Starting with the smashing of Dunkirk

Chapter 41 You expect that all-powerful noblewoman to help you escape in the face of battle?
September 9, night.

Brussels, headquarters of the 6th Army.

In an office in the operations department, a major staff officer finished his day's military affairs, glanced around, and made sure his colleagues had all gone home.

He then pulled out an envelope he had just received that day from the bottom of the stack of documents on his desk and began to read it by the dim light of the gas lamp.

"...The transfer is progressing smoothly, and the clearance procedures from the 6th Army will be processed immediately. After receiving the official transfer order, you can report to the headquarters of the 2nd Army as soon as possible, be incorporated into the Guards, and go to the Eastern Front for combat."

The 6th Army's next phase of operations will be conducted in harsh, muddy conditions. Aerial reconnaissance indicates that the Burkina Faso forces have already established strong fortifications in the Ypres salient after more than a month of construction, making it difficult to earn merit and promotion.

On the Eastern Front, Field Marshal Hindenburg and Lieutenant General Rodendorff have achieved a series of victories at the Battles of Tannenberg and Lake Masuria, annihilating over 40 of Lusa's troops. Early next year, the Empire will concentrate its forces on a counterattack on the Eastern Front. Lusa's army is far inferior to the Bretonnian army in strength, and its front line is long with numerous weak points, making it suitable for a focused breakthrough. Advance to the Imperial Guard as soon as possible; this will provide ample opportunities for meritorious service in Galicia…

—Erich von Falkingham

Looking at the signature at the end of the secret letter, the major naturally had no doubt about its contents.

He knew perfectly well that his own uncle, the Chief of the General Staff of the Empire, would not lie to him.

"Is Uncle not optimistic about the upcoming Battle of Ypres? Indeed, Commander Rupprecht has missed a crucial opportunity. What is he waiting for? Although the troops were indeed exhausted during the march to the sea and needed rest."

However, this period of rest also gave the enemy the opportunity to strengthen their defenses. If the commander cannot come up with any new methods to break through the enemy's lines, this waiting will actually benefit the enemy more than our army... Alas, if we insist on postponing the attack, perhaps following them will truly prevent us from achieving anything significant.

After thinking it over, the major finally decided to listen to his uncle and go through the procedures to be transferred to the Eastern Front ahead of schedule in a couple of days.

He told himself in his heart: This is not desertion, but the high command of the 6th Army Group is delaying the battle... If they had launched the attack without rest more than half a month ago, he would definitely not have left.

As he pondered this, he took out a bag of tobacco from the breast pocket of his military uniform, sprinkled some onto the secret letter, rolled it up, and lit a match.

A few minutes later, as the embers fell into the ashtray, the Chief of the General Staff's uncle's secret letter was also gone.

However, just as the major breathed a sigh of relief, a distinctive sound of leather boots came from the corridor.

The major quickly poured some of the remaining tea from his cup into the ashtray to extinguish the embers. Just as he finished doing this, the office door was pushed open.

The newcomer was a captain, more than ten years younger than him, tall and handsome, though he looked somewhat frail. Several other young officers followed behind the captain.

Upon seeing the major, the captain in the lead immediately extended his hand: "Is this Major Federer von Bock? Hello, I am Captain Lelouch Hunt, the deputy battalion commander of the 1st Assault Battalion of the 6th Army. This is a handwritten order issued this morning by General Rupprecht, the army commander, appointing Major Bock as the battalion commander."

"I've been appointed commander of the 1st Assault Battalion of the army group? How could that be? I've always served in the army group's operations department..."

Major Federer von Bock was momentarily taken aback, instinctively emphasizing that he was a staff officer, not a frontline officer directly commanding troops.

After all, compared to the people Lelouch recruited before, Major Bock had the best family background.

His father rose to the rank of major general during the Franco-Prussian War, though he was later wounded and did not achieve further military success. However, his honorable wound earned him the surname "von" in the Bock family.

Compared to Federer von Bock's mother, his father's military rank and title were insignificant.

Because his mother was the older sister of Falkenhayn, the Chief of the General Staff of the Empire!
So although Bok was 34 years old and had more than ten years of military experience, he had never led troops on the front lines. He had always been in the staff headquarters at various levels, sitting in an office and giving advice.

Although Major Bock served in the 6th Army for a few months at the beginning of the World War, following his father's wishes, those who truly knew him felt it was merely a stint to bolster his resume. They believed he could leave whenever he wanted when the fighting became truly intense.

But at this very moment, history is once again altered in detail by Lelouch's meddling.

Lelouch asked Commander Rupprecht to give Major Bock a new appointment—he did this, of course, because he knew Bock was a talented individual who could strengthen his tactical command system. Moreover, Commander Rupprecht was probably unaware that Bock's uncle, Falkenhayn, was planning to bail him out.

So, faced with Bock's subconscious defense, Lelouch didn't want to give up immediately. Instead, he prepared to use military honor to provoke him: "What? Does being a staff officer mean you can't lead troops directly to the front lines?"

Major Burke: "That's not what I meant... I just heard that I might be reassigned to another position, and I need to confirm why things suddenly changed."

Lelouch then feigned sudden realization: "Oh...right, I heard that your mother is the Chief of the General Staff's older sister? Did she hear that we're going to have a tough battle, so some powerful noblewoman is going to rescue you and make you desert the battlefield?"

Historically, Major von Bock was transferred to the position of Chief of Operations of the Guards on January 26, 1915, and was assigned to the 2nd Army on the northern flank of the Eastern Front.

Lelouch didn't know the detailed historical facts, but he knew that the historical Bock had indeed been transferred away.

He knew that even if Rupprecht ordered him to transfer, he might not be able to resist Falkenham's order, so he could only hope to create a time difference and at the same time stimulate Bock's own sense of honor, using reverse psychology to get him to stay.

As soon as Lelouch said this, the two officers behind him frowned instinctively and looked at Major Bock with disdain.

Major Bock's expression changed drastically. He could no longer heed his uncle's instructions or his mother's arrangements, and hurriedly defended himself sternly:
"Who deserted their post! If you keep spouting nonsense, I'll fight you to the death! So what if you're the commander of the assault battalion? I'll be on the front lines directing the battle!"

He was at least 34 years old. Among Demanian soldiers, being told that someone in their thirties still needed their mother's connections was an utter disgrace. As for the infamy of desertion, that was even worse; having that reputation would make him too ashamed to live.

Lelouch was clearly still not used to the Demacians' sensitivity to honor, so he had just used a bit too much of a dose of eye-poisoning.

Fortunately, he reacted quickly, immediately offering a sweet reassurance after his provocation: "I'm sorry, perhaps I misspoke. How could you desert your post, Major? As long as you stay, we'll still fight side by side in the future. We're all brothers who killed Britannians together. Don't take what I just said to heart."

Seeing that his expression had immediately changed and he was so sincere, Major Burke couldn't afford to be angry again. After hesitating for two seconds, he gritted his teeth and said:
"Of course I'll stay! But the battle of Ypres won't be easy! The Britannians have occupied the Ypres salient and have been building fortifications for over a month!"

Lelouch encouraged them, "Don't worry, we haven't been idle for the past month either. We've already come up with new tactics to counter the Britannians' defenses. Besides, the troops were indeed too exhausted before. When we headed for the sea, the soldiers on the front lines were running non-stop for a month. Without rest, how could they have the strength to fight again?"
As soldiers, our job is to carry out the orders of the army group headquarters. By the way, let me introduce you to these people; I just contacted them today.

Captain Erwin Rommel will be the company commander of Company B in our battalion.

Captain William Lister will be the company commander of C Company—his cousin, Colonel Lister, was also my former superior, the commander of the 16th Regiment of the 12th Division. This time, the old colonel specially introduced his cousin to our assault battalion to fight alongside me.

Major William Keitel is the battalion commander of the cannon battalion of the 12th Division Artillery Regiment. He is not part of our assault battalion, but his battalion will be dedicated to supporting us. During the operation, we can use the portable radios equipped in each platoon at the front to send messages and call for precision artillery support.

Major Wilhelm von Leeb was the battalion commander of the cannon battalion of the 6th Division's artillery regiment. His duties were similar to those of Major Keitel, but he would be working with the 2nd Assault Battalion, the battalion commanded by Commander Rundstedt, to provide them with real-time and precise artillery support. The 2nd Assault Battalion had already been assigned to the 6th Division as the vanguard before the 6th Division's offensive.

In the coming days, everyone needs to cooperate and work together to master the new tactical adjustments, and be ready to go into battle at any time. We will then play the spearhead role in the southern flank offensive of the Ypres salient!

Lelouch introduced the people to each other in a very down-to-earth manner, which greatly eased the tension between these officers who were not very familiar with each other before.

Of these people, Erwin Rommel was the one he rescued from the military hospital in Aachen that afternoon. Since Immelmann had stayed in Aachen to get a new plane, the back seat of Lelouch's plane was empty, so he took Rommel to the front lines.

The remaining three were people Lelouch had asked to meet one by one after landing in Brussels earlier that evening.

William Keitel had become acquainted with him during the Battle of Ostend; they were comrades in the same division.

Von Loeb was the artillery battalion commander of a friendly division. He didn't need to be transferred; he only needed to meet with the commander to discuss their needs.

The last one, William Lister, was Lelouch's cousin. His old leader wanted to add someone to the team, and since his cousin's military skills were indeed outstanding, Lelouch had no reason not to accept him.

And so, the group of three majors, three captains, three battalion commanders, and three company commanders became acquainted.

Lelouch also suggested that everyone go out for a drink to reconnect, and he would treat them, since they would be fighting side by side from now on.

No one objected, so Lelouch drove the BMW that the headquarters had temporarily allocated to him, and the six of them went to the Swan Restaurant in the city center square.

Nowadays, no one checks for overloading in Brussels, and even if they did, they wouldn't find a group of German officers.

Lelouch drove at only 30 kilometers per hour and carefully made his way to the destination.

This restaurant has a long history, almost two hundred years. Seventy years ago, two of Demania's greatest thinkers and philosophers secluded themselves in this restaurant for several years and wrote a world-changing manifesto (at that time, it was mainly a café and didn't serve much formal food).

After Lelouch took his seat, he ordered some champagne and cognac, as well as slow-cooked beef shank in Billy King dark beer, pan-fried cod fillets in olive oil, conger eel stewed with Antwerp seaweed, asparagus and ham omelet, Belgian fried meatballs, French steamed mussels, and some vegetables.

Unfortunately, the winter was cold, and there weren't many fresh vegetables available, so we could only eat sauerkraut and French fries.

Amidst the clinking of glasses, Lelouch cleverly encouraged us, saying, "From now on, we'll be brothers fighting side by side. Major Bock's uncle is the Chief of the General Staff; his family is so prestigious, yet he's willing to serve as a commando battalion commander and fight alongside us on the front lines."

Therefore, the higher-ups attach great importance to our unit! From equipment to personnel, they are doing their best to meet our requirements, so everyone shouldn't worry too much—if the higher-ups weren't confident in our offensive, would the Chief of the General Staff dare to leave his own nephew here?

Lelouch's few simple words completely dispelled everyone's worries about whether they would become test subjects or cannon fodder.

Moreover, these officers were all talented. When they heard Lelouch's speech, they almost all had a flash of inspiration and thought that they should write down this famous quote so that they could use it to boost morale and unify thinking among the soldiers in their own companies.

Any new military unit, no matter how elite, will inevitably have conservatives who worry and fear becoming "trial and error costs" once it has undergone major adjustments.

At this point, the best way to convince the soldiers that they were not experimental subjects was to let them know that the son of a high-ranking official was fighting alongside them!
This is why Lelouch insisted on keeping Federer von Bock.

It wasn't that he possessed any unique command abilities that made him irreplaceable. Rather, among the mid-level officers Lelouch could access, only Bock had the strongest backing and the best example to follow.

Lelouch's actions made the astute officers realize that their young colleague's ability to unite people and boost morale was truly remarkable...

"This person will definitely become a great figure in the future..."

"Following him is definitely the right choice; this time, I'll get promoted much faster than if I stayed in my original unit..."

From Liszt to Rommel, from Keitel to Loeb, several people thought the same thing.

(End of this chapter)