The 1st Specialized Artillery Division achieved a great victory in Combray through night warfare, with the French Army recuperating lost ground and advancing to the original defensive line before halting.
The reason for stopping was that the "Saint Chammon M21" had short tracks that could not cross trenches, making it impossible to pursue the retreating German Army across 2-meter-wide trenches.
However, Kristen was quite satisfied, having captured a large number of new German tanks, a total of 129, among which 83 were intact and operational.
The German Army was caught off guard; in the darkness, they did not know where to drive their tanks and had to abandon them, fleeing without time to destroy them first.
Colonel Gastone of the 2nd Artillery Regiment was so delighted that he couldn’t stop grinning, immediately seeking Kristen’s permission: "General, you won’t distribute the tanks to others, will you? They are our spoils of war, and I would be more than willing to exchange the ’Saint Chammon’ for them!"
"I’m not sure, Gastone." Kristen looked at the iron clunks; they indeed seemed better than the "Saint Chammon M21" despite being defeated.
"You know," Kristen said with a helpless expression, "we don’t have the authority to decide."
Gastone’s fervent gaze gradually dimmed.
He thought of a problem: the 1st Specialized Artillery Division had defeated the Germans driving the "Saint Chammon M21," and those generals sitting in their offices would naturally assume that the "Saint Chammon M21" was superior to the German tanks.
Therefore, these captured tanks were more likely to be distributed to another batch of novices rather than the elite 1st Specialized Artillery Division.
More importantly, only if the "Saint Chammon M21" kept winning without being eliminated, Schneider could justify receiving more orders.
Gastone sighed inwardly—how difficult it was to own a proper tank as a tanker!
He felt that he was not fighting the enemy but battling against those foolish generals and greedy capitalists.
Kristen said no more; he patted Gastone’s shoulder and reminded him, "You should think more about Shire, Gastone. I hope you understand Shire’s sacrifice!"
Saying this, Kristen left to reinforce the defenses on the front line.
Gastone stared blankly at Kristen’s back, not understanding what Kristen meant by Shire’s sacrifice. Wasn’t it just a suggestion?
After a while, Gastone suddenly realized: Xia Fei was Shire’s opponent; Shire helped the 1st Specialized Artillery Division, which meant he was helping Xia Fei.
In other words, Shire helped an opponent defeat himself.
Only this way could he save the lives of the officers and soldiers of the 1st Specialized Artillery Division!
The news of victory reached the French High Command, causing the room to erupt into jubilation, with people excitedly hugging each other in celebration.
Dubbed the "Calm Agent of France" by the media, Xia Fei still sat quietly in his seat, although he felt an ache in his nose.
He desperately needed a victory, not even a "remarkable" one; even a minor victory worth mentioning would be a luxury.
All along, Xia Fei felt he lived in Shire’s shadow; each of Shire’s inventions and victories pressed down on his back like a mountain, making it hard for him to breathe.
Sometimes Xia Fei couldn’t help but contemplate quitting as the Commander-in-Chief and fleeing far away as Shire’s existence made his position unbearable.
Yet he lacked the courage to give up everything he currently possessed, for giving up equated to admitting defeat.
He could not lose to a child, Xia Fei thought.
Now, victory had finally arrived. He’d turned the corner, proving his capability and showing that his position as the Commander-in-Chief was not merely ornamental!
"General!" the staff officer reported from several meters away, holding the phone: "General Kristen is on the line; do you want to speak with him?"
"Hmm." Xia Fei confidently stood up, walked forward with his head held high, took the phone, and spoke firmly: "Well done, Kristen, just as I said, dare to attack to achieve victory! You have achieved victory!"
On the other end of the phone, Kristen’s mouth curled into a faint smile.
This fool, still didn’t realize the key to this victory was "night warfare," yet was self-satisfied thinking it was to his credit!
However, Kristen didn’t show it. He seemed to have made a decision and calmly replied: "Yes, General, you are very correct."
Then Kristen added: "I will continue to launch attacks, but first, I believe we should consolidate the occupied defensive line."
"You’re right," Xia Fei readily agreed with Kristen’s suggestion: "I will immediately send reinforcements to take over the defense."
Finally, Xia Fei added: "Send my greetings to all the soldiers; they are all heroes!"
Before, Kristen might have been deeply grateful for these words, but now, all he felt was "feeble and weak."
If Xia Fei really cared about the frontline soldiers and truly considered them heroes, he should think about their lives like Shire did, rather than pushing them towards the enemy’s guns like disposable waste!
After hanging up, Kristen looked around and picked up the phone again, lowering his voice: "Connect to the Police Training Base, Command of the 105th Infantry Regiment."
At that time, the command of the 105th Infantry Regiment also received the news of victory in Combray.
Tijani held the telegram and nodded at Shire: "Unbelievable, you only gave two words, yet turned the troop from a desperate situation into victors. Is there a story behind this?"
Shire replied with sarcasm: "Do you want to admit you’re less capable than Kristen?"
Kristen knew what to do upon receiving the words "night warfare," while Tijani still hadn’t thought of the reason.
"How could it be?" Tijani laughed awkwardly; in truth, he really hadn’t thought of it.
This wasn’t because Tijani was incapable; he simply didn’t understand the "Saint Chammon M21" and disdained to know this piece of junk.
Not knowing, therefore, he couldn’t think of its advantages in night warfare, which was quite normal.
Moreover, what Tijani hadn’t expected was that under specific circumstances, "junk" could perform extraordinarily.
At that moment, the phone rang—it was Kristen calling.
"Its front armor is 14MM, with a speed of about 12 km/h and a maximum speed of 16 km/h."
Shire gave a simple "Hmm."
Then Kristen continued to report:
"Length 6.7 meters, width 2.34 meters, height 2.965 meters, chassis clearance 0.6 meters, one cannon turret and two machine gun turrets, one front and one rear."
Shire responded again simply with "Hmm."
Finally, Kristen said: "I believe this might be useful to you, General. I’m staying with Xia Fei here."
Shire responded with a light laugh: "Yes, I understand."
Shire indeed understood; Kristen’s final sentence should be reversed: "I’m staying with Xia Fei here. I believe this might be useful to you!"