Starting with the smashing of Dunkirk

Chapter 64 An Unforeseen Surprise Attack Method

"The Britannians were bombarded all the way to Ypres by our heavy artillery, and many positions on the eastern outskirts were also captured by our army one after another."

They're actually managing to stay calm and continue holding their ground; I have to admire their morale.

On the morning of January 26, Duke Rupprecht, commander of the 6th Army, personally stood on Hill 155 of Kemmer and observed from a lookout the devastation in the distant city of Ypres, which had been bombarded by 150mm cannons.

The fact that the enemy inside the city was still trying to hold out was beyond his expectations.

In the Duke's own estimation, the moment the shells landed in the city, the enemy should waver and try to retreat.

There are still over 100,000 troops inside this semi-encirclement.

How can they guarantee that the encirclement won't completely close in, or that these people won't be eaten like dumplings?

"They must have been too confident in their navy, so even though our army had reached the coast west of Dunkirk, they still refused to give up easily—"

This has happened before. Two months ago, when we annihilated the entire Billy King Army, they also thought their navy was invincible, so they could leave whenever they wanted as long as they stayed along the coast.

Major Lelouch, standing nearby, offered a soft reminder in a calm tone.

Given Lelouch's status, he shouldn't be in a position like a group army staff officer. But because he had performed so well, the Duke had kept him by his side these past few days, consulting him on matters of strategy.

Lelouch's words pulled the Duke back from his deductions to reality. After pondering these reminders for a moment, a hint of mockery towards the enemy appeared on the Duke's lips:
"Aren't they really that confident? Aren't they afraid of making the same mistake twice? The annihilation of the Billy Kings two months ago was a stark reminder of their mistake!"

Lelouch: "Strictly speaking, the destruction of the Belial people was somewhat lucky. We used a tactic of spreading rumors to attack their hearts and minds, which happened to hit their weak spot: the king abandoned his army and fled first."

In addition, the Belighans themselves had committed the sin of blowing up the dam and flooding their own people, which led to infighting and surrender. In the future, when history needed to find scapegoats, no one wanted to be a scapegoat and bear the blame after death, so they surrendered.

This time, they probably felt that the Burkina Faso expeditionary force was united and had no historical grievances to shift blame for, so they could hold out until the end without worrying about internal strife, and that's why they wanted to take another gamble.

Moreover, I know the naval minister of the Republic of Burkina Faso, Walton, very well. He is a very stubborn man who will not give up even when he sees the Rhine River. He is capable of doing things that would result in the loss of 3,000 enemy soldiers and 5,000 of his own, just because of personal likes and dislikes.

So maybe he suffered a huge loss of face in the last battle to rescue Billy King's army, and this time he wants to regain his dignity and redeem himself in the same situation.

After listening to Lelouch's detailed deduction and speculation about the enemy's mind, Duke Rupprecht carefully put himself in the shoes of the character and realized that it seemed to make sense.

This certainly fits the persona of that First Lord of the Navy, Walton, on the other side! He's known for his stubbornness and obsessive-compulsive tendencies!
Stubbornness is good; only a stubborn commander will continue to feed more kills when defeat is inevitable.

However, it seems premature to underestimate the enemy at this point. The enemy is only doomed on land, not at sea. To maximize their gains, the Demacian army still has much to do and many weaknesses to address.

"So, what do you think should be done after this battle?" The Duke, realizing the crucial point, couldn't help but ask Lelouch directly.

"Me?" Lelouch didn't expect the Duke to ask so directly. Although the Duke had asked him for advice before, it hadn't been to this extent. He would always give him a specific small problem to solve.

After a brief moment of surprise, Lelouch kindly reminded him, "Your Highness... I am merely a major, a battalion commander. Is it presumptuous of me to answer this question? We can discuss it further after the army group's staff meets..."

The Duke raised his hand: "Enough nonsense. Do you think I don't know what you're capable of? Since I trust you, just say what you have to say! Don't bother with all that formalities!"

Lelouch had no choice but to clear his throat: "I think that, given the current trend, there's no need to rush into a full-scale attack on the core area of ​​the Ypres Heights. As long as we hold the strategic ridge on the south side, we can remain invincible."

As long as all possibilities of the enemy's breakout are ultimately cut off, whether by land or sea, the enemy will naturally collapse, their morale will crumble, and they will surrender in full force. There's no need to rush for that one or two-week time difference and unnecessarily increase casualties on both sides.

Your Highness can request the allied forces of the 4th Army to intensify their efforts and erode more enemy positions in the east. The enemy's attention is certainly focused on us now, and many of the coastal towns in the east are likely no longer willing to defend themselves. It wouldn't hurt to gain some easy and cost-effective results.

By allocating some opportunities for meritorious service to the 4th Army, our army can also gain the 4th Army's support in holding more defensive lines. This frees up more troops to reinforce the western front and completely capture Dunkirk!

Once we capture Dunkirk, the enemy's envisioned "invincible position" will cease to exist. They will retreat north with all their might, slowly withdrawing along the coastline. At that point, we can even retake cities and towns like Ypres and Poppelinge almost without bloodshed.

The Duke nodded silently upon hearing this: "You and I think about the same thing. Dunkirk is indeed the focus of the next phase of the campaign. But it is directly backed by the strait, and the enemy can send reinforcements from the sea."

The defending troops there would be emboldened and would never surrender. The enemy also has fleet support and heavily fortified coastal defenses. We can't even match their fortress cannons with our newly built railway guns—by the way, have Krupp's railway guns been completed yet?” Lelouch, who had been following this matter closely, didn't need to check the memos and answered directly:

"Several guns have already been built. Over the past month, Krupp has concentrated most of its available production capacity on railway guns. Some 280mm guns have been loaded onto the trains first, and the four 380mm guns originally intended for the battleship Baria should be ready in a few days."

The last time he went to the Krupp company in the rear to coordinate the railway gun issue was from last Christmas to this New Year's Day. Krupp promised to deliver four 380mm guns a month, and now the time is almost up.

The Duke was somewhat relieved: "That's not bad, at least we have something to look forward to. The only thing we might be able to surpass the Dunkirk port fortress is those four 380mm railway guns... Alas, it's still not safe, the enemy's heavy artillery and warships are too powerful."

Seeing the Duke's worry, Lelouch had a new idea in his mind.

He initially thought the idea was unreliable and the timing wasn't right, and he always planned to bring it up later when he had more resources and was better prepared.

But the situation is indeed dire. The enemy is determined to defend Dunkirk to the death, and one day more battleships may come and crush our coastal forces.

The general offensive against Dunkirk must be launched with full force and a swift victory.

Thinking of this, Lelouch finally mustered his courage: "I do have a new idea regarding the situation at Dunkirk, but the timing and conditions are not yet ripe, and victory cannot be guaranteed. If there is any mishap, the losses will be very severe..."

The duke, who had been looking stern, immediately perked up upon hearing this, his eyes lighting up.

This feeling is all too familiar.

"What brilliant plan do you have this time? Tell me! Don't worry about the cost or the success rate! Even if it doesn't succeed, you won't be held responsible!" The Duke was almost impatient, urging Lelouch to speak freely.

Lelouch gritted his teeth: "I need some time to prepare, and I also need to mobilize as many airships as possible that the Empire can muster. The enemy doesn't have a concept of air combat yet. Although our reconnaissance planes have been equipped with light machine guns to strafe enemy planes for more than half a month, the enemy can't modify their planes with fixed machine guns so quickly. Therefore, the enemy doesn't have any professional air defense capabilities."

The outlandish tactics I envisioned were only possible because they were based on the premise that the enemy had no awareness of air defense.

In addition, I need to urgently contact some textile factories in the rear to improve the safety parachutes (parachutes) previously used by the reconnaissance balloon observers and urgently order several thousand.

We also need to urgently construct some specialized training facilities and organize the assault battalion soldiers to undergo additional training in a special skill… The preparation time will be at least half a month, and I will try to do it as quickly as possible. During this period, the frontal attack on the outskirts of Dunkirk can also be carried out simultaneously.”

Lelouch then gave a brief description of the details of his plan, which caused Duke Rupprecht's pupils to dilate and contract dramatically, leaving him utterly speechless.

"...That's absolutely wishful thinking! You expect to use this method to breach the city from the front while simultaneously launching a surprise attack from the rear on the Maroleban and Ronan fortresses defending the Dunkirk port area?!"

Lelouch: "Just tell me whether you approve it or not."

The Duke felt a wave of dizziness, but he gritted his teeth and said, "Approved! I'll figure out how to mobilize the airships! You really have a big budget. Do you know that the Empire can only mobilize about 40 Zeppelins at the moment? And you want to take them all! This matter requires special approval from the Emperor!"

Lelouch: "But if there is a chance to annihilate the Britannian Expeditionary Force, I think His Majesty would be happy to approve it. Besides, we are only using it once, and we won't consume the airships."

The Duke gritted his teeth and went to coordinate the resources that required his personal involvement.

As for other matters that Lelouch could handle, he completely delegated the authority to him, giving Lelouch absolute authorization.

Money and resources are not a problem.

After all, with the monumental achievement of annihilating the entire Burkina Faso expeditionary force before them, no one could resist the temptation.

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P.S.: I can't keep up with 5,000-word chapters anymore, so I'll start going back to 3,000-word chapters. There's also chapter 65 tonight, which will also be 3,000 words. That's all for today.

Today's chapters will be over 20,000 words. This is mainly because I updated 8,000 words a day during the free period before the book went on sale. I was constantly updating and had no drafts saved up.

I woke up at 4:30 in the morning. I couldn't stay awake any longer and had to take a nap. Trying to stay awake actually made me unable to write anything; my brain was completely exhausted.

(End of this chapter)