Conquer Europe from the West

Chapter 111: Second Lieutenant! You are fired!

Colonel Schmidt did not participate in the battle in his Z331 this time.

When he and his subordinates received the order from the regimental headquarters, Z331 to Z334 had already left the imperial capital with the entire assault company and were ready to land behind the front-line headquarters.

He even felt that his eyes were blurry at one point and couldn't even find the four airships.

Along with the Wave-class, there were 19 Zeppelin-class airships.

These giants, more than 400 meters long, can run with the wind at a speed of 320 kilometers per hour at an altitude of meters, or rush at a speed of kilometers per hour at an altitude of meters, but they will not land on the ground.

According to the rules of covert navigation, these big guys would hide in the sky until late at night, and on the night of the attack, they would head to the top of Verdun with a belly full of bombs and troops, and only unload the cargo and personnel inside through the small boat release position on the hull.

Not surprisingly, this almost immediately caused dissatisfaction among the Air Force Commander.

But Ryan's promise to him was too tempting.

Restart the Zeppelin production line and allocate funds for the development of new ships.

Either way, it is an irresistible reason for the current Air Force.

Some may ask where the remaining Zeppelin went.

This brings us to the special organization of the 102nd Air Force Special Service Fleet.

In fact, for most naval forces, because they can only use radio equipment to communicate and cannot use wired communication, and wireless communication is often very dependent on the weather, their captains are often arranged to command battles on their own ships.

But things are different now.

Because of this temporary expansion, the 102nd Air Force Special Service Fleet directly possessed 24 regular airships and 40 small airships to serve as transport ships. Therefore, the command of the ships must not be left to the captains of each ship.

Based on the experience of later generations, Ryan summarized a command plan that could barely be used in this era.

That is, the captains of all ships will gather in a central command post located in a safe position at the rear to participate in a meeting to formulate combat plans, and each of their orders will be sent to the corresponding ships via radio.

The first mates of those ships will serve as acting captains, commanding the ships in combat at the front line.

This not only ensures communication with the front line, but also enables rapid adjustments to tactics in a more intuitive manner.

As soon as the plan was launched, it immediately gained the approval of most captains.

But why do we say it is the majority?

Because he disagreed with the captain of Zeppelin who was to serve as the rear central command post.

He said: "Are you kidding me? You want others to fight in the front while I am the only one hiding in the back?"

Then, with Ryan's authorization, Schmidt walked tremblingly to the telephone in the headquarters and called Marshal Schlieffen.

Now no one disagreed.

And now, the command ship named Brandenburg is speeding up the exhaust so that it can quickly descend to the ground from an altitude of 102 meters and land in the rear berth left by the Fifth Army for the nd Air Force Special Service Fleet.

on the ground.

Ryan was wearing a light long coat that he had exchanged for 20 francs from the locals. Like McIver who had already gone to the front line, he was chewing a baguette (with two leaves of vegetable in it) and looking at the Zeppelin airship falling from the sky.

As a man of a certain age, Ryan had actually seen airships before coming to the Empire.

But most of them are unmanned airships that cruise over cities with various advertisements painted on their airbags.

But it was not until he witnessed the Wave Class with his own eyes that he understood that the airships in this world were completely different from what he had imagined.

As the empire's largest flagship airship, the Zeppelin-class airship is considered an industrial wonder.

That’s right, it’s a spectacle, not a miracle.

It is 333 meters long, 100 meters high and 130 meters wide, and looks like an enlarged wave.

However, there are no cabins hanging under the airbag. Instead, like a submarine, all the cabins are placed inside the airbag.

This gives the Zeppelin class excellent airtightness and extremely spacious interior space.

Ryan remembered that the Empire currently classified airships into different levels according to their size, and the rewards for sinking airships were also accumulated according to their size.

Although his Blue Star Max Medal was nominally awarded for his bravery in leading the team in battle, and this was also stated externally, the actual certificate stated that he was awarded the Blue Star Medal for sinking airships with a total volume of more than 324,000 cubic meters (the Imperial standard was a cumulative sinking of 300,000 cubic meters in a single month).

Then he glanced at the Zeppelin, which had lowered its landing gear.

Well, 4.29 million cubic meters. If you kill one of them in four or five moves, you can get 15 Blue Star Medals at once.

No wonder the Air Force Commander was so angry when he heard it that day. Three hundred Blue Star Max Medals, it’s not his fault.

Shaking his head to clear the distracting thoughts from his mind, Ryan looked forward again.

Then he saw a "small" basket being lowered from the front of the Zeppelin's hull, and then twenty or thirty people wearing ill-fitting officer uniforms walked out from it.

Colonel Schmidt trotted over to Ryan's side and immediately introduced him to the person behind him: "This is Lieutenant Colonel Flig..."

But the other side was clearly not going to give the destroyer captain a chance to show his face. The leading Air Force Admiral almost directly pushed Schmidt away with his shoulder and said, "Isn't this the front line?"

Ryan was used to this, but he had a get-out-of-jail-free card.

As a troop commander directly under the General Staff and directly responsible to the Chief of the General Staff, the Imperial Chancellor, and the Imperial Emperor, Ryan can ignore anyone's orders as long as he appears in an official capacity, and he does not need to care about the other party's rank and qualifications.

Therefore, no matter what the Air Force General in front of him thinks of him, Ryan does not need to care too much about the other party's opinion.

To borrow a phrase from Marshal Schlieffen's letter to the Imperial General Staff - what Lieutenant Colonel Ryan Flieger needs is a captain who can command a command ship, not an admiral who will disobey orders.

Of course, Ryan is not a fool, and he would not really look down on an Air Force General.

"Because an emergency has just occurred on the front line, the Fifth Army is advancing towards Montmedy. At present, the front line is shifting to the east side of Verdun."

As he spoke, Ryan gestured to the twenty or thirty highest-ranking generals of the Air Force Fleet to follow him, and began to explain on the way to the headquarters.

"The current battle situation is much more complicated than before. The Third and Fourth Armies accidentally exposed our combat objectives. The Farlanes are hastily cramming the forces of three armies into the Verdun fortress. Therefore, our fleet must be in place by tomorrow night."

Then Ryan discovered that these old men were not just here to eat for free.

Just as he finished speaking and showed his newly drawn map to the generals for confirmation, a lieutenant general said on the spot, "Does this mean the rest period has been extended by 24 hours?"

"what?"

Ryan and Schmidt were both stunned for a moment, but he reacted quickly and said, "That's right, so we may need to resupply later, especially water and food..."

Another general immediately said, "It's okay to skip a meal or two. No one will die. Just drink less water. It will also save them from going to the bathroom and reduce the possibility of exposure."

Ryan: "Isn't that a bit too energetic?"

"Ok?"

"forget it."

Ryan immediately waved his hand and pointed his staff at Verdun and the surrounding fortresses on the map. "The content of the operation has been significantly changed."

"The First and Second Fleets, please depart at midnight tonight. If conditions permit, hover directly above the city of Verdun and use your cameras to take accurate aerial photographs of the city. We need these aerial photographs to confirm the specific locations of the enemy's ammunition depots and material warehouses."

"The Third, Fourth, and Fifth Fleets are requested to depart after sunset tomorrow. Your fleets will be on standby over Fort Douaumont, Fort Vau, and Saint-Mihiel. The Fifth Fleet will be reassigned."

Ryan turned to the commander of the Fifth Fleet, a thin, dark-haired Air Force Admiral. "General Maximilian, your fleet will transfer all of the 502nd Infantry Regiment's soldiers to the First Fleet's Zeppelin-class ships tonight. In exchange, the First Fleet will provide your fleet with all 100 rounds of 100-kilogram bombs and all 200 rounds of 25-kilogram bombs it possesses."

"Oh?" General Maximilian looked at Ryan curiously. "My fleet has already participated in bombing operations during the previous Battle of the Burning Sun, but as you should know, the results were not ideal, Lieutenant Colonel Flig."

The Fifth Fleet was the only fleet stationed at the North Sea Air Force Base. Its flagship, King's Rock, carried out a bombing mission against the Sun Fortress at the request of the First and Second Armies.

Ryan was well aware of this, but he didn't care.

"That's not a problem," Ryan shook his head and said, "From now on, your fleet will be transformed from a transport unit to a supply depot. Your primary mission will be to provide ammunition supplies and communications relay services for the fleet's 40 air liaison boats."

"Because this operation has been completely changed, we need to separate four ships to serve as liaison and supply stations."

General Maximilian didn't say anything, he nodded to show that he understood what Ryan meant.

This reassured Ryan a lot, because he knew that General Maximilian was still obsessed with the matter of the Liege Fortress, and he was even prepared to let the command ship carry out the mission on his behalf.

"Then the rest of the work will be pretty much the same as originally planned."

After saying this, Ryan looked at Schmidt and said, "The Wave-class airships will be operating independently from the fleet in this operation. Colonel Schmidt, your airship force will be responsible for covering the attacks of the various battalions and companies. Is that ok?"

Schmidt immediately said, "If you can get my fleet back to the imperial capital to restock its ammunition."

"no problem."

Ryan immediately promised: "I will call the imperial capital directly and ask them to provide your troops with any necessary supplies."

"That's fine with me."

Schmidt shrugged.

But he still felt a little unbalanced in his heart.

Because as the captain of the ship and the commander of the fleet, he is now unable to participate in the battle on the front line.

In the past, this would have been ridiculed by colleagues.

But it's too late to say anything now.

Even if his military rank was higher than Ryan's, it would be useless because Ryan's current actions were guaranteed by Marshal Schlieffen.

However, what is more important is that Schmidt believes that by following Ryan's ideas, he will definitely be able to gain merit.

and……

Inside the headquarters, he glanced calmly at the generals around him and thought.

If I were really carrying out a combat mission on the front line, I wouldn't have the opportunity to talk to a lot of generals.

after one day.

Inside the command ship.

Brinkman stood at a height of more than 8,000 meters above the ground, looking at the earth below through the huge floor-to-ceiling porthole in front of him.

A few minutes ago, an air liaison boat with the General Staff identification badge passed in front of her, but it still failed to attract Brinkman's attention.

Although it was not her first time to take an airship, the feeling of being almost entirely in the sky still gave her an inexplicable urge to jump off.

And behind her were all the officers and soldiers of the assault company, led by Kayneth.

The officers in the company were holding brand new submachine guns. Although they had learned how to use this weapon in the camp, they could not contain their excitement.

There's no way around it, because this gun can fire fully automatically like a machine gun.

But Brinkman couldn't be happy when she thought about what she was going to do next.

Because today is different from the past.

In the past few battles, the assault company was basically led by Ryan himself and entered the battlefield to fight.

Whether it was when Lieutenant Schneider was there or when he was not.

But in today's operation, Ryan and Brinkman will not act with the soldiers of the assault company.

As the core of the entire 502nd Regiment, Ryan and Brinkman's actual work has officially shifted from front-line combat to front-line command.

It is basically unlikely that they will have the opportunity to directly enter the front line to fight, because a good commander must prioritize his own safety. Once the commander dies, the troops under his command are likely to be wiped out due to the loss of command.

Furthermore, because the airborne infantry regiment currently formed by Ryan is largely an ace test force directly under the General Staff, the General Staff has to take into account the opinions of old Marshal Schlieffen and forcibly prohibit Ryan from personally entering the front line to participate in the battle.

But the problem is.

In the entire infantry regiment, apart from Ryan, there are actually few people who have the ability to command troops to fight at night.

Although he didn't know how Ryan did it, Brinkman, as Ryan's adjutant, knew very well that Ryan possessed a strong battlefield intuition in night battles that ordinary commanders definitely did not have.

But now...

Turning around, Brinkman looked at Lieutenant Kayneth, who was fiddling with his new gun with excitement, wearing a zippered night combat jacket identical to Ryan's, and felt mixed emotions.

She wanted to say something but stopped herself, and yet she wanted to say something.

There was no way out. The young second lieutenant had just learned five hours ago that he would independently command an assault company to fight behind enemy lines.

This made him ecstatic.

After all, he was originally just Lieutenant Schneider's adjutant. Logically speaking, it was not the turn of an adjutant like him to take many of the credits.

Since joining Ryan's unit, although Second Lieutenant Kayneth felt sorry for his old superior, he could earn a medal or a military achievement for every sortie he took. This made him completely become Ryan's, bah, a loyal night dog...

In the past, winning two medals and one military honor in a month was something he would never have dared to imagine.

Not to mention that there are new guns and new equipment every day, and the salary has also increased significantly.

The reason why he was so excited today was probably because he would become the first commander of a force to carry out a decapitation operation against the Farlan Fortress Group Command.

In Ryan's words, it was an exaggerated record equivalent to the Empire directly occupying Palu as soon as the war with the Farlans broke out.

Kayneth was no fool. After understanding what Ryan meant, he immediately bought a bottle of hair oil and thoughtfully smoothed his golden curls, making himself look like a wounded soldier who was going to seduce a girl from the medical team.

But this is actually what makes Brinkman uncomfortable.

She didn't dare to reveal that Kayneth had no part in this battle.

As Ryan had thought, the focus of this operation was actually the capture of Farlan's Third Army headquarters in Verdun.

Once the initial goal is achieved, the troops will need to immediately use the intelligence they have obtained to issue completely opposite orders to the various troops around Farlan.

This move could quickly destroy the command system of the Farlan Third Army and provide the Imperial Fifth Army with a perfect opportunity for a general offensive.

Therefore, this battle must be won, and no possibility of losing will be allowed.

But Ryan couldn't go to the front line, which forced him to find a compromise.

That was to have Kayneth take his place on the command ship, pretending to issue orders and coordinate the actions of all the air liaison boats.

Ryan will replace Kayneth and lead the assault company to attack the headquarters of the Farlan Third Army.

The reason why Kayneth, who was merely an acting company commander, was able to wear the same coat as the unit commander, Ryan, was precisely because of this.

Likewise, the merits created on the front lines would naturally not fall on Kayneth's head.

Once the battle was over, Brinkman didn't even need to think to guess what expression Kayneth would have when he looked at Ryan.

But once the arrow is shot, there is no turning back.

At the side, Brinkman, having made up his mind, gritted his teeth and finally turned around, looking at the still agitated Kayneth: "Second Lieutenant..."

As Ryan's adjutant, Brinkmann's reputation in the army was second only to Ryan's.

Therefore, Kayneth never thought that he would lose the opportunity to fight on the front line like Stadler of Z331.

This made him curious. He appeared beside Brinkman with a gun in hand and said, "Hey, Lieutenant, let me tell you, this thing is..."

But before he could finish, Brinkman said in an imperative tone.

"Second Lieutenant Kayneth."

"Please surrender all your equipment and weapons and report to the navigation bridge immediately."

"Your duties have been temporarily relieved. As compensation, the lieutenant colonel and I will complete this mission in your place."

Kayneth: "Huh?"

(End of this chapter)