Starting with the smashing of Dunkirk

Chapter 44 Pincer Attack: 24 against 19, this time the advantage is truly in my hands!

"Major Bock, Major Lundstätter, the army group's operational plan has been finalized. Come over here quickly and let's take a look! We should launch a full-scale offensive tomorrow or the day after, once the snow eases up a bit!"

Late at night on December 18, in Armandière, a small town on the western outskirts of Lille, a winery that had been temporarily requisitioned as a military base.

Bock, Lundstätter, and the others had planned to rest, but Captain Lelouch braved the wind and snow, driving from the division headquarters in Lille back to the town, bringing with him a military order and several military maps.

To prevent leaks before the battle, important communications between frontline units were changed to direct, in-person communication. This is where Lelouch's driving skills proved invaluable, allowing him to legitimately learn about high-level affairs earlier than the two majors and battalion commanders.

After all, Lelouch already knew that the Demacian Navy's code had been cracked by the Britannians. Although this did not mean that the Army's code had been cracked as well, it was always better to be cautious.

With Lelouch, a counterintelligence fraud expert well-versed in history, the 6th Army's radio discipline was greatly improved before the war.

The German army did not maintain complete radio silence—an unusual silence would also seem too conspicuous, so maintaining the usual communication density was sufficient. Minor matters continued to be communicated by radio, while major matters were communicated in person.

At that moment, the two battalion commanders, upon hearing the commotion, were instantly wide awake. They quickly rubbed their eyes with damp towels, tidied up the table, and prepared to listen carefully to Lelouch relay the superiors' instructions.

Lelouch spread out the military orders and map, and briefly introduced: "The specific attack route has been determined. Let me first briefly describe the movements of our allies."

The goal of the Allied Forces in Episode 4 is to first reclaim Ostend and Dixmold, which were lost during the previous flexible defense, and then in the second phase, advance along the coastal highway to try to reclaim Neoport, Depane, and Dunkirk.

Our goal for episode 6 is to start from Armandière and continue along the railway line from Lille to Armandière to Bayole to Stenford/Caselle to Volmou to Berg to Grandsant to Dunkirk.

Of course, the straight-line distance of this road is more than 60 kilometers, and considering the twists and turns of the railway line and the need to avoid some mountains and hills, the entire journey is at least 80 kilometers.

In episode 4, they captured Ostend and then pushed along the coastal road to Dunkirk, a distance of 45 kilometers.

Therefore, we shouldn't actually need to push all the way to Dunkirk. Our allied forces from episode 4 will bypass the main force and join us halfway there. This way, even if we don't capture Dunkirk, as long as we encircle and annihilate the main force of the Burkina Faso army in advance, we can consider it as having achieved our operational objective.

Our minimum objective in advancing the mission is to capture at least Stenford and Caselle. This is because there is a railway branch line from Stenford that runs east through Popperlinge and eventually leads to Ypres, where the Burgh headquarters is located.

Therefore, capturing Stenford and Caselle meant at least cutting off the railway line that allowed the Burghers to transport supplies from Dunkirk to Ypres. Even if the encirclement wasn't completely complete, it would gradually deplete the enemy's ammunition and supplies on the Ypres Heights.

Even if the enemy eventually abandons the city and tries to break out, without access to the railway, their only option will be to navigate the muddy, flooded areas north of the Ypres Heights. In that case, they'll have to abandon all heavy equipment and supplies. We can then easily pursue them and inflict heavy losses!

Lelouch carefully explained the map, and Bock and Lundstätter, being very professional, understood immediately.

The blog also succinctly summarized and confirmed:

"So, if this plan can be implemented smoothly and both sides perform well enough, the perfect scenario would be for Episode 4 to meet up with us between Berg-Volmu and encircle the main force of the Burkina Faso army."

If our attack falters and we don't perform as expected, at least we can reach Stenford and cut off their supply railway, then hope to take on more responsibility in episode 4 and meet up with us at Stenford.

If the attack falters in episode 4 and the performance falls short of expectations, does that mean we have to shoulder more responsibility and fight all the way to Dunkirk to wait for them? The gap between Dunkirk and Stenford will be decided by who performs better and takes on more responsibility?

Lelouch: "That's right, that's exactly it. When the army group's staff made the plan, they considered both the best and worst scenarios. The former is the lower limit, and the latter is the upper limit."

Bock got the answer, but his brow remained furrowed as he stared at the map, lost in thought.

Lundstätter, who had been listening silently, suddenly spoke up and asked, "Has the reconnaissance unit figured out the enemy's troop distribution? How many enemies are on our front? And how many enemies are on our front in episode 4?"

Lelouch: "Our direct offensive forces consist of about 15 divisions. Of our 12 divisions in the sixth phase, we need to detach 6 to deploy on the flanks to guard against the French forces in the directions of Arras and Lens, and the remaining 6 can be committed to the attack."

The allied forces in episode 4 don't need to worry about their flanks, as their flanks are simply the sea. Therefore, as long as 3 of the 12 divisions are assigned to hold the front of the Ypres salient, the remaining 9 can be used for flanking maneuvers and breakthroughs.

The enemy's total strength, including the entire Britannian Expeditionary Force, was divided into 3 corps and 7 infantry divisions. The Britannian infantry divisions, like ours, had a full strength of 1.8 men, so the 7 divisions theoretically had 12.6 men.

不过之前蒙斯战役等几次血战，敌人也折损了不少人。尤其是第3军的布6师、布7师，被歼灭了三分之二的有生力量。目前7个步兵师总剩余作战兵力，大约在8.5~9万人。

In addition, the Burkina Faso expeditionary force also has one cavalry corps, which comprises three cavalry divisions. The cavalry divisions have half the manpower of the infantry divisions, with a full strength of 9,000 men. They have also suffered some losses in the past, and currently the three cavalry divisions have a total of more than 22,000 men remaining.

In addition to the expeditionary force from within the country, they also had troops from autonomous territories and colonies.

Including the 1st and 2nd Divisions, totaling 3.6 people.

There is also the ANZAC, totaling 1.8 men.

Finally, there were the 3rd and 7th Divisions of Lahore, which came from South Asian colonies. Each of these colonial divisions had only 1.2 men, totaling 2.4.

Therefore, we faced a total of 7 Burkina Faso infantry divisions, 3 Burkina Faso cavalry divisions, 2 Canadian corps divisions, 1 ANZAC division, and 2 Lahore divisions, totaling 15 division-level combat units, with a total of 19 men, including 11 Burkina Faso citizens and 8 colonists. Our 15 divisions that launched the first offensive had all been reinforced, with a total strength of approximately 24 men. We also had 9 auxiliary defense divisions, which could be deployed as reserves in an emergency, totaling around 15 men.

According to current intelligence, the 1st Army of the Brussels is deployed in the center of the Ypres salient, where the enemy cavalry corps and the ANZAC Corps are also located as the general reserve.

The 2nd Army of the Burkina Faso was deployed on the northern coastal flank of the Dixmude and Ostend line to deal with my Episode 4.

The 3rd Army of the Burkina Faso is deployed directly opposite us at Bayole. Furthermore, the enemy command, likely considering the 3rd Army's heavy losses, has positioned the 1st and 2nd Garrison Divisions as second-line reserves at Stenford, a crucial railway chokepoint behind the 3rd Army. If we attack the 3rd Army, the 1st and 2nd Garrison Divisions can quickly reinforce us.

As for the Lahore people brought over from the South Asian peninsula, their whereabouts are currently unknown. They might even be undergoing emergency training in Dover, before they've even crossed the strait. The Bretons themselves probably wouldn't even consider those tropical fools to be of any fighting quality.”

After listening, Lundstätter summarized succinctly: "So regardless of the overall situation, what our 6th and 12th Divisions in Balria are directly facing are the two divisions of the 3rd Army of the Republic of Burkina Faso."
As for the second-line troops, they have an additional 1/2 division as backup, and perhaps the faster-moving cavalry corps can also quickly reinforce them, but we also have 4 divisions as backup.

Overall, the forces on both sides are roughly equal in size, but our army is more fully equipped and manpower-rich, so this battle is feasible.

During World War I, the geographical advantage of the defenders was extremely obvious. Based on the experience of the previous months, if the ratio of attacking to defending forces was 1:1, the attackers had never succeeded.

With the attacking team at full strength and the defending team short-handed, there's still a theoretical possibility, it all depends on how they perform on the day.

It wasn't that the 6th Army didn't want to commit more troops in the Armandière direction, but rather that the battlefield was only so wide, and they could only commit two divisions at first, as the enemy could only fit two divisions in as well.

If they were to extend their attack further south, they would reach the French positions and draw in an even larger French force. And indeed, in episode 6, several divisions were deployed to contain the French forces on the flanks.

After the three main officers of the assault battalion thoroughly understood the enemy situation, the next step was to assign specific assault positions.

The army group has not yet made a final deployment of the specific offensive positions of the 6th/12th Division of Baria. At present, the front-line troops are allowed to make minor adjustments according to the actual situation, but the final decision will definitely be reported and filed.

Considering that there was not much room for maneuver between the German-controlled Armandière and the Bruegel-controlled Bayole, there was little room for maneuver.

Therefore, the initial intention of the army group was to let the two divisions each choose one side.

The railway connecting the two places runs from northwest to southeast. So one division will launch its main attack along the northeast side of the railway, while the other division will launch its main attack along the southwest side of the railway.

In any case, it's impossible to attack directly along the railway; that would leave us completely exposed and make us easy targets for the heavy artillery groups of the Burkina Faso deployed on the northern edge of the Ypres Heights.

The Novar and Kemer hills on the southern edge of the Ypres Heights are only 7-8 kilometers from the railway at their closest points. Considering the elevation difference, even 75mm Schneider rapid-fire guns could cover and block the railway.

So, after laying everything bare, Lelouch also asked frankly, "Major Burke, Major Lundstätter, the higher-ups don't know the specific situation on the front lines, so they didn't force us to go. Our two battalions correspond to divisions stationed in Armandier, so we can go whichever way we want."

So it's up to you two to decide. Once you decide, you'll have to report it to the higher authorities—who wants to attack along the northeast side of the railway? The other one will have to go along the southwest side.

The disadvantage of the northeastern side is its proximity to the Ypres Heights, making it more vulnerable to enemy artillery fire from the high ground. The advantage is its higher elevation, with more hills and wooded fortifications.

The southwest side has the opposite advantages and disadvantages: it's farther from the Ypres Heights and less vulnerable to shelling, but the terrain is also lower and requires traversing many waist-deep muddy and waterlogged areas.

Bock glanced at the map and already had a plan in mind, but he didn't want to be remembered for "bullying others because he had the Chief of the General Staff as his uncle," so he let Lundstätter choose first.

Rundstedt, being quite knowledgeable, observed for a moment and concluded: "If you ask me, it would be better to deploy both assault battalions on the southwest side of the railway for the attack. The mud isn't a problem; it will freeze quickly with heavy snow. The real danger lies in being too close to the Ypres Heights and facing intense enemy artillery fire."

Lelouch: "What you say makes sense, but on the first day of the attack, the frontal engagement between the enemy and our forces is not wide enough to create enough space for two assault battalions to fill. We need to wait until we achieve some breakthroughs on the first day, and the front lines of both sides are more interlocked, allowing more people to be packed in, before we can consider your idea."

Rundstedt sighed: "So, the essence of the problem is that on the first day, we need to launch a main attack from the southwest and a feint attack from the northeast to distract the enemy. Only after a breakthrough on the southwest can the assault troops concentrate their attack on the southwest—"

"In that case, my battalion will lead the 6th Division in a feint attack. On the first day, we'll try to make a small impression, then let the 6th Division's reinforcements consolidate my gains. Then I'll sneak across the railway line at night, meet up with you on the southwest side, and continue our deep penetration."

Rundstedt was pragmatic and took the initiative to undertake the less impressive task of a feint attack.

Seeing this, Bock felt a little embarrassed and took the initiative to extend an olive branch: "Regardless of who makes the feint attack and who launches the main attack, we will each keep our own record of the kills, but the breakthrough results on the first day will be split equally between us!"

Bock, not wanting to take advantage of the small credit, reached out and gave Lundstätter a firm handshake, and the two reached an understanding.

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P.S.: Don't mind my slow pace, the second chapter is really starting today.

The main topic is a large-scale battle involving 20 troops on both sides. The distribution and deployment of enemy and friendly forces, the main and feint attack directions, and the advantages and disadvantages of the battlefield's geographical environment alone could fill an entire chapter. This is not just filler.

(End of this chapter)