"It's adapted from a machine gun," Dominique explained as he handed Charles a document. "Italy recently introduced a new weapon, the Villar Perosa. I realized it would work well as a basis for a submachine gun, so I took it apart and made a few adjustments."

As Charles reviewed the document, he finally understood why Dominique's submachine gun prototype had come together so quickly. It had been modified from a machine gun that fired pistol rounds, meaning it required minimal adjustments—almost a direct replication.

"Are there any intellectual property issues?" Charles asked, glancing at Dominique.

"Italy is likely to become our enemy, General," Dominique replied with a smile.

If Italy were indeed an enemy, there'd be no need to worry about intellectual property rights.

But Charles knew that wasn't the whole story.

Italy was technically part of the Central Powers and should have stood with Germany, but from the beginning of the war, Italy had wavered, eventually siding with the Allies when it became clear they had a better chance of winning.

Dominique wasn't aware of this and had simply taken the design as-is, modifying the caliber: Italy used a 9mm pistol round, while the French MAS revolver had an 11mm caliber.

Charles raised the document, gesturing toward Dominique. "Tell me why you chose this design, aside from the fact that it was ready to use."

Dominique felt a bit self-conscious; he suspected Charles's question hinted at dissatisfaction with the design. Still, he responded.

"First, it's lightweight—only 3.6 kilograms."

Charles nodded slightly. Weight was indeed important for a submachine gun.

"Second, it has a 25-round magazine," Dominique continued.

A 25-round capacity was decent for this era, so no issue there either.

"And finally, it has a high rate of fire." Dominique leaned closer, pointing to the data on the document. "It fires at 900 rounds per minute."

On the surface, this also seemed ideal; a submachine gun's role was to unleash a hail of bullets at the enemy in a short time.

However, Charles shook his head.

"Have you noticed a potential issue here?" Charles asked.

"Is there… a problem?" Dominique asked, puzzled. He had thought this submachine gun perfectly met Charles's previous requirements.

Charles slowed his speech, hinting, "A 25-round magazine with a firing rate of 900 rounds per minute—what does that mean in combat?"

Dominique paused, then asked hesitantly, "You mean the rate of fire is too high for the magazine capacity?"

"Exactly," Charles replied. "At 900 rounds per minute, that's 15 rounds per second. The 25-round magazine would be emptied in less than two seconds. With just a squeeze of the trigger, or if your finger tenses when jumping into a trench, you'll use up all your ammo in an instant."

Dominique's eyes lit up with understanding. "So, we should reduce the rate of fire."

But then he hesitated. "What would be the ideal rate of fire?"

This was a crucial decision that needed to be determined before mass production, as it would impact the submachine gun's effectiveness on the battlefield.

Charles didn't answer immediately; he said calmly, "Before that, let's first consider the tactics for using a submachine gun."

The words seemed simple, but Dominique was struck by Charles's foresight; the weapon was still in the design and testing phase, yet Charles was already considering its tactical application?

"Can we really?" Dominique asked, stunned. "Shouldn't tactics be considered after the weapon is produced?"

"Of course we can," Charles replied confidently. "We can deduce this based on what we know now."

Charles then analyzed, "Think about it, Dominique. This gun uses pistol rounds. What are the advantages and disadvantages of pistol rounds?"

"The advantage is low recoil and a fast rate of fire, but the disadvantage is poor penetration," Dominique answered instinctively.

"Yes, poor penetration," Charles noted, gesturing as he continued. "If the enemy is lined up single file, our bullets would only take down the enemy at the front."

Dominique nodded in agreement. This was a common situation in trench warfare. When soldiers jumped into an enemy trench, they often faced a line of opponents, with one enemy positioned behind another. A pistol round wouldn't penetrate one body to harm those behind.

Dominique suddenly had an insight. Holding the submachine gun, he said thoughtfully, "I get it. With such a high rate of fire, all 25 rounds would hit the first enemy, leaving us defenseless!"

Charles pointed his finger in the air as if to say, "Exactly, you're on the right track."

"There's another scenario," Charles added. "What if the enemy is spread out in a line in front of us? How would that affect our strategy?"

This could happen when two armies charged head-on or when soldiers at the edge of a trench faced advancing enemies.

After some thought, Dominique moved the submachine gun from side to side as if aiming at multiple targets. Suddenly, he exclaimed, "We should aim in a sweeping arc, right, General? That way, we can hit multiple enemies along the line. But if the rate of fire is too high, we won't have time to sweep before all the bullets are gone—they'll still concentrate on just one or two enemies!"

Charles nodded and summarized, "So, our rate of fire should be calibrated for these two types of tactical maneuvers. With one pull of the trigger, a short burst should fire around six to seven rounds—enough to take down a single target. This addresses the first scenario."

Dominique enthusiastically added, "And holding down the trigger to sweep in an arc should leave enough ammo to complete a full sweep. This addresses the second scenario."

Charles nodded in agreement, then pointed to the vertical magazine on the submachine gun.

"It obstructs the shooter's view, making it hard to aim precisely in certain situations. It would be better to mount it on the side."

"And the magazine capacity—25 rounds is still a bit low. We could try using a drum magazine."

Magazine capacity was crucial for a submachine gun; those few extra rounds could determine whether the gunman could eliminate all the enemies in one go.

If not, they'd be left helpless after firing, as the enemy wouldn't give them time to reload.

Dominique was left speechless, wide-eyed at Charles's insights. He had thought his submachine gun was near-perfect, yet Charles had casually pointed out several critical flaws, each severely impacting its combat performance.

Now, with Charles's adjustments, it was on its way to becoming a nearly perfect submachine gun.

But how did Charles do it?

Was this the difference between an ordinary person and a true genius?

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