Imperial Elite

Chapter 84 We, your subjects, are ready to fight to the death; why has Your Majesty surrendered first?

Although Joe's advance in Cologne was steady and continuous, even in front of Cologne Cathedral, three Hound tanks, through skillful coordination, destroyed a Teutonic heavy tank that was trying to cover the defenders inside the cathedral, allowing Joe to successfully capture the center of Cologne.

However, Joe soon encountered a problem: about a third of Cologne's city is located on the east bank of the Rhine River. To cross the river, Joe had to seize the bridges over the Rhine in order to take over the rest of Cologne.

But Cologne is not Paris. There are only six bridges connecting the east and west banks of the Rhine. While Joe was fighting in the streets, the Teutons had already set up a dense defense on the east bank of the Rhine.

Those who frequently play RTS games know that when the defending side has piled up defenses at the bridgehead, trying to force a charge is, to put it nicely, brave and fearless, but to put it bluntly, it shows a lack of common sense.

During a probing attack, the Hound tank had just reached the center of the bridge when it was hit by multiple anti-tank guns, prompting Joe to halt the attack.

Don't let the troops charge head-on. First, use heavy artillery to blow up all the places on the other side where people might be hiding.

Producing a six-inch cannon shell takes less than half an hour, but training a soldier to be ready for battle takes at least eighteen years, so don't be stingy with shells. I don't want to see the enemy able to retaliate with heavy firepower in the next attack.

Although the Rhine River briefly halted Jo's advance, elsewhere on the front lines, the Teutons entered their darkest month since the start of the war.

With the Gauls and Caucasians creating a breach at Verdun, the Teutons were forced to retreat in large numbers in order to shorten their defensive lines.

The land that had been acquired at the cost of the lives of millions over the past few years was mostly lost in just one month, and the defeat in the Second Battle of Paris had severely dampened the morale of the Paris Army.

Almost everyone saw the Teutonic flag flying on the Eiffel Tower, and quite a few people even visited the Élysée Palace and the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

Now they had to abandon the bodies of their comrades and the land they had fought so hard for, and retreat in disgrace. This huge contrast left the soldiers completely bewildered as to what had happened.

Meanwhile, George, who was chasing them like a mad dog, also made the retreating soldiers feel terrified. No one knew if those crazy American men would suddenly appear in front of them.

As the battle lines retreated by leaps and bounds, the Teutonic General Staff and the Emperor began to feel immense pressure.

Although only the northern section of the Hindenburg Line was breached, most of the southern section remained operational.

It was this defensive line that prevented the Teutonic retreat from turning into a rout; the retreating troops barely withstood the large-scale offensive by the Gauls and the Caucasians thanks to the Hindenburg Line.

But now it's no longer a question of whether the Hindenburg Line is still usable, because the Habsburgs, the last ally of the Eastern Linetons, can no longer hold out. According to intelligence and diplomatic reports, they may announce their surrender within 72 hours.

Because the Lucia military government has already conquered the Rose Country, it is now attacking the Habsburg homeland from the south after conquering the Rose Country.

Given the Habsburgs' weak fighting capacity, they were clearly no match for the former Luscan Third Army, which had captured almost all of the eastern Black Sea coast from Odessa to Constantinople.

The Lucia Empire was able to have a certain voice in the Old World in the past because of the army groups composed of the first to third standing armies.

At the beginning of the war on the Eastern Front, before annihilating the First and Second Russian Armies, the Teutonic Army was even at a disadvantage on the Eastern Front. Even after the two armies were annihilated, they still inflicted considerable losses on the Teutons.

According to General Paul, who commanded the Eastern Front at the time, the Lucia army was a strange combination of brave soldiers and foolish generals.

After five difficult years, the Teutons realized that the Habsburg army, composed of weak soldiers and foolish generals, was no match for the Lucia army, which was made up of brave soldiers and foolish generals. The fact that the Habsburgs could hold their line without collapsing was already an extraordinary achievement.

The fact that they were able to withstand the Italian attacks for so long in the mountain warfare on the southern front was completely beyond the Teutonics' expectations.

But now they are being asked to resist those madwomen, Lucia, who have just occupied Constantinople and have clearly entered a state of fanaticism, and who occupied Sofia, the capital of the Rose Kingdom, in less than a week.
impossible.

If the Habsburgs withdraw from the war, the empire will not even be fighting on two fronts, but on three, a war in which there is no possibility of victory.

When the offensive of the Gauls and Caucasians came to a halt before the Hindenburg Line, the major belligerent nations, including the Gauls, Caucasians, Buntanians, and the Lucia military government, issued an ultimatum to the Teutons.

They either surrender or they will bring the war to Teutonic territory. Joe's troops are just the beginning; more troops will soon set foot on Teutonic soil.

Faced with this terrible, or rather, hopeless situation, the Teutonic Emperor and his officers felt that the army had to do something!

However, the Teutonic Emperor's ideas differed slightly from those of some officers in the officer corps.

Although at this moment, almost everyone could see that unless the Teutons could resurrect their ancestors and the generals and soldiers who died in this war, they had no chance of winning the war.

However, the Teutonic Emperor believed that they still had a chance to achieve a relatively decent ceasefire.

At the very least, the empire cannot disintegrate like the sultanate.

So after the last of the Imperial Guards in the capital were sent to suppress the naval mutiny, the protests and strikes that had subsided in 1917, due to the negative impact of the naval mutiny and the instigation of the left wing, spread like wildfire across the country again.

The emperor had no choice but to send the last of his guards, along with police and gendarmes from all over the country, to suppress the protests that were spreading like wildfire.

At the same time, the Teutonic Emperor allowed the older, trained naval officers in the naval academy to graduate early and join the fleet to prepare for sea operations.

Unlike the demoralized naval soldiers, these naval cadets, who had not even graduated yet, were in high spirits despite the dire situation.

Piloting warships, the culmination of the Empire's industrial prowess, to fight for a glimmer of hope for the Empire—a battle that seemed hopeless to ordinary sailors—was, in the eyes of these young men from the Teutonic officer corps of the Old Germania Plain Black Banner, the most glorious moment of their lives.

From the Thirty Years' War to the Seven Years' War, to the Great Emperor's sweep across the Old World, and even the Tiolus War forty years ago, when did they not achieve victory despite being at a disadvantage?
The more desperate the situation, the more we must not give up hope. The war navy will live up to His Majesty's expectations!
After executing a group of troublemaking sailors, the officers began to quickly reorganize the fleet, although they lost many experienced sailors due to the mutiny and purge.

However, due to the Bunitania blockade, there were still many unemployed experienced sailors in the Teutonic ports, as well as many experienced crew members of raiding ships that used camouflage to sneak into Bunitania's shipping lanes to carry out surprise attacks.

Because of the potential needs of the navy, the sailors on those ocean-going ships were not conscripted by the army but were retained, and now is the time for these sailors to prove their worth.

Even though these newly boarded sailors and officers are not yet familiar with the ship's interior compartments, things have come to this point, so they have to go!
Two years later, the wartime navy began a large-scale replenishment of its ships and started preparing for sea operations.

Such large-scale preparations naturally did not escape the notice of the Bunitarian spies, and news of the war navy's preparations to set sail soon reached London.

This news left the wartime cabinet and His Majesty George, who were just about to pop the champagne, completely dumbfounded.

No one understood how the Teutons could still send their navy to attack under such circumstances. The battle on the ground had already escalated to this point, so what was the point of sending the navy to fight?

Even if every single one of your shells were blessed by God and you won the home fleet with such a one in ten thousand chance, would you still be able to land on the main island of Bonitania or something?
This doesn't make sense...

However, after a brief analysis, the wartime cabinet figured out exactly what the Teutons were planning to do.

As a land-based power, the Teutons historically did not have a decent navy. Before the current Teutonic Emperor came to power, the Teutonic navy could not be described as formidable; it was more of a dispensable one.

So, even if they lose their war navy, they are merely returning to where they belong in their past history. However, if the Bonitania home fleet suffers heavy losses, then they will be in big trouble after the war ends.

But will the home fleet suffer heavy losses?

The wartime cabinet felt the possibility was slim, so they said nothing more and told the home fleet to prepare; it was time to destroy the Teutons' last stand.

Unlike the Teutonic navy, whose morale was strangely high, the Bunitalian navy was in high spirits at this time.

Although the Britannian Navy suffered slightly more tonnage losses in the last naval battle.

But only time will tell who got hammered back. In addition, as a traditional naval power, the Royal Navy of Bonitania had a huge psychological advantage when facing the Teutons.

Centuries ago, although the army of Bonitania often made embarrassing mistakes, the Royal Navy had never been defeated in a century of wars, from the distant New World to His Majesty's canals, the Royal Navy fought every enemy it encountered!

However, in this unprecedented war, apart from that somewhat humiliating defeat of the Teutons, the Royal Navy never had another decent large-scale battle.

Their usual missions are either escorting ships, anti-submarine warfare, and chasing down and killing those Teutonic disguised ships.

They have almost no notable achievements.

Then look at the army, which used to be too afraid to speak loudly when fighting for budgets. First, they created the Miracle on the Marne, then they fought two bloody battles on the Somme, and they even helped the Gauls defend Paris with just a special task force.

They thus became the first unit in the allied forces to successfully break through the Teutonic defenses and penetrate into Teutonic territory during a large-scale counterattack.

He was an ordinary corporal at the start of the war, but now he's a general, and it looks like he'll definitely be ennobled after the war.

This inevitably made the navy envious.

For lower-ranking naval officers, the fact that a corporal could rise to the rank of general in just three years made those who wanted to advance feel that they could take his place, but they lacked an opportunity.

As for the Navy's top brass, Joe's mechanized force is obviously going to use a lot of metal. Right now, his off-road vehicles are taking up Air Force engines. I don't even want to think about what he'll take up in the future!

However, given the armored forces' outstanding achievements, there was little controversy surrounding them. These were not achievements that just anyone could accomplish, leaving little room for further discussion.

Therefore, the naval leadership had no choice but to follow the old path of suppressing the army, preparing to scramble for victory with Qiao.

If you're so capable, advance into Germania before we wipe out the Teutonic Navy!
In this slightly fanatical mood, the home fleet completed its battle preparations and set sail at an unprecedented speed, just waiting for the Teutonic fleet to crash into its face.

Meanwhile, the Bunitania Navy was preparing to rack up military achievements for itself before the war ended.

Those in the Teutonic officer corps who were prepared to save the country were also ready to take action.

One reason they were eager to take action now was that, although Joe felt his progress in Cologne wasn't fast, these officers considered his pace of advance alarming.

Large cities like these, whether it's Paris or St. Petersburg, are bloody meat grinders where the fighting has dragged on for years.

Before the war, they thought that even if they couldn't defeat Joe here, at least they could delay the enemy for a while by sending their best armored units and the veterans they could mobilize.

However, it didn't work. If it weren't for the Rhine River, Cologne would have already fallen.

They've almost taken over Cologne in such a short time; they don't even dare to imagine what Joe can achieve next.

With the war at this point and all the allies surrendering, what's the point of the Teutons continuing to persist except for suffering an even greater defeat? They might as well surrender while they still have leverage.

On the other hand, their underhanded actions were discovered by the Chief of the General Staff of the Teutonic Empire.

As the war progressed, the Chief of the General Staff had effectively become the second most powerful figure in the Teutonic Empire. Therefore, when this act, which was tantamount to rebellion, was discovered by the Chief of the General Staff, these officers were prepared to be dragged out and shot on the spot.

However, the Chief of the General Staff did not execute these officers, after all, the one who was instigating the rebellion was an imperial war hero, a marshal of great importance in the imperial army. Instead, he told them that what they were doing was wrong.

His Majesty's children are all fighting on the front lines, and even his daughter has gone to the medical corps. Under these circumstances, a violent mutiny is impossible. Even if you find soldiers willing to do so, believe me, when His Majesty glares at those soldiers and asks, "Have I mistreated you? My children are also fighting on the front lines, and my youngest son died in the war," those soldiers will immediately turn their bayonets on him, claiming they have been deceived.

The Chief of the General Staff had gone to such lengths that even the most naive officers could understand that the Chief of the General Staff was on their side.

So they all asked the Chief of the General Staff what they should do now.
The Chief of the General Staff said, "You don't need to do anything. I will transfer you to some new departments under the pretext of adjusting city defenses. Once you're in those new positions, all you need to do is do nothing. Just let me handle everything." After calming the restless officers, the Chief of the General Staff began his operation.

Because the Teutonic Emperor sent his last guards to suppress the sailors' mutiny, and protests and strikes spread like wildfire.

The Chief of the General Staff soon began to adjust the city defenses of Germania under the pretext of adjusting city defenses, although theoretically the power to move and adjust troops and officials within Germania belonged to His Majesty.

However, by this time the war had been going on for five years, and the Teutonic Emperor no longer had the energy to attend to these areas, just as he had delegated much power to the General Staff.

Although the process is not very logical, everyone has gotten used to it now, with the Chief of the General Staff making decisions on behalf of His Majesty.

So soon those spirited officers arrived at the positions assigned to them by the Chief of the General Staff.

Once everything was ready, the Teutonic Chief of Staff began to wait.

It wasn't long before the Teutonic Chief of Staff received the news.

The Habsburgs held out for exactly the time their intelligence and diplomatic services had estimated. After 44 hours, the Habsburg emperor abdicated, relinquishing his imperial title, and the empire disintegrated, thus withdrawing from the war.

Although they had been somewhat prepared, the news still greatly shocked the Teutons. Now, facing a global onslaught, they could only fight alone.

So when the Teutonic Emperor summoned the Chief of the General Staff to the palace to discuss how they should deal with this terrible situation, the Chief of the General Staff ordered that it was time to take action.

Soon the Chief of the General Staff led the marshal to meet the Teutonic Emperor in the palace.

Since the last naval mutiny, the Teutonic Emperor had looked much more haggard, and now he looked more than just haggard; he resembled a beast cornered in a corner.

Upon seeing the Chief of the General Staff enter the map room, the Teutonic Emperor let out a howl like a wounded beast: "Someone has betrayed me! That person has actually issued a telegram announcing my abdication and that my crown prince has also renounced his right to the throne! Find that traitor! I will hang him!"

Looking at the emperor, who was like a trapped beast, the Chief of the General Staff felt a pang of pity. Although the emperor had his flaws, doing such a thing was indeed a betrayal of the emperor.

No matter the excuse, betrayal is betrayal, so the Chief of the General Staff was hesitant to speak up.

However, the Chief of the General Staff did not speak, but the Marshal did.

"Your Majesty, the telegram was issued on my and the Chief of the General Staff's orders. The war can no longer continue. For the sake of the Teutonic Army, we must cease hostilities. I am very sorry, but Your Majesty, this is probably the only way."

After the marshal finished speaking, the Teutonic Emperor looked at the marshal he had personally promoted, stopped howling, and looked as if he had just learned that evil existed in the world for the first time.

The emperor raised his finger and pointed at the marshal, his eyes looking at the chief of staff. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but under the overwhelming emotional impact, only incoherent sounds came from his throat, like the hissing of a kettle boiling water.

Seeing the shocked emperor, the Chief of the General Staff also spoke up.

“Your Majesty, the war can no longer continue. We cannot stop the Bunitanias, nor will we be able to stop the Gauls and the Caucasians. After the Habsburgs surrender, it is only a matter of time before the Lucias cross the southern border and enter the Empire. We have no armed forces in the south except for the police and gendarmes. You do not want the Lucias to set foot on Teutonic soil, Your Majesty.”

After the Chief of the General Staff finished speaking, the Marshal also spoke.

“Your Majesty, abdicate now, and you and your family can go into exile. You can take anyone and anything you want with you, and we will not stop you. Although we have betrayed you, it is for the sake of the Teutons.”

Looking at the Chief of the General Staff and the Marshal before him, the Teutonic Emperor was stunned for a long time. As the surprise on his face gradually faded, a bitter smile began to creep onto his face.

"Hahahaha!"

Amidst a burst of laughter that sounded like a wail, the Teutonic Emperor drew his sidearm and pointed it at the Chief of the General Staff and the Marshal before him.

"I should kill you all right now."

The Chief of the General Staff and the Marshal calmly looked at the Emperor.

“You may shoot at us, but Your Majesty, please believe me, we are doing this entirely for the sake of the Teutons. The war cannot continue and must be stopped.”

"For the Teutons? Very well... You've been preparing for this for a while, haven't you, to do something like this before the Janissaries leave?"

The emperor put away his pistol, turned around, walked to a chair to the side, sat down, and looked at the two people in front of him.

"Tell me, what are your plans after I'm gone? Tell me how you intend to save the Teutons?"

Just as the emperor was looking at the chief of staff and the marshal in the map room, the Teutonic Navy's torpedo boat squadron was launching a final, desperate charge in the North Sea.

In the naval battle before sunset, the Teutonic Navy had already suffered heavy losses in the engagement between the battleships and battlecruisers of both sides.

Although the Teutonic Navy had the advantage in tonnage sunk in the last encounter, in the past two years, due to the blockade by the Bunitania, the war navy has not been able to launch any new ships, nor has it been able to fully repair the ships damaged in the naval battles.

The Bunitarians not only repaired the damaged ships, but also launched many new ones.

As a result of this shift in power, the Teutons suffered heavy losses in this exchange of fire along the battle line.

Although the cadets were fervent and tenacious, this could not prevent the Teutonic battleship fleet from collapsing.

As for battlecruiser formations... there are no battlecruiser formations left. Due to the loss of skilled sailors and the terrifying speed and salvo of the newly launched Renown-class battlecruisers, the Teutonic battlecruiser formations were defeated in the brutal game of the navy.

After tenaciously sinking two Bunitania battlecruisers and severely damaging another in the battle, the entire Teutonic Navy battlecruiser squadron sank into the icy North Sea.

The loss of high-speed battlecruisers meant that the slow-moving battleship formations were unable to seize the head of the ship from the Bunitania's battlecruisers, which dealt a devastating blow to the Teutonic battleship formations.

Due to their slow speed, they couldn't even retreat by sea. All they could do was, after nightfall, try to return while sending their brave torpedo boats to attack the Bunitania battleship fleet, just like in the last naval battle.

Having experienced the last naval battle, the Bunitas were well-prepared for the Teutonic tactics of launching torpedo boat attacks at night.

Unlike the previous naval battle, in this battle they completely destroyed the Teutonic battlecruiser squadron and severely damaged the Teutonic battleship division, almost completely destroying their fighting capacity.

So when night fell, the Bunitarian battleships and battlecruisers began to withdraw from the battlefield under the escort of destroyers, without attempting to pursue the Teutonic fleet any further.

At this very moment, the Teutonic Navy, which had suffered heavy losses, received news that the Emperor had abdicated. This news made the Teutonic Navy feel betrayed.

If His Majesty intends to abdicate, then what is the meaning of our struggle today? What is the meaning of those sacrifices?!

Unlike the Teutonic Navy, which felt betrayed, the Army reacted very differently to the news. Some thought it was fake news, while others also felt betrayed.

Among the Crown Prince's army that was holding out in the Hindenburg Line, some officers even went directly to question the Crown Prince, saying, "We are ready to fight to the death, why did Your Highness surrender first?"
Some people believe this must be a conspiracy by someone, a coup attempt in the capital! We must go to the capital to help His Majesty.

Holz, who was resting on the east bank of the Rhine, encountered a colonel whose chest was covered with medals. This colonel led a group of Storm Commandos into their camp, saying that His Majesty had been taken hostage in Germania and that they had to do something.

As former glorious cavalrymen, are you going to stay here and rot, or come with me to save His Majesty?!
Holtz and Hans were dumbfounded when they heard that the colonel was planning to purge the court of corrupt officials.

If they hadn't escaped quickly enough, they would have been wiped out on the west bank of the Rhine, just like most other units. Now, although they are theoretically a company, they can't even muster a platoon. They are just barely holding on with a few half-track vehicles.

But after figuring out what had happened, Holz and Hans couldn't hold back anymore.

We held out for so long, even keeping that guy Joe at bay on the west bank of the Rhine, and now His Majesty has surrendered?

His Majesty's youngest sons have all died in Paris. His Majesty certainly wouldn't abandon us at this time. There must be some treacherous people deceiving His Majesty. We must go to Germania to explain the situation to His Majesty and persuade him to retract his order! We must purge the court of corrupt officials!
The colonel's power was naturally different. Soon, Holtz and Hans, along with the mechanized hussar company, the colonel, and the storm commandos, boarded the train to Germania.

The Teutonic front troops all knew about this news, and Joe naturally received it as well.

After all, the message was sent in plain text, so even though Joe's troops had very limited radio skills, they still received it.

Although Joe had wanted to get out of the war from the very first day he entered it, at this moment, he ordered all his troops to prepare for a forced crossing of the Rhine.

The officers under Joe's command expressed their incomprehension of Joe's behavior of singing songs in the middle of the night.

Based on the experience of the Sultanate, now that the Teutonic Emperor has abdicated and the Crown Prince has renounced his right of succession, a ceasefire should follow.

Launching a fierce attack at a time like this is not like Joe's style.

After all, if Joe wanted to gain military merit, he wouldn't have used such a tender approach to attack Cologne; he would have launched a full-scale assault long ago.

When questioned by his subordinates, Qiao sighed deeply and explained that he knew that once this news came out, the war would soon end, which was why he wanted to launch one last attack.

Given the current situation, even if a ceasefire were to be reached, the Teutons, who had twice stormed into Paris and nearly won the war, would certainly be dissatisfied.

Then, decades later, they will definitely want to do it again.

So instead of them going back to the same place and fighting the same war decades later, let's give the Teutons a good beating today. Forget the orders from the General Staff, let's go to Germania now!

Joe looked around at the officers who had at least walked with him through the Low Countries, and some of whom had even endured the hardships of Paris with him.

“We can’t influence what the higher-ups think, but we still have a chance to give the Teutons a good beating and make them think twice before launching another war. So, do you want to come with me?”

Under Joe's gaze, the officers stood at attention and saluted him.

"You give the order, we'll carry it out. Give the order, General!"

Joe nodded.

"Then let's begin preparations. Before dawn tomorrow, I need the troops to cross the Rhine and then proceed to Germania as quickly as possible."

"Understood! Sir!"

When dawn broke the next day, the news of the Teutonic Emperor's abdication shocked the entire world, and everyone knew that the war was about to end.

The old men in London, despite it being morning, started opening champagne to celebrate.

Especially the wartime cabinet, as the war came to an end, everyone felt a little more relaxed.

So much so that when they received the news that Joe had forcibly broken through the Rhine River and occupied Cologne last night, they were still marveling that old Joe finally couldn't sit still and wanted to gain some more military merits before the war ended.

Then they looked at the report and exclaimed, "What do you mean Old Joe is marching into Germania?!"

(End of this chapter)