Imperial Elite

Chapter 52 The War, Victory is Near!

It wasn't until the Gallic officer, who looked like a pirate, gave Joe a big hug that Joe remembered why the guy looked familiar.

There was nothing he could do; Joe had only met Jean-Pierre once. The reason he could remember him was because Joe knew very few Gauls, and even fewer officers. So when Jean-Pierre patted his back forcefully, Joe remembered the name of this Gaulish officer.

Then, when Jean-Pierre released Joe, Joe looked at Jean-Pierre.

Although this man had lost an eye, Joe, though not saying it, was still somewhat envious of Jean-Pierre's major epaulettes.

However, he wasn't entirely envious. After all, compared to losing an eyeball in exchange for a major rank, Joe felt that his temporary major rank was pretty good.

Anyway, Qiao didn't expect to make a living in the army in the future, so he didn't care much about military rank.

After some haphazard gesturing and exchanging words, the translator finally arrived.

Then, Joe, who was sitting next to the tank, learned what Jean had gone through during that time.

Compared to the last time he met this guy, Joe felt that this guy was doing even worse.

Although his rank has been promoted, this guy used to command elite troops wearing breastplates. How did he end up commanding militia now?

However, considering that this guy almost died in the Champagne region and it was his subordinates who rescued him and brought him back to Paris, Joe felt that it was not unacceptable for the troops under his command to decline in performance.

Of course, the level of this unit has dropped a bit too much. According to Jean, if Joe's unit hadn't arrived just in time, he would definitely be dead here today.

After saying that, he looked at Joe with hope in his eyes and asked him a question.

"How many of you have come? Are you planning to launch a counterattack starting in Paris?"

Faced with Jean's gaze, Joe couldn't bring himself to say, "I'm just here to help you defend Paris."

Although Joe didn't say anything, Rang understood Joe's look and said quietly, "You really got lost a long way this time."

Upon hearing this, Joe scratched his head and smiled awkwardly before telling Rang, "Quickly call for backup and rebuild the defenses. My task force is an offensive force and won't be here to hold out for you for long."

He nodded.

“I know Paris is a big city, and you have other places to go. I have already sent someone to request assistance.”

While Joe and Jean were waiting in La Villette Park for the Gallic reinforcements to rebuild the defensive line, no one noticed several dark shadows flying in from the northeast, circling for a while before returning to the northeast.

Meanwhile, Prince Joachim had already led his hussars, bypassing the area controlled by Joachim's task force, and stormed into Paris from the defense zone of another Paris National Guard unit.

Prince Joachim originally intended to flank them first and attack from the front, since they were no match for these iron contraptions. But who says they can only fight head-on?

These tanks, which resemble mobile fortresses, may be heavily armored and powerful, but their visibility is certainly not very good.

So is it possible, just a possibility, that as cavalrymen, they could use their mobility to rush up to these tanks and then drop bombs on them to detonate them?

Open spaces like La Villette Park are definitely not an option. So, could I ambush them in the narrower areas of the city while they retreat?
Of course, ordinary cavalry would not have such crazy ideas, but Prince Joachim and his men were not ordinary cavalry, but rather the most special hussars even among the most complex types of cavalry.

Because hussars, compared to all other cavalry units, possess a distinctive professional characteristic: "wildness."

The so-called cavalry is a type of cavalry with extremely high mobility, and its main tasks include armed reconnaissance, raiding enemy supply lines, protecting borders, and covering the main force.

At the height of the Hussars' power, when the Great Emperor and his old guard were knocking down crowns from the Old World, his cavalry officers pushed the mobility of this light cavalry to its absolute limit.

Besides serving as scouts and shield troops, hussars would even participate in positional warfare. These splendidly dressed hussars would bite the reins with their teeth, holding a pistol in one hand and a saber in the other, and charge at any enemy who dared to stand in their way.

Even if they were met by a fully-formed line infantry or a heavy cavalry charging in their path, the hussars would charge fearlessly.

According to a Gallic general who joined the army at age 11, became a second lieutenant at 14, and was nicknamed the "Hussar General," "Any Hussar who lives to 30 is a coward." This speaks volumes about the character of these Hussars, especially since even this Hussar General died on the battlefield at the age of 34.

So when Prince Joachim proposed this idea, the hussars didn't think he had gone mad; instead, they thought it was a good idea!
We have about a hundred men in total. Even if it's two against one, we can still take out all these tanks.

If we take out these tanks, then we'll take Paris, right?

Just yesterday, in the battle, the hussars captured about three hundred men, as well as some light machine guns of questionable quality, bombs, and grenades.

It just so happens that it can come in handy right now.

Just as Prince Joachim was pondering where they should launch a surprise attack on the tanks, someone came up with a new idea.

"Your Highness, since our goal is to take Paris anyway, could we bypass these tanks and avoid fighting, and just make Paris surrender? After all, our mission is to occupy Paris, not to fight these tanks to the death."

If anyone else had said such a thing, Prince Joachim might not have listened, but since it was Hans Ilweg who was saying it, Prince Joachim indicated that I could elaborate on my thoughts.

Hans Ilweg was an anomaly, even among the notoriously mad hussars.

From a young age, Hans Ylweg was known for his dramatic speech, limited vision, lack of patience, and tendency to interrupt adults. In short, barring any unforeseen circumstances, he would likely continue down the same path as his ancestors, working as a mule and horse herder.

However, when Hans Ilweg was eighteen, his fate took a slight turn. As a qualified Teutonic citizen, Hans encountered some problems when he entered the army.

Originally, someone like Hans, born into the lower middle class, who had never even ridden a horse in his life, let alone mastered horsemanship, was assigned to the cavalry.

They weren't even ordinary cavalry units, but the glorious Imperial Guard Hussars Regiment.

As the elite guard of the Teutonic Empire, Hans received a salary upon enlistment that would make even seasoned infantry officers envious.

Of course, usually if a cavalry unit is assigned someone who can't ride a horse, even if the unit commander doesn't bother the recruiter, he'll kick that guy who can't even ride a horse into the kitchen to peel potatoes.

However, Hans did not suffer such a fate. Because of the wild nature of the hussars, when the new recruits reported for duty, Hans's company commander asked the new recruits to try to tame a famous wild horse in the company.

If a new recruit is afraid to ride this wild horse that kicks wildly if anyone gets close, or is unable to mount it, then the recruit will be mocked by the hussars and driven out of the unit.

After all, a person who is not crazy enough and lacks enough adventurous spirit cannot become a good hussar.

Just like before, the new recruits either got thrown off the horse after riding it for a short while, or they didn't even have the courage to try and were kicked out of the army amidst ridicule.

Then when it was Hans's turn, Hans, who had never ridden a horse before, walked up to the spirited steed. The horse, perhaps tired or for some other reason, simply sneezed impatiently and let Hans ride on its back.

This unexpected situation shocked Hans's company commander, especially when he learned that Hans didn't even know how to ride a horse and this was his first time on horseback. Hans's company commander felt that this kid must have something special, so he kept Hans in the cavalry unit and gave Hans that spirited horse as his mount.

Soon after, the men in the company discovered that Hans had a peculiar trait: he would always appear in strange places at strange times.

During the exercise, this kid was clearly charging forward with everyone, but if they weren't careful, he would disappear from the formation. Then everyone would be searching for him, wondering if he had accidentally stepped on the explosives and been blown up.

The exercise's directing team came out and said, "You guys are pretty good! A group of you charged in from the front to draw attention, while one of you went to the rear to raid the enemy's command post/artillery position/supply point. Although you were all killed, the mission was accomplished. Very good! Very spirited!"
Upon hearing the affirmation from the exercise directing team, the cavalrymen in the cavalry company exclaimed, "Huh?"

Although Hans always claimed that he had simply gotten lost during the charge, and even his company commander assigned men to keep a close watch on him, following him wherever he went, the cavalrymen who followed Hans proved that he was indeed just lost and didn't know where he was going.

The cavalrymen all agreed that Hans was definitely someone with something going on.

If it happens once or twice, it could be due to luck or the other party's carelessness. But when this happens repeatedly, there is only one explanation: some things are destined to remain unexplained.

In addition, after Hans disappeared for most of the night last night, he reappeared before dawn and said that he had completed his mission and that the Teutonic flag had now been planted on the Eiffel Tower in Paris!

If anyone else had said this, Prince Joachim would have been somewhat skeptical, but since Hans said it, he believed him to be about 60%. And when Hans produced a model of the Eiffel Tower and a commemorative coin, Prince Joachim was completely convinced that Hans had arrived at the two towers the previous night.

After being given permission to speak by Prince Joachim, Hans said that he had actually noticed while wandering around Paris the previous night that although Paris is a huge city, its internal defenses were not very strong.

In many places, although there were barricades, there were no people stationed on them, and many people were looting shops and pedestrians on the streets. Basically, the whole city was in chaos.

Their defenses, while not impenetrable, were certainly riddled with holes. He didn't fire a single shot all night, simply circling around Paris.

During his rounds, Hans wasn't simply strolling around Paris. He discovered that the Gauls had set up a formidable defense in the heart of Paris, near a building with a vast garden next to the two Eiffel Towers, unlike any other place they had set up. There were even several cannons.

Furthermore, since the people coming and going there were mostly high-ranking military officers, Hans concluded that it must be some important institution, or even possibly the Gauls' command center.

Of course, the command post matters can be put aside for now. The more important thing is that when Hans went to plant the flag on top of the Eiffel Tower last night, he discovered that the two towers were not only landmark buildings to be seen, but also two huge radio communication stations.

So, since this is a radio communication station, could they, after occupying this place, have the captured Gauls send out telegrams announcing the surrender of Paris, or even Gaul?
If some Gauls actually believe this and surrender to the imperial army, wouldn't we win without a fight?!
Hans's suggestion was like a revelation to Prince Joachim, who thought, "Yes, now that I'm in Paris, why should I fight to the death with these Gauls and their tanks?"
My most important task is to get the Gauls to surrender!

After all, in the past hundred years, whenever an army arrived in Paris, the city would choose to surrender, even during the reign of the Great Emperor.

So Joachim reached out and patted Hans hard on the shoulder. "Your suggestion is excellent! If it works, I'll apply for a medal for you! At least a Blue Cross!"

After Joachim agreed to Hans's proposal, Hans led his cavalry company back to Paris along the route he had found while strolling around the city the previous night.

Meanwhile, as an airplane flew low, it dropped a tin can containing a note into a group of Teutons who were moving along the railway. The tin can was quickly picked up from the dirt by a young captain.

After opening the tin can and taking a look, the captain hurriedly ran to a convertible parked nearby.

Seeing the captain rushing over, the general in the car said to him with a hint of sarcasm, "What's wrong, Erich? Has something changed up ahead?"

Captain Erich handed the note he had taken from the jar to the general as he spoke to him.

"Air reconnaissance has just confirmed that our vanguard has reached the outskirts of Paris and engaged in battle with the Paris garrison, but was repelled by armored forces. From the air, the armored forces appear to be Bunitania troops and they seem to be equipped with new tanks. Meanwhile, someone has planted a flag on the Eiffel Tower, and they have taken aerial photographs of the Eiffel Tower and the tanks, which will be developed soon."

Upon hearing Captain Erich's words, the general quickly took the note from Captain Erich's hand, glanced at it, and then a flush of excitement appeared on the general's face.

As the general excitedly uttered a curse, he pulled out a map that was covered in markings, and muttered to himself as he examined it.

"According to yesterday's air force reconnaissance, most of the troops have approached Paris, but they are currently very disorganized. Perhaps it's time to break the radio silence and allow the troops that have become disorganized in the movement to begin regrouping? Or should we let the air force handle this task and continue to let them airdrop orders?"

Captain Erich stood silently outside the vehicle watching the general, taking out his notebook from his pocket. He knew the general was about to issue orders.

Sure enough, after thinking for a while, the general said that although he was not quite sure what the situation was in Paris, the fact that someone was able to plant a flag on the Eiffel Tower and that they were able to get there so easily proved the weakness of the Gauls.

Although the cavalrymen who blocked their path fought very bravely, their numbers were far too few. The best resistance they could offer was that the two cavalry divisions were now broken up in the charge, and many railway lines and stations were destroyed, preventing them from advancing rapidly by rail. However, now that the Gauls had fully exposed their weaknesses, and their vanguard had reached Paris and was already engaged in battle with the Gauls, there was little point in continuing to maintain radio silence.

More important than immobilizing troops is to quickly restore their organization, get them back from their previous marching state to normal combat readiness, and then launch an attack on Paris.

Of course, simply restoring radio communication wouldn't work. Option C was chosen: while restoring radio communication, the troops would send fake telegrams using the previously established emergency numbers to create fake troops, making it seem as if we had 60 men here, thus frightening the Gauls.

Upon hearing the general's order, Erich wrote it down, immediately saluted the general, and then went to prepare to refine the order before issuing it.

Ehrlich didn't care about the heavy staff work; on the contrary, he felt that he had learned another trick. Sure enough, the generals were all quite capable. These tacticians were really cunning.

Meanwhile, Joe's Paris task force and Jean's unit, which was reduced to almost a company, finally finished clearing the battlefield.

Only then did Joe and Jean learn the extent of the losses suffered by the Gallic troops responsible for defending the area the previous night.

When Jean arrived here, the 19th Army Corps of the Paris National Guard had deployed five battalions here.

Now they have found the bodies of two majors and several captains in the trenches. Judging from the wounds on these bodies, they had all fought bravely to the last moment.

In one night, only about one company remained of the five battalions. Although Joe knew that many of them had fled the battlefield, the extent of the loss still made him feel alarmed.

Just as Joe and Jean were burying the fallen officers in La Villette Park according to simple military etiquette, the reinforcements they had been waiting for finally arrived. In addition to a batch of new recruits to supplement Jean, or rather, armed civilians, General Henry sent five battalions this time.

It seems that because the 19th Army Corps had no more troops, four of the five battalions that were sent to reinforce the army came from other districts of Paris, and there were no locally mobilized troops.

However, apart from these National Guard troops, it seems that General Henry finally decided to send out the last of his regular army troops.

A colonial battalion equipped with heavy machine guns and mortars was also reinforced here.

However, compared to the heavy machine guns and mortars of the colonial camp, what amazed Joe and Jean even more were the black soldiers in the colonial camp.

Perhaps due to the selection criteria for the colonial troops, the physiques of these Black soldiers made it clear that they must be excellent at basketball or boxing.

Now that the support troops had arrived, Joe prepared to lead them back to Gare du Nord in Paris.

Although the losses suffered by the troops in this battle were completely within an acceptable range, Joe still planned to make some battlefield modifications to the existing equipment.

For example, with the Hound tank, Joe wondered if they should learn from the Soviets' experience and weld some handles onto the turret to make it easier for infantry to ride.

At the same time, all tanks had to have additional armor welded onto their front sides to defend against the Teutonic's newly developed steel-core armor-piercing projectiles.

Joe had even figured out where the materials for the reinforced armor would come from.

Didn't these good lads under my command have a brain fart and bring over those useless MK-1 and MK-2 tanks?

Let these tanks make the most of their remaining life by removing the armor plating and handing it over to more useful subsequent models!

Of course, after removing the armor from the vehicle, Joe didn't intend to waste the remaining space.

When Joe was working illegally in a Slavic labor camp, he was deeply impressed by a self-propelled gun called "Bison," which mounted a 150mm infantry gun directly on the hull of a Panzer II tank.

What impressed me most, besides the fact that this thing gave me a little shock when I was thinking about honest artillery duels and armored shell confrontations back then, was that this thing was just so uniquely ugly.

It looks like some kind of battlefield modification product, like "I have a tank~ I have a cannon ~cannontanke~".

However, when Joe discovered that this thing was actually a product of legitimate production, rather than some small workshop on the front lines producing some kind of shoddy, emergency battlefield product like a tank, the shock of German aesthetics left a deep impression on him.

Since the MK-3 assault gun had been replaced with a weak 3-inch gun, Joe planned to install a larger one directly on the MK-1 and MK-2's turret.

We should use firepower like six-inch or sixty-pound cannons to deal with the urban warfare we are sure to encounter next.

The first thing I did after returning to Gare du Nord was to write the report and urge the higher-ups to ship the goods as soon as possible. Although everyone wants heavy artillery, shouldn't I have some priority given my qualifications?

If anyone has a problem with it, or is dissatisfied, then let him be the one to guard Paris!
Just as Joe was leaving on the tank, he noticed that the soldiers who had survived the brutal fighting from last night to this morning were speaking to the new recruits in a tone as if they had just crawled out of hell.

Of course, during his previous conversation with Jean, Joe also understood why the first place in Paris to be attacked was this park with a difficult-to-pronounce name.

This place is the northeastern gateway to Paris. When the emperor suffered his first defeat in 1814, the allied forces broke through here and entered Paris. And decades later, in 1871, when the Teutons besieged Paris again...

The Gallic army, attempting to break through the Teutonic blockade, launched its counterattack from here, thus beginning the brutal Battle of Le Bourget.

This place has seen over fifty large-scale battles throughout history, with complexities and intricacies that are difficult to discuss. Every army has taken note of this ancient battlefield, where the rise and fall of Gaul was determined time and again.

So Joe made an agreement with Jean that if the area was attacked again and the Teutons were likely to break through the defenses, Jean would fire three red signal flares into the sky and send a messenger to the Gare du Nord in Paris to inform Joe.

As long as Joe still has troops, he will send troops to support Jean and defend this northeastern gateway to Paris.

Upon returning to Gare du Nord in Paris, Joe quickly wrote his report and had it sent out by telegram.

Of course, although Joe's battle went very smoothly today, except for not expecting the Teutons to have developed steel-core armor-piercing shells that could penetrate the strong armor of tanks, the rest could basically be simplified to advance, fire, and win.

But the report certainly couldn't be written like that. After dealing with bureaucratic bodies like the Land Warships Committee, Joe had learned how to handle these men.

If I were to say, the battle went very smoothly, with minimal losses for my troops. After my troops launched the attack, the Teutons withdrew from the area they had occupied. This was because, in preparation for the subsequent battle and for experimental modifications, I needed some large-caliber artillery and the corresponding ammunition.

Those gentlemen certainly wouldn't send me equipment or supplies.

Therefore, in his report, Joe stated that the Teutonic offensive was extremely fierce, their fighting spirit was very strong, and they were bombarding him with cannonballs as if they were free!

However, thanks to his strong patriotism, he managed to hold off the attack, but the losses of the troops were very heavy. All the MK-1 and MK-2 aircraft were lost!

In just one battle, the Paris task force lost seven tanks, and it was uncertain whether the tank they had rescued from the Teutonic cannons could be repaired.

Although we lost one-fifth of our tanks, we are still able to fight!
We now need some heavy artillery to upgrade the tanks destroyed by the Teutons, and we need more supplies and ammunition to defend Paris.

For His Majesty's sake! Help your brother out!
Originally, Joe's purpose in writing this report was simply to get some supplies from those stingy logistics officers.

Therefore, when writing the report, I used a little bit of subtle language to exaggerate my losses.

But when Marshal Haig of the expeditionary force received this report, he went mad.

Haig had already suspected that the Teutons had secretly taken advantage of the internal strife in Lucia to redeploy troops from the eastern front to the western front, given that the Gauls had been breached in one fell swoop and were heading straight for Paris.

So Marshal Haig sent out several waves of reconnaissance aircraft to try to find out what was happening there and how large an offensive the Teutons had launched.

This would allow Marshal Haig to decide the scale of his offensive on the Somme to help the Gauls, who had made such a mess, draw the Teutonics' attention.

However, the reconnaissance planes sent out by Marshal Haig seemed to have encountered something strange. No matter how many waves of reconnaissance planes Marshal Haig sent out, none of them were able to return.

Only the commander of the Gallic troops near that area told Marshal Haig that his soldiers seemed to have witnessed the Teutonic air force acees with their planes painted red in the vicinity of that airspace.

At the same time, the radio in that area was deathly silent, as if that area no longer existed in this world, with not a single message leaking out.

Clearly, the Teutons were now determined to prevent Marshal Haig and the Gauls from finding out what had happened here.

The more the Teutons did this, the more Marshal Haig felt that something was wrong and that the Teutons must have a conspiracy here.

Then, just now, this area, which was originally deathly silent, suddenly erupted with a strong radio signal. The expeditionary force and the overseas intelligence office naturally would not let go of this opportunity to find out what was happening here, and began to frantically intercept the Teutonic radio communications.

Then, everyone went crazy.

The news that the Teutons had secretly moved a massive army of 50 to 60 men to the vicinity of Paris was like a bombshell in Marshal Haig's command post, shocking everyone present.

Although there was some psychological expectation that a battle for Paris might be necessary, six hundred thousand people...

The feeling of a hedgehog that was originally far away suddenly appearing in his crotch made Marshal Haig wonder for a moment whether it was still worthwhile to continue the offensive on the Somme.

Because in these radio communications, they identified many Teutonic units that should have been confronting the Lucas on the Eastern Front at that time.

The Teutonic forces on the eastern front have really arrived!

At that very moment, Joe's report was delivered to Marshal Haig's command post.

Marshal Haig had some understanding of Joe's combat abilities.

After all, when the tank units returned to the battlefield, their impressive performance greatly pleased Marshal Haig, who even inspected the tank units and awarded medals to many of their members.

However, when Marshal Haig asked them if they were the best unit, the crew members said that they were nothing special. When it came to armored warfare, they had to look to Old Joe. In the field of armored warfare, if Joe said he was second, who dared to say he was first? Which unit in the regiment hadn't been taught a lesson by Joe's armored training company? He could take on three of them by himself!
Now, Joe, who can take on three men at once, is struggling with his Paris task force, which consists of his armored training company. It's no surprise that the Teutons have moved their main force there!
Otherwise, how could such an effect be achieved?!
Here you go! Right now! Immediately! Send Joe the supplies he needs, multiplied by 1.5!
Paris absolutely cannot fall! Otherwise, the entire war will be over!
Furthermore, this situation is beyond the control of the expeditionary force. Immediately report the intelligence to the wartime cabinet and let the cabinet ministers see if it is possible to allow the Lucia to take advantage of the Teutonics' weakened eastern front and cause some trouble on the Teutonics' eastern front!

Just as the expeditionary force headquarters was in complete chaos, the Teutonic Emperor was overjoyed as he looked at a photograph.

The photo shows one of the two Eiffel Towers in Paris, with a Teutonic flag flying.

This made the Teutonic Emperor, who had always disliked the "silly-looking" Eiffel Tower, find the two towers much more pleasing to the eye.

Although he knew it was probably just the work of a small unit; otherwise, if they had really captured Paris, the generals at the front would have already reported their victory.

In fact, along with this photograph were also photos of the vanguard troops reconstructing their defensive lines after retreating from the outskirts of Paris, awaiting reinforcements.

However, this did not stop the Teutonic Emperor from continuing to look at the photo with a silly grin, after all, the order given to the cavalry by the General Staff was to plant the flag on the Iron Tower before stopping.

Although everyone knew it was an exaggerated metaphor when it was said, when the flag was actually planted, the Teutonic Emperor still thought it was really good. Once he found out who planted the flag, he would award them a medal.

However, before that, the Teutonic Emperor decided to print the photograph in the newspapers to announce the good news to the entire nation.

Although it was a few years later than originally planned, our brave troops really did plant the flag on the Eiffel Tower!
So all of you, stop making a fuss! Just bear with it a little longer, the war is almost won!

(End of this chapter)