Starting with the smashing of Dunkirk

Chapter 109 Ordered to Surrender, Arrogant Soldiers Advance Recklessly

April 21, 3:4 a.m.

Several enormous Zeppelins flew from near Mikhalovsze in the Hungarian Basin, over the Carpathian Mountains, and stealthily arrived over the Przemysir fortress on the north side of the mountains.

In an open area within the fortress, numerous campfires were lit in a regular pattern, providing airship drop instructions.

Meanwhile, the entire 16 divisions of the Lusha siege troops stationed in the siege camp several kilometers outside the fortress did not notice the campfires, much less the airships silently and stealthily passing overhead.

"We have arrived above the designated airdrop point. Begin dropping the medical kits!"

With a command from the airship commander, dozens of large boxes containing sulfonamide drugs began to be dropped. The medics of the defending troops below watched the airdrops eagerly, waiting to receive the drugs and use them to treat the wounded comrades who were infected.

But this time the situation was somewhat different. After dropping a bunch of medical kits strapped to the parachutes, an officer actually floated down as well. He was equally skilled at using parachutes; he had even received specialized paragliding training.

When Lelouch first established the airborne forces, he also built a large number of circular parachutes with deflectors, as well as rectangular wing parachutes.

However, in the battle to capture Dunkirk in February, the winged paratroopers did not actually participate in combat due to insufficient training time.

However, the training in the use of paragliders has been consistently maintained, and the troops will train whenever they have free time.

Some pilots, airship and hot air balloon observers can also apply to train with new types of parachutes. Kesselring belongs to the group of people who are particularly interested in skydiving. He applied for training himself and after several months he became quite proficient and could accurately control the landing point.

When the logistics soldiers and medics on the ground who were receiving supplies saw a living person descending from the sky, they naturally had to go and notify them.

Soon, patrolling officers maintaining military discipline came over to question them, though their attitude was relatively polite. Everyone guessed that they must have floated down from the airship, and were one of their own men sent from the rear.

Kesselring didn't mince words and introduced himself directly: "I am a major staff officer in Army Group South, but I cannot reveal more now. I need to see Lieutenant General Kusmaneke von Burgnøystadt, the commander of the fortress! I have the latest secret order from General Linsingen to Lieutenant General Kusmaneke, which I must deliver to him in person!"

Kesselring simply showed his identification and then said nothing more, instructing the patrol officer in charge of military discipline to report up the chain of command and take him to see the fortress commander.

The men below didn't dare to delay and quickly brought Kesselring to the fortress headquarters.

Lieutenant General Kusmanek was nearly sixty years old, with completely white hair and sunken eyes. The six-month siege had left him looking very weak and haggard, but occasionally a glimmer of determination could still be seen in his eyes.

The moment Major Kesselring saw the other man, a sense of admiration welled up within him.

"I heard you brought me General Linsingen's orders? What orders could there be now? Do you expect us to organize another breakout? We've slaughtered and eaten more than half of our warhorses, and we can't even deploy our heavy artillery. How are we supposed to break out?" Lieutenant General Kusmanek's tone was filled with resentment, stubbornness, and disappointment in his allies.

Seeing this, Kesselring couldn't help but defend his allies: "The siege has been going on for half a year! In these six months, Austria has lost a total of 40 men on the Carpathian battlefield, and the Lusa army has also lost 20."

While it cannot be said that all 40 lost were lost in the effort to rescue the Pujmeshir Fortress, they were at least lost in a meat grinder-like manner around this main battlefield! Lieutenant General, I do not believe that your allies did not try their best to rescue you.

The Carpathian Mountains were truly a formidable natural barrier. The Hungarian army, attempting to cross the mountains to provide reinforcements, suffered heavy losses when their advance north was blocked at the Dukla Pass by the Luza army, who were waiting in ambush.

Lieutenant General Kusmanek, initially indignant, became more understanding after hearing Kesselring's account of the allies' difficulties, and his emotions subsided. After a long pause, he said reluctantly, "I know it's true! But since that's the case, we have no other choice now. What more can General Linsingen ask of us?"

Kesselring: "This is why I am here today. General Linsingen hopes that you will all obey Marshal Rupprecht's orders and surrender in an orderly manner!"

Even though Lieutenant General Kusmanek had seen many storms and faced death several times, he would not lose his composure no matter what happened.

But after hearing Kesselring's retelling, he was naturally taken aback: "An orderly surrender?"

Kesselring handed the other party two secret orders. One was from General Linsingen, instructing him to obey Marshal Rupprecht and his special envoy. The other was from Marshal Rupprecht himself.

"The Empire needs your orderly surrender to lull the enemy into a false sense of security. Let them cross the Carpathian Mountains before we fight again. You have done your best. Hold out for another five days. During these five days, you need to do the following:"
First, slaughter and eat all the mules, horses, and other livestock that have not yet been slaughtered, leaving none for the enemy. Second, destroy all ammunition. Before doing so, it is best to have the engineering corps survey the fortress structure, focusing on detonating the ammunition at the fortress's firing strongpoints and key nodes, and destroying as much of the fortress's defensive facilities as possible.

Third, I need the accounts of the fortress military hospital to confirm the usage of all medicines and ensure that all wound medicines are used up for the wounded and sick soldiers.

Fourth, weapons can be given to the enemy, but the artillery pieces that use the same ammunition as both sides must be destroyed. Only heavy artillery pieces that can only use our standard caliber ammunition and cannot be used directly by the enemy can be left behind to delay the enemy.

Fifth, starting today, we will utilize all enemy weapons captured during previous battlefield cleanup efforts to ensure that as many of our soldiers as possible master the basic usage of salvo weapons and become familiar with the differences in weapon usage between the enemy and ourselves.

Sixth, organize a work team, led by myself, to explain to the soldiers the efforts made by the Empire's allied forces in rescuing the fortress, and other content that inspires the soldiers' patriotism, so that they, after entering the prisoner-of-war camp, at least will not take up arms against their former compatriots..."

Kesselring rattled off a long list of tasks in a well-organized manner, including at least two that Kusmanek himself would never have considered.

The lieutenant general nodded thoughtfully after listening, acknowledging that some staff officers in the rear command were indeed meticulous in their thinking. Ultimately, he only raised some questions about the fifth point:
"What are we planning to do by making our soldiers familiar with the operation of enemy weapons? Do we expect them to be captured, taken back to enemy territory, and then try to escape and be paraded around?"

Kesselring: "That's not what the higher-ups meant. It's just that Lusha is a sparsely populated area. If we go to Xianbeiliya in the future, there will be no one to guard us, and we might have a chance to escape. If we can learn how to use the enemy's weapons, at least we'll have more chances to escape. We're being responsible to our soldiers."

The lieutenant general thought it made sense and accepted it. He then ordered all departments to start acting according to the orders. It would take about three to five days to complete all of this.

It must be said that the Demanian officers' management order was very strict. In fact, the preparations for the surrender of Przemeshir Fortress in Earth's history were very thorough.

Finally, some weapons with incompatible ammunition were surrendered to avoid provoking enemy retaliation against the prisoners of war, but also to prevent them from immediately falling into enemy hands. All ammunition was destroyed, as were weapons with compatible ammunition.

Historically, the fortress contained 1050 cannons, of which 900 were eventually handed over to the enemy. These were all of different calibers, making them unusable for the enemy initially; they needed to acquire German and Austrian caliber shells to use them. After capturing them, the Lusa army, intending to utilize battlefield spoils, didn't rush to transport them. Later, when Mackensen's army counterattacked and recaptured the fortress, they recovered almost all 900 cannons.

This demonstrates the meticulousness of the Demanian officers.

Therefore, Lelouch's surrender plan, as relayed by Kesselring in this plane, was executed very meticulously and thoroughly.

All the fortress's defenses were blown up before the surrender. The officers were unaware that "friendly forces would launch a counterattack in a short time." They simply blew up all the strong defensive positions themselves, out of consideration that the fortress facilities should not fall into enemy hands.

The management of sulfonamide drugs is also very strict, because the drugs are limited and soldiers are not allowed to be dispensed with them. They are all centrally managed in the military hospital. When a military doctor finds that a wounded or sick person needs medication, he will have a nurse administer it to the wounded or sick person in front of them. Soldiers cannot hide the drugs, and they are not allowed to handle them. This makes the accounts of the military hospital very clear.

In the past few days, we no longer need to worry about "how long the medicine will last," so we can focus on providing the best treatment for the wounded and sick. Previously, those with minor injuries or minor illnesses who were lacking medical care and medicine were left to endure the pain on their own. Now, everyone who can be treated is treated. They are given medicine as needed, and their bandages are changed and alcohol is applied as needed. All the medicines have been used up.

Under Lieutenant General Kusmanek's strict management and Major Kesselring's repeated propaganda and implementation, the soldiers, despite being on the verge of surrendering, maintained a very good morale, and their morale even rebounded somewhat.

With five days to go, the last batch of mules and horses originally intended for a breakout had been killed and eaten, the medicine had run out, the ammunition had been depleted, and the fortress's defenses had collapsed on their own. Lieutenant General Kusmanek finally decided to surrender with 13 men.

……

News of Lieutenant General Kusmanek’s attempt to contact Lusa’s army to discuss surrender terms quickly reached the besieging troops’ camp.

General Ratko Dmitriev, commander of the 3rd Army of Rusa responsible for besieging the fortress, and Lieutenant General Serivanov, who commanded two corps of the 11th Army of Rusa, both participated in the relevant negotiations and finally agreed to a conditional surrender agreement.

Officers received preferential treatment and were exempt from hard labor, but soldiers had to surrender their weapons and then participate in logistical work and infrastructure repair, helping the Lusa Army maintain railways and roads damaged by frost. A considerable number of people also had to be assigned to help transport supplies and cross the Dukla Pass.

Almost just before Lieutenant General Kusmanek officially surrendered, news from the western front made General Ratko Dmitriev and Lieutenant General Serivanov increasingly excited and felt that the opportunity was rare.

It seems that the Lusa army must seize this golden window of opportunity during the final stage of the frost-tillage period and cross the mountains southward into the Hungarian Basin!

The 16 divisions that originally participated in the siege were the first to move, crossing the mountain passes one after another and launching an attack on the heart of Hungary.

(End of this chapter)