Starting with the smashing of Dunkirk

Chapter 29: Taking office as company commander of the reconnaissance company, preparing to get some new stuff.

After returning to the Ostend front and to the combat troops.

It took Lelouch two or three days to readjust to life on the front lines.
He also participated in some front-line defensive operations, earning a few minor "deceptive" merits—meaning these merits were not originally enough to support his promotion from lieutenant to captain. But since those above knew that he actually had other merits and that this was just a formality, it didn't matter.

A lot has happened in the past two or three days.

For example, on the very night Lelouch returned, he learned that Neoport, on the front lines, had fallen once again.

The town of Neoport was briefly captured by the French on the night of October 30th due to a fierce bombardment by the French Strait Fleet. However, in the latter half of the night, in the early morning of the 31st, Hipper's fleet destroyed the four pre-dreadnoughts and left two Scharn-class armored cruisers to bombard the French, allowing the Germans to recapture the ruins.

But on the eve of Lelouch's return to Ostend, David Beatty, who had just pursued Hipper and trapped him in the Antwerp Fjord, was given a temporary order by the Burgundian Navy Minister Walton to lead six relatively intact high-speed battlecruisers on their return journey to carry out another night of bombardment.

The Burkina Faso people have been holding their breath so hard that they're willing to waste the lifespan of their new battlecruisers' gun barrels to carry out the mission of shelling the opposite bank. The German army should give them some respect.

So in the end, Commander Lister decisively retreated in small boats, leaving behind only three thousand French soldiers, allowing the enemy to easily retake the town.

There was nothing that could be done about it, and it wasn't shameful. The town of Neoport had been repeatedly bombarded three times by the Soviet Army's advanced infantry, German armored patrols, and Soviet battle cruisers, and had been completely leveled, even the ruins.

A small town, barely a few kilometers in size, was repeatedly bombarded by three battle fleets—what kind of power or predilection did this have? There were no civilians left in the town, no living souls.

After the town fell, the dozen or so kilometers of undefended coastal road leading from the town to Ostend were also lost within a single day. This was also because Betty's battlecruiser refused to leave, and whenever it saw resistance, it would approach and fire directly at the enemy in broad daylight, making it impossible to defend.

When Lelouch rejoined the unit and joined the defensive battle, Ostend had already become the front line. He held out there with the troops for two days, and after going through the motions and making some contributions, the higher-ups completed the procedures and promoted him to captain.

……

May 11, morning.

The headquarters of the 12th Division in Ostend.

Major General Karl, the division commander, personally presided over the ceremony for Lelouch's promotion and awarding of medals.

"...In view of Lieutenant Lelouch's outstanding performance in the battles of Neoport and Ostend...it is hereby proposed to the Army Group Headquarters to promote Lelouch Hunt to captain and award him the Iron Cross First Class."

A group of officers applauded, Lelouch stood at attention and saluted, and Major General Karl personally pinned the medal on him and added a star to his epaulettes.

(Note: Military uniforms during the Second Empire did not have rank insignia on the collar. The different colored patches on the collar were only for distinguishing branches of service, so rank was mainly identified by shoulder boards. This can be seen in old photos. The style of the clothing at that time was still quite similar to old-fashioned 19th-century clothing, and there were no small lapels suitable for displaying rank insignia.)
After the awarding of medals, Major General Karl reassigned Lelouch's position, making him the commander of the division's reconnaissance company. The subsequent formalities and handover of duties need not be elaborated upon.

After dealing with the matter, Major General Karl dismissed the other officers, leaving Lelouch alone for a talk:
"The higher-ups are preparing for the Battle of Ypres, but the general offensive won't begin immediately; we still need some time to prepare. Right now, the army group's mission for our division is to hold Ostend for a few more days, even if the enemy continues to send battlecruisers or pre-dreadnoughts to bombard us, we must hold on."

Once the port of Blankenberg in the rear is fully prepared, this small town can be temporarily abandoned. After abandoning it, our division will be moved down to rest and reorganize for a period of time, update our equipment, and summarize our tactical experience. When we need to launch a strong attack on the Ypres salient in the future, we will be transferred back to the front line.

Captain Andrei, the former company commander of the division's reconnaissance company, was seriously wounded by artillery fire in Neoport and has only been out of action for seven or eight days; he is far from fully recovered. You were originally a platoon leader in the army group's communications battalion, but after being transferred to the division, there was no suitable combat unit to assign you.

A talent like you would be wasted as a regular infantry company commander in the regiment. I'll temporarily assign the divisional reconnaissance company to you. Divisional companies are reinforced companies, and reconnaissance companies also need communications personnel, so you'd be a better fit.

You've fought alongside those men, so you'll easily gain their respect. Just be careful to appease the original core officers—some of them were hoping for a promotion to take over after Captain Andrei was wounded. If you're transferred there, a few people will inevitably be disappointed.

Lelouch quickly replied, "You can rest assured on that point. I will handle the internal affairs well and ensure that everyone is satisfied. However, I would like to ask if I may ask: What is the reasoning behind the order for us to hold out in Ostend for a few more days before retreating? It seems pointless to simply delay, and it would only increase our casualties under enemy naval bombardment."

Major General Karl: "Of course it's not purely to stall for time—if a different company commander asked, I wouldn't answer, but you're not an outsider, so there's no need to hide it from me."

The army group headquarters had already planned that it was impossible to hold Ostend against the relentless bombardment of enemy battleships. The coastal fortifications here were not strong enough, and the largest caliber of the previous coastal guns was only 210 mm, which could not threaten enemy battleships or battlecruisers.

However, if we retreat another 15 kilometers to Blankenberg, where our troops have already held for several days, we can ensure a firm hold. This is because the city there is larger, and the coastal fortifications are more robust.

In addition, our army occupied Blankenberg a full ten days earlier than Ostend, and the railway between the local area and the rear had been repaired. The Empire had already moved several large-caliber coastal defense guns from the Antwerp fortress, as well as super heavy artillery transported from the rear, to Blankenberg.

So if we can stall here for a few more days, we can get the 305mm coastal defense guns installed and tested at Blankenberg. Then the entire force can retreat there, and the enemy battleships won't be able to pursue us.

Lelouch nodded; that was indeed the case.

If we retreat indiscriminately out of sheer fear of enemy battleships, there will be no end to it. Where will we stop retreating? We can't just abandon all the port cities that enemy battleships can bombard, can we?
However, if the goal was merely to buy time and abandon a small port, a second port could be equipped with coastal defense guns capable of threatening battleships, thus halting the enemy's offensive, then this tactical sacrifice was still acceptable. Moreover, considering that Ostend was the site where Billy King's army was completely annihilated, even if the place was no longer of great significance to the German army, since the dumpling filling had long been consumed and digested.

But for Britannia, this place was something they had to retake at all costs, because they had already lost four pre-dreadnoughts and a bunch of auxiliary ships for this goal, and if they couldn't take Ostend, the Royal Navy would lose all face.

Relying solely on the previous publicity surrounding the "severe damage to four Hipper battlecruisers" claim is insufficient to support their "winning strategy" propaganda.

Because even within Burkina Faso, some people say, "Battle reports can be deceiving, but the front lines don't lie." A decisive shift in the front lines is needed to prove that "the Burkina Faso army has once again raised its flag atop Ostend," only then can Burkina Faso's war propaganda department quell the clamor within the country.

Given the vastly different implications of Ostend for both sides—one desperately wanted it while the other didn't—the best option for the German army was to bleed the enemy dry before abandoning it, allowing them to conserve their strength.

"I see, I understand now. I will lead the division's reconnaissance company to do my best!" Lelouch accepted the mission and returned to his new unit.

With the defensive capabilities of Ostend, it should be able to hold out for three to five days.

(Note: The above map shows the changes in the areas of control between the two sides along the North Sea coast after the expected abandonment of Ostend.)
……

A few minutes later, Lelouch returned to the headquarters of the division's reconnaissance company and met his new subordinates.

Although he was called a new subordinate, many of them were actually old acquaintances, except that their military ranks were higher than his before.

Lelouch rose from corporal to captain in just 10 days, a meteoric rise that turned his former superiors into his subordinates.

Among these subordinate officers, the one most likely to be dissatisfied was Lieutenant Barak, the former deputy company commander who had previously taken over the duties of the seriously wounded Captain Andri and acted as company commander for a week.

Lieutenant Barak once thought he would be promoted to captain on the spot and become the official company commander of the reconnaissance company.

He also felt that the brothers in the reconnaissance company had indeed fought valiantly in the defense of Neoport. Regardless of whether they had made any merits, they certainly had worked hard, and it was only right to promote some of the officers who performed well.

In the end, he did get promoted from lieutenant to captain, but his position remained unchanged. He was still made deputy company commander, while Lelouch was parachuted in as company commander.

This is outrageous! A company has two captains, and both the company commander and deputy company commander are captains!

Fortunately, before Lelouch arrived, a leader had spoken to him privately, saying, "The divisional reconnaissance company is an reinforced company. Other companies only have a strength of 240 people, but the divisional reconnaissance company has a full strength of 400 people. It's not excessive to assign two captains to it." Only then did Captain Barak tolerate it.

With Captain Barak dealt with, the others, who were of lower rank but previously ranked higher than Lelouch, had even less to say.

Lelouch gathered his officers together and had a sincere talk with them, further familiarizing himself with them.

The deputy company commander, Barak, was an acquaintance. There were also five platoon leaders, all of whom were either lieutenants or second lieutenants.

Four of the platoon leaders were former officers of the cavalry reconnaissance company, whom Lelouch was not very familiar with, but he saw his old colleagues from the army group's direct communications battalion, Schweinsteiger and Klose.

Schweinsteiger was also promoted to second lieutenant and officially became the platoon leader of the 5th platoon. Klose became a sergeant major, responsible for guarding the company headquarters.

In order to take care of Lelouch and enable him to take control of the troops more quickly, the higher-ups went to great lengths and merged the wiring platoon of the army group's direct communications battalion, which he was used to leading, into the reconnaissance company of the 12th Division.

Because replenishing personnel on the front lines is very difficult, the reinforced cavalry company, which was originally fully staffed at 400 men, now has less than 200 men left. Even if you include the communications battalion's wiring platoon, you can barely make 200 men.

As for the missing personnel in the army group's communications battalion, they can recruit new soldiers from the rear and train them to make up the numbers. At most, a few junior officers and non-commissioned officers can be transferred over to serve as key personnel.

Thus, all the comrades Lelouch had met ten days earlier when he first transmigrated had become his subordinates (except for Captain Andri, who was recuperating from his injuries in the rear).
……

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The transition chapters involving changing maps need to explain the situation and the specific personnel changes of the main characters; don't complain about the brevity.

The second update this afternoon will start with something fun.

(End of this chapter)