December 9, night.
Brussels, 6th Army Headquarters.
In an office of the Operations Section, a major on the staff finished handling the day’s military affairs, glanced left and right, and confirmed that his colleagues had all gone off duty.
Only then did he draw from beneath the stack of documents on his desk an envelope he had just received that day, and read it by the pale light of the gas lamp.
“…The matter of your transfer has begun to take shape. The release procedures on the 6th Army’s side will be handled immediately. After receiving the formal transfer order, you may report to 2nd Army Headquarters as soon as possible, be incorporated into the Guards, and proceed to the Eastern Front for operations.
The 6th Army’s next phase of operations will take place in harsh, muddy conditions. Moreover, aerial reconnaissance shows that after more than a month of construction, the Britannian army has already established solid fortifications in the Ypres Salient, making it difficult to win merit and advancement.
On the Eastern Front, Field Marshal Hindenburg and Lieutenant General Ludendorff have won successive victories since the battles of Tannenberg and the Masurian Lakes, having annihilated more than 400,000 Rusha troops in total. Early next year, the Empire will concentrate its forces and launch a counteroffensive on the Eastern Front. The Rusha army’s combat strength is far inferior to that of the Britannian army, and the front is long, with many weak points in the enemy line, making it suitable for concentrated breakthroughs. If you proceed to the Guards as soon as possible, you will be able to win many opportunities for merit in the Galicia region…
—Erich von Falkenhayn”
Looking at the signature at the end of the secret letter, the major naturally did not doubt its contents in the slightest.
He knew full well that his own uncle, the Empire’s Chief of the General Staff, would never deceive him.
“Does Uncle think so little of the coming Battle of Ypres? Indeed, Commander Rupprecht has rather missed the opportunity. What exactly is he waiting for? Though during the previous Race to the Sea, the troops truly were too exhausted and needed rest.
But this period of rest has also given the enemy an opportunity to strengthen their defenses. If the commander cannot come up with some new method to break through the enemy’s lines, then this waiting actually benefits the enemy more than it benefits our army… Sigh. If they insist on delaying the offensive, perhaps following them really won’t allow me to make my name.”
Thinking this, the major ultimately decided to heed his uncle’s words. In two days, he would go through the procedures and transfer to the Eastern Front ahead of schedule.
He told himself silently: This was not fleeing before battle. It was simply that the higher-ups of the 6th Army were delaying the opportunity themselves… If, half a month earlier, they had thrown themselves into a continued offensive without resting, then he absolutely would not have left.
As he thought, he took a pouch of tobacco from the breast pocket of his uniform, shook some out onto the secret letter, rolled it up, and struck a match.
A few minutes later, as the last embers fell into the ashtray, the secret letter from his uncle, the Chief of the General Staff, ceased to exist.
Yet just as the major breathed a sigh of relief, a distinctive sound of leather boots came from the corridor.
The major hurriedly poured some of the remaining tea in his cup into the ashtray, extinguishing the sparks. The moment he finished the motion, the office door was pushed open.
The visitor was a captain more than a decade younger than him, tall and handsome, though he looked somewhat delicate. Behind the captain followed several other young officers.
Seeing the major, the captain at the head immediately extended his hand. “Major Fedor von Bock, I presume? How do you do. I am Captain Lelouch Hunt, deputy commander of the 6th Army’s 1st Assault Battalion. This is the handwritten transfer order signed this morning by General Rupprecht, Commander of the Army, appointing Major Bock as commander of our battalion.”
“Appointing me as commander of the Army’s 1st Assault Battalion? How could that be? I was previously serving in the Army Operations Section…”
Major Fedor von Bock did not react for a moment, and instinctively emphasized first that he was a staff officer, not an officer who directly commanded troops at the front.
After all, compared with the people Lelouch had recruited before, Major Bock could be considered to have the best family background.
His father had been promoted to major general during the Franco-Prussian War. Though later, because of an injury, he had made no further achievements in the army, he had nonetheless relied on that glorious wound to win the name Bock a “von.”
And compared with Fedor von Bock’s mother, the military rank and title on his father’s side were not even worth mentioning.
Because his mother was the elder sister of Falkenhayn, Chief of the Empire’s General Staff!
Thus, although Bock was already thirty-four and had more than ten years of military experience, he had never commanded troops on the front line. Previously, he had always remained in various levels of staff headquarters, sitting in offices and devising plans.
Although at the beginning of the world war, Major Bock had followed the wishes of his father’s side and worked for several months with the 6th Army, those who truly knew him all felt that this was merely a gilding of his résumé. When the fighting truly became most arduous, he could leave whenever he wished.
But at this moment, history, muddied once more by Lelouch’s interference, had its details altered again.
Lelouch had asked Commander Rupprecht to issue Major Bock a new appointment—of course, the reason he did this was because he knew that the future Bock was a talented man, and keeping him would strengthen his own tactical command system. Moreover, at the moment, Commander Rupprecht probably still did not know that Bock’s uncle Falkenhayn was preparing to fish him out.
So, faced with Bock’s instinctive explanation, Lelouch did not intend to give up directly. Instead, he prepared to provoke him with a soldier’s honor. “What? Does being a staff officer all along mean one cannot go to the front and directly command troops?”
Major Bock said, “That is not what I mean… Rather, I previously heard that the higher-ups might have another appointment for me. I need to confirm why there has suddenly been a change.”
Only then did Lelouch put on a look of sudden realization. “Oh… right. I heard that your mother is the Chief of the General Staff’s elder sister? Could it be that, hearing we are about to fight a hard battle, some resourceful noble lady intends to fish you out and have you flee before battle?”
In the original course of history, Major von Bock was transferred on January 26, 1915, to serve as Operations Chief of the Guards, under the 2nd Army on the northern wing of the Eastern Front.
Lelouch did not know the historical details that precisely, but he did know roughly that the historical Bock had indeed been transferred away.
He knew that Rupprecht’s transfer order might not necessarily withstand Falkenhayn’s, so he could only hope to exploit the time difference while stirring Bock’s own sense of honor, using provocation to make him stay.
The instant Lelouch said this, the two officers behind him indeed frowned instinctively and revealed looks of contempt toward Major Bock.
Major Bock’s expression also changed drastically. No longer caring about his uncle’s exhortations or his mother’s arrangements, he hurriedly defended himself in a stern voice.
“Who is fleeing before battle! If you keep spouting nonsense, I will challenge you to a duel! Isn’t it merely serving as commander of an assault battalion? When the time comes, I will personally command on the front line!”
After all, he was already thirty-four. Among Dermanian soldiers, to be said to still rely on his mother’s connections in his thirties was simply a humiliation beyond bearing.
As for the infamous reputation of fleeing before battle, that went without saying. If it stuck to him, he would practically have no face left to live.
Lelouch was clearly still somewhat unaccustomed to the Dermanian sensitivity toward honor, so his dose of provocation just now had been rather heavy.
Fortunately, he reacted very quickly. The moment he finished provoking him, he immediately offered a sweet date to soothe him. “I apologize. Perhaps my wording was improper. How could you, Major, flee before battle? As long as you are willing to stay, everyone will still be fighting shoulder to shoulder from now on. We are all brothers who will be killing Britannians together. Please don’t take what I said just now to heart.”
Seeing him immediately change his attitude and speak so sincerely, Major Bock could not very well continue to flare up. After hesitating for two seconds, he gritted his teeth and said,
“Of course I will stay! But this battle at Ypres will not be easy! The Britannians occupy the Ypres Salient, and for more than a month now they have been building defensive works nonstop!”
Lelouch encouraged him, “Do not worry. We have not been idle this past month either. In response to the Britannians’ defenses, we have already worked out new tactics. Besides, the troops really were too exhausted before. During the Race to the Sea, the soldiers on the front ran themselves ragged for a full month. Without rest, how could they have any strength left to fight again?
As soldiers, what we must do is carry out the orders of Army Headquarters. Come, allow me to introduce you as well. These gentlemen are also people I just contacted today.
This is Captain Erwin Rommel. He will serve as commander of B Company in our battalion.
This is Captain Wilhelm List. He will serve as commander of C Company—his cousin, Colonel List, 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.
This is Major Wilhelm Keitel, commander of the cannon battalion of the 12th Division’s artillery regiment. He is not actually part of our assault battalion, but when the time comes, his battalion will be dedicated to coordinating with us. During operations, we can use the portable radio sets equipped by each platoon at the front to send messages and call for precise artillery support.
And this is Major Wilhelm von Leeb, commander of the cannon battalion of the 6th Division’s artillery regiment. His responsibilities are roughly the same as Major Keitel’s, but when the time comes, he will coordinate with the 2nd Assault Battalion—that is, Battalion Commander Rundstedt’s battalion—and provide them with real-time, precise artillery support. The 2nd Assault Battalion has already been confirmed as attached to the 6th Division, to serve as the vanguard before the 6th Division’s offensive.
In the next few days, everyone must cooperate and get accustomed to one another, master the new tactical adjustments together, and be ready to go to the battlefield at any time. When that happens, we will play the role of the spearhead in the offensive against the southern wing of the Ypres Salient!”
As Lelouch introduced these men to one another in a very down-to-earth manner, he greatly eased the relationships among these officers, who had originally not been very familiar with each other.
Among them, Erwin Rommel had been brought back by him from the military hospital in Aachen that afternoon. Because Immelmann had remained in Aachen to switch to a new aircraft, the rear seat of Lelouch’s plane had been left empty, so he had brought Rommel along to the front.
The remaining three were all people Lelouch had sought out one by one only after landing in Brussels that evening.
Wilhelm Keitel had become familiar with him during the Battle of Ostend; they were comrades from the same division.
Von Leeb was the commander of a cannon battalion in an allied division and did not need to be transferred. Lelouch only needed to meet him once and communicate the requirements.
The last one, Wilhelm List, was the cousin of Lelouch’s old regimental commander. The old leader wanted to slip someone in, and since his cousin’s military qualities were indeed solid, Lelouch had no reason not to accept him.
Thus, a group of men—three majors and three captains, three battalion commanders and three company commanders—became acquainted just like that.
Lelouch also suggested that everyone go out for a drink together and properly build some rapport. He would treat them; from now on, they would be fighting shoulder to shoulder.
No one objected. Thus Lelouch drove the BMW sedan that headquarters had temporarily allocated to him, carrying all six men to the White Swan Restaurant on the central square.
In the Brussels of the present day, no one checked for overloading; and even if they did, they would not check a group of Dermanian officers.
Lelouch drove at only thirty kilometers per hour and arrived cautiously.
This restaurant had a long history, nearly two hundred years old. Seventy years ago, Dermania’s two greatest thinkers and philosophers had secluded themselves for several years in this very establishment and written a manifesto that changed the world. At the time, this place was mainly a café and did not sell much in the way of proper meals.
After Lelouch sat down, he ordered champagne and cognac, along with beef shank slow-braised in Belgian dark beer, cod steak pan-fried in olive oil, Antwerp seaweed-braised conger eel, asparagus and ham omelets, Belgian-style fried meatballs, French-style steamed mussels, and some vegetables.
Unfortunately, winter was cold, and there were no fresh vegetables to speak of. They could only eat sauerkraut and French fries.
As cups clinked and drinks went around, Lelouch skillfully encouraged them. “From now on, everyone here is a brother fighting shoulder to shoulder. Major Bock’s uncle is the Chief of the General Staff. With a family background as noble as his, he is still willing to serve as assault battalion commander and fight alongside us on the front line.
So the higher-ups attach great importance to this unit of ours! From equipment to personnel, they are satisfying our requests as much as possible. Everyone must not worry too much—if the higher-ups had no confidence in our offensive, would the Chief of the General Staff dare to leave his own nephew here?”
With just a few simple words, Lelouch completely dispelled everyone’s concern over whether “we will become experimental subjects and cannon fodder.”
Moreover, these officers were all talented men. Hearing Lelouch’s speech, almost all of them had a flash of inspiration at the same time, thinking that they ought to remember this famous saying. When the time came, they could use the same rhetoric to inspire morale and unify thinking among the soldiers in their own companies.
Any new unit, no matter how elite, would definitely have conservative people who worried and feared as long as it had just undergone major adjustments, afraid that they themselves would become the “cost of trial and error.”
At such a time, the best way to make officers and soldiers believe they were not experimental subjects was to let them know that the child of a high-level big shot was fighting alongside them too!
This was the reason Lelouch insisted on keeping Fedor von Bock.
It was not that he possessed some unique command ability so strong that no one else could replace him. Rather, among the middle-ranking officers Lelouch could reach, only Bock had the strongest backing and the best demonstrative effect.
And Lelouch’s maneuver also made those clever officers realize: this young colleague’s ability to unite hearts and stir morale was truly extraordinary…
“This man will certainly become an extraordinary figure in the future…”
“Following him definitely won’t be wrong. This time, I will surely be promoted faster than if I had stayed in my original unit…”
From List to Rommel, from Keitel to Leeb, all of them thought this way.