I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France-Chapter 833: Becoming Shire’s Comrades-in-Arms

The first thing Shire decided to do in his counterattack was to regain control of the air.

He didn't want his troops to be discovered by the enemy, nor did he want the direction and even the route of the march to be constantly under enemy surveillance.

More importantly, he didn't want his troops to be strafed or bombed by enemy aircraft.

On rainy days, the direct casualties caused by enemy bombing and strafing aren't significant, but it affects the speed and morale of the troops.

Once the air superiority is regained, all these troubles will be eliminated.

These issues will turn into the Germans' troubles: Shire's fighter planes will constantly harass the German Army's 17th Army Group rushing to reinforce, making their advance on muddy roads extremely difficult.

Moreover, once the "Curlew" fighters appear, even bombing the rear transportation lines will be impossible for the Germans. If their bombers are discovered, there's no return for them.

Shire brought out the Mechanized Division and the 1st Motorized Division.

The 2nd Motorized Division continued to hold Bicangxi, ready to respond to any possible attack on the Meuse River defense line and act as a reserve.

This left Pershing incredulous.

"Your troops are only over twenty thousand strong, Vice Admiral," Pershing said. "While the German Army's 18th Army Group has over 200,000 men."

Shire was full of confidence: "I also have your troops, General, 300,000 US Army personnel, and I believe they can cooperate well with my army to fight."

Pershing stared wide-eyed at Shire, as if he couldn't believe it was true.

After a good while, he said, flattered: "Vice Admiral, are you saying we will fight with you together?"

"Of course," Shire asked. "Is there any problem?"

"No, no, of course, there's no problem," Pershing hurriedly replied. "This is my honor, it's the honor of our army!"

...

To the southwest of Bicangxi, the Seine River forms a bulge here.

The US Army chose to defend this spot because it allows them to form a "C"-shape encirclement towards the enemy.

The US Army was well-prepared; once the enemy approaches, they will bombard them into fragments with overwhelming artillery fire.

(The red circle in the above picture marks the US Army's defensive area.)

Due to this unique terrain, the US Army even controlled a stone bridge across the Meuse River.

However, this is more due to the fact that the Germans' main attack direction was Reims rather than Bicangxi.

Attacking Bicangxi doesn't seem to hold much meaning for the Germans; they prefer to defend in Reims using offense to consume the French-American Allied Army's ammunition.

The US Army's morale was somewhat low.

Captain Williams had a head injury wrapped in bandages, which made wearing the "Adrian" helmet painful, as its weight constantly pressed on the wound.

But Captain Williams had to wear it; otherwise, the rain would soon dampen the bandages.

"Are you alright, Captain?" Patton walked up to Captain Williams.

Patton has been promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, serving as the brigade commander of the First Armored Brigade.

"Yes, Lieutenant Colonel," Captain Williams straightened up to answer. "I'm fine!"

Patton nodded, glancing around: "I heard your infantry company has the heaviest casualties, depleted by half?"

Captain Williams' expression darkened: "Yes, Lieutenant Colonel. In fact, more than half, we suffered 152 casualties."

(Note: During WWI, a fully-equipped US infantry company had 256 soldiers, consisting of 4 platoons, each platoon 4 squads, and each squad 12 to 15 men.)

Patton nodded heavily: "Well done, Captain, you managed to retreat in an organized manner until the end, and still fought as a unit. I am proud of you all!"

Williams should have proudly straightened and thanked Patton for the recognition.

But he lightly sighed and shook his head: "No, Lieutenant Colonel, I don't think so."

Patton looked at Williams confusedly, thinking the guy had done something improper or violated military discipline?

Then Patton realized he misunderstood.

Captain Williams spoke with bitterness:

"Did we disappoint Shire, Lieutenant Colonel?"

"In this battle, if it were Shire's troops, they would definitely keep the Germans out of Reims until reinforcements arrived."

"We screwed up the mission, putting everyone in danger."

Patton touched his pocket, habitually wanting to smoke but only took out a bunch of soggy tobacco from his pouch.

"Take mine, Lieutenant Colonel," Captain Williams ducked under his raincoat, took out half a pack of cigarettes wrapped in waterproof paper from his backpack, supplied by the US Army, Luckies.

(Above picture depicts one of the US Army's special cigarettes during WWI, Luckies, distributed 7 to 12 packs per person monthly.)

The two huddled inside, lighting each other's cigarettes. Patton exhaled a long puff of smoke: "That's an excellent quality, Captain."

"What?" Williams didn't understand.

Patton looked at Williams:

"Everyone is finding reasons for the defeat."

"We're recruits, we only trained for a month, we lack combat experience, we've done enough, blah blah blah, that kind of thing."

"I admit they're stating facts."

"But they don't understand one principle: on the battlefield, no rationale counts. It won't change because we are recruits or lack combat experience."

Williams understood Patton's point; Williams didn't find excuses for failure.

"I'm not sure if Shire is disappointed in you." Patton's gaze showed appreciation: "But I'm not."

Saying this, Patton patted Williams on the shoulder: "Congratulations, you are promoted to Major, commander of the Third Infantry Battalion."

Saying this, Patton left, leaving Williams standing there dazed.

Promoted just like that?

Just because of one sentence?

Williams didn't know that Patton valued not just his one sentence, nor his battlefield performance, but his mentality.

Suddenly, a cheer erupted from the rear.

Williams didn't know what happened; he thought maybe supplies had arrived at the rear.

But soon, the cheers grew louder, accompanied by the "rumble" of tank engines.

Orderly Mondi scurried over like a mouse through the communication trench, shouting as he ran: "Captain, Captain! Do you know who's come to reinforce us?"

"Is it reinforcements?" Williams lightly shook his head, muttering to himself: "What good are reinforcements? To recapture Reims?"

Mondi ran up to Williams and without hesitation grabbed him and pulled him towards the cheering direction.

Williams stumbled, cursing in the back, "Are you mad? Where are we going?"

Saying this, he forcibly broke free from Mondi's "control."

Mondi turned back, his voice excited and thrilled: "It's Shire, Captain, it's Shire."

"What, what did you say?" Williams stared at Mondi dumbfounded: "What Shire?"

"Shire has brought his troops to reinforce us," Mondi cheered loudly with fists clenched: "He will fight with us..."

Before finishing his words, Williams already shoved Mondi aside, sprinting along the communication trench, asking as he ran: "Where is he? Is this true?"

Mondi smiled and followed: "Of course it's true, think about it, we will become Shire's comrades, fighting under his command!"