Charles ran into both Estigni and Mathieu at the developnt departnt—not by appointnt, but by chance.
The developnt area was a spacious warehouse over 200 square ters, with a "Mark I" tank stationed in the center, surrounded by tools and machinery for manufacturing and milling. Workers stood by, ready to assist whenever the designers needed to quickly produce or modify parts for the tank. Charles believed this hands-on approach brought out the best in his engineers.
Naturally, everyone granted access to the developnt area—whether designers or workers—had undergone a strict screening process to ensure reliability.
This ti, Charles was alone; Deyoka hadn't co along. Deyoka felt he couldn't grasp much about tanks and preferred to handle office work instead of wandering around the developnt floor.
Colonel Estigni stood by the "Mark I" tank, deep in thought, while Mathieu and Joseph were adjusting sothing on a small model nearby.
Seeing Charles enter, both greeted him in unison.
"Hey, Charles! Good to see you!"
"I have an idea, Charles!"
They both paused, then Colonel Estigni graciously gestured for Mathieu to go first. "Mine will take a while. Please go ahead, sir."
"Thank you, Colonel," Mathieu replied without hesitation, unconcerned with rank; he treated everyone equally, whether a colonel or a worker.
Supporting himself on his cane, Mathieu stepped aside to reveal a model to Charles. "Even with recent engine breakthroughs, I thought you should take a look at this first."
"What is it?" Charles asked, moving closer.
The model was a small circular tread assembly, clearly designed to simulate the Mark I tank. Springs and chanical levers supported the tread.
"It's like this," Mathieu explained. "Treads have been a constant problem for chanics and an ongoing burden. Every ten kiloters or so, the tank needs maintenance, with chanics replacing cracked or warped treads. After thirty kiloters, they might have to swap out the whole tread—a nightmare for upkeep and a major reason tanks can't travel for long distances."
Colonel Estigni's face lit up with enthusiasm. "You—do you have a solution, sir?"
"More or less," Mathieu replied, shooting Estigni a surprised glance, as if to ask why the tank commander seed so interested.
Charles leaned in to inspect the model closely and quickly understood. "You're planning to use springs to reduce the tension on the treads?"
"Exactly!" Mathieu patted the model's tread with a gloved hand, explaining, "I realized the main reason treads break so easily isn't just the tank's weight. It's the tension within the treads. It's like a taut rope—pull on it a little, and it snaps. But if the rope had so elasticity, it wouldn't break so easily."
Charles nodded. This addressed another flaw of rigid suspension systems: treads breaking frequently, making maintenance difficult and limiting the tank's battlefield mobility.
In battles like Laforques, once victory was secured, the tanks couldn't advance further to encircle the enemy. Moving forward required bringing along spare treads, tools, and hours of replacent ti—an impractical scenario.
"Good point," Estigni said, joining the discussion. He studied the model intently. "If we support the treads with wheels equipped with springs, it would make the treads flexible, like an elastic rope, which wouldn't snap as easily under pressure."
"Exactly!" Mathieu replied. "This could extend the treads' lifespan and impact the tank's speed."
"Speed?" Estigni's eyes sparkled with interest.
"Yes!" Mathieu explained. "If the treads have a maximum impact threshold, then adding springs reduces the force they receive from the ground…"
Estigni nodded in realization. "So, the tank could go faster before reaching that impact threshold—aning higher speeds wouldn't damage the treads as quickly?"
This was essentially the "weakest link principle." No matter how powerful the engine, speed wouldn't improve if the suspension couldn't handle it. Faster speeds would simply break the treads, leaving the tank immobile.
"Exactly," Mathieu agreed. "But without field testing, I can't be certain it'll work."
"It's worth a try," Estigni replied, nodding with admiration. "This could bring tanks to a whole new level. It's creative and aningful work, sir."
Both n turned to Charles with eager anticipation.
Charles nodded approvingly. The concept of a basic suspension system was taking shape.
"Well done, Mathieu!" Charles praised him sincerely. He hadn't expected such insight from Mathieu, who, with only a middle school education and no formal technical training, had conceived and designed a suspension system.
However, Charles believed they could take it a step further. "But why not use hydraulic shock absorbers instead of springs? I think they might perform even better."
Mathieu froze, then burst out, "You're right, Charles. You're…you're a genius! My god, with one sentence, you've outdone all my efforts! I hate you, Charles—this whole model is worthless now!"
Despite his words, Mathieu's face was lit with excitent. He had no real desire to compete with Charles.
Joseph, who had been silent until now, also agreed with Charles's suggestion. "Yes, considering the tank's weight, springs won't provide enough cushion. We definitely need hydraulic shock absorbers. They could even be produced at the motorcycle factory!"
Motorcycles already used hydraulic shock absorbers at this ti, and Charles's motorcycle factory had experience with this technology.
(Note: Hydraulic shock absorbers were invented in 1908.)
Colonel Estigni looked back and forth between the n, a bit confused but intrigued. He asked hesitantly, "So does that an…we could achieve higher speeds?"
"Yes, of course!" Mathieu replied confidently. "Hydraulic shock absorbers would work far better than springs."
Colonel Estigni took a deep breath, nodding with mounting excitent. "Incredible…simply incredible!"
anwhile, Charles thought to himself: since they were already discussing it, why not push the concept even further?
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