March 14, 1935.
Élysée Palace, Paris
General Beauchamp sat in the back of the official staff car as it turned past the guards into the Élysée courtyard.
In his gloved hand, folded twice, was the letter from Moreau.
He'd read it three tis that morning already.
It was not long.
Not impolite.
Not exaggerated.
But the implications were large perhaps too large to ignore.
A liaison course between ground and air units.
Real-ti signals integration.
Cross-branch coordination.
Ideas so basic they should have been doctrine already and yet they were not.
The President of the Republic, Albert Lebrun, had received Beauchamp's request for an urgent audience less than an hour earlier.
The reply was short and imdiate: "Co. Bring the letter."
General Beauchamp stepped into the council chamber, his boots silent on the polished wood floor.
Under one arm, he carried a single envelope.
Not marked urgent, not stamped confidential but important enough.
President Albert Lebrun sat at the head of the long table, flanked by Pri Minister Pierre-Étienne Flandin and Minister of War Jean Fabry.
Air Minister Laurent Eynac stood near the tall window, watching rain streak the glass.
Behind him, secretaries whispered quietly before disappearing behind another door.
Beauchamp did not sit.
He placed the letter gently on the table.
President Lebrun motioned for silence.
"Gentlen," he said, "General Beauchamp has sothing unusual. It involves an armored officer and a letter."
Flandin looked skeptical already. "Which officer?"
"Major Étienne Moreau," Beauchamp said. "Of the prototype motorized division at Reims."
Eynac exhaled smoke. "The one with the broken tanks."
Fabry gave a short, humorless chuckle. "A major, proposing doctrine. We're through the looking glass now."
"Not doctrine," Beauchamp replied. "A test. A small-scale field course signal coordination between motorized ground units and aerial reconnaissance."
"A toy exercise," muttered Eynac.
"A concept," Beauchamp corrected. "That happens to match exactly what Germany has already begun preparing for."
Lebrun opened the letter.
The others watched him read in silence.
"He asks for very little," Lebrun murmured.
"Because he knows how much that little will cost," said Beauchamp.
Eynac spoke sharply. "We don't even have consistent signal coverage across our infantry corps. And this major wants to link tank formations to pilots?"
"He doesn't want doctrine," Beauchamp said again. "He wants a test. One location. One unit. With oversight."
"And what do you expect it will prove?" Fabry asked. "That junior officers now write strategic papers?"
"No," Beauchamp said. "That soone in this army still thinks beyond the next budget cycle."
The door opened.
Laval entered, coat damp, hair uncombed. "Gentlen," he said. "I'm not late, am I?"
"Only just in ti," Lebrun said, handing him the letter.
Laval read it quickly. "It's… thorough. And clear. Not grandiose. No politics. Just logic. Basically what i expect from Moreau."
"Dangerous logic," Fabry said.
"Only if you want to keep losing argunts to tanks," Laval replied, dropping into a chair.
Eynac turned. "We haven't even decided whether we'll fund full liaison training next year. And now we're letting a field commander run cross-branch experints?"
"You're not letting him do anything," Beauchamp said. "I brought this forward because I believe it's the right move. And because Versailles doesn't matter to Germany anymore."
Flandin tapped the table once. "Let's be frank. If this fails, what happens?"
"Nothing," Beauchamp said. "It ends. Quietly."
"And if it succeeds?"
"Then we have the beginning of sothing France needs."
Fabry leaned forward. "You do realize, General, what you're really asking for is permission to loosen the doctrinal leash."
"I'm asking for a leash long enough to see if the dog can hunt," Beauchamp answered.
Eynac snorted. "I don't appreciate taphors."
"Then listen to the facts," Laval said. "Germany has reintroduced conscription in secret. Göring announced the Luftwaffe like it was a national holiday. And we are sitting here debating whether to connect two radios across a muddy field."
Flandin looked around the room. "We're agreed on nothing, except that we can't afford to do nothing."
Eynac raised his hand. "Then let be clear. Any aircraft used must co from reserve wings. No frontline flight elents. No combat maneuvers."
"Fine," Beauchamp said.
"And no unsupervised operations. A Ministry liaison on every flight."
"Agreed."
Fabry added, "And the War Ministry will oversee every written report. No publication. No notes passed to journalists. If this goes political, it dies."
Beauchamp nodded.
Laval leaned back. "And if it works? We put our nas on it, yes?"
Fabry frowned.
Lebrun folded the letter again, slowly. "Then we proceed. Carefully. No more than four weeks. One unit. Strictly temporary."
The room was quiet.
Fabry stood first. "I'll have my liaison officer ready by the end of the week."
Eynac followed. "I'll issue aircraft clearance by morning."
Flandin stood slowly. "Just rember this is not a reform. It's a rehearsal."
Laval smirked. "And sotis, rehearsals beco revolutions."
No one laughed.
That evening, Beauchamp returned to the Ministry of War and dictated the formal directive:
Pilot Integration Test, Reims Sector
Commander: Major Étienne Moreau
Objective: Evaluate real-ti signals coordination between ground-based armored formations and reserve air reconnaissance assets.
Paraters:
One platoon selected from existing pilot division
Reserve aircraft only; liaison types only
Duration: 4 weeks
Oversight: Ministry-appointed observers from both War and Air Ministries
All training to occur within designated Reims district
No public disclosure permitted
No changes to formal doctrine or command structures
Status: Temporary. Subject to imdiate termination upon violation or failure.
Authorization: President of the Republic
Countersigned: Minister of War, Minister of Air, Pri Minister
At the Ministry of Air, another docunt was drafted:
Flight Clearance, Reims Integration Trial
Scope:
Aircraft: 2x liaison craft (Farman F.197 or equivalent)
Pilot cadre drawn from reserve wing 4B
Range: limited to operational sectors designated by War Ministry
No aerial maneuvers, no flyovers of Maginot sectors, no live-fire scenarios
Liaison officers must approve all sorties 24 hours in advance
Status: PROVISIONAL
Duration: 30 days
Review on completion or breach
The packets were sealed.
The authorizations signed.
One courier left north by train at dawn.
No headlines.
No ceremony.
No applause.
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