Imperial Elite

Chapter 144 Winston took a deep breath
Italy's decision to declare war on Gaul at this time has led to a series of disastrous consequences.

Firstly, although Gaul had basically completed its mobilization by this time, its total military strength on paper had reached an astonishing five million men.

The Gauls have already filled a third of their population between the ages of 20 and 45 into the army.

Theoretically speaking, this is a massive army.

However, a large army is not a deadly army.

Due to the dire economic situation following the war, Gaul's standing army numbered only 900,000. Of these 900,000, the two largest groups were either stationed along the border defenses or preparing to break out in the north.

The remaining troops were deployed along the border defenses in various locations.

Because these massive, newly mobilized troops lacked both training and equipment, the Gauls searched through almost all of their armories to arm this large force.

They even used equipment from the last major war to equip these troops.

Anyone with a modicum of common sense would understand that this newly mobilized force, though seemingly large in number, was essentially just a battlefield atmosphere group before completing a minimum three months of training.

Sending such a large force to the battlefield would only result in one outcome: the Teutons would run out of bullets, and the Gauls would run out of body bags.

Therefore, in the Gaul command's plan, the best use of this huge force was to transfer those units that seemed to have some combat capability to the secondary defensive lines that only needed to be maintained.

For example, in border regions like the south where the Italians lived, those well-trained standing troops were replaced.

Although the southern troops were not exactly the best elite troops in the Gaulish order of battle.

However, nowadays, having a fully trained and well-equipped unit is considered an elite force.

So although they say they no longer have a strategic reserve, as a major power, reserves are like water in a sponge—you can always squeeze some out.

But now that Italy has launched its attack from the south, the Gauls are unable to mobilize their standing army, which originally consisted of 200,000 men, from the south.

Italy's sudden attack made the Gauls realize that sometimes there really is no water in this sponge.

But the problems caused by Italy's sudden attack did not stop there. The bigger problem was that Italy's attack on Gaul brought the negotiations between Bruneian and Polish countries to a standstill once again.

Originally, the government had been extending goodwill to Poland since taking power, and Poland had maintained strict neutrality due to its unfavorable geopolitical situation.

Until the Teutons suddenly went mad and launched a blitzkrieg against Gaul.

Startled by Teutonic's actions, Poland immediately announced a general mobilization, and Teutonic, in turn, was quite understanding of this decision.

At the same time, the border troops deployed on the border voluntarily withdrew 20 kilometers to show that they had no intention of taking Poland or Germany.

They then reiterated that they would respect Poland's territorial sovereignty and integrity, were willing to reconcile with Poland on territorial issues, and would continue to hand over the disputed Bohemian territories to Poland.

It also warned Poland that the current conflict between the Teutons and Gaul stemmed from the humiliation the Gauls had inflicted on the Teutons in the last great war, and that this was a war to cleanse that shame.

There is no animosity between Poland and the Teutons now, so why doesn't Poland continue to remain neutral and preserve this rare friendship?

At the same time, Poland should also consider how the Gauls and Buntanians supported them and how the Bohemians re-established their state, but how they demarcated the borders after the re-establishment.

They used Joe and Wagner before, now they're going to use you.

This is all a trap; you can't let them get you into trouble.

Now you can acquire disputed territories in the East without doing anything, and if you are willing to join us, you can even get NATO territories so that you can establish the maritime federation you have always dreamed of.

Gaul can't offer you these conditions, and neither can Buntania. You'd better think about it carefully.

The Buntanians, on the other hand, remained remarkably calm, saying, "Today the Teutons dare to launch a blitzkrieg against Gaul. Just think about how, decades ago, there were places in Poland that belonged to the Second Empire and where you still had to speak Teutonic. Do you really think that if you remain neutral, the Führer will let you off the hook?"

Why do you think we gave Danzig to you when we demarcated the western border?

It's not too late to join us now, while everything is still in the right place.

Although the Bunitanias didn't offer Poland any particularly good terms, Poland felt they were right.

Perhaps it's not too late to stop the Teutonic expansion and stab them in the back.

However, before the Polish-German forces could make a decision, Army Group A suddenly appeared from the forest and surrounded the main force of the Gauls, causing the Polish-Germans, who were about to make up their minds, to start to have second thoughts.

After all, choosing to side with the Teutons or the Gauls at this time is essentially gambling with the fate of the nation. If you win, great; but if you lose, all is well.

Who knows when Poland will regain its independence?

At this very moment, the Italians' entry can be seen as throwing a heavy weight onto the scales that were swaying the Polish-German alliance.

At this point, a real problem confronted the Polish Germans.

That is, how long can the Gauls hold out under attack from both sides?
If the Gauls hold out long enough, their participation in the war will still be meaningful; if they cannot hold out...

Then we certainly wouldn't be able to withstand the Teutonic counterattack.

After all, during the last war, the Teutons fought on two fronts, advancing into Paris in the west and besieging St. Petersburg in the east, their martial spirit overflowing.

If we choose the wrong side this time, the world will probably become a completely uneventful place again.

Just as Poland was wavering, Andrei was grumbling and huddled behind the wreckage of a Gallic heavy tank, carefully peering out with his personal mirror to observe the battlefield situation.

The attack launched at dawn was initially going very smoothly, and the Teutons seemed not to have expected them to launch a counterattack here.

Not only did the river crossing proceed without hindrance, but the troops' offensive after dawn also went very smoothly.

If those overweight tanks hadn't been so slow, they could have carved out an even larger breach in the Teutonic lines.

But that's where things end.

Soon the Teutonic air force began to arrive on the battlefield, engaging in fierce battles with the Gaulish and Bunitania air forces in the sky.

Although the air force soldiers acted very bravely, even Andrei could see from the ground that although the Teutonics had more planes, the Gaul and Buntanian air force was still fighting them to a standstill.

However, the Teutonic bombers, with their terrifying screech as they dove down, still had the opportunity to drop their powerful bombs. Simultaneously with the air force's arrival, the Teutonic armored forces also reached the battlefield.

What should have been a surprise attack gradually evolved into a large-scale skirmish.

When the attack began, Andrei had a squad of men with him, but now only two pale-faced riflemen remained.

The two machine guns in the squad had long since been lost somewhere.

After observing his surroundings through the mirror, Andrei discovered that a Teutonic machine gun position was firing fiercely on the side of the battlefield.

Meanwhile, the heavy tank that was still operational was exchanging fire with a Teutonic tank in the distance, and clearly did not have the capacity to deal with the machine gun position at the moment.

Andrei took a deep breath, then leaned out from beside the heavy tank, raised his rifle, and quickly pulled the trigger of the machine gun that was firing.

After a few gunshots, the machine gun fell silent.

"Hurry up!"

Seeing the machine gun stop firing, Andrei immediately grabbed his rifle and called to the last two soldiers beside him to charge together.

Although we don't know what lies at the end of the Teutonic defenses, it's better to move now than to stay put and wait to die.

If a Teutonic dive bomber pilot with poor eyesight were to decide to take down this tank, the aftershocks of the explosion alone would be enough to give Andrei and his men a run for their money.

When Andrei charged into the Teutonic machine gun position, he found himself with only one man left, while there seemed to be movement in the Teutonic trenches.

Someone wants to take back this machine gun position.

At that moment, Andrei's mind was filled with many thoughts, from the movies he had watched in the past to the battlefield stories he had heard, and even the Krieg chess pieces on his bedside table at home. In the end, all of these thoughts condensed into one strong idea.

“I have to survive.”

After the thought flashed through his mind, Andrei picked up the machine gun from the edge of the trench and then clipped two grenades to his belt.

He said to the soldier behind him who seemed to be still confused, "Take that ammo pack and those grenades, we have to fight our way out."

Meanwhile, looking through his binoculars at Joe in Leipzig not far away, he painfully realized that due to insufficient troops, although he had brought the war to Teutonic lands.

But the Teutons didn't seem to care. Even when they caused trouble here, they were always met with the Teutons' second-line and hastily organized militia forces.

Even after they had reached the outskirts of Leipzig, the Teutons did not withdraw any troops from the western front.

This attitude made Joe realize that he really had no way to deal with the Teutons now.

Unless he decides to march into Germania at all costs.

However, Joe suspected that even if he did that, the Teutons would not let up on their offensive on the western front.

In fact, even if it were me, I wouldn't let up on the offensive on the western front right now.

The main forces of the Gauls and the Bunitania expeditionary force were surrounded in the narrow plain between the Low Countries and Gaul.

If they cannot break through the encirclement, the Gauls will not even have enough troops to defend Paris after losing these forces.

And now his offensive is almost at its limit, unless...

After a moment's thought, Qiao Tan sighed. The situation had already deteriorated to this point, so he could only resort to a desperate measure.

It seems that this is the only way to force those hard-hearted Teutons to withdraw troops from the western front.

"Let the artillery fire two rapid rounds, then prepare to enter the city. No need to occupy it, no need to maintain order. Destroy the electricity and water supply, as well as their railway lines, as quickly as possible, and then we'll set off for Germania."

Upon hearing Joe's order, Joe's adjutant looked at Joe with some surprise.

For decades, Joe maintained strict discipline over his troops, always keeping them under control to prevent damage to civilian infrastructure. He even sometimes organized the evacuation of civilians trapped in the combat zone.

But now this order has been issued suddenly.

"The situation couldn't get any worse. It's a game of cowards now, let's see who chickens out first."

Joe looked at his adjutant and said.

"Go and carry out the order. I will provide a written order later, and I will take full responsibility for it."

Upon hearing Joe's words, the adjutant saluted Joe and then went to relay Joe's orders to the troops.

Meanwhile, after Winston returned to London, he began to push forward with one thing, the only thing Winston believed could save the war: bringing Old Joe back.

This shouldn't have been a difficult task. In fact, according to the old men in the War Department at the end of the last war, Joe should have stepped forward at this time and used his appeal and influence to get the young men to enlist while he commanded the expeditionary force to rampage across the Old World as the Commander-in-Chief of the expeditionary force.

But the appeasement policy advocates ruined all of this.

Now, Joe has even chosen to renounce his Bunitania citizenship to avoid any potential interference from Bunitania in the Sudetenland and Germanic crisis.

Under these circumstances, getting Old Joe back would be extremely difficult.

But now we can't not invite Old Joe back.

The Gauls were on the verge of collapse, and the Polish-German stance was highly questionable. If the Gauls couldn't hold out, the destruction of Old Joe, who was now deep in Teutonic territory, and Bohemia, far from the coastline, was almost a certainty.

After all, even Italy has already joined the battle, and Winston doesn't need to think much about what choices those countries in the east of Bohemia, who have strong opinions about the post-war border demarcation after the collapse of the Habsburgs, will make.

So now I have to get Old Joe back to Brittany, back to London, even if I have to kneel down in Prague and beg him, I have to get Old Joe back to London.

But before that, Winston still needs to resolve a few minor issues.

Looking at the assembled dignitaries in Parliament, Winston took a deep breath.

(End of this chapter)