Chapter 214: The Day Has Finally Come
After the victory, most of the news Charles received was filled with praise and congratulations. However, the one thing he wasn't pleased about was his sudden resurgence as a public icon in Paris.
Around 7 p.m. that evening, barely half an hour after the announcement of the successful breakout, crowds of Parisians began to gather outside the Defense Command Headquarters to celebrate. Though the sky had darkened and snow continued to fall, the cold did nothing to cool the enthusiasm of the Parisians. They shouted up toward the building:
"Thank you, Charles! You saved my son!"
"I received news that André is safe. He asked me to thank you!"
"You're a hero of France!"
The loudest voices belonged to families of soldiers. Many soldiers from the 1st and 2nd Special Artillery Divisions were from Paris and its surrounding areas. It was not intentional; when the two divisions were formed, many young men from noble and wealthy families had been placed in them, thanks to connections. Along with these officers, they often brought friends and soldiers they knew from home, resulting in many soldiers hailing from Paris or nearby regions.
When news of their encirclement broke, their families were anxious beyond measure. Many of them had hoped Charles would take action but had no way of expressing it. Now, hearing that Charles had successfully led them out of the encirclement, they were overcome with gratitude and gathered spontaneously to show their thanks.
Charles glanced out the window at the sea of people, at least tens of thousands, completely surrounding the 4th District headquarters. The police had even been called to manage security and traffic. Under the streetlights, people stood with snow accumulating on their shoulders, refusing to leave.
"What do they want?" Charles wondered aloud. "Is this how people idolize someone in this era?"
Capde moved closer and explained, "Some of the soldiers haven't returned. Their families are hoping you can do something."
Charles fell silent.
Of the more than 40,000 soldiers, only about 32,000 had managed to break through, leaving over 10,000 killed or missing. But Charles knew he had already done everything possible.
Soon, however, Charles discovered this wasn't the only troubling news...
"General!" Lieutenant Colonel Fernand, after taking a phone call, turned to Gallieni with a tense expression. "Captain Carter just called—five of our planes are still unaccounted for, including one of the machine-gun-equipped planes!"
Gallieni paused, his eyes quickly finding Charles.
Charles shook his head slightly; this was something beyond his control. The only hope was that this machine-gun-equipped plane had crashed or landed within French-held territory; otherwise, an air battle was sure to erupt soon.
...
In Berlin, on Wilhelmstrasse, the phones at the German General Staff Headquarters rang nonstop. The calls were filled with inquiries about the situation, or worse, demands for some plan to reverse the debacle.
Falkenhain had reached his limit. He refused to answer questions, leaving everything to Colonel Moritz while he isolated himself in the officers' lounge, sitting on the edge of the bed. Hunched over with his hands resting on his knees, he looked utterly defeated.
He didn't know how to report this to Kaiser Wilhelm II. He ran through various versions in his head:
"Your Majesty, this was my error in command. We were deceived by Charles."
"Your Majesty, it was due to a lack of intelligence. We didn't know Charles had deployed a new tank."
"We lost air control. Although the enemy was surrounded by our forces, the intelligence was completely one-sided; the enemy knew all our movements and could direct their forces by air while we were left in the dark."
But no matter how he framed it, there was no way to obscure the fact of defeat. Kaiser Wilhelm II had backed Falkenhain's western strategy, facing tremendous pressure to do so. Now, it seemed they would have to shift their focus back to the Eastern Front.
Just then, Colonel Moritz burst through the door, exclaiming, "General, you need to hear this call!"
"I told you," Falkenhain snapped, lifting his head in anger. "I'm not taking any calls! None!"
But Moritz insisted, "No, General, this call is different. It's about Charles's aircraft. We've captured a machine-gun-equipped plane!"
Falkenhain's shock was indescribable. He stared at Moritz in disbelief before jolting to his feet and running toward the command center, shouting as he went, "Make sure it's secure… where is it, which phone line…"
A staff officer held up the receiver, and Falkenhain snatched it, asking anxiously, "Are you certain it's Charles's machine-gun-equipped plane?"
"We're not completely certain, General," the voice on the other end replied, "but it has two machine guns mounted at the nose, so it's likely."
"How did you capture it?" Falkenhain asked.
"It made an emergency landing due to a fuel leak. The pilot attempted to sabotage it, but we stopped him in time."
Falkenhain could hardly contain his excitement; that almost confirmed it. The pilot's attempt to destroy the plane indicated it held secrets worth hiding.
Falkenhain practically shouted, "Guard it at all costs! Use every available soldier, and secure the pilot. Let no one approach! Absolutely no one!"
He added, "And keep this quiet. Understand?"
"Yes, sir!"
After hanging up, Falkenhain turned to his staff. "Drop everything. Organize troops and transportation immediately. We're bringing it back."
The room buzzed with activity as officers mobilized soldiers, vehicles, and personnel. Falkenhain himself could hardly stay still. After pacing a few steps, he turned to Colonel Moritz. "Get ready; we're leaving as soon as possible. I want to see it with my own eyes."
...
Charles, Gallieni, and several staff officers headed to the 1st Flight Squadron headquarters, where Gallieni intended to use all resources available to locate the missing machine-gun plane as quickly as possible.
Upon their arrival, Captain Carter shook his head in frustration. "Still no news. The plane was part of the 2nd Flight Squadron, covering the breakout. During combat, it was separated from the others, and no one has seen it since."
Planes in this era had no radios, and once combat began, each plane was effectively on its own. Flying at such high speeds, a few dives and evasive maneuvers often meant losing sight of fellow pilots, and pilots could only guess each other's positions.
Headquarters was equally in the dark. They could only wait at the airfield, hoping the planes would return. After enough time had passed with no sign of them, they had to assume something had gone wrong, though even then, it was only a "possibility," never a certainty.
Gallieni ordered his staff to contact units near the last known area of the missing aircraft, refusing to leave any stone unturned.
But Charles realized that, at last, the inevitable day had arrived.
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