Fajin Han knew Shire well, yet he didn’t really understand him.
Fajin Han had studied every battle Shire had been involved in and was familiar with every piece of equipment Shire had invented, especially the "Mark I" tank.
He even boldly analyzed, estimated, and guessed what kind of tactics Shire might develop around the tank in the future.
But unfortunately, once again, Fajin Han found himself lagging behind, unable to keep up with Shire’s pace.
When Shire was analyzing the battle plan on the train, he emphasized, "When breaking through in the direction of Rhodes, make sure to use the ’Mark I’ type. Do not expose the new tanks!"
Both Brownie and Colonel Estiny responded with an involuntary "hmm," assuming that Shire intended to use the new tanks as a secret weapon to surprise the Germans when facing them directly on Samok Straight.
But what they didn’t anticipate was that Shire had deeper reasoning: the critical flaw of "Mark I" tanks needing a replacement track every thirty kilometers.
Sometimes, this flaw could turn into an advantage.
At the Paris City Defense Command, Gallieni had already returned to the command center, relieved to be rid of the bothersome parliament members.
When he received intelligence from the reconnaissance aircraft, he was puzzled, "We are launching a fierce attack on Cape Town, and two encircled units are trying to break out towards Cape Town. Why are the Germans hastily redirecting their troops away from the Cape Town direction?"
Shire, staring at the map on the wall, answered lazily as if addressing an irrelevant question, "Because of the ’Mark I’ tanks!"
"What does this have to do with the ’Mark I’ tanks?" Gallieni asked, looking at Shire in confusion.
"The ’Mark I’ tanks need a track replacement every thirty kilometers!" Shire answered nonchalantly.
"Hmm, and then?" Gallieni asked.
As soon as he spoke, he understood. The straight-line distance between Tram and Rhodes was 25 kilometers, within the range for the ’Mark I’ to return or attempt a breakout, at least as the Germans believed.
(Note: In reality, the ’Mark I’ would not be able to return unless it stayed on the road, avoiding any battles, a fact unknown to the Germans)
Hence, a ’Mark I’ starting from Rhodes could reach Lorca Town to rescue two trapped units and then either return to Rhodes or continue the breakout from Tram.
Any other breakout direction would necessitate changing tracks due to greater distances, rendering it impossible.
"So!" Gallieni smiled, "You set a trap for the Germans?"
"No, General!" Shire’s tone remained relaxed and calm, "I just posed a riddle for the Germans. If they’re smart enough, they will solve the riddle but it will lead to a wrong conclusion."
Gallieni responded, "And if the Germans solve the riddle incorrectly, or don’t notice it at all..."
Shire answered, "Then I can only choose between breaking out from Tram or Rhodes. The result will likely be an unsuccessful breakout as our flanks would be exposed to the 4th Reserve Army from Cape Town."
Gallieni nodded, "At that time, the 4th Reserve Army could gather four divisions’ worth of troops to launch a fierce attack on our breakout units. Even if we succeed, we will suffer heavy casualties!"
Shire calmly nodded in agreement.
Gallieni chuckled, "We’re fortunate that the Germans aren’t too bright, nor too unintelligent, just the way you hoped!"
He then stared at the map for a while and asked, "I’m curious, Major, how do you plan to deal with the German tank units? I’ve heard the enemy has deployed tanks on Samok Straight, and their tanks are designed against the ’Mark I’..."
"My tanks have cannons too!" Shire answered calmly, "Besides, my tanks are also designed against the Germans."
Gallieni responded with an "Oh," nodding lightly, realizing that this young man had thought of everything.
Samok Straight was named because it was near the small town of Samok.
The road was as straight as a flagpole, flanked by hills and highlands stretching over ten kilometers. Although the elevation wasn’t high, the terrain formed a canyon-like environment with only a few exits.
The Second Specialized Artillery Division of France was trapped within.
Major General Tijani was in despair. He found that with the aid of tanks, the Germans had already constructed a defensive line behind them.
The rear exit had a width of only one and a half kilometers, and the Germans had built a semicircular trench facing the depth of the straight.
"Set up the cannons!" Major General Tijani ordered loudly, "Use artillery to assist the infantry’s breakout!"
The Germans were equipped with 105MM howitzers, at least two dozen.
As soon as the French set up their cannons, the German shellfire roared in.
In an instant, cannons, artillerymen, and shells were blown sky-high in a burst of flames.
Major General Tijani looked at the highlands on both sides and understood. The Germans must have placed artillery observers there. With just a pair of binoculars, they could accurately calculate the position of the 75 cannons and report it via telephone for the 105MM guns to bombard.
A sense of helplessness welled up in Major General Tijani.
This was a hopeless situation, an impossible breakout. Why had they walked into this trap so easily back then?
Because of the road, both the "Saint Chammon" and CA-1 had to use the road.
Additionally, there was an order from General Joffre, "Reach Lorca Town as quickly as possible," and this straight road was the shortest route.
The Germans figured this out, so they laid a trap here waiting.
"Where’s the reinforcements? Where are our reinforcements?" Major General Tijani asked weakly.
"General!" the communications officer replied, "Shire has taken over the command! Shire’s troops have already broken through Rhodes, the reinforcements are right behind us!"
Tijani’s eyes lit up, Shire’s troops?
But then he shook his head slightly, whispering, "Even Shire’s troops might not be effective. His tanks only have machine guns, they cannot match the enemy!"
Through his binoculars, Tijani had seen the German tanks, which were like mobile fortresses armed with cannons and a dense array of machine guns capable of piercing Shire’s ’Mark I’ from any direction.
Just then, an aircraft swooped overhead, dropping a bottle.
This was how aircraft communicated with ground infantry, by putting intelligence in bottles and dropping them down.
The sky still belonging to France was the only consolation for Tijani.
Shortly, the communications officer got the message and excitedly reported, "General, Shire’s troops will be here in twenty minutes. Shire hopes we can breakout northwards!"
"Northwards?" Tijani was puzzled. That direction was another exit sealed by German artillery, and not where the reinforcements were coming from.
Had there been a mistake in the intelligence?