Starting with the smashing of Dunkirk

Chapter 219 The polarization of black and red, everyone in the world knows you.
"A qualified general staff should, in peacetime, formulate operational plans against all neighboring countries fairly, regardless of the closeness or distance of diplomatic relations. This is so that if any political or diplomatic changes occur and the military needs to respond immediately, the staff can be called upon to fight and win."

This is the correct approach to truly inheriting and developing Clausewitz's great view that "war is a continuation of politics," and it is also the best way to keep pace with the times and inherit Chief of Staff Helmut Moltke's national strategy.

In this new era and under these circumstances, the causes of war have become more diverse and unpredictable. The era in which traditional dynasties and nobles could decide war or peace through the exchange of interests and calm decision-making, since Metternich, has passed.

In the new era, the people and public opinion can also influence kings and emperors, prime ministers and presidents, forcing authorities to take a hard line against foreign powers due to public pressure. This world war was caused by both sides being forced to retreat by the surging hawkish stances within their respective countries, ultimately leading to a major conflict.

We should have realized this lesson two thousand years ago—during the Peloponnesian War, the inhabited Athens was repeatedly forced to risk a decisive battle with Sparta due to its system in the decision-making process between war and peace.

History has long told us that once public opinion has the power to influence foreign policy decisions, then in public debates, the hawkish side only needs to relentlessly attack the other side as a coward when they are arguing in the square, and then they can force the other side to lose face and prestige, and finally have no choice but to agree to military radicalism.

This is a lesson that Thucydides and Plato understood more than two thousand years ago, and it was repeated during the Napoleonic era. It was only because the last 90 years of peace since the time of Metternich that the world has become complacent and has come to believe that the ancient wisdom is outdated.

Because war can break out under the influence of unpredictable public opinion within the context of nation-states, its unpredictability has been greatly enhanced. The level of composure within a group is often determined by the few least composed individuals within that group.

Because humans have a biological instinct for honor and a desire to show off, insulting others as cowards naturally has a coercive power. So you can expect a few people to remain calm because of self-interest, but you can't expect to find no impulsive individuals among millions of people. This is why the larger the mob, the less calm they become.

While contemporary politics has undoubtedly made significant progress compared to antiquity in many other aspects, it has regressed to the level of ancient Greece, at least in the area of ​​war and peace decision-making. Previously amicable or strained diplomatic relations between high-ranking officials can be altered and manipulated by unforeseen events at the lower levels. Therefore, military staff officers need to find ways to address this shortcoming of contemporary politics.

Since no diplomatic relationship is absolutely stable, a competent General Staff must be able to develop an operational plan for any neighboring country that acts as a hypothetical enemy. The existence of such an operational plan does not imply any hostility—it may lie gathering dust in the General Staff's desk drawer forever, or it may one day be taken out simply to help a friendly nation quell a rebellion…

Lelouch's introduction to his Potsdam Military Academy project was ultimately presented in this form.

The timeframe was just one week after the first class, around January 24th.

Spending just one week to complete the topic selection and write a general introduction to the content to be discussed, and to define the scope of the argument, is already quite good, and at the same time it does not seem too exaggerated or hasty.

His introductory remarks also received high praise from Marshal Goltz, the retired principal who was temporarily rehired.

Marshal Goldz privately admitted that this was the most insightful paper he had seen since 1908—even compared to himself. Marshal Goldz himself said that the vast majority of his academic achievements were made in his youth, before the age of 65. After being sent back to serve as rector in 1908, he never again achieved such a high level of academic innovation.

Of course, Lelouch didn't just do that during the week. His groundbreaking speech at the thesis proposal class that day not only shocked the principal but also made him the focus of the entire training program.

All the students in the same cohort were clearly divided into two factions.
One faction found his views refreshing and enthusiastically supported him, believing that he was indeed a leading figure among the younger generation of officers and a fresh blood destined to save the empire in the future.

The other faction consists of supporters of the Schlieffen Plan, as well as Hindenburg, Rodendorff, and other successors of the Schlieffen line. They feel that Lelouch is ignorant and arrogant, and far too presumptuous.

Some people believe that he was simply trying to curry favor with the old headmaster, Field Marshal Goldz, because he knew that Goldz and Schlieffen had been fighting for their entire lives, so he spoke ill of Schlieffen in front of Field Marshal Goldz.

But no matter what, black and red are still red.

After this incident, everyone at the Potsdam Military Academy was now paying attention to Lelouch; no one could ignore him. Everyone either praised or condemned him, their opinions were all very clear.

Under these circumstances, many people sought out Lelouch every day this week to debate various military issues, pressuring him to take a stand and hoping to find fault with him.

Those Schlieffen supporters and Hindenburg and Rodendorff supporters naturally wanted him to comment on Marshal Hindenburg's ongoing Polish campaign—a topic that actually had little to do with the merits of the Schlieffen plan. However, after their heated arguments, they preferred to focus on the person rather than the issue, lacking the composure of Lelouch.

Many conservative officers believe that "soldiers should speak with their actual combat achievements, not just talk and argue about right and wrong."

Of course, they also knew that Lelouch's military achievements were very solid. Even if he only assisted the 6th Army and Marshal Rupprecht in achieving victory as chief of staff, he absolutely deserved to be promoted to general.

Therefore, those people did not dare to question Lelouch's military achievements. They only hoped that Lelouch would admit that Marshal Hindenburg fought as well as Marshal Rupprecht, and that Chief of Staff Rodendorf was no less capable than Lelouch, or even better.

Unfortunately, Lelouch certainly wouldn't agree with what these people were saying.

When debating specific military issues, Lelouch did not hesitate to point out the problems with Hindenburg and Rodendorff's recent specific battle plans:
"The Russo people have already suffered millions of casualties, and they will certainly lose the Polish campaign in the end! But Marshal Hindenburg and Chief of Staff Rodendorff are now eager to gain merit and advance recklessly, which is a major taboo in military strategy!"

The only economic value of eastern Poland today is agriculture; the rest of the industries have been almost completely destroyed by the ongoing stalemate. Taking it a few months earlier or later makes no difference, as long as it is secured before the summer grain harvest this year.

However, the Tsar, for the sake of the Lushad Empire's reputation, would never willingly relinquish territory. If we delay our attack by a few months, their million-strong army will be tied down and weakened for several more months. This would allow the Empire to launch earlier attacks on other Lushad coastal oil and industrial areas, and expand its gains.

Lelouch's words were much more restrained than when he spoke to Duke Rupprecht. He didn't even dare to mention the reason that "if we had recovered East Poland a few months earlier, we would have had to use our country's grain to feed the locals a few months earlier." After all, it was a public academic debate, and we had to maintain some decorum.

Even though she tried to tone it down, it still caused quite a stir among the crowd.

A small group of Schlieffen, Hindenburg, and Rodendorff supporters immediately attacked him, accusing him of being jealous of talent and taking credit for others' work while shirking responsibility.
"Brigadier General Lelouch! You're just jealous of talent and only want to claim military merit for yourself. You can't stand seeing others do well! Everyone knows that the southern front is controlled by your 6th Army! You said you wanted to prolong the Polish campaign and wear down the enemy's main force so that the Empire could seize the oil fields and other industrial areas first,

"Isn't that just creating an opportunity for your 6th Army to attack the eastern Black Sea coast and the Caucasus region? You despicable southerners get all the benefits, while we northerners have to do the hard work. It's shameless!"

As soon as the other party uttered these words, he was immediately warned by the on-site college disciplinary staff, who indicated that it would be reported for disciplinary action.

This blatantly exposes the factional struggles within the Demacian army, using the conflict between the conservative Junker officer corps and other emerging forces as a pretext, which is extremely detrimental to unity.

However, despite the warning, Lelouch wasn't the type to rely on a school warning for backing him up. He was confident that even with personal attacks, he could still win the debate, so he continued to argue his case logically:

"Jealousy and jealousy? Do I, Lelouch, need to be jealous of talent and ability? Having the Polish theater keep the enemy's main force engaged and wear them down as much as possible, thus relieving pressure on the Caucasus, is, in my opinion, the best way the Polish theater can contribute to the Empire in the last two months. Even if they were allowed to fight freely, could they achieve a decisive victory against the million-strong enemy army in eastern Poland within these two months? No! If they could win at a relatively low cost, I would accept it. The key issue is that their greed for glory and recklessness will only increase the casualties of the Empire's warriors, which is irresponsible towards the lives of their soldiers!"
That's right, the Empire has recently won several major battles against the Lussa, but those battles started in April of last year and ended in December of last year! The whole process only lasted for a little over eight months, less than a year ago!
Your underestimation of the enemy, your belief that the Russa people are no longer a threat, is like a roast goose that hasn't lived a full year. You think that being fed by a keeper every morning is an immutable truth, but little do you know that on Christmas Eve, the truth of 'being fed by a keeper' will become the slaughtering knife and the boiling water for plucking!
How dare you claim to have discovered the truth when you haven't even examined a pattern for a full year? Have you forgotten the lessons of Napoleon 104 years ago? Have you forgotten the power of the "General Winter" in the northern region of Lussa? Although East Poland is not very far north, the severe cold can still cause logistical difficulties, and the attacking side will suffer enormous disadvantages in this season!
In contrast, the southern regions are warmer, especially along the Black Sea and Caspian Sea coasts, and the lower Don and Volga rivers. Fighting on those lands of Luza, without the threat of General Winter, every analysis I've made is based on what is most beneficial to the nation and the army, not on personal gain!
"You petty, narrow-minded fools, I'm not going to waste my breath on you. Just wait and see. If the Polish campaign isn't over by the end of winter, then it will be clear who holds the truth!"

With the debate having progressed to this point, Lelouch had even offered up a prophetic statement as proof, leaving his opponents—the conservatives and Schlieffen faction—with nothing to say.

After all, they had already been warned and disciplined by the academy's disciplinary committee for saying the wrong thing and being personal, which was detrimental to unity. Now that Lelouch's analysis was so convincing, there was no need to argue anymore before the results were in.

Those who were dissatisfied also swallowed their anger for the time being, hoping to wait until Marshal Hindenburg and Chief of Staff Rodendorff's army groups won a great victory in Poland and the winter campaign ended before they could use the facts to slap Lelouch in the face.

Starting from the third week after entering Potsdam College, Lelouch finally had some peace and quiet. He could immerse himself in researching and demonstrating the topic he had chosen, discussing it with his classmates, and slowly completing his thesis.

He also borrowed a bunch of books and files from the Potsdam College library, enough to fill the trunk of his BMW.

I plan to travel around a lot, handling other important business and military-related matters while also finding time to read and write papers.

The list of books to borrow and the list of required documents were prepared for him by the former headmaster, Marshal Goldz, who suggested that he borrow these items to support his thesis.

Furthermore, Marshal Goldz dedicated two or three days to teaching him how to read these books and archives efficiently, and how to grasp their essence and understand them thoroughly. Although it was only three days of instruction, Lelouch benefited immensely from it.

Many of his original, though far-sighted, ideas were only vague and half-baked, but after Marshal Golts sorted them out, they became more insightful and easier to apply to other situations.

Lelouch couldn't help but sigh inwardly: Marshal Goldz truly deserves his reputation as a top theorist who served as the principal of Potsdam for six years. After a lifetime of pondering, he still has a lot to say.

He's truly treating himself like a closed-door disciple, imparting all his knowledge and skills, sharing the most valuable, closely guarded secrets.

This was not something Lelouch deliberately pursued. His original intention was simply to use this opportunity to establish his own persona and emphasize the stance he would represent in the future, so as to fight against the conservative faction in the General Staff who advocated "subordinates overthrowing superiors and military power over politics."

In the future, if the people begin to reflect on the problem of those conservative elements in the military who rebel against their superiors, they will take him as a role model.

Marshal Goltz's appreciation was merely an unexpected bonus that Lelouch gained while planning according to his own original pace.

……

As the end of January approached, Lelouch had been studying at the Potsdam Military Academy for almost three weeks.

He no longer needed Marshal Goldz's daily guidance and was preparing to ask the Marshal for leave to run some errands. He promised to take his files and books with him so as not to delay his thesis writing.

Marshal Gortz also personally approved his temporary leave of the school.

Lelouch packed his bags and made a phone call to Mr. Gustav of Krupp.

He had assumed Gustav would be at the steel mill and artillery factory in Essen, but Krupp staff replied that the boss was not there and had gone on a business trip to Wilhelmshaven.

Because the Empire's first "Baria-class" battleship, the "Baria," has officially completed all outfitting work and most of its sea trials, and is about to undergo its final round of sea trials before entering service.

The "Baria-class" was equipped with a new 48-caliber three-phase electric arc furnace steel main gun, which was temporarily redesigned by Krupp. Therefore, the gun manufacturer needed to pay attention to this and have the boss personally attend the Navy's acceptance ceremony.

Lelouch thought for a moment, since there was no need to stay in the office to discuss the cooperative project of opening a large steel plant in Kievan Rus' with Gustav, he might as well make a trip to Wilhelmshaven himself.

On the other hand, Lelouch had just left Potsdam, and the introduction to his latest paper had already begun to circulate.

It not only flowed from Field Marshal Goltz to Chief of the General Staff Falkenhayn, but soon after, it flowed from Falkenhayn to Emperor Wilhelm.

Emperor William was deeply moved after reading it.

After all, he was a participant in the July Crisis of 1914. He had personally asked the General Staff and Moltke the Younger: "Can't the Reich come up with a war plan that doesn't involve fighting the Franks, but only the Lussars?"
Finally, Moltke told him personally: such a plan simply doesn't exist in the world. The General Staff has never devised a combat plan that uses only the Lussa people as the hypothetical enemy. Moreover, the General Staff shouldn't be blamed for this, because the general staffs of other countries in the world couldn't do it either.

Emperor Wilhelm tolerated it at the time, thinking that perhaps no general staff in the world could be so comprehensive. Demacia's general staff should already be the best on the planet. If even the world's best couldn't do it, then perhaps the person making the demands was really going too far.

But now, after seeing Lelouch's thesis introduction, Emperor Wilhelm suddenly realized: What? So there are people on this planet who can do this?
It turns out that some people have long believed that a separate war plan should be made for all neighboring countries, regardless of diplomatic relations.

"I thought the Imperial General Staff was already the best in the world. If they couldn't do it, then no one else could. We shouldn't be too critical. I didn't expect that I hadn't seen enough of the world before."

Emperor Wilhelm couldn't help but let out a self-deprecating sigh, and then naturally summoned Chief of Staff Falkenhayn, who had delivered the introduction.
"Go to the academy and bring Lelouch back to me."

Falkenham dared not disobey the order, so he had to make the trip himself. But he soon returned with a report: "Your Majesty, it seems that Lelouch has taken a temporary leave to go to Port Wilhelmshaven. He is currently on his way and cannot be contacted. I have asked the people in Port Wilhelmshaven to keep an eye on him and bring him back as soon as he arrives."

Emperor Wilhelm paused for a moment, then gave a self-deprecating laugh: "Well, it's nothing urgent, I just wanted to have a chat with him. Never mind, no need to trouble him, he must have important business to attend to in Wilhelmshaven. He can come again after he's finished and returns to Berlin."

General Falkenhayn couldn't help but feel a chill: This Lelouch, a mere brigadier general, has already earned such leniency from the emperor? The emperor summoned him and even allowed him to finish his work first.

(End of this chapter)