Chapter 52: To Make Both Wings Soar, We Need The Railway Gun
Early on December 24th, after ending the two-day rest period, Lelouch was called by Division Commander Karl to division headquarters for a meeting.
It should be about some details regarding the upcoming Stenford siege battle, as well as the latest battle news, that need to be synchronized.
Also receiving the meeting notice was Major Bock, the official battalion commander, but the degree of trust he received from Baria Royal Family high-level officials was clearly not as high as that of Lelouch, the deputy battalion commander.
Lelouch made some preparations and specially brought a few spoils of war captured in the Battle of Bailleul that day before the meeting—not valuable items, but relics of the killed enemy general.
Including the bloodstained epaulets clipped from the military uniform of the British Army 2nd Cavalry Division commander, Schubert Gough Major General, and his cavalry dress sword.
In that day’s battle, Gough Major General was the only British Army cavalry division commander directly mowed down by machine gun fire. Later, when Lelouch’s troops cleaned the battlefield, they saw the insignia on his military uniform and realized they had killed a big fish.
“Division Commander, these are the relics of the British Army cavalry division commander killed the day before yesterday, captured from the body.” Lelouch politely presented the spoils of war.
“War is truly unpredictable. With this merit of yours, after this battle, you’ll definitely be at least a major, nailed down. Like this: after taking Stenford and cutting off the enemy’s main artery, I’ll write a report for you, let the commander approve it, and implement your promotion.” Major General Karl Ludport saw that cavalry dress sword and couldn’t help but tremble slightly.
The other side was also a major general and division commander, yet on the road to leading the charge, he was hit by the cross-firing MG15 light machine gun array until he was dead beyond dead.
“Thank you for the cultivation, Division Commander.” Lelouch thanked him while seriously saluting.
Major General Karl waved his hand: “Don’t get happy too soon, let’s see how to fight this battle first. Only taking Stenford counts as completing the phased goal.”
Everyone actually knew very well in their hearts that the previous Battle of Bailleul didn’t have that much strategic significance. The reason the military merit was so brilliant in the end was mainly because the number of enemies annihilated was huge.
The British Army’s two cavalry divisions came to rescue and ended up underestimating and running into the gun muzzles. They whitewashed such huge military merit for the German Army and also caused panic across the British Army’s overall situation, dragging down the defending friendly forces.
And the current Stenford was the real strategic key point. Taking it down meant the entire salient campaign was more than half complete, because it could completely cut off the Ypres garrison’s railway supply line.
Lelouch had rested for two days and wasn’t very clear on the recent situation, so he didn’t dare to rashly offer advice directly, thus taking the opportunity to ask:
“Division Commander, I heard the British Army only assigned two Canadian Army divisions and two divisions from South Asia colonies to defend Stenford. These troops are numerous but not elite. Why couldn’t their most elite 1st Army and 2nd Army free up hands?”
Karl then took the opportunity to briefed them on friendly forces information: “Because these two days, the constraining offensive on the Ypres Salient front has also been fought with great momentum.
Three divisions of the 4th Army Group are feinting on the Ypres front. 4th Army Group Commander Grand Duke of Württemberg concentrated most of the heavy cannons from Württemberg and Baden armies, continuously bombarding the enemy. Forcing the enemy’s artillery main force not to slack off and unable to be drawn away.
Additionally, the 4th Army Group’s flank main attack troops have smoothly retaken Ostend and are currently attacking Diksmuide. After these two steps are completed, our Northern Front coastal forces can return to Nieuwpoort—that is, the town you and Regimental Commander Lister fought bloody battles together in, blocking and annihilating the Belgian Army, and finally abandoned.”
After hearing this, Lelouch couldn’t help but feel some emotion. Back then, to reduce losses, they used elastic defense, and finally abandoned those two places after Nieuwpoort and Ostend were completely bombarded into rubble.
But a month and a half later, to annihilate a bigger target, they had to take these places back again.
Although the withdrawal decision back then wasn’t wrong, and elastic defense was supposed to be fought that way, there was still some regret in his heart.
Major General Karl seemed to see Lelouch’s emotional change, stood up, walked in front of him, and patted Lelouch’s shoulder: “Don’t regret it. Although we slightly retreated back then and now have to fight back, the situation is different.
Back then, we had to retreat because the Empire wasn’t fully prepared yet, but this time coming back, the 4th Army Group is already fully prepared.”
Lelouch hadn’t had time to care about friendly forces before, and hearing the division commander’s explanation sparked some curiosity: “Oh? What’s different from before?”
Major General Karl: “The reason we absolutely had to withdraw back then was because the enemy’s battleship fleet had absolute advantage, posing too great a threat to coastal town garrisons; we simply couldn’t stand on the coast.
But since the 4th Army Group took over Blankenberge, Zeebrugge, and such places an month and a half ago, they’ve been accelerating construction, trying to build new coastal defense batteries on the front lines as much as possible, or repair and expand original forts, replacing with heavier cannons with longer range.
Now the Empire’s 280mm coastal defense guns have been pulled to the front lines very close to Ostend, secretly installed. Those guns were dismantled from Antwerp Port. Now Antwerp has not a single large-caliber coastal defense gun left; all have been forward deployed. So after the Northern Front general offensive began a few days ago, retaking Ostend was very smooth.
The British Army also sent a large number of Channel Fleet pre-dreadnoughts to bombard our siege troops, but they were all counterattacked by our coastal defense guns. Seems we damaged one enemy pre-dreadnought and sank two auxiliary small ships, then the enemy quieted down and didn’t dare come again.
After Ostend was retaken, the enemy at Diksmuide lacked flank protection, plus Diksmuide itself isn’t on the sea, still over ten kilometers from the North Sea coastline, so it was also surrounded by our army and is expected to see progress in a few days.
Now the main force of British 2nd Army is guarding the coastal direction. The main force of British 1st Army, besides facing the Ypres front, also has to divert troops to reinforce Diksmuide, so they can’t come to the Stenford-Poperinge line.”
Hearing this, Lelouch finally fully understood why the overall campaign situation had developed like this.
It turned out that the friendly forces on the Northern Front were also so capable, attracting so much enemy force.
He pondered over the map for a while, then asked for confirmation: “So, we should ultimately be able to link up with the 4th Army Group somewhere between Dunkirk and Cassel? If calculating by the pre-war advance progress of 60~70 kilometers for both sides.”
For this question, Major General Karl helplessly slowly shook his head: “Probably impossible. Since the war started, we’ve also learned more details from the 4th Army Group. They’re fighting spectacularly now, but the difficulties are only known to themselves.
They now face a very embarrassing problem: the current smooth progress is because the previous construction of coastal defense guns and other preparations were very sufficient. But after fighting starts, there’s no time to build coastal defense guns while advancing all the way.
The Empire already selected the longest-range coastal defense guns to install, but compared to the battleship main gun range advantage, at most ten kilometers. In other words, after taking Ostend and advancing a few more kilometers west, they’ll leave our coastal defense gun coverage range. At that time, enemy naval gun fire is too fierce, and we still can’t stand.
Lelouch was also knowledgeable. When the division commander stated this reason, he understood immediately and couldn’t help but sigh with regret: “Alas, it seems to ultimately annihilate the British Army, we have to hope our 6th Army Group pushes all the way to Dunkirk… The 4th Army Group taking the outermost first-line towns and constraining the enemy are all very good, but hoping they complete this coastal road is too difficult.
Probably in the end, we’ll still have to take risks, let our navy also find a way to go all-in… If only we had more flexible coastal firepower.”
At this moment, the first thing Lelouch thought of was General Hipper’s battlecruiser fleet that, during the Ostend naval battle, after exchanging fire with Betty, “pretended to be heavily damaged” and hid back in Antwerp Port.
This was absolutely a hidden surprise force, just that no way to utilize it had been thought of yet.
If only the current German Army could, like on Earth twenty years later, have railway guns. Large-caliber railway guns, as long as K5-level 280mm ones, if they could quickly maneuver to front-line deployment, hide in coastal railway mountain caves and tunnels, and rush out to counter when the enemy fleet approaches shore to bombard… that would be so great!
Wouldn’t that be equivalent to replicating an “Anzio Express”?
This could also save the current huge waste of “every ten-plus kilometers forward along the coastline, rebuilding coastal defense batteries to resist enemy fleet bombardment from the sea.”
Unfortunately, can’t replicate it; the current German Army simply has no railway guns.
Perhaps after this campaign, combining campaign experience and merit, he could lobby Armament Department high-levels, place an order with Krupp to develop a professional railway gun that counters warships, which would also facilitate gaining initiative in the Strait region in the future.
Lelouch vaguely remembered that the German Army on Earth in the late World War I even developed the 130km range “Paris Gun,” which was also a railway gun. But now, without requiring such long range, just maximum 50km would suffice; producing it in advance in 1915 shouldn’t be hard.
World War II’s K5 railway gun was 71 calibers, range nearly 80km. Shorten by a dozen calibers and 30km range requirement, producing it twenty years early would be no problem at all…
Thinking of this, Lelouch suddenly felt this idea’s feasibility was getting higher and higher.
If the gun itself doesn’t need separate research and development, making a makeshift version to use first, is it possible to get it done within a month?
Moreover, with the 4th Army Group’s practical experience lesson of “can smoothly advance with coastal defense gun cover, can’t advance without coastal defense guns.”
Proposing requirements to Krupp would seem very reasonable.
Lelouch felt it was better to act early, so he immediately offered the idea: “I have an idea. Can we take existing battleship main gun single barrels in stock, slightly modify the loading mechanism, combine with existing armored trains, and place an emergency order with Krupp? Because there’s a railway from Stenford to Dunkirk…”
——
PS: The campaign overall is quite grand, can only spend one chapter briefly describing the progress and lessons from the other route’s 4th Army Group.
I can’t specifically write the 4th Army Group’s battles, so brought it over via the protagonist and division commander’s dialogue.
It’s actually to advance the protagonist’s layout using friendly forces’ experience lessons, not filler.
Thanks for everyone’s patience; next chapter returns to the protagonist’s combat and layout.
