Starting with the smashing of Dunkirk

Chapter 81: Giving the Expeditionary Force a glimmer of hope before cruelly extinguishing it completely.

This was a massive, chaotic battle that spanned over 40 kilometers in width from east to west and 20 kilometers in depth from north to south.

The entire campaign involved more than 20 large warships, several times more medium and small escort vessels, and nearly 100,000 troops on various fronts.

This also included Demacia's forces, which included over a dozen coastal defense turrets of varying calibers, over 20 railway guns, 6 pre-dreadnoughts, and several army divisions.

While the fleet and shore artillery and railway guns were exchanging fierce fire,
The Burkina Faso army had about five division-level combat units that launched a counter-offensive against the Dunkirk fortress area, as well as against the relatively narrow connecting section between the Dunkirk fortress area and the south of the city—two divisions attacked from the northwest to the east, and the other three divisions attacked from the east to the west across the Franco-Belgian border river.

On the Demanian side, at least one full division was mobilized to defend the fortress area and port area in the northeast corner of Dunkirk. Almost another division was also deployed to defend the port area and the connecting corridor to the rear.

It wasn't that the Demacian army underestimated the enemy or preferred to fight outnumbered; the problem was simply that the depth of their positions was insufficient. The area was only big enough to accommodate two divisions. Any more would be crammed together with inadequate fortifications and bunkers, merely providing more targets for enemy artillery barrages without actually strengthening their defenses.

Real warfare is not a video game. The deployment and expansion of troops are constrained by the real factor of "battlefield width," and troops cannot be blindly piled up.

Given the current situation, the tunnels and pits beneath the Maroleban and Ronan batteries are already crammed with reserves. If the troops on the surface positions suffer losses in the fierce fighting, reinforcements from the underground tunnels will not be able to continuously replenish the ranks and form a sustained defensive line.

……

When the Burkina Faso army began to launch a counter-offensive in coordination with the navy, there was less than an hour left until sunset, so it got dark not long after the fighting started.

The battle has reached this point, and both sides are already suffering heavy losses.

At the tunnel entrance on the south side of the Maroleban battery, the mutual bombardment had reached a fever pitch.

Despite the fact that the train gun corps led by officers like Keitel had destroyed three pre-dreadnoughts and damaged two Queen Elizabeth-class ships during their previous raids, they themselves had also suffered considerable damage.

Although initially, the Queen Elizabeth-class firepower was difficult to calibrate due to the inability to continuously observe the impact points, as the battle progressed, the Bretonnians' pre-dreadnoughts continued to rush towards the port, and the distance between those pre-dreadnoughts and the train gun groups was actually constantly decreasing—it's just that those few 380mm "Big Marks" were always focused on firing at the high-value Queen Elizabeth-class ships, because there were too many enemies to spare for these older ships.

As these old ships approached, the hit rate against the train artillery positions began to rise sharply.

As the fierce battle raged until dusk, two "Big Mark" trains were overturned by enemy 305mm and 380mm shells, shattered into pieces, and the gun barrels were blown off and thrown heavily to the ground, leaving a deep mark several feet deep in the mud.

While the barrels of railway guns are not so easily destroyed by direct hits, their overall defensive capabilities are far weaker than those of coastal artillery emplacements, mainly because the trains serving as gun mounts are too vulnerable.

A single heavy artillery shell landing within 30 to 50 meters can severely damage a train or at least cause it to overturn.

Moreover, after the ground forces launched a frenzied counter-offensive and suffered heavy casualties, some scattered army observation posts near the railway artillery positions had managed to locate the positions and observe them. These fearless army observation posts began reporting the positions to the army fleet, further increasing the risk to the railway artillery.

"We can't fight anymore! We have to move! Otherwise, the risk is too great, and we can't guarantee our output efficiency!"

Seeing that two "Big Mark" guns and more 280mm cannons had been lost, Lelouch decisively issued a stern order to Keitel and other artillery officers to evacuate as soon as possible.

Keitel was blinded by rage and unwilling to give up, but he had no choice but to comply. He ordered each gun to fire three more rounds while simultaneously finalizing the relocation route.

In theory, he had two options: either retreat south along the railway to the rear, or retreat north directly back to the mountain tunnel where he had launched the attack.

Retreating into the cave would certainly be the safest option, but during the fierce battle just now, several enemy heavy artillery shells hit the mountain wall north of the railway gun, causing a large amount of limestone and earth to collapse. The engineering corps had been clearing away the rocks and earth during the battle, and dozens of engineers were killed or wounded.

Keitel is now worried that if he takes refuge in the tunnel, the mountain surface might be blown up and landslide, blocking the tunnel entrance and burying him.

Although the problem of the tunnel entrance being buried was not the only reason for the annihilation of the train artillery group, those hiding inside the tunnel could still survive, and the artillery personnel could evacuate through the shaft.

However, once the entrance is buried, it means that these "big marks" and 280mm guns cannot participate in the subsequent output of today's battle.

But a few minutes later, his subordinates who had verified the retreat route returned with devastating news, leaving him with no other choice.

"Lieutenant Colonel! The retreat route to the south is not safe! The troops on both sides have already counterattacked to within a kilometer of the railway! Moreover, several sections of the railway have been destroyed by artillery fire!"

A railway is a much larger target than a train gun. A train gun needs to hit a specific point to destroy it, but a railway is destroyed if any point along its line is bombed. In the intense artillery barrage just now, several battleship shells had already blasted the railway to smithereens.

Just then, another cheer erupted from the train gun emplacement.

"We've hit the Warspite with another armor-piercing shell!"

Hearing the cheers, and with the enemy's shells getting denser and closer, Keitel had no choice but to grit his teeth and shout, "Collect the cannons as quickly as possible and retreat into the tunnel! Don't collect the external spades!"

Keitel ordered the artillerymen to pack up the cannons as quickly as possible, leaving any disposable accessories behind. Even so, another "Big Mark" and a 280 were destroyed in the process, but fortunately the others managed to retreat back to the cave.

During the long exchange of fire, the HMS Queen Elizabeth had lost most of its firepower and its superstructure was mostly destroyed. Unfortunately, its waterline structure was still relatively intact, making it quite difficult to sink.

The situation was the opposite for HMS Warspite. Only the stern gun turrets were completely destroyed, and facilities such as the funnels, galley decks, lifeboats, and cranes were blown up. The fire control and observation systems of the other three main gun turrets and the main bridge were still intact.

However, the bow and stern armored sections of the HMS Warspite were hit by one or two 380mm shells and more 280mm shells, respectively, resulting in thousands of tons of water entering the ship. The captain could only try to close the watertight compartments to ensure that the midsection of the ship was completely free of water, allowing it to barely float on the surface and conduct combat at a low speed.

Battleships are designed with meticulous calculations in mind. Their bow and stern armor is very thin, so they will definitely be penetrated if hit by a main gun shell, and there is also a high probability that they will take on water.

However, as long as the core "mid-section armor box" is not penetrated and flooded, the reserve buoyancy is enough for the warship to float.

……

After Keitel took the remaining five "Big Mark" guns and some 280mm railway guns into a cave, the fighting in the Dunkirk port area mainly consisted of ground combat.

The Burma fleet's relentless bombardment did indeed destroy almost all of the heavy artillery firepower here, and completely nullified the surface fortifications, creating the best possible conditions for the Burma army's pincer attack and counterattack.

However, it is still very difficult for the Bu army to win the siege with two or three times the number of troops.

The moment for artillery officers like Keitel and Loeb to shine had ended, but the opportunity for infantry officers like Lelouch, von Bock, Rommel, and Model to shine was just beginning. Von Bock and Rommel guarded the northern fortress of Maroleban, Lelouch and Captain Dieter guarded the southern fortress of Ronan, while Model was assigned to defend the flatland area connecting the two fortresses and the port area.

The three forces, positioned in a pincer movement, relied on every advantageous terrain to fiercely resist the Burkina Faso army. Light and heavy machine guns, mortars, grenade launchers, and submachine guns were used in turn, making the most of every tunnel.

Wave after wave of Bu's infantry, attempting to create a miracle, charged forward, only to be driven back by cunning crossfire. Occasionally, they would reach the tunnel entrance and begin charging in, throwing bombs, but they could only capture the outermost section of the tunnel.

Once the fighting reached the depths of the tunnels and a fork in the road appeared, forcing the Bu army to split up, they would be driven back by the crossfire of heavy machine guns from deeper within. In this kind of tunnel warfare, it was impossible to call in artillery support, and the heavy firepower of both sides could only be grenades or explosive charges, making the Bu army suffer greatly.

In contrast, of the three positions the Demacian army had to hold, the relatively easiest to breach was the flat terrain under Model's command. That flat area consisted only of some buildings and ruins, along with a network of trenches hastily dug in less than two days.

The buildings on the ground are now a thing of the past, because when the Bu army's naval guns were bombarding the railway and train artillery, the "accidental" hits on the side were enough to level all the buildings here.

Now that the Burgundian infantry has launched another attack, Model's troops, who have just entered the position, can only barely defend themselves by relying on the trench net.

Fortunately, Model hadn't been idle these past two days. His wise and far-sighted commander, Lelouch, had already predicted that "once the Royal Navy of the Kingdom of Burkina Faso launches full-scale support, the army will definitely launch a fierce counterattack at the same time." So, two days ago, Lelouch taught Model a new tactic for defending against artillery fire.

"This time we will be facing a large number of heavy artillery pieces, and ordinary trench networks are no longer useful. Even if we re-enter the position after the enemy's battleships have finished shelling us with their main guns, we will be subjected to continuous suppression from the secondary guns of a large number of auxiliary ships or other army fire. If we want to achieve flexible defense, we must upgrade our trench network."

Two days ago, after Lelouch and Model finished their conversation, Lelouch personally taught him some techniques for digging holes.

Lelouch taught him a type of fortification called "anti-bombing bunker," which was actually a type of fortification used by the Vietnamese army to resist bombing/shelling by the United States during the Vietnam War, commonly known as "cat ear bunker."

It was a method where, after digging a trench, a horizontal hole was dug in the side wall of the trench, and then a section was dug down, long enough for a soldier to hide inside.

With such side openings, the ability of soldiers to withstand artillery fire while hiding inside is improved by at least one level. The trenches that could only protect against close-range hits from 75/105mm guns can now be defended against at least 150mm guns, which means they can withstand the light cruiser and destroyer guns that may appear intensively in the next two days.

Lelouch is not a god after all, and the method of digging the cat-ear hole that he remembers cannot be compared with the final form of the Vietnam War on Earth in terms of details.

When he relays and demonstrates, he sometimes cuts corners due to communication issues, so the officers and soldiers listening to him cannot fully understand and implement it.

However, with the "cat ear cave" as a defensive structure, the defenders had a slightly higher chance of winning when facing a ground attack covered by heavy firepower.

Major Model resolutely implemented his superior's fortification construction principles, incorporating his own flexible defensive ideas. At this moment, facing the overwhelming counterattack of the Burgundy army, he relied solely on his own battalion, along with two friendly battalions, to defend the port area's edge positions connecting to the fortress very securely.

The army left behind mountains of corpses in front of the positions, but only slowly forced Model to retreat layer by layer.

Before this battle, Lelouch told Model not to feel pressured, that his job was simply to delay and stall, and that he didn't have to hold the line.

Therefore, he was allowed to abandon his positions and retreat to the tunnel fortress area one by one. As long as he slowed the enemy's advance enough and delayed them for a night or two, he would have completed his mission.

Even if the two forts in the port fortress area are cut off from retreat and land access to the main city in the south by the enemy again, it doesn't matter—because in the day or two before the access was cleared, the Demacian army had been frantically sending reinforcements, ammunition, and supplies to the port fortress area at the front line.

So even if our supply lines are cut off and we're surrounded in the fortress, we can still hold out for several more days.

If the enemy army is given even the slightest opportunity, it's like casting a carrot in front of a donkey; it might even entice the enemy to become more reckless and willing to die.

Once the enemy is exhausted, the Demacian reinforcements in the southern second line will launch another counterattack to recapture the connecting section. At that time, the Burmese army will completely collapse, falling from a glimmer of hope into bottomless despair once again!
This is the essence of flexible defense! Don't worry about the gain or loss of every single position; you can even occasionally give the enemy a glimmer of hope and then extinguish it!
Model resolutely carried out this order, using every trench with its side holes to repel the enemy's charge.

Groups of machine gunners hid in the trenches, like cockroaches that could not be killed, and stubbornly withstood round after round of bombardment from medium and light artillery with a capacity of 150mm or less. When enemy infantry charged, they would peek out and fire, taking down row after row of deployed infantry.

Until the enemy relied on ten or a hundred times more lives to fight back, even when the infantry risked being hit by their own heavy artillery to launch close-quarters charges, and when the artillery was firing, they would hide a hundred meters or even tens of meters behind their own artillery coverage area, and the infantry would rush up as soon as the artillery stopped.

Only through such a desperate offensive could they barely manage to seize one or two trenches from Model.

Then Model would have the submachine gun squad provide cover while the machine gun team and other soldiers retreated through the trenches to the next line of defense. Finally, the submachine gun squad would retreat in shifts, firing back intermittently to suppress the enemy as they retreated, thus escaping unscathed.

It seems that the Bu army's counterattack is indeed recapturing positions, but when you look at the absolute exchange ratio of casualties, it is completely disproportionate.

Under the encouragement of Marshal French and the strict command of Douglas Haig, the army did indeed take Model's position after most of the night.

The Burgh's five divisions, tasked with assaulting the enemy, had completely exhausted their offensive power. They were utterly helpless against the tunnel fortresses fiercely defended by Lelouch and von Burke. Even though these tunnel fortresses no longer had coastal artillery and could only be defended by mortars and heavy machine guns, the Burgh's army still couldn't breach them.

Even more critically, although the Demacian army appeared to be cut off on land by the Burghers, the troops in the main southern city and the garrison in the fortress in the northeast corner of the city were separated.

However, the German forces behind the main city in the south could still be supported by army howitzers to reach the port fortress complex. Numerous 105mm shells could still rain down on the two port fortresses indiscriminately.

Anyway, Lelouch and Burke are hiding in the tunnel, so it doesn't matter how many times the mountain above them is bombarded by the 105mm cannons. They just need to hold the tunnel entrance.

The Bu army's assault troops, however, needed to charge up the hillside, and would suffer heavy casualties if they were hit by artillery fire.

In the end, Haig, who was in charge of commanding the front lines, was unable to shake Lelouch and Burke in the slightest. The last remaining self-rescue force of the Burgundy army was thus completely exhausted.

While the Burkina Faso army was utterly defeated in its struggle, in the offshore waters twenty kilometers east of these two tunnel fortresses,

A night battle between the two fleets had already begun, proceeding simultaneously and in parallel.

-

PS: The land battles and naval battles are in parallel time, but I will finish explaining the land battles first, and then finish writing the remaining naval battles in one go, so as not to make the perspective too confusing.

So be it.

(End of this chapter)