Conquer Europe from the West

Chapter 90: Together with the insects! What a great army!
"Mobile warfare...mobile warfare..."

Schlieffen kept muttering this word after hearing what Ryan said.

Ryan looked at him, but in his heart he was actually a little dissatisfied with his own statement.

The Imperial language is different from the Chinese language of his hometown, so the mobile warfare he mentioned actually means "battle carried out in continuous movement" if translated literally.

This is the best name Ryan can think of at the moment.

But Schlieffen was very satisfied with this statement.

Every time he repeated it, the expression on his face became more relaxed.

"That's a good name." He looked at Ryan, whose body, still weak as he sank into the sofa, was clearly in much better shape than before. "You learned this at the military academy. Who was your instructor?"

Ryan had never attended a military university, let alone his own instructor.

He had no memory of this at all, so he immediately denied Schlieffen's statement: "No, Your Excellency the Marshal."

"This was taught to me by a teacher when I was young, who was a military officer."

That's not a problem, Ryan thought.

Schlieffen obviously didn't believe Ryan's statement, but he was no fool, so he naturally didn't ask any further questions. He just said, "You have a sharp eye, a meticulous mind, and are bold and careful. This is not a battle strategy that an ordinary person can come up with."

"He requires commanders at every level of the army to have excellent combat situation analysis and tactical and even strategic decision-making capabilities."

"It also requires the troops to possess mobility far exceeding that of the enemy, so the troops must be lightly armed to increase their marching speed."

"Major Flig."

Schlieffen suddenly changed his address, which made Ryan feel nervous.

"exist!"

Schlieffen said, "I heard you're forming a force with four airships? You're also planning to drop infantry units into enemy-occupied areas to conduct operations."

"Yes, sir! Thanks to Lieutenant General Draven's kindness, the troops were reorganized yesterday!"

Ryan didn't understand why Schlieffen suddenly said this, but considering his previous negotiations with the General Staff and the General Headquarters, he still mentioned the military academy. "In addition to the two battalions and one company I previously led, the army has also recruited another battalion of prospective graduates from the Officers' Academy. After completing their training and experiencing actual combat, they will become an indispensable grassroots command force in the Imperial Army."

But just after Ryan finished speaking, Schlieffen's face immediately turned cold, and a voice with obvious anger came out of his throat: "Who made this request?"

He used up his last bit of strength to try to prop himself up. Ryan did not dare to delay and quickly helped him up.

But Schlieffen slapped his hand away, stood up tremblingly, and looked at Draven and the other man.

"Helmut! Is it you? Draven! Tell me, who made this decision!"

"Do you think those pedantic things in your heads can still be used in this day and age?" He cursed at the two of them and grabbed Ryan's arm again: "Look at this guy! Tell me, if his troops are reorganized, how many of your armies can keep their command posts and headquarters!"

"If his troops can meet the requirements of mobile warfare, how many of your troops can survive and break out of the encirclement?"

Schlieffen's voice was not loud, but his words were like bullets and sharp thorns, and he scolded Draven, who was still talking and laughing, and the man named Helmut so hard that they dared not even breathe.

Although Helmut didn't lower his head, he clearly put on the appearance of a student. He spoke only after Schlieffen finished speaking: "My Marshal, most of the reserve officers at the Military University are..."

"What are they! A bunch of shitty nobles with the word von in their names?" Schlieffen said coldly, then put his hand behind Ryan and pushed him forward a step.

"Major Flig also graduated from the Military University, just a few months ahead of them, but he's already using his own methods to pull the empire back from the road to hell!"

"Helmut!"

Schlieffen paused and looked at the man in front of him: "Don't think that just because your uncle was a former Imperial Marshal, you can also sit firmly in the position of Marshal like your uncle!"

"I'm warning you, whether it's your request or the request of your group!"

"I will meet with His Majesty today. From tomorrow on, anyone who wants to withdraw officers and soldiers from Major Flig's unit must obtain permission from His Majesty, me, or my adjutant!"

"The Empire's future officers will only lead to the empire's destruction if they are with guys like you!"

"What a bunch of damned bugs!" Schlieffen sat back on the sofa, looking completely deflated, but he still looked at Ryan: "How can we manage the army with people like them? How can we save the empire?"

"That's all."

He seemed to be tired, or perhaps he felt that there was no point in continuing to curse.

Schlieffen shook his head weakly. He gestured to Helmut to leave, and waited until Helmut had completely left before speaking again: "Major Flig."

Ryan immediately knelt down beside the sofa and held Schlieffen's hand: "Yes, Your Excellency the Marshal."

Schlieffen's voice was full of vicissitudes: "The Empire must not fail!"

"We can't afford a single failure."

"Take your troops and show it to Farlan, the United Kingdom, the Empire, and all those who are eyeing the Empire."

"Let them understand that on this continent, only the Empire can have the last laugh."

Ryan was speechless. He slowly stood up, raised his hand, and said to the old man in front of him, "Yes, Your Excellency, Marshal!"

Schlieffen nodded in satisfaction, then gestured to Ryan to leave: "Go, your time is precious and should not be wasted here."

Ryan didn't hesitate. He just glanced at Draven, then turned around and left the underground darkroom.

In the corridor.

All those who had been kicked out before leaned against the door, trying to hear any sound coming from inside.

They were all backbone members of the General Staff, and logically there was no need for them to be discreet, so the military police did not stop them.

But with Schlieffen's scolding and Moltke the Younger's sad departure, almost everyone present understood that the old marshal of the empire seemed to be unable to tolerate the current situation anymore.

What's even worse is that the famous recipient of the Blue Star Musk Medal, Captain Ryan Flieger, has been called Major by Marshal Schlieffen.

This shows that he has completely gained the recognition of Field Marshal Schlieffen.

For the staff members of the General Staff, being recognized by Field Marshal Schlieffen is even more honorable than receiving the Blue Star Musk Medal.

Sigh...

The door was pushed open again, and Ryan looked at the group of people in front of him and was slightly surprised.

"Congratulations, Major Flig."

As soon as Ryan came out, Colonel Stadler shook his hand. "Thank you, Colonel Stadler. Has the marshal left?"

"He just left, and he looked very unhappy..." Stadler was very secretive about this topic, and Ryan knew what was going on, so he kept his mouth shut.

It was when he heard Schlieffen call him uncle that he realized that Helmuth was the current Imperial Marshal Moltke the Younger.

Schlieffen's scolding did not give Moltke the Younger any way out at all. It was probably because of this that he left with a sour face in front of his subordinates.

Ryan regretted not recognizing Moltke the Younger at the time, but it was all over now.

"Does the headquarters have any more cars?"

He decided to leave this troubled place as soon as possible: "I'm going to the airport in the suburbs."

"Isn't it a military university?" Stadler was a little curious.

Ryan said, "My troops are currently stationed at the airport because it's the only place that meets our training requirements." Stadler was stunned for a moment. After a few quiet words with his colleagues, he replied to Ryan, "Then I'll go ask the Ministry of Defense for a car."

"Don't we have a bad relationship with them?" Ryan was very puzzled by Stadler's behavior.

Then Stadler smirked: "That's why I have to show off to them!"

"6"

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The airport's training schedule is very tight.

When Ryan arrived at the airport by car, the Wave-class airship had already begun basic training.

The sailors from the Air Force ship unit quickly taught the soldiers of the assault company how to tie various safety knots, and then drove the group of people who refused to learn to the side to do push-ups.

Ryan could see Wolff among the group doing push-ups.

But McIver and the majority of the men—about one hundred and sixty soldiers—succeeded in the knot test.

At present, they have started rappelling training using a temporary platform with the assistance of firefighters.

The four Wave-class airships nearby used four thick cables to secure themselves at a height of about 20 meters from the ground. Several retired firefighters and sailors from the airship fleet taught the soldiers who had experience in rappelling or mountain climbing and firefighting to perform the actual operations.

Outside the airport, about a few hundred meters away, is the camp of the 502nd Airborne Infantry Regiment.

Different from other infantry regiments or army groups.

Because of Ryan's presence, the 502nd Airborne Infantry Regiment invested a large number of Esco explosion-proof wall modules and more than a dozen trucks in the construction of the camp.

They entered the airport only six hours earlier than the troops, but they had already built a huge wall on the ground that was 300 meters long and wide, and 3 meters high and thick.

Another part of the engineers who were transferred were busy applying cement on the outer wall made of ESCO explosion-proof wall to disguise it as a reinforced concrete building.

Inside the camp, Ryan could see several simple watchtowers and sentry towers. All of their sentry boxes were reinforced with small sandbags and Esco explosion-proof walls. If the uniforms and guns they wore were not equipment from the First World War, Ryan would definitely think he was back in Europe on Earth.

The car passed through several checkpoints and underwent multiple inspections before it was allowed to enter the airport.

Lieutenant Perris had known about Ryan's return for a long time. She and the commander of the airship fleet, Colonel Schmidt, stood at the gate of the camp and watched Ryan get out of the car.

"Congratulations on your promotion to colonel, Major Flig." Colonel Schmidt stood in front of Ryan first and shook hands with him.

"Thank you." Ryan looked at Warrant Officer Perris beside him with some curiosity, because he found that the expressions of both of them were not very good. "What's the problem?"

"The United Kingdom is ready to declare war."

Perris immediately stepped forward, but the news she shared didn't surprise Ryan: "Our troops have captured most of Perijie's territory. The King of Perijie retreated to a small island in the far north at noon today and sent a distress telegram to the United Kingdom."

"The Imperial Navy fleet is currently preparing for departure. The information we've received so far is that they will launch an artillery bombardment of the Perijie Kingdom's coastline on the day the United Kingdom declares war..."

"It's just a waste of ammunition."

Ryan gestured to the driver to let him go, turned to look at Perris and Colonel Schmidt, and walked into the largest tent with them.

He said, "The United Kingdom would never so blatantly send troops to the Empire in the name of supporting the Kingdom of Perijie."

Schmidt didn't quite understand why Ryan was so confident. He came here to talk to Ryan about whether to launch several joint operations to help the troops complete the running-in.

But Ryan didn't seem to notice this, so Schmidt had to change the subject: "Why does the Major think so?"

"Because if they wanted to provide support, they would have sent troops to fight when the Empire was attacked by the Farlans."

Ryan's face remained expressionless, but he still gave a brief explanation: "The United Kingdom's goal is to ensure that no country on the continent can defeat him. Therefore, they will definitely not send troops to support Perijie at this time."

"Only if Farlane is irretrievably defeated by the Empire's offensive will the United Kingdom actually send troops to support it. And it won't be a large number of troops, only regimental-level troops."

As he spoke, Ryan glanced at the calendar and turned his attention to a map used for strategic analysis in the tent.

Today is August 20th. Judging from the current situation of the Imperial Army, the troops in the Kingdom of Perije should be ready to set off into Farlane.

Especially the First and Second Armies, which were the main attackers.

Together they had a force of half a million men, almost one-third of the Empire's forces on the northern front.

Therefore, as long as they launched an attack, the Farlans stationed on the border of Peifa would inevitably be forced to retreat quickly under pressure.

At the same time, this also means that the famous Battle of the Marne in history is about to begin.

Ryan, who was well-versed in this period of history, knew that as long as the Empire launched an offensive, the British would inevitably harass the Empire's troops to a certain extent, making the Empire lose its will to attack...

Thinking of this, Ryan stood in front of the map and pointed at the strait between the United Kingdom and Farland. "For the United Kingdom, their biggest fear is that the Empire will completely swallow up Farland and set out from Farland's ports to the peninsula and launch a landing operation."

"As long as the Empire shows no signs of swallowing up Farlan, they will not send troops."

Ryan said this politely, but Schmidt understood.

"Major, what you're saying is... the United Kingdom will only officially send support to the Farlans if the Empire shows signs of engulfing Farlan, or completely occupies the entire Perijie, and thus possesses the conditions to launch an attack on the United Kingdom?"

"That's what I mean."

Ryan nodded. "These guys from the United Kingdom have been a bunch of troublemakers for hundreds of years. They won't help anyone just because they're being beaten. The only thing they know how to do is protect themselves."

"As long as we understand their minds, the rest will be easy."

Ryan then looked at Perris: "Second Lieutenant, how is the training status of the troops?"

"Currently, three non-commissioned officers have completed 20-meter rappelling training. The General Staff and the Quartermaster General's Office stated that it would take at least until the end of the year to gather enough silk for parachute production, so we have not included parachute courses in our training."

"That's enough."

He nodded. "I hope to intensify the training and ensure that within a week at least two hundred officers and soldiers can land stably from a height of 20 meters."

"20-meter level?"

Perris hesitated for a moment, then said, "If it's just at this height, there's no problem, but what about combat?"

Schmidt immediately took over the topic: "I heard from the second lieutenant that you, Major, want to carry out the operation at night, but it is too dangerous. No airship is willing to fly at night and close to the ground..."

"Especially in enemy territory."

He added a few words: "Furthermore, we also need navigation for nighttime voyages. We can use the surface during the day, but at night, especially in enemy-occupied territory, that is absolutely impossible!"

What Schmidt said makes sense.

After all, there were no radars or satellites in those days. Whether it was a ship or a person, if you wanted to confirm where you were, you had to rely on your eyes.

But what he didn't expect was that Ryan had actually already thought of a countermeasure.

While Schmidt was speaking, he took out from his briefcase a gold watch that Marshal Schlieffen had asked someone to give him before he left.

The dial emitted a warm white light, and Schmidt and Perris almost immediately recognized that it was a dial made from a gem specially used to reward noble officers.

Ryan said.

"We can use this to guide ourselves when we set out."

"We only need to leave a few people in the imperial capital and occasionally shoot a beam of honor communication light into the sky as a beacon, and the rest will be no problem."

(End of this chapter)