Chapter 64: An Unimagined Surprise Attack Method
“The Britannians have been directly bombarded into Ypres City by our heavy artillery, and many positions on the eastern perimeter have also been captured by our army.
They actually have the nerve to continue holding on stubbornly. I truly have to admire their morale.”
On the morning of January 26th, Duke Rupprecht, Commander of the 6th Army Group, stood personally on the 155-meter high ground of Kemmel Hill, observing through a lookout post the tragic sight of Ypres City being bombarded by 150mm cannons in the distance.
The enemy within the city was still managing to hold out, which was beyond his original estimation.
In the Duke’s own prediction, the enemy should have wavered and attempted a retreat the moment the artillery shells landed in the city.
There were still over a hundred thousand troops within this semi-encirclement.
How could they guarantee that the encirclement wouldn’t completely close, and these soldiers wouldn’t be taken like dumplings?
“They must be too confident in their navy, because even though our army has reached the coast west of Dunkirk, they still refuse to give up easily—
This has happened before. Two months ago, when we annihilated the entire Belgian Army, they also believed their navy was invincible, so as long as they stayed along the coast, they could leave whenever they wished.”
Major Lelouch, standing beside him, reminded him softly, his tone very calm.
Given Lelouch’s status, he shouldn’t have been in the position of an Army Group Staff Officer. But he had performed too well previously, and the Duke had kept him by his side these past few days, consulting him for advice.
Lelouch’s words also pulled the Duke’s thoughts back from his deductions to reality. The Duke savored these reminders slightly, a hint of mockery towards the enemy appearing at the corners of his mouth:
“Then they truly are confident. Aren’t they afraid of stepping into the same trap twice? The example of the Belgian’s annihilation two months ago was a direct slap in their face!”
Lelouch: “Strictly speaking, the Belgian annihilation had a degree of luck to it. We used a stratagem of spreading rumors and attacking their morale, which coincidentally struck the enemy’s soft spot of ‘the King abandoning his army and fleeing first.’
Coupled with the fact that the Belgians had dirty hands themselves, committing the sin of blowing up the dam to flood their own people with seawater, and that history books would need scapegoats in the future, no one wanted to be the unlucky one cursed with a bad reputation after death, leading them to infight and surrender.
This time, they likely believe the Britannia Expeditionary Force is united, with no historical guilt to be scapegoated, and thus can hold out until the end without fear of internal strife, which is why they’re gambling again.
Moreover, I know the Britannia Naval Minister, Walton, very well. This man is extremely stubborn; he wouldn’t change his mind even if faced with the Rhine, nor would he turn back from a dead end. He’s capable of actions that would kill three thousand enemies and cost himself five thousand due to personal vendetta.
So, it’s possible he suffered a great loss and humiliation in the previous battle to rescue the Belgian Army, and now he wants to reclaim his honor under similar circumstances and achieve a comeback.”
After hearing Lelouch’s detailed analysis and speculation about the enemy’s psychology, Duke Rupprecht carefully put himself in that position and realized it was indeed quite plausible.
This indeed fit the profile of the Naval Minister Walton across the strait! He was known for his refusal to admit defeat and his stubbornness!
Stubbornness was good; stubborn commanders would continue to feed the enemy lives even when defeat was certain.
However, to underestimate the enemy so readily at this point seemed a bit premature. The enemy was only certain to lose on land, not at sea. There was still much for the Germania Army to do and many shortcomings to address if they wanted to secure the fruits of victory.
“Then, how do you think this battle should proceed?” The Duke, thinking of the crucial point, couldn’t help but ask Lelouch directly.
“Me?” Lelouch hadn’t expected the Duke to ask so directly. While the Duke had consulted him before, it hadn’t been to this extent; he usually posed a specific, minor problem for Lelouch to solve.
After a brief moment of stunned silence, Lelouch kindly reminded him, “Your Highness… I am merely a Major and Battalion Commander. Is it not overstepping to answer this question? Perhaps we can wait for the Army Group Staff Officers to convene and deliberate further…”
The Duke waved his hand: “Less nonsense, I know your capabilities! Since I trust you, speak your mind! Don’t get bogged down in formalities!”
Lelouch cleared his throat: “I believe, given the current trend, there’s no need to rush the assault on the core area of the Ypres Highlands. We can stand in an unassailable position by holding the strategic advantages of the southern ridge.
As long as we ultimately cut off all possibilities of enemy breakout, whether by land or sea, the enemy will naturally collapse completely, their morale will disintegrate, and they will surrender en masse. There’s no need to rush the timetable by a month or two, increasing casualties for both sides unnecessarily.
Your Highness could request the friendly forces of the 4th Army Group to put more effort into eroding enemy positions in the east. The enemy’s attention is definitely on us now, and many small towns in the east, far from the sea, are likely not being defended with much zeal. Gaining some easy victories wouldn’t be bad.
By ceding some opportunities for merit to the 4th Army Group, our army can secure their help in holding more defensive lines. Our army can then free up more troops to strengthen the western pincer and completely capture Dunkirk Port!
Once Dunkirk Port is taken, the enemy’s current concept of an ‘unassailable position’ will cease to exist. They will retreat northwards with all their might, withdrawing slowly along the coastline. At that point, cities and towns like Ypres and Poperinge could even be reclaimed almost without a fight.”
The Duke merely nodded in response: “On this point, your thoughts are quite similar to mine. Dunkirk is indeed the focus of the next phase of the campaign. However, it is directly adjacent to the Strait, and the enemy can receive endless reinforcements from the sea.
The defending forces there will thus be emboldened and will never surrender. The enemy also has fleet support and coastal defense fortresses equipped with heavy cannons. We cannot even match those fortress cannons with our newly built railway guns—By the way, have Krupp’s railway guns been completed?”
Lelouch had been keeping track of this matter and responded without needing to check his notes:
“Several have been completed. Krupp has concentrated most of its deployable production capacity on railway guns over the past month. Initially, some 280mm guns were mounted on trains. Those four 380mm guns originally intended for the battleship Baria will also be ready in a few more days.”
He had gone to the Krupp Company in the rear to coordinate the matter of railway guns last time, from Christmas last year to New Year’s Day. Krupp had promised to produce four 380mm guns a month, and the time was now almost up.
The Duke felt a little more reassured: “That’s good, at least there’s some hope. Our only chance to potentially surpass Dunkirk Port’s coastal defense fortresses is those four 380mm railway guns… Alas, it’s still not insured. The enemy’s heavy artillery and naval strength are too immense.”
Seeing the Duke’s worry, a new idea began to form in Lelouch’s mind.
Originally, he felt this matter was too unreliable and the timing was not ripe. He had always thought of bringing it up when he had more resources and better preparations.
However, the situation was indeed dire now. The enemy’s determination to defend Dunkirk Port was very strong, and more battleships might arrive at any day to crush our coastal troops.
The general offensive on Dunkirk, if not launched, must be all-out and decisive once initiated.
With this in mind, Lelouch finally mustered his courage: “Regarding the situation at Dunkirk, I have a new idea, but the timing and conditions are not ripe, and there’s no guarantee of victory. If there’s a misstep, the losses could be very severe…”
The Duke, whose expression had been grim, immediately perked up upon hearing this, his eyes lighting up.
This feeling was all too familiar.
“What brilliant strategy do you have now? Speak quickly! Don’t worry about the cost or the success rate! Even if it fails, you won’t be held responsible!” The Duke was almost impatiently urging Lelouch to speak his mind.
Lelouch gritted his teeth: “I will need a certain amount of time for preparation, and I need to mobilize all the airships the Empire can muster—the enemy currently has no concept of aerial combat. Although our reconnaissance aircraft have been strafing enemy planes with light machine guns for over half a month, the enemy hasn’t been able to adapt their aircraft with fixed machine guns that quickly, so they have little professional anti-air defense.
The fantastical warfare I envision is precisely based on the premise of the enemy’s complete lack of anti-air awareness, which makes success possible.
Additionally, I need to urgently contact some textile factories in the rear to improve the safety parachutes used by reconnaissance balloon observers （, and urgently order several thousand of them ）.
We also need to rush the construction of some special training facilities and organize the officers and soldiers of the assault battalion to practice a special skill… The preparation time will be at least nearly half a month, and I will strive to do it as quickly as possible. During this period, the frontal assault on the outskirts of Dunkirk City can proceed concurrently.”
Lelouch then roughly described the details of his plan, causing Duke Rupprecht’s pupils to contract violently several times, leaving him utterly astonished.
“…This is too far-fetched! You expect to use this method to simultaneously break through the city from the front and launch a surprise attack from the rear on the Marloye Ban Fortress Battery and Ronan Fortress Battery that defend Dunkirk Port?!”
Lelouch: “Just tell me if you approve or not.”
The Duke felt a wave of dizziness, but in the end, he gritted his teeth firmly: “Approved! I will find a way to mobilize the airships! You’re quite ambitious, do you know the total number of Zeppelin airships the Empire can currently deploy is only about 40? You want to use almost all of them! This will require a special imperial decree!”
Lelouch: “But if there’s a chance to annihilate the entire Britannia Expeditionary Force, I believe His Majesty will be happy to approve it. Besides, we are only using them once, and the airships will not be consumed.”
The Duke gritted his teeth and went to coordinate the resources that required his personal intervention.
As for the matters that Lelouch could handle, he completely delegated them, giving Lelouch absolute authorization.
Money, resources, were not problems.
After all, the immense merit of annihilating the entire Britannia Expeditionary Force lay before them, and no one could resist such temptation.
—
PS: I can’t keep up with the constant 5,000-character chapters, so I’m going back to 3,000 characters per chapter. Chapter 65, also 3,000 characters, will be released tonight. That’s all for today.
Today will still be over 20,000 characters. Mainly, during the free period before going on sale, I continuously updated 8,000 characters daily, constantly going all out without any saved drafts.
I woke up at 4:30 this morning. I can’t hold on any longer and need to take a nap. Trying to force myself to stay awake instead prevents me from writing; my brain is exhausted.
