I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France-Chapter 834 - 105 Truck-Mounted Howitzers
Shire's armored vehicle drove into the position, receiving an almost frenzied welcome from the US Army soldiers.
Shire was relieved that the US Army soldiers did not jump out of the trench to swarm around him; they always stayed in the trenches, waving, greeting, cheering, or saluting him.
After fighting in a war, one understands the horror of the battlefield and also knows the importance of restraint; otherwise, one's life might be lost.
Pershing's armored vehicle followed behind Shire's, and from over ten meters away, he shouted to Shire: "Say a few words, Vice Admiral."
This was the impromptu speech that Americans love; they always say a few morale-boosting words before a battle.
Shire nodded, tapped the roof of the armored vehicle to stop it, then got out, waved to the soldiers, and amidst the cheers, jumped into the trench.
Hands reached eagerly towards Shire as soldiers voiced their excitement and enthusiasm:
"Great to see you, General."
"We're ready. Give the order."
"We can't wait to kick the Germans' ass!"
...
Shire laughed: "You seem more anxious than me. I almost thought the Germans were invading the United States."
The US Army soldiers burst into laughter.
Shire continued:
"But regardless of whether the Germans are invading France or the United States, it makes no difference to us."
"Because we are fighting for humanity, for world peace, and for all suffering citizens!"
"Therefore, I don't believe you are standing here today to help France."
"Nor will I apologize for your casualties."
"And I will not, like the English, protect you by keeping you on the second line."
"Because you are part of us, we have common interests, common goals, and common ideals."
"We are engaged in a great and just war, and I regard it as an honor."
"Moreover, I firmly believe that we will achieve victory!"
The US Army soldiers cheered loudly.
They might not care whether the war is great or just, nor worry about honor.
But they cared about Shire treating them as his own.
...
Williams successfully shook hands with Shire and even got his signature, which he excitedly bragged about to Monty all the way.
"Look, I watched him sign, and he even said to me, 'Well done, Captain'."
He completely didn't notice Patton passing with his guards.
Hearing this, Patton's face darkened; this guy seemed to value Shire's signature more than his own future.
Patton stopped, his gaze stern and tone severe: "You're not a Captain anymore, Williams. You seem to have forgotten that."
Williams suddenly remembered he had been promoted to Major and had become the commander of the Third Infantry Battalion, quickly standing at attention: "Yes, Lieutenant Colonel."
Patton was about to leave but turned back to ask Williams: "Do you know Shire well?"
"You could say that, Lieutenant Colonel." Williams replied: "I know every battle Shire has fought."
This detail was similar to Patton's, so Patton decided to test Williams.
"Well then." Patton nodded toward the West Bank of the Meuse River: "How do you think Shire will attack?"
Williams furrowed his brow, considering for a moment before gently shaking his head: "I think there's no better solution, Lieutenant Colonel, we can only charge directly."
Patton nodded in agreement.
To prevent the US Army from crossing the river again, the Germans positioned an infantry division of over ten thousand men opposite, confronting the US Army.
The focus was not on these ten thousand men; in terms of manpower, the US Army far outnumbered the German Army.
But the German Army reinforced with four artillery battalions, all equipped with 105MM caliber howitzers, using their long range to blockade the stone bridge.
"Perhaps Shire can use pontoon bridges." Patton stroked his chin: "Just like they crossed the Meuse River."
"No, Lieutenant Colonel." Williams shook his head:
"The reason for the success of crossing the Meuse River with pontoon bridges was that the Germans were unprepared."
"Now they already know Shire has pontoon bridges and will forcefully cross in this area, so they will be well-prepared."
"For instance, they will deploy numerous artillery observers along the shore, and once Shire builds a floating bridge, they will immediately move artillery over for concentrated bombardment."
Patton could not refute.
Even if pontoon bridges could be built rapidly for an assault, if during the attack the bridge was blown up or blocked by artillery fire, it would still be a disaster.
All of this was because the German Army's 105MM howitzer had a range of 12 kilometers, while the US and French Army used 6-inch 26-pound howitzers with only a 10-kilometer range.
A 2-kilometer range gap made the US Army very passive in attacking across the river.
Artillery was blocked by the river, unable to advance across the whole line, only advancing in spots, risking bombardment.
As both men frowned in distress, trucks rain along the road, then dispersed to set up artillery behind the defenses.
As their black muzzles pointed high toward the German position, Patton and Williams almost simultaneously exclaimed:
"105MM howitzer."
"The Germans' 105 howitzer!"
...
Patton quickly grabbed a telescope and looked at those trucks, then excitedly said: "God, those are truck-mounted artillery, Shire has modified the 105MM howitzer into truck-mounted artillery."
Nearby US Army soldiers were also shocked by this new type of truck-mounted artillery:
"Wow, that's so cool! It looks more advanced than ours!"
"Nonsense, Shire invented these weapons. Of course, his unit was among the first equipped."
"I thought mounting a 75mm cannon on a truck was the limit; I didn't expect them to mount a 105 howitzer!"
...
The uninitiated watch the excitement, while the veterans look at the details.
The US Army soldiers didn't understand; they only saw "cool" and "advanced" in their eyes.
Williams was different; he looked back towards the Germans, surprisedly asking: "But that's a 12-kilometer range artillery, how does Shire find targets..."
Before he finished speaking, the truck-mounted artillery opened fire.
"Boom boom."
"Boom boom boom!"
...
Three rapid shots, then quickly withdrawing to a new position after firing.
Before long, German shells came whistling overhead.
The German artillery was very accurate, with explosion points near the French Army artillery positions; only the French artillery had already retreated a few miles away, busy setting up elsewhere.
"Boom boom, boom boom boom!" 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚
...
Back and forth seven or eight times, each time the artillery opened fire, the US Army soldiers would cheer and applaud.
The artillery duel with long-range howitzers wasn't spectacular; they couldn't see where the shells landed nor knew if they hit the target; they just shouted at the sound of gunfire, much like cheering for firecrackers exploding.
But Patton's face grew more and more astonished: "They are not firing blindly. They have precise coordinates each time."
Williams nodded in agreement.
The reason was that the German artillery's counterattacks grew weaker, indicating that the German artillery had suffered losses in each round of the artillery battles, and the losses weren't small.
Yet he still couldn't understand how Shire discovered the enemy's artillery positions.
