Chapter 45: Laws Don’t Apply Retroactively
Bock and Major Rundstedt finalized the final attack position allocation, and then Lelouch drove to report it level by level for approval and filing.
The troops at all levels also made corresponding adjustments. For example, Baria 6th Division corresponding to the 2nd Assault Battalion was moved to the north half-side of the Town of Armentieres and urgently built the final launch position. Correspondingly, Baria 12th Division corresponding to the 1st Assault Battalion was adjusted to the south half-side of the town and was making the same preparations.
The artillery regiments under these two divisions also hurriedly deployed forward observation posts and bunkers. Once the battle started, they would provide “one-on-one assistance” fire support.
The Army Group also transferred some army-level artillery units from the rear, similarly temporarily reinforcing them to the frontline assault troops—during the general offensive, the artillery of the main assault divisions alone was absolutely insufficient, often temporarily over-allocating several times the artillery power.
Moreover, at the last moment, Lelouch also saw the General Staff Headquarters decision to use the 280mm “Smoke Thrower” Grenade Thrower（, that is, the launcher moved to the SDK251 “Walking Stuka” half-track vehicle in World War II, which was pictured earlier）
This weapon was not used this time to throw heavy grenades, but to throw “gas canisters” filled with tear gas that the French Army had used several times before.
Originally in Earth’s history, the first use of chlorine gas was in the Battle of Ypres.
And now in this world, it was very harmonious, with neither side having poison gas, so in the end, they could only retaliate with tear gas. This stuff couldn’t kill people, it could only be used to “force movement,” that is, to make the enemy soldiers in the frontline solid positions unable to endure and flee backward.
As for upgrading the throwing method from Earth’s “directly opening the gas canister to release gas and relying on the wind to blow it over” to the “Smoke Thrower” Grenade Thrower, it was also a decision by the General Staff Headquarters after studying the articles.
Because《The Hague 1907》 Article 23 only stipulated that gas containers could not be launched with “cannons,” while the “Smoke Thrower” was more like a rocket launcher.
This might be hard to distinguish in Chinese context, because “rocket artillery” also has the word “artillery.” But in Western languages, it’s easy to distinguish; as long as there is no sealed barrel pressure gun barrel, under international law, it can only be considered a “throwing frame.”
Lelouch even suspected: Was it because the Chief of Staff’s nephew was moved to the first line as a “commando” that the General Staff Headquarters went to such lengths to enhance covering fire, fearing any accident to the Chief of Staff’s nephew.
From this perspective, having Major Lavon Bock as his battalion commander could be considered to have achieved remarkable results, giving this unit extra care.
……
The preparation for the last two days passed in non-stop busyness.
Lelouch was also participating in such a large-scale battle for the first time in person. He, who originally lacked direct troop-leading experience, learned a lot from leaders and colleagues like Major Bock and Captain Rommel, filling in many gaps in frontline military common sense.
Time flew to the early morning of December 20th.
Since the snow gradually lessened after nightfall on the 19th, the Army Group finalized the bombardment at 6 a.m. on the 20th and the full-scale attack at 8 a.m.
Around 4 a.m., the soldiers all got up, finished breakfast before 5 a.m., and then brewed some hot coffee to warm themselves.
The German Army’s military rations supply system was much simpler than that of Eastern armies, because there was no need to cook soupy dishes, so there were no grassroots cooking squads. Staple foods like bread and sausages could be uniformly baked and distributed by the division’s “bread company.”
While drinking coffee, officers like Rommel gathered around Lelouch, nervously analyzing the possible situations ahead.
Rommel, who was best at taking unconventional paths, seemed very dissatisfied with the choice of the general offensive time:
“If you ask me, it should be bombardment at 4 a.m. and attack at 6 a.m. That way, the effect would be better, catching the enemy off guard. By the time of the charge, it would just be dimly lit, not affecting the assault vision, and not allowing distant enemies to see too clearly.”
Rommel’s complaint quickly received responses from other officers. Because it conformed to common sense, and previous campaigns had been done that way.
“Indeed, attacking at 8 a.m. would give the enemy’s machine gunners and field gun observers better visibility. Even in snowy weather, it shouldn’t be set so late.” Second Lieutenant Dieter, the platoon leader, echoed.
Second Lieutenant Dieter seemed to have a talent, particularly skilled in rugged terrain combat, with a very sharp eye for observing the battlefield environment.
Fortunately, Lelouch knew the high-level insider information and quickly explained: “Everyone, don’t overthink it. The higher-ups’ decision makes sense. This attack will use Smoke Throwers to throw gas canisters.
The white smoke of tear gas needs to be visible to have deterrent power. If thrown in the dark, the enemies would be choked half to death but not know where it’s safe or where to flee, so it wouldn’t achieve the effect of forcing movement.
The higher-ups aren’t for killing, just to force the enemy to abandon the most solid frontline position they’ve operated for over a month. So they specially added some dye from IG Farben Company’s previous scrapped project to the tear gas shells, making them more conspicuous at that time.”
After hearing Lelouch’s explanation, the officers at all levels were finally completely convinced, and their confidence greatly increased.
Lelouch struck while the iron was hot and reminded: “When the smoke clears almost, we’ll rush quickly! Seize more positions, don’t waste the opportunity! We must wear our gas masks properly. Everyone has shaved their beards clean, right? Check again to avoid leaks and choking. This opportunity is only once; next time the enemy will learn and wear masks too.”
Lelouch knew well that in Earth’s history, chlorine gas was only overwhelmingly effective the first time it was used; the second time it was immediately countered, as masks had no technical barrier.
However, in Earth’s history, the German Army didn’t expect the dispersal effect to be so good at first, and the follow-up troops’ deployment wasn’t timely enough, wasting the opportunity.
This time, Lelouch absolutely wouldn’t waste the opportunity! He calculated that the Smoke Throwers could cover three kilometers, so they would seize the most frontline three kilometers of solid fortified area in one go!
Force the enemy to the less solid second-line backup positions, then quickly launch a conventional breakthrough battle while the enemy hasn’t steadied!
At exactly 6 a.m., the cannon fire finally rang out, with thousands of guns firing together in a deafening roar.
The officers and soldiers were all hiding in the trenches, quietly listening to the distant sounds.
The bombardment started very fiercely, with almost all cannons firing salvos, blasting the opposite position into a mess of blood and flesh, seeming like nothing alive could survive.
But after five minutes of rapid fire, the cannon fire became sparser.
Some technically inclined but less knowledgeable officers worried that their own artillery lacked stamina and began whispering.
Lelouch heard it and loudly encouraged to reassure the troops: “Everyone, don’t worry! Everything is under control! The initial rapid fire was to quickly inflict casualties while the enemy was unprepared. Now the remaining enemies should have entered bunkers, so switching to steady fire wastes fewer shells.
Moreover, starting with rapid fire has an unexpected tactical advantage: it first alerts the enemy that tear gas is coming, so they should run quickly! And before 7 a.m., it’s mainly throwing gas canisters, so the sound isn’t loud! Everyone relax, the Empire General Staff Headquarters’ plan is very meticulous! Our army will surely win!”
The dispersal of gas canisters takes time, while shells’ lethality is instantaneous, so the most scientific bombardment is to throw canisters first and then explosive shells.
Hearing this, the officers and soldiers’ confidence grew even firmer, feeling that the crude bunch on the opposite side, who were bad at math, were no longer a threat.
……
At the same moment, on the opposite British Army position, the officers and soldiers of the British 3rd and 7th Divisions indeed fell into great fear.
The two sides hadn’t had intense firefights for over a month, and previous German probing attacks had been easily repelled by the British Army; the muddy positions severely restricted the attackers.
The British Army high command was too trusting in their radio eavesdropping advantage. Since the opposite radio activity hadn’t increased frequently recently, they didn’t extra guard against enemy action.
As a result, the sudden initial waves of shells caused many British Army soldiers who hadn’t entered fortifications or were even sleeping in tents to be killed or maimed.
The 3rd Division lost fully several hundred men, and the 7th Division even lost nearly a thousand before hastily entering positions and stabilizing defenses.
But soon, in the dawn light, British soldiers saw piles of 280mm gas canisters smashing into the trenches and starting to smoke. Many began coughing violently, and the smoke color was slightly different from the French Army’s; many grew suspicious and thought it was lethal, so they all withdrew to evade.
Mobile soldiers were obviously easier to cover with artillery kills, and during the British withdrawal, the German Army maintained low-intensity bombardment. British officers and soldiers were occasionally hit by shells like a lottery, dying and wounding in patches.
The fire preparation continued until 7 a.m. and 8 a.m., before the cannon fire finally stopped.
Bock and Rundstedt’s two assault battalions had long been prepared and charged directly as soon as the artillery fire stopped.
And Lelouch’s company was right at the forefront.
“Unfortunately, I forgot to teach the friendly artillery the ‘Creeping Barrage’ tactics in advance; otherwise, today’s fire preparation effect could definitely be improved by several degrees.”
It was only at the moment of the final charge, seeing their own artillery stop so neatly, that Lelouch suddenly thought of it.
In history, the Creeping Barrage tactics were only invented by the British Army in 1917, after suffering heavy losses in the Battle of the Somme.
At this point, regret was useless; first fight the current battle well with existing conditions! Everything else was for later.
“Platoons 1 to 3 as the first echelon, each platoon controlling a 500-meter frontage, advancing 500 meters apart left and right! Platoons 4 to 6 as second echelon, 7/8 as third echelon, don’t go all at once! Control formation density!
Advance 300 meters and establish support points in place, then let the second-line troops advance, advance another 300 meters after surpassing friendly forces, alternating like this! Pay attention to the continuity of the attack!”
Lelouch held a submachine gun, leading the charge while loudly emphasizing the key points of Storm Commando Tactics—don’t commit too many people to the frontline at once, don’t greedily unfold breakthroughs on a very long front.
As long as a small number of people focus on breaking through a few points, the key is that the attack’s continuity and rhythm must not break!
Don’t give potential enemies a chance to breathe, don’t let the enemy have time to react and reorganize complete defenses after being breached.
These points were absolutely unknown to the old armies of 1914, requiring officers to repeatedly remind.
The position just ravaged by tear gas and bombardment wasn’t completely cleared, so the commandos soon engaged in intense but brief firefights with British remnants.
Tear gas that couldn’t kill poisoned the clearance effect ultimately inferior to chlorine gas.
Some enemies kept washing their faces with wet cloths, some hid in muddy puddles; there were always a few with special constitutions who could endure the tear gas irritation.
However, these resistances posed little threat and couldn’t change the big picture. Almost all frontline Vickers heavy machine gun fire points had lost effectiveness. Scattered enemy soldiers could only fire chaotically with Lee-Enfield Rifles.
In the “crackling” rifle firefight sounds, the surviving enemies’ attention was quickly drawn by sniping fire.
Meanwhile, the submachine gunners of A Company platoons 1 to 3 crouched low and stealthily crossed the two outermost trenches. The German Army even had no time to deploy light machine gun teams and grenade launcher teams, only pursuing the fastest push forward speed.
While charging, they encountered unmanned barbed wire, and the soldiers dismantled the special bayonets from two rifles, simply splicing them into temporary wire cutters. A few “snips” cleanly cut the barbed wire.
“Quick! Quick through the barbed wire, attack the enemy trench with soldiers from the side!”
Second Lieutenant Model, the 1st platoon leader under Lelouch, wearing a silk bulletproof vest worth three thousand marks, led his four assault squads at the forefront, methodically directing soldiers to breach obstacles, finally climbing into the enemy’s trench.
Following that came the submachine gunners sweeping laterally along the sparsely occupied trench.
When the scattered resisting British infantry in the trench vaguely heard urgent footsteps nearby, it was already too late.
“Hiss~” Sparking hand grenades soon flew over from the adjacent segment of the Z-shaped trench, blasting the still-firing British riflemen into chaos.
“Germanians have infiltrated our trenches! Quick clear along the trench! The number of enemies just infiltrated must be few! Still time!” A surviving British lieutenant platoon leader saw this and immediately roared in fear.
He organized his soldiers to counterattack quickly, trying to rely on local numerical advantage to drive out the enemies who had just slipped into the trench.
Unfortunately, the hastily organized British riflemen had just fixed bayonets and rushed to the corner of the Z-shaped trench when “rat-tat-tat” submachine gun fire rang out!
Second Lieutenant Model had excellent hearing; from the enemies’ footsteps, he knew they had reached the adjacent corner of the Z-shaped trench. So he personally held an MP15 and fired preemptively at the corner.
The five submachine gunners right beside him also took turns firing preemptively at the trench corner, and the submachine gunners tacitly took turns reloading to ensure no fire gaps.
The opposite British soldiers had never seen such a weapon or tactic? They were quickly mowed down by preemptive fire, instantly killed as soon as they showed their heads.
“Let the company commander and 2nd and 3rd platoons advance; 1st platoon has destroyed the barbed wire and occupied the first trench zone!” After clearing the frontline position, Second Lieutenant Model immediately had someone shout loudly for friendly forces to follow up.
——
PS: Today added up to another eight thousand words, and this is still the new book period.
Also, taking advantage of the free general to say a few legal points:
On Earth during World War II, using any gas weapons, whether launched by cannons or not, violated international law.
The exemption clauses mentioned in the book were later all patched—because after World War I, countries re-signed a《Geneva 1925 Protocol》.
But during World War I,《Geneva 1925》 didn’t exist yet, so “no retroactive law,” and the treaty basis at the time was only《The Hague 99》 and《The Hague 1907》.
