Three days later, on the morning of December 12th.
The former northern stronghold of Lille, in Frankia.
The city had been captured by the Germanian army in August; during the subsequent Race to the Sea, the Frankish army had also failed to retake it. The foremost line of the Frankish defensive perimeter in the northeast still remained anchored along the line of Arras and Lens.
And Lille now lay directly south of Ypres, which was under Britannian control, posing a considerable threat to the southern flank of the Ypres salient.
When the next offensive commenced, the Germanian 6th Army had already drawn up plans to drive along the railway line running northwest from Lille, punch through the rear of the salient's flank, and coordinate with friendly forces of the 4th Army to the north to cut off the entire salient.
Therefore, early that morning, Lelouch, Major Rundstedt, Major Bock, and others, plus the company and platoon commanders and officers of various levels newly integrated into these two assault battalions, as well as newly assigned replacements, were all brought to a military camp in the western suburbs of Lille.
Awaiting them was the final pre-battle integration and supplemental training in new tactics. They would remain stationed in Lille right up until the final moments before the offensive.
They had at most one week to mesh together before being thrown back into combat—not that this span was considered too short, for they were all elite troops to begin with. Although the soldiers had generally enjoyed around twenty days of rest and recuperation, they had not been entirely idle afterward.
This was especially true of the returning wounded who had been reassigned; in truth, they had more time to integrate than the officers, and most were already familiar with their comrades.
As for the problem of "soldiers not knowing their officers, and officers not knowing their soldiers," in the armies of other nations this might be a grave taboo of military art.
But in the Germanian army it was far less pronounced, thanks entirely to the Germanian military's ancient tradition of strict obedience to orders and its harsh discipline. Even if the soldiers were not well acquainted with their commander, even if the commander had been parachuted in, so long as orders were given, the soldiers would generally carry them out.
Enemy forces found this far harder to achieve. The Franks, in particular, revered freedom, and their soldiers tended to have minds of their own—though this could not be considered a bad thing, for freedom was, after all, a good thing.
At six in the morning, while the sky was just beginning to brighten, roughly 2,200 soldiers assembled in formation within the camp. Light snow drifted from the sky, yet it did not affect their alignment in the slightest.
They were to listen to an address by Army Group Commander General Rupprecht, then speeches from the two division commanders, and finally from Bock and Rundstedt, the two assault battalion commanders.
All the soldiers had been outfitted with entirely new gear. They wore M15-model helmets (actually modeled on the M56), forged from high-manganese steel, with leather-framed padding inside and an outer covering of linen camouflage canvas to prevent the metallic sheen from reflecting light.
They all wore grey-based camouflage uniforms splotched with brown and white. The clothing was not tight but rather somewhat bulky, so that winter cotton padding could be worn underneath.
On their feet were safety boots reinforced with anti-crush steel plates at the toes, fastened with perforated, lace-up leather puttees—whereas previously, Imperial Army jackboots had relied on buttons to adjust the fit at the sides of the shaft, making them terribly inconvenient to put on and take off. Switching to side-laced fastenings, while still more troublesome than zippers, was at least better than buttons.
(Zippers with self-locking sliders had only been invented in America in 1913 and were not yet in widespread use. Older-style zippers lacked a locking mechanism and came apart easily, making them less reliable than laces.)
The soldiers' weapons had not yet been issued; they would be distributed shortly according to branch-specific assignments, so for the moment everyone remained unarmed.
Once all were assembled, the Duke delivered a mobilization speech, the content of which was rather conventional and formulaic.
"Soldiers! Today we fight the evil Britannian financial speculator dogs! If the Empire cannot win this war, then in the future there will be no honor left on Earth—only one faith shall remain, and that is the worship of gold!"
Standing behind and to the side of the Duke, Lelouch heard every word clearly. He knew that Emperor Wilhelm had spoken these very words not long ago, and that the Duke was merely parroting them. Moreover, the persuasion was weak at best; many soldiers did not care for such high-flown rhetoric.
There was no radio broadcast in this era, and the soldiers could not possibly have heard the voices of their rulers over the airwaves. Thus it was perfectly normal for a sovereign's speech to be repeatedly quoted by subordinate commanders; the soldiers had no idea this was reheated fare.
After the Duke, the division commanders and assault battalion commanders spoke in turn, all delivering pre-battle exhortations with nothing new to offer.
Finally, it was Lelouch's turn. As the originator of the assault battalion concept and deputy commander of the 1st Assault Battalion, he also said a few words.
Lelouch was more down-to-earth. Since all the morale-boosting words had already been spoken, he intended to say something substantive.
"Soldiers! I know you are all battle-hardened warriors, all possessed of iron discipline and absolute obedience to orders. But I also know that the very concept of the assault battalion—this very name—may have left you with doubts, or at least did so once.
Some may feel that the Empire and the Army Group are assigning you dangerous missions, heaping heavier burdens upon your shoulders! But I must clarify one truth above all: the Army Group cherishes every soldier! The Commander values the life of every subordinate!
The assault battalions will not be worked to death; we merely bear the mission of breakthrough at critical points. Once battle is joined, we absolutely will not permit officers at any level to recklessly expand the frontage of attack! To wantonly waste the strength and lives of soldiers!
Within each company, platoons will advance by bounds when they are supposed to advance by bounds! Within each battalion, companies will rotate for rest when they are supposed to rotate for rest!
After punching through enemy lines, if we can immediately call friendly main forces forward to occupy and hold the position, then we must call for support without delay!
When encountering enemy strongpoints, if we can use radio to call for precise artillery support to eliminate them, then we must not hesitate to call down fire!
Please, you must believe me. I too crawled out from a pile of corpses! Two months ago at Nieuport, I also faced a desperate situation where a reconnaissance company confronted three divisions of Belgian troops breaking out!
This eye of mine was blinded by tear gas during that battle, and it has never healed. I feel that pain every moment of every day. So please believe me: we will cherish every soldier!
Moreover, this Major Bock is the nephew of the Chief of the General Staff! If even the Chief of the General Staff trusts his own nephew to the assault battalions, what have you to fear? The assault battalions will be employed with the utmost care, and every one of you will have opportunities for merit, decoration, and promotion far exceeding those in ordinary units!"
Lelouch's speech was thoroughly down-to-earth. Compared to old-school officers who blindly emphasized honor and discipline, he placed great emphasis on making the soldiers believe they would receive the best treatment, that they would not be treated as cannon fodder, and that acts of bravery would most certainly be seen by those above—that there would be no ambiguity between reward and punishment, and no merit would go unrecognized.
This combination of carrot and stick was a maneuver that the Germanian soldiers, who had never witnessed Eastern-style techniques for winning hearts, found incredibly stirring. One by one, their fighting spirit soared, and morale and cohesion rose by another notch.
Especially the soldiers in the front ranks, looking at the deputy commander's blood-red left eye, could all sense that he was not the type of high-and-mighty officer-aristocrat, but someone who had fought his way up from the grassroots just like them.
The deputy commander's current advantages, the appreciation shown him by superiors at every level, and even the Commander's high regard all gave the soldiers a vivid model of struggle and advancement—a classic case of climbing from an ordinary veteran squad leader to a mid-level officer.
In the crowd of soldiers below, Lieutenant Model and Lieutenant Dietl, the two platoon leaders, were also moved to tears. They too came from humble backgrounds without the slightest connections, having started from the very bottom after enlisting and climbed up step by step through meritorious service.
"In the future, I will definitely fight as bloodily as Commander Lelouch! Fight to the death against the Britannian running dogs!" Model, who had enlisted after only one year at officer school following high school, was thoroughly fired up with an ardent desire to win merit and promotion.
On the reviewing stand, Major Bock and Major Rundstedt cast glances at Lelouch that showed they did not underestimate him, both thinking inwardly: "This young man... seems to place far more emphasis on pacifying and winning over the lower ranks than any officer we have seen before. The Empire's traditions have always leaned too heavily toward answering to one's superiors; rarely has there been one who pays such attention to the sentiments of the men below. The times are truly changing..."
"Victory! Victory! Victory!" Finally, some soldiers on the parade ground shouted out, and then the others were swept along, crying out together as one.
Feeling the heartfelt shouts of the soldiers, Lelouch himself was swept up in emotion.
Over the past month or so, he had gradually come to understand certain things, especially regarding his left eye, which had been poisoned by gas and had never fully healed. By now the vision in his left eye was completely fine—actually just like normal—but the blood-red color of the pupil simply would not fade. Presumably, he would be stuck with one red and one blue eye from now on.
At first he had even suspected his left eye of possessing some kind of supernatural ability, but he later discovered that there didn't seem to be anything special about it. It was just that when he spoke, he seemed slightly more charismatic toward his countrymen and ethnic kindred. Perhaps when people saw his eye, they were reminded of the meritorious wounds borne in bloody service to the nation, thereby producing feelings of trust or reverence.
For this reason he had secretly conducted some controlled experiments. For instance, after capturing Ostend, he had interrogated and met with captured Belgian officers and even generals, attempting to persuade them to cooperate more deeply with Germania. But throughout the persuasion, Lelouch felt no boost whatsoever in "persuasiveness"; reason simply failed when it was going to fail.
Thus, after rigorous comparison, it seemed this blood-red left eye held no influence-boosting effect on foreigners of other races. It merely had a greater power to inspire his own compatriots. Perhaps it held some appeal for ethnic Germanians abroad as well—who could say?—but it definitely had no charismatic effect on foreign aliens.
Today, after speaking to and mobilizing these 2,200 assault battalion soldiers and seeing their fervent reaction, Lelouch's own feelings on the matter grew even more certain, and he could finally confirm this completely.
Perhaps in the future he could rely on this old wound that would never fully heal—this "man's medal"—to become a better orator and, under equal conditions, rally more soldiers and people to unite around him. But that was all.
At this moment, with all mobilization work complete, it was time to distribute equipment to the soldiers and proceed with tactical briefings.