Conquer Europe from the West

Chapter 101: Get rid of Moltke the Younger!

Without saying anything more to Ludendorff, Ryan left the Ministry of Defense directly after leaving those last words.

But before Ryan went out, he saw a group of generals from the General Staff walking in.

This made him step aside immediately, because Ryan saw many guys who were on good terms with Moltke the Younger among these people.

Obviously, the other party had no intention of greeting Ryan. After exchanging glances with Ryan, the group of staff officers walked straight towards the elevator.

However, because the people of the General Staff actually had a very bad relationship with the people of the Ministry of National Defense, almost to the point of never having any contact with each other, Ryan subconsciously took a look at the floor they were going to.

The mechanical dial hand shook twice and then stopped at the fourth floor underground.

It seems that they are going to hold a meeting to discuss the previous incident in the Kingdom of Perijie.

The superstructure of the Ministry of National Defense is basically open to the outside world, and the functions of the lower structures are divided according to their confidentiality levels. Basically, the deeper the structure, the more important it is.

The current Ministry of National Defense is a large building with 7 floors above ground and floors underground, a total of floors. The four underground floors are basically used to handle foreign affairs and colonial garrison matters.

This is an unspoken secret.

But Ryan then discovered that the elevator went to the fifth floor underground.

This immediately caught his attention.

"Preparing for the upcoming battle?"

Ryan's eyebrows formed a frown, and he thought to himself, this little Moltke is indeed ready for a large-scale attack.

The specific content of the battle must be very similar to what he had discussed with Draven and the others at the dinner in Stuttgart.

The Imperial Army will push the front around the Maine River and attempt to end the war once and for all.

But it was obviously impossible for Draven to know that this battle would end in failure from the very beginning, and it was even more impossible for Moltke the Younger, who had only briefly heard about the idea of ​​this battle from Draven.

but……

Moltke the Younger is not a fool. He will definitely modify the battle plan he explained to Draven to match the current strength of the Imperial Army.

In this way, he fell into the trap set by Ryan long ago.

Outside the Ministry of Defense building, Ryan looked at the three-story building in the distance that looked like a palace.

That is the building of the Imperial General Staff.

Since people from the General Staff have come to the Ministry of National Defense, it means that the General Staff’s highest-level meeting room must have been vacated.

According to the custom of the Imperial Army, Moltke the Younger must have summoned the commanders of the army groups to the imperial capital, and the meeting might have already started.

Ryan looked towards the location on the second floor.

I found that the curtains had been completely drawn, and not even a ray of light could get in.

"I hope that Brigadier General Bryan can do what I want and lure that idiot Moltke into a trap."

----------------

at the same time.

The General Staff Building in the Imperial Capital, the headquarters of the Western Front.

All the commanders from the First Army to the Eighth Army, as well as their chiefs of staff, were now gathered in a large conference room on the second floor of the General Staff Headquarters.

At one end of the room, there was a strategic map projected from a projector, covering the entire wall.

It extends to Ostend in the north, the Apennine Peninsula and the Mediterranean Sea in the south, and the Farland and Imperial borders in the east and west, and covers part of the territory of the Russian Empire.

On the map, the distribution of the troops currently owned by each army group is marked at the regimental level.

Only the Eighth Army, which has not yet been fully formed, was placed on the easternmost side of the empire with a simple flag.

Their army group commander, General Hindenburg, obviously had some opinions about this, but he was not the protagonist of this operation, and the front he was responsible for was not the Western Front, so he did not take the initiative to speak.

The reason why he was here was because the General Staff had unanimously issued a pre-war meeting notice to the headquarters of each war zone and even each army group to prepare for the next large-scale battle.

As the only army group commander deployed on the Eastern Front in the empire, he needed to understand the tactics and strategic goals of the friendly forces on the Western Front, and based on this, he could decide on what kind of operations to carry out on the Eastern Front.

This is the same thing Ryan said to Ludendorff before.

War is not a game. Just because you have resources and people doesn't mean you can produce supplies and send them to the front line.

If a unit needs a certain equipment at a certain time, then other units will inevitably not be able to get the equipment at the same time. The existence of the General Staff is to coordinate this, and on this basis, it has an additional function of coordinating the actions of the troops.

At this time, in the conference room.

Hellingen did not bring his adjutant today, but instead, contrary to his usual practice, called Brigadier General Brian, who had been transferred to the General Staff a few days ago, to serve as his staff member.

Because the Seventh Army's mission was to defend the southern border of the Empire and Farland, which was strategically the most remote place on the entire front, he should have sat with Hindenburg.

But the situation has changed a bit now.

There is no other reason.

As the commander-in-chief of the Seventh Army, he was currently sitting in the seat of honor with the commanders-in-chief of the First and Second Armies.

A large-scale attack is definitely coming.

Almost the moment he learned of the seating arrangement, countless possibilities flashed through Hellingen's mind.

Brian behind him immediately thought of the same thing as him. The two of them exchanged glances quietly and just sat in their seats in silence.

It took quite some time.

The guards pushed open the door, and Moltke the Younger, dressed in a marshal's uniform, and several staff officers appeared in front of everyone.

All the staff adjutants stood up, but the army commander just sat there without moving.

Moltke the Younger was obviously used to such scenes, so he didn't waste any words and sat directly in the innermost seat, letting his adjutant start speaking.

"The surrender of the Kingdom of Perij is a very important victory for the Empire."

"Taking this opportunity, the First and Second Armies were able to temporarily suspend operations and, with the assistance of friendly forces from the Kingdom of Perijie, rest behind the front lines and begin preliminary preparations for the upcoming battle."

"The main purpose of inviting all the army commanders here this time is to explain all the operations that the Empire needs to carry out from the end of this month to the end of next month."

The adjutant said this and nodded to the projector operator beside him.

The operator immediately replaced a piece of glass in front of the projector's light bulb. Everyone present looked at the screen, and then they found that the image on the projector had been replaced with a strategic map that only included the Western Front.

The northernmost end of the map is the border of the Farlan Republic, and only a small part of the territory of the Perije Kingdom can be seen.

At the southernmost end of the map, it only reaches the Alsace region, which is under the responsibility of the Seventh Army.

At the same time, the horizontal width of this map is unexpectedly narrow.

Its easternmost side only reaches the city of Palu, and its westernmost side only allows you to see the border of the empire.

The moment they saw the map, everyone present, including Helingen, felt a sinking feeling in their hearts.

Because they all understood that this meant that what Moltke the Younger was going to say next must be the combat operations that the Imperial Army would launch within the territory of the Farland Republic.

as predicted.

As the image on the projector gradually stabilized, Moltke the Younger finally spoke. "Our Imperial Army has achieved great success in this anti-invasion campaign, but these are only initial victories and cannot determine the outcome of the entire war."

"To this end, the Imperial Army General Staff and the Imperial Ministry of Defense formulated the strategic goals that the Empire needs to achieve in the next month last week."

Before he finished speaking, the operator replaced the glass panel with another one.

A series of military unit numbers immediately appeared on the projector screen.

The First, Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Armies are located at the top of the picture, lined up along the narrow front from Paliu to Verdun.

The Sixth Army remained stationed in Lorraine, and the Seventh Army also remained stationary in Alsace.

Heilingen looked at the army group deployment on the screen and became confused.

He thought to himself, what's wrong with this little Moltke's brain? My army obviously doesn't need to fight, but he still puts it in a high position together with the people from the First and Second Armies.

Then he heard Moltke the Younger's speech.

Moltke the Younger said, "Given that the Schlieffen Plan has already consumed more than half of its time, the Imperial General Staff believes that we should speed up the process and complete the occupation of Palu, the capital of the Farland Republic."

"Specifically, the First and Second Armies will launch an offensive directly toward Palu along the railway and highway. The Third and Fourth Armies will serve as reserve forces. While attacking Palu, they will also shift the battle line to the south toward the Maine River."

"The purpose of extending the battle line to the Maine River is to cut off the route through which the Farlan troops can support the Palu region from the border."

"The First and Second Armies will be responsible for launching attacks from the east and west of Palu, respectively. The Third and Fourth Armies will be responsible for protecting their left flanks, forcing the Farlan Army to be unable to provide direct support to Palu."

"At the same time, the Fifth and Sixth Armies will be responsible for launching the attack on the Verdun fortress."

As Moltke the Younger spoke, his gaze turned to the commanders-in-chief of the Fifth and Sixth Armies. "The purpose of launching the offensive is that the General Staff hopes this offensive will be able to divide the entire Farland territory into a horizontal front along the Main River and a vertical front along the Farland fortresses along the border."

"According to the General Staff's deduction, once the battle along the Maine River officially begins, the Farlanes will inevitably dispatch a large number of troops from the border back to support Palu. In this way, the Fifth and Sixth Armies will be able to successfully launch an offensive against the Verdun area."

"The successful capture of the Verdun region will directly destroy the defense capabilities of the hundreds of kilometers of fortress lines built by the Farlans along the Empire's border."

"Even if they don't send reinforcements, the First and Fourth Armies, with their numerical superiority, can quickly capture Palu and, in accordance with Field Marshal Schlieffen's plan, launch an attack on the border fortresses from behind the Farlanders."

"In this way, the Empire will inevitably become the ultimate winner of this war."

Moltke the Younger spoke with great resolve, as if he had already seen the future victory of the empire.

But Hellingen dismissed his statement.

After all, it's easy to say it, but what will happen when the actual fight breaks out is another matter.

Besides, this little Moltke has not yet said what the 7th Army will do.

Hellingen turned his gaze and looked at the two commanders of the First and Second Armies sitting on his left.

The two men obviously discovered the problem. When they noticed Hellingen's gaze, they immediately looked at Hellingen, their eyes full of confusion about Moltke the Younger's remarks.

Because up to this point, everything Moltke the Younger had said was something that had been decided long before the battle began.

Everyone present had already memorized the contents of the Schlieffen Plan, so there was no need for him to say anything.

Seeing that the people from the First and Second Armies were not prepared to speak, Hellingen had no choice but to look at Moltke the Younger and asked directly: "What should my Seventh Army do?"

Hellingen's speech immediately attracted the attention of everyone present. Moltke the Younger immediately turned his gaze to Hellingen and said, "Excuse me, General Hellingen, I was just about to say this."

He said, "After the Fifth and Sixth Armies complete the capture of Verdun, the Seventh Army will immediately launch an attack along the Rhine River towards Farland. After breaking through the French First Army's front at Belfort, they will use Belfort's railway system to advance from Farland's southernmost tip to its northernmost tip, launching an attack on Farland's border fortresses."

As soon as these words were spoken, Hellingen, who was already very dissatisfied with Moltke the Younger, immediately turned face black.

"This is not something that an army group can do well."

Hellingen said solemnly, "More than half of my troops are in Lorraine, assisting the 6th Army in the defense. There are less than three regiments along the Rhine. To accomplish this mission, we need at least two armies. It's absolutely impossible to rely on just three regiments."

Moltke the Younger seemed to have guessed what Hellingen would say, so he immediately explained: "The 7th Army does not need to completely capture the Farnian fortresses. General Hellingen, your troops' mission is to trap the Farnian fortresses south of Nancy in their fortresses, preventing them from successfully sending troops to support the northern front."

He then changed the subject, "Also, according to what I've heard, the 7th Army is currently equipped on a large scale with the rapid trench construction equipment spearheaded by Major Ryan Flegg. The General Staff made the above judgment based on this."

His words immediately aroused the curiosity of several other army commanders, especially the commanders of the First and Second Armies who were responsible for the general offensive.

According to what Moltke the Younger said before, their troops will inevitably become the number one target of the Farlan troops next.

The equipment that could quickly build a stable trench position on the front line immediately aroused the curiosity of the commanders of the First and Second Armies.

The two of them looked straight at Heilingen. Even though they didn't say anything, everyone knew what they were thinking.

But before they could say anything, Brian, who had been sitting behind Hellingen, stood up.

"I'm very sorry, Your Excellency the Generals."

Brigadier General Bryan stood there, speaking calmly, "The modular trench construction equipment developed by Major Flig has not yet reached the stage of mass production."

"Our technicians are currently working hard to improve production processes and procedures. Based on the current progress, we will not be able to officially enter the large-scale production stage of the new equipment until the middle of next month at the earliest."

As soon as Brian said this, he noticed that Moltke the Younger's face darkened a lot.

Due to the public's gaze, Hellingen was unable to stop Brian, but Brian immediately solved the problem.

He looked at the younger Moltke, his tone a touch respectful. "Your Excellency, although the Seventh Army is currently unable to successfully launch an attack on the Farlanders, we can lend the equipment we already have to the Third and Fourth Armies."

"This equipment is sufficient for the Third and Fourth Armies to quickly consolidate the front along the Maine River. As long as we wait until mid-September, our production lines will be able to continuously provide a large amount of supplies and equipment to the remaining five armies..."

When Brian said this, he deliberately did not mention the First and Second Armies because he was also the one who heard Ryan talk about the Battle of the Maine.

But obviously, there was a clear difference between the report Ryan made to him and the report he made to Hellingen and Draven.

Having vaguely sensed this, Hellingen looked at Brian standing beside him with disbelief.

Because logically speaking, the ones who need these equipment the most at the moment should be the First and Second Armies, which are the main force and main attack force, rather than the crappy Third and Fourth Armies.

Hellingen didn't understand why Brian did this, but as someone who had discussed Maine and the battle with Ryan in detail, he knew very well that this battle would inevitably fail.

Even though the Kingdom of Perije has surrendered now, the United Kingdom is temporarily unable to declare war on the Empire because of the surrender of the Kingdom of Perije, and the result is still the same.

Because in the final analysis, the reason why the empire could not win was that the idiot Moltke the Younger withdrew a large number of troops that should have been deployed on the right wing front to other areas.

The main force, which was originally supposed to have 180 million troops, has only less than 100 million troops left after layers of withdrawals and transfers that can actually carry out combat missions.

With such a small number of troops, even if a god came, it would be impossible to capture Palu.

"Ok?"

Suddenly, Hellingen realized he understood why Brian did this.

He looked at this former imperial elite in surprise, and hated that Ryan had kept the secret from him until now.

Because he discovered that if the Seventh Army really sent these supplies to the Third and Fourth Armies, then the battle line around the Maine River would inevitably turn into a high-speed mobile warfare the moment the Imperial Army was defeated!

The Third and Fourth Armies equipped with new equipment will become the empire's strongest shield, while the First and Second Armies will be caught in a high-speed mobile war with the Farlan troops for flank gaps during the continuous retreat!

Considering the existence of the Kingdom of Periguet, the battle will most likely end up with the Empire leaning against the border of the Kingdom of Periguet, and using the performance of new equipment to extend the front line from Verdun all the way to the coastline of the North Sea.

When Heilingen realized this, he broke out in a cold sweat.

He suddenly looked at Moltke the Younger and suddenly had a bold guess in his mind!

This kid Ryan didn't want to win this battle at all!

It was obvious that he wanted to use a disastrous defeat in a battle to pull Moltke the Younger down from the position of Chief of the General Staff!
(End of this chapter)