Imperial Elite

Chapter 56 Immortal Old Joe
As the Battle of Paris entered its third day, General Henry's pressure became unusually immense, even surpassing that he faced when commanding the Battle of Verdun.

In the past, although General Henry would see a alarming casualty report every day in Verdun, the casualty figures in the Battle of Verdun seemed so unremarkable compared to the casualty reports of the Battle of Paris.

After all, even in Verdun, only the ground troops suffered heavy losses, while after the start of the Battle of Paris, the flames of war spread into the sky.

This led General Henry to wonder whether, after the battle, even if he managed to hold Paris, the Gallic Army Air Force would still have pilots capable of taking to the skies.

Originally, the Gallic Army Air Forces were reorganized due to their air superiority during the Battle of Verdun.

Two to four identical or different squadrons are mixed together to form a large-scale air group, theoretically ranging from twelve to forty-eight aircraft, for combat.

Theoretically, such a large swarm of aircraft could effectively defend against Teutonic fighter squadrons conducting combat patrols or "hunting" in the air by leveraging their numerical superiority upon contact.

And they quickly completed their mission and escaped before the large fleet of Teutonic Air Force arrived.

This model did indeed achieve good results after the Army Air Forces were reorganized into this air group model, making it impossible for the Teutonic Air Force aces to shoot down their planes as easily as before.

After all, in order for the Teutons to maintain control of the airspace over the front lines, they could not send all their aircraft into the air at once. Instead, they could only send out a portion of their elite forces for combat patrols and form large-scale fleets when necessary, thereby maximizing the advantage of their smaller fleet size but stronger average combat power.

However, this air swarm tactic was no longer as effective after the Teutons also concentrated their aircraft in the airspace over Paris.

As the density of Teutonic fighters per unit area increased dramatically, the losses of Gallic aircraft reached an unacceptable level.

In yesterday's air battle, of the six bomber groups that launched attacks on the outskirts of Paris, three groups lost more than half their weight, two groups were completely destroyed, and only one group suffered relatively minor losses.

In order to cover the bombers and reconnaissance planes in completing their missions, the fighter groups that took the initiative to challenge the Teutonic Air Force aces suffered even greater losses.

Several fighter squadrons have already experienced a complete loss of personnel after taking off for combat, with none of them ever being able to return to the airfield.

Even at such a heavy cost, the Gallic reconnaissance aircraft were still unable to ascertain the size and movements of the Teutonic forces outside the city.

The Teutonic Air Force's iron wings completely dominated the sky, making it the master of the skies.

As darkness fell, communications personnel at the Eiffel Tower intercepted a telegram from the Teutons, sent almost in plain text, reporting their victory to Germania.

Yesterday alone, the Teutonic Air Force produced eight ace whistles, including one double ace.

In their telegram, the Teutons proudly proclaimed yesterday as "Ace Day" and declared that under the steel sky of the Empire, no Gallic aircraft could accomplish their mission. They would shoot down anything that could fly over Paris except the Teutonic Air Force, and even God himself would have to ask the Teutons for permission to fly.

But more than the Teutonic Air Force, whose pride bordered on arrogance, the tragedy at the Eiffel Tower enraged General Henry.

A company of hussars brazenly entered Paris, even managing to raid the radio center inside the Eiffel Tower and force the telegraph operator to send a message.

If it weren't for the remarkable courage of the telegraph operators there, who sent a message that read "Continue the resistance, long live Gaul!", General Henry wouldn't even dare to imagine how much the already precarious morale of the army would have been affected if the message had contained something else.

As for the trivial matter of them planting the Teutonic flag on another tower, which usually only happens after the fall of Paris, Admiral Henry no longer had the energy to be angry.

They simply drew troops from two colonial divisions and began attempting to encircle and annihilate these hussars within the city of Paris.

What truly exhausted General Henry's anger was the mutiny that occurred near the Élysée Palace.

General Henry could not understand why, when the Teutons were besieging Paris, these newly organized troops would mutini over issues of living conditions.

Even the Paris Commune only turned from a protest into a mutiny and eventually into a revolution because the government announced its surrender.

But now both the government and the army are organizing resistance, and outside the city are still Teutons. How could these people, how could they, how dare they, stage a mutiny at this time?!
General Henry could understand the mutiny and protests that broke out in the army. Life in the trenches was just too hard, and coupled with the reckless attacks, General Henry had some sympathy for the soldiers on the front lines.

But all General Henri felt for the Paris National Guard, which had just been organized and had mutinied, was anger.

So even with the threat of the Teutonic hussars, General Henry personally led a regiment of colonial troops, armed with cannons, to surround the Élysée Palace. He then set up the cannons outside the palace and presented his conditions to the mutinous soldiers: leave the Élysée Palace, release the officers and sergeants, end the mutiny, and fight against the Teutonic offensive, and they might not die; refuse to obey orders and continue the mutiny, and they would die immediately.

Finally, after General Henry ordered the artillery to fire, the mutinous troops who had occupied the Élysée Palace announced the release of their officers, ended the mutiny, and went to the front to fight the Teutons.

However, by this time, General Henry could no longer trust these troops.

Even as the Eastern Front frantically called for support, General Henry ordered the disarmament and disbandment of these battalions, their imprisonment, and an investigation into the matter, with those in charge to be dealt with severely and swiftly.

In wartime, efficiency is everything, so there's no need for death penalty review; if you find out, just shoot them!

There are only three things left that could help keep General Henry's blood pressure from getting too high.

First, there was the special task force sent from Buenos Aires to Paris. Although that guy named Joe was an arrogant bastard, he was a real fighter.

Whether on the northern or eastern front, wherever his task force went, the Teutons there would be driven back.

This prompted General Henry to make two phone calls to the Lishi Company in one day, urging them to get the vehicles out as soon as possible. Even just one new tank arriving at the front would be a huge boost to the morale of the defending troops.

Meanwhile, the territorial armies throughout Gaul are now ready and are rushing to Paris as quickly as possible. Once the territorial armies arrive, they will be able to somewhat close the numerical gap between themselves and the Teutons.

Furthermore, after the siege of Paris, some of the troops that had previously been making a lot of noise on the front lines have now stopped protesting and expressed their willingness to join the fight.

However, these troops were still unwilling to leave their trenches. They said they were willing to stay in their positions and even relieve other troops, but leave to support Paris.

Can't do it.

They believed that if they left their positions, they would be ordered to launch suicide attacks, so they were determined not to leave the trenches they were guarding.

Just when General Henry thought he could hold out in Paris, the commander of the northern defenses called him to say that the Teutons had just launched a large-scale offensive on the northern front.

The attack was far more intense than ever before, and the troops at the front, including the colonial battalion reinforced to the first line of defense, had completely collapsed.

The troops have now retreated to the second line of defense within the city to resist, but without further support, they may only be able to hold out for another two hours.

Upon hearing this news, General Henry's first reaction was, "What the hell are those Buntanians doing?"
Then, after General Henry inquired why he hadn't allowed the Paris task force to provide support from nearby.

The major general said he had already made the call. Before dawn, due to the Teutonic attack on the eastern defenses of Paris, the Paris task force had already set off to the east to provide support. There were only some logistics personnel at the Paris Gare du Nord station, and they could not provide any assistance.

Upon hearing this, General Henry was furious that Nivel had not only completely destroyed the morale of his troops in that reckless attack, but had also lost all his tanks.

If I still had ten tanks, would things have turned out this way?
And that bastard Joe, if those precious tanks hadn't been used in a concentrated manner, but instead dispersed among various units, would the northern defenses have collapsed so quickly?!

Although General Henry was now filled with rage, he remained calm and said that his reinforcements would arrive within two hours. His task was to hold District 19 for two hours, even if it meant fighting the Teutons with his dogs.

Before hanging up the phone, General Henry realized that he now had to commit the two colonial divisions that were being used as general reserves.

Just as General Henry decided to commit his two colonial divisions, which he had been using as general reserves, to hold off the Teutonic attacks on the northern front.

Joe also found himself in a tough battle in the Marne River region.

Although Joe's Paris task force had more troops and technical equipment than it had yesterday when it arrived in the Marne region.

However, after suffering heavy losses yesterday, the attack launched by the Paris task force this time was much more conservative than yesterday.

As planned in the station's VIP lounge the previous night, all train crews ceased launching fierce attacks as the spearhead of the assault and instead served as well-protected fire support units, providing support to the Gauls.

The Gallic troops who had fought alongside the Paris task force the previous day found this change strange; it seemed as if their allies had been replaced overnight.

Although it felt strange, it didn't stop the Gauls from launching a counterattack after receiving fire support from armored forces, just like yesterday, and began to fight the Teutons for every house.

Having learned from yesterday's experience, the coordination between the various armored teams advancing in small groups has become even closer. Usually, after advancing to a T-junction or intersection, the armored team will stop and wait for the armored team advancing on the adjacent street to catch up.

Only after confirming the safety of the flanks will the armored team cautiously advance under the cover of infantry.

However, even with such a cautious approach, the Paris task force continued to suffer losses.

They seemed to realize that if they didn't eliminate the threat of tanks, they would never be able to break through the Gauls' defenses. Even if they had the advantage in infantry combat, the Bunitania's tanks could wipe out their hard-won advantage with a single shot.

So when the armored forces launched another attack today, Joe's armored forces were ambushed by the Teutonic artillery hidden in the city.

In such a narrow area, where tanks could not take advantage of their mobility, the 77mm guns deployed by the Teutons behind building ruins and barricades were enough to defend a block with just one gun, turning any Bunitania tank that recklessly appeared on the street into a burning pile of steel junk.

In addition to facing the threat of tanks, the Teutonic Stormtroopers were also unusually active today.

These elite units, skilled in infiltration and ambush, no longer attempt to confront tanks as they did yesterday.

Instead, they continued to operate in any block where no Buntanian tanks appeared, quickly clearing out any Gauls who wanted to hold onto buildings with flamethrowers and rapid-fire weapons, and then, after creating a breach, rapidly advancing into the rear.

Although their speed on foot was no match for the Bunitarian tanks, they were prepared to avoid a flank attack like they had yesterday.

After receiving reports of a breach on the flank, Joe's armored forces had to detach some tanks and assault guns to assist the Gauls in recapturing their lost territory.

This back-and-forth, tug-of-war attack was exactly what Joe had expected.

But the Stormtroopers would set up roadside bombs in the streets to ambush the tanks that launched a counterattack, which was completely unexpected by Joe.

Although these roadside bombs, transported by infantry and hastily placed, had low yields, the armor of all the tanks Joe used was also not thick.

After being attacked by a roadside bomb, most of the crew members were only disoriented by the shockwave of the explosion and suffered minor injuries from flying metal fragments.

However, the tank's running gear would malfunction in the explosion, causing the vehicle to break down.

Although it's not a permanent loss, as long as the car can be towed back and a little time is spent, it will be ready to go back into action.

However, these roadside bomb attacks also meant that the Teutons had begun to adapt to fighting armored forces and had begun to develop methods to deal with tanks in the absence of specialized anti-tank equipment.

After receiving news that three tanks had been damaged by a roadside bomb ambush and were now waiting for the rescue vehicle, which the tank crews now called "Old Mama," to arrive.

After a moment's thought, Joe issued new provisional operational guidelines: before entering the streets, Royal Fist MK-5 tanks equipped with 40mm rapid-fire cannons should use the cannons to attack any suspicious locations on the streets to prevent being attacked by roadside bombs.

This cautious approach to warfare not only increased the ammunition consumption of vehicles but also significantly slowed down the advance of the troops.

Unlike yesterday's performance, which was like a tornado destroying a parking lot, quickly tearing apart the Teutonic defenses and pushing the Teutonic-controlled area out of the city.

Today, the speed of the Paris task force's attack felt like that of a seventy-year-old grandmother taking a leisurely stroll with a cane.

However, Joe wasn't completely sitting idly by while the Gallic infantry used their flesh and blood to carve up every house. Since the Guards Grenadier unit's mission this time was only to maintain a perimeter around the tanks, they wouldn't be able to use the two newly modified infantry fighting vehicles for the time being.

At Joe's suggestion, the Guards Grenadier Unit also agreed to temporarily lend the two infantry fighting vehicles to the Gallic troops, to use them as field taxis in urban warfare.

Once the tanks destroyed the Teutonics' main firing positions, leaving only Teutonic riflemen on the streets, these infantry fighting vehicles, which the Gauls saw as wild boars, would directly pull two or three squads of infantry to the Teutonic-occupied buildings.

First, a six-pounder cannon shot would create a hole in the building's outer wall or gate. Then, under continuous machine gun fire, the infantry would "elegantly" dismount "like noblemen getting off their carriages to watch an opera performance." With close-range fire support, they would rush into the building and use their bayonets to kill the Teutons who were still reeling from the shockwaves of the explosion.

Although the Gauls felt that these vehicles, which were obviously made on the battlefield, were so ugly that dying inside one would be a disgrace to an old Parisian.

Moreover, with the addition of heavy metal plates, machine guns, and cannons, the vehicle's suspension had reached a point where even the slightest undulation of the roadside would cause a small vibration outside the vehicle to cause a large vibration inside.

And the speed was really not fast, which was the complete opposite of the roar of the engine heard inside the car.

However, both Gallic infantry and officers praised this vehicle, which could cover infantry attacks, after using it.

They even remarked that if there were three or five hundred more of these vehicles, they might be able to drive the Teutons out of Paris on their own.

However, these two highly praised infantry fighting vehicles did not last long. One of them was hit in the front wheel by the Teutonics with an incredible shot during the attack, and then went out of control and crashed into a coffee shop.

Another infantry fighting vehicle, due to its large size and the number of infantry it carried, suffered a broken suspension during an attack when it ran over a crater.

The loss of these two infantry fighting vehicles, besides making the Guards Grenadier Company commander pat Joe on the shoulder and say, "Now you owe me two infantry fighting vehicles,"...

During a lull in the fighting, Joe began to think about whether, as the Director of Armored Forces, he should issue some orders to the rear, instructing the Land Battleship Committee to move their lazy backsides and modify the MK-1 and MK-2 tanks that had already been returned to the troops, removing the excess weapons and using them as infantry fighting vehicles.

Since those tanks are just sitting in the warehouse anyway, instead of waiting to be taken to the factory to be dismantled and sold as scrap metal after the war, it's better to take them out and give them a second life.

Joe felt that the two Guards Grenadier companies that were currently fighting alongside him were excellent test subjects. Guards Armored Grenadiers, well, that sounded really impressive.

The only problem is that if these two Guards Grenadier units are converted into Guards Armored Grenadier units, their logistical burden will increase significantly.

After all, behind every tank that rampages across the battlefield, there is a group of logistics personnel who tighten screws until sparks fly and curse in the maintenance workshop.

However, this idea is currently just a fleeting thought in Joe's mind.

Because the Teutons had deployed artillery in the street fighting, causing considerable losses to Joe's troops, Joe was now holding a map outside the Royal Fist MK-5 tank, number 412, asking the troops stationed there, with the help of a translator, about the streets near the Teutonic artillery defenses.

Are there any shortcuts that the infantry can take around? If the infantry can get around and take out the artillery crew or destroy the artillery, then Joe's Paris task force can continue to advance.

Judging from the map, the guy who deployed those cannons was definitely a master of defensive warfare. These cannons were arranged in a crisscross pattern, blocking all of Joe's advance routes in this direction.

If Joe were willing to charge, it wouldn't be impossible to get through; all it would need are two tanks.

One tank floored the accelerator, drawing the gun's fire, while a second tank charged out during the reloading time to spot the gun with its own cannon.

However, doing so would almost certainly result in the loss of the first tank to charge out in such urban warfare conditions.

But compared to the loss of the tank, the loss of the crew was even more unacceptable to Joe.

After all, it only takes ten minutes to learn how to use a rifle, but it takes at least four to six weeks to train a crew that at least won't drive the vehicle into a ditch, and whose entire crew, while not necessarily perfectly coordinated, is at least not a disorganized mess.

The crew of the armored training company, which would be considered elite in today's environment, took several months to train.

Moreover, even disregarding the training period, Joe wouldn't be willing to give these good lads under his command such a suicidal mission.

So if we can't force it, then we have to find a way to bypass the Teutonic defenses and destroy these cannons.

If the Gauls can't do it, then the experienced Janissaries should be able to, and the infantry from Liverpool should be adapted to their role by now.

They were able to take over the work of the Guards Grenadiers after they left, continuing to maintain the perimeter for the armored forces.

Then, just as Joe and the Gallic major were sketching on the map with pencils, Joe suddenly heard the roar of an engine in the sky. When Joe looked up at the sky...

Joe saw a biplane with a silver fuselage and black Iron Cross markings on its wings swooping down toward him.

A second later, Joe realized that he was about to be attacked by air, but it was too late to take cover.

Perhaps due to the surge of adrenaline, everything seemed to slow down in Joe's vision, as if it had entered bullet time.

Joe clearly saw the machine gun on the nose of the plane light up, and the person in the back seat pulled out something that looked like a bomb and threw it at him.

'Am I going to die here?'

As he watched the fighter jet diving, the thought uncontrollably surfaced in Joe's mind.

Just as Joe was watching in despair as the plane strafeed him as it dove down, a biplane with a strange camouflage pattern of five colors—light green, dark green, beige, chestnut brown, and black—painted in irregular blocks on its upper fuselage, and a light blue biplane on its lower fuselage, charged into the fray from the side of the plane painted with a black cross, like a fearless winged cavalryman.

Joe clearly saw that, under the fire of the camouflaged aircraft, the silver plane first showed flashes of bullets hitting metal plates at its nose, and then broken parts, steam, and engine oil sprayed out from the aircraft's metal skin.

Then flames and thick smoke erupted from the nose of the plane, and the plane, which had been flying on a stable path, tilted to the side and crashed.

However, just as the plane completed its attack and was about to pull up and leave, a red triplane appeared like a ghost. After a brief exchange of fire, the camouflaged plane plummeted from the sky like a stone, and once again dodged another brown-painted plane that was trying to ambush it, just like a monkey.

Then, after a low-yo-yo maneuver, it destroyed the brown-painted plane, then flapped its wings as if to greet Joe, or perhaps to show off to all possible onlookers, before leaving.

It wasn't until the red-painted triplane left that Joe, witnessing this kind of aerial combat for the first time, snapped out of his daze, and the infantrymen responsible for protecting Joe rushed to his side.

It was only then that Joe realized that the Gallic major who had been standing with him studying the map, as well as the translator, were now lying in pools of blood. Even Herbert, who had just gotten out of the car to get a drink of water and stretch his body, had been shot in the leg.

Joe himself, however, was unharmed!

Not to mention being shot, even the bomb dropped by that plane just now landed seven steps away from Joe without exploding.

After checking Joe up and down and finding that he wasn't injured at all, not even with a scratch, the way people looked at him changed.

Getting your earlobe grazed by a bullet once is considered lucky, but the fact that you weren't even scratched by Teutonic aircraft strafing you this time definitely has some story to tell.

Although Joe appeared calm and composed on the surface, he was actually panicking. The reason he looked expressionless was that his mind had completely stopped, and he had no idea what expression he should wear to face the situation.

He was faced with infantrymen who came to check if he was injured, as well as the crew of his wingman's vehicle.

After a moment of reflection, Joe retrieved a fragment of memory from the depths of his mind: "I don't know what expression to wear right now," and "Then just smile."

Under the watchful eyes of those around him, who were giving him somewhat strange looks, Joe put on a slight smile and said, "I'm fine. Go help Herbert. Everyone, don't panic. Carry out your tasks. Britannia expects everyone to fulfill their duties."

After comforting the others and bandaging and evacuating Herbert, who had been shot in the thigh, Joe returned to the tank and plopped down in the commander's seat. Only then did he feel his legs go weak.

Although this wasn't the first time Joe had brushed with death, this time it was still far too thrilling for him, more dangerous than when he was ambushed by Teutonic artillery or when he was attacked by Teutons in the trenches.

Sitting in the chair, Joe, who had miraculously survived, now had only one thought in his mind.

"Damn, the battlefield is a dangerous place. No wonder the Führer has a particular fondness for heavy tanks. I've got to like heavy tanks now too!"

After calming down, Joe, who had regained his composure, suddenly remembered a question.

'Where's my flight squadron? Where did the flight squadron they promised me at 10 Downing Street go?'

If the Teutons can launch air raids against me, can I also launch air raids against the Teutons?
If ground troops were to deal with a road blocked by artillery, they might lose a lot of infantry or at least one tank. However, if the air force could be deployed, a single bomb could solve the problem.

So, where did the flight team that was promised to me go?

Who exactly took my kickback?!
You can even eat this kickback?

However, just as Joe suspected that someone had taken kickbacks from him, he recalled some tactics he had seen in the past, the blitzkrieg tactics used by certain people to sweep across Europe and reclaim their freedom.

Then Joe got even angrier. Damn it, even though my current forces are small, the armor is not strong enough, the number of infantry is insufficient, and air strikes against ground targets are unpredictable.

But the Teutons on the other side were even worse!
With air support, wouldn't it be better to flank the Teutons in open battle than to fight them in the city?

Damn it! Who exactly took my kickback?!
I came by train, so I wasted a lot of time on the way. The guys in the flight team fly, why haven't they come to report to me yet?!

No, I have to ask about this.

Just as Joe was wondering who had taken his kickback, he stood motionless in the face of strafing by Teutonic planes, and the news was that the Teutonic planes, despite strafing and bombing, hadn't even scratched Joe's skin.

It also began to spread slowly in the military. It's unclear who started it, but after Joe evolved from being called "Old Joe" in the military, it underwent another super evolution, and now some people are calling Joe "Immortal Old Joe".

Meanwhile, the 56th Squadron, which had just completed training in London and was preparing to be incorporated into the Paris Task Force, had arrived in Paris airspace.

Two weeks ago, this squadron, which was established last June, was already capable of carrying out combat deployments. However, since the brand-new SE.5 fighter jets had just been commissioned, this newly established squadron, stationed on the mainland, was designated as an experimental unit and began to be the first to be equipped with SE.5 fighter jets.

The process of receiving new aircraft and adapting to new equipment caused the squadron considerable delays.

In fact, according to the original plan, the 56th Squadron should not have been deployed for combat until a week later at the earliest.

However, as the situation in Paris continued to deteriorate, and as the air campaign launched by the Teutonic Air Force resulted in heavy losses for the pilots of the Bunitania and Gauls, the month was even called the Bloody March.

Therefore, the 56th Squadron, which was not yet fully prepared, was ordered by the Chief of the General Staff to join the Paris Task Force, which was already engaged in a bloody battle with the Teutons.

Although 56th Squadron had learned from the Air Force that the situation on the Old World was bad, the situation in Paris was worse than all other places combined.

Almost all of the Teutonic Air Force's top ace pilots are now concentrated in the airspace near Paris.

However, what the 56th Squadron did not expect was that after a long flight, just as they entered Paris airspace, they were immediately attacked by four Teutonic fighters with red paint schemes.

The four fighter jets cunningly hid in the clouds and launched their attack from the direction of backlight. In the first encounter, the 56th Squadron lost two aircraft.

After realizing what was happening, the 56th Squadron, which had been attacked, immediately launched a counterattack.

(End of this chapter)