In the drizzle, Fuxu rode on his horse, controlling the animal to walk in small steps while observing the front line through his binoculars. He pondered a question in his mind:
If reinforcements arrive and he is given command, what would he do? What would be the outcome?
The answer was clear:
He would order a counterattack because he believed that the best defense was offense.
The result would undoubtedly be a prolonged tug-of-war, with both sides continuously pouring troops into this muddy ground, ultimately leading to tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of casualties!
Compared to the current battle...
Fuxu suddenly felt like a child who didn’t know how to fight a war.
For many years, the military theories ingrained in his mind, once solid and immovable as a rock, now seemed fragile and unstable, ready to collapse with a gentle push.
The Belgian soldiers on the front line only now comprehended the situation. They didn’t cheer; each felt a lucky escape from death.
Everyone thought this battle was unavoidable, and some had even prepared to surrender or flee.
But suddenly, the Germans who were to capture and kill them did not advance. They were repelled, leaving behind a large number of corpses!
The Belgian soldiers still did not dare to relax, fearing it might be a trap by the Germans, who would return soon with a more fierce assault.
Until news came from the command center: the Germans were defeated, and they could no longer launch another attack!
Only then did the Belgian soldiers begin to react.
This was all real; the victory came so suddenly that they were caught off guard and couldn’t believe it.
Some laughed with joy, while others cried softly, repeatedly saying, "I’m still alive, we’re really still alive?"
This was a poignant feeling; "being alive" was the soldiers’ most beautiful wish, but in war it was just a negligible number, so small it could be ignored.
"Yes!" the officer responded softly, "Shire saved us once again. He created an indestructible shield before us with artillery shells!"
Only then did the soldiers truly understand what had happened.
Paris City Defense Command.
Gallieni nodded to Shire amidst the cheers: "So, this is ’asymmetric warfare’?"
"Yes!" Shire responded, "but it doesn’t have to follow this specific pattern. It actually means... magnifying our strengths to find a breakthrough point, then using that breakthrough to attack the enemy!"
"In this battle, our advantage was taking the airplanes."
"You magnified this advantage, creating an irreparable shortfall for the enemy!"
"As a result, the enemy’s previously advantageous infantry couldn’t exert their combat power and ultimately lost the battle!"
Gallieni summarized well, so Shire had nothing to add.
Gallieni closed the battle record and quickly wrote a line on the cover: Asymmetric warfare, to be submitted to the Military Academy as a textbook!
This wasn’t the first time Gallieni had done this. Earlier, Shire’s concepts of "harassment tactics" and "special operations" were similarly treated.
To Gallieni, every battle and even every thought of Shire’s was worth serious consideration by the French officers.
But Shire seemed unaware of this, he still felt it was natural, as if it had already happened a long time ago!
"I’ve always had a question, Lieutenant!" Gallieni casually asked Shire while handing the battle record to the staff: "You know that French military theory is generally divided into two factions, most officers support offense, while a small part supports defense. Which faction do you think is correct?"
"Why choose one faction?" Shire countered.
"What do you mean..." Gallieni seemed surprised, could he choose both?
Unexpectedly, Shire indeed thought so:
"It’s possible that both are right, or that both are wrong."
"’Military strategy has no constant form, just as water has no constant shape,’ the battlefield is a place of constant change, which means that there is only the most suitable tactic, not the best, nor one that can win all battles!"
"I think we should adopt different tactics according to the specific situation of the battlefield, rather than hoping to solve all problems with pure offense or defense!"
France’s mistake was not actually outdated tactics.
Outdated tactics were just the surface, the ultimate reason behind their outdated tactics was hoping to solve complex, ever-changing military problems with a single military theory.
Thus, during World War I, they overly emphasized offense, and during World War II, they overly emphasized defense.
Gallieni nodded slightly. This was a novel idea, and it seemed quite reasonable, some battles indeed needed offense to win, while others needed defense.
Just like the recently concluded Battle of Ypres, where Shire inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy’s living forces through defense, ultimately achieving victory.
Gallieni thought for a while, then wrote in the document: Adapt to circumstances, choose suitable tactics!
Shire noticed this and felt amused, this actually didn’t need to be noted, just buy a copy of The Art of War or Thirty-Six Stratagems, they had everything.
The ancients had long clearly and plainly explained these issues.
While the European powers had achieved industrialized military equipment, they were still juniors in terms of strategy and tactics compared to Huaxia.
Gallieni put down his pen and turned to another topic: "I heard you’re developing a new kind of tank?"
"Yes!" Shire didn’t deny it, it wasn’t necessary to hide this from the military, especially since this person was Gallieni, with whom Shire had reached some agreement.
"Then you need to be careful!" Gallieni said, "At least two entities are competing with you!"
"Two entities?" Shire thought it was only Francis.
Then the other one...
Gallieni seemed to see through Shire’s thoughts, saying, "Have you heard of TAS?"
Shire shook his head blankly.
"A government department!" Gallieni explained, "Its full name is ’Automotive Technical Services’. In principle, all vehicles entering the military fall under this department. TAS discovered someone bypassing them to develop tanks, which are Francis’s tanks. So, they teamed up with Schneider to develop a bigger, stronger tank!"
Shire understood upon hearing the word "Schneider." This might be the focal point!
Gallieni continued: "This project is supported by General Joffre!"
Shire suddenly understood, so it wasn’t under Gallieni’s control.
But Gallieni added: "I will try to include them all in the wartime procurement regulations, you know, whichever is best will be bought!"