Starting with the smashing of Dunkirk

Chapter 87 An Epic Victory: Some Rejoice, Some Sorrow
February 23, 1915, morning.

All the major newspapers in the Demacian Empire rushed to publish the breaking news early that morning.

Even evening newspapers and non-daily publications printed extra editions that morning.

Printing plants across the country were forced to work overtime the night before, without exception. Even allies like Oreo and Ottoman released their products simultaneously.

Early in the morning, in major cities like Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Frankfurt, and Königsberg, countless newsboys were loudly hawking the latest news.

"Breaking news! Breaking news! An epic victory! Sir, would you like to buy a copy of the Berlin Local News? It has the most detailed report on the victory!"

A well-dressed gentleman with a full white beard was walking briskly through the streets of Berlin, leaning on a cane, when he was stopped by a newsboy.

Faced with the sales pitch, he frowned slightly: "I don't read those vulgar tabloids! Do you have the Berliner Zeitung or the Vostok? If not, then I don't want it!"

The Berlin Local News was a traditional, down-to-earth newspaper favored by the general public, boasting the largest circulation. However, it was rather belligerent and not well-received by internationally renowned intellectuals and the liberal middle class.

The Berliner Zeitung leans more towards liberalism and has a large circulation. The Voss newspaper and the Vostok newspaper are even more left-leaning, but they are harder to find.

The newsboy quickly put on a smile and handed over a copy of the Berliner Zeitung: "Yes, sir, here you go, five pfennigs."

The gentleman in the formal attire paid and began to read carefully.

"An epic victory! The Imperial 6th and 4th Armies stormed Ypres at 11 p.m. on February 22 and captured Field Marshal John French, Commander-in-Chief of the Britannian Army. The remaining Britannian Army surrendered at midnight that same day."

Thus ended the Battle of Ypres, a complete victory for the Empire! The battle annihilated the Burgundian army and completely occupied the entire territory of Biligin. A total of 7.5 Burgundian soldiers were killed, 14.2 were captured, and a total of 21.7 Burgundian soldiers were annihilated. During the two-month battle, nearly 9 French troops who came to the Burgundian rescue were also killed, wounded, or captured.

我第6集团军仅伤亡4万人，第4集团军伤亡2万余人。以总伤亡6万余人的代价，换取累积歼敌30余万之战果！并彻底占领伊普尔-敦刻尔克突出部，拓地4千余平方公里。”

"The Empire also inflicted heavy damage on the Burkina Faso navy that came to its aid. Our army's airborne troops, coastal defense troops, and railway artillery units, along with the Spee and Hipper fleets of the navy, worked together to achieve successive victories, inflicting heavy damage on the Burkina Faso fleet three times in the waters off Dunkirk, Neoport, and Dogger Sandbar."

帝国空降部队与列车炮部队，于敦刻尔克港内击沉布国战列舰6艘（可畏级前无畏舰2，格兰特级浅水重炮舰4）、于敦刻尔克近海击沉战列舰4艘（爱德华七世级前无畏舰2，法兰克人的絮弗伦号、若雷吉贝里号）、于德潘讷海域击沉战列舰5艘（威严级3艘、法兰克人的布韦号、马塞纳号）、巡洋舰2艘

The Imperial Navy's Spee Fleet sank three battleships (Majestic-class III) and severely damaged several enemy battlecruisers in the waters off Neoport. Subsequently, the Hipper Fleet, in the waters off Dogger Sandbar, sank two already damaged battleships (Warspite, Hybernia), three battlecruisers (Indomitable, Indulgence, New Zealand), and also sank two cruisers and six destroyers.
持续多日的数场海陆大战，总计击沉敌20艘战列舰（1女王级、15前无畏（布11法4）、4浅水重炮）、3战巡、4轻巡、11驱逐，40余艘各型运输船。毙溺敌水兵15000余人（其中法2600人），俘4150人，伤数千人。

帝国仅损失6前无畏舰、1战巡、2装甲巡洋舰、1轻巡、8驱逐、数十座岸防炮、11辆列车炮。战溺亡水兵3822人，战死陆军炮兵755人。

Such a great victory is unprecedented in the world for the past four hundred years. The feat that the Spanish Armada, the Dutch Navy, and Napoleon's Navy failed to accomplish 330 years ago, has now been achieved by the Imperial Navy…”

The gentleman in formal attire, after reading the newspaper, felt a mix of emotions, a mixture of excitement and trepidation.

"I never expected to win such a great victory, but it's a pity that we fought the Burkina Faso people, not the Russa people. I hope it won't lead to the war escalating further and becoming unmanageable in the future."

As a rational, highly educated intellectual, he did not share the same fervor as other citizens on the street.

Other passersby, after reading the newspaper, would often start cheering and spreading the news within seconds.

The streets were filled with praise for "Duke Rupprecht, Lieutenant General Hipper, and Lieutenant General Spee, who are great heroes of the empire. Their achievements are no less than those of generals like Hindenburg and Rodendorff, who won a great victory on the Eastern Front last year."

But the gentleman in formal attire clearly thought more deeply than the average person. After hesitating for a moment, he decided to adjust his schedule for the day and immediately went to the home of an old friend.

……

Half an hour later, the gentleman in the tuxedo arrived at an apartment building in the Schelberg district.

"Kautsky? What brings you to visit this old fellow today?" His old friend opened the door with surprise in his eyes, clearly having lived in seclusion for a long time and rarely concerning himself with worldly affairs or receiving guests.

"Burns, have you seen this morning's newspaper? The Empire has won a great victory on the Western Front!" said the gentleman in formal attire, Kautsky, handing him a newspaper.

Burns, who had been staying at home for a long time, casually took the book, then went back to his study to pick up his glasses and put them on before slowly reading it through.

(Above: Left Kao, Right Bo)
It turns out that these two elderly men, both in their sixties and seventies, were influential members of parliament and representatives of the left-leaning centrist faction in Demania. They were also opinion leaders of the Social Democratic Party since the start of the war.

After the outbreak of war, the Social Democratic Party split, with some particularly left-wing members calling for anti-war measures by any means necessary, believing that there should be no concern about the "motherland".

Some moderate, pragmatic, and mainstream views believe that "war should be used to promote peace" to prevent the war from escalating, and especially to prevent the war's objectives from becoming too broad.

Of course, there are also some who are particularly right-wing and belligerent, such as Shedemann, who blindly supports expanding the war.

Wherever there are people, there are left, center, and right.

However, no matter what, as long as one is human, it is difficult to escape the influence of personal feelings. For example, although Burns is slightly left-leaning, after reading it, he couldn't help but feel happy for the country and blurted out:

"You've won a great victory—that's a good thing, so why do you seem a little worried?"

Kautsky sighed: "Of course I know it's a good thing, but don't you think that winning on the Western Front might swell the Emperor's ambition and lead him to expand the war? This morning I was wondering why there was an extra parliamentary session this afternoon, but now I think it must be to get more funding for the war. Sigh."

Burns frowned and thought for a moment, then put the newspaper on the sofa: "There's nothing we can do about it. Hopefully, the country will continue to move in the direction we hope for. Unprincipled territorial expansion is not something we international observers should support, and if such ambitions succeed, it will only make authoritarian rulers more unscrupulous and unable to control themselves. Just like Qin Shi Huang in ancient China, once addicted to expansion, he will eventually self-destruct."

Our supported goal in this war is only to achieve peace through conflict, with the most likely addition being to curb the rampant and barbaric expansion of the Russa people. This war should have been simply about the Saka assassinating Crown Prince Oreo, and Oreo seeking justice—nothing more. Those tyrants who indiscriminately use pro-independence claims based on similar ethnicities and recklessly escalate the war are the ones we should be stopping.”

(Note: This is merely a paraphrase of the prevailing center-left view in Demacia at the time, and does not represent my agreement with this view. The following paragraphs are also quoted.)
Burns' words may be difficult for foreigners unfamiliar with this history to understand at first glance.

However, this was the prevailing center-left view within Demania at the time. They also supported the war, but believed that the conflict with France, Bohemia, and other countries should be aimed at achieving peace through war, rather than with the goal of "ceding Frankish territory after victory."

They believed that the Franks were also a free country, without any barbaric expansion, and that they were bound to the war by certain treaties.

In the eyes of these Demacian leftists, the most evil at the time was Russa, the monarch with the strongest centralized power. Moreover, Russa had a history of constantly expanding its territory and often used the generalized banner of "protecting its people" to infiltrate westward, interfering in Austria and the Baltic Peninsula.

Judging from the order of mobilization in the World War, Lusa was the first non-party to be mobilized. Many Demanian citizens who are not very politically savvy believe, based solely on this, that Lusa was the first to turn a "bilateral war between two estranged nations to settle scores" into a "gang-up brawl."

Therefore, the Demacian centrists and intellectuals' support for the war was limited to "If you win the war and then force a peace, you can only retaliate against Russa with violence, but you can't play this game with the civilized countries in the west. The civilized countries in the west were drawn in later; just beat them until they know the consequences and stop."

Moreover, from a pragmatic point of view, these people also understand that it is impossible to defeat the country across the sea. Demania does not have this capability, so it is better to be realistic.

If the emperor were to expand the war beyond this objective, he would face a backlash from the center-left. Historically, Kautsky, Burns, and others discovered this June, after seeing a leaked, unofficial document titled "Agenda for the Victory of War," that the high command was attempting to expand the war's objectives. They then shifted from supporting limited warfare to opposing it, and subsequently voted in Congress to reject increased war funding.

However, none of this has happened yet. The main leaders of the Social Democratic Party only have some concerns about the protracted and attrition-based nature of the war, but they have not yet reached the point of complete despair.

Moreover, a landmark event in history that led these people to believe that "the war had become a protracted war" was the back-and-forth struggle between the first two battles of Ypres. Both sides lost hundreds of thousands of men, but the front lines were simply pushed back and forth without ever changing, and both sides wasted half a year on the Western Front.

However, the Battle of Ypres only took one battle, and it annihilated the Burkina Faso expeditionary force. This greatly reduced the domestic public's concerns about the war becoming a "meaningless waste of resources."

Based on these butterfly effects, Burns, after talking with Kautsky for a while, came to a conclusion:
"It's premature to worry that the higher-ups might become so arrogant as to expand the war's objectives and attempt to arbitrarily cede territory, thus offending the entire international community. I think we should first try to understand the main contributors to this campaign and see their inclinations. Because the views of these people will certainly affect the future goals of the empire."

The main contributor to this victory was Duke Rupprecht, commander of the 6th Army and Crown Prince of Barea. The naval hero was Vice Admiral Hipper, also a Barea nobleman. We could easily find an enlightened minister with connections to both of them to make contact.

For example, Minister Mark von Baden of the Prisoners of War Affairs Department is a representative of the Enlightened Faction and also the leader of one of the four southern states. He must have good relations with Crown Prince Baria in episode 6 and Grand Duke Württemberg in episode 4. I used my connections to ask him to help find out whether we should increase or decrease our support for the war.” Kautsky thought about it and felt that this was a good idea: “Then I’ll have to trouble you. I’m not very familiar with Minister Baden.”

“No problem, I’ll handle it,” Burns readily agreed.

So later that day, these people went to Congress.

As expected, the issue of increasing war funding was discussed after Congress convened in the afternoon.

Although everyone had anticipated the topic, Kautsky, Burns, and others were still taken aback when the minister requesting additional funding stepped onto the podium.

Tonight's speaker is none other than Admiral Tirpitz, the First Lord of the Navy!

"How could it be him? Is today's agenda to allocate more funds for shipbuilding? This is insane! How long does it take to build warships? Are they trying to escalate the war against Britannia at a time like this?"

All the left-leaning people were in a state of panic and didn't listen to anything Minister Tirpitz said.

主战派倒是都听得很认真，提尔皮茨大臣希望比战前计划再提前一年、执行下一轮造舰拨款计划——在战争爆发前，帝国于1904、1908、1912追加过3轮造舰预算。其中1908年那一轮最猛（因为无畏舰出现了），达9.4亿马克，一口气造了一大堆无畏舰和战巡。1912年又追加了2.75亿马克，以开工5艘“巴里亚级”战列舰（每艘预算造价5500万马克）。

If war hadn't broken out, there would have been another naval funding cycle in 1916. But everyone thought that with the outbreak of world war and naval resources being diverted to the army, there wouldn't be any funding in 1916.

Unexpectedly, the Navy Department is not giving up. Instead, it has submitted a funding request more than half a year ahead of schedule, clearly intending to accelerate the shipbuilding program.

Minister Tirpitz then announced, "The Admiralty requests an emergency allocation of 40 million marks this year to ensure the accelerated construction of five 'Balya-class' battleships and to combat rising costs due to wartime inflation. A total of 420 million marks will be allocated over the next three years for the construction of seven 'Mackensen-class' battlecruisers..."

"This is insane! Absolutely insane! Even if the navy wins a major victory, it's worth supporting them. But how can we possibly invest so many resources now? Unless the war lasts another 2-3 years, this money won't even last until the warships are built!"

Most left-leaning members of Congress rejected the proposal, while only staunch supporters of the war supported it. In the end, the two sides appeared to be roughly equal in strength—perhaps to laymen, "roughly equal" is not bad.

However, a side-by-side comparison reveals that this level of support is significantly lower than previous war funding.

Since the start of the war, most war budget appropriations have been passed with a high approval rate of over 70%, and it is rare to encounter a 50/50 split.

While the audience was buzzing with discussion, Marshal Tirpitz had finished speaking and stepped down from the podium.

Before the official vote, ministers from other departments can take the stage to give supplementary speeches, garner votes, or express their opposition.

Just when everyone thought that the other ministers would not get involved in this mess, an unexpected minister stepped forward. It was none other than Archduke Mark von Baden, who had always held a reserved attitude towards the expansion of the war and was the Minister of Prisoners of War Affairs.

"Gentlemen! Please believe that the Empire is sincere in 'using war to promote peace'. His Majesty and all the cabinet ministers are well aware that it is unrealistic for the Empire to completely eliminate Russia, France, and Bohemia, and this is not the Empire's original intention."

Peace can only be achieved through struggle, not through compromise. The Empire has now annihilated the Burkina Faso army. To ultimately achieve peace on the western front, it must possess a trump card that will instill fear in the Burkina Faso people! The Empire's navy has already achieved a brilliant, albeit limited, victory over Burkina Faso!
The Imperial Navy has achieved a decisive advantage in the casualty exchange ratio, proving itself! Therefore, we need to press on and strengthen the Imperial Fleet's overall strength. With this resounding victory as our trump card, the Burkina Faso people have no choice but to lower their arrogant heads and acknowledge that the quality of the Imperial warships and the skill of its sailors surpass theirs! What we lack is simply quantity!

Once we've significantly improved our numerical advantage, the Bretons will have to reconsider whether to withdraw from the war!

Therefore, I support Marshal Tirpitz's proposal, and I hope that other members of parliament who share my views and are inclined to use war to promote peace will consider my proposal today..."

Minister Mark von Baden still enjoys high prestige among the many liberal members of parliament.

Since he had said all that and analyzed the preconditions for using war to achieve peace, the crowd's attitude became increasingly swayed.

Finally, after some discussion, the liberal lawmakers hoped to include some provisions to control the total amount of military spending—specifically, they hoped that the army would spend less money if the navy spent more, or that the army would organize fewer meaningless wars of attrition in the future.

These supplementary issues cannot be finalized in a day or two, but at least the framework for total budget control has been put forward and is required to be passed immediately. It also requires strengthened management of fund usage, prioritizing the completion of warships under construction, prohibiting the misappropriation of steel and materials needed for delayed warships, and preventing the unauthorized commencement of new projects before the completion of older ships.

Finally, the meeting went on until late at night, but it was finally passed, and the Navy finally received the money.

When the meeting adjourned, the left wing of the Social Democratic Party, represented by Kautsky and Burns, couldn't help but stop Minister Mark von Baden.

Burns, who was more familiar with the other party, took the initiative to ask, "Mr. Baden, we know you are very tired, but we apologize for taking up some of your time. We all voted in favor tonight, but we would like to know if your remarks just now were truly from the heart?"

Minister Mark von Baden: "Of course, it comes from the bottom of my heart. I sincerely hope that the Western Front can eventually achieve peace through war, and I also believe that the current approach is conducive to achieving this goal. The key to the Western Front is no longer the Franks, but the Britannians."

Burns thought for a moment, then continued to ask, "There's another matter. I've heard that you're quite familiar with the Archduke of Württemberg and Crown Prince Baria. Could you take this opportunity to learn about these recently promoted imperial heroes' views on the Western Front? Do they share your opinion, or...?"

Burns had assumed that Minister Baden would need to go back and gradually learn about and discuss this issue, but to his surprise, the other party answered very decisively, while also lowering his voice:
"You can rest assured about that. I can assure you that His Highness Rupprecht shares the same view as me. He also believes that the Empire's hope lies on the Eastern Front, while the Western Front must be forced to a stalemate by all means. He has no intention of urging His Majesty to cede territory to civilized nations. The Empire is fighting a defensive war of self-defense."

This straightforward and unthinking answer surprised both Burns and Kautsky: "How do you know so much?"

Minister Baden's expression turned serious as he said, "Of course I'm serious. In fact, I had an emergency conversation with His Highness Rupprecht after the battle yesterday. I think they think further ahead than I do, and they have a methodology based on people who have actually fought on the front lines, unlike us who are just daydreaming."

I also had an in-depth conversation with Lieutenant Colonel Lelouch Hunt, one of His Highness Rupprecht's key advisors, and many of his ideas filled in the details of our plans.

“Lelouch Hunt? Just a lieutenant colonel?” Burns, Kautsky, and other theoretical heavyweights and veteran senators also remembered this name for the first time. “It’s a pity he’s just a lieutenant colonel. Hopefully, this kind of staff officer who rises to prominence on the front lines won’t be as arrogant and belligerent as Rodendorff…”

The group was still worried, but Minister Baden's next words dispelled some of their doubts:

"Don't judge a person by their military rank. This Lelouch Hunt is a very pragmatic young man. He's only 25 years old. I've had in-depth conversations with him about many things before. He's also very compassionate."

Moreover, this time, he captured the Commander-in-Chief of the Expeditionary Force, Field Marshal John French, and it's believed that in a few days, he will no longer be just a lieutenant colonel.

When the Grand Duke of Baden introduced Lelouch, he subconsciously exaggerated Lelouch's age. In fact, Lelouch is only 23 years old by the Chinese age reckoning and 24 by the Chinese age reckoning, but that sounded too unreliable. The Grand Duke of Baden felt that 25 years old was a significant milestone, so he slightly inflated the age and said that he was 25 years old.

ID cards in this era weren't connected to the internet, so it was easy to get away with falsifying one's age. Besides, Lelouch was a naturalized foreigner, so the Empire couldn't possibly go to its ally, Austria, to check his birth certificate.

Burns and Kautsky were then filled with awe: "So young and promising! The Imperial newspapers mainly promote the princes and General Hipper, which makes us overlook the unsung heroes behind them."

"Your Excellency Minister, would you be so kind as to introduce us sometime in the future? We believe that if he is truly a sensible person who advocates for peace through war, we should try to find him a position in the government so that he can have a greater say. This way, the empire will not go astray and will not degenerate into becoming increasingly radical and ultimately off track."

Minister Baden: "If you want to talk to him, I can arrange it, but not in the next few days. As for finding him another position besides his military post, I have already considered it. This time, I will have him assist me in handling some matters concerning prisoners of war from the Burkina Faso expeditionary force. If he performs well, I will have an excuse to recommend him."

Lelouch was unaware that, after the battle yesterday, when Minister Baden came to talk to Commander Rupprecht, he had been listening in, offering a few opinions, and writing a few prompts for Minister Baden's speech to Congress.

He thus came into the view of certain factions in Congress, and from then on, some people gradually regarded him as a representative of the younger generation who opposed the extreme militants such as Rodendorff.

Although the imperial newspapers have not yet publicized his deeds, because he is only a lieutenant colonel, the ordinary people at the bottom of society do not know much about him.

But he has already gained initial recognition among the lawmakers.

-

P.S.: Thank you all for your patience. It was unavoidable, so I had to insert a political scene to lay some background information. Otherwise, the protagonist's desired path could not be developed.

The next chapter will return to the main characters rewarding those who have contributed and making arrangements for the aftermath. Rest assured, there won't be much political content.

(End of this chapter)