Chapter 237： The Bourne (Part 1)

While Edel was in a dilemma, the European war was still going on.

On the Western Front, in order to support the French army fighting hard at Verdun, the British attacked the German army in the area of ​​the Somme. In preparation for this battle, the British and French coalition forces gathered a total of 32 infantry divisions and 6 cavalry divisions, 2,189 artillery pieces, 1,160 mortars, and about 300 aircraft. Its main purpose was to break through the German position, transform it from a positional warfare to a mobile warfare, and to reduce the pressure on France in the Battle of Verdun.

The biggest impression of Edel in this battle was that there were more people dead. Maxim killed 60,000 British troops in one day, and the first appearance of the tank on the battlefield. The time spent developing tanks in the UK is not nearly as long as Romania. After the outbreak of World War I, Lieutenant Colonel Swindon, who was serving in the British Expeditionary Forces, proposed. It is necessary to create an armored vehicle that can open roads, climb over trenches, and destroy and suppress the firepower of machine guns on the battlefield full of barbed wire, so as to speed up the process of war. However, the British Army at that time had no interest in this, but Churchill, then Minister of the Navy, was a treasure, and immediately ordered the formation of a "Land Warship Committee" to personally lead the development of the "Land Warship".

In August 1915, the second tank in the world was born in Britain. Unlike Romania’s Edel guidelines, the performance of the Mark I tanks produced by the United Kingdom is not outstanding. It seems that it is more emergency production, which is also related to the positioning of the new weapons produced by Britain.

At that time, the Mark I tank had a rhombus shape with rigid suspension. There were protruding gun mounts on the track frames on both sides of the car body. Two tracks passed around the car body from the top, and a pair of steering wheels protruded from the rear of the car. The tank has 8 crew members, and there are two types of "male" and "female". The "male" is equipped with two 57mm Hotchkiss 6-pounder fast guns and 4 Hatchikass machine guns, while the "female" only has 6 Vickers machine guns.

This kind of tank, so crude in Edel's opinion, still shocked the Germans. When dozens of huge steel monsters roared, their tracks clanged, broke through the barbed wire, crushed the bunker, and shot at the enemy with machine guns and artillery, the Germans were terrified. The soldiers abandoned their positions in a panic, and some hid. Entering the shelter, some ran away.

The British infantry, supported by tanks, spread their attacks on a frontal of 10 kilometers wide, and advanced four to five kilometers in five hours. This battle result used to cost thousands of tons of artillery shells and sacrificed tens of thousands of people to obtain. The British troops occupied the lost bunker without much casualties and captured the lost machine guns and artillery. One tank captured a village without firing a shot, and another tank captured a trench and captured more than 300 German soldiers.

When the German command received the report from the front, it was shocked. They were able to surpass the trenches on the battlefield (in fact, they relied on the timber to fill the trenches, but the tanks were still unable to turn over.), ignoring machine gun shooting. The new weapon that can move is very curious, but the top priority is to find a solution. At this time, a staff officer mentioned an intelligence. There is this kind of weapon in the Romanian army, so the military reported to the government, hoping to get this new type of weapon in Romania immediately. Even if it is not possible to obtain the physical object, at least there must be a drawing.

So the German government naturally handed this task to Ambassador Baslob, an old friend of Edel, who is now watching the secret diplomatic telegram from Berlin.

"Hey, this task is not easy to handle."

Ambassador Baslob sighed secretly after reading the telegram.

As an ambassador in Romania for several years, Baslob thinks he still has some understanding of the political situation in Romania. Regarding Prime Minister Bretianu’s recent frequent contacts with the Allied countries, he also heard some news, so he thinks Romania has begun to choose a team. However, after his analysis of Romania was sent back to China, the whole story fell into disarray.

But even if it is difficult to handle, Ambassador Baslob believes that he must also contribute to the motherland. So after reading the telegram, Ambassador Baslob called an embassy staff member.

"Go help me prepare the vehicle, I want to go out."

After giving orders to the staff, Ambassador Baslob began to think about where to open the gap. It is not easy to obtain the weapons blueprints of neutral countries. For the previous shooting coordinator, Ambassador Baslob thought afterwards that this was deliberately given to them by Romania. Otherwise, there is no way to explain why Edel agreed so readily, when he almost thought that Romania had to choose the side team first.

Unfortunately, in hindsight, he thought too much, and Romania still maintained its neutrality.

When Ambassador Baslob thought of this Berlin request, Counselor Masno hurried over.

"Our people just saw again that Minister Wentile Bretianu went to the British Embassy. This is the third time this week. The Romanian government must have something to discuss with the Allies."

Facing Counselor Masnou’s affirmation, Ambassador Baslob had to let go of his request for Berlin. He asked rhetorically. "is this real?"

"Of course, the military attache of our embassy, ​​Major Hubberts, saw it in person this time."

Counselor Masnou's affirmation made Ambassador Baslob think about walking back and forth in the room. The cousin of a minister or a prime minister frequently visits the embassy of the Allied Powers, and there must be some unknown reasons for this. Ask the Romanian side directly, this is absolutely impossible, and Romania will not tell the truth. I got the news through Romanian friends. The problem is that I don’t have enough reliable friends at the top of the government.

Ambassador Baslob repeatedly thought of several ways in his mind, but they were all rejected by him.

Counselor Masnou looked at Ambassador Baslobb walking back and forth in his thoughts couldn't help but suggest. "Should we start with the embassy of the Allied countries?"

Ambassador Baslob asked when he heard Counselor Masnou's words. "Do you have any good candidates."

Counselor Masnou knew that it was Ambassador Baslob who asked him if he had a suitable buyer. Now I think of getting news of Romania and the Allied Powers. It is currently impossible to pass through Romania. Because Romanian officials are very high-level, and their embassy can't afford the price. However, it is much simpler to buy the staff of the Embassy of the Allied Nations. After all, its level is much lower, so it is better to buy more.

Ambassador Baslob just asked casually, but he did not expect that Counselor Masnou really gave him a candidate. "I have a choice at the moment."

"Who?"

"Counselor of the Russian Embassy Andy Dandong." ()

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