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I Became a Tycoon During World War I - Chapter 282
🕑 Added 2025-06-29 17:02:01 +0000 UTCChapter 282: What About the Colonel?
The sun had risen high in the sky when Camille sat by the stove, knitting a sweater.
Perhaps due to her restless mood, she kept making mistakes, mis-stitching and repeatedly getting it wrong when she tried to undo the mistakes. Before long, the sweater had become a knot, and she decided to toss it aside and sit in her chair, staring blankly at the flickering flames.
Camille had not been able to eat or sleep peacefully lately.
Every time she went out to buy groceries or chat with the neighbors, she would overhear comments like, "Only Charles can save the Dardanelles," or "If Charles were in charge, everything would be fine."
The neighbors might have thought it was a compliment, recognizing Charles' abilities, but Camille knew that these thoughts could push Charles onto the battlefield.
As a result, she often responded with agitation: "No, Charles has never been to the seaside! He knows nothing about the navy, so of course, he cannot command the battle of the Dardanelles!"
"He hasn't even been on a warship, I’m sure. He only knows how to command on land!"
...
Once, the usually easy-going Camille had even had a heated argument with Aunt Carla.
At the time, Aunt Carla said, "God, thousands of people are dying every day. If Charles were there, it would never have happened!"
Camille suddenly broke down and shouted at Aunt Carla, "This is not Charles' fault! Why does everyone think Charles can do something about it?"
Camille believed that if Charles didn’t have these skills, perhaps it would be for the best, as he wouldn’t be in the position he was now.
But then she thought again, and something didn’t seem right. Without these skills, he might have already marched onto the battlefield as an infantryman. That seemed even more dangerous.
Just then, Camille heard cheering from outside. She stood up in confusion and walked over to the window to look out, seeing her neighbors excitedly discussing something, as though there was some good news.
Camille’s heart lifted—had they won the battle?
That was worth celebrating! If they won the war, Charles wouldn’t have to go to the battlefield.
However...
Neighbor Emma ran over, and as she saw Camille standing at the window, her pace slowed.
"Madame Bernard," Emma said with a strange expression, hesitating before asking, "Have you heard the news?"
"Heard what?" Camille asked.
"I’m not sure if it’s true," Emma seemed to regret asking, but answered, "I heard that Charles volunteered to go to the front. General Gallieni announced it in Parliament."
"No, that can’t be true!" Camille’s face turned pale in an instant.
After standing frozen for a while, she rushed to the telephone and dialed the tractor factory.
As she was inquiring, Djoka appeared at the door, looking a little helpless.
Camille seemed to grasp at a lifeline, turning to him and asking, "This can’t be true. Charles wouldn’t make such a foolish decision."
Djoka remained silent, and Camille understood the answer.
Her face turned ashen as she grabbed her hat and scarf from the coat rack and hurried toward the door.
"Wait," Djoka called as he followed her, "Where are you going?"
"I’m going to find Charles," Camille said firmly, "There must be a reason for this. He must have been deceived..."
"He might be researching how to fight this battle," Djoka advised, "It doesn’t seem like the right time for you to go!"
Camille froze, standing still for a long time, like a statue, gazing off toward Paris.
...
Charles actually had a few days off—Gallieni had given him three days.
But Charles had refused, saying, "It’s meaningless, General."
Gallieni nodded, responding, "Forget I said anything."
He thought Charles needed more time to prepare, but in fact, Charles didn’t know how to explain things to Camille or Djoka.
Charles could only immerse himself in the upcoming battle—it was about his own life, after all.
As Charles had predicted, the landing operation was proceeding very slowly.
The majority of the forces involved were colonial troops, specifically the Australian and New Zealand Corps of the British, with only the 29th Division being a local force.
The French forces were entirely made up of African Corps units from Egypt’s Port Said.
Everyone thought the British local troops would perform better than the colonial forces because they had better equipment, more naval gunfire support, and more extensive training.
However, the reality was quite the opposite.
The Australian and New Zealand Corps fought decisively. Despite taking enormous casualties, they succeeded in landing and repelling the Ottoman Empire’s counterattacks.
On the other hand, the British 29th Division, responsible for landing at five beaches, either moved too slowly and missed opportunities or failed to land after suffering heavy losses.
At V Beach, the Royal Dublin Fusiliers even seemed on the verge of being shattered. The commander of the 88th Brigade personally led a second landing but was killed in the process.
Their opponents, the Ottoman defenders stationed along the coastline, only had a single infantry company of about 400 to 500 men.
Gallieni specifically pointed out these two examples to Charles, asking, "Do you have anything to say about this?"
Charles looked at Gallieni in confusion, not fully understanding what he meant.
"In the landing battle, perhaps France’s theory of attack was correct," Gallieni explained, pointing to the documents, "The Australian and New Zealand Corps showed incredible fighting spirit. Once they landed, they immediately expanded the battlefield and launched an attack on the enemy, buying space for the subsequent landing troops."
He then pointed to the operational files of the British 29th Division, "On the other hand, the British, even when they successfully landed, hesitated to attack. Despite having all the advantages—better equipment, more naval gunfire, and facing fewer enemies—their performance was disappointing."
Charles smiled faintly but didn’t respond.
Gallieni was worried that his lack of experience with landing operations might lead to mistakes.
Meanwhile, Charles had always relied on superior equipment to defeat his enemies—at least, that’s how it appeared on the surface.
Thus, Charles’ command style resembled that of the well-equipped British forces.
What Gallieni didn’t know was that although the British had better equipment than the Australian and New Zealand Corps, they were still using the wrong equipment.
Charles’ situation was entirely different.
Just then, Tigani hurried up the stairs into the operations department, gasping for breath as he asked, "Colonel, I heard you’re going to reinforce the Dardanelles?"
Charles simply nodded, continuing to review the documents in his hands.
"Take me with you!" Tigani said eagerly, "I can do anything—I can be a battalion commander, or even a company commander..."
Charles glanced at Tigani’s rank, "It doesn’t seem appropriate to have a Major General serve as a battalion commander."
"Forget about that," Tigani grinned, "Let me be a staff officer!"
"I am the staff officer," Charles flatly refused, "It seems we don’t need another staff officer."
"Then..." Tigani frowned, "Let me command logistics or ships; I know a bit about that."
Charles turned toward him, "If you really want, how about being the Colonel?"
"Colonel... Colonel?" Tigani was taken aback.
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