Imperial Elite

Chapter 55 Marshal Haig asked me to pass on a message to you

When Joe led the Paris task force to the Marne bend region east of Paris, the sun had already set after a refueling and ammunition replenishment at the Gare du Luís de Paris.

However, the fighting outside Paris showed no signs of stopping as darkness approached.

Given the importance of the Marne Bay area, even though Joe had no idea about the terrain or hadn't surveyed the area, he had no choice but to go, given how things had developed.

Then, as Joe led his troops along the Marne River, past the rather old-looking racecourse, and into the area called Champigny-sur-Marne, he found that fighting in this area was a painful ordeal for the armored forces.

As a gateway to an important industrial area of ​​Paris, this place has a feature that most people might not expect: there are a lot of buildings here.

Because of its proximity to industrial areas, there are a large number of apartment buildings for workers to live in, and with people living there, other supporting tertiary industries naturally emerged.

The result is that although this place is said to be the suburbs of Paris, there are just as many of those bizarre buildings. In fact, because this place is not one of the twenty arrondissements of Paris, the urban planning here is not very clear, and the dense network of alleys and side streets makes Joe's scalp tingle.

What troubled Joe even more was that there were large forests outside the city.

While generally speaking, a large number of buildings, dense and narrow roads, and woodlands outside the city are usually good things for the defenders.

These trees and buildings provided ample cover for the defenders, while the narrow roads also made it easy for them to build barricades to prevent the enemy from approaching.

However, even the best terrain needs a steadfast and strong guardian to make the most of it.

The defenders here may be resolute enough, but they are far inferior to the Teutons in terms of training and experience.

When Joe arrived, they had already lost the woods outside the city and were fighting the Teutons inside.

Even when fighting within the city, these soldiers were being overwhelmed by the Teutons.

In the time between the Teutonic attack and Joe's arrival, they had already lost almost half of the city.

At night, in unfamiliar territory, they conduct urban warfare, cooperating with friendly forces who do not speak the language.

Although these unfavorable conditions combined made Joe feel that the battle was almost lost.

However, thanks to the overwhelming force of the tanks and the cover provided by the experienced Guards grenadiers.

Before nightfall, Joe led the Paris task force to reclaim most of the area in Champigny-sur-Marne, a city surrounded on three sides by the Marne River, which had been occupied by the Teutons.

To be precise, it means reclaiming most of the city's riverside area along the Marne River.

Originally, after Joe saw the shape of the city nestled in the Marne, his plan was to launch a pincer movement along the Marne River, advancing from the north and south sides of the city, and then launching a north-south offensive in the area where the Marne River makes another sharp turn.

Cut off the Teutonic troops entering the city from their rear and surround them within the city.

Even if the Teutons sent 600,000 men, how many times could they withstand the loss of being surrounded and annihilated?

Moreover, even if we take a step back and assume that the Teutons in the encirclement are all veterans who have fought for three years and are elite veterans whose medals can serve as bulletproof armor, how long can they hold out without ammunition supplies?

To accomplish this plan, before entering Champigny-sur-Marne, Joe divided the Paris contingent that was now supporting the east into two combat groups and several combat squads composed of tanks, assault guns, and guards grenadiers, to carry out this mission of assaulting along the riverbank.

The plan initially went very smoothly, perhaps because the Paris National Guard responsible for the defense here was composed of locals. During the counterattack, these Paris National Guard soldiers displayed extremely high morale, and their performance in the battle was nothing short of frenzied.

These National Guard troops, mainly composed of workers, quickly devised an effective tactic after discovering that their marksmanship could not match that of the Teutonic veterans, in brief cooperation with the Paris detachment.

When the tanks destroyed the Teutonic machine gun positions, the machine guns on the tanks, along with the Guards grenadiers, began to suppress the Teutons with precise fire.

These National Guard troops, amidst shouts of "Long live Gauls!" or other battle cries that Joe couldn't understand, would launch bayonet charges against the Teutonic forces with the bearing of the Emperor's old guard.

The morale of the Teutonic troops sent to attack Paris was equally high, seemingly because after a long three years, they were finally able to see the spire of the Eiffel Tower again.

Even after being attacked by tanks, the Teutons did not flee as they had at the Somme. Instead, they fought the Gauls in every street, every building, and every room, with all the weapons they had.

This kind of street fighting, where infantry from both sides fight for every inch of land with iron and blood, elevates the brutality of combat to a whole new level.

Despite suffering heavy losses, Joe's battle group successfully completed its mission of breaking through along the riverbank.

Just as Joe was preparing to lead his troops northward, his plan encountered an unexpected setback.

Perhaps due to considerations such as mobility, Joe did not encounter Teutonic artillery during the battles within the city.

But after Joe charged out of the city along the riverbank, before he could lead his armored troops northward along the fortifications that the Gauls had seized, cutting off the city's connection with the outside world...

The Teutonic artillery units, which had not yet appeared, immediately began to bombard Joe's task force intensively. In addition to the direct fire from the 77mm guns that Joe had already encountered, Joe was even bombarded by large-caliber artillery.

Since the Imperial Fist tanks' forward speed was not ideal under these conditions, and it was already late, it was not a good time to lead armored units into field battles.

Therefore, Joe had no choice but to lead his battle group back into the city and instead begin to expand the areas that had been recaptured within the city, in order to compress the Teutonic forces' controlled territory.

This forced Joe to engage in the urban warfare he least wanted to do.

In this brutal battle, even Joe's armored forces began to suffer losses.

The first tank was lost in the battle for the telegraph building.

The Teutonic troops guarding the building lost the first floor in the battle and are now fighting the crazed Gauls for the second floor. Under attack from tanks outside the building, the Teutonic soldiers, driven by either despair or fanatical fighting spirit, are about to retreat to the third floor.

A Teutonic soldier, covered in grenades, leaped from the fourth floor onto a Royal Fist MK-5 tank that was firing heavily to support the Teutonic fighting route in the Telegraph Building, which was being used to cut off the side of the Telegraph Building and lead to another block. After a violent explosion, the tank was completely disabled.

The destruction of the tank conveniently blocked friendly fire, allowing Teutonic support troops to enter the telegraph building through the alley, making the already bloody battle even more brutal.

Besides these already insane Teutonic soldiers, Joe was also deeply impressed by the heavily armored Stormtroopers.

Besides the significant difference in equipment compared to ordinary infantry, these Teutonic warriors also differed in tactics from ordinary Teutonic infantry.

They typically do not hold a fixed position, but rather launch surprise attacks on the Gaul and Parisian contingents in small teams, taking advantage of the city's intricate terrain.

In particular, some of these troops were equipped with flamethrowers, which not only effectively threatened infantry in urban warfare.

These flamethrowers also pose a significant problem for tank units.

Although the flames from the flamethrower cannot directly destroy the tank, the Royal Fist tank's poor sealing means that under continuous flamethrower fire, the high-temperature gas can quickly seep into the vehicle, causing considerable trouble for the crew.

If it only caused trouble for the crew, that would be one thing, but these flamethrowers could also cause the engine, which was not designed with engine cooling in mind, to overheat.

In such situations, if the crew doesn't want to floor the accelerator and cause the engine to overheat and burn out, leaving the tank stranded on the battlefield, they can only temporarily stop the engine to allow it to cool down.

In the already complex environment of urban warfare, these commandos frequently infiltrated the flanks of the Paris Task Force and the Gallic forces to launch hit-and-run attacks, greatly slowing down Joe's Paris Task Force offensive.

Even the combat team led by Joe himself, consisting of tanks and assault guns, had to withdraw from the battlefield as midnight approached, with their ammunition almost exhausted.

After withdrawing from the battlefield, Joe took stock again and discovered that he had permanently lost six tanks, including three assault guns, in the morning's battle.

In the afternoon's support battle for Champigny-sur-Marne, I lost three more tanks in street fighting, bringing my total permanent losses to nine tanks in the day's fighting alone.

If there is any good news under these circumstances, it is that the tanks that went to capture the Teutonic heavy artillery units at the end of the morning battle were successfully withdrawn, and no further losses were incurred.

The most severe losses were suffered by the Guards Grenadier unit that was covering the tanks in the battle. The two companies have now lost a total of three and a half platoons and are basically at the point where they need to retreat for replenishment and rest.

If the recoverable losses of the tanks under repair are taken into account, Joe lost a third of his tanks and nearly half of his infantry in just one day of fighting.

This shocking loss made Joe realize that things couldn't continue like this, and he had to find a way to reduce the losses.

So Joe summoned his tank commander and all officers of the rank of squad leader and above from the Guards grenadiers who were fighting alongside him to a meeting in the VIP lounge of the Gare du Nord station to review the day's battle.

Fortunately, although the battle was very tough, Joe repelled the Teutonic attack in the north and withstood the offensive in the east, although General Henry still did not appear.

However, the major who came to Joe for help today connected Joe with a phone at the Gare du Nord station that could contact the Paris city defense command and the northern and eastern front command.

They also sent over a lot of luxurious food, champagne, clams, cheese and other things that Joe didn't recognize but smelled delicious.

After leaving some for the logistics personnel who were working through the night to repair and maintain the tanks, and giving most of the rest to the soldiers, Joe, in the VIP room, brewed tea and slurped down a bowl of what appeared to be beef soup while discussing with the officers and sergeants why they had lost so many troops that day.

Just as Joe was analyzing the day's losses, the Teutons, who were besieging the city, were also analyzing their own losses.

But while it's called an analysis, there's actually not much to analyze.

All the commanders of the troops deployed to the battle agreed on one thing: although the Gauls fought to the death, their fighting strength was actually quite limited.

Furthermore, due to the lack of heavy weaponry support, unlike at Verdun or the Somme, even the density of artillery was not as high as on the Eastern Front.

With their artillery advantage, they could easily break through the Gauls' defenses.

However, the problem lies in the fact that once they break through the Gauls' defenses, the Bunitania's armored forces will immediately launch a counterattack.

The Teutonic commanders were truly helpless against the armored forces of the Bunitania.

While the K-round can cause some damage to these tanks, its actual effect is limited and it is not as effective as the 77mm gun in destroying these tanks.

The 77mm gun was far too cumbersome, with a relatively slow loading and aiming speed, and it was also far too large. Once fired, it would be immediately exposed and destroyed by the Bunitania tanks.

After losing these 77mm guns, the infantry could only wait to be slaughtered by these tanks.

Therefore, we must find a way to suppress these Bunitania tanks; otherwise, if they continue like this, they will never be able to occupy Paris.

Just as a group of officers were scratching their heads at the map of Paris in front of them, Erich looked at the map and suddenly asked a question.

"In the Champigny-sur-Marne region, our troops are still holding out in the city, right?"

The Teutonic officer in charge of the battle in that direction nodded.

"We still control the city center area, but we suffered heavy losses in the afternoon's fighting. Now that the Bunitania tanks have left, the Storm Commandos are trying to retake some of the positions."

The same armored forces easily crushed the attack in the morning, even destroying the starting positions and the artillery units behind them, but by the afternoon they were unable to push the attacking forces out of the city.

Ehrlich suddenly realized something.

"Everyone... I have an idea."

Just as Erich was recounting his discovery at the Teutonic Command, Joe, who was drinking red tea, also came to a conclusion with the officers.

That means if losses are to be minimized, tanks can no longer be positioned at the forefront, simultaneously providing firepower and acting as a battlefield barrier, as they are in today's battles. Instead, they can only provide firepower, clearing out Teutonic firing positions for the Gallic infantry and suppressing the Teutonic infantry.

Do not approach buildings whose safety status is unknown until you have confirmed that the street is safe.

Meanwhile, the Guards grenadiers no longer had the task of supporting the Gallic infantry in combat, but instead provided cover and guard for the tanks to prevent the Stormtroopers or other Teutonic infantry from getting close to them.

Everyone acknowledged that this tactic somewhat resembled using the Gallic infantry as human shields, but if they didn't do it, at this rate of losses, the Paris task force wouldn't last three days.

After it was determined that starting tomorrow, the troops would adopt a more conservative fighting style.

After a busy day, Joe couldn't rest. Instead, he went to the typewriter and started writing a report.

Of course, just like yesterday, reporting the battle results was secondary. The most important thing was to plead with the expeditionary force and the cabinet for support, asking them to quickly provide some reinforcements. In addition to heavy artillery, they needed new tanks, new vehicle crews, and more infantry units. They needed everything, otherwise they really couldn't withstand the Teutonic army of 600,000.

After finishing the report, Qiao Gang curled up on the sofa in the stationmaster's office at Gare du Nord and took a nap.

Joe was woken up by an engineer from the garage crew, who said that the heavy artillery had arrived and was being prepared for loading, but they had encountered a small problem. Although they had a plan, they couldn't reach a decision, so Joe was needed to make the final decision.

Joe, who was a little grumpy from being woken up after only a short sleep, immediately woke up when he heard that the heavy artillery had finally arrived.

He immediately stood up from the sofa, put on the coat he had just used as a blanket, and walked into the train repair shop with the engineer from the garage gang.

Thanks to Joe's previous report, the military train that arrived at North Station brought Joe a large amount of supplies, including the heavy artillery he desperately needed, ten brand-new Royal Fist MK-5 tanks, and an infantry battalion from Liverpool.

Although this infantry battalion was almost entirely composed of new recruits, Joe couldn't ask for more now.

The arrival of these supplies and support troops greatly alleviated Joe's urgent needs.

As he excitedly shook hands with the battalion commander of the infantry battalion, the major told Joe, "Marshal Haig asked me to pass on a message to you: 'As long as Paris can be held, all your demands will be met.'"

Upon hearing the major say that, Joe's first reaction was, "Can you send all those guys who give me white feathers to my basement?"
However, this thought only flashed through his mind for a moment before Joe suppressed it, telling the battalion commander that they had practically booked the entire station, and that apart from the area already occupied by the task force members who had arrived earlier, they could choose any other area they wanted.

After saying goodbye to the infantry battalion commander, Joe finally had time to address the issues that the garage team's engineers couldn't resolve.

That is, how to mount these 60-pound cannons sent from the rear onto the chassis of MK-1 and MK-2 tanks.

Generally speaking, once the cannon is placed on the chassis and secured, the only remaining issue is whether the impact force generated when the cannon fires will damage the chassis.

However, because the Royal Fist tank adopted advanced experience from warship design at the beginning of its design, placing the engine in the middle of the hull, this caused considerable problems in placing the cannon on the vehicle.

The engineers at GarageBang said they were somewhat confident the chassis could withstand the impact if the engine were to fire from that position.

However, they had absolutely no confidence that the engine would have any problems.

Therefore, in order to avoid the engine stopping after one shot and both engines being scrapped.

The engineers at GarageBang proposed two installation methods.

One method is to mount the heavy artillery directly on the front of a vehicle, like a ram, so that the vehicle can push the heavy artillery forward. After all, the heavy artillery carriage has wheels, and since there is no need for field operations now, it can be used as a makeshift solution.

The advantage of this design is that it makes the gun crew's operation easier; they can start firing as soon as the gun stops, and all that's needed is to add a gun shield to the gun mount to protect against small arms fire.

However, the disadvantages are also obvious: the driver cannot see the road and can only drive under the command of the commander. Moreover, the gun barrel is forward-facing, and if the driver hits something, it is easy to damage the gun barrel.

Another idea was to tow the cannon behind the vehicle, so that the driver could see the road and the cannon barrel would not be damaged if it was facing backward.

However, the drawbacks are also obvious. For the safety of the personnel, they need to spend a lot of time welding a fighting compartment to prevent small arms fire. At the same time, after arriving on the battlefield, how to turn the tank's extra-long cannon around to attack is another very difficult problem.

Even in Paris, where streets were widened to prevent the rebellious Parisians from building barricades, it was still difficult to find a street where such long vehicles could easily make a U-turn.

Faced with these two proposals, Joe sighed deeply and then tapped the person who proposed each one on the head.

"Use your brain! Use your brain!"

Joe lowered his fist and looked at the two engineers with a disappointed expression.

"Remember the periscope we wanted to install on the turret? It's not a very technical thing. If all else fails, we can have the driver drive in reverse and install a few more mirrors as rearview mirrors! That would solve the only problem with the first option."

Upon hearing what Joe said, the two engineers' eyes widened in surprise.

"Is it feasible? This would place very high demands on the driver..."

Hearing them say that, Joe couldn't help but tap them on the head again.

"As long as we have something to use, that's fine. We're at war now, not writing a graduation thesis. First, we need to figure out if we have anything, then we need to figure out if it's good or not. If the task force doesn't have any, we'll go find the Gauls. I don't believe that a city of two million people can't even find a few truck drivers!"

Since Joe has already made the decision, the plan is settled.

Moreover, there's no need to look for Gauls to drive such large vehicles, since Joe had previously ordered a batch of trucks, and many of the truck drivers in that batch are capable of driving extra-long and extra-heavy vehicles.

Although these drivers felt that driving in reverse was a little difficult, they were still very confident.

After all, the roads in Buntania are almost entirely from the Middle Ages. Driving large trucks on these roads to deliver goods, and sometimes having to reverse and pass oncoming vehicles, gives drivers who have honed their skills in this environment a great deal of confidence in their driving abilities.

While resolving this minor dispute, and seemingly out of apology for disturbing Joe's sleep, the garage team's engineers also gave Joe another piece of good news besides the arrival of the heavy artillery.

That is, they have now completed the conversion of six tanks into "infantry fighting vehicles".

Joe and the Guards Grenadiers had a very clear need: a battlefield taxi capable of protecting against small arms fire and transporting infantry to the battlefield.

So they solved the problem in the simplest and most direct way: they installed a ram in front of the engine to protect it, and used heavy armor plates to protect the cockpit while arranging the steel plates in a louvered shape to resist small arms fire.

The cargo box was also covered with metal plates, and after the driver's cab was reinforced, a machine gun turret taken from a tank was placed in the passenger seat.

Of course, if we stop here, it certainly won't show that these Oxford, Cambridge, and Imperial College students are native Britannians.

So, in the cargo box that served as the infantry crew compartment, they made a large opening in the top and installed a six-pounder cannon, which had also been removed from the tank.

In terms of firepower, this infantry fighting vehicle is almost as powerful as a tank.

In terms of transport capacity, it can transport one or two squads of troops into the battlefield at a time.

Aside from the fact that the vehicle's speed has also been reduced to the level of the Royal Fist tank after this round of super enhancements, Joe actually thinks this thing looks somewhat pleasing to the eye.

If you paint this vehicle red or yellow, and then add some black and white checks, it will look even better. It's the kind of orc vehicle that deserves at least a 65 out of 100 when it's put on the table.

Embracing the Bonitania spirit of "if I'm woken up, I should also pull the covers off others," Joe shook the commander of the Guards Grenadier Company out of bed as well.

Just as the company commander, who was also woken up, erupted in a fit of rage and glared at him with a murderous look on his face, Joe said, "The infantry fighting vehicle is ready, take a look?"

Upon hearing that the infantry fighting vehicle was ready, the murderous aura of the two company commanders instantly dissipated, and their eyes became clear.

"Let's go! Let's take a look!"

Then, when the two company commanders looked at the infantry fighting vehicle in front of them, their expressions were just like Joe's when he first saw the Royal Fist tank—their faces screamed, "I'd rather die, die out there, than ride in this ugly thing!"

Just as the two company commanders were looking at Joe with eyes that seemed to say, "Even though the previous trucks weren't exactly good-looking, how did you manage to make this thing so ugly?", a series of explosions rang out in the outskirts of Paris.

Clearly, after a brief rest, the Teutons were the first to begin today's battle.

As Joe sounded the battle alarm at the Gare du Nord station, a distress call came in from the commander on the Eastern Front.

According to the commander, ever since Joe led the battle group to withdraw, the Teutons have been launching continuous counterattacks. Now, they are shelling the bridges connecting the two banks of the Marne River while launching a large-scale offensive. If Joe doesn't help them, they may be forced to retreat to the fortress area.

Joe could only sigh at the Teutons' almost relentless large-scale offensive, saying that having more people meant they could do whatever they wanted, while telling him to find a way to hold out while he was already preparing to set off.

Soon after, as the battle alarm sounded at Gare du Nord, the first group of Paris detachments to arrive in Paris completed their preparations.

Only the Liverpool battalion infantrymen who had just arrived in Paris were still somewhat sleepy and confused, simply following the others in a daze as they lined up outside the Gare du Nord station.

Thanks to the addition of tanks and the armor reinforcement of some tanks, as well as the male servants left behind by the noble lords, the armored force of the Paris task force is theoretically stronger than when it first entered Paris.

Because the running gear of vehicle number 101 is still under repair, Joe can only continue to make do with the Royal Fist MK-5 tank numbered 412.

Based on yesterday's experience, Joe also ordered the logistics personnel to drive ammunition and supplies to the racecourse near Champigny-sur-Marne, making that place a temporary supply point for the task force on the eastern front.

After all, Paris Gare du Nord is a bit too far. Although there are repair workshops available there, Joe doesn't have enough support staff to open another repair and modification workshop. If the car really breaks down, it would be more efficient to tow it back to Gare du Nord for repairs.

However, just as Joe was about to set off, he discovered that the two guards grenadier company commanders who had said, "Even if I die, die outside, I will never sit in this ugly thing!" were now sitting in those "infantry fighting vehicles".

Seeing that the troops had assembled, Joe waved his hand and ordered them to set off towards the Marne River.

Just as Joe gave the order to advance, the sun had already risen above the horizon.

In the warm sunlight of the rising sun, Joe noticed the hum of an engine in the sky.

As Joe looked up, he saw a dark mass of planes flying towards the Marne River.

As the aircraft gradually disappeared from his sight, Joe, who was peeking out of the turret, seemed to already smell the smoke and flames of gunpowder.

As Joe approached the banks of the Marne, the skies over Paris were already filled with warplanes locked in fierce combat, and the smoke trails left by planes that had caught fire and crashed.

The fierce Gallic pilots held off the Teutonic aircraft, allowing José to order his troops across the bridge to support the Gauls who were fighting hard, without worrying about aerial threats, amidst the waters kicked up by cannon fire on the Marne.

Meanwhile, in the chaotic sky, a red-painted plane that had never joined the battle was circling above the Marne River.

Upon seeing Joe's armored forces cross the Marne River, the fighter plane immediately flew toward the Teutonic positions.

Soon a note was delivered to the Teutonic command post.

"Gentlemen."

After seeing the note, General Teutonic placed it on the table.

"The Bunitarian forces have confirmed their arrival on the eastern front; it's time to launch an attack from the northern front!"

(End of this chapter)