Starting with the smashing of Dunkirk

Chapter 207 A Peaceful Night of Murder
December 24, 1915, the 18th day of the 11th lunar month, 8 PM.

Because it is the 18th day of the lunar calendar, only three days have passed since the full moon on the 15th.

With a recent snowfall and relatively clear weather, visibility was also relatively high during nighttime marches, though it was a bit cold.

The elite Demacian soldiers who will be fighting on the front lines tonight have taken vitamin A supplements beforehand.

"It's truly a stroke of luck! The weather is excellent tonight, so let's skip the artillery preparation. Have the artillery units on alert and the assault battalion advance directly, trying not to alert the enemy. Delay firing as much as possible. The artillery should wait for the assault battalion to report their positions and call for artillery fire before engaging."

There shouldn't be any fortifications in this area. The Bretonnia have only been there for less than ten days to two weeks, and with such a long border to guard against, they don't have time to dig trenches everywhere.

Lelouch checked the situation at the front line one last time through his high-powered telescope, and then signaled to the assault troops that they could launch the attack as planned.

Contrary to their usual practice, the Demacian army didn't even fire any artillery fire before sneaking up in the dark.

There are several reasons why we didn't fire the cannons.

Over the past year, Lelouch's assaults have all shared a common characteristic: increasingly dense yet brief artillery preparations. He tries to gather as much artillery as possible, but doesn't allow the firepower to last too long, ideally completing it within an hour or even a few tens of minutes.

While other units might need 50 cannons to fire 200 rounds of the same 1 shells, he preferred to concentrate 200 cannons to fire 50 rounds, compressing the time to the extreme.

The core principle of all this is to compress the enemy's reaction time and launch an attack as soon as possible, shortly after the enemy has prepared their firepower.

Tonight's situation represents the extreme of "compressing the preparation time for firepower," as no artillery barrage was prepared, relying entirely on a stealthy sneak attack.

Lelouch had clearly taken into account the special circumstances of Christmas Eve, hoping to take advantage of this special time when the enemy would be less vigilant.

Moreover, the shelling usually took place at dawn, with the attack occurring just as day was breaking. Even without shelling, the reaction time gained for a surprise attack was short-lived; the enemy would be discovered as soon as it got light, so it was largely ineffective.

Tonight, however, the attack will begin at 8 PM, and the night battle will last all night. Refusing to fire the first shot at this time could potentially give us several hours of sneaky infiltration time.

……

Six infantry assault battalions, as the first reconnaissance force tonight, first searched and advanced along the forest areas on both sides of the Bendu Ancient Road.

The Stranja Mountains beneath our feet are not particularly treacherous, but they are certainly rugged.

Most of the land is covered by dense forests, with only a few mountain hollows that are most likely to be sheltered from the sea winds being exposed by the fierce Black Sea winds, where large trees cannot grow.

The soldiers advanced stealthily, armed with MP15 submachine guns or MG15 light machine guns. Occasionally, there were also weapon support groups carrying grenade launchers or 80mm mortars, helping each other climb.

Each soldier carried at least two weapon belts, and the number of bullets they carried was reduced by several times compared to usual, but each of them carried a few extra grenades or mortar shells.

Everyone knew that the dense forests of the Strandja Mountains in this area stretched 80 kilometers from north to south. However, before the battle began, the Demacian forces had already infiltrated nearly 20 kilometers ahead without being detected by the enemy. Only 60 kilometers remained to go.

Within this 60-kilometer depth, they might receive reinforcements from their own artillery only in the first 15 kilometers. Further in, they would have to rely on mortars and grenade launchers for main support firepower, so they must bring enough grenades and mortar shells.

Moreover, the main ridge of the Strandja Mountains is only about 20 kilometers away from them, and there are several relatively low passes on the main ridge, which are the key points for the "Bentu Road" to cross the Strandja Mountains. According to the daytime aerial photography, those places are definitely heavily defended by the enemy, but it is hard to say about the outer areas.

To ensure secrecy, Commander Lelouch did not dare to deploy his troops too close to the main ridge of the Strandja Mountains before the battle. He also had to leave a nearly 20-kilometer buffer zone to prevent the troops from being discovered by the enemy too early.

In addition to shells, the soldiers also brought more food than usual, enough to last for two or three days.

To increase energy density, the mess hall prepared plenty of Leber-wurst.

The soldiers in episode 6 are mostly Bari people, who are used to eating local-style white sausages. These sausages have a higher starch and fat content, which is why they are white.

However, this operation required maximizing the soldiers' night vision capabilities, so the supply department even started using vitamin pills, and naturally, their diet had to be adjusted accordingly. The logistics department had discussed this with the allied forces from episode 4 beforehand, and the allies were happy to switch, since minced meat was more expensive.

……

The troops, guided by the moonlight of the 18th day of the lunar calendar, made their way forward for several kilometers without encountering any enemy outposts. It seemed that the Britannians' defenses in this mountain forest were indeed not very strong.

“It’s no wonder those Britannians were ambushed. They were so lax in their defenses that they walked five or six kilometers into the mountains and didn’t encounter a single patrol.”

Lieutenant Alfred Yodl, a mortar platoon leader, had been leading his artillerymen to carry mortars disassembled into three parts over mountains for two hours without encountering the enemy. When they stopped to drink water and rest, he couldn't help but complain about the enemy.

In this operation, Brigadier General Lelouch added a mortar platoon to each assault battalion as support firepower. Each platoon consisted of four squads and a total of four 80mm mortars. When fighting in mountainous areas, 12 soldiers were needed to carry the mortars, while the rest of the soldiers provided cover or carried shells and other supplies.

This Alfred Yodl was also born in the 1990s. At the beginning of the war, he was just an officer cadet, not even a second lieutenant, serving as a technical sergeant in the 4th Heavy Artillery Battalion directly under the army group.

Therefore, when Lelouch was assembling his own loyal team, he searched through the entire roster of officers in the 6th Army but couldn't find him.

After more than a year of real combat, Yodl rose two ranks through his performance and became a lieutenant artillery platoon leader. It was only before this battle that he was fortunate enough to be discovered by Army Chief of Staff Lelouch, who then transferred him to a different unit and gave him more opportunities to make meritorious contributions.

After having a late-night snack and resting for a while, the troops continued to advance. After another half hour, they covered two more kilometers, crossed a small hill, and the scouts finally found the enemy's observation post.

"Enemy outpost 600 meters to the left front! Exactly the same as what we saw during the aerial reconnaissance during the day!"

The reconnaissance company commander checked again through his binoculars before calling over the mortar platoon that had accompanied the reconnaissance company, asking Yodl to help him assess the situation:
"Should we get a little closer? We can observe the enemy outpost's radio antenna through the binoculars. In a moment, we need to ensure that the initial rapid-fire artillery fire destroys the antenna so that they can't transmit news of the enemy attack back to the rear command. That would delay them by at least half an hour, allowing our troops to advance a little further."

Yodl squinted for a while, then, wanting to play it safe, replied, "Could we get another 4 meters closer before we make our move? At 400 meters, I guarantee all four cannons will fire simultaneously at high speed, and we'll wipe out the antenna and everything within a 50-meter radius right away."

The reconnaissance company commander nodded: "Okay. It's night fighting, we shouldn't be detected even if we advance another two hundred meters. But if we hear any noise, we must prepare to open fire immediately."

Yodl looked troubled: "That's impossible. Before the mortars fire, the base plate must be leveled to ensure they are horizontal, otherwise the firing table data cannot be used. If we want a quick reaction, we can have the grenade launcher team move forward with us. The grenade launchers don't need to be leveled, but they won't be accurate."

In terms of professional skills, Yodl was very insistent and would not agree to technically impossible requests simply because the other party had a higher rank than him.

The reconnaissance company commander had no choice but to do so, and the troops cautiously moved forward again. The mortar platoon and grenade launcher group were all focused and ready. Fortunately, there were no accidents in the end, and the enemy was very relaxed on Christmas Eve.

Yodl had time to level the four mortar mounts. Then the reconnaissance company commander gave the order to charge. After Yodl and his comrades rushed out, they counted to 10 before firing.

The sound of a charge might not be immediately heard by the enemy in the outpost, but the sound of artillery fire certainly would. Charging first and then firing would give them an extra 10 seconds to get close.

"Bang bang bang~" Four mortar shells exploded when the soldiers were only 200 meters away from the outpost.

The mortars went into rapid fire, each firing six rounds in a burst, with only 3-4 seconds between each salvo. The radio station on the opposite side, along with its antenna, was completely destroyed; the communications officer and sentries inside were likely killed as well.

The two Vickers heavy machine guns attempted to turn their muzzles around and fire wildly, but were quickly silenced by the cover of mortars and grenade launchers; the machine gunners must have been killed in action.

Demanian soldiers, armed with MP15 submachine guns, charged into the outer perimeter of the outpost's trenches, clearing it out at close range. Some Burgundy soldiers frantically rushed out with Lee-Enfield rifles, only to be killed as soon as they stepped out of their tents.

When the Demacian soldiers stormed into the tent, they were surprised to find a pot inside, stewing what appeared to be chicken, duck, or some other poultry or wild bird. These Burmese, even in a remote outpost, didn't forget to prepare a Christmas Eve feast.

After breaching the outpost, the reconnaissance troops continued forward, exploring for another two or three kilometers. Further ahead lay more heavily defended outposts with larger garrisons. The Bretonnians here, however, gave them no opportunity for a surprise attack. They appeared tense and on high alert, likely having heard the gunfire earlier but not yet understanding the situation or receiving radio warnings.

Demanian reconnaissance units immediately changed tactics, sending mortars within 1 kilometer to conduct a rough observation, while the infantry continued their advance.

Only after being spotted and the Bretonnians' Vickers heavy machine guns began to fire did the Demandian mortars and grenade launchers roar into action, unleashing a dense hail of bullets. Infantry then launched alternating covering fire as they charged, while MG15 light machine guns wove a web of fire to relentlessly suppress the enemy.

After a fierce and bloody battle, they broke through another of the enemy's positions. The reconnaissance unit's accompanying radio was also set up immediately after capturing the position and began transmitting messages to the rear:
"Our offensive has thoroughly alerted the enemy, and we have just captured their second line of defense. Calling in artillery fire to prepare for the enemy's third line of defense based on daytime reconnaissance!"

Taking advantage of the relaxed atmosphere on Christmas Eve and the enemy's sparse forces, it was already a great success to steal two lines of defense and advance seven or eight kilometers ahead along the mountains and forests. We couldn't expect anything more.

After receiving the telegram, the heavy artillery group began to roar, no longer concealing its strength, and began to bombard the enemy's pre-set defensive line area, which was 10 to 15 kilometers away from the front line.

Each assault battalion continued to advance, and after about 20 minutes, they reached the vicinity of the position where their own artillery was bombarding them. Only then did they radio to call for the artillery to cease fire and extend their range.

As soon as the artillery fire ceased, the assault battalion immediately moved towards the Bu army's position, which had just been bombarded. There were indeed about a hundred surviving soldiers there, but their firepower had been broken. The assault battalion engaged these scattered Bu soldiers in fierce fighting and quickly killed them all.

……

The Demacians' all-out offensive on Christmas Eve finally alarmed the generals on the rear defense lines of the Burmese army, who quickly ordered the Burmese troops on all rear defense lines to prepare for a counterattack.

The first to be overwhelmed with telegrams was the 7th Division of the Kanada, commanded by Major General Dellis, who was stationed in Ternov, near the main ridge of the Strandja Mountains and the pass of the Bendo Road.

"Commander, the enemy has silently breached our first two outposts and observation lines to the north! They are now launching a fierce attack on our third line of defense, with intense artillery fire. We are about to be overwhelmed. We request reinforcements! We request permission to retreat!"

"The Royal Newfoundland Regiment is about to be encircled and annihilated by the enemy north of Ternov. The enemy has broken through our flanks! Requesting a retreat!"

Major General Delis was a rigid soldier with little flexibility.

In the Battle of the Somme in the Earth dimension, General Haig ordered his division to charge, and Haig stubbornly charged, resulting in the complete annihilation of his Royal Newfoundland Regiment by MG08 on the first day of the battle.

At this moment, how could he dare to order the troops to retreat on his own?

He could only ask the troops to hold firm and wait for a turning point, and then report to higher levels for instructions.

Soon, he sought instructions from his superior, Lieutenant General Hunter Weston, commander of the 8th Army Corps, who was in charge of the defense of the entire Bulgarian-Austrian border, and asked for his assistance.

Hunter Weston reacted relatively quickly. He was alarmed to hear that a Demacian assault battalion was attempting a breakthrough in the direction of the Stranja Mountains, and that they had even reached the third line of defense of the Burgh army in the middle of the night.

"What? You're saying the enemy has advanced to within 12 kilometers of your town of Ternov? That's impossible! How did they manage that! The area 30 kilometers north of Ternov is all dense forest; haven't we found any enemy activity there?"

"The aerial reconnaissance a few days ago showed that the enemy's garrison on the eastern section of the defensive line was still in Burgas, wasn't it? Their main force should clearly be on our side! But now is not the time to dwell on these issues. I approve your withdrawal of troops, gradually withdrawing the forces north of Ternov and concentrating your forces to defend the fortified area at the Ternov pass to the death!"

Lieutenant General Hunter Weston's own headquarters was located in Edinnell, a full 70 kilometers west of Ternov, where Major General Delis was stationed.

The city of Edinnell is located on the westernmost edge of the Strandja Mountains, in the area where the Bulgarian-Austrian border transitions from the mountains to the plains.

The Burmese high command had previously believed that even if the Demanians risked reinforcing the Ottomans, their main offensive should be directed towards the vicinity of Edinel, not the Strandja Mountains.

Therefore, as the corps commander, Lieutenant General Hunter Weston naturally had to personally oversee the operations in Edinnell.

……

After receiving instructions from Lieutenant General Weston to retreat, Major General Delis meticulously sent a telegram to the forward troops, instructing the Royal Newfoundland Regiment to abandon their positions immediately to avoid being outflanked by enemy assault battalions on both flanks.

Unfortunately, Delis's orders arrived too late, and a lot of time was wasted on radio decoding and encoding at all levels. They were not delivered to the front lines until about 1:30 a.m.

As the Royal Newfoundland Regiment prepared to abandon their positions and begin an orderly retreat, two Demanian assault battalions bypassed their defensive zone from the left and right flanks respectively.

Although the trap isn't completely closed yet, it already threatens the Royal Newfoundland Corps' escape route.

Noticing the retreat of the Kannar in the darkness, the Demanian assault battalion reacted quickly, immediately using mortars and grenade launchers to block the enemy's retreat route through the mountains.

Eight 80mm mortars and dozens of grenade launchers turned the narrow mountain path through which the Kanna retreated into a death zone, and thousands of Kanna soldiers fell during their retreat.

In the end, the Royal Newfoundland Regiment only managed to evacuate a few hundred uninjured soldiers and a little over a thousand wounded soldiers; the rest were all annihilated.

The Demanian assault troops continued their pursuit of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment's rear guard, fighting and advancing all the way. By 4 a.m., they had approached the town of Ternov, where Major General Delis was stationed, and were only 5 kilometers away from the town, having already entered the heavily fortified area of ​​the Burgh army.

From 5 kilometers north of Ternov, all the way to the pass over the Strandja Mountains, the army had built a tight defensive line for this last stretch of road.

Six simple trenches were dug, one every 800 meters, and they were connected by communication trenches.

Unfortunately, the artillery had poor visibility during night operations, and the artillery groups deployed behind the mountain pass did not know where to fire.

The Burgh infantry at the front felt as if the mountains and fields were filled with Demanians, and it seemed as if they were being attacked everywhere.

Using their nimble mortars and grenade launchers, the Demanians quickly eliminated the Vickers heavy machine gun positions at the front of the Bruegel army through close-quarters combat at night, and then advanced into the trenches under alternating cover.

The troops defending this area were all second-line soldiers, led by Lord Kanna, so naturally they weren't assigned many submachine guns. The elite troops with submachine guns were currently engaged in the assault on Istanbul, not left to roam this desolate wilderness.

靠李恩菲尔德与MP15打堑壕争夺战，布军很快节节败退。德玛尼亚人则把迫击炮和掷弹筒灵活前推部署、打第3道堑壕就在第2道堑壕内临时部署迫击炮，打第4道堑壕时再在第3道堑壕内部署迫击炮。

The distance between the mortar and the target was never more than a kilometer. In such close-range firefights, the accuracy of the weapon's projectiles was irrelevant.

Major General Delis didn't even understand what was going on, and ended up losing the town of Ternov and the Strandja Pass before dawn.

Two regiments of the 7th Division of Canada were annihilated, while another two regiments and an artillery battalion were routed and forced to retreat.

When the artillery battalion was defeated, it could only retreat on foot, abandoning all its cannons. To avoid giving them to the enemy, it could only detonate some grenades in the cannon barrels, destroying as many as it could.

After capturing the town of Ternov, the Demanian army immediately sent a telegram to the rear, and the news quickly reached Chief of Staff Lelouch.

"Our troops advanced 30 kilometers overnight, and the enemy had set up multiple lines of defense within a depth of 17 kilometers, all of which have been breached. We have now captured the town of Ternov, and subsequent armored units can safely pass through the Strandja Pass."

Lelouch took one last look at the map. After passing the Strandja Pass, although there was still a 30-kilometer-deep forest ahead, those areas were all downhill and the road conditions were better. The enemy should not have much defense.

Lelouch immediately made a decision: "Let the infantry assault battalion continue to advance and clear the way, and let the entire armored division follow. There may not be enough half-tracks to transport too many infantrymen for the time being. Let some of the infantrymen sit outside the tanks and advance with them. After crossing the Stranja Pass, they can get off and walk with the tanks."

In pursuit of speed, Lelouch even allowed his troops to mimic the Soviet army's marching style on Earth while in a safe zone.

Of course, he still valued the lives of his soldiers, and once they passed the safe zone, they still had to get off the vehicle.

The armored division rumbled forward and soon reached the Stranja Pass after daybreak, then turned to a downhill offensive.

-

P.S.: Sorry, I had a bit of a lag today. Mainly, I'm not very familiar with the terrain for this battle, and I couldn't think of any innovative tactics.

If no one objects, I'll just briefly write about the details of the subsequent battles, and then I'll finish writing about the high-level perspective within a day or two.

The main problem is that there are too many consecutive war scenes, and it's difficult to break the timeline in between. I just finished writing the Battle of Kiev, and now I have to pick up where I left off and write this one. I'm getting a bit tired of it. The comments and data also show that everyone is tired of it.

I'll get into the winter's domestic affairs and military buildup storyline as soon as possible, reap the rewards, and get promoted and make a fortune.

(End of this chapter)