Chapter 217: The Freak Of Potsdam
In the first week at Potsdam Military Academy, Lelouch had nothing noteworthy to do other than socialize with other students.
To enforce strict military discipline, the officers attending the first week of advanced studies at Potsdam were not scheduled for any cultural classes. It was purely discipline and tactical drills. Even though these officers were unlikely to personally carry a rifle and charge into battle again, this brief “show of force” could not be omitted, similar to the “division commanders going to the grassroots” experiences of later generations.
Lelouch did not request special treatment; fortunately, it was only for a week, and he could endure it.
His physique, honed by a year and a half of military service, was no longer as weak as when he first started. He could run five kilometers with a load, manage a few pull-ups, and do over fifty push-ups.
Although he couldn’t compare to officers of the same age who had received rigorous formal training, he had already surpassed ordinary people in society. Moreover, the physical fitness assessment requirements for these advanced courses were lowered, tailored to the physical condition of students aged 35-40.
Lelouch was actually 24 years old（, falsely claiming to be 26）, benefiting from his youth, so passing was naturally effortless.
After the grinding of the first week concluded.
On the Monday of the second week, January 17th, Lelouch finally had his first formal topic selection class. Within this week, he had to complete the initial selection of his thesis topic and find his research direction for the next two and a half months.
Potsdam Academy had prepared very strong faculty for the advanced seminar’s topic selection class, sometimes even having retired old marshals to talk with the students, understand their talents and insights, and help them choose their topics.
Furthermore, among the students attending this topic selection class, Oswald Lutz was the only acquaintance Lelouch had recently made; all others were new faces unknown to history, totaling only a dozen or so people.
Officers like Kühler, Wex, and Reichenau, whom he had met last week, did not need to attend this topic selection class because they had already enrolled five and three months prior, respectively, and had long since chosen their topics. At Potsdam, many students entering in the same cohort did not necessarily start at the exact same time; there could be several months’ difference, which was unavoidable during wartime.
Heinz Guderian, however, was still required to be present and assist throughout as a general helper.
“Hey, Heinz, who is the professor for today’s topic selection? Class is about to start, can you at least reveal who it is?”
On the morning of the 17th, Lelouch and Oswald Lutz arrived at the classroom. Seeing that Guderian had already arrived early to set up the lecture, Lelouch casually inquired.
Guderian glanced around. Seeing that no outsiders were present yet, he lowered his voice and revealed in advance: “Today’s lecturer is a heavyweight veteran! Marshal Goltz, who served as principal as early as 1908!
He is known as the father of the Ottoman Army. As chief advisor, he helped the Ottomans rebuild their new army in the late last century. Last year, the Ottomans seconded him to Baghdad to oversee the defense of the Middle Eastern front, and he only recently returned to the country to recuperate.”
Lelouch was not very familiar with Marshal Goltz’s resume because this person was not very famous in history books, and he was too old.
When Lelouch cooperated with the Ottomans on the Eastern Front, he dealt with generals in the defense zones around Istanbul, including General von Zanders and the Ottoman native Kehmler.
However, Oswald Lutz, who came with Lelouch, was very familiar with high-ranking military officials and privately introduced the situation to Lelouch.
Lelouch then learned that the retired old principal’s full name was Colmar von der Goltz, and he was born in 1843—meaning he was older than Old Marshal Leopold of Baria（1846）, and older than Marshal Mackensen（1849）, already 74 years old this year.
In fact, Marshal Goltz of the Earth plane died of typhoid fever in the summer of 1916 when he returned to the Persian Gulf front to deploy troops to quell the Arab rebellion instigated by the British, precisely because of his old age and frailty. This also led to the British “troublemaker Lawrence” successfully causing chaos in the Middle East.
After all, he was a 74-year-old man and could not defy the natural laws of aging and weakness. His return this time was a spur-of-the-moment decision to visit the school where he had been principal eight years ago.
As for his views and approach to military academia, according to Lutz’s introduction, Marshal Goltz was an anomaly within the General Staff Department back then. He was famously known for vehemently opposing Schlieffen—the very Schlieffen who formulated the “Schlieffen Plan” and died in 1913.
After Schlieffen’s death, Moltke the Younger succeeded him as Chief of Staff and oversaw the initial military operations of the World War. Later, due to Moltke the Younger’s poor execution, Emperor Wilhelm dismissed him.
Goltz, on the other hand, had opposed the “Schlieffen Plan” from beginning to end. He believed that Schlieffen’s plan would be difficult to implement under the logistical pressures of the new era and was too all-or-nothing, failing to consider the unpredictable changes in the international environment.
However, Schlieffen’s influence was at its peak back then, and other generals were also aligned with Schlieffen. This led to Goltz being marginalized in 1908 and, despite his marshal’s rank, being relegated to the position of principal at Potsdam Military Academy, essentially to force his retirement after his factional struggle failed.
…
While Lutz was enlightening Lelouch with these past events, other students began to arrive.
Lutz had to lower his voice even further and whisper, having just finished explaining all this. An old marshal, the retired old principal, Marshal Colmar von Goltz, appeared at the doorway（as shown in the figure below）.
Guderian, the general helper, quickly called everyone to attention and salute. Lelouch and the others immediately stood at attention and saluted.
Marshal Goltz walked slowly and steadily to the podium, his gaze sweeping over the students:
“I heard there is a Lelouch von Hunt among this cohort. Are you present?”
“Report, Marshal! Brigadier General Lelouch von Hunt, Chief of Staff of the 6th Army Group, reporting!” Lelouch immediately stepped out from behind his desk and saluted again.
Marshal Goltz nodded, looking at the other students, most of whom were only majors to colonels, and said to him, the sole brigadier general:
“I hope your strategic vision is as sharp as your tactical innovation on the Eastern Front, otherwise, I might still fail you! Young people must not become arrogant due to meritorious service.”
“Yes, Marshal!” Lelouch replied respectfully.
“All of you may sit down,” Marshal Goltz said with a wave of his hand. Then, on an impulse, he turned, picked up a piece of chalk, and wrote a sentence on the blackboard.
“On the Gains and Losses of the Schlieffen Plan.”
After writing, he dropped the chalk and muttered, “The war has been going on for a year and a half. Although the Empire’s situation is still acceptable, we have suffered many setbacks.
I believe everyone knows that the first decisive setback the Empire suffered was the failure of the Schlieffen Plan to annihilate the Franks within the first two or three months of the war. This led to the war devolving into a war of attrition and consumption.
Since you are all to delve into strategic studies, regardless of whether you ultimately choose a topic in this area, today you can discuss the strategic lessons you have learned from this war.”
Marshal Goltz’s words immediately made many students uneasy. If not for the strict discipline of the Germania Army officers, they would have likely started whispering immediately.
Especially since many of the students here were aware of the factional struggles within the Staff Department back then, and knew that Marshal Goltz was at odds with Chief of Staff Schlieffen, which led to Schlieffen exiling him to the military academy to be sidelined.
In front of Marshal Goltz, should they speak ill of Schlieffen and criticize his plan? That might make graduation easier, but Marshal Goltz couldn’t control everything. He was a nominal, temporarily recalled figurehead from his retirement at the academy. If they bad-mouthed Schlieffen here today, would it lead to retaliation from Schlieffen’s surviving disciples in the future?
For example, Marshal Hindenburg on the Eastern Front, or Lieutenant General Ludendorff.
Marshal Goltz saw their apprehension and immediately waved his hand magnanimously: “I have asked you to speak freely, so you may discuss it among yourselves without hesitation.”
Having received permission, the students began to discuss. Lelouch observed coldly, remaining silent; after all, having read so much military history and strategic analysis before his transmigration, these discussions were unnecessary for him.
Soon, several officers who had returned from the central and northern sectors of the Eastern Front, clearly belonging to Hindenburg’s and Ludendorff’s army groups, requested to speak.
Marshal Goltz granted them permission, and they successively presented similar viewpoints:
“I believe the plan left by Chief of Staff Schlieffen was good, but its execution was inadequate. At the beginning of the war, Chief of Staff Moltke the Younger lacked Schlieffen’s execution capabilities and failed to sufficiently reinforce the decisive blow of outflanking the Franks through Luxembourg and Belgium to the north.
He divided his forces to defend against the Frankish attack in Alsace and Lorraine, dispersing his limited manpower. This caused the Empire to be delayed for too long along the Belgian route, ultimately lacking the momentum and failing at the Marne River.”
This viewpoint, in the eyes of any middle school student in later generations, was old news. When discussing World War I, everyone said the Schlieffen Plan was good and that problems arose during execution, not being carried out fully.
However, in 1916, with the war not yet over, such a viewpoint was still somewhat novel and showed a sliver of insight.
The people below might not have thought that deeply yet, but the General Staff Headquarters had already considered it, and even the Emperor endorsed this view.
That is why, at the end of 1914, after the failure of the Schlieffen Plan, Chief of Staff Moltke the Younger was replaced for his poor performance, and Falkenhayn was appointed Chief of Staff.
Even Marshal Goltz, standing at the podium today, found it difficult to publicly contradict such a nearly official stance.
Marshal Goltz did not openly object after hearing this. He did not make a clear statement, merely watching coldly, remaining silent.
Marshal Goltz scanned the room indifferently, his gaze finally settling on Lelouch, and he directly called him out:
“Brigadier General Lelouch von Hunt! You speak. What is your opinion on this matter.”
Lelouch had already organized his thoughts and then calmly stood up and spoke eloquently:
“I believe that if the Schlieffen Plan is evaluated purely as a military plan, it was appropriate in the late last century. However, after 1905, with the lessons learned from the Russo-Japanese War, the European continental powers upgraded their warfare armament. Although the Schlieffen Plan underwent a final round of revisions, it had generally become too entrenched and difficult to implement.”
Marshal Goltz, hearing his precise wording and not immediately taking a strong stance, gained a bit more trust in him.
This was a young man who was pragmatic and serious in his work, able to focus on the issue without regard to the person, and not easily taking sides.
It was not easy for a young person to possess such a temperament.
“Be more specific,” Marshal Goltz did not show his admiration, still encouraging him to think expansively in a neutral tone.
Lelouch organized his thoughts and explained methodically: “Before the war of 1905, the use of automatic firepower like heavy machine guns was not yet widespread. Warfare at that time relied more on sheer numbers, and concentrating forces brought more obvious advantages.
However, after the war of 1905, the concentration of firepower became more important than the concentration of manpower, which was proven by the emergence of assault battalion tactics at the end of 1914. The degree of firepower concentration depended more on the bearing limit of logistical pressure. Given the logistical capacity of the transportation network along the German-French-Belgian border and the railway capacity en route, it was impossible to have five army groups advance along the same railway in the new combat format.
Therefore, if the Schlieffen Plan were to guide a war before 1905, its approach of concentrating numbers on the battlefield might have yielded a decisive advantage. But unfortunately, this plan began to be formulated in the early 1890s and was revised over a decade until 1905, yet the war did not break out. It wasn’t until nine years later that the war erupted, and many of Schlieffen’s late-career revisions could not keep pace with the situation.”
Lelouch’s words would certainly be understood by anyone with some in-depth knowledge of military affairs, at least those who could master Hearts of Iron and other P series games.
To put it plainly, the supply capacity of the routes has a carrying limit. Stacking too many troops along the same supply route results in severe stacking penalties, greatly reducing the combat efficiency of each unit.
In the era without heavy machine guns, stacking numbers was meaningful because numbers equaled firepower density, and individual soldiers required less logistical support for weapons and ammunition. Later, railway capacity could not sustain such a scale of concentration.
It wasn’t that Moltke the Younger didn’t want to execute the plan, but objective conditions did not allow it.
It’s just that after the Germania Army’s defeat, the General Staff system needed to shift the blame. They didn’t want the responsibility for the defeat to be borne by the majority of the military; therefore, they could only try to attribute it to “the plan was good, but a few individuals didn’t execute it properly.” This way, fewer people would have to bear the blame, sacrificing only Moltke the Younger would allow everyone else to be cleared.
And their enemies also did not want them to truly reflect. They wanted them to believe that the Schlieffen Plan could still be used next time. Thus, some of Britain’s “strategic deception” military theorists, especially one named Liddell Hart, also advocated during the interwar period that “the Schlieffen Plan was good, and the problem lay in its execution.”
Hindenburg and Ludendorff, seeing that their enemies were endorsing this view, immediately elevated Liddell Hart’s writings to a high academic status and presented them to people at home: “Look, even the enemy acknowledges the Schlieffen Plan. It was internal people dragging their feet that caused us to lose the war…”
However, at this moment, Lelouch’s view was clearly different from the prevailing “blame-shifting” faction. Lelouch clearly believed that the blame did not lie solely with Moltke the Younger, who had already been removed.
This perspective, however, was remarkably accurate and meticulously analyzed, finally eliciting Marshal Goltz’s serious consideration.
“So, you believe the Schlieffen Plan itself had flaws, but these flaws did not exist when the plan was initially formulated? It was due to a mismatch between the era in which the plan was formulated and the era in which the war finally broke out, and the revisions to the plan were not sufficiently synchronized with the times?”
Marshal Goltz summarized Lelouch’s viewpoint with very cautious wording.
“It can be simplified to that understanding, this is just my personal humble opinion.”
Marshal Goltz finally couldn’t help but nod inwardly, then keenly seized upon a detail in Lelouch’s earlier statement and continued to probe deeper:
“But I recall you saying earlier, ‘if the Schlieffen Plan is evaluated purely as a military plan, it was appropriate in the late last century.’ Breaking down this sentence, there should be two aspects that made it inappropriate?
One is the temporal inappropriateness; it became increasingly unsuitable after 1905. The other should be the inappropriateness outside the scope of military factors, because you added the qualifier ‘if evaluated purely as a military plan’.”
Lelouch smiled upon hearing this. Experience truly makes one sharp; Marshal Goltz listened very carefully, even noticing this detail.
“Yes, that’s what I meant. From a purely military perspective, the Schlieffen Plan still had merits under certain specific times and circumstances. However, from a political and diplomatic standpoint, it was a flawed masterpiece, at best a shell, intended to be inhabited before completion.”
——
PS: I hesitated for a long time on these two chapters, as I still need to explain some diplomatic and political theories. Those who find it boring can skip ahead a bit, or I will write it more briefly. But these plot points are useful later.
