I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France Chapter 521: Rocket Artillery Tactics

Antwerp Airport, Tijani hurried to Shire after receiving a telegram from Gallieni.

"They are winning." Tijani was a bit nervous: "Although this is good news, if you have any plans to attack the Namur Fortress, shouldn’t you implent them quickly?"

Everyone was rumoring that the Battle of the River Som would win in a few days, and Commander-in-Chief Nivelle said the sa.

However, Shire replied calmly: "No rush, wait a bit longer."

"Wait for what?" Tijani asked in confusion.

"If our army is winning, shouldn’t the Germans send reinforcents towards the River Som?" Shire answered: "Especially artillery."

Tijani frowned: "But if this battle is going to end in our victory in a few days, the Germans might not even have ti to send reinforcents!"

"Don’t worry, General!" Shire said confidently: "They will have ti."

Shire knew what was happening; historically, the Battle of the River Som lasted nearly five months, not days.

In these days, the attacks of the British and French Allies ended with heavy casualties, with no real victory.

After this, Haig, who always distrusted machine guns and tanks, had no choice but to bring tanks to the battlefield, which finally brought so progress.

Tijani changed the topic: "Tell your thod to attack Namur, Major General, you seem to be confident."

Shire responded with a question: "What do you think is the most troubleso about the Namur defenses?"

Tijani’s eyes turned to the map of Namur Fortress spread out on the table, and he replied slowly: "Without a doubt, the artillery, the Germans have five artillery regints there, they are set up on the other side of the river blocking the passage, we have no way around them."

Even amphibious landing boats were of no use.

The Germans had built trenches along the shore in the area they called the "River Bay District", and an infantry division was fortified there, equipped with machine guns, mortars, and 77MM cannons.

Any enemy attempting to cross the river would imdiately face a storm of fire.

At the sa ti, five artillery regints equipped with 105MM howitzers in the rear could join the blockade battle at any mont.

The fragile amphibious landing boats might be blown up before they even see the river.

Shire nodded: "So we need to destroy those cannons, at least make them unable to block Passage 1 and Passage 2."

There are two routes to the Namur Fortress, ford by narrow passages of forest and river, one heading north and one heading west, which Shire nad Passage 1 and Passage 2.

"The key is how to destroy those cannons!" Tijani objected: "Are you really using those rocket launchers?"

Shire said nothing, just silently stared at Tijani.

Tijani realized Shire was serious, and he exclaid: "God, you are insane, this will never work, Major General!"

Shire smiled at Tijani, teasingly asking: "Now, I just want to know if you still want this rocket launcher?"

Tijani was stunned, then he understood Shire’s aning: "Does this an, to have this rocket launcher we must use it against the Germans’ 105MM howitzers?"

"You are very smart." Shire praised, his tone insincere.

Tijani was speechless, could this guy ever give a pleasant option?

He always thought the rocket launcher was ant to deal with infantry.

When the enemy launched a massive assault, suddenly a barrage of rockets would overwhelm them, clearing the area in front of the position instantly, it must be incredibly satisfying.

But Shire was fixated on using this crude thing to counter 105 howitzers.

If the rocket launcher could handle that, why would the Germans bother producing 105 howitzers?

Tijani hesitated for a while: "Is there sothing I don’t know?"

Shire only responded: "Do you want it, or not?"

Tijani sighed helplessly: "Alright, you win! I decide to use it against enemy artillery, now, tell your answer!"

Tijani glared at Shire angrily, more eager to know how this thing could counter the Germans’ long-range howitzers, considering their range.

"The key is its firing speed, General."

"Firing speed?" Tijani didn’t understand.

Shire nodded, explaining unhurriedly: "Cannons have a characteristic, once they fire, they produce a lot of smoke and fire, allowing the enemy to accurately determine their position, even the artillery positions."

Tijani grunted, but questioned: "Isn’t it the sa for rocket launchers? They produce even more smoke, with a long trail after firing."

"You are correct." Shire replied: "But a rocket launcher can fire all its rockets within minutes and then leave."

The answer was that simple.

But it took Tijani a while to process, fire and retreat, even if discovered by the enemy, so what?

And if the rocket launcher hadn’t fired, it would be extrely difficult for the enemy to find its precise location, especially since the French Army controlled the air.

In other words, the rocket launcher could easily sneak within its 8-kiloter range, suddenly bombard the target fiercely.

By the ti the enemy artillery responds, the rocket launcher would already be gone!

Using this tactic, the range of the German artillery would be rendered useless.

Realizing this, Tijani was overjoyed:

"Yes, it can indeed deal with artillery. It is invincible, as long as we do our intelligence work and concealnt preparations well."

"Great tactic, Major General, you really are astonishing!"

"Unbelievable, you turned a piece of junk into a treasure, everyone thought rockets were useless, except you, using such a tactic!"

Getting carried away, he rushed back to his desk to pull out his notebook, where he recorded and analyzed all of Shire’s tactics.

"You shouldn’t do that." Shire stopped him: "At least not now."

Tijani paused, then understood the next second: "Right, Major General, it hasn’t been used on the battlefield yet."

Recording untested tactics in a notebook was undoubtedly dangerous. If a German spy saw it, they would turn Namur Fortress into a trap waiting for Shire to fall into.

Tijani imagined the scenario of the tactic in his mind, then suddenly thought of sothing, turning to Shire: "Since we have a way to deal with enemy artillery, why use the Battle of the River Som as bait?"

"Because rocket launcher production is insufficient." Shire answered plainly: "To be precise, rocket ammunition production is insufficient."

This was half true.

The insufficient production of rocket ammunition was one reason.

More importantly, only after the "bloody massacre" of the Battle of the River Som was exposed, would Shire’s victory form a stark contrast in everyone’s mind, delivering a double blow to Haig!