Imperial Elite

Chapter 46 The Burning Sky

Although Joe felt that the Gallic leaders had some anthropomorphic traits, the Gallic dockworkers displayed extremely high professionalism.

It didn't take long to unload all of Joe's Paris task force's equipment and supplies from the ship and load them onto the train.

Meanwhile, the first special logistics team, composed of noblemen, had already left Calais with their luggage, preparing to begin consultations with the local quartermaster regarding the special trains to be used to resupply the Paris detachment at least every three days.

When Joe boarded the train, he asked how long it would take to get to Paris, and the conductor confidently assured him.

"I'm betting my honor as the train conductor that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, we'll arrive in Paris in six hours!"

Then, not long after the train departed, and before it even reached Abbeville, the train stopped on the tracks.

"We can't leave for now. The Teutonic planes just bombed the railway, and we have to wait for the road to be repaired before we can continue."

The train conductor, who had just confidently assured that they would arrive in Paris in six hours, took off his hat and looked at Joe with some embarrassment.

Joe didn't bring up topics like honors, but instead asked the train conductor.

Did the Teutons frequently bomb railway lines?

"Yes."

Upon seeing Joe, the conductor, after putting on his hat, spoke to him without mentioning any unpleasant topics.

"Since the start of the war, the Teutons have been attacking this route. The brothers who are building the railway have all trained now. Don't worry, they will finish building the railway soon. And our air force will drive away those sneaky Teutonic planes. Look, here they come."

The train conductor raised his hand and pointed to the air.

Joe looked up in the direction the train conductor was pointing. A dark shadow was flying across the sky, which must have been the Allied air support.

"I hope the road can be repaired soon."

Joe reached out and patted the train conductor on the shoulder.

"Shouldn't we be able to get to Paris today?"

The train conductor patted his chest again.

"Don't worry! I'll stake my honor as the train conductor on it! We'll definitely arrive before dark! The air force has already been deployed, so the rest of our journey will be very smooth!"

However, just as the train conductor assured them that they would definitely arrive before dark, the largest and most intense aerial battle since the start of the war was taking place in the long airspace from Calais to Paris.

Due to the fierce fighting at Verdun and the Somme last year, and in preparation for a possible offensive by Russia on the eastern front, the Teutonic General Staff was not able to commit too many ground troops to the breakthrough in the Champagne region.

However, the inability to commit too many ground troops does not mean that the Teutonic General Staff could not continue to weaken the Gauls' fighting capacity in the Champagne region.

Although the Teutonic Army suffered considerable losses after three major battles on the Eastern and Western Fronts last year, the Teutonic Air Force continued to grow stronger during the war.

Even though the Gauls were the first to define an ace as someone who shot down five enemy planes, and used this as the basis for their claim to be the first ace pilot in the war.

However, just six months after the birth of this first Gallic ace pilot, he fell from the skies of his homeland, and Teutonic pilots began to dominate the skies.

Furthermore, during the ongoing air battles, a large number of ace pilots emerged in the Teutonic Air Force. In fact, the Teutonic Air Force not only had an advantage in numbers, but also a precipitous lead in quality.

While many pilots were still striving to shoot down five enemy aircraft, the Teutonic Air Force's ace pilots had already pushed their kill count past the double digits and were beginning to push towards fifty or even three digits.

In particular, the First Wing of the Teutonic Air Force, composed of ace pilots and known as the "Air Circus," became a nightmare for both Buntanian and Gallic pilots.

Under the leadership of Manfred, known as the ace killer, the Teutonic Air Force's ace pilots did not adopt the low-visibility paint schemes and camouflage that were closer to the sky or the earth, as other pilots did.

Instead, they adopted a striking red paint scheme to proudly announce their arrival to the Bunitania and Gallic pilots on the battlefield.

With the ground forces now in a precarious situation, the Teutonic General Staff decided to leverage their existing air superiority to launch a large-scale air campaign to gain an advantage for the ground troops.

First, by bombing the railway line from Caledonia to Paris, destroying the rails, stations, and railway bridges along the route, they could cut off any possible support from Bunitarnia to Gaul.

Meanwhile, the 1st Regiment, led by Captain Manfred, the ace of the Teutonic Air Force, along with several other regiments, was responsible for covering the offensive zone from Champagne to Paris.

Their mission was only twofold, the first and most important being "to shoot down all the Gaulish and Buntanian aircraft they could see, blinding them and making them seem as if they were in a fog, unaware of where the Teutonic ground forces were."

Afterwards, if they had time, they would report to their superiors the locations of the cavalry divisions and storm assault teams that had launched the attack, because in this advance that seemed to be a whirlwind across the open fields of the Eastern Front, not only the General Staff, but sometimes even the divisional headquarters of the two cavalry divisions were not quite sure where their troops were.

All they knew was that ground troops were closing in on Paris every minute.

Therefore, these Teutonic pilots occasionally had to undertake the task of airdropping orders to ground troops.

Before the start of this air campaign, the Teutonic Emperor personally visited the largest air base on the front lines to inspect these proud air knights and award the Blue Cross medals to the newly promoted aces.

The Teutonic Emperor also told the pilots, "Now is the closest the entire Teutonic Empire has ever been to victory. The cavalry is rushing toward Paris, and in just a few more days, or even a few hours, these cavalrymen who are traveling day and night will be able to reach Paris."

"But their numbers are small, and it will take the following infantry several hours, or even days, to catch up with these cavalry."

"If the Gauls or the Bunitas discover that only such a small force has broken through the lines, not only will victory slip through our fingers, but these brave cavalrymen may never return."

"For the sake of victory, I ask you, no, I beg you, to stop those Gaulish and Buntanian planes. You must not let them find out what is happening at the front."

Faced with such a humble emperor, Captain Manfred the Cavalry and the other Teutonic pilots saluted the Teutonic Emperor and vowed that as long as one of them was alive, they would not allow even a single enemy plane to fly over the heads of those brave cavalrymen.

Meanwhile, the Gaulish and Bunitarian command, equally clueless about what had happened in the Champagne province, where the Teutons had broken through to, and how many troops they had dispatched, found that their infantry or cavalry reconnaissance methods were completely ineffective in figuring out what was going on there.

The Gaul and Bunitania command also dispatched air squadrons to try to reach the area that seemed shrouded in mist and find out what was going on there.

Meanwhile, after the Teutons began their large-scale bombing of the railway lines, the Gallic and Bunitarian air forces also began to take to the skies in an attempt to intercept the Teutonic bombers.

And so a brutal aerial battle broke out.

In the Somme region, Teutonic bomber pilots began their bombing missions with the determination to destroy their intended targets, even if it meant crashing with bombs on them.

In the Champagne province, Teutonic fighter pilots ruthlessly shot down any enemy aircraft that entered their airspace, even if the aircraft immediately began flying at extremely low altitudes to escape to their own positions after being attacked.

Teutonic fighter pilots, like sharks that have smelled blood, would relentlessly attack the aircraft until it was reduced to a pile of expensive flames burning on the ground.

This almost frenzied aerial combat was very difficult for the Gallic and Buntanian pilots to adapt to, even though the war had already spread from the ground and sea to the skies since 1915.

But it was more like a classic knightly duel, where the two sides would patrol and fight over the battlefield, or encounter each other while scouting, then fight, and the winner would fly away while the loser would eat dust.

However, the fighting was now becoming as brutal as trench warfare on the ground, with any aircraft attempting to enter the front lines being met with fierce attacks from the Teutons, who seemed to have sent everything that could fly into the skies.

So it wasn't until after sunset that Joe's military train arrived at its first stop, Abbeville, one of the logistical nodes for the Bunitan Expeditionary Force.

This time, without the train conductor saying anything, Joe knew what had happened just by looking at the huge bomb crater in the station, the still-smoking platform, and the burning airplane wreckage beside the railway.

He patted the train conductor on the shoulder, not mentioning any more honors, but simply asking the conductor to confirm. "It's already dark, the Teutonic Air Force can't fly anymore, so I should be able to get to Paris tonight, right?"

Soon after, the train conductor returned with the second logistics team from the armored training company carrying their luggage off the train.

This time, the train conductor didn't mention any honors or anything like that. Seeing that the conductor was almost in tears, he told Joe, "We definitely won't be able to get there tonight. It would be good if we could get there by noon tomorrow. The Teutons blew up the railway bridge over the river. We can only get to Amiens at most tonight."

Upon hearing the train conductor's words, Joe took off his hat, rubbed his hair, and then painfully rubbed his face.

The Teutons have even mobilized their air force so frantically; are they really planning to invade Paris?

Just how bad has the situation gotten?!

Since things had come to this, Joe could only tell the train conductor.

"Get us to Paris as soon as possible, at least before the Teutons enter Paris."

Hearing Joe say that, the train conductor was not happy.

"Don't worry! Paris is now protected by the Lion of Verdun, the City of Light is impregnable! The Teutons can't get in!"

Seeing the proud train conductor, and recalling the results of his previous two promises, Joe began to have a bad feeling.

Damn it! It's already painful enough to fight the Teutons head-on, are we going to have to fight in the streets this time too?
My brand new car wasn't designed for urban warfare!
Just as Joe began to pray in anguish that the Gauls would be strong enough to hold out until he arrived, before the Teutons stormed into Paris.

Compared to brutal street fighting, a head-on confrontation with the Teutons in open field battles became less unacceptable.

Just as Joe was painfully praying that he wouldn't have to fight in the streets of Paris, General Henry, who had just taken over as Commander-in-Chief of the Gallic Army from Nivel, was also painfully taking stock of the forces he could use in his command post.

Due to the Teutonic air force's blockade of the battlefield and the cutting of telegraph lines, Admiral Henry was unable to determine exactly what was happening in the Champagne region.

Even after the adventurer sent out a radio communication, the Champagne region fell into a deathly silence.

This led General Henry to conclude that the troops previously deployed in the Champagne region had now been annihilated or captured by the Teutons.

The loss of 100,000 men in the Fourth Army, plus the losses in the previous offensive in Nivel, meant that the Gallic army had lost at least 300,000 men in just one month.

Even worse than the loss of 300,000 men was that even though the Teutons had made a breakthrough in the Champagne region and might even threaten Paris, the mutiny was still not quelled.

Even in Verdun, the mutiny not only did not stop, but continued to spread.

Some units not only refused to launch an attack, but also refused to support positions under attack by the Teutons. Some soldiers even shouted the slogan, "Abandon the lines and let the Teutons win the war to end this!"

Although General Henry relied on his prestige and stated that he would compromise with the soldiers and would no longer send them into suicidal attacks, he managed to restore order to a portion of the troops.

However, it will take time to quell the mutiny.

Government officials say negotiations with the United States of America have made progress, and there is a high probability that they will directly declare war on the Teutons this year and join the war, though this will also take time.

Industry representatives also indicated that a better tank than the Schneider 1 is about to enter production, and given a little more time, they will be able to supply these tanks to the army; however, this will still take time.

At this very moment, what General Henry lacked most was time.

Although the 7th Cavalry Division was sent to the Champagne region in an attempt to slow the Teutonic advance.

However, the 7th Cavalry Division sent a report back to Paris before dark this afternoon.

In his report, the commander of the 7th Cavalry Division stated that the province of Champagne was now teeming with Teutons, they were everywhere, and they were being attacked from every possible direction.

It was as if they were fighting not on their own country's soil, but on the soil of an enemy nation.

More than half of his troops have now been scattered, and at the current rate, the 7th Cavalry Division will be annihilated in no more than two days.

He knew the situation was dire, but for Gaul's sake, he and the entire 7th Cavalry Division would fight to the last man, hoping that the time they gained would give Admiral Henry a chance to rebuild the defenses.

Upon seeing this almost hopeless report, General Henry could only let out a sigh.

General Henry also hoped to rebuild the defensive line, but he did not have enough troops at his disposal to do so.

After taking command, General Henry only managed to secure the support of one more division. Now, apart from the 7th Cavalry Division, General Henry could only mobilize the 1st and 2nd Colonial Divisions.

Using these two infantry divisions to fill the gaps in the defensive line left by the annihilation of the Fourth Army... is completely impossible.

In particular, the Teutons have now launched an attack in the Verdun region.

Although this attack was not a full-scale offensive like before, the Teutons' current sporadic, small-scale attacks were giving General Henry a bigger headache.

The Teutonic attack led the soldiers on the unattacked front lines to believe that, compared to the previous large-scale offensives, this was merely a routine Teutonic attack.

Those officers who used this as an excuse to ask them to stop protesting and return to their trenches were complete liars. They had no intention of agreeing to their reasonable demands; they just wanted to trick them into going to their deaths, just like before.

This misguided influence on the soldiers at the front made General Henry think that the Teutons would be better off launching a large-scale offensive like last year, which would at least force the soldiers back into the trenches under the pressure of survival.

But now... it's hopeless. Unless the Teutonic assault team gets to those soldiers, or they meet their demands, these soldiers won't just return to their trenches.

However, if he agreed to all the soldiers' demands, the war could not continue. He had to negotiate with the soldiers and at least get most of them back to the trenches through peaceful means.

With all other options exhausted, Admiral Henry now seemed to have only one remaining choice to stop the Teutons from taking Paris.

Putting down the list of numbers marked with crosses, General Henry rubbed his temples, picked up his hat, put it on, and said to his adjutant.

"Prepare the car, let's go to the Élysée Palace."

Ten minutes later, General Henry looked at the cabinet members, including the president and the prime minister, and presented his plan.

"Evacuate the citizens, begin digging trenches on the outskirts of the city, build barricades in the city, urgently rebuild the National Guard, force all eligible men, and even women, to enlist, and mobilize all available local troops to Paris."

Amidst the cabinet members' disapproving looks that "Henry has gone mad," General Henry spoke calmly.

"The government should start withdrawing from Bordeaux now, just like it did during the Battle of the Marne."

"Is there really no other way?"

The president looked at General Henry, who was as calm as a dead man.

"Can't we keep the Teutons out of Paris like we did at the Battle of the Marne?"

General Henry looked at the president with eyes as cold as a dead man.

"The only promise I can give you now is that Paris will never fall until the last Gallic soldier has shed his last drop of blood!"

(End of this chapter)