Imperial Elite

Chapter 134 Who is buried in the grave?

Long-distance military maneuvers were commonplace for Joe and Wagner.

In Gaul, in Teutonic, in the north, and in the Far East, Wagner's officers were already accustomed to fighting with wheels and tracks before fighting with guns and cannons.

However, this time in the Rhineland, such long-distance maneuvers were not as smooth as in the past.

Besides the fact that it was already night and the troops had to maneuver in unfamiliar surroundings, the forward reconnaissance units were constantly sending back reports that Teutonic troops were approaching from the surrounding area.

The people of the Rhineland did not welcome Wagner's arrival. Wherever Wagner went, people closed their doors and windows, and some children even threw stones at him.

This slowed Joe's southward advance considerably compared to his expectations. At the same time, the overwhelming number of Teutonic troops forced Joe to abandon his idea of ​​using ambushes to delay the pursuers.

If there is only one pursuer, then defeating the pursuer can buy time for Joe's troops.

However, if there are pursuers in several directions, ambushing one group of pursuers will not buy more time; instead, it will only allow the other pursuers to get closer.

Throughout the night, Joe constantly adjusted the marching route, relying on the performance of the Unyielding off-road vehicles and the small size of the army at this time, speeding across various unpaved roads to evade the Teutonic pursuit.

That very night, the Führer announced that he had defeated Joe Harrison, the most dangerous man in the Old World, the number one villain of Britannia, and an undefeated legend on the battlefield.

In Germania, in Munich, and in Hamburg, the Teutons and their followers held torchlight processions involving nearly a million people.

While the Teutons celebrated their victory, the rest of the Old World was still reeling from the shock of the news.

In Gaul, people found it hard to accept that the man who had created the Miracle of Paris could be defeated by the Teutons in the Rhine. As news of Wagner's retreat spread, a sense of panic was spreading in Paris.

If Wagner couldn't stop the Teutons, then who could stop the Germans?
On the other side of the strait, the feelings of the Bunitas were indescribable.

When news of Wagner's retreat arrived, coupled with the government's previous statements that it had practically betrayed Wagner, public discontent with the government reached its peak. But at this moment, His Majesty George's death drew people's attention in another direction.

The God of War was defeated and His Majesty died in a single day. Even the most oblivious Bonitania people didn't know how to react.

But one thing everyone is absolutely certain of is that an era has completely passed.

When news of Wagner's retreat from the Rhineland reached the United States, the Americans were more shocked than the Gauls or even the Bunitas.

As a group of people who desperately wanted to put Joe on the presidency, especially after learning that Joe himself might have personally carried out the airborne operation to direct the evacuation of troops.

Wagner's recruitment station at Citibank was almost instantly overwhelmed by enthusiastic Citibanks. These fanatical guys told Wagner's recruiters, "I don't want any pay, and I don't need you to provide any equipment. I've already brought my own."

Now, you should give me a ticket to the Old World as quickly as possible; I have to go and help Old Joe.

Among these fervent people eager to reach the Old World, the most vehement was Ron, who had by then risen to the rank of lieutenant.

As a member of the Army Aviation Corps, Ron was stunned for a long time after hearing the news. While his comrades were worried that something might have happened to him, Ron went to his plane and began to inspect it.

This action prompted Ron's comrades to quickly ask him what he was trying to do.

Then when they learned that Ron wanted to fly directly back to the Old World, they quickly forced him back down.

After a night of marching, Joe found that his opponent was more formidable than ever before, and seemed to have already anticipated that Joe's objective was to head south.

The Teutonic forces blocked almost all the roads leading south, while the remaining forces continued to shrink their own operational space.

Although Joe was confident he could repel the Teutonic pursuers, such a victory was now meaningless.

So, under the Teutonic pursuit and blockade, Joe had no choice but to make the decision he least wanted to make.

He led his troops westward toward Gaul.

Soon, Holtz also spotted Joe, whom he was chasing and intercepting, and it seemed that Joe had given up heading south and was instead preparing to head west.

Instead of heading south, they turned west, which shortened the distance considerably. Holtz had to change his previous plan to have the National Defense Forces wear down Joe first, and instead ordered the Armed Guard to give chase.

Just as Joe changed course westward, the Gallic troops, who had been closely monitoring the situation in the Rhineland, discovered that Joe was heading towards Gaul.

Faced with Joe's sudden change of course, the highly alert Gallic troops on the border made a decision immediately, even without orders from Paris.

We must go and meet up with Old Joe now.

With the Gallic armored forces successfully meeting up with the retreating Joe at the border, Holtz, despite having orders from the Führer, calmly ordered his troops to retreat and disengage upon seeing the Gallic steel behemoths on the border.

After all, they have already acquired the Rhineland and cannot afford to provoke Gaul any further.

When news reached Paris that Joe had led Wagner to retreat to Gaul with the spontaneous assistance of the border troops,

Paris, who hadn't slept all night, was at a loss as to what to do next.

Joe's popularity among the people and his status as the protector of Paris meant that the Paris authorities could only welcome him, but the border troops' independent actions made the Paris authorities wary.

Today you guys spontaneously came to Old Joe's aid, but we don't even dare to imagine what you'll do tomorrow.

So after some hesitation, the Paris authorities chose to house Joe Wagner at a border airport.

I'm sorry, the situation in Gaul isn't great right now either, so I'll have to ask you all to stay here for the time being. Oh, by the way, there's a lot of aviation fuel in the airport warehouse. I accidentally left the key in the lock just now, so please rest here.

This approach, which involves doing almost everything yet doing nothing, prevents further stimulation of the Thyristy.

Meanwhile, after a night of meetings, the London government also made a decision.

First and foremost, they must deflect blame for this disastrous event, as they absolutely cannot take the fall.

As for how to shift the blame...

They naturally insisted that Wagner's transfer was illegal and that Joe had started a war with the Teutons without authorization, nearly triggering a full-blown conflict.

As for the people's anger... didn't Old Joe fail?
As we all know, success has a hundred fathers, but failure has only one orphan.

Since Joe lost, let him take the blame himself.

Of course, we can't let Joe take all the blame. To prevent the government from collapsing, the people need to believe that even though Wagner withdrew, we still won.

Just then, although the entire Teutonic Kingdom was celebrating almost all night, after the initial excitement and seeing the losses suffered by the Wehrmacht, the Führer still gasped in shock and took stock.

Wagner's two airdrops resulted in a maximum deployment of one regiment of troops over the Rhineland.

The first batch of troops deployed consisted of a maximum of two battalions.

So what did these two battalions accomplish?

Despite having an overwhelming numerical advantage, the National Army defeated a total of six infantry battalions, two mechanized infantry battalions, and one armored battalion.

This was achieved even with the overwhelming artillery and air force superiority of the armed forces.

In the end, they couldn't even stop Wagner's paratroopers, and Wagner successfully retreated to Gaul under their pursuit and interception.

It's hard to say what would have happened if it hadn't been Wagner's paratroopers, or if Joe had brought all the Wagners over to fight the Führer in the Rhineland.

This made the leader realize that he had to continue to expand the military, especially by building more armored units and strengthening the air force, while also beginning to ease tensions.

We must not allow Bonitania and Gaul to overreact to the bloody battle in the Rhineland.

So, before the torches of the torch relay had even gone out, the Führer summoned the ambassadors of Bunitania and Gaul and assured them that the Teutons had no intention of waging war and that the battle with Wagner was a terrible misunderstanding.

The Teutons simply wanted to become a normal state. They had no further territorial demands; the reconquest of the Rhineland was all they wanted. They did not wish to challenge the post-war order established by the Treaty of Verdun.

If Joe is willing, he would like to invite Joe to Germania for a talk, at the Germania Olympics this year.

With the Führer's promise, London could more easily shift the blame onto Joe.

This indicates that Joe's idea was good, but there were problems with its execution.

The Treaty of Versailles was meant to prevent wars between nations, not to instigate them. Joe's actions, which nearly triggered a war, are unacceptable. He should not repeat this mistake and should reflect on his actions.
Faced with London's statement, Joe no longer wanted to say anything.

With the arrival of the transport fleet, Joe led his troops back to Bohemia first.

After a short rest, Joe returned to Prag.

On the shores of Prag, Joe held a funeral for the Wagners who had died in the operation.

He even refused to travel to London to attend His Majesty George's funeral.

As His Majesty George's coffin slowly passed through the streets of London, George himself carried a Wagner coffin into the tranquil cemetery overlooking the fjords on the coast.

The coffin that Joe was carrying on his shoulder contained the body of the battalion commander of Wagner's 2nd Parachute Battalion.

As a veteran, he had served with Joe in the Low Countries campaign and had also traveled with Joe to the Far East.

At his wedding, it was Joe who gave him the toast. When Wagner was forced by London to reduce his army, he was one of the most steadfast supporters of Joe, even sending back to London his medals from the war and his officer's certificate.

As the commander of the first airborne troops, in order to stabilize the defensive line during the Teutonics' final offensive before Joe arrived with reinforcements, he personally led a commando team to destroy two Teutonic tanks on the front line.

Until a bullet, seemingly from nowhere, fell on the Rhineland soil, killing this battle-hardened veteran whose chest was adorned with medals.

Beside the grave of the Second Battalion Commander lay another 633 brave paratroopers.

Wagner's funeral was held with the utmost solemnity. Although neither London nor Paris made any public statements, James and Winston sent representatives to the funeral, and representatives from the People's Revolutionary Union and high-ranking NATO officials were almost all present.

As the coffins of the Wagners were carried to the sound of bagpipes playing "Will You Never Come Back?", and the crisp sound of the guard of honor firing guns into the air.

The representative of the People's Revolutionary Alliance sighed, "Today we are burying not only a group of warriors, but also the peace of the Old World."

After the funeral, Joe virtually disappeared from the public eye.

Nobody knows what Joe is up to, and even the annual "Governor" movie, which used to be released every year, has not been released as scheduled.

On the contrary, the Teutons made a documentary called "Triumph of the Will" about their victory in the Rhineland to boast about the formidable fighting power of their Wehrmacht.

With the release of the film, Hollywood studios tried to contact Joe.

Father! My dear father! Look at what the Teutons have filmed!
Open your eyes and look!
If they make films like this, shouldn't you make a movie to slap them in the face?
However, Hollywood was unable to contact Old Joe.

It's as if Old Joe never existed.

The successful recapture of Rhineland also greatly enhanced the Führer's prestige; he was now practically the head of all the Teutons, and this prestige...

This also enabled the Führer to accomplish a feat that almost all Teutonic leaders in the past had wanted to achieve: to push for the unification of the Teutons with the Habsburgs.

Just one year after the Rhineland incident, the Teutonic Army marched into the Habsburgs.

Having learned from the experience of the Rhineland, the Teutonic Union proceeded with the merger with the Habsburgs very quickly this time.

Led by armored forces, the Teutonic troops entered the Habsburg territory like lightning.

But unlike in the Rhineland, this time the Teutons encountered no resistance and were instead greeted with cheers and flowers by the local Habsburgs.

In just three days, the Teutons completed their merger with the Habsburgs.

Internationally, almost no one reacted.

Even Wagner didn't react at all.

So what has Joe been doing over the past year?

Preparing for war.

With the Teutonic Army gaining control of the Rhineland, London quickly severed ties with Wagner, and Paris was left with only its border troops spontaneously coming to its aid.

Joe realized one thing: Paris was unreliable, and London was even more unreliable.

Therefore, now we can only rely on ourselves for everything.

(End of this chapter)