Imperial Elite

Chapter 81 The Golden Age Belonging to Bonitania
How to attack a fortified area has always been a problem for soldiers throughout history.

After all, all fortresses and defenses are built with the primary goal of making them impenetrable.

Although the Teutons did not anticipate that tanks, such an unreasonable and cheating device, would appear on the battlefield when they were building their defensive lines.

Therefore, when the fortress and bunker complex were built, no obstacles were placed in the fortress area to block the advance of tanks.

Even so, forcibly breaking through this fortified area known as the Hindenburg Line is not an easy task.

These bunkers and fortresses were crammed with cannons, all pointed at positions most convenient for the attackers to advance, creating crossfire between them.

After the first probing attack, Joe felt that the person who designed this defensive line must be a master at tower defense games. The layout and design of the bunkers and fortresses along the entire defensive line were designed to treat attackers like monsters to be spawned.

Joe was somewhat at a loss when attacking this fortified area for the first time, and he was completely helpless against this malicious defense, but that was alright.

Joe's good friend had plenty of experience in breaking through such fortified terrain, although he complained that Joe had neither large-caliber self-propelled artillery nor the ability to call in rail bombardment, and even the tubes on the tanks were pitifully small.

But don't worry, he'll take action.

Infantry launched probing attacks to test the fire distribution in the fortified area and the blind spots of heavy firepower.

After determining the firing range of the heavy artillery in the fortress, bypass these dangerous elements and send the tanks to destroy the forward-positioned fortifications, then move the heavy artillery forward.

Use cannonballs as cannons to slowly penetrate the thick outer walls of the fortress in the blind spots of the fortress's artillery fire.

Once the outer wall is breached, a few infantrymen equipped with flamethrowers and a large number of smoke grenades will suffice to resolve the issue.

Of course, if you find that too much trouble, your good friend also suggests that Joe just use poison gas.

My good friend thinks that if these fortresses of this era didn't even have anti-tank bollards, then they certainly didn't have high-tech gadgets like NBC protection systems either. At most, the infantry were issued gas masks.

However, those who frequently use or are exposed to toxic gases should know that some toxic gases cannot be blocked even with a gas mask. For example, Joe himself experienced the taste of mustard gas.

If poison gas is injected heavily, the Teutons in these fortified lines will basically meet the same fate as rats whose nests are flooded with boiling water—they will only die.

Having witnessed the Bourges incident, Joe still harbors some psychological trauma regarding the use of poison gas. After all, the overwhelming poisonous fog still makes his legs feel weak just thinking about it.

It was pure luck that I survived that level of toxic gas leak; if the east wind had been blowing that day, I probably would have died there.

Although he had some psychological trauma from poison gas, Joe still asked Marshal Haig's expeditionary force if they had any poison gas in stock, and if so, if he could use some.

Upon hearing Joe's question, Marshal Haig replied that there was plenty of poison gas.

Since the first use of poison gas in actual combat in 1915, not only the Teutons but also Buntania have been mass-producing this destructive weapon. Especially after the Bourges massacre, Buntania increased its poison gas reserves at the front.

The reason for increasing the stockpiles of poison gas at the front was that the Bonitania wartime cabinet had transferred almost all of the poison gas stored at home to the front.

However, since the environment at the front lines was never suitable for the large-scale use of poison gas, the poison gas was always kept in warehouses and its reserves increased with production at the rear.

When Joe asked if there was a stockpile of poison gas, Marshal Haig immediately replied, "Don't ask if there is, just tell me how much you need. I'll send you two truckloads first, and if it's not enough, just let me know!"

Faced with Marshal Haig's act of sending two trainloads of poison gas right off the bat, Joe felt that this was more than enough, it was enough to make him numb.

Although Joe initially only considered poison gas as an option, when the two trainloads of poison gas arrived, he saw the canisters marked with the Black Skull.

Joe immediately turned this optional item into a mandatory one. Even if he didn't want to use it before, he had to use it now. Joe didn't want these dangerous things to explode in his hands due to some accident.

After questioning local residents and observing wind direction and speed while attacking the fortified area using conventional methods, it was determined that during this season, the winds here are mainly westerly and southwesterly, and the wind speed is not fast.

With the idea that it's better to feed it to others than to let it rot in his own hands, Joe ordered the release of poison gas, ignoring everything else and releasing all the poison gas he had on hand.

So one morning, as soldiers wearing gas masks opened gas canisters in the trenches at the front, a gentle breeze carried the yellowish-green gas like a carpet towards the Teutonic fortress.

The artillery roared as it began to fire chemical shells evenly onto the Teutonic fortified zone.

Using simple yet effective methods such as test strips and animal cages, the Teutons guarding the fortress discovered immediately that the Bunitanias had used poison gas. Amid shouts of "Poison gas! Put on gas masks!", the Teutons guarding the fortress put on gas masks, pulled down their sleeves, and those who could also put on gloves.

The Teutons were somewhat prepared for the dangers of poison gas.

After all, most toxic gases don't last long; you just need to wear a gas mask and get through it.

However, the Teutons did not expect that the Bunitanias would release poison gas as if it would never end. At first, they were able to hide in a corner deep inside the fortress and replace their gas masks, which were about to become ineffective.

But soon there was nowhere left, even deep within the fortress, for them to change their gas masks.

Soon, the Teutonic troops stationed in these attacked fortress areas faced a difficult choice: whether to defend the fortresses to the last moment like a true man, or to flee to a safe location while their poisoning was not yet severe and their gas masks could still hold up.

On this day, many Teutons made their choice.

After the first round of gas release was completed, Joe felt a complex mix of emotions as he faced the world before him, now completely silent and permeated by extremely high concentrations of toxic gas.

He could only console himself that at least he hadn't used poison gas to attack the city and cause civilian casualties.

As the wind continued to push the gas belt eastward, chlorine and phosgene began to decompose in the sunlight. Joe ordered the engineering corps to set out in the Indomitables off-road vehicles and tanks that had been replenished to completely destroy the fortresses and bunkers that were estimated to be soaked in the gas.

Since these fortifications are now certainly filled with poison gas, Joe does not intend to have the engineers clear these fortresses and bunkers one by one.

Just let them use bombs to destroy the entrances and firing ports in these places, and if the Teutons don't leave, let them stay inside.

The engineering corps' work progressed very smoothly, and soon the most forward-looking section of the Hindenburg Line, which had been marinated, was destroyed with almost no resistance.

Now Joe finally understood why the Teutons liked to use poison gas as a means of attack; although this weapon was cruel, it was indeed highly effective.

So Joe asked Marshal Haig for more poison gas, intending to take advantage of the favorable winds of the season and simply fumigate the area along the way.

The news that Joe had used poison gas to breach part of the fortified area quickly caused an uproar in the Teutonic General Staff.

After all, poison gas had already been used in 1915, while the Hindenburg Line was only started being built in 1916. The immense damage that poison gas could cause should have been considered in the initial design. How could it have been like the Lucia on the Eastern Front, where a little poison gas was used to breach the line?!
The original design requirements for the Hindenburg Line included the ability to withstand poison gas attacks and the inclusion of gas-filtering chambers. How could this situation have occurred?!

Is someone neglecting their duties?! Using the funds meant for the empire's defenses to line their own pockets?!
This kind of scum should be hanged!
Under the wrath of the General Staff and the Emperor, the cause of the incident was quickly uncovered.

Because this last line of defense for the empire was so long, and the long-term blockade had led to a shortage of supplies, the personnel in charge of the construction had to face a difficult choice.

That is, in terms of how to use the definitely insufficient resources and labor to build such a long defensive line, after determining that the low-lying countries, which are full of swamps, river networks and forests, are low-intensity combat zones unsuitable for large-scale military operations, the construction team lowered the construction requirements in this area and dispatched the main resources and labor to high-intensity combat zones such as the Somme River to build the defensive line.

Faced with this result that was both reasonable and somewhat unreasonable, yet also somewhat understandable, neither the generals in the General Staff nor the Teutonic Emperor knew what to say.

After all, they hadn't expected Joe to launch a counterattack from such a place before he launched his attack.

If Joe hadn't launched a counterattack here, then the person who made that decision would have been blameless for this biased approach of strengthening the defense.

But Joe launched his attack from a place that seemed completely unsuitable for a large-scale operation.

Fortunately, although the quality was not up to par, the width of the fortified area was acceptable, so Joe could not easily break through it. The fortress complex extended from the Low Countries to the border region. Although the density of the subsequent fortresses was not as dense as at the beginning, it still served to delay the enemy.

Even so, due to the losses caused to the Empire by this substandard defense line, the Teutonic Emperor could only tearfully order a private seat at the firing range.

However, executing someone who made the wrong choice cannot change the current predicament faced by the frontline troops; they still need to find a way to stop Joe's advance.

With the fall of the Low Countries, if Joe were to break through that fortified zone, he would be able to storm into the Imperial homeland.

Moreover, he didn't just charge into some insignificant wasteland, but into the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan area, which was the heart of the empire's industrial strength. If this area were attacked, the Teutonic Empire's war machine, which was already barely functioning, would inevitably shut down.

Therefore, we absolutely cannot let Qiao break through the defense line, even if it means 100,000 people die in those mountains and forests, we cannot let Qiao make a breakthrough there!

Things had progressed to this point, and even though the General Staff and the Emperor did not want to affect the battle in Paris, they could only draw troops from the Paris campaign to fill the gap, while urging the factories to speed up the production of super-heavy tanks. Now they had to use these super-heavy tanks to hold off Joe's offensive while praying that the defenders in that forest would be strong enough to hold out until reinforcements arrived.

As the General Staff ordered troops to be redeployed from the Paris campaign to defend the western end of the Hindenburg direction, some senior officers in the General Staff found that their impending victory seemed to be nothing more than an unattainable illusion.

On the eastern front, they failed to completely destroy the left-wing regime in Russia and bring peace to the east. Now, the left-wing government of Russia has begun to besiege Tallinn, and without reinforcements, the fall of that city is almost only a matter of time.

Meanwhile, the Luscan military government, which had been fighting on the southern front and was composed of the Luscan Third Army, has now turned its attention to the Rose Country after capturing Constantinople.

Those Bulgars are certainly no match for the Russians, but if they can't hold out, the Russian military government will then storm into Habsburg territory. Judging from past battles on the Eastern Front, without the Empire, these guys would have been eaten to pieces by the Russians long ago.

By then, the empire will face an even more perilous environment than it had on the Eastern Front.

However, the empire no longer had enough troops to defend the eastern front and could only pray that the Habsburgs and Cossacks could hold out.

On the western front, Paris, seemingly on the verge of collapse, has remained steadfast.

This city, which had given up resistance on the three previous occasions when their army approached, has shown incredible resilience this time. Even after losing 70% of its city and turning large areas into scorched earth, the Gauls and Caucasians here are still putting up a stubborn resistance.

Even when their vanguard had reached the outskirts of the industrial area southwest of Paris, the soldiers in the vanguard could hear the sounds of workers producing in the factories.

However, the workers in those factories continued production while assisting the defenders in their resistance, and tanks rolled out of those factories every day.

The bombing of these factories had almost no effect.

With Paris on the verge of falling, Gallic pilots fought frantically to defend the skies over the city. Even some of the Empire's proud aces had recently been shot down in Parisian airspace. Meanwhile, spies reported that as the battle for Paris unfolded, the Americans intensified their mobilization efforts, and another 400,000 men had now arrived in Bonitania and Gaul.

Since these troops were not deployed to the Paris campaign, they must have wanted to carve a hole in the front line, just like Joe's armored forces.

The Teutonic Empire, having already revealed all its cards, had virtually no way to solve this problem.

unless……

Just as Joe had previously set his sights on the navy, these generals, who had already sensed the risk of defeat, felt that perhaps this was the time for those costly war navies, which, apart from twice going out to sea to fight, spent the rest of their time in port as mascots, to come into play.

They should launch another attack to try and break through the blockade of the Bunitania home fleet. Even if it results in mutual destruction and total annihilation, at least they can break the Bunitania's blockade line.

This might alleviate the shortage of supplies and also allow the submarine force to more effectively blockade shipping routes, preventing more Americans from reaching the Old World.

Otherwise, even if these American soldiers were not very good at fighting, their sheer numbers and abundant supplies would become an unbearable burden for the Teutonic Empire.

The report was soon placed on the Teutonic Emperor's desk.

The Teutonic Emperor hesitated greatly in the face of this plan.

Unlike the already powerful army, the war navy gradually developed into a force capable of rivaling the native fleet of Bonitania after his ascension to the throne.

It can be said that this is a unit into which he has poured his heart and soul.

However, judging from the outcome of the last naval battle, if the navy were to be deployed again, the best outcome would be for them to fight the Bunitania's home fleet to the death.

But the native fleet of Bonitania is exhausted, while the Gauls and Italians still have their fleets. Who will guard the empire's coastline then?

The emperor hesitated as he looked at the report.

While the emperor hesitated, the defenders of Paris sensed that the Teutonic attack seemed to be gradually slowing down as some of the Teutonic forces in the Paris campaign were diverted to fight the fire on their home soil.

At this point, the situation in Paris was no longer just bad, but extremely, extremely bad.

Although General Henry declared that he would not retreat an inch and that he would rather die in the Invalides than back down, his loyal subordinates still managed to drag him out of the Invalides and take him to the command post in the southern suburbs of Paris.

Afterwards, the Teutons and Gauls fought repeatedly for control of the Invalides. Although the Invalides never fell, the Gauls guarding it were forced to use the corpses of their comrades or those left behind by the Teutons to build fortifications under the Teuton attacks.

Apart from the Invalides, it stands there on the south bank of the Seneca River, like a middle finger, firmly erect.

On the east and west sides of Les Invalides, the Teutons had already broken into the southeast and southwest of Paris, unlike last time when a group of Hussars sneaked in and planted their flag on the Eiffel Tower.

The Teutons successfully captured the Eiffel Tower and erected a simple monument to Prince Joachim beneath the intact tower.

The Teutonic relentless attacks on the city day and night also harassed the defenders, especially the Storm Assault Team, which wore breastplates and was equipped with automatic weapons and flamethrowers, and was seen by the defenders as nothing less than demons.

Few troops could withstand their attacks; these commandos were even able to capture three buildings on a single street in a single raid.

In Paris, where even a corner in the living room is fiercely contested, this is practically superhuman.

However, the Gallic defenders were not without ways to deal with these Teutonic supermen.

Because telephone lines were frequently cut during street fighting for various reasons, many Gallic officers had their engineers plant bombs in the lines of defense or buildings they were responsible for. If the area fell, they would not hesitate to detonate the bombs, dragging the stormtroopers to hell with them. If the Gauls could not have Paris, then no one could have Paris.

Faced with the Teutons who used poison gas in urban warfare, the Gauls changed their previous mindset of avoiding the use of poison gas as much as possible when fighting in their own capital.

Whenever the Teutons used poison gas, the Gauls would immediately launch more poison gas into the Teutonic-controlled areas.

Following the Bourges massacre, the Gauls also increased the production and stockpiling of poison gas.

As the Gauls also used poison gas with similar fervor, the Teutons, who were also suffering from the effects of the gas, were forced to temporarily cease their use of it.

Thanks to this almost fanatical defense, Paris's defenses, though seemingly crumbling, were able to hold out.

However, as the flu spread among the troops, a large number of non-combat casualties began to occur.

If it weren't for the captured Teutons indicating that they too were suffering from disease, the Gauls would almost have believed that the flu was part of the Teutonic offensive.

The spread of the flu has also led many people to truly believe that something is sealed beneath Paris, and that the place is unclean.

As this idea spread, it gradually began to circulate among the soldiers that the Teutons/Gallic wanted to open the gates of hell beneath Paris, and that they were the only guardians to prevent these gates from being opened; they were the crusaders of the new era, the holy warriors.

As these rumors spread, soldiers who were already struggling to choose their faith in the midst of the brutal war were now further fueled by religious fervor, and began to fight with the idea that they were undertaking a noble mission.

This made the already bloody battle even more brutal.

The ferocity of the battle even made Jean-Pierre, who had experienced almost the entire war from the beginning, somewhat uncomfortable.

Even Jean-Pierre, who played almost the entire game, wasn't quite used to it, let alone Georges, who played alongside Jean-Pierre.

Because few of Jean-Pierre's men survived the fierce fighting, Jean-Pierre, who now commands a 70T tank squad, can only cooperate with Georges, who still has a number of Hound tanks at his disposal.

Although Jean-Pierre held a higher rank, Georges had more men under his command, so initially, a minor conflict arose between the two sides regarding who would cooperate with whom.

However, after discovering that they had a mutual friend, Jean-Pierre and Georges, based on the basic logic that a friend of a friend is a friend of their own, decided to resolve the issue in a gentlemanly manner.

The two drew their cavalry swords and engaged in a friendly and enthusiastic exchange, which ended with Jean-Pierre punching George in the face, knocking him to the ground.

Jean-Pierre gained control of the troops, while Georges had the authority to make suggestions at any time, and Jean-Pierre offered to lend Georges a 70T tank as his vehicle.

Despite taking a punch to the face, George thought the 70T tank, with its thicker armor, larger hull, and more powerful firepower compared to the Hound tank, was truly amazing; this was how tanks should be.

George's fondness for the 70T super-heavy tank even slightly overshadowed his dissatisfaction with his narrow defeat to Jean-Pierre.

However, as both sides began to incorporate religious fanaticism into their battles, George gradually began to understand why his teacher had designed the small Hound Tank instead of creating such a large one.

Because of its massive size, the 70T tank always attracted the most attacks from the crazed Teutons. On one occasion, someone even managed to throw two Molotov cocktails at the main turret where George was located. If George hadn't been lucky, he would have been burned to a crisp.

After looking at his turret, which was scorched by flames, George climbed out of the tank and realized that Professor Joe's design was indeed reasonable.

Meanwhile, in the Low Countries, Joe also encountered the biggest difficulty he faced during this successful raid.

Having broken through the first fortified zone, Joe, who was fighting deep in the woods, had to face a problem he had anticipated, but had not expected to be so serious.

That is, this area, full of swamps and forests, is indeed unsuitable for the advance of mechanized troops.

In such areas, it was common for tanks to stall, break down, or get stuck, while also having to endure artillery fire from the Teutonics and attacks from elusive snipers.

At the same time, the complex terrain of the woodland was naturally suitable for troops to carry out ambush operations, and the Teutonic 37mm anti-tank guns caused Joe a lot of trouble here.

Many destroyed or damaged tanks can be recovered and repaired in plains, but in harsh forest areas, they can only be abandoned after the supplies are recovered.

This forced Joe, who had been advancing at breakneck speed before entering the forest belt, to slow down and begin a difficult march through the forest belt, slowly advancing towards the border of the Teutonic Empire at a rate of a few kilometers per day.

In Joe's view, this speed was almost unacceptable. If he could go faster, he could cross the woods sooner and penetrate into the heart of the Teutonic Empire.

Wouldn't that bring us one step closer to the end of the war?

Although he was forced to join the war, Joe, who now had a certain understanding of his current identity, felt that he could make a fortune even if he wrote his memoirs after the war.

Not to mention that I now know so many influential people, how could I not make money in this business?
So now Joe only had one thought in his mind: he had to throw a punch, a heavy punch, to quickly knock the Teutons down and get to work.

There's no end to the money you can make!

As Joe, with the idea of ​​ending the war, slowly but irresistibly advanced into the heart of the Teutonic Empire, jubilation erupted in the cabinet and the royal palace in London.

Although the process has been extremely difficult, the current war situation is basically developing in a direction most favorable to Bonitania.

Russia has split. Although the two Russias, North and South, are currently only exchanging sporadic fire in the Volga River basin, a civil war between the left-wing government and the military government is almost inevitable after the war ends.

This country, which has long been a rival of Bonitania, will likely remain in decline for a long time.

Meanwhile, Gaul was driven into Paris by the Teutons. After the two Battles of Paris, Gaul could only follow closely behind Bonitania in many matters thereafter.

As for the Teutons and Habsburgs, they will inevitably disintegrate after the war, just like the Sultanates.

The golden age of Bonitania is finally here!

Despite the heavy losses suffered in the war, everyone was excited at the thought that after the war, they could take over the Teutonic overseas colonies, reorganize the Old World order, and allow the glory of Bonitania to continue for decades or even centuries.

Now all they need to do is wait for the reliable Joe to lead the Janissaries into the heart of the Teutonic Empire, and then they will be able to usher in another glorious era.

With this in mind, both the cabinet and His Majesty the Emperor were pondering whether to bestow a knighthood upon Joe or to name a street in London after him. It was indeed a difficult choice.

(End of this chapter)