Chapter 238: Requisitioning the Army's Planes?
Charles had been gone from the front for less than half an hour when the lines miraculously returned to full combat status, with the entire defensive line alive with action.
But Joffre wasn't satisfied. He ordered the gendarmes to proceed with their planned inspection of the front.
The gendarmerie captain's report soon came through: "They're fighting vigorously, General, no doubt about it. The battle is intense everywhere, gunfire and explosions in all directions!"
Joffre was stunned, finding this strangely inconsistent.
The gendarmerie then inquired, "General, should we still enforce the decimation order?"
Receiving the telegram, Joffre fell silent, momentarily uncertain.
Canays, standing nearby, gently advised, "General, they've chosen to obey orders. If they face decimation whether they comply or not, the order loses its deterrent effect."
Joffre thought this over. Now that the soldiers had chosen obedience, enforcing the decimation order would backfire rather than strengthen discipline.
Finally, he nodded, "Dismiss the leading officers involved and send them to the front line as ordinary riflemen."
In Joffre's mind, the high casualty rates would quickly deal with any officers inclined toward disobedience. Either they'd become casualties themselves, or their names would soon appear on the list of the fallen, achieving the "resolution" he desired.
"Yes, General," Canays replied, breathing a quiet sigh of relief.
…
When Charles returned to headquarters, it was already past ten.
Gallieni didn't press him for details—he seemed to understand the approach Charles had likely taken, choosing not to acknowledge it openly.
Instead, Gallieni simply advised Charles to grab something to eat and rest in the barracks, adding that he would call him if any issues arose.
This suited Charles perfectly. After the night's exertions, he was exhausted, and though he'd napped briefly on the train, fatigue still weighed on him.
But fate wasn't on his side. Just as Charles was leaving the officers' mess, Lieutenant Colonel Fernand caught up with him.
"Colonel!" Fernand said, handing Charles a telegram. "The Germans have deployed machine-gun aircraft, and they've shot down three of our reconnaissance planes."
Charles froze. "What model?"
"The exact model is unclear," Fernand replied. "But it's evidently a two-seater."
Charles nodded, understanding.
At this stage, only two-seaters could handle the weight of mounted machine guns without compromising balance or performance.
Fernand continued, "We suspect the Germans are using these machine-gun aircraft to pressure the soldiers into breaking the truce."
Charles paused, then immediately grasped the situation.
With both German and French high commands eager to end the ceasefire, Germany's strategy involved using aircraft to disrupt the truce by strafing French lines. A dive attack spraying gunfire across French defenses would create enough chaos to incite violence.
French soldiers, perceiving the attack as a breach of the truce, would naturally retaliate. German soldiers would have little choice but to defend themselves, claiming they hadn't initiated the attack but were bound by duty to return fire.
Soon enough, the fighting would spread, reducing the ceasefire to little more than an empty promise.
What the Germans hadn't anticipated was that the French front had already resumed combat. With nothing to attack on the ground, the German pilots vented their frustration on French reconnaissance planes, resulting in three losses.
Otherwise, those German machine-gun planes might have remained hidden a bit longer.
As Charles approached the command room, Gallieni signaled for him to come over.
When Charles reached him, Gallieni gestured to a map spread out on his desk. "We're considering establishing a few more airfields along the front and assigning pilots directly to the front lines. Do you think these locations are suitable?"
After a quick look at the map, Charles shook his head. "We should keep them at least fifty kilometers from the front."
Gallieni looked puzzled. "Fifty kilometers would mean a half-hour flight to the front. I believe the airfields should be as close as possible for faster response times."
"Are you suggesting ten kilometers from the front?" Charles asked.
"What's wrong with that?" Gallieni asked, still confused. "It's outside artillery range."
Charles couldn't blame Gallieni—he had no knowledge of future air warfare and had become accustomed to France holding complete air superiority.
"General," Charles began, pointing to the map in the direction of enemy lines, "we should account for the possibility that the enemy has aircraft too. It's unrealistic to assume we'll maintain air superiority indefinitely. If we set up airfields just ten kilometers from the front, the Germans will easily locate them. Soon enough, they'll target our airfields directly."
Gallieni nodded thoughtfully.
A distance of just ten kilometers was indeed too close. The frontline troops would see incoming German aircraft, but they'd have no idea if the target was artillery, infantry, or the airfield itself, so they couldn't effectively warn the airfield.
Even with a heads-up, the pilots would only have about ten minutes to get airborne, which was far too little to prepare.
With Charles's proposed fifty-kilometer buffer, however, the problem could be mitigated. Separate the airfield from the frontline, so if enemy planes flew past without attacking any targets along the line, the airfield would know they were the likely target. With fifty kilometers, there'd be around thirty minutes to prepare, more than enough for the planes to take off and organize.
With this in mind, Gallieni agreed to the plan. "We'll go with your recommendation, Colonel. Move all airfields back fifty kilometers."
"Even those already constructed," Charles emphasized. "Otherwise, we won't be able to adequately protect them."
After a pause, Charles added, "Ideally, we should consolidate all aircraft under a unified air force command."
He was referring to the army's planes.
At this time, the French military's aircraft were organized haphazardly. Some were under corps command, some under division command. Some units had planes, others didn't. The types of aircraft were diverse, as were their tactics, leading to a lack of coordination.
Gallieni looked unconvinced. "Transfer all army planes to the air force? Then how would the army obtain air support?"
"By requesting it from the air squadron," Charles replied without hesitation.
Gallieni studied the map thoughtfully, beginning to appreciate the potential benefits of this approach. Centralizing command could ease the army's burden, reduce chaos, and maximize the use of aircraft, airfields, pilots, and ground crews.
But then Gallieni chuckled. "Your idea is sound, but do you realize what Joffre will think?"
Charles nodded. He knew Joffre would view this as an encroachment on his authority.
After all, this effectively "requisitioned" all of the army's planes, airfields, and pilots into centralized control.
(End of Chapter)
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