Conquer Europe from the West

Chapter 93 Airborne Infantry Regiment! Attack!

1914 8 Month 27 Day.

Empire, the imperial capital of Belgreen.

Suburban Airport, 502nd Airborne Infantry Regiment Camp.

The first batch of equipment for the troops arrived last night.

According to Ryan's request, the entire regiment, totaling 08 people, from the regimental commander to the privates, was equipped with a customized Luger P pistol with a steel foldable frame and a further extended barrel.

Also delivered was a small shovel that was urgently customized according to Ryan's requirements. Its basic structure was no different from the engineer shovel that was later created.

These equipments excited the soldiers for the whole night. Since the people in the airship fleet were currently part of the Ryan force, even Colonel Schmidt and his men received the same configuration.

Of course, they won't use these things, Ryan will equip them with them as well, with the general idea being to use them as gifts rather than weapons for combat.

But what surprised him was that the new Luger P08 also had certain modifications to the bullets.

The new bullet is longer and heavier than the original bullet, but because the barrel is elongated, the initial velocity is almost the same despite a slight difference in the charge.

This makes the P08 more lethal and also gives soldiers the option of using the conventional 9mm Parabellum pistol round for longer range designs.

The only problem is that the mechanical crosshair is a bit awkward.

The toggle-type mechanical structure prevents the Ruger P08 from aiming and shooting smoothly like a conventional rifle, but for this pistol that does not require pulling and firing, this is not a problem at all.

As for the design and production of new submachine guns.

On the 24th, the General Staff sent several gun designers from Bergmann to hold a meeting with Ryan.

At the meeting, Ryan determined the general shape, basic dimensions and weight distribution requirements of the gun, and sent out a carbine-type P08 that had already been produced as a reference.

These Bergman gun designers were initially dismissive of Ryan's request, but when they held the carbine P08 for the first time, they immediately understood how much change this new weapon would bring to the battlefield.

There is no need to say more about the rest.

These experienced designers returned to their company with the guns almost immediately and assured Ryan that the prototype of the submachine gun he expected would be completed within two months.

But before they left, Ryan specifically placed an order for the design of a shotgun with Bergman's designers in his own name.

The requirements are not high. You can choose to use one of the loading methods: drum, magazine, or pump-action. The bullet capacity is not less than seven rounds, and it can fire standard 12-gauge shotgun shells.

Bergman's designers almost agreed immediately, but Ryan then asked them to design a high-explosive warhead that matched the 12-gauge shotgun caliber and a muzzle kit that could be used to launch grenades.

This was indeed a difficult task for Bergman's designers, but due to Ryan's face and the fact that they were invited by the General Staff, the leading designer had no choice but to bite the bullet and accept the order.

And now, it is the morning of the 27th.

The soldiers who have completed the rappelling training are busy taking care of their new toys. They sit on the open-air playground, watching the technicians sent by Mauser Company explaining to them, and then excitedly go to the shooting range next to the runway, firing all the bullets in the newly made 24 straight magazines as quickly as possible.

In McIver's words, "Major! This is way better than that Gw.98 thing!"

But Ryan didn't have time to chat with them.

Because he received a call from the General Staff last night.

The person who called was Brigadier General Bryan, who had been temporarily transferred to the General Staff and was waiting to be promoted to Major General at any time.

He briefly mentioned the current situation on the Perijie Kingdom front to Ryan on the phone, and said that intelligence personnel in the Perijie Kingdom intercepted the United Kingdom's bribery of news agencies and publishing houses in the Perijie Kingdom, asking them to publicize the news of the United Kingdom sending troops to the Perijie Kingdom in tomorrow morning's newspapers.

But the Empire's General Staff was not sure how many people the United Kingdom would send.

As someone who knew the content of the secret meeting between Ryan, General Hellingen and others in Stuttgart, Brian decided to tell Ryan about it first after thinking about it so that he could be prepared.

same.

As the 27th arrived, the news spread across the entire continent as Brian had predicted.

A large amount of information came from Perijie, and telegrams, telephone calls, and even letters were all discussing matters related to the United Kingdom Volunteer Force.

In the camp of the 502nd Airborne Infantry Regiment, Ryan sat in the command post built with explosion-proof walls, looking at the newspaper in front of him in the yellowish-red light emitted by the light bulb.

The content of the newspaper was simple: the headline was that the United Kingdom was sending troops to support the Kingdom of Perijie.

The front page featured the United Kingdom's flagship battleship, HMS Iron Duke, but the content was about cruisers.

The first time Ryan saw it, he knew it was not good news, but it was not that bad either.

First of all, regardless of what warships were used in the promotional image, what is really worth noting is the United Kingdom's ports of departure and arrival.

As an island country, the United Kingdom is separated from the European continent by a narrow English Channel.

Its narrowest point is only 34 kilometers wide, and even some gods can swim across this distance with their bare hands.

But now for shipping.

In Ryan's memory, it generally takes less than four hours to cross the English Channel from a port in the United Kingdom, and this is after taking into account the bad sea conditions and the fact that it does not cross the Strait of Dover.

But today the waves in the English Channel are calm and the wind speed is low. If nothing unexpected happens, even if you want to travel from the United Kingdom to the Kingdom of Perijie, the boat will only take less than two hours.

The United Kingdom used cruisers and destroyers, which made delivery faster.

"How many people will be sent?" Ryan took a sip of hot tea, his expression neither relaxed nor heavy.

He had known for a long time that the United Kingdom would send its own volunteers, but he had no idea that they would actually spread the news so loudly before the army attacked.

But this is not bad. After all, it is better to know the news than to wait for the enemy to appear without knowing the news.

Putting down the teacup, Ryan looked at Lieutenant Perris, who was standing in front of him with his back to the command post door.

Brinkman was not present because he was receiving instruction on the operation of the new gun.

Therefore, the only person present now was this young second lieutenant from the Air Force.

"Yes!"

Lieutenant Perris immediately said, "According to the newspapers and our intelligence personnel, there are approximately 8 people, all of whom are United Kingdom Marines. The dispatch order was directly signed by the First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill."

She placed her documents on the table, sorted them out, and handed Ryan two recently developed photos. "These were taken the day before yesterday in Southampton, United Kingdom. There were six cruisers and four destroyers in the harbor at the time."

"What about Portsmouth?"

Ryan took a look at the document handed to him and asked further questions.

"They can't just send troops from that one port. This is an army-level troop movement. Even if ten warships are fully packed, there won't be enough space."

The number of personnel that a warship can transport is actually limited, because it is basically impossible to allow too many people to stay on the deck when sailing on the ocean, and the interior cabin is narrow and crowded, and there is often not much space to transport troops.

Under normal circumstances, a cruiser can transport about a thousand troops. It is not impossible to transport more, but the weapons must be removed.

The United Kingdom disclosed the information under very urgent circumstances, so it is definitely impossible for them to disarm the troops.

In other words, their ten warships can only transport 10,000 troops at a time. If they want to transport 80,000 people, they will need at least eight round trips.

Assuming a round trip time of four hours, the fleet would need to work non-stop for at least two days.

This is obviously impossible.

Then he heard Perris's voice:

"There's no confirmation, we don't have any informants there."

Perris's tone was not disappointed. After all, it was already remarkable to be able to receive such photos from the front line.

Ryan tapped one of the documents in front of him and pushed it to Perris: "I saw the intelligence and it seems that they are going to send troops to Farlan."

"Is such that."

Perris nodded. "It seems they are here to support the Kingdom soldiers who were driven out of Perijie's territory by the Fifth and Second Armies..."

Before she could finish her words, Perris's voice immediately stopped.

"That's not right..." She grabbed the document that Ryan pushed to her, stapled it on the blackboard, and compared it with the documents in newspapers and other channels several times. Her expression changed from the previous coldness to doubt.

"Where did they get so many ships?"

Perris looked at the document, then glanced at Ryan. "A force of 80,000 men would require at least 40 warships. Five round trips with ten warships would certainly suffice, but the United Kingdom would also have to send two divisions to Farlane... and send the men from Perije back to Perije..."

"Where do they get so many ships?"

The United Kingdom is a well-known naval power with more than 300 warships, which is a very large maritime force.

But their warships are basically all deployed around the world, and it is impossible for them to allocate so many warships to undertake the task of transporting troops!

It was midsummer, but Perris still felt a chill running through her body.

Her eyes widened as she looked at Ryan, her tone filled with disbelief: "Is this false information?"

"Why would they use disinformation? It won't benefit them?"

Perris had actually long been accustomed to false alarms from the front line, because most scouts could not accurately judge the specific number of enemies, and often obtained intelligence through simple visual inspection and continuous observation.

Such operations will inevitably lead to errors and omissions in intelligence.

But this time it's different.

It is understandable that spies at the front line reported false information, but why would the United Kingdom spread false information in its own newspapers?

Perris couldn't understand this.

“Because they’re gambling.”

Ryan said calmly.

"On the 25th, the United Kingdom was still debating whether or not to send troops to support the Kingdom of Perijie. After all, they had signed a treaty with Farlan that stipulated mutual non-aggression and mutual protection, and that troops would only be sent in case of invasion."

"But now it's the Farlans who are taking the initiative to attack. Naturally, the people of the United Kingdom are not willing to help Farlan."

"That……"

Perris was still confused, but she was interrupted by Ryan before she could say a word.

"They're probably doing this now because they see a future where the Empire will defeat Farlan."

"The United Kingdom does not want the balance of military and national power on the continent to be disrupted. Our Empire's current state is just at the limit of their tolerance. Therefore, once the Empire begins to seize the initiative on the battlefield, the United Kingdom will definitely be unable to sit still."

"As for why we use false information..."

Ryan paused and took another sip of his hot tea.

"Perhaps the person they really want to deceive is not us, but the Empire."

Perris was even more confused: "The Empire?"

"The Empire hasn't declared war yet, but they've already begun mobilizing their troops. Because the Empire is currently implementing Marshal Schlieffen's plan, they must ensure the security of their border with the Empire."

"But as I said before, they have the same idea as the United Kingdom. Neither of them is willing to take the initiative to attack the Empire."

"Therefore, the United Kingdom needs to create an atmosphere that it is ready to confront our empire head-on."

Having said this, Perris finally recovered. She held her chin with one hand and rested the other across her chest. Her voice was hesitant, but her tone was very steady. "In other words, the United Kingdom wants to use false intelligence to make the Imperial Kingdom think they are going to war with the Empire."

"And their landing location happens to be in Perijie. Once the war breaks out, it will greatly increase the efficiency and ability of the Empire to transport soldiers to the Eastern Front..."

"They want to trick the Imperial State into attacking the Empire first!"

A cry of surprise came out of her mouth: "This is too fucking despicable!"

"But that's what the United Kingdom is capable of, isn't it?"

In response to Perris's exclamation, Ryan could only say that he was mentally prepared.

Few of the Empire's soldiers and officers seemed to understand the true purpose of intelligence warfare. Therefore, upon discovering inaccuracies in intelligence, they often pondered the enemy's reasons. However, few considered that false intelligence wasn't necessarily meant to deceive the enemy; it could also be used to deceive one's own people...

"Can……"

Perris still couldn't accept this, but the signalman who appeared immediately afterwards confirmed Ryan's guess.

"Report! Urgent message from the General Staff!"

Ryan said, "Speak."

"Yes!"

"Announcement to the entire army: Tsarist Russia has officially begun a nationwide general mobilization this morning. The mobilization of three armies is expected to be completed within two weeks. Chief of the General Staff, Marshal Moltke, now orders the 11th and 20th Armies, as well as the 1st Reserve Army, the 3rd Reserve Cavalry Division, and the 35th Reserve Division to urgently march to the eastern border of the Empire to eliminate the Empire's effective forces!"

After saying that, the signalman placed the telegram directly on the table in front of Ryan.

"You can go back."

Ryan waved at him, and waited until the signalman left before looking at Perris: "See, I told you that the Empire would be getting restless."

"But, Major..."

Lieutenant Perris looked dazed: "This shouldn't be happening!"

"Why is the United Kingdom so sure that the Imperial Kingdom will launch an attack? Aren't they worried that the Imperial Kingdom will abandon the attack and their troops will be completely wiped out by our First and Second Armies?"

"You just don't understand."

Ryan leaned back on the canvas back of his folding chair, crossed his legs, and unfolded the folded newspaper. "If the Empire really sends two armies to devour their troops, then the Empire is not passing through Perijie for self-preservation, but invading the Kingdom of Perijie in order to invade the United Kingdom."

"Because we will capture their port?"

Although Perris was an air force soldier, she was also a member of the fleet after all, so she almost immediately understood what Ryan meant.

This is triple insurance.

If the Empire maintains its current status and does not take action, the United Kingdom can later say that it only used a few thousand troops and a few warships to scare the Empire into not daring to continue invading the Kingdom of Perijie, and thus will not pose a threat to the United Kingdom.

If the Empire attacked the United Kingdom's volunteer forces, they would be able to legitimately demand that the Empire honor the Alliance Treaty, thereby transforming Farlan's war of aggression into an Empire-versus-Allies war of aggression.

As for the last one...

Ryan had said before that he induced the Empire to misjudge the situation, thus forcing the Empire into a state of fighting on two fronts, the East and the West.

Either way, there are only benefits and no disadvantages for the United Kingdom.

It's so despicable!

"Yes."

Ryan nodded, confirming Perris's speculation, and said, "And our troops are prepared for this moment."

The corners of his mouth curved slightly.

"The people of the Kingdom probably never imagined that they would send out the Marines today, and by evening, the whole world would know that the so-called 80,000-strong army was actually only a few thousand people."

"By that time, even if their king wanted to continue the war, he would only be crushed to death in Westminster Palace by the angry citizens and those crazy parliamentarians."

"second lieutenant."

Ryan propped himself up from the folding chair and looked at the girl in front of him who was only in her early twenties.

"Inform the entire regiment. Call in all personnel who have completed training and are fit to participate in the battle! Contact Fleet Commander Schmidt and have him prepare for departure immediately."

"The troops will set out immediately after sunset tonight, with the target being Ostend, the seaport city of the Perige Kingdom."

"We must catch the United Kingdom's troops in one swoop while they're celebrating!"

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)