officer in front of him, also in disbelief. Didn’t he know that Lafox had been surrounded?
“Of course, all of them!” Khalil replied. “You’ve won!”
Colonel Cort was shocked: “But… but why?”
Khalil looked utterly disillusioned. God, how could they not know what had happened, and he had to surrender to such incompetents!
If it weren’t to avoid unnecessary casualties, Khalil felt he should have waited for Charles’s forces to arrive. At least that way, there would have been some dignity!
...
At the French General Headquarters, the staff officer who had been on the phone suddenly froze in place. He listened with astonishment and then, as if discovering a new world, shouted: “They surrendered! They surrendered…”
He shouted loudly, drowning out all other sounds.
The others in the command center gave him strange looks, wondering if the staff officer had been disturbed by something.
“Surrendered?” General Joffre, who was pacing back and forth with impatience, spoke with irritation and reprimand: “Are you dreaming, Gérard?”
“No, General!” the staff officer replied loudly. “I’m on the phone with Colonel Cort on the front line. He says the Germans have surrendered. Charles’s forces have occupied the town of Arlonne and successfully made contact with the German forces. The Germans had no choice!”
The command center was silent for a moment before bursting into cheers.
A few oblivious telegraph operators rushed out of the command center, shouting, “The Germans have surrendered! We’ve won!”
General Joffre sat back in his chair, stunned. Amidst the jubilant crowd, he looked unusually “calm,” while his mind repeatedly echoed one thought: I had to learn about the situation from the Germans!
The deputy commander, Carnes, took out his pocket watch and checked it. He compared the time of attack on the document. Total time: one hour and forty-seven minutes, less than two hours.
From the time Charles’s forces began the battle, it had been less than two hours, and with a force of only two thousand men, they had successfully recaptured Lafox.
The initial estimate was that there were over ten thousand prisoners, most of them from the forces at Lafox, and not a single shot or shell had been fired.
And it was this same force that had thwarted several attacks by the French General Headquarters, causing France to lose a large number of tanks and soldiers.
It was simply a miracle!
Carnes shook his head slightly. “Perhaps only Charles could have done this!”
...
The news of victory quickly spread throughout Fervaux, and the reporters heard it as well.
But they were still stunned:
“What happened?”
“Did Joffre send troops to attack the enemy? Why else would the Germans surrender?”
“But we haven’t heard any news or gunfire!”
...
Only Cobbodo knew what had happened. He shrugged at his stunned assistant, as if saying: “Now do you believe me?” But it was too late!
“We should have captured the moment the Germans surrendered!” Cobbodo said helplessly. “That would have made our news headline material and brought in great sales, but now we’re just like everyone else.”
He looked regretfully toward the front line: “Charles was much faster than I imagined!”
He hadn’t expected it to be this quick. Otherwise, he would have left his assistant behind and gone up with the camera alone.
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