I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France
Chapter 277: Gallieni’s Stand Against Parliament

Chapter 277: Gallieni’s Stand Against Parliament

Paris House of Representatives, the members grow increasingly aggressive towards Gallieni’s "expedition":

"The Allies fleet had to cease its nighttime bombing raids. Do you know what this means?"

"The positions taken by the landing forces during the day are lost at night due to the lack of artillery support."

"Our troops are engaged in a tug-of-war with the enemy on the shore. Over time, the Allies are bound to fail!"

...

Gallieni coldly watched these moralistic parliament members, thinking, is this Shire’s fault? He had warned the decision-makers repeatedly not to wage this campaign.

Now that it has come to this, shouldn’t those who made the decisions be held accountable?

Grevy stood up.

Different from before, he was now quite calm, seemingly aware that the situation was set, and all that was left was a final push.

"General." Grevy said lightly, "I understand your desire to protect Shire, but going to battle is a soldier’s duty. If you keep Shire tightly by your side, it seems unfair to all the soldiers who suffer and even lose their lives on the battlefield!"

The conference room immediately echoed with voices of agreement.

"Bastard," Gallieni cursed silently. With a single sentence, he had set Shire against the soldiers, and it would make the soldiers’ families resent Shire.

"Gentlemen!" Arman waved to the parliament members behind him. "We all hope the military can ensure Shire’s safety; even when he reaches the Dardanelles Strait, we wish for him to stay on the rear warships. They shouldn’t experience situations like the ’Goliath’."

Shameless, Gallieni gritted his teeth in hatred. With a single sentence, Arman had pushed Shire’s safety responsibilities onto the military.

But Gallieni said nothing. He just stood quietly on the stage and waited.

The room gradually quieted, seemingly waiting for Gallieni to give them a satisfactory response.

"Very sorry!" Gallieni said calmly, "I cannot fulfill your wishes!"

The room erupted in boos.

Gallieni quickly added, "Shire indicated he does not wish to stay on a safe rear battleship; he hopes to lead a force in the landing operation!"

Instantly, the room fell silent. Everyone stared blankly at Gallieni, many doubting their ears.

"Yes." Gallieni nodded affirmatively, "He will go into battle, leading a force! So..."

Gallieni turned his gaze to Grevy, with a double entendre: "As you wish, Mr. Grevy!"

Grevy returned a stiff smile, feeling bitter: Shire would rather lead a force to battle than accept his advice to cooperate!

...

At the Brest Shipyard, Wells and Tijani were testing the newly produced landing craft.

The two were astonished to find it virtually flawless; it could be used immediately upon production. Wells even had workers march on it like soldiers to simulate the entire process.

The test was incredibly smooth. Once the ramp was lowered, the soldiers could charge ashore through the open hatch.

Wells was somewhat concerned, "If the enemy’s machine guns are pointed directly at our hatch, as soon as the ramp is lowered, everyone on board would be massacred!"

"No worries, Father," Tijani responded, "Our naval warships will provide them with fire support. Besides, there has never been an absolutely safe place on the battlefield."

"I was thinking..." Wells hesitated, "Should we open the door to the side?"

"That wouldn’t help," Tijani shook his head, "Once the soldiers charge onto shore, the ship and shore would still require a small path, regardless of whether the hatch is at the front or the side."

Wells nodded in agreement.

Opening the door on the side may seem safer, but soldiers would be getting ashore through narrower passageways, making it easier for a few rifles to block the small path completely.

And Shire seemed to have considered all these issues.

Just then, Wells saw the butler hurrying over with another newspaper.

Wells knitted his brows, "Has another battleship been sunk?"

"Sir!" The butler’s voice arrived before he did, "Shire is going to the battlefield; he plans to lead a force in the landing operation at the Dardanelles Strait!"

Tijani exclaimed, "He’s personally going?"

Shouldn’t he be commanding from Paris like before?

"Yes, personally." The butler, running up, handed over the newspaper. "That’s what it says here."

Tijani snatched the newspaper, his face changing multiple times. He glanced at the landing craft and other landing boats being made, then finally looked at Wells.

Wells understood Tijani’s meaning and decisively shook his head, "No, I disagree!"

"Father!" Tijani said, "Shire may need me. This is the boat we produced, and I am also in the army; I might be the only one who knows both the navy and the army."

"No, he doesn’t need you," Wells responded, "Shire knows far more than you do, whether in the navy or the army."

"You might be right," Tijani admitted, but he persisted, "However, Shire is the commander; he needs someone at the front line..."

"God, do you want to command at the front line?" Wells interrupted, "Do you realize how dangerous that is?"

"Of course I do." Tijani replied, "I’ve already experienced being surrounded before!"

"What makes you want to go again?" Wells’s voice grew louder, "Because Shire saved your life? That was just a mission, Tijani, Shire said so!"

"No, Father." Tijani shook his head, slowing his speech, and gestured towards the landing craft, "It’s because of them!"

"Because of them?" Wells looked at Tijani in confusion.

These small boats, weren’t they available in endless supply?

Tijani seemed to see through Wells’s thoughts and explained:

"You don’t understand, Father."

"The moment they perform on the battlefield is the most thrilling and exciting."

"I will never forget the scene of the ’Shire A1’ tank driving the enemy to flee in panic. I want to be their witness, or rather, be a part of them!"

Wells was stunned for a while; he seemed to understand Tijani’s persistence.

At that moment, Wells felt as if he was meeting Tijani for the first time. Despite living together for over twenty years, he had thought he knew Tijani well, but now realized what true ’understanding’ meant.

Eventually, Wells sighed and replied with difficulty, "Go ahead, before I regret it. However, Shire may not agree; he sees you as a glory-seeking playboy."

(The image above is a modern aerial view of Brest)