Chapter 49: Make The Enemy’s Cavalry Division Sing And Dance!
Major General Rawlinson was forced by the Corps Commander to promise a full-scale counterattack before dawn.
But in fact, that night on the front line, some British Army officers, based on real-time judgment of the battle situation, organized some small-scale counterattacks on their own, trying to cut off the German Army’s protruding iron pincers and recapture their lost positions.
Even not only the British Army located on the northeast side of the German Army’s iron pincers did this. Even on the southwest side of the German Army’s iron pincers, French Army generals launched several waves of pincer offensives to support their allies.
But without a doubt, these hastily organized counterattacks failed to sever the German Army’s iron pincers and instead caused heavy casualties to their own side.
Because the main forces of Baria’s 12th Division and 6th Division had already moved in overall to defend the positions just captured during the day and built solid defenses.
Even Major General Karl’s own division headquarters of the 12th Division had moved forward at least five or six kilometers.
A large number of MG08 heavy machine guns, and even some direct-fire field guns, were pulled into the newly occupied positions.
So whether the British Army or the French Army launched countercharges, they would fall into a crisscross defensive fire net!
And the biggest casualties suffered by the British Army and French Army that day actually came from this counterattack—
During the whole day, the breakthrough by those two assault battalions, in terms of absolute numbers, actually did not kill many British Army soldiers.
Lelouch’s company, after a whole day of bloody battle, also lost over 70 men killed, and over 100 severely wounded who had to be withdrawn to the rear. His company suffered up to one-third casualties, not even counting the minor wounds that didn’t require leaving the firing line.
And the enemies killed or wounded by Lelouch’s company were actually just a few hundred. If the total battle results of the two assault battalions are included, the total might approach two thousand.
Considering that the enemies were not elite, and the British 3rd Army had suffered heavy casualties at Mons before and now consisted mostly of new recruits, this exchange ratio itself was not bad.
The greatest contribution of the assault battalion lay in the breakthrough, in tearing open a gap, turning the German Army from the “attackers” into the “defenders.”
Because it threatened the enemy’s retreat routes and attacked where they must rescue.
Originally, the two German Army divisions had to leave the trenches to charge, exposing themselves to direct artillery fire and machine gun fire.
Now they could crouch in the trenches instead, letting the enemies charge and expose themselves to artillery fire and machine guns.
If war could be quantified with data like the 《Hearts of Iron》 game, it would be equivalent to the entire German Army attacking force originally suffering a “defense halved” DEBUFF, while the enemy could enjoy a “defense doubled” positive BUFF.
But now, due to Lelouch’s tactical disruption and the local switch of attack and defense roles, the two German Army divisions could enjoy defense doubled, while the British and French armies had to suffer defense halved.
After repelling two enemy counterattacks that night, Major General Karl felt refreshed all over, and his recognition of Lelouch’s contribution became increasingly concrete.
“So offensive campaigns can be fought in this form, fought so refreshingly! Originally, my soldiers were the ones who had to charge head-on! Now, thanks to that kid’s planning, we can comfortably crouch in foxholes and let the enemy charge through bullet rain!
After the battle, I must persuade big brother to promote him! As long as he compiles the assault team tactics manual after the war for army-wide promotion, just this planning merit alone guarantees him major!”
Major General Karl looked at the latest battle reports sent from various defense zones, watched the British Army and French Army falling like harvested wheat on both sides of the position, and felt utterly refreshed.
Using two battalions’ pinpoint breakthrough to exchange for two divisions able to crouch in defense—this deal was too worth it!
The two German Army divisions thus safely crouched in the trenches for a night, inflicting thousands of casualties on the counterattacking enemy forces.
And the more the British Army front-line troops failed to counterattack successfully, the more the bad news was reported upward level by level, making the higher generals increasingly anxious and demanding even stronger counterattack efforts.
For example, the British Cavalry Corps stationed in Poperinge was repeatedly urged by telephone by British Army Commander-in-Chief Marshal French to arrive at Bailleul by dawn the next morning and launch a full-force fierce attack on the possible German Army assault team that had infiltrated and bypassed to the rear! They must completely destroy it!
……
Lelouch did not know that he had been targeted by British Army high command. At this time, he was leading several small units rampaging and infiltrating in the empty area behind Bailleul.
Since breaking through the British Army’s heavily fortified zone, his operating space had actually expanded considerably. Using nighttime stealth raids, he had indeed caused considerable damage to the enemy rear.
Around 3 a.m. in the latter half of the night, the two platoons of vanguard reconnaissance troops sent by Lelouch, led by Second Lieutenant Model and Second Lieutenant Dieter, even dispersed into small groups and finally reached the railway line between Bailleul and the rear Stenford.
The task Lelouch gave them was to destroy the railway as much as possible—because Lelouch knew that only by making the enemy realize that the railway sustaining their supplies could not be held would the garrison in Bailleul panic, consider retreating, and disrupt the morale of the British 3rd Army on a strategic level.
But because December 21 corresponded to the fifth day of the lunar month, with the waxing crescent moon still very dim, visibility at night was extremely poor. Model and Dieter initially didn’t know where they had reached.
Finally, as they groped along, they suddenly saw a train passing about one kilometer ahead, and only then did they realize they had finally bypassed half the town and reached the rear railway line.
Second Lieutenant Dieter saw the train loaded with supplies and couldn’t resist wanting to sabotage it: “Let’s go up and blast it a few rounds with the grenade launcher, blow up the train. It’s definitely too late to get close and place satchel charges.”
Model was more cautious, replaying the officer’s words before departure in his mind, then rejected it:
“No! The officer told us to destroy the railway. A few grenade launcher rounds can at most flip and damage the train, not ensure the track is broken. We only have one chance for a stealth attack. Let’s sneak past while the enemy is off guard and install satchel charges.
Moreover, the officer predicted that once the railway is cut, the enemy will have no heart to hold the town and may retreat north to the high ground. These supplies just arrived; they might not have time to use them and could even benefit us—don’t blow the train, wait until it unloads and returns empty.”
Dieter thought about it and realized it was indeed so, so he decisively obeyed.
The two platoons’ assault team advanced slowly in infiltration reconnaissance mode, briefly exchanging fire along the way to take out two British Army railway patrol teams.
But because fighting was everywhere, this exchange of fire didn’t attract much attention. In this era, there were no special operations forces, and rear alertness was often lax.
Half an hour later, they reached the railway, simply buried the demolition devices, stuffing all the satchel charges they could find under the rails and tying them tight to the sleepers.
Soon after, the train that had previously delivered armament supplies into the town returned. It was carrying a trainload of wounded soldiers and bodies, plus a few civilian personnel needing evacuation—of course, Model didn’t know who was on the train. On the battlefield, there were no laws saying a train with wounded couldn’t be blown up.
In Model’s eyes, he only saw a trainload of enemy combat personnel retreating.
“Detonate!” With Model’s order, the assault platoon’s accompanying engineer pressed the detonator. Over ten kilograms of TNT instantly exploded, blowing several sections of rail skyward and sending five or six nearby cars flying, while the rest were derailed and overturned by the force.
Almost all the British Army soldiers on the train were killed by the blast, crushed, or thrown to death.
The few survivors who struggled out were caught in a pincer by Model and Dieter, who swept the train ruins back and forth several times with submachine guns before quickly withdrawing.
Around four o’clock, Model finally rejoined Officer Lelouch and briefly reported the situation.
“Officer! We found the British Army’s railway and blew it up!”
Lelouch couldn’t help raising an eyebrow: “Very good! Now the British 3rd Army in Bailleul has no choice but to withdraw! But let’s not get careless; the enemy will definitely have one last wave of frantic retaliation.
Now hurry and reinforce the fortifications, hold until reinforcements arrive to take over defense, then we can fully digest the battle results. Send a telegram to Regimental Commander Lister, have him quickly bring the 16th Regiment to take over the positions, and have Battalion Commander Rundstedt gradually move toward us!”
“Yes! Officer!” Platoon Leader Schweinsteiger in charge of communications immediately went to arrange it. Meanwhile, Model and Dieter joined in digging deeper trenches, adding foxholes, and camouflaging firing points.
And the enemy’s movements were indeed guessed by Lelouch almost exactly.
Just twenty minutes later, an advanced reconnaissance platoon sent back a radio telegram to warn Lelouch:
“Officer! I see a large mobile force coming toward us from the north Stenford direction! It’s the enemy’s cavalry division!”
“Cavalry division?” Lelouch was stunned, and a movie 《War Horse》 he had seen in his previous life involuntarily came to mind.
That 2011 movie had scenes of British Army cavalry divisions in World War I charging with sabers toward heavy machine gun positions to their deaths.
It was only 1914 now, and the war had just started a few months ago; the enemy’s tactical thinking was indeed quite backward. Could it be…
At this thought, Lelouch felt a surge of excitement inside and quickly asked those around him: “Model, do you know about the British Army’s cavalry? Do you know what weapons they use?”
Model had solid basics and answered without thinking: “They have pistols and carbines, as well as sabers and cavalry swords for charging.”
Lelouch was delighted: “Very good! Split into two platoons, hide in the nearby grove, dig a few foxholes, use the dug soil to pile and stabilize the light machine gun bipods! Fill all water containers with snow water to cool the machine gun barrels! Or simply shovel snow to bury the machine gun barrels leaving only the muzzle!
All submachine gunners concentrate; first use submachine guns to slow and delay the enemy, lure the enemy! Make them think we lack long-range suppression fire!”
Under Lelouch’s methodical command, the officers and soldiers of Company A all got busy. At the same time, Major Bock leading Rommel, Lister, and other companies from the rear accelerated toward here, selecting suitable positions along the way to set up a pocket.
Lelouch felt his blood boiling; after a whole day of high-intensity frustrating fighting, here was a rare chance to cross-era bully technologically backward enemies—how could he not seize it!
Of course, first show weakness to lure the enemy into committing more forces!
Then let those “nomads” dance and sing!
——
PS: Forget it, two chapters updated all at once early in the morning, just to beg for some comments and follows.
Because it won’t go on shelves until mid-August. Don’t drop the follows, or the book is done.
