Starting with the smashing of Dunkirk

Chapter 33 A patchwork of materials, using whatever was available

After reporting the formation of the commando unit to Duke Rupprecht, the relevant procedures were approved the next day.

Captain Lelouch Hunt is hereby transferred to the position of deputy battalion commander of the assault battalion directly under the 12th Division of the 6th Army, effective immediately, and will also serve as company commander of Company A.

This company was reorganized from the original reconnaissance company of the 12th Division, retaining almost all of its original personnel—well, to be precise, only the personnel were retained, while half of the horses were cut. This was because the original reconnaissance company was a cavalry company, and after the reorganization, fewer warhorses were needed.

In 1914, a standard German infantry company consisted of 240 men, divided into four platoons of 60 men each, with each platoon further divided into a squad of 15 men.

Moving up from the company level, a battalion should consist of 4 companies with 960 men, plus officers and battalion headquarters, totaling just over 1,000 men.

A regiment consists of four battalions, with more than 4000 infantrymen. Including artillery companies and other auxiliary units, the total number of personnel is approximately 4200 to 4300.

An infantry division consists of four infantry regiments and one artillery regiment, with a standard strength of over 18000 men. At that time, the German army did not have a standing brigade-level organization.

Lelouch suggested forming an assault battalion this time because of the short notice, and he didn't want to make too many complicated organizational changes so that his comrades wouldn't be able to adapt quickly.

Therefore, each company still has a structure of 240 people, 4 platoons and 4 squads.

However, considering that Lelouch's previous reconnaissance company was already reinforced and included a communications platoon, its total strength exceeded 240. Building a full assault team would require additional specialized personnel, significantly exceeding the required number.

So in the end, Commander Rupprecht and Division Commander Karl both wrote down their special permission to expand his unit separately.

The future 12th Division assault battalion will have a total strength of 1200 men, equivalent to a reinforced battalion with 5 companies. However, in reality, the B, C, and D companies will still be 240 men in 4 platoons, while the A company will be specially approved as a reinforced company with 480 men in 8 platoons, equivalent to two companies.

Fortunately, Lelouch's company already had two captains—Barak, the former deputy commander of the cavalry reconnaissance company, was promoted to captain for his meritorious service in the Neoport campaign, but was blocked by Lelouch's parachuting in and has been able to remain a deputy commander ever since.

They now have eight platoons under their command, which is perfect for Captain Barak to effectively manage half of them. Barak shouldn't feel like he's wasting his talents.

Several more lieutenants and second lieutenants should be added. Before Lelouch left, he heard from the Duke that he was allowed to select suitable young officers from the recently returned wounded soldiers of the 6th Army to fill these positions.

Moreover, the additional soldiers will mainly be experienced veterans who have recovered from their injuries and returned to their posts, in order to ensure the combat quality of the assault team.

When Lelouch received this authorization, he was secretly delighted: after all, he was a time traveler and knew the history of future wars.

The famous generals who fought valiantly in World War II, twenty years from now, would generally be only in their twenties or thirties, mostly at the junior officer level. Wouldn't allowing oneself to select people from wounded officers or allied forces by one rank be a perfect opportunity to pick up overlooked talent?
Unfortunately, the selection pool was limited to junior officers of the 6th Army, so they were all from the Baria faction and no young talents from other states could be chosen.

But this is enough; it's better than having no choice at all.

Furthermore, there's no need to rush the selection of officers, as the Battle of Ypres is still some time away. Many officers who were wounded at the beginning of the war are still recovering.

However, the weapons and equipment needed to organize the Storm Strike Force need to be deployed as soon as possible. Improving and manufacturing weapons takes time, which is much slower than selecting personnel.

Anyone who has been a project manager knows that you should prioritize tasks with longer timelines to ensure that all sub-projects are roughly on track by the time the project is completed.

So after a quick tidy-up in Blankenberg, Lelouch requested an early leave to return to the rear and help His Highness the Duke with important matters.

Because the battle situation had already stabilized, the 12th Division could have withdrawn to the rear for a short rest, especially the 16th Regiment, which had been engaged in intense fighting and needed at least a month of rest.

Yesterday, the Royal Navy of Burkina Faso sent warships to bombard the city of Blankenberg, but two of them were destroyed by coastal defenses. Having suffered heavy losses, the Burkina Faso army finally backed down. Even the ground offensive against the city has almost completely halted. The 12th Division will gradually withdraw from its defensive zone without any problems.

Lelouch simply had urgent business, so he left before his comrades who were taking the train back to the rear to rest.

……

Early morning on December 11th.

The port of Zeebrugge is located a dozen kilometers east of Blankenberg.

Most of the remaining officers and soldiers of the 16th Regiment of the 12th Division have retreated here on foot.

They will stay here for a while, and tomorrow morning a barge will pick them up and take them to Antwerp, a major city 80 kilometers to the east, from where they will take a military train back home.

For the soldiers, this phase of the battle was over, and they needed a good rest. Those who had distinguished themselves received medals and commendations, so the system of rewards and punishments was generally fair.

Lelouch was too busy to wait for a ship or train, so the army group headquarters specially dispatched a plane to Zeebrugge to pick him up.

A group of officers who had a fairly good relationship with him went to the field airfield to see him off.

"Captain Barak, while I'm away, the company's daily management will be in your hands. Platoon Leader Schweinsteiger, Sergeant Major Klose, take care too. We'll meet in Nuremberg or Munich in a while, and we'll keep in touch by telegram then."

"Take care, sir. You've worked so hard. You just got off vacation and now you have to fly to the rear to handle some business. I'll come see you as soon as I get back to Balia." His loyal confidant, Klose, shook his hand and hugged him tightly before watching him board the plane.

And the person responsible for flying him there was none other than Captain Mark Immelmann, the same captain from just over ten days ago. Perhaps the fighting had temporarily subsided, the intensity of the offensive and defensive maneuvers on both sides had decreased, and the pressure of aerial reconnaissance had lessened.

Sitting in the cockpit, pipe in hand, Yinmeiman turned and saw Lelouch's captain's epaulettes gleaming on his shoulder as he climbed onto the plane, and felt a pang of envy. "You really have a bright future ahead of you. It's only been ten days, and you've gone from lieutenant to captain. His Highness the Duke must really appreciate you; he even had me fly the plane to take you back home."

He even said he'd give me a break during this time, and that I wouldn't have any other tasks besides driving him around—I'm practically becoming his driver.

Faced with Immelmann's complaints, Lelouch, being a man of social graces, quickly retorted, "How could I dare to treat you as a driver? I'm just doing this for the Duke. This time when I return, I might be representing the Duke in negotiations with some military industrial enterprises."

Those people in industry, which one of them isn't generous? As long as we represent the military to make the requests, and give them a little pointers, are we afraid they won't reciprocate? Brother, I remember your family isn't exactly wealthy either.”

Upon hearing this, Yin Maiman started the plane while chuckling in a low voice: "My father is just an ordinary technician, you don't need to mock my family background."

Lelouch quickly clarified, "No, no, no, how could it be mockery? I'm just being frank with you. Back in the rear, what's there to hide about legally obtaining some benefits through our own abilities?"
"At least your father was a mechanic, but my parents passed away long ago, so I had no ties and came to Bali to serve in the military from Oreo. I don't even have a place to live in Bali."

Yinmeiman had already started the plane, and he had no time for idle chatter, focusing only on takeoff. After taking off, he sighed, "I thought that someone who could be appreciated by the Duke must have some family background, but I didn't expect you to be in such a sorry state. So you have no one left in your family?"

Lelouch searched through the original owner's memories: "I only had an older sister who was already married and a younger sister who had just come of age. I was able to finish university thanks to half of the subsidies from the Oreo authorities and half of the financial support from my brother-in-law."

My father was a civil servant. According to local policy, civil servants who pass away with minor children are entitled to living and education subsidies until they turn 18.

Yinmaiman: "So where are you planning to stay when you go back to Balia this time? The military sanatorium? You'll be running around doing errands."

Lelouch wasn't worried about this at all. He took a letter out of his pocket, waved it in front of Immelmann, and then quickly put it away to prevent it from being blown away by the strong winds on the plane.

"This is a letter of introduction from His Highness the Crown Prince, which allows me to eat and stay at the royal estates in Munich or Nuremberg at will. If I go to Thuringia, I can also stay at the military sanatorium with this letter of introduction, but I will have to pay for it myself. However, His Highness's secretary also gave me a travel allowance of five thousand marks."

"Five thousand marks? How long are you going to stay in the rear this time? You should pay for my travel expenses!" Yin Maiman couldn't help but tease.

In 1914, a skilled worker in Berlin earned about 300 marks a month. A manual laborer, who required no experience, earned about 100 marks.

One kilogram of black bread costs about 30 pfennigs (0.3 marks), and one kilogram of pure pork sausage costs 2 marks.

That is, a manual laborer's monthly salary is roughly enough to buy 50 kilograms of pure meat sausages or 300 kilograms of black bread.

However, Lelouch has just performed a great service for the country, so giving him five thousand dollars for travel expenses is entirely appropriate.

"I might stay for a month and a half, at least a month." Lelouch knew that Immelmann was one of his own, so he didn't hide anything from him.
"The Duke originally thought that the preparation period for this battle would only be about twenty days, and that he would launch a general offensive against Ypres at the end of the month."

But before I left, I analyzed the situation with Major General Karl and others, and persuaded the Duke to postpone the plan. We also went to discuss it with the General Staff.

Before the Belighin were destroyed, they had just blown open the Isel Canal, creating a flood zone. It would take some time for the water to stabilize, and the muddy environment was too unfavorable for an attack.

By mid-December, the weather will be cold enough that some groundwater will freeze, making the terrain less muddy. However, delaying the attack until the end of the year presents a challenge: troops can no longer fight in their autumn uniforms. Therefore, during this troop rotation and rest period, winter uniforms must be prepared for all the troops, which will take time.

Yin Maiman: "You have to worry about winter clothes too?"

Lelouch: "I don't need to worry about winter clothes, but I also want to take this opportunity to upgrade my comrades' armor, so let's do it together."

Historically, the French army did not invent the steel helmet until 1915, while the German army did not follow suit until 1916.

But the helmet itself doesn't involve much technology, and it's the personal equipment that Lelouch can most easily interfere with, so of course he'd take advantage of it.

Immelmann: "Where will you go first? Straight to Munich? Nuremberg is further south, so you'll probably pass through Munich first."

Lelouch: "No, we'll probably pass through Thuringia before going to Munich, right? You can land in Thuringia first, and then change cars later—by the way, could you teach me how to drive then?"

"One thousand marks, including driving lessons and full transportation during holidays. Add another two thousand marks and I'll teach you how to fly a plane."

"make a deal."

Lelouch readily agreed and immediately accepted Immelmann's offer.

Immelmann felt a surge of energy, stepped on the gas, and three hours later arrived in Cologne. There he refueled, had a meal, and then flew for another three hours to reach Thuringia.

When I got off the plane, there were already industry representatives waiting to pick me up.

Among the crowd, a balding old man with a receding hairline, as soon as he saw Lelouch climb down the gangway, led the way to shake his hand:

"You must be Captain Lelouch, the special envoy of His Highness Duke Rupprecht? I am Emil Bergman."

Upon hearing the other person's surname, Lelouch knew that this was the head of Bergman, a well-known local small arms manufacturer.

“Mr. Bergman, it’s an honor to meet you. This is Captain Immelmann of the Air Force.” Lelouch quickly shook hands with him and introduced them.

(End of this chapter)