Starting with the smashing of Dunkirk

Chapter 76 Achieving Complete Success, Promoted to Lieutenant Colonel

"Battalion Commander, look! Our friendly forces are about to break through the port! It must be Commander Lelouch coming to meet us!"

As dusk fell, Rommel and Model, who had fought a bloody battle for most of the day, finally saw German assault teams advancing rapidly and breaking through the enemy's defenses layer by layer, about to reach them at the edge of the southwestern dock area.

The morale of the more than 1,000 surviving submachine gunners who were holding out at the Maroleban and Ronan forts was finally boosted.

Despite the numerous minor injuries and the exhaustion left by a day of fierce fighting, the sight of friendly forces advancing from the high vantage point, and the certainty that victory would be assured once they joined forces, ignited an unprecedented surge of courage and determination within everyone.

The ANZAC troops besieging the fortress now seem less of a threat.

The continuous "rat-a-tat-tat" of submachine gun fire echoed across the gun emplacement, repelling wave after wave of enemies.

In the distance, Lelouch and Burke's assault team, along with the main division behind them, had already broken through most of the enemies blocking their way, and the closer they got to the final stage, the faster they killed.

Even Lelouch himself was surprised. Why did things get easier as the fight progressed?
He only understood all this after capturing a group of disillusioned prisoners during the attack:
The troops that were originally assigned to block the port's fortifications and were placed at the very back were the Indian 13th Division, also known as the "Mumbai Division," from South Asia.

These Indian troops naturally collapsed very quickly when faced with the German army's latest, frenzied offensive tactics.

Countless Indian soldiers, upon seeing German soldiers wearing smoke masks emerge from the smoke, reacted as if they had encountered demons, completely losing their will to fight.

"This...this is how they broke through? Commander Lelouch is too strong. I thought we were strong enough, but I didn't expect Commander Lelouch to come up with new tricks?"

On the high ground of Ronan Battery, Model held his binoculars with trembling hands, watching as his allies finally reached him, and he couldn't help but feel excited.

"Brothers, give it your all! Kill those Australians back! And join forces with Commander Lelouch!"

"Kill! Victory is certain! Victory is certain!"

The morale of the defenders on Ronan Fort was high. After repelling the last wave of Australian troops, they even jumped out of the tunnels and launched a counterattack.

Hundreds of submachine gunners, positioned on higher ground, charged down like tigers descending a mountain, firing as they went. The Australian soldiers, completely unprepared, were thrown into disarray, and in their panic, they surrendered in droves, lying on the ground with their hands covering their heads, collapsing completely.

On the other side, Lelouch led his team to break through the last few layers of Indian soldiers' defenses. Both sides tacitly ceased fire to avoid accidentally injuring their own people.

"Brothers, come up here quickly! Light machine gun squad, all of you get into the tunnel! There are still enemies to the northwest, we're going into the tunnel to defend!"

Model's soldiers shouted and cheered to meet their comrades, who were carrying rifles, light machine guns, and grenade launchers, as they climbed onto the gun emplacement and crawled into the sturdy tunnel fortifications.

With the battle at this stage, the overall situation is completely decided, and the Bu army will never be able to turn the tide and retake the port.

Half an hour later, Major Bock's forces had also completely cleared the northern side of the port area and then successfully joined forces with Rommel's troops.

As darkness fell, a steady stream of German main forces poured into the two coastal fortresses through the passage torn open in a single day, completely consolidating the situation.

This is the highest point in Dunkirk, with fortified guns, and the surrounding city is under fire.

The Bu army defending the city was not completely annihilated; a portion of the Bu army was cut off and blocked in the northwest part of the city, separated from the main force.

The garrison on the southeastern side of the city was forced to retreat eastward across the French-Belgian border river to the town of Depanne to continue their defense. With the border river providing a barrier, the German troops were neither obligated nor required to immediately cross it in pursuit.

(Note: Dunkirk is located on the Franco-Belgian border, and the border river between the two countries flows into the North Sea to the east of Dunkirk.)
……

"Commander Lelouch! Your strategy is truly brilliant! With just two thousand men, we captured two such important fortresses! We also sank two pre-dreadnoughts and four shallow-draft gunboats left behind in the harbor! We even captured a number of Frankish boats!"

"You actually broke through the city defenses of the Bu army and joined forces with us in just one day. It's simply a miracle! How did you manage to advance 8 kilometers in one day? And this is in the city."

As Lelouch, carrying a submachine gun and covered in dust, entered the tunnel, Captain Model grabbed him and excitedly praised him, expressing both his accomplishment and admiration.

"It's nothing. I just improvised and came up with the idea of ​​combining flamethrower tactics with smoke grenade tactics. The enemy had never seen this new trick before, and I scared them off."

Of course, the main reason was that you captured the artillery positions and bombarded the enemy from behind, causing them great chaos. It seems the enemy's morale is much lower than we anticipated before the battle! We overestimated those Indians and Australians!

Lelouch summarized the situation with great enthusiasm, showing no arrogance or conceit, but simply stating the facts.

This humble and unassuming attitude made Model admire him even more, and he had become an absolutely loyal fanboy of his superior, Lelouch—well, the word "fanboy" isn't quite right, because Model is actually a year older than Lelouch.

"So what's our next step? Now that we've breached the enemy lines and achieved our rendezvous, should we change our battle plan?" Model quickly and humbly asked for instructions.

Lelouch immediately rejected the idea: "No need to rush into an attack! And don't think about annihilating the enemy as quickly as possible. Just consolidate the existing positions and preserve our strength. Offensive battles can result in heavy casualties. Today, in order to break through the enemy's lines and join forces with you in the chaos, our army has suffered several thousand casualties."

This is all based on the premise that our army made good use of smoke grenades in conjunction with flamethrower troops, so we must fight a defensive war if we can! Now the coastal fortresses are in our hands, and the ports are also in our hands. The enemy should be the one in a hurry, not us!
All we have to do is wait for the enemy to charge towards the port and fortress and crash headfirst into the iron walls! Leaving behind the remnants of the two divisions cut off in the northwest of the city might just serve as bait to bleed the enemy even more!
The most urgent task now is to quickly repair the railway that runs through the city, clear out the remaining enemy forces on the west bank of the border river, and build a new defensive line along the river. A large amount of supplies will be brought in from the rear immediately, and the train artillery will be moved forward and deployed along the railway.

We must be prepared to defend against enemy counterattacks from land and sea, relying on coastal fortifications and railway artillery. At least 15 of our troops have their retreat cut off. Even if they don't collapse immediately, the Burkina Faso navy will not stand idly by and watch them perish!

Furthermore, immediately send a telegram to the army group headquarters, stating that our troops have breached the city walls and established contact with the port's artillery positions!

……

A few minutes later, in the town of Belgrade, more than 20 kilometers south of Dunkirk, the headquarters of the 6th Army was located.

The excited Duke Rupprecht waited anxiously for developments at the front.

Since 7 a.m., when it was confirmed that the airborne troops had successfully captured the coastal fortress, the Duke had been incredibly excited, his hands trembling all day.

Every two hours, he would call to confirm where the main attacking force was, how far it was from the port area, and how long it would take to rendezvous with the airborne assault team that had captured the artillery positions behind enemy lines.

Whenever there was any progress at the front, his staff would immediately mark it on the map and plant some small flags for indication.

As the little flags stretched northeastward and drew ever closer to the port, the Duke's emotions grew increasingly agitated.

"Your Highness! Breaking news! Major Lelouch says his battalion has stormed Ronan Fortress and joined up with the airborne assault team!"

"Lieutenant Colonel Bock also reported that he has joined forces with Major Rommel at the Maroleban battery! The enemy has been completely cut off!"

Upon hearing the report, the Duke's pupils dilated and contracted violently several times, and the wrinkles on his face smoothed out. He suddenly stood up and slammed his fist heavily on the map table, feeling no pain at all.

"Excellent! Great! Finally!" The Duke was so excited that he was almost incoherent. "Finally! We've completely captured the Burkina Faso expeditionary force! Judging from their condition, they still expect to retreat! Annihilate them all here!"

The Duke was still excited when his staff officer whispered a reminder: "Your Highness... Major Lelouch also suggested sending men to repair the railway as soon as possible and moving the train artillery forward as much as possible to participate in suppressing the enemy from the sea." The Duke immediately approved: "Yes! That's a good suggestion! Do it immediately! But we must also be careful to eliminate enemy artillery along the railway line and protect the safety of the train artillery. Also, immediately draft a promotion order and submit it for record! All officers and soldiers who participated in the airborne operation shall be promoted one rank! The merits of this battle must also be reported to the General Staff and the Emperor immediately!"

"Yes!"

……

The German war machine thus accelerated its operation even further.

That evening, in Berlin.

The Potsdam Palace and the General Staff Headquarters, among other places, were lit up all night.

General Phakinhan, the Chief of the General Staff, was also somewhat unsettled that day.

But he figured the results wouldn't be out until tomorrow, confirming whether the airdrop was a complete success and whether friendly forces could meet up with him, so he wasn't too worried. In the afternoon, he deliberately forced himself to take a long nap to be well-rested, just in case news came in the middle of the night.

As a result, he was woken up in bed by the ringing of the telephone.

"Your Excellency Chief of the General Staff! Dunkirk has been captured! The coastal fortifications have been completely taken, and the six battleships left behind by the Burkina Faso in the harbor have been sunk in a surprise attack!"

The person who reported below was shameless enough to simply report two pre-dreadnoughts and four shallow-draft gunboats as "six battleships".

The extent to which these results were inflated is truly exceptional.

However, if we really want to be nitpicky, whether it's a dreadnought or a pre-dreadnought, it is indeed a battleship.

As for shallow-draft heavy gunboats, although the concept existed before, there is currently no other class of shallow-draft heavy gunboat in the world that uses the main gun turrets of modern battleships. Calling ships like the HMS Grant a battleship is a very close call.

Upon hearing this, Fakingham jumped out of bed, his blood pressure fluctuated violently, and he almost blacked out.

"Quick! Help me change! I need to go to the palace to report the victory to His Majesty!"

A short while later, a car drove out of the General Staff Headquarters and headed straight for Potsdam Palace.

The same scene soon played out again in the palace.

The Emperor knew far less than Falkenham. He didn't even know that the first-ever airborne operation had taken place that morning, because his men, fearing failure, dared not tell him before the troops had regrouped.

So it was only at this moment that the emperor heard two pieces of good news at the same time, one after the other.

"What? The Empire has finally surrounded the entire Burkina Faso expeditionary force in Ypres? We've captured the only major port where the Burkina Faso retreated? And we've sunk six battleships?!"
"Quickly! Immediately award them a commendation! I will award the general who planned this campaign the Order of the Blue Mark! Also, have all the imperial newspapers publicize this great victory! The common people won't understand terms like 'expeditionary force,' so just write: 'Complete annihilation of the Burkina Faso army!'"

The propaganda offensive escalated layer by layer, and by the time it reached the major newspapers, it had almost ballooned to the point of "annihilating the Burkina Faso army and annihilating the Burkina Faso Straits fleet."

……

At midnight, in Dunkirk, at the front line of Ronan Fort.

Lu Lu Xiu personally inspected the defenses near the fort. His on-site reconnaissance revealed several additional surprises.

It turns out that, in order to facilitate the transportation of military supplies, the French army extended the railway that was built to the Dunkirk port area by digging tunnels into the mountains directly below the forts, which were built to the Ronan and Malorleban forts.

They also built a transport elevator shaft to facilitate the direct transport of heavy artillery ammunition boxes, such as 340mm and 240mm, to the mountaintop. This was because without these fortress auxiliary facilities, heavy artillery shells would have to be carried manually along the mountainside, which would have been very troublesome.

In that era, it was more convenient to build a railway line under the fortress and then use a "vertical elevator" to transport heavy goods. This was the method used in the Verdun fortress and later the Maginot Line.

Such a design might not seem like much to others, nor would it reveal much of its potential. But to Lelouch, who was familiar with the history of human warfare, the situation was entirely different.

He immediately realized that this was practically tailor-made for the "Anzio Express Mode"!

So he immediately ordered: "Get the engineers to completely repair the railway as soon as possible, and make sure it goes all the way to the base of the fort! Those large-caliber railway guns should be hidden directly in the tunnels under the fortress. They should be pulled out when it's time to fire, and put back in the tunnels at other times!"
With the fortified hilltop providing cover, even if the Burkina Faso sent ten battleships, they wouldn't be able to bombard the entire hill or blast out the railway guns.

In coastal areas like Dunkirk, the hills along the coast are not high, but even hills that are only a few dozen meters high cannot be flattened by battleship bombardment.

The railway tunnels leading into the mountains are hidden on the reverse slope of the hillside. When not firing, the train guns can be hidden inside, which is practically an absolute defense.

He knew that the enemy's retaliatory fleet could appear within a day, so of course he had to race against time to repair and construct the facilities.

Just after he finished deploying the defenses, a car from the rear command headquarters sped into Ronan Fortress.

"Army Group Headquarters Promotion Order! Where is Major Lelouch? Where are Major Rommel and Captain Model?"

After a flurry of activity lasting over ten minutes, all the main officers had gathered. Everyone was a little nervous, but mostly excited.

The Duke himself did not come to the front lines; the person in the car was the Chief of Staff of the 6th Army, a major general.

"In recognition of Lelouch Hunt's outstanding service in the Battle of Dunkirk, he is hereby promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. This has been reported to the General Staff for record-keeping, and by imperial decree, he is awarded the Order of the Blue Mark..."

"Given Erwin Rommel..."

The chief of staff read out a string of commendations. Only Lelouch and Rommel received the Blue Mark Medal, but everyone else received a promotion.

This was the first airborne operation in human history, and it achieved such significant results that it is entirely reasonable for the general to be promoted one level.

Lelouch and Rommel are already lieutenant colonels.

Model was promoted to major, while Dieter, who had been recovering from an injury for a long time and missed some combat, was only promoted to captain this time.

William Lister was in a worse situation. He fought alongside Lelouch's ground support unit and wasn't assigned to the airborne troops. He didn't receive any of the benefits of that rank and was still only a captain after the war, having been caught up by his junior, Dieter.

The only consolation was that Lister had at least obtained a first-class Iron Cross. At least he fought bravely when he was supporting his allies, and his direct troops advanced quickly, especially when they finally broke through the defenses of those Indian soldiers.

Although he wasn't promoted directly to major this time, he can still be considered a "captain at the highest level/half-step major".

After the announcement, the army group chief of staff said kindly to Lelouch, "The Blue Mark medals are not available on the front lines for the time being, so we'll have to wait until after the fighting is over and we return to Berlin for the formal awarding ceremony. Today is just a preliminary announcement."

(End of this chapter)