Starting with the smashing of Dunkirk

Chapter 177: The enemy collapsed before the armored units even had a chance to show their power.
September 23, 1915, 5:9 AM.

The front line is located a dozen kilometers directly north of the city of Zankoy.

Within the network of trenches of the Lusha Army, a few soldiers responsible for night watch were taking turns keeping watch and sleeping.

The main force was stationed several kilometers behind the main positions, or even further back in villages and towns.

Lieutenant Vasily Blücher, dragging his left leg studded with shrapnel, patrolled the trenches with a few soldiers, his gait slightly limping. If he saw a sentry post where everyone was asleep and no one was watching the distant enemy positions, he would lash out with his whip.

"We're already being lenient by giving you all a chance to sleep in shifts! You're only supposed to work 3 hours a night and you still dare to slack off! What if the Demacians attack?!"

The sleeping sentry was whipped so hard he rolled on the ground, but dared not howl too loudly lest the noise attract enemy fire. He just kept pleading that he would keep a close watch.

"Platoon leader, don't worry too much. The Demacians won't attack. We've been the ones attacking lately, haven't we? I heard there aren't many people on the other side. They're probably praying we don't counterattack. They're just waiting for us to slowly besiege Sevastopol."

Beside Blyukher, another lieutenant, Ivanov, offered him advice in a sarcastic tone.

Blyuher snorted coldly, knowing that his colleagues were not convinced by him.

The platoon leader was originally supposed to be a lieutenant, but he was killed in action ten days ago while attacking the Demanians. So, Lieutenant Blücher was appointed as the platoon leader.

Another officer, also a second lieutenant with the same rank, was only appointed as a deputy platoon leader and naturally resented him. He believed that Blücher had only benefited from his honorable injury and disability, which was why he had been promoted ahead of others.

Blücher was wounded by artillery fire during the Carpathian Campaign against Austrian troops in January of this year and was taken back to the rear for treatment. However, the medical and health system of the Lusa army was so bad that he still has several shrapnel fragments in his left leg and left hip joint that cannot be removed, and he has been classified as disabled.

Normally, such a level of disability would warrant retirement. However, the Lusha army in this plane suffered such heavy losses that they had no choice but to bring back officers and soldiers who were not seriously injured to the front lines.

Even those with atrophied arm or a slightly lame leg had to continue serving in the army.

After eight months of recuperation, Blücher returned to the battlefield with his left leg, which was two centimeters shorter than before. While at the rear, he was cut off from news, and only upon returning to the front did he learn that the entire army group he had served in before his injury had been wiped out in Hungary.

His original company, and even his battalion, regiment, and division, didn't have a single survivor. If he hadn't been wounded and returned to the rear beforehand, he would probably be dead or in a POW camp in Budapest by now.

But at this moment, regardless of whether his colleagues were convinced or not, Blücher had to be realistic: "Don't be complacent! The recent events have been unusual; the Demacians are very likely to attack! Your complacency will only lead to your own downfall sooner or later!"

Lieutenant Ivanov, feeling slighted, retorted sarcastically, "Vasily! Do you think I don't know you just want to establish your authority? That's why you're causing trouble for the brothers!"
Who doesn't know that the Demanians are currently in a hurry to besiege Sevastopol? Who doesn't know that the enemy wants to concentrate their forces to wipe out all our troops on the Crimean Peninsula first, and then turn around to deal with the north?
To be honest, what value do we have in holding this wretched place? Every now and then, the higher-ups order us to test the waters and launch a counterattack from here. Ha! Isn't that just sending our brothers to their deaths in vain and falling into the enemy's trap of besieging the point and attacking reinforcements?

"It would be better to wait until Sevastopol falls, then retreat north of the isthmus, blow up the Trojczyk Bridge, and everything would be easy!"

Ivanov's words had seriously offended his superiors; he even dared to presume to guess what the higher-ups meant. Blyukher was furious and almost drew his pistol.

However, a group of sentries he had just reprimanded gathered around, glaring at him. Blyukher immediately realized that Ivanov, this reckless and decadent fellow, was actually more popular with the troops than he was.

Indeed, the Lusa army's continued hold on the peninsula north of Zhankoy until this very moment, refusing to retreat or blow up the "cross-sea" railway bridge connecting Zhankoy and Trojcik, was not actually for "defense."

The front's high command, on the contrary, wanted to "counter-offensive" and has not yet given up on the dream of rescuing Sevastopol.

Although it was obvious to everyone that Sevastopol was beyond saving, as long as the fortified port city remained intact, the allies to the north could not be completely abandoned.

Otherwise, the Tsar, who for centuries only knew how to take in but never give out, would not tolerate generals who arbitrarily abandoned allied forces and land. In the country of Rusa, for hundreds of years, only expansion was permitted, and retreat was not allowed.

Even a tsar would be despised if he voluntarily gave up his land.

Seventy years ago, during the Crimean War, Nicholas I invaded the Ottoman Empire, which resulted in a counterattack from the Bosnia and Faure. Ultimately, after the fall of Sevastopol, Nicholas I was forced to commit suicide to take responsibility and end the war.

The current Tsar is Nicholas II, who also bears the name Nicholas. How could he not be afraid?

The troops below, knowing full well that this was a vicious scheme by the Demagnesians to besiege the city, ambush reinforcements, and bleed the Lussa people dry, still obediently fell into the trap.

Throughout the entire frontline defense, morale was low and a sense of defeatism pervaded the area. Nobody wanted to launch a counterattack; they just wanted to get by. But the vast majority of them were completely unaware that the enemy was about to attack.

Apart from a very few insightful officers, 99% of the soldiers still believed that they were the ones launching a symbolic counterattack, while the Demacians were merely defending and wearing down the enemy.

Blyucher tried his best to motivate the soldiers, but he could only change one platoon; he couldn't change anything else.

……

"Whoosh! Boom!"

At 5:10, the sharp sound of artillery shells piercing the air suddenly broke the darkness.

Hundreds of 105mm and even 150mm shells instantly covered the three simple trenches at the forefront of the Lusa people, as well as two deep trenches with their side walls reinforced with logs.

Completely unprepared for the enemy's shift from defense to offense, the soldiers on duty at Lusa were bombarded to death in their sleep, their bodies flying everywhere.

None of the sleeping sentries who had just been whipped by Lieutenant Blyucher survived; they quickly paid the price for their laziness and were all blown up at their posts.

"Damn it! You guys were so careless! The enemy is attacking! Signalman, get to company headquarters!"

Lieutenant Blücher was quite alert; he managed to dodge the first wave of shelling. He then immediately tried to get the communications soldier to report the emergency, only to find that both of his platoon's communications soldiers were dead.

Blyuher was also stunned by the shelling. The shrapnel in his left leg made him ache again. Finally, he seized a brief gap between several rounds of shelling and led the few remaining soldiers in his platoon to run back along the trench.

When he passed by the company headquarters, he learned that the company commander was also dead, and that none of the other three platoons in the company had escaped alive. Only his platoon had a few soldiers who survived.

Blücher dared not linger in the second makeshift trench area. Relying on his survival experience honed in Krakow, he led the surviving soldiers in a retreat until they reached the first deep trench, whose side walls were reinforced with logs, a full 3 kilometers away from the front line.

"Where's the battalion commander? Isn't this the battalion headquarters? We were the 4th Company that withdrew. There are only about a dozen of us left in the whole company. The rest were killed by the Demacian artillery fire!"

"The battalion commander and deputy battalion commander are both dead! I am Belikov, the 2nd Company Commander, and I am now acting as battalion commander! Everyone, follow my orders and retreat to the regimental headquarters to receive new orders!"

A captain gave Blyuchel a few instructions and then ordered them to continue their retreat.

"This trench is very strong! Are they not even going to defend this place? Where is our counter-attack artillery? This place is 3 kilometers away from the first trench. The enemy's artillery fire has penetrated so far into our positions. Their artillery must have been deployed in advance. Why aren't our artillery countering?"

Blyukher was somewhat incredulous and tried to question Captain Belikov.

Belikov roared at the top of his lungs: "I saw with my own eyes that the 76mm artillery positions in our trench behind us were destroyed by the enemy's long-range cannons! The enemy has used too many long-range heavy artillery pieces. We need to give up at least two or three kilometers of our front line before we can organize an effective defense!"

The captain shouted as he pointed to several bonfires in the distance behind him. Those were originally several large pits connected to trenches, where field artillery was deployed.

But now, it has been turned into piles of twisted, smoking scrap metal.

With the enemy's artillery fire so intense, staying here would obviously mean certain death for most of them. But if they retreated rashly, the next trench would be a makeshift one used to buy time, with no reinforcement of the sides with logs, meaning they would have to retreat at least another two or three kilometers.

As the shelling continued, many sections of the communication trenches connecting the main trench were also destroyed by enemy artillery fire, forcing many to leave the trenches and retreat on the ground.

"No... At this rate of artillery fire and the distance we need to retreat, at least two-thirds of the soldiers will die on the way back! It's better not to retreat at all, unless there's a safer way to escape..."

Lieutenant Blyucher's mind raced as he tried to find a relatively safe escape route.

Captain Belikov, the acting battalion commander, couldn't wait any longer and led his company to retreat along the trenches, despite Lieutenant Blyukher's repeated attempts to dissuade him.
"We can't retreat in a hurry! The enemy's artillery fire is too intense! The next trench is not as sturdy as this one, and several sections of the communication trenches have been destroyed! The enemy must have conducted aerial reconnaissance of our communication trenches in advance and specifically blocked them!"

However, no one listened to him, and hundreds of soldiers followed Captain Belikov in a chaotic retreat.

Just three minutes later, Captain Belikov and his men walked several hundred meters back along the trench to a section that had been bombed. The soldiers had no choice but to crawl on the ground to cross this dangerous stretch of road, which was dozens of meters long.

But just then, several more shells fell, hitting the crowd and sending up sprays of blood and gore.

Lieutenant Blyukher was watching his comrades retreat through a telescope left behind on the battlefield when he witnessed Captain Belikov and dozens of his men being blown into the air and reduced to mangled limbs.

"Hey! Tell them not to be reckless! They're just throwing their lives away!" Lieutenant Blyuher slammed his fist on the ground in grief and anger.

Just a dozen seconds later, a group of surviving soldiers surrounded him: "Sir, what should we do? Why don't you act as our battalion commander? All the officers above the rank of lieutenant in the entire battalion are dead! These few hundred brothers are all counting on you to show them a way to survive."

Blyuher didn't want to wait to die. He took a few deep breaths, forced himself to calm down, and carefully observed the surroundings with his binoculars. As a result, he actually found a road that seemed to be a way out.

"Huh? The railway area to the east is completely flat with no cover, so how come not a single enemy shell has landed there?"

Lieutenant Blyucher was quickly delighted by his discovery. It turned out that there was a railway connecting Zankoy and Trojicz, and the 400-meter-long bridge spanning the sea between the peninsula north of Zankoy and the peninsula south of Trojicz was the railway bridge used for this railway.

When the Lusa people built their defensive lines, they would start building trenches one or two hundred meters away from the east side of the railway, and they would also start building trenches one or two hundred meters away from the west side of the railway. There were no fortifications or bunkers along the railway tracks.

The Lusa people were not worried that the enemy would exploit this defensive gap, because the trenches on both sides of the railway were less than 300 meters apart.

By setting up heavy machine gun positions at the eastern end of the western trench and the western end of the eastern trench, a crossfire would be launched, ensuring the certain death of any enemy that dared to advance along the railway.

When the shelling first started, all the fleeing soldiers from Lusha wanted to retreat along the trench network to the rear. Not one of them thought of crawling to the ground and walking along the railway line. Everyone felt that walking along the railway was suicide; there was no cover, and how many people would die if a shell came?

But now it seems that the railway has become a blind spot, as the enemy's fierce shelling has somehow avoided the railway area.

Did the enemy also anticipate the Lusa people's prediction and know that no one would be foolish enough to retreat along the railway?
Blücher couldn't help but think this way, but he quickly realized he was wrong and put the idea out of his mind:
"Impossible... That's definitely not the reason! I know! It must be that the Demacians thought they could advance quickly, so they deliberately avoided shelling the railway! They hope that after the attack succeeds, they can immediately reuse this railway to transport troops and supplies for them..."

But thinking about this, Blyuher couldn't help but gasp slightly.

How arrogant and confident must the Demacians have been to think so far ahead? They didn't even want to waste time repairing the railway, deliberately letting the shells land far from the railway area, just to capture the railway intact?

The enemy commander's tactical contempt for Lusa's army had reached a certain level.

But he couldn't care less about that now; his will to survive made Blyucher shout orders to all the surviving officers and soldiers in the battalion:

"Those who want to survive, listen to my orders! Don't retreat along the trench. We'll retreat eastward along this main trench to the end, then climb out and run north along the railway track to escape!"

The enemy's shelling deliberately avoided the railway area; only by taking that route would one have a better chance of survival!

Some soldiers were so terrified that they were grasping at straws, doing whatever Lieutenant Blücher told them to do, and so they retreated in a chaotic manner. One strong soldier carried Blücher on his left shoulder to reduce the pressure on his crippled leg and make his escape faster.

But many Lusa soldiers couldn't believe this assessment and remained hesitant, or still wanted to retreat through the trenches, throwing the entire battlefield into chaos.

……

"It's 5:30 now, right? We've been preparing fire for 20 minutes, that's about enough. Have the artillery extend their fire, pushing it back 2 kilometers in one go!"

Then, immediately deploy ground troops for the attack, followed by artillery fire extending 3 kilometers after 10 minutes. The bombardment will last a total of 40 minutes, ceasing precisely at 5:50 PM. The artillery preparation doesn't need to be too long, just dense enough. Prolonged preparation actually gives the enemy's deeper forces more time to react.

On the opposite Demacian army position, Lelouch sat atop an armored vehicle, the Number One, equipped with a 57mm 16-caliber short-barreled cannon and a heavy machine gun.
He opened the top cover of the tank, poked his head and arms out, propped himself up on the roof with his elbows, and rotated a gun scope to observe the enemy situation on the other side while issuing orders.

Of course, Lelouch also wore a steel helmet covered with cloth and camouflage netting, which was both bulletproof and prevented the helmet from reflecting light. He also wore two silk bulletproof vests and had steel bulletproof plates inserted in his chest.

Anyway, he's fighting in an armored vehicle now, so he doesn't have to worry about load or mobility. Wearing thick clothes won't make him tired.

He was very satisfied with the current firepower preparation. For today's battle, Army Group Commander Field Marshal Rupprecht strongly supported him, and transferred the Army Group's directly subordinate heavy artillery brigade to serve him.

He also temporarily drew artillery units from two nearby armies, totaling six divisions, to concentrate them for him to carry out a short but intensive fire preparation.

德玛尼亚军每个师标配有36门105毫米榴弹炮，还有12门加农炮，6个师就是近300门大口径重炮，还有更多的77毫米小炮。

The army group's directly subordinate heavy artillery brigade is equipped with 36 of the latest Krupp K16 150mm long-barreled cannons, with a range of up to 19 kilometers. It is this long-range heavy artillery that ensures the forward deployment of its own artillery groups.

Because they can take advantage of their range difference to counter enemy artillery within 10 kilometers of the front line.

The sheer volume of artillery fire unleashed by such a massive force on a defensive line only a few kilometers wide and a dozen kilometers deep demonstrates the incredible density of firepower.

Within the scope of Lelouch's artillery, not a single living creature could be seen.

Upon hearing his order, the communications soldier beside him immediately and swiftly sent a telegram to Brigadier General William Keitel, who was in charge of commanding the artillery support group, and then to Deputy Division Commander Rommel.

……

"Extend the artillery fire 2 kilometers, execute immediately."

Upon receiving the telegram, Brigadier General William Keitel immediately and efficiently began to carry it out, and the artillery groups quickly extended their firepower.

"1st Armored Regiment, attack immediately! Have the reinforced infantry regiment follow closely and move into position to control the defensive line."

Rommel immediately deployed an armored regiment and an infantry regiment to the attack, while his own mechanized infantry regiment and motorized infantry regiment remained inactive for the time being.

Firstly, the battlefield was too narrow, only three to five kilometers wide in total. Moreover, as the attack progressed along the peninsula, the width became narrower the further inland, making it impossible for a large number of people to spread out.

Secondly, the attack has only just begun, so the troops don't have much of a mobility burden and don't need to run too fast. The first two waves of attacks can be easily followed by ordinary infantry on foot.

After penetrating 5 kilometers into enemy territory, the foot infantry gradually became exhausted, and it was not too late to send in the mechanized and motorized infantry.

There was already a distance of nearly 2 kilometers between the front lines of the two armies. Rommel's armored vehicles crossed this no-man's-land in just 5 minutes.

On the original front line of the Lusa people, there was not a single living person left, and not even a single heavy machine gun fired.

It's clear they were either killed by artillery fire or simply abandoned their positions and retreated. They wanted to buy time by moving out of the dense artillery barrage before regrouping and fighting again.

The armored vehicle smashed through the layers of barbed wire that had already been bombarded to pieces, and then carefully drove through the gaps in the trench net that had been collapsed by artillery fire.

Or they could simply advance from south to north along the gaps in the enemy's trench network—that is, along both sides of the railway from Zhankoy to Trojicz.

The Russo people were still in a state of offensive preparation; they had never given up on rescuing Sevastopol to the south, at least not in theory. Therefore, they had to hold onto this railway as a supply route should their attack succeed in the future.

This railway, however, has now become the main artery for the Demanians' counter-offensive.

Armored vehicles originally had a major disadvantage compared to tanks in their ability to cross trenches.

Although both have the same armor thickness and ballistic protection, wheeled vehicles cannot cross trenches that are only one or two meters wide, as their wheels will fall in; only tracked vehicles can pass through.

If the Lusaians had built their trenches to be completely impenetrable and cut off the railway, Lelouch wouldn't have dared to fight like this today. But the enemy left the railway behind and wanted to use it themselves, so Lelouch had no choice but to benefit from it.

"Our troops have passed through the area between the enemy and our front lines without hindrance, and have crossed the enemy's first layer of simple trenches in just 5 minutes. Our troops are expected to break through the next two simple trenches and one reinforced trench within 10 minutes. The heavy artillery brigade is requested to extend its artillery fire as planned."

Rommel, from his armored vehicle, instructed the radio operator to send a message to the rear, indicating that everything was proceeding as planned with high precision and no adjustments were needed.

"Let's advance too," Lelouch said after receiving Rommel's report on the radio, ordering the 2nd Panzer Regiment to follow. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he instructed the radio operator...

"By the way, have Kesselring send out some fighter jets to strafe and clear the area along the railway line. It would be best to also send a few airships to strafe at low altitude. But don't linger; withdraw within 20 minutes."

"Yes, sir!" The radio operator immediately accepted the order and began sending the message swiftly.

Lelouch ordered the fighters and airships to do this because the artillery barrage had only targeted the enemy's trenches, deliberately missing the railway line.

Lelouch didn't want the heavy artillery to destroy the railway, as he needed it for his subsequent rapid advance. Furthermore, too many craters along the railway would hinder the movement of wheeled armored vehicles, making them prone to bumps and damage.

However, not using heavy artillery doesn't mean letting the enemy go. Lelouch would be happy to use relatively lighter but more sustained firepower, the kind that doesn't damage terrain, to intercept and kill the enemy infantry retreating along the railway.

The reason for keeping the fighter jets and airships that are strafing the ground out of combat is to maximize the element of surprise and prevent enemy fighters from having the opportunity to react and intercept them.

Given the communication and command efficiency of this era, as well as the speed of the air force ground crew, if an attack on the enemy is thwarted within 20 minutes, the enemy's planes certainly won't have enough time to arrive.

For the next 10 minutes, everything proceeded exactly as Lelouch had predicted.

Rommel's armored regiment still encountered no substantial resistance. The enemy's first three simple trenches and one reinforced trench, covering a front line of 4 to 5 kilometers in depth, were taken away effortlessly.

Even without armored vehicles, it can be done using the assault battalion tactics from more than half a year ago.

However, Lelouch was not complacent. He knew that in this kind of battle, anyone could take the first five kilometers, thanks to the artillery cluster.

If we push deeper into enemy territory, to the 10th or 15th kilometer mark, that's when the ground assault troops will truly prove their worth.

Rommel, on the other hand, is only just beginning to exert his strength.

(End of this chapter)