Starting with the smashing of Dunkirk

Chapter 240 Our only target is the Baku oil field

"Mortar and grenade launcher cover! The enemy's large-caliber fortress guns are very inflexible! Clear out the enemy's light firepower and then charge in!"

"Light machine gun squads, advance and suppress! Submachine gun squads, follow me!"

On the high ground on the eastern outskirts of Batumi port city, fierce fighting is raging.

Only two or three hours had passed since the first Demacian troops landed, but with the two regiments sent by Commander Ramzan to push back the enemy on the beachhead being defeated, the Demacian army quickly organized a swift counterattack.

Moreover, the Demanians' objective was very clear: to sweep across the area around Batumi Port from north to south, first taking the high ground on the eastern outskirts of the city, including the coastal fortifications on the high ground, and then crushing another coastal fortification in the south of the city, finally taking control of the city port from a high vantage point.

After capturing the coastal defense batteries, three pre-dreadnoughts and several older patrol ships can approach the city and bombard the barracks and defenses with 240mm and 150mm rapid-fire guns. At that time, the remnants of the Lusa will surely collapse quickly under the pressure of direct fire from the large-caliber naval guns.

The mobile garrison in Batumi was only a little over one division to begin with, plus a small number of garrison troops and sailors on the two high ground forts to the east and south of the city. Now, with the counterattack of two regiments already broken, their strength was wasted. Commander Ramzan naturally couldn't spare many men to reinforce the two high grounds.

(Note: During the Tsarist era, the coastal defense batteries of Lusa were all part of the navy and therefore not counted in the army force.)
The eastern highlands were defended by only two thousand men, equivalent to two reinforced battalions, and the southern highlands were similarly defended. By 9 a.m., the Demacians had already mobilized an advance force of over twenty thousand men, launching a rapid and fierce attack on the eastern highlands from three sides, giving them an overwhelming numerical advantage of almost ten to one.

The Lusa people defended their fortress quite resolutely and inflicted considerable casualties on the Demanians who were attacking from below.

In terms of kill efficiency, it was already quite exaggerated. The defending force of only two thousand men had killed more than four hundred Demacian attacking soldiers and wounded many more by noon.

Given the current combat quality of the Russa troops, the fact that a single unit could resist and kill German soldiers equivalent to 20% of its own numbers is a remarkable achievement that no other allied force has ever accomplished. However, unfortunately, these units are too small in absolute numbers, totaling only two thousand men, and even such a desperate fight cannot change the overall situation.

The Demanian mountain troops were extremely brave. They used the rugged terrain to have light machine gun teams, grenade launcher teams, and mortar teams advance under alternating cover while braving a hail of bullets, and to be deployed at the forefront, all in an effort to precisely eliminate each and every firing point.

As soon as one mortar crew fell, two more crews immediately took their place, risking their lives to carry out close-range demolition.

Some even rushed within 50 meters and threw cluster grenades into the firing ports of the fortified gun emplacements, killing all the Lusa soldiers inside.

Finally, after three or four hours of fierce fighting, the fortified area on the eastern high ground of Batumi port city was completely lost by noon. Two thousand sailors of Lusa were annihilated, and the last few hundred of them chose to surrender.

The Demanian army suffered over 700 casualties and serious injuries, but at least they captured the most crucial high ground that determined the outcome of the Batumi landings.

Several heavy cannons on the high ground had not been destroyed by the Lusa people themselves. After the Demanian army occupied the fort, they forced the surviving Lusa artillerymen who had surrendered to cooperate in turning their cannons around and bombarding the Lusa fort on another high ground south of the city. They also sent out several 150mm cannons to bombard Batumi city from a high position, creating panic among the Demanian troops in the city.

Meanwhile, with the high ground fortifications in the east of the city removed, only the ones in the south remained, allowing the Demanian fleet to get a few kilometers closer to Batumi city.

As long as the enemy ships approaching the city from the north remain at least 15 kilometers away, the southern forts cannot reach fleets coming from the northern seas. The southern forts normally only deal with enemy ships approaching from the west and south.

So at 1:30 p.m., the Demacian battleships' 240mm shells had already landed in the dock area north of Batumi. The 240mm high-explosive shells collapsed barracks one after another, and the flames ignited a large area of ​​buildings, plunging the city's defenders into panic.

Taking advantage of the momentum, the Demacian army launched another attack on the south fortress, where the fighting was somewhat easier than in the east. After all, the enemy's morale was crumbling, and the attacking side had more and more options for flanking maneuvers. At 3 p.m., the defenders of the south fortress finally broke down, and 1,001 surviving sailors abandoned the fight and fled south.

However, there was really no way to escape to the south, because a few dozen kilometers south of Batumi Port was the Lesser Caucasus Mountains, and south of the Lesser Caucasus Mountains was the Ottoman army's defense zone.

Therefore, these deserters had no choice but to abandon their equipment and try to disguise themselves as civilians.

The Demacian army stormed the high ground in one fell swoop, turning the remaining forces in Batumi into sitting ducks.

At 6:00 PM sharp, the vanguard of the Demandian army stormed into Batumi, and by 7:00 PM, they had completely taken control of the port area and accepted the surrender of the remaining garrison. Only then did the German 6th Army 3rd Corps, Lieutenant General von Holloway's troops, which were being transported by ship, disembark directly from the port.

To put it bluntly, the fierce battle to capture the port on April 10th was fought entirely by a portion of Lelouch and Lister's independent army.

Hollo’s 3rd Corps was a traditional infantry unit with no special operations experience. They were neither capable of airborne operations nor amphibious landings, nor did they know anything about mountain warfare. So they spent the whole day sitting on the big ship waiting for friendly forces to capture the port so they could disembark.

This situation was the same in the later Normandy landings in the Earth dimension. Of the more than 60 troops deployed in the Normandy landings, only about 15 actually landed by landing craft. The majority of the rest had to rely on the landing craft to seize or build docks before they could land.

Throughout the South Caucasus campaign, Lelouch prepared two corps plus half an armored division, totaling over 2 attack troops. However, at most 10 were able to actually land on the beaches, which was only slightly more than 3%.

Upon landing, Lelouch went straight to the garrison command post in Batong. Once there, his first question was about the garrison's forced surrender.

He tossed aside his riding whip and casually asked the officer who occupied the area, "Has the garrison commander been captured? Has he surrendered?"

A lieutenant colonel, Falkenhorst, expressed his regret:

"Report to the Chief of Staff! According to the prisoners, Major General Ramzan, the enemy garrison commander, led a small number of troops to break out from the southeast of the city before our army entered the city. At that time, our army was still engaged in the siege of the southern fortress and had no time to attend to it. The troops that broke out should not be more than a full-strength regiment."

Lelouch turned his head slightly: "Can you guess where they're going after they break through?"

Lieutenant Colonel Falkenhorst paused briefly, then replied in a probing tone, "Perhaps they fled eastward towards Tbilisi along the Choluch River valley south of the city and the valley railway?"

Lelouch frowned slightly, not immediately confirming, but instead beckoning to his advisor to bring him the map. He then examined it himself for a while before a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

"Your guess makes a lot of sense. Keep up the good work. I believe you are more than just a lieutenant colonel. Of course, this achievement may not be enough to get you promoted directly."

As Lelouch spoke, he patted Lieutenant Colonel Falkenhorst on the shoulder.

"Yes, sir! I will continue to work hard! Rank is not our goal; we are here to defend our country!" Falkenhorst quickly returned the salute, completely convinced. Last August, he was just a captain, a company commander. In wartime, he had been promoted two ranks in six months to lieutenant colonel, which he was already quite satisfied with. He knew it would become increasingly difficult later on, and the speed of promotion would drop sharply.

Although he did indeed accumulate many military merits, all of which stemmed from his outstanding performance in participating in and organizing amphibious operations, he would not have had these opportunities for merit and promotion without the insightful leadership, talent recognition, and strategic planning of Commander-in-Chief Lelouch.

Lelouch didn't have time to deal with Lieutenant Colonel Falkenhorst for the moment. He only offered a few words of encouragement before turning to Lieutenant General Edward von Hollow on the other side:

"Commander Hollo, Lister's Independent Army played a significant role in today's landing operation. However, after such a bloody battle, he certainly needs to rest and recuperate. Your 3rd Corps will have to perform well in the subsequent rapid advance into the rear. Your men slept on the big ship all day. I will send armored units to support you as the vanguard."

Lieutenant General von Holloway was also quite honorable and felt deeply ashamed that his allies were fighting while he was on a ship. He immediately declared that the main attack mission would be assigned to him starting tomorrow.

"Don't worry, the Independent Army's amphibious forces brought us ashore. Now it's up to us to take over. But I wonder where the Chief of Staff plans to attack?"
Should we advance north along the coastline to encircle and outflank the defenders of Sochi and Sukhumi, and then join forces with Lieutenant General Sylander's 1st Corps?

After landing, where to continue the attack were some of the details discussed in the pre-battle staff meetings, but the battlefield situation is constantly changing, and adjustments would certainly have to be made based on the actual results of the Batumi landing operation.

Lieutenant General von Holloway was a relatively old-fashioned and traditional general. Faced with this situation, his first thought was naturally to "attack from both sides"—

As mentioned earlier, the German 1st Army of the 6th Division had been steadily advancing southeastward along the Black Sea coastline near the Taman Peninsula in the direction of Novorossiysk.

Meanwhile, the Russa forces, with at least one corps in the Sochi and Sukhumi directions, were blocking the 1st Corps by relying on the strategic passes of the Greater Caucasus Mountains to the north.

But now the 3rd Army and the Independent Army have successfully landed at Batumi, between the Greater and Lesser Caucasus Mountains, so they are now behind the enemy forces defending the North Caucasus. If they advance north along the coastline now, the enemy forces in Sochi and Sukhumi will surely collapse in less than three days.

Because then it would become a situation where Sylander's 1st Army attacks from northwest to southeast along the coastline, and Hollo's 3rd Army attacks from southeast to northwest along the coastline. The enemy's army would be attacked from both sides, and with its reinforcements and supplies cut off, its morale would definitely collapse immediately.

Von Holloe himself was a corps commander. To be able to cooperate with another corps of friendly forces to encircle and annihilate an enemy corps was already a great achievement in Holloe's eyes. He felt it would be a waste not to make an achievement.

However, Lelouch was somewhat dismissive of this perspective.

Lelouch sighed softly and said earnestly, "What time is it now? We've already successfully landed, why do we care about annihilating those rats stuck in the bellows on the North Caucasus mountain road? So what if there's an enemy army in Sochi and Sukhumi? When can't we go and wipe them out?"

The most urgent task now is to go upstream along the Cholukh River valley and follow the railway line that runs parallel to the valley, heading straight for Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia! The straight-line distance from Batumi to Tbilisi is 260 kilometers, but with the mountain detour, it may be between 300 and 400 kilometers.

After reaching Tbilisi, we've essentially reached the highest point between the Greater and Lesser Caucasus Mountains. Continuing eastward, it's all downhill valleys between the two mountains, stretching over 400 kilometers all the way to the Baku oil field—our objective is to seize the oil field as quickly as possible; the rest can be left to our allies.”

Lelouch spoke while pointing on the map.

Batumi became an important oil export port on the eastern coast of the Black Sea because it was built at the mouth of the Chowruch River, which flows into the sea just south of the city.

The Chowruch River Valley is the easiest section between the Greater and Lesser Caucasus Mountains for marching and building railways and oil pipelines. The existing oil pipelines and railways from the Baku oil field westward all the way from Baku to Tbilisi, and then along the Chowruch River Valley to Batumi.

Today, Major General Ramzan, the garrison commander of Batumi, knowing he was doomed to defeat, immediately broke out and fled upstream along the Choluk River valley south of the city to Tbilisi. He was clearly aware of the importance of holding the line along the way, hoping to buy time and prevent the Demanians from advancing too quickly, and ideally, to organize new defenses along the way.

Since the enemy is worried about Lelouch doing this, then Lelouch will do it anyway.

After hearing this, Lieutenant General von Holloe understood Lelouch's "clear goals," but he felt that Chief of Staff Lelouch was a bit too radical and adventurous, not steady enough.

What's wrong with taking a few days longer? Wouldn't it be better to divert resources and spend a few days annihilating the army guarding the Greater Caucasus Mountains in the north? Wouldn't it be better to let Lieutenant General Sylvain's 1st Corps join in and contribute as well? Besides, if we don't annihilate that army, what if our forces advance directly east while our rear is outflanked?

Lieutenant General von Holloe couldn't help but offer his views on these issues.

Lelouch had no choice but to pat him on the shoulder again:

"Lieutenant General Hollo, I must say, as a traditional Demacian general, I greatly admire your strategic and tactical skills in the field of pure army operations."

However, you lack imagination and analytical skills in the area of ​​land-sea coordination. That's understandable; knowledge comes in stages, and everyone has their own area of ​​expertise.

If I want to let Lieutenant General Sylland's 1st Army in, do I still need to annihilate the enemy army guarding Sochi and Sukhumi? No need. Let them continue blocking the road. I'll have the transport fleet unload your people and cargo, then have the fleet return to Novorossiysk and pick up Lieutenant General Sylland's army by sea.
We now control Batumi! Your utilization of the port's capacity is far too inadequate and lacks any imagination. Of course, this is not your fault; you've never fought such a costly battle before. We Demacian generals have never fought a battle with complete naval supremacy.

As for whether our army, having ventured too far into enemy territory, will be cut off from supplies, I don't think we need to worry too much. As long as we advance eastward, we can find mountain passes in the Lesser Caucasus Mountains to the south at any time. Once we run out of supplies, we can attack the north side of those passes from the south.

To the south of these mountain passes lie our Ottoman allies, who have been fighting the Lussa for over a year south of the Lesser Caucasus. When we launch a pincer attack from the north and south, the Lussa garrison holed up in the passes will inevitably collapse, allowing us to eat Ottoman provisions and use Ottoman ammunition to continue our advance.

Since heading east would allow us to join forces with the Ottomans to launch a pincer attack on the enemy in the mountains, while heading north would allow us to join forces with Lieutenant General Sylander to launch a pincer attack on the enemy in the Sochi mountains, we should definitely choose the former. After all, the latter only involves a pincer attack, while the former not only has the effect of a pincer attack but also the fastest way to advance towards the Baku oil fields, allowing us to achieve both.

After listening to this insightful strategic analysis, Lieutenant General von Holloway finally realized how much more farsighted Chief of Staff Lelouch was than he was.

"I understand! I will carry out your orders immediately. Tomorrow morning, I will travel upstream along the Cholukh River valley and head straight for Tbilisi!"

Lieutenant General Holloe's lack of imagination is not his fault; it was his imagination that was limited by poverty. The blame should be placed on the poverty of naval supremacy.

(Note: The image below shows the situation in the Caucasus Campaign up to the present, as well as Lelouch's tactical plan.)

(End of this chapter)