I Became a Tycoon During World War I: Saving France from the Start

Chapter 133: The Hand Grenade

After dinner by candlelight, Deyoka took the opportunity to talk to Charles while Camille was in the kitchen washing dishes.

"I'm not against your choices with the tank, Charles," Deyoka said with a hint of worry, "and I don't even oppose your decision not to compete, but you do need allies. You can't take on the entire world alone, no matter how brilliant you are."

After a pause, he added, "The methods your rivals might use could be unimaginable—difficult to guard against. Sometimes you simply have to choose a side."

"I understand, Father," Charles replied, popping a plum into his mouth. Camille had mentioned plums would soon be out of season, so they should savor them now.

"And," Deyoka hesitated, "sometimes it's better to let go of the past and focus on the present and the future."

He was alluding to the Antwerp incident, where Grévy had indeed tried to sabotage Charles. But in the world of business, alliances often shifted with opportunity. Deyoka believed that joining forces with Grévy now could bring advantages. Besides, he knew how adept these nobles were at playing political games—it was practically in their blood. An alliance could help ensure there would be no more "surprises" like Antwerp.

Charles showed no hesitation. "I won't form any alliance with Grévy," he said. "In the end, they'll be eliminated by history. Joining them is not a wise choice."

Deyoka looked at him, asking pointedly, "Then who can we ally with?"

An alliance with Schneider was impossible. Everyone knew about the rift between Joffre and Gallieni. Having chosen Gallieni, they couldn't choose Joffre. Schneider, as a giant in the arms industry, wouldn't even consider Charles worth their time; trying to partner with them would only bring humiliation.

Charles paused briefly before answering calmly, "Don't worry, Father. I'll make allies come to me."

"What?" Deyoka didn't understand what Charles meant.

"You'll understand soon enough, Father." Charles stood, ending the conversation. He grabbed a few more plums as he left, discovering that he actually liked their flavor.

Once in his room, Charles took out paper, a pencil, and a ruler and sketched a quick design for a grenade with a wooden handle. The design was simple, with different explosive loads to categorize it as either offensive or defensive.

In no time, he had completed the sketch. Though not perfect, precision wasn't necessary for his purpose. He added a page of notes with explanations, made a copy for himself, then pinned the pages together and took them downstairs, where Deyoka was still sitting at the table in thought.

"Father, please take this to register as an industrial patent tomorrow," Charles said, handing him the packet.

Deyoka flipped through it, unsure of what to say, but he eventually nodded in agreement.

Charles understood what Deyoka was getting at. His father was essentially saying, "We're not lacking patents or money, Charles. We have plenty of both. But there are things money can't buy."

Charles chose not to explain; he knew it would become clear in time.

...

The next morning, Paris enjoyed a rare sunny day. The sky was a bright, clear blue as sunlight cut through the clouds, casting long shadows from Charles's speeding car.

"Can you believe it, Lieutenant?" Laurent said. "It's raining heavily in Ypres right now!"

"Oh?" Charles asked with curiosity. "Did you receive intelligence from Ypres?"

"Of course," Laurent replied. "Every detail—Gallieni wants you to stay up to date on the battlefield even while you're on leave. For now, everything's quiet; nothing's happening."

Charles understood Gallieni's approach to his leave. As new reports from the battlefield arrived, they would be passed directly to Laurent. If anything urgent arose that required Charles's attention, the information would reach him instantly.

A very effective system!

Things would likely remain calm at Ypres for a while. With air superiority secured, any German attack would undoubtedly be beaten back by the French 75 mm guns. The Germans held the high ground, and with French forces slogging through muddy lowlands, any counterattack would be almost suicidal.

Charles realized he had saved many lives. Historically, this battle cost over 100,000 lives on both sides, with German casualties at 130,000 and Allied losses at 100,000. Now, it had ended with only around 10,000 casualties.

The outcome was the same, but with over 200,000 fewer lives lost.

Stopping a war by fighting—it was a bitter irony.

...

Perhaps because the front was stable, the command center was unusually quiet. Gallieni sat at his desk, nibbling on bread while studying a map, his mind drifting to the front lines. This had been his routine for years; he rarely ate in the mess hall, though it was just downstairs.

"General," Charles said, handing over a copy of the grenade blueprint, "I believe we need this equipment."

Gallieni glanced at the sketch but didn't seem particularly interested at first. His attention quickly returned to the map as he asked, "What is it?"

"A hand grenade," Charles replied. "It's meant to replace the explosive charges thrown by grenadiers."

Gallieni's eyes widened, his expression turning serious as he set aside his bread. He picked up the blueprint with one hand and the notes with the other.

After examining them for a moment, he held up the papers, looking both skeptical and intrigued. "You're saying it doesn't need to be lit—it just has to be pulled to trigger an explosion?"

"That's correct, General," Charles confirmed. "It has a brief delay to give soldiers time to throw it."

Gallieni immediately grasped its potential significance, nodding firmly. "You're right, Lieutenant. We do need this. Do you have a sample?"

"No, General," Charles answered. "I just designed it and have registered the patent. If the army needs it, I can begin production right away. It's quite simple to manufacture…"

"We need it," Gallieni nodded vigorously. "Absolutely."

Gallieni, a practical, battlefield-oriented commander, often sent staff officers to the front lines to ensure that his strategies remained grounded in reality. So, he knew that French soldiers were still using outdated explosive charges to lob at the enemy in the trenches. These charges had numerous disadvantages, like being easily affected by moisture and requiring a lit fuse.

Now Charles had designed a grenade specifically for trench warfare—easy to throw, reliable, and ignition-free.

"We'll need at least ten thousand of these," Gallieni nodded confidently.

Charles couldn't help but laugh. Only ten thousand?

With millions of soldiers on the front, if each soldier were given just five grenades, the need would be in the millions—perhaps even tens of millions, not including future demand!

(End of Chapter)

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