Starting with the smashing of Dunkirk

Chapter 201 While waiting for the digestion to proceed, a thousand miles of reinforcements are dispatched.

September 10, night.

After the Lusa people's final large-scale desperate breakout was thwarted, Marshal Rupprecht summoned his key confidants for a brief victory celebration.

They also took the opportunity to discuss the next long-term plan and when to send troops to rescue friendly nations on the southern front.

In this short, closed-door meeting, Lelouch also frankly expressed his views:

"With the battle at this point, the Lussa people should be unable to break out."

However, there are still more than a million people inside the encirclement, and it is estimated that it will take at least ten days to half a month to force the surrender of organized resistance.

As for those scattered and disorganized soldiers, it's not surprising that it might take one or two months to completely eliminate them.

At that time, the 10th Army might be able to be redeployed to the southern front in Poland and Belarus;

But our 6th Army must be prepared to be tied down in the Kievan Rus' plains for the entire winter.

His assessment was quickly endorsed by several key figures at the army group's top leadership.

The Battle of Kiev won't end anytime soon, but the most intense phase has passed.

Marshal Rupprecht nodded, and then began to consider the arrangements for the next stage.

He pondered for a moment and said, "Let's leave half an army group here to maintain the situation during the winter. We need to send a portion of our troops south to support the Greek king and the Ottomans. The Greeks have been fighting the Bretonnian army on November 28th and have been holding out on their own for a full 12 days. The situation is very bad now."

The Bretonnian coalition forces landing are growing rapidly, reportedly numbering in the hundreds of thousands. It's thanks to their rapid landing rate of 2 to 3 men per day, and the relatively small number of troops on land in the first few days, that Greece has managed to survive until now.

Southern Greece, with its mountainous terrain and numerous peninsulas and fjords, was unsuitable for large-scale troop deployments. Upon hearing of the Bretonnians' influx of three to four hundred thousand, they ceased concentrating their entire force towards Athens, instead sending a significant contingent to invade the Ottoman and Bulgarian frontiers from the Greek-Austrian and Greek-Bulgarian borders.

Invading Bulgaria was certainly not their objective; they probably only wanted to seize the southeastern corner of Bulgarian territory first, making it easier to outflank the Ottoman capital, Istanbul, and create more routes for a pincer attack. I don't remember the specifics, can someone please provide some details?

Marshal Rupprecht was a very busy man, so how could he remember so many details of the situation on other fronts?

However, his concise and to-the-point remarks just now were absolutely correct.

After landing in Thessaloniki, the Britannians did indeed launch attacks on all sides for more than ten days. This is because the real battlefield is not a video game; troop deployment is limited by the "width of the battlefield." Infinitely piling up troops would not increase the efficiency of the attack, but would only increase casualties.

Once over 20 of Bournar's troops had landed in Greece, continuing the single land push towards Athens would no longer require that many men. To avoid wasting time, the extra troops were naturally used to fight the Ottomans and Bulgaria.

The Xio border has an effective width of only about 80 kilometers, and it is also mountainous.

In contrast, the border between Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire is over 150 kilometers long. Moreover, the section of the road leading to the Ottoman Empire, the Kerkraterelli Plain, is very flat and suitable for large troop deployments, accounting for more than half the width of the entire Bulgarian-Ottoman border.

If, at the border of Greece, Bulgaria, and Austria, one were to detour slightly north towards Bulgaria and then turn south to attack the Ottomans, the outcome would be much more efficient.

To give an analogy that anyone on Earth can easily understand, it's like when France and Germany were at war, they were often quite wary of the Maginot Line and the Siegfried Line, so they wanted to bypass them by going through the relatively flat and easy-to-attack Low Countries.

Then, an unnamed staff officer who had just been called upon by Marshal Rupprecht gave a detailed report on the latest firsthand battle reports from the southern front that he had just gathered:
It turns out that after the Britannian army launched its attack on November 28, it broke through the Lapsani Pass on Mount Olympus, a strategic pass between the Thessaloniki region (where the initial landing point, the port of Thessaloniki, was located), and the central Greek region on November 30, and entered the central plain basin of Greece.

The Greek army was unable to send reinforcements from Athens to defend Mount Olympus, and could only rely on the local garrison to resist on its own.

However, the Burkina Faso army also used armored vehicle formations to break through the Lapsani Pass for the first time, rushing along the valley. The Greek army, which attempted to block the road, was defeated, causing a chain reaction of panic. Finally, on the 31st, the Burkina Faso army crossed Mount Olympus and advanced to Larissa, the capital of the Central Region.

This had nothing to do with Lieutenant Colonel Walter Model, who was sent to reinforce the Greeks, because he hadn't taken over the defense duties yet.

It wasn't until December that Model began to gradually assist the Greeks in devising strategies, and he used the more than one regiment of reinforcements he brought to help them hold out for time, which reportedly had a good effect.

Currently, the Bretonnia have deployed an army of approximately 15 to continue their advance in Greece.

Nearly 20 more people are advancing along the borders of Greece and Austria.

The advance into Bulgaria was the most successful, with Bulgarian forces approaching Burgas, the southernmost Bulgarian port on the Black Sea side, from where they turned south and entered Ottoman-held Kerkrareli.

The direct offensive against the Ottomans made slightly less progress, advancing only to Edirne, which is just over 20 kilometers eastward along the border of the Ottomans.

Edirne is still more than 40 kilometers away from the base of the Gallipoli Peninsula to the south. In other words, the Britannian army needs to push another 40 kilometers to cut off the base of the Gallipoli Peninsula from the rear and cut off the retreat route of the Austrian army that is fighting a blocking action on the Gallipoli Peninsula.

The Austrian forces blocking the Gallipoli Peninsula were the most elite troops in the entire Ottoman Empire. They had been fighting there for over three months, starting in August, against the landing forces of the Burghers. If this force were to be wiped out, the Ottoman Empire could truly collapse.

……

After hearing the latest news on the southern front, Lelouch and the other key generals immediately began to express their opinions.

Lelouch suggested, "If we want to rescue them, we should definitely take the train directly from the Romanian border into Bulgaria, and then attack the Bulgarian army from north to south. If possible, we should set off south tomorrow."

We can let the Ottoman army plan their course. If they really can't hold out in Erdine, they can retreat to Tekildah, or even eventually to Istanbul. Anyway, with us here, Istanbul will never be a problem.

Additionally, if it is confirmed that Erdine cannot hold out, some troops from the Gallipoli Peninsula can be redeployed to the north to hold the line, or even retreat in an orderly manner if necessary, abandoning the Gallipoli Peninsula and consolidating the defensive line to join forces in one place.

"Anyway, the Bretonnians have already landed on the Greek mainland, so they won't miss this small landing spot on the Gallipoli Peninsula. Let them have it for now." Lelouch hatched a wicked plan. He even hoped that Kemer, facing the possibility of being attacked from both sides, would decisively abandon the Gallipoli Peninsula defense line and let the Bretonnian troops on the peninsula into the Tekildah Plain west of Istanbul.

After all, the Gallipoli Peninsula is mostly mountainous, and both sides have been digging trenches there for months, making fortifications very tight.

If the Burmese army remains holed up on the peninsula, the Demacian army will be unable to outflank them when they try to attack.

If the Burmese army were to lose the battle and instead adopt a defensive strategy, slowly retreating by ship from the temporary anchorages at the tip of the peninsula, Lelouch would only be able to sigh at the Aegean Sea, unable to stop the enemy's retreat, and there would be no chance of another Dunkirk.

But if the main force of the Burkina Faso army covets Istanbul, which seems to be within their grasp, and all pours into the Tekildah Plain right at the doorstep of Istanbul...

Lelouch will then teach them how modern warfare is fought.

Field Marshal Rupprecht and the other high-ranking officers of the army group smiled knowingly upon hearing this, clearly understanding the situation.

But the marshal had many things to consider; he had his own additional concerns:

"This is indeed a good idea, especially since it allows the enemy to see the light at the end of the tunnel and strike when they are most arrogant and complacent... However, what about Greece? If we do this in the north, it might be too late to save Greece."

After all, rescuing Greece first would be a wake-up call for the Burghers, deterring them from further reckless and arrogant advances. But if we entice them into a rash advance in the north, it will be too late to rescue the south… King Constantine is His Majesty's brother-in-law, and we don't want to be branded as ineffective in our rescue efforts. Otherwise, if the Greek Queen returns home to visit her brother and complains, we'll be in a difficult position.”

Lelouch: "I think that when that moment comes, we should just let Model protect the King and Queen. We can even leave Athens to the enemy for a short time, and let Model lead his men to the Peloponnese to fight the enemy in the mountains and buy time. Everything is for the sake of a great victory. The Queen probably doesn't understand military affairs. As long as they see our army fighting to the death to protect them, that's enough. And we are indeed saving them."

The Duke finally nodded: "Alright, let's arrange it that way. Now let's talk about the specific division of troops. Which troops do you think should be sent to the southern front immediately, and which troops should stay here to surround the Lussa people? How should the armored vehicles and tanks be distributed?"

Lelouch thought for a moment and suggested, "Most of the armored vehicles can be left behind, and we can take about twenty or thirty for communication and special purposes. We can take all the tanks. If we need them here, we can just repair them at the repair shop. Anyway, the ones that are already damaged or broken down are all left behind, and we can't take them away even if we wanted to."

As for the military, I think we need to draw the main force of at least two armies, plus the previous 'Independent Army', for a total force of about 150,000 people. This is necessary, and the first batch should be this many.

When we pass through the southern part of the encirclement, we can also draw some men from the Oreo people's 3rd Army. I hope that Lieutenant General Kusmanek can also send an army, so that our total reinforcements will reach more than 20.

It should be noted that the Britannians now have two to three hundred thousand troops who have landed in Thessaloniki, and there will only be more to come. Moreover, they already have a continuous force of one to two hundred thousand men on the Gallipoli Peninsula, and they will replenish their ranks as needed to deal with casualties.

With only 20 troops, it's unlikely we can win a hard-fought battle against the 50-strong Burkina Faso coalition. However, we are not fighting alone; the Greek, Bulgarian, and Ottoman armies are also fighting to defend their countries.

"Adding all these people together, our total troop strength is equal to, or even slightly surpasses, that of the enemy. It's just that the armies of the remaining three kingdoms are far inferior to ours in combat effectiveness."

After assessing the situation, the Duke also felt that at least two troops should be taken away initially to maintain order; otherwise, the fighting strength might be too weak and the army might turn the tables and kill them.

After all, the immediate priority is to contain the million-strong enemy force encircled within the encirclement.

If the dumplings have too thin a skin and too much filling, they may break and leak filling.

Therefore, when spreading the dough evenly, you must spread it more evenly on the north side and more evenly on the south side. (Note: The last part, "德6集抽2军，奥3集抽1军," appears to be unrelated and likely refers to a separate event or rule. It has been omitted from the translation.)

This is not some fancy and unnecessary maneuver, but a necessary measure to ensure tactical precision and even distribution of resources.

Moreover, the scale of this transfer can be dynamic. Initially, 200,000 people can be sent. After the large-scale troop deployment in Kiev is largely absorbed and the number of troops needed in the north decreases, one or two more corps can be transferred from Austria (episode 3) and one or two more divisions from Germany (episode 6).

After the Battle of Kiev, the third episode of the series will be free. They will only need to fill in the gaps in the eastern or northern part of the Kievan Rus' Plain, which will not require many people.

However, Germany may still have the mission to continue its offensive and expand its gains, so it is necessary to leave behind some strong fighting units.

After the enemy's southern front is captured, we'll have to strike while they're weakened and seize as much territory as possible. Otherwise, it would be a waste to only fight annihilation battles without gaining more territory.

Therefore, when sending Lelouch south to reinforce the troops, Marshal Rupprecht couldn't help but ask him more questions about strategic planning.

"After we finish off the major defeat in Kyiv, in which direction do you think our army should focus its efforts to expand our gains for the remainder of December and throughout the rest of the winter?"

Lelouch didn't need to think too much about the question and quickly replied, "I think if we can eat the dumplings before the end of December, we can take advantage of the weather not being completely cold and advance a little further north to expand our gains."

The entire territory of Belgorod, the area south of Kursk in Kursk Oblast, and even the area west and south of Voronezh in Voronezh Oblast, are geographically a natural extension of the Kievan Rus' Plain. These areas have few hills and dense forests, making it possible to expand and occupy the spoils of war on flat terrain.

Moreover, with the time difference between the freezing of winter and the fact that it is not yet unbearably cold, occupying these areas can further reduce the grain-producing areas of the Lussa people in the following year. These states are also important fertile farmlands. Further north, it is difficult to grow high-yield crops, and large areas of land are still undeveloped and remain forested.

However, the advance on Belgorod, Kursk, and Voronezh could only last for a month. By the second half of January, or even the entirety of February, when the weather was at its coldest, it would be unwise to continue the northward offensive.

At that time, they could advance south towards Rostov on the Black Sea coast, controlling the mouth of the Don River and the North Donets River, a major tributary on the north bank of the Don. Ultimately, they could even advance all the way along the coastline to the Taman Peninsula, completely occupying the entire Sea of ​​Azov coast, paving the way for the attack on the Caucasus region and the capture of oil fields the following year.

Moreover, I believe that Kursk and Rostov, these two major targets, can be easily captured, because there will inevitably be a huge vacuum in the local defense forces.

Even if the Russo could mobilize more new recruits, they couldn't possibly have produced new troops to defend Kursk and Rostov within a few months after their massive force of over a million men was wiped out in Kiev.

After hearing this analysis, the Duke stubbed out his cigar: "Then it's settled. Lelouch, you will lead the armored division equipped with tanks as the vanguard and head south tomorrow to rescue the Ottomans and Greeks. I will follow you with two armies."

"Von Bock, take your armored division, which is entirely composed of armored vehicles, and take advantage of the frozen muddy areas of the black soil plains after winter to quickly advance and penetrate Kursk and Belgorod."

Lelouch served as the vanguard in the southern relief effort, while von Bock was tasked with expanding the gains northward. Their roles were clearly defined, and the new tanks and armored vehicles that Porsche had just rolled off the production line in the past month were also provided to these two units to ensure their combat effectiveness.

(End of this chapter)