South bank of River Somme, the command center of Nivelle’s 6th Army Group.
This place is five kilometers away from the frontline, a fortress constructed with reinforced concrete.
The interior is quite spacious, totaling over 200 square meters, equipped with a telecommunications room, operations room, and lounge, accommodating over twenty staff officers of colonel rank and above.
It also has a basement that stores food, filled with various supplies, enough for the command center personnel, including guards, for several months.
Shire walked around with Kristen, observing this command center, looking incredulous.
Kristen was equally shocked, comparing this place to his command center at the frontline, it was like heaven.
After strolling around, Shire asked Major General Leimeng, the deputy commander of the Army Group: "Are you planning to turn this place into a sanctuary?"
"No, General." Major General Leimeng replied: "Considering the Germans’ 105MM cannons have a range of over ten kilometers, the command center is within the range of said cannons..."
Shire interrupted Major General Leimeng: "So, has any shell ever hit this command center?"
Major General Leimeng seemed a bit embarrassed: "No, General!"
"Of course not, Major General Leimeng." Shire answered: "This fortress is hiding behind high ground, in the dead zone of the enemy’s artillery fire. Additionally, it’s five kilometers from the frontline and six kilometers from the enemy lines; if the Germans’ 105MM cannons could hit here, they would inevitably be within our artillery range!"
Major General Leimeng seemed not to understand Shire’s point, his face showing some pride: "Yes, General, you are correct. So it’s very safe here, perfect for you to command without any distractions!"
Frontline soldiers hid in trenches filled with mud and water, starving and freezing, pushed by officers to fall in the no-man’s land under enemy machine gun and artillery fire.
Meanwhile, senior officers at the rear hid in this luxurious fortress, adding layers of protection for themselves, some even unnecessary.
The same army, yet worlds apart.
"Major General Leimeng." Shire said: "The parliament appointed me as the commander of the 6th Army Group to handle all affairs here. Have you received the telegram?"
"Yes, General." Major General Leimeng stood up straight and answered: "We have received it, and we will follow your command."
"Very well." Shire sat down on the chair that originally belonged to Nivelle, calmly saying: "You all have been dismissed, return to Paris for review!"
Major General Leimeng was stunned: "Me?"
"Not just you." Shire corrected: "All of you, all officers of major rank and above."
Major General Leimeng was shocked, but after reacting, he asked, his tone urgent and angry: "But why? What reason do you have to do this?"
"Provisions, Major General." Shire reminded: "Along with dereliction of duty, is that enough?"
Major General Leimeng instantly fell silent.
In times of severe resource scarcity, everyone’s supply allocation was strictly regulated, yet the command center personnel exceeded the normal range by tens of times.
This alone was enough to convict them.
Moreover, Shire believed, many of them had probably secretly taken supplies home to share with their families.
These were military supplies, the rations for frontline soldiers risking their lives charging at the enemy!
But Major General Leimeng still refused to accept it, he argued: "This is unfair, General, these supplies were obtained by General Nivelle from the British, it has nothing to do with us..."
"You can save those words for the military tribunal." Shire gestured to the side, and the guards understood, stepping forward to disarm and escort Major General Leimeng and the command center personnel away.
After Major General Leimeng was taken away, Kristen worriedly asked: "General, the 6th Army Group’s organization, supplies, and other matters are controlled by these people. If they are all sent to Paris for trial, won’t the subsequent work be..."
Shire lightly shook his head: "Do you know why frontline soldiers rebelled?"
Kristen asked curiously: "Isn’t it because of the pointless offensives?"
Shire stood up and looked around, spreading his hands:
"That’s just part of it, General, more because of this."
"Commanders hiding safely at the rear, eating gourmet food and drinking wine, commanding starving and freezing soldiers at the frontline to charge at the enemy and die with just a wave of their hand."
"They have already shown great restraint by not attacking this command center with guns and taking these officers to the execution ground one by one!"
Kristen nodded in understanding.
Shire wasn’t fixated on the "small greed" of Major General Leimeng’s group, but was demonstrating to the rebelling soldiers that everything would take a different path, officers would stand together with soldiers, not against them.
Soon, the news of Shire dismissing all officers of major rank and above from the Army Group command center spread throughout the army:
"Not just one or two people, but all officers, all sent by Shire to the military tribunal."
"It’s said that tens of tons of flour were found, along with hundreds of bottles of wine, and they even had their own chefs."
"Shire is different from other officers; he’s always with his soldiers, which is one of the reasons he always wins battles!"
This was just the first step. Read full story at ⓝovelFire.net
Next, Shire used his personal funds to purchase raincoats, boots, blankets, and other urgently needed supplies for the rainy and winter seasons for the frontline, also bringing fresh vegetables and beef to improve the soldiers’ meals.
This cost Shire a considerable amount of money; after all, the 6th Army Group at River Somme had 13 divisions, about 210,000 men. Providing supplies and food for such a large force was not an easy task.
If it were someone else, they might not have been able to do it, even if they had money, they couldn’t buy enough supplies in such a short time, they would have to seek help from the British.
The reason Shire could achieve this was due to previous arrangements being effective:
Dejoka followed Shire’s advice and converted the earned money into US Dollars, avoiding the depreciation of the Franc.
Through FN’s branch companies, large quantities of supplies were purchased from the United States, Holland, and other countries, barely meeting the needs of River Somme.
Shire believed it was worth it, those high-ranking parliamentarians would never understand how important the support of grassroots soldiers was.
It almost represented the sentiment of the people; behind every soldier was a family anxiously worrying, behind 210,000 men were 210,000 families.
At this moment, every kindness given by Shire was a lifesaving measure during their most desperate and critical moments, and they would remember it was Shire who pulled them back from the brink of collapse.
However, even so, the rebellious soldiers still had concerns:
The battle at River Somme was not over yet; if they obeyed the command and regrouped, would they be sent to the battlefield to die as they were before?