Chapter 840: The “reserved” aircraft

Charles had no intention of showing off in front of the U.S. military, but his strength did not allow it.

……

The drizzle is like smoke and fog.

The US Army’s 1st Armored Brigade was moving forward on the road at a snail’s pace.

It’s not that they don’t want to go fast, but the Reims area is located in a river network with abundant water, and the roads have been muddy for a long time due to heavy rains.

At this time, the tank tracks rolled upwards, and the road and the roadbed were turned into a “swamp”.

So tanks blocked each other, and one tank after another was stuck in the middle and unable to move.

At one moment, people were taking sand and filling stones, towing with armored vehicles, cutting down trees and paving roads. Everywhere there was the roar of engines and mud and water being carried into the air by idling tires.

The disheveled Patton looked helplessly at both sides of the road and complained, “Fuck it, the roads beside are much better than the highway.”

Although there were fields on both sides, they were at least flat, while the road had been completely destroyed by repeated crushing.

“Indeed, Lieutenant Colonel,” Williams replied, “but I still don’t recommend marching from both sides, because we don’t have just one or two tanks.”

Patton nodded silently.

The road could be crushed like this by tanks, not to mention the fields on both sides. Moreover, once some places were stuck, even armored vehicles could not pull them out.

(Note: The M1 armored vehicle is a wheeled armored vehicle and does not have the off-road capability of a tank)
Then Patton suddenly thought: “Then Charles’s troops must also be in trouble.”

“I thought so too,” Williams agreed. “Their tanks are much larger than ours. They are said to weigh three times as much as the ‘Char A1’.”

“More than three times,” Patton replied.

He had data on the “Char B1” tank, which had reached 31 tons after thickening its armor, while the “Char A1” was only 6.7 tons, which was nearly five times as much.

However, just as Patton and Williams were rejoicing that the US military was not equipped with the “Char B1”, bursts of engine roars came from behind them.

When Patton looked back, he was surprised to find that a number of “Charger B1s” were moving forward on the wild roads on both sides as if riding the wind and waves.

“Damn it, what’s going on?” Patton looked at it in disbelief: “Is the off-road harder than the highway?”

Williams was also stunned by the scene. He observed for a while and explained, “No, Lieutenant Colonel, they just made sure that each tank took the only route.”

Patton looked carefully and found that it was true.

The “Char B1” tanks moved forward side by side, and each tank took a path that had not been crossed by other tanks.

The busy American soldiers were also dumbfounded. They stopped what they were doing and looked at the extremely “arrogant” “Char B1” on both sides.

French tank soldiers leaned out of their turrets and waved to the Americans as their tanks passed by them, greeting them in broken English: “Hey, how are you, Americans? Come on!”

However, several “Char B1s” were still stuck in the mud.

American soldiers even cheered:

“See, this is what happens when they are so arrogant.”

“Do you think we are fools? We don’t know how to take the wild road?”

“I’m sorry, you can’t get out. Do you need us to drag you out?”

……

Patton did not join the soldiers in making a fuss. As an officer, his perspective was different from that of ordinary soldiers.

Ordinary soldiers can joke with each other, but officers must have empathy and consider the interests of friendly forces.

“This will be a big problem.” Patton looked at the group of “Charger B1” driving in the wild with a worried look on his face: “31-ton big guys, no one can tow them. And more and more of them will get stuck in them, and in the end, few will be able to drive to the battlefield.”

Williams said in a puzzled tone: “But why did they do this if they knew this would be the result? I mean, did Ciel allow them to do this?”

Just as the two were wondering, they saw the crew of the “Char B1” tank stuck in the mud get off the tank. They were talking and laughing without any nervousness, taking the self-rescue wood from the back of the tank and placing it in front of the track, then fastening it with an iron chain, while the tank commander directed the driver in the tank through the phone at the back of the tank.

Then, in full view of Patton, Williams and other American soldiers, the tank easily escaped with the help of the self-rescue wood with a “boom”.

The American troops were stunned, and Patton and Williams kept their mouths open for a long time.

The French tank soldiers acted as if nothing had happened. They put away their self-rescue wood, crawled into the tank, and continued their “racing” in the wild.

After the French tanks drove away, Patton exclaimed:
“Oh my God, what is that?”

“How did they do it? No need to be towed, no need for infantry assistance, just a log, and they were able to get out on their own?”

“They just left like that?”

Williams swallowed hard. “That might be Charles’ invention, Lieutenant Colonel. However, Charles didn’t seem to give it to us.”

“That’s too much.” Patton picked up his pace and walked back.

He wants to meet Charles. The US military needs this technology and Charles should treat everyone equally.

……

Behind the troops, next to two armored vehicles parked on the side of the road, Charles was discussing something with Pershing.

Patton quickly walked up to Charles and stood up: “Lieutenant General, I have a request.”

Pershing sighed softly: “You are hoping to get the ‘self-help wood’, right?”

“It’s called ‘Self-Rescue Wood’?” Patton was stunned: “It’s a good name, General. Yes, we need it.”

Pershing smiled slightly. “You think the same as I do, Lieutenant Colonel. I am discussing this with the Lieutenant General, but it seems unlikely.”

“Why?” Barton looked confused.

Charles answered:

“The ‘Charter A1’ is a light tank, Lieutenant Colonel.”

“It normally doesn’t get stuck in the mud. It’s just a flooded section of road. It will be much better in the next two miles.”

“In addition, the use of ‘self-rescue wood’ has certain risks. It will increase the weight of the tank and require training. There is no need for light tanks to use this technology.”

Patton was stunned, then turned his gaze to Pershing.

Pershing nodded slightly:

“That makes sense, Lieutenant Colonel. It’s not that the Admiral doesn’t want to give us the technology, but there’s no need.”

“Or you can think about it from another angle.”

“Have you ever seen the French ‘Charter A1’ carrying ‘self-rescue wood’?”

Patton recalled for a moment and it seemed that there really wasn’t one.

“I’m very sorry, Lieutenant General.” Patton looked at Charles with a guilty look on his face: “I thought, I thought I was keeping some reservations for you, so…”

“It’s okay, Lieutenant Colonel.” Charles replied: “Believe me, we have common interests. Whenever possible, I will do my best to equip the American army with the best equipment.”

Patton was moved and shook Charles’ hand: “Thank you, Lieutenant General, thank you very much!”

Ciel smiled and nodded.

The “reserved” part was the planes, the Americans.

The advantage of air power cannot be made up for by quantity, and “reservation” in this regard is only meaningful for an industrial power like the United States.

(End of this chapter)