I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France-Chapter 962: Luring the Enemy Deep

Pershing was not a traitor.

Baker, Haig, and Wilson all agreed that "Pershing is unreliable" and "he might reveal the plan to Shire."

Therefore, they considered removing Pershing and replacing him with someone more obedient and cooperative as the commander of the American Expeditionary Force.

However, the US Army, having just entered the war, clearly had no more suitable candidate than Pershing, and they were worried that removing the established and accomplished Pershing without any reason would provoke resistance from the US Army or impact morale.

As a result, they came up with a "win-win" solution.

One day, Haig approached Pershing:

"Brigadier General, we need to implement a secret plan."

"In this plan, the British and American forces will retreat under the attack of the Germans, but it’s not a real retreat; rather, it’s a strategy to concentrate them in the plain areas for annihilation."

"Because this is a secret operation of the British and American forces, this plan cannot be disclosed to anyone, including Shire. Do you understand?"

Although Pershing felt something was amiss, under Baker’s "supervision," he had no choice but to follow orders and keep the secret.

Pershing was able to record a conversation between Baker and Haig not because of this.

He had previously promised Shire "to give an explanation."

The English were too shameless, Pershing thought, Haig and Baker actually secretly revealed Shire’s operational plans to the Germans!

That’s why the Germans were fooled into moving heavy troops to the east bank of the Rhine River, leaving Saarbrücken undefended, which allowed Shire to stir up such a storm with 5000 parachute troops.

This was espionage, this was treason, although they claimed it was for national interests!

Pershing decided to investigate the matter. He arranged to tap Baker and Haig’s private phone line and record it.

As a result, Pershing uncovered a shocking secret.

"Good news, General." Baker called Haig: "We have reached a consensus, they will launch a counterattack in five days."

"Great, Your Excellency." Haig replied: "Now, it’s time to inform Pershing about the plan."

Then, the two of them laughed meaningfully.

The content of the call sounded quite ordinary, with nothing seemingly of value at first glance, but Pershing’s mind went into chaos with a "bang."

"We have reached a consensus," who does "we" refer to?

"They will launch a counterattack in five days," who are "they"? If it’s the Germans, why would Baker know in advance about the German counterattack?

"Inform Pershing about the plan," is this plan the so-called secret plan?

Connecting everything together, and thinking about how the British and Americans deliberately leaked intelligence to the Germans earlier, Pershing was startled by the answer he arrived at.

"God." He exclaimed:

"They have allied with the Germans."

"This is not a plan of ’luring the enemy deep.’"

"Rather, it’s a plan by the British, Americans, and Germans together, attempting to eliminate the First Armored Army or even Shire."

Calming down, Pershing decided to pretend as if he knew nothing; he did not want to get involved in this mess.

However, when he saw Shire’s disappointment and depression, he felt he couldn’t let this continue.

Because this didn’t align with American interests, nor with human interests, at least, that’s what Pershing believed.

...

Shire did not use the recording to expose the Anglo-American conspiracy, but he wanted to give them a resounding slap in his own way.

The British and American front line retreated bit by bit, hundreds of meters today, a mile tomorrow, sometimes pausing for a few days.

More than a month later, they finally retreated to the "Super Line."

The British and American forces could retreat no further; any further, it would be the Central Army of Petain and a solid defense line, which took months to build, that would engage the Germans.

On this line, not only are there bunkers, fortresses, barbed wire, and mines, but also complete underground passages, with artillery positions and armored trains at the rear.

Once they fire against the French Army, the under-supplied Germans might not be able to stage the full act.

Thus, the line remained stable.

However, the First Armored Army stationed in Saarbrücken became the protruding part, at risk of being surrounded and cut off by the Germans.

The Germans prepared to besiege Saarbrücken: artillery, armored troops, air force, plus an army of three hundred thousand digging trenches to encircle Saarbrücken in a semi-circle.

Only the southwest direction couldn’t be surrounded because it was a 20-kilometer-long minefield, filled with unreclaimed mines, and the French Army brought more mines to extend this minefield to now a depth of 3 kilometers.

Additionally, in this direction, there were two mechanized French divisions protecting the supply line.

Seeing the war was on the verge of breaking out, Hindenburg and William II hesitated to launch an attack.

...

Berlin Staff Headquarters.

Due to William II commanding the forces to achieve a series of "incredible" victories on the Western Front, he had successfully established himself in the army, almost surpassing Hindenburg in status.

Many people were wondering:

"Is Hindenburg’s tactic too conservative? All along, he’s been thinking about defense, even constructing a defensive line."

"Yes, our troops excel in offense, perhaps attacking is the best defense."

"The Emperor’s command is correct, his achievements in this period prove it!"

...

The German Army even experienced a phase of "revival," soldiers’ morale soared, citizens cheered loudly, and more and more people enrolled in the military.

William II was enjoying great prestige.

Hindenburg and Ludendorff, although suspicious of the abnormal conditions on the battlefield, did not think much of it, attributing it to the combat capability of the British and American forces and William II’s luck.

"Impossible!" Hindenburg said to Saarbrücken on the map: "Shire can’t just let the First Armored Army sit there to die, he must have something to rely on!"

William II remained silent.

Previously, his thoughts differed greatly from Hindenburg’s; Hindenburg advocated for defense while William II strongly demanded offense.

But this time, William II agreed with Hindenburg’s view, Shire would not sit idly by.

After thinking for a while, he mumbled: "The key is, what can Shire do?"

"Mine Sweeping Tank." Hindenburg frowned: "They can freely come and go in the minefield with the mine sweeping tank, therefore not worrying about the retreat route."

Hindenburg was reluctant to mention this point.

Under his command, the German Army had spent a vast amount of resources laying down a minefield, which was now being exploited by Shire, a mistake on his part.

"Then, we can also use mine sweeping tanks." William II glared at Hindenburg: "Is it difficult to replicate?"

"No, Your Majesty." Hindenburg replied: "We have successfully replicated it, Your Majesty, but the key is they have air superiority, our tanks can easily be destroyed by their fire."

What was going on? Hindenburg wondered, even not knowing this but able to command troops to repel the British and American forces?