Starting with the smashing of Dunkirk

Chapter 107 Only by remaining calm can one achieve great success.

Lelouch helped Duke Rupprecht outline the general direction of their efforts in the Carpathian campaign, which also convinced the Duke to temporarily show weakness and hold firm while waiting for a change in circumstances.

Having made up his mind, in order to make everything more realistic and to reduce the pressure from his ally Austria, Duke Rupprecht also had the Demanian 6th Army slow down its march without anyone noticing, and the time for it to reach the Hungarian battlefield was also postponed.

This tactic successfully fooled even Austria's allies.

Beginning on April 18, General Auguste Carl von Linsingen, commander of the Austrian Army Group South, repeatedly telegraphed Duke Rupprecht's 6th Army and Field Marshal Leopold's 10th Army, requesting them to come to the rescue as soon as possible.

But Duke Rupprecht and his uncle Marshal Leopold both offered various plausible explanations for the slow progress of the troops.

In particular, Duke Rupprecht said in his telegram that a large number of his troops were temporarily stranded on the Western Front and could not be redeployed for the time being, so only a small part of the 6th Army was sent to reinforce them.

This act of deceiving even one's own people in telegrams can, of course, perfectly fool the enemy.

Incidentally, the general Linsingen who sought help from Rupprecht was actually a Demanian—not a Demanian from Austria, but a general who was originally from Demania.

At the beginning of the World War, Lin Xingen was only a general, the commander of the 2nd Corps of the 1st Army. The general corps commander was a lieutenant general, but the 1st Army was the emperor's personal guard, so it was a higher-ranking position. The army commander had to be a marshal, and any corps commander had to be a general.

Later, as the war progressed into early 1915, Austria's ally, the Carpathian Mountains, was on the verge of collapse. Demania sent its first reinforcements, but the force was only a corps, unlike the army groups that are sent today. General Linsingen was then put in charge and promoted from lieutenant general to general.

Because the Demanian army's combat strength had always been overwhelmingly superior to that of its allies, Demanian generals could command at a high level even when stationed with allies. Emperor Franz of Austria personally ordered General Linsingen to serve as commander of Army Group South, giving him full authority over the defense of the entire Hungarian region, effectively placing Austrian troops under his command. (Before the formation of Army Group South, Austria already had the Austrian 3rd and 5th Armies within Hungary; after Linsingen's arrival, these two Austrian armies, along with the three divisions sent by Demania, all came under his command.)

This shows that when Demacian generals go to allies, being given a higher-level appointment is the most basic procedure.

A colonel like Lelouch, when assigned to an ally, could start by commanding a division. If he went to the Ottomans, he could even command an corps.

With allied forces truly lacking strength, General Lin Xingen had no choice but to find another way out.

……

This practice of deceiving even allies naturally put a lot of psychological pressure on Duke Rupprecht.

Especially on the Demanian side, not only did they have Duke Rupprecht's reinforcements, but also his uncle, Field Marshal Leopold's 10th Army. To ensure coordinated action, Duke Rupprecht had to try to persuade his uncle to cooperate and not to act rashly and cause trouble.

Marshal Leopold, on the other hand, was a more traditional and old-fashioned soldier who valued honor highly and would naturally not stand idly by and watch someone die.

Helpless, the Duke had no choice but to ask Lelouch for advice again, hoping that he could help persuade his uncle to strengthen his resolve and at least come up with some attempts to save his allies.

Lelouch knew that these tasks had to be done. Although not rescuing the 13 defenders of Przemehill would only result in losses for Austria and would not harm Demania itself, he could still do his best to improve their fate or make some more arrangements to ease the old marshal's conscience.

So on April 20th, the Duke and Lelouch flew to Krakow to have a final pre-battle meeting with Marshal Leopold.

Lelouch sincerely presented his latest, revised analysis: "Marshal, I respect you greatly and deeply admire your sense of honor and determination to rescue our allies. But I must say that if the battle continues in the current manner, it will only turn into a protracted war of attrition, and it will be difficult to end it quickly."

Sometimes, necessary sacrifices are unavoidable. We must do everything we can to make the main force of the Luza army arrogant and complacent, thinking that the remnants of the Austrian army are already vulnerable and that they can easily capture Budapest as long as they strive to cross the Carpathian Mountains to the south.

In fact, we have made many deployments in the past few days. On the western front, we have contacted the 4th Army of the Archduke of Württemberg. They have planned an offensive against the French army to be launched in the next few days. They will advance about 50 kilometers westward from the Arneke-Stenford line south of Dunkirk and cut off the Franks' Calais Peninsula in the coastal region.

The objective was to capture Calais, the port on the south bank of the narrowest point of the Strait, to better blockade the strait. This battle was equally strategic; once Calais was captured, Burkina Faso ships would be unable to pass through the Strait to reach ports on the east coast of their homeland, or even to reach London, forcing them to circumnavigate the entire Isle of Brunswick. Our submarines, in turn, would gain access to the south bank port at the narrowest point of the strait, allowing for better infiltration and attacks on other Burkina Faso ports along the strait.

To achieve this goal, His Highness the Duke also left several newly formed assault battalions for use by the friendly 4th Army, and also gave the 4th Army a batch of submachine guns—we don't need to provide light machine guns, though. I heard that His Majesty the Emperor's own DWM company's northern subsidiary has already started producing MG15 light machine guns. Anyway, they're all domestic, so they don't pay patent fees.

In conclusion, I believe that our surprise attack on the western front is very likely to be successful. At that point, the enemy will certainly believe that our 6th Army still has several corps on the western front, working towards a larger objective. The enemy will also believe that "our army is confident in the Austrian forces at the Przemeshir fortress and believes they can hold out for a long time, so we are not in a hurry to support the eastern front."

Marshal Leopold's thinking softened slightly after hearing these analyses, but he still felt it was wrong to stand by and watch someone die. Lelouch quickly offered another perspective to remind him:

"Your Excellency Marshal, if it were merely for this tactical objective, I wouldn't necessarily advise you to 'leave them to die.' But if the Przemeshir Fortress is not lost, many enemies lurking beneath the surface will not emerge. They will retreat like ghosts, leaving the Empire with no peace."

For example, His Highness the Duke received another confidential message yesterday, relayed by the Emperor. It was a reminder sent to us by King Constantine I of Greece through secret channels. It said that about two weeks ago, Count Balfour, the Foreign Minister of Burkina Faso, contacted him, but he claimed illness and did not receive him. Subsequently, Balfour apparently went to see the Greek Prime Minister Venizelos, and the two conspired on something unknown. However, the King's confidants discovered that Balfour had traveled north from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Seville, and then returned after a while, a period of about a week..."

The basic information provided by Lelouch was not difficult to obtain.

Demania's intelligence work during World War I was absolutely terrible, but because King Constantine I of Greece was a distant relative of Emperor William, the king was on our side and voluntarily leaked high-level intelligence, making it easy to obtain.

Marshal Leopold understood this as well, so he had no doubt about the source of the intelligence. His only concern was how Lelouch would interpret the information.

Lelouch continued, "Serbia was one of the earliest belligerents. Now that the war has escalated to this point, they and Austria are irreconcilable enemies; they don't need Balfour to win them over. Balfour's trip to Belgrade is only likely to request Serbia to further intensify its northward advance."
It's even possible that they agreed on something like, "If the Lusa army breaks through the Carpathian Mountains from the north and moves south, I hope the Serbian army will also move north along the Danube from Belgrade and head straight for Budapest, launching a combined attack from the north and south"—of course, this is just my guess, and there's no evidence.

Moreover, if it was just communicating with Serbians, I don't think Belfort would have needed a full week. How far is it from Thessaloniki to Belgrade? Based on the time difference between his entry and exit from Greece, I estimate that he most likely went to Romania and Bucharest during that period.

Whether he has won over Romania, I dare not say. But I believe that if the Romanians waver, the news of 'Russa's army breaking through the Carpathian Mountains' will be the biggest boost to their morale. As long as they jump out, as long as those restless small countries around the Hungarian Basin see Hungary as an easy piece of meat to grab and reach out, then our 6th Army stationed in the Hungarian Basin will show them what doom is! We will deter them as quickly as possible!
Even further west, on the Italian-Austrian border, after the Italians declared war, they only seized Malta but dared not advance, undoubtedly waiting for an opportunity. The terrain of the Alps is similarly such that whoever attacks will suffer heavy losses. If the Austrian army and our small mountain reinforcements were to launch a preemptive attack on Italy, we would suffer greatly. However, if we could mislead them into believing that Austria was vulnerable and thus cross the Alps to invade, we could potentially inflict significant damage on the Italian army and annihilate them!
Therefore, giving the Lusza army a chance to cross the Carpathian Mountains is like sounding the clarion call for a general offensive by all the restless forces in Southeast Europe, luring them all out! Then, with the Lusza, Serbia, Romania, and Italy joining forces to attack Austria, except for the Italian army which can be contained in the Alps, the other three countries can be allowed to retreat into the Hungarian Basin, creating an unprecedented and massive encirclement!
As long as our 6th Army holds its ground within the Hungarian Basin, no matter how many enemies come, they will not be able to capture Budapest. And as long as your 10th Army cuts off the retreat of the Russa Army on the northern front and recaptures their attack positions on the northern slopes from the north to the south of the mountains, the Russa Army, completely deprived of supplies, will soon collapse within the Hungarian Basin.

Once Luza's army collapses, the Serbian and Romanian troops lured in will be no threat at all—of course, this tactic will also result in some losses, mainly as the Hungarian region will become a battlefield, and many outlying towns and villages may suffer some damage. But as long as we do our best to end the fighting as quickly as possible, we can minimize the suffering of the Hungarian people.”

Marshal Leopold's expression changed several times throughout the process, and in the end he had to admit that Lelouch was too daring and too reckless!

This is going to turn the entire Hungarian Basin into a giant melting pot!
He wanted to encircle and annihilate any enemy that crossed the Carpathian Mountains into the Hungarian Basin from any direction, or even those that came upstream along the Danube from the lower reaches to Budapest!

Moreover, some of the details of what Lelouch said earlier were forced out during the conversation.

He hadn't mentioned it when he spoke with Duke Rupprecht before, but now that the Duke was listening in, he found it quite insightful.

After much deliberation, Marshal Leopold still found several key issues to be resolved. He ultimately decided to press Lelouch further, hoping to extract even more ingenious schemes from his mind:

"Okay, I admit you've convinced me, but I still hope you'll try to think about two more questions:

How can we ensure that once the Russa army marches south and crosses the mountains, our army can suddenly advance westward from Krakow along the railway and recapture the Przemyshir fortress and its surrounding railway hubs? If we cannot recapture it immediately and cut off the Russa army's supply lines to the south, the entire plan risks collapsing!

Secondly, could you think of another way to ensure the rescue of the defenders of Przemeshir Fortress, even if they surrendered and were captured? Could you track them down to where they are being held? After our rapid counter-offensive, how can we rescue more captured comrades? If you can even do this, then I don't object to temporarily abandoning them…”

Marshal Leopold's request was already outrageously high.

This is simply wanting both, wanting more, and wanting even more.

Even Duke Rupprecht, who was standing nearby, thought that his second uncle was being a bit unreasonable.

“Uncle, how can there be a war without any risks or sacrifices? Your request is simply impossible to fulfill,” the Duke couldn’t help but say, speaking out in a fair manner.

Field Marshal Leopold: "I didn't say I wasn't willing to take risks, nor did I say I absolutely had to do it. But not doing it and not being able to do it are two different things! We must do our best so that we can be without regrets!"

The pressure was once again placed on Lelouch.

Lelouch didn't think this was being difficult. Before a battle, of course, one should do everything possible to come up with ideas and brainstorm.

He pondered quietly for a long time, racking his brains over Marshal Leopold's requirements, and finally came up with a few points.

"Marshal, I am not confident that I can absolutely resolve the two requests you just made, but I am willing to do my best and leave the rest to fate, and try my best to find a solution."

-

P.S.: Sorry, I had a parent-teacher meeting this morning, registration is tomorrow, and school officially starts the day after. Plus, I caught a cold from the air conditioning being too cold at the hotel seminar I stayed in the past few days... I have absolutely no drafts left, so I couldn't update this morning. Two updates totaling 7,000 words today, and another one this afternoon.

I'll try to be as thorough as possible with the parts of the plan that everyone felt were not solid enough. Mainly, I've been dealing with a cold, the seminar, and the kids; my brain just hasn't been working properly.

(End of this chapter)