Chapter 38: Rundstedt: “we Should Have Thought Of This Back In 1918”
“Respected Marshal Leopold, Captain Lelouch Hunter, company commander of Company A, Assault Battalion, 12th Division, 6th Army Group. It is an honor to meet you.”
Lelouch took a deep breath and greeted the old man as calmly as possible.
This old man was none other than the uncle of the Crown Prince, the second brother of the current King, Marshal Leopold Maximilian Joseph Arnulf.
Marshal Leopold was currently 70 years old, had served in the army for 52 years, had already become a general 43 years ago during the Franco-Prussian War, was promoted to marshal 9 years ago, and retired two years ago at the age of 68.
After hearing Lelouch’s self-introduction, the old marshal’s originally unfocused gaze gradually focused on him, scanned him up and down a few times, then gripped the cane placed on the armrest of the recliner and suddenly stood up.
“It’s not unusual for a young man to become a captain company commander. But you’re the first mere company commander to be invited by Duke Rupprecht to a banquet at Neuschwanstein Castle. I’m even a bit curious—what exactly makes you so exceptional.”
The old marshal spoke with full vigor, clearly his lung capacity had not declined significantly with age.
Lelouch didn’t want to show weakness either. He knew that for a pure soldier who had served his whole life, any unnecessary humility would be seen as hypocrisy. So he straightforwardly revealed his merits:
“It might be because of my merits in a bloody battle before. Your Highness appreciates my tactical vision—I was in a regiment under Major General Karl in Belgian, holding off the enemy’s three divisions’ breakout, and finally used psychological warfare to force their landing and annihilate the Belgian Army.”
In front of the old marshal, Lelouch was very careful with his wording to ensure precision and avoid seeming boastful.
Then he changed the subject and concisely outlined the reason he was invited to the banquet and the specific work he needed to report to the duke.
Although the old marshal had retired, his insight remained sharp. After hearing Lelouch’s statement, he beckoned him to come closer.
Age had dulled his eyesight, but his vision was still razor-sharp.
“Is this the camouflage uniform you suggested equipping the assault troops with? Indeed, the concealment effect is much better, but unfortunately, it doesn’t conform to the empire’s honorable traditions—it looks too dirty.
As for this steel helmet—can it really stop bullets? I didn’t think history would go backward; it’s just uglier than ancient steel helmets.”
As a soldier, he was of course no stranger to helmets. Especially in the Germania region, heavy armored soldiers had been produced since ancient times, with full plate armor visible everywhere in museums. Seeing the modern steel helmet, the old marshal naturally associated it with the massive helmets from the Teutonic Knights era.
However, Lelouch did not get emotional from being questioned; he steadily introduced the design concept of the camouflage uniform patterns and the specific considerations for making the work boots.
Regarding the old marshal’s doubts about the helmet, Lelouch even took off the helmet and placed it in the old marshal’s hands, letting him feel the material himself, and said the old marshal could totally test it with a pistol—as long as he didn’t shoot it straight on.
The old marshal wouldn’t actually test-fire a gun in his own castle. Seeing this, he played with it for a bit and returned the helmet to Lelouch, accepting his explanation.
The old marshal could also see that this helmet was ugly, but its forged curvature was indeed well-designed. When hit by bullets coming laterally, it was more likely to deflect them. Only top-attack bullets from above would relatively easily penetrate it.
What the old marshal didn’t know was that Lelouch’s original helmet prototype sketch had been a one-step solution, minimizing detours.
Lelouch had referenced the post-war M56 helmet. That thing wasn’t produced until the 1950s, but under the same material）, its technical difficulty was actually easier than the 1930s M35 helmet（.
Because the smoother the helmet’s curves, the lower the processing difficulty during forging and stamping, even allowing one-piece forming from a single steel plate. But if the transitions were too angular, the steel would crack easily during direct forging, requiring it to be made in two pieces, processed separately, and then welded together.
Historically, the German Army’s World War I steel helmets were all at least two steel plates welded together.
Something with good ballistic performance and simple production process could be called perfect in both ways. Its only flaw was that it looked ugly; many in later generations said it looked like a turtle shell, not as handsome as angular helmets.
But Lelouch wasn’t a pure arts student who failed math; he was good at drawing, but even better at science and engineering.
He wouldn’t consider issues solely from aesthetics, so he unhesitatingly chose the M56-inspired shape.
Thus, the more the old marshal looked, the more he felt this helmet had something special to it. Although he couldn’t calculate the specific mechanics analysis, based on a soldier’s intuition alone, he saw that Lelouch was someone who did everything for victory, pragmatic and never flashy.
“It’s rare to see a young man as pragmatic as you. From this detail, I can understand why that kid Rupprecht values you.” The old marshal sincerely praised.
It was also Lelouch’s good fortune in timing; his design was entirely for practicality, to be responsible for his comrades’ lives.
But old people are always steady and conservative, disliking anything fancy. Lelouch’s pragmatism thus became a rare virtue in the old marshal’s eyes.
If a middle-aged man in his thirties or forties were this steady and pragmatic, it wouldn’t be rare. But for a young man in his early twenties, full of vigor, to be so pragmatic was truly exceptional.
Touched by this, the old marshal’s originally stern demeanor softened a bit, becoming more talkative, and chatted with Lelouch on many topics.
Esteemed elders like him sometimes felt very lonely inside; after being respected for so long, they experienced the chill of high places.
When the old marshal asked about Lelouch’s background and academic history and learned he had come from the Ollie Empire to enlist in Baria, not only did he not find it improper, but he felt even more affinity and naturally tried to relate:
“You’re from Ollie? Ollie is great. My wife is from Ollie; at the banquet later, she’ll be delighted to see a young man from the homeland.”
Marshal Leopold’s wife was also his cousin, born to Emperor Franz of Ollie and Princess Sisi of the empress—while Princess Sisi was Marshal Leopold’s own aunt and Duke Rupprecht’s great-aunt. The cross-marriages between the Ollie Royal Family and the Baria Royal Family had gone on for many generations.
After this reflection, the old marshal, whose floodgates were fully open, also felt a bit like testing him. Wanting to see this young man’s strategic vision, he followed up on the earlier topic of cross-national service:
“So what exactly were you thinking when you came from Ollie to enlist in Baria? Will you regret it in the future? What do you think of the prospects of this war?”
Lelouch was stunned for a moment, not because the question was hard to answer, but because he had already answered Duke Rupprecht once before.
He hadn’t expected that meeting the duke’s uncle would require answering it again—though the questions weren’t exactly the same this time; they were more profound, with more foresight.
Of course, Lelouch also wanted to seize the chance to show more of his talent and avoid repeating himself, so he racked his brains for a moment and didn’t dare answer lightly.
His silence, in the old marshal’s eyes, seemed like he had never thought about such questions before.
After a long while, Lelouch sighed deeply, first repeating the motives he had told the duke before, with minor variations. But at the end, he turned the topic and added a freshly thought-up personal view, while also addressing the old marshal’s last two questions:
“…Of course, besides wanting to fight alongside soldiers of my own nation when I came to enlist in Baria, there was another consideration.
Because when I saw Britannia also join the war back then, I realized the Allies had been insidiously outmaneuvered. No matter how capable I was, if I stayed in my homeland Ollie, I could only sacrifice in vain, changing nothing.
Because Ollie had too many internal problems; like Lusha, it was a giant with feet of clay. To change the war’s outcome and incidentally save my homeland, the only hope was for the Germania Empire to perform exceptionally.”
Lelouch’s words were bold in tone but seemed very sincere.
The old marshal could hardly believe it: What tone was this young man using? From his meaning, it seemed without him, their side was doomed? And even with him, only by coming to Germania could he turn the tide?
Was that what he meant?
It was also thanks to the old marshal having just heard that this young man had changed the final outcome of the “Rush to the Sea” campaign, used clever ploys to turn the tide, and annihilated the Belgian Army…
That the old marshal could hold his temper and not directly chase him out as a madman.
“So you think this war’s hopes are already slim? Then tell me, in the best case, what result do you think the empire can strive for?”
After the earlier ideological clash, Lelouch had sorted out his thoughts, and since he was well-versed in history, he was no longer nervous and spoke freely:
“I believe the empire’s hope for victory lies in the Eastern Front. If the empire’s top brass can all see the situation clearly and achieve unity from top to bottom, with everyone striving, the best scenario is victory on the Eastern Front and a draw on the Western Front.”
Hearing him say this, the old marshal’s slightly angry expression subsided, becoming serious again.
“You think the empire’s chance is on the Eastern Front? That’s very different from the General Staff Headquarters’ view. Everyone up and down the General Staff believes the Eastern Front is vast in depth; to completely defeat Lusha would absolutely be a prolonged war. Moreover, Lusha’s inland winter cold is so terrifying that even Napoleon couldn’t conquer it back then.
By comparison, how much depth do the Franks on the west have? If you perform a bit better at Ypres this time, and do it a few more times like that, gradually nibbling away—can’t you annihilate the Franks? Just because the Griffin Plan failed at the Marne River a few months ago, you’re discouraged?”
The old marshal fired off several questions in a row, then stared unyieldingly into Lelouch’s eyes: “Tell me honestly, did Rupprecht tip you off, telling you that after the new year, His Majesty the Emperor might summon me to return to service as commander of the Eastern Front’s southern wing, so you’re saying the empire’s hope is on the Eastern Front to flatter me?”
The old marshal’s gaze was piercing, trying to spot flaws in Lelouch’s eyes to see if he was saying this to curry favor.
But Lelouch’s gaze was very firm, without the slightest evasion.
Lelouch said neither humbly nor arrogantly: “Your Highness the Duke told me nothing, and I don’t know you’ll return to the Eastern Front— the banquet is about to start soon; when Your Highness the Duke returns, you can confirm with him directly. I couldn’t lie about something like this.”
The old marshal thought about it and agreed, no longer suspecting flattery, but returned to the professional question: “Then explain carefully: exactly why do you think this war’s hope is on the Eastern Front, while the Western Front can at most force a draw? As long as it’s reasonable, with strategic vision…”
The old marshal originally wanted to say a few words of promise for promotion, but on second thought, felt it unnecessary and undignified, so he said no more.
But his meaning was already clear: Lelouch was merely a captain, while he was a marshal about to return to service.
If he could earn the marshal’s appreciation for his strategic vision, how could his future not be promoted?
