Imperial Elite

Chapter 60 The Last Ten Kilometers
Although Joe immediately launched a fierce attack on the tanks that had already been unloaded after discovering them.

However, this did not stop the Teutonic tank crews from charging towards their vehicles under the threat of bullets and artillery fire.

At this time, the Teutons who were selected to become armored troops were all of pure Germanic descent, whose ancestors had crossed the border with Frederick, and who grew up listening to stories of how their ancestors had conquered the surrounding states in the Old World.

From a young age, I've dreamed of one day restoring the glory of my ancestors, and at the very least, I should be able to visit Versailles again.

Now, with less than ten kilometers to go before the two most glorious moments in Teutonic history, they are in a precarious situation, let alone facing an attack from a few Bunitania tanks.

Even if a Bunitania armored corps appeared in front of them, they would have to fire a shot first.

Spurred by this ideology, even though the tanks led by Joe, which the Teutons considered small and fast, launched a fierce attack on them, it could not stop these Teutonic officers from charging towards the tanks one after another.

With many Teutonic tank crews successfully starting their tanks, this surprise attack, which caught neither side completely off guard, immediately turned into the first tank battle in human history.

Then, these Teutonic crews, who had struggled to start their vehicles amidst the threat of bullets, immediately discovered a problem: the guns fixed to the hulls had difficulty tracking the Bunitania tanks speeding back and forth between the platforms due to their poor field of fire and visibility.

The agile Bunitania tanks were able to easily fire shells near them while they were speeding along.

Meanwhile, because they were constantly under attack from Buntanian tanks while boarding the vehicles in an emergency, these boarding crews were usually understaffed and unable to use all the equipment on the vehicles.

This made matters worse for the tank crews, who were already unable to effectively counterattack due to their poor firing range.

However, just as many of the first tank crews in Bunitania came from cavalry units, many of the Teutonic tank crews also came from cavalry units.

While the Teutonic cavalry did not have the same glorious history or reputation as the Gauls or Sarmatians, they did not have the same reputation as the cavalry/knights of the Old World.

However, these Teutonic cavalry officers, like the cavalry units that stormed into Paris, had a strong desire for battle.

After discovering that they could not use all three cannons to engage the enemy due to the cannons' poor field of fire, these former cavalry officers quickly made two decisions.

Charge out! Stand in the middle of the road, use the cannons in the side turrets to engage the enemy while restricting their movement! Or, try to ram these little guys.

As more and more Teutonic tanks launched a counterattack, Joe, as the attacker, also began to suffer losses.

A shell from a Teutonic tank hit a Hound tank. To cope with continuous battles, Joe had ordered the Hound tanks to carry an excessive amount of ammunition, even though they had already used up a lot in previous battles.

However, the high-explosive shell still caused the ammunition inside the Hound tank to detonate. The violent explosion sent the tank's turret flying into the air before crashing heavily onto the observation tower of a Royal Fist MK-1 tank.

As it smashed down the observation tower of the MK-1 tank, the headless hull of the Hound tank erupted like a volcano, spewing flames outwards.

The loss of this tank made Joe, who had just destroyed a Teutonic tank, realize that he could no longer delay. As more and more Teutonic tanks successfully started up, the nearby Teutonic troops must also be rushing here.

If this drags on any longer, I will definitely not be able to complete the task of destroying the Teutonic stockpile of supplies near the train station.

"Press the red and white button next to the turret! Yes! The one on your right!"

As he yelled at Ms. Rose in the turret, Joe, who had half his body ejected from the turret, also gestured and shouted to his wingman, "You guys hold them off! I'm going to destroy their warehouse!"

After delivering the order, Joe was about to command Herbert to turn the car around and rush into the warehouse area as quickly as possible.

However, the commander of vehicle number 102, who was serving as Qiao's wingman, waved to Qiao and shouted, "Sir! Let me go! We need you more here!"

Before Joe could say anything more, car number 102 turned around and sped off towards the warehouse area.

Seeing that vehicle number 102 was charging towards the warehouse area, Joe continued to fire at the Teutonic tanks that were starting up with the commander's machine gun, while continuing to direct the remaining crew to suppress the Teutonic tanks.

While Joe was fighting in Bourget, fierce battles also broke out in Paris.

Because Joe's tank was faster than the Teutonic messengers, and because the previous artillery barrage had cut the telephone lines, Joe successfully reached Bourget before the Teutons could react.

However, when Joe launched his attack at Bourges, the news of his surprise attack could no longer be kept secret.

Although the station was in chaos after the attack, the Teutonic officer in charge of the station immediately called headquarters.

"Our unit is under attack by Buntanian tanks, led by vehicle number 101. It is suspected that Joe is personally leading the attack. The offensive is extremely fierce, and we urgently need reinforcements! We urgently need reinforcements!"

Meanwhile, the Teutonic command on the other end of the phone learned that the Bunitas armored forces were attacking Burcher.

The generals and officers in the Teutonic Command were heartbroken, as the entire Paris battle group's logistical support depended almost entirely on the railway line from the north to Le Bourget.

If the Buntanians cut off this railway line, the consequences would be catastrophic.

Then the Teutonic generals realized something else: if Joe was attacking Le Bourget with his unfortunate armored force, wouldn't that mean that Paris was now completely undefended?
Upon realizing this, the Teutonic generals, aside from withdrawing the troops closest to Bourges to support the station, almost without hesitation ordered the troops inside the city to launch a full-scale attack.

As the Teutons launched a full-scale attack, the situation quickly began to develop in the direction that General Henry least wanted to see.

Because Joe had withdrawn a large number of armored troops to launch an attack on Santa Maria, although the armored troops remaining in the city were still fighting hard, the situation was already like six pot lids trying to cover ten pots. After losing two more pot lids, the front line could no longer hold out.

Although the armored battle group of Bunitania remained strong, the Paris task force's battle group had to retreat in large steps in an attempt to reorganize its defenses in order to avoid being surrounded, due to the Teutonic forces constantly breaking through its flanks.

Soon the Teutons, launching a major offensive, broke through the canal defenses and, while entering the southern part of Paris, began to launch attacks in both the east and west directions along the Seine River.

Moving east, the Teutons began to outflank the Gallic forces in the Marne bend region, preparing to destroy the railway and industrial areas southwest of Paris after breaking through their defenses.

Moving west, after breaking through the Place de la Bastille, the Teutons quickly occupied the Île de la Cité and Île Saint-Louis on the Seine River and took Notre Dame Cathedral.

The Gallic defenders are putting up a desperate resistance in the Louvre, the Botanical Gardens of Paris, and the Luxembourg Gardens.

The Teutons, who were fighting near the Louvre, could now see the obelisk in Place de la Concorde with the naked eye.

This greatly boosted the morale of the Teutons, who began to swarm the Gauls' defenses like locusts.

The Gauls, who had been pushed to their last line of defense, began to fight desperately against the Teutons in every room of every house.

At this time, Jean-Pierre, who was commanding an elite commando unit, was fighting the Teutons to the death in the Louvre. After the Battle of Paris entered the stage of full-scale street fighting, in order to boost morale, Jean-Pierre not only hung all his medals on his chest as in the past, but also put on his cavalry breastplate again, took his saber, and personally charged to the front line to boost morale.

While Jean-Pierre's actions boosted morale and encouraged the Paris National Guard soldiers to continue fighting, they also made him a target for the Teutons.

Because Jean-Pierre was so assertive, the Teutons felt that this man was no ordinary Gaul and that they had to strike hard. Stormtroopers, start!
Soon after the Stormtroopers joined the battle, Jean-Pierre's troops began to falter. After all, although they were theoretically considered elite, this was only from the perspective of the Paris defenders.

This commando unit, composed of specially trained Paris National Guard members and military academy cadets, was clearly no match for the Teutonic Storms commandos who had emerged from mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

Moreover, although the flamethrowers had been used up when breaking through the defenses, the Stormtroopers' automatic weapons and ruthless close-quarters attacks still caused Jean-Pierre considerable trouble.

Jean-Pierre could only watch in despair as his old comrades fell one by one in the battle, while Jean-Pierre led the last few sergeants in a room in a final stand.

Jean-Pierre was almost in despair. He didn't know why the Bunitania's armored forces hadn't appeared this time, but he felt he had done everything he could.

Why did the Gauls always fail to hold their lines?
When the Teutonic bayonets appeared in the corridor, Jean-Pierre nodded to the last few officers and sergeants beside him.

"Gentlemen, it has been an honor to fight alongside you. It seems this is our final moment. Is there anything else you wish to say?"

The officers and sergeants, dressed in rags and covered in blood and burn marks, smiled at Jean-Pierre.

"It's an honor to fight alongside you, sir. We have nothing to say, except perhaps..."

As the Teutons charged, the sound of their boots pounding on the Louvre's magnificent marble floors grew louder, and the assault team members, gripping their weapons tightly, roared, "Paris will never fall!"

"Paris will never fall!"

With that roar, Jean-Pierre and the last members of the commando team launched a counter-charge against the Teutons in the corridor.

The two groups of people clashed violently, their blood splattering and staining the ornate curtains by the window, the crimson blood soaking through the thick carpet.

As the people around Jean-Pierre fell one by one, Jean-Pierre felt that he was about to face his final moment. He threw his empty pistol at the face of the Teutonic captain in front of him. As the captain raised his hand to block the gun, Jean-Pierre slashed the Teutonic captain's neck and reached for the grenade at his waist.

Grandpa, I fought to the very last moment.

Just as Jean-Pierre's hand touched the grenade, this thought flashed through his mind.

However, just as Jean-Pierre was about to pull the pin on the grenade, a shout of "Long live Gaul!" rang out from behind the Teutons.

The next second, a group of old soldiers in worn-out military uniforms, with graying temples, rushed into the corridor.

In an instant, the battle in the corridor was reversed. The Teutonic Storm Commando, caught in a pincer movement, put up a resolute resistance, but in the end, they fell one after another.

After the last Teutonic soldier fell, the leader of the group of veterans, a captain-ranking man who looked to be at least sixty, looked at Jean-Pierre.

"I'm sorry, child, we're late."

Jean-Pierre saluted the old captain.

"No, you've come at just the right time. Thank you so much for your help."

Just as Jean-Pierre saluted him, the old captain looked Jean-Pierre up and down.

"Excuse me, you look familiar... Do you know someone named Henri-Louis Deschamps?"

Jean-Pierre paused for a moment upon hearing the name.

“He is my grandfather. He was called by the Lord five years ago.”

Upon hearing Jean-Pierre's words, tears welled up in the old captain's eyes.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry... but this time, I made it in time..."

Looking at the old captain in front of him, whose eyes were glistening with tears, Jean-Pierre seemed to understand something. He reached out and patted the old captain on the shoulder.

Yes, you made it, thank you.

While Jean-Pierre was guarding the Louvre, Joe, who was fighting at Le Bourget station, was now running away frantically in his car. If he could, Joe would even like to get off and push the car himself.

In the battle, Joe, with his more agile and advanced tanks, as well as his more skilled crew and rich experience, successfully suppressed the larger number of Teutonic tanks.

Furthermore, the Guards grenadiers also successfully captured some of the armored train carriages.

If it weren't for the Teutonic troops around them rushing into the station like madmen, Joe would have even considered stealing the armored train for a few minutes.

However, with the Teutonic infantry constantly pouring in, Joe had to abandon the idea, and he himself was even forced back into the turret by these Teutonic infantry.

While continuing to observe the situation outside the vehicle through the commander's observation tower, he complained inwardly, "Why is that No. 102 vehicle, which was sent to destroy the warehouse area, so damn slow?"

It's just about firing at every warehouse you can see, one by one, from far to near. Is that so hard?
Then, just as Joe was complaining in his heart, a loud bang rang out in the warehouse area. The explosion was so strong that Joe, inside the tank, experienced tinnitus and dizziness for a brief period of time.

Once the dizziness subsided somewhat, Joe, feeling relieved, climbed back up the commander's observation tower to check the situation outside the train.

Then Joe saw that in the explosion, the rear half of the armored train had been torn apart by something, and a yellow and yellowish-green mist was gushing out of the carriage like a tide.

poison gas!!
Seeing the yellowish-green and yellow mist pouring out of the carriage, Joe yanked his gas mask off the turret and shouted, "Gas! Put on your gas masks! Herbert! Turn around! Get us out of here!"

Joe risked again to push open the hatch, and while operating the machine gun to suppress the Teutonic infantry, he loudly ordered the remaining three crews to withdraw.

Just as the Hound Tank was rapidly retreating from the station, the gunfire from the armored train caught Joe's attention again.

Damn it! Those Guards Grenadiers are still on the armored train!

Looking at the poison gas spreading behind him, Joe actually wanted to run away, but then he remembered the days he had spent with these Guards Grenadiers.

These Guards grenadiers resolutely carried out every order they were given, and they had a great deal of respect for themselves.

Joe muttered a Yorkya sound under his breath.

“Herbert, wait for me two minutes where we came in. If I or those grenadiers don’t come out in two minutes, you leave immediately, understand?” “Boss…”

Before Herbert could speak to the gunner, Joe ripped the communicator off his neck, climbed out of the turret, and jumped to the ground.

Although no one ordered Joe this time, Joe regretted it the moment he hit the ground.

In such a chaotic environment, for an officer dressed in an armored uniform, with medals on his chest, and only carrying a pistol, wasn't it like having a "fire at me" sign hanging over his head?
With the thought, "What an idiot I am, so eager to be a hero?" Joe drew his pistol and began running towards the armored train parked on the platform.

Behind Joe, Ms. Rose poked her head out from the turret, raised her camera, and started snapping away at Joe's back until the gunner pulled her back into the turret.

Although the poison gas had not yet engulfed the entire platform, the pungent smell still caused many Teutonic soldiers to leave the train station.

This made Joe's job much easier.

Soon, Joe, holding a pistol, entered the armored train.

Although Joe had seen many corpses before, seeing the Teutonic and Guards grenadier bodies mixed together and lying on the ground in the armored train carriages was still quite a sight.

Joe still felt a little nervous.

After casually pulling an entrenching tool from a Teutonic corpse, Joe finally felt a little more at ease and began running towards the noisiest part of the armored train.

According to Joe's plan, the grenadiers entered the armored train from here, so it should be safe to go forward from here, and there shouldn't be any Teutons blocking the way, right?
Then, after Joe ran past three carriages, he saw a group of Teutonic soldiers exchanging fire with people in another carriage, their rifles in hand.

Because Joe made no attempt to quiet his footsteps while running, some of the Teutonic soldiers turned around and saw him when he saw the group of soldiers.

At that moment, when Joe's eyes met those of the Teutonic soldier, Joe saw the same look of surprise in the soldier's eyes.

Then, as the Teutonic soldier shouted something and tried to turn his gun on Joe, Joe had already raised his pistol and pulled the trigger on the Teutonic soldier.

This wasn't the first time Joe had emptied his pistol magazine quickly in combat, but never before had he felt so tense.

With a series of sharp gunshots, a number of Teutonic soldiers fell in the carriage, but when the gunfire stopped, several Teutonic soldiers were still standing.

Damn it! Why didn't I do what I planned and buy a few more handguns to carry around?
While regretting his actions, Joe faced a choice: retreat back into the previous carriage to reload his pistol, or take advantage of the Teutons' current confusion and charge into close combat with them.

Logically, Joe should have retreated to the rear, reloaded his ammunition, and then come back to cause trouble for the Teutons. However, while he hesitated, Joe noticed the grenades hanging on the waists of the Teutonic infantrymen.

Since these Teutonic infantrymen were carrying grenades, Joe only had one option left.

With the thought, "If I survive this, I'll go back and buy three pistols to carry with me!" Joe slammed the pistol down on the head of the nearest Teutonic soldier.

Then, as the Teutonic soldier raised his rifle to parry Joe's hurled pistol, Joe rushed forward and plunged his entrenching tool into the soldier's stomach.

As the Teutonic soldier collapsed, Joe pulled a grenade from his waist and threw it at the Teutonic soldiers behind him.

Joe knew, of course, that the grenade was not pulled, but the Teutonic soldiers did not.

Seeing Joe throw a grenade from that distance, the Teutonic soldiers looked at him with fear and astonishment.

Using grenades at that distance would kill them, and Joe wouldn't survive either. Only a truly insane person would do that.

So after Joe threw the grenade, the Teutonic soldiers all lay down to avoid the subsequent explosion.

Joe seized the opportunity to rush forward and swing his entrenching tool at the back of the necks of the Teutonic soldiers.

By the time the last Teutonic soldier realized something was wrong and turned around, Joe had already raised a rifle and pointed it at him.

"Goodbye."

As Joe pulled the trigger, a spray of blood erupted from the Teutonic infantryman's forehead as he collapsed to the ground.

Looking at the corpses scattered on the ground, Joe, panting heavily, threw his rifle to the ground and walked towards the carriage ahead.

If the Teutons were firing ahead, then the Janissaries must be ahead of them.

As soon as Qiao peeked out, a gunshot rang out from the opposite carriage. Qiao then felt something sting his left arm, followed by an unbearable pain that made him curse.

Following the angry shout, footsteps quickly sounded nearby. When two grenadiers appeared in front of Joe, the expression on one of their faces instantly told Joe who had just fired the shot.

"I'm...I'm sorry, sir, I didn't recognize you just now!"

Looking at the grenadier with the expression that said, "I've messed up terribly, am I going to be shot?" Joe didn't have the energy to scold him.

Instead, he yelled at the two grenadiers at the top of his lungs, "The gas's leaking off the platform! Run the hell out there! The tanks are waiting outside!"

Upon hearing the word "poison gas," the two grenadiers immediately grabbed Joe and ran, shouting, "Retreat! Retreat! Poison gas!"

When the two grenadiers carried Joe into the carriage they had just been in, Joe finally understood why the Teutons had carried grenades but hadn't thrown them during the attack.

This carriage is filled with ammunition; if nothing unexpected happens, this is the ammunition compartment of this armored train.

Moreover, if the grenadiers hadn't occupied this carriage, they probably wouldn't have been able to hold out any longer.

When the attack was launched, the grenadiers put together a platoon of infantry to fight alongside Joe, but now only about ten men remain in that platoon.

The lieutenant in charge was pale-faced and sitting on the ground next to a pile of shells. Several blood-stained spots on his khaki uniform looked like deep swamps.

Although he was also injured, Joe still looked around the carriage after seeing the second lieutenant platoon leader.

"Quick, pry open the lid of that ammunition box, put him on it, and carry him away!"

Just as Joe was about to give the order, the second lieutenant platoon leader shook his head, interrupting Joe.

"Don't bother, I've been shot three times and I can't hold on any longer. Besides, you need someone to destroy this train."

The second lieutenant platoon leader looked at Qiao and gave a wry smile.

"Joe, my child has just turned seven. Could you help me take care of him from now on?"

As he spoke, the second lieutenant platoon leader took a gold watch out of his shirt pocket and handed it to Joe.

"Please take this to him for me. This was left to me by my father. I never thought I would have to leave it to him now."

Looking at the lieutenant in front of him, Joe knew that at the rate he was losing blood, he might not be able to hold out until they were evacuated to the field hospital. And just as the lieutenant had said, they needed someone to destroy the armored train.

Joe reached out and took the second lieutenant's pocket watch.

“From now on, your child is my child, and I will take care of him as if he were my own.”

The second lieutenant platoon leader smiled.

"Now that you say that, I'm relieved. Let's get going while I can still pull the fuse."

Joe put away his gold watch, stood in front of the lieutenant, and solemnly saluted the lieutenant along with the grenadiers around him, whose eyes were red with tears, before immediately evacuating from the armored train.

When Joe and the grenadiers rushed out of the armored train, the yellowish-green gas, like a tide, was already only two carriages away from them.

Even with gas masks on, they could smell the pungent odor in the air. Without anyone notifying them, Joe and the last dozen or so grenadiers ran wildly toward the tanks parked in front of the station fence.

Inside the train car, after Joe and the grenadiers left, the pale-faced lieutenant pulled a crumpled photograph from his jacket pocket. In the photograph, a woman and a child smiled sweetly at the lieutenant.

Looking at the photo, the lieutenant first smiled, but then the smile turned into a bitter one.

"Feel sorry……"

After muttering something to himself, the lieutenant placed the photo on his lap, then took out a cigarette and lit it. While coughing from the smoke, the lieutenant still looked at the photo on his lap with a gentle smile.

Only when the yellowish-green gas flooded the carriage did the lieutenant throw aside the cigarette he was holding. He then laboriously pulled a grenade from his waist, unplugged it, and threw it into the ammunition pile beside him.

With the metallic clang of a grenade hitting a shell and then falling to the floor, the lieutenant muttered something, and the next second, crimson flames and explosive blasts engulfed him.

"BOOM!!"

After the tank had driven Joe some distance, a loud bang came from behind him, and Joe turned around to see a huge fireball rising from the platform.

Looking at the enormous fireball, Joe took out the gold watch from his pocket, glanced at it, then put it back in his pocket and solemnly saluted in the direction of the rising fireball.

Then, as Qiao was saluting, he noticed that, seemingly due to the explosion, the already rapidly spreading poison gas was now spreading even more violently.

The gas, which was hard to describe as either yellowish-green or yellow, surged toward Joe like a cavalry charge after the explosion.

Even before the gases engulfed him, Joe already felt discomfort in his throat and chest, and his skin began to itch.

These are clearly symptoms that would occur after exposure to a small amount of toxic gas.

"Herbert! Drive faster!"

Looking at the churning poison gas behind him, Joe shouted into the vehicle's communication system.

"I've stepped on it! I've stepped on it! I've floored the gas pedal!"

As Herbert spoke, Joe also heard 'Rose' coughing in the carriage.

Although he had some reservations about Rose's profession, he also felt that Rose had come here to take risks for her mission, and he couldn't morally just watch her be exposed to the poison gas.

So Joe retreated back into the turret, took off his coat, removed the medal from his chest, stuffed it back into his trouser pocket with his gold watch, then wet the sleeves of his coat with water from his canteen, wrapped the coat around Ms. Rose's head, and covered her mouth and nose with the wet sleeves.

"Hang in there, we'll be safe soon."

Just as Joe was quickly making his escape.

General Henry was in the Invalides when he could already see the Teutons advancing along the Seine River.

When his adjutant suggested that he move the command post from the veterans' home to a safer location, General Henry shook his head.

“The Emperor is watching us, and the wise men of Gaul throughout history are watching us. I will not let the tragedy of Sedan be repeated in my hands. If the Teutons want to occupy Paris, they will have to step over my dead body first. Prepare me a rifle and get the staff ready for battle.”

General Henry turned around and watched as his adjutant adjusted his hat.

"Let those who want to leave go. I will fight here until the very last moment."

After saying that, General Henry glanced at the telegram on his desk again.

"Let's go, Paris is waiting for us."

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In the baptism of war, six against forty!

Spartan will, sacrifice and glory!

The knights of Bonitania, unparalleled in bravery!
The Teutonic offensive was halted here!
—The Last Knight of Paris: The Sabbon Band

When I saw people in Teutonic uniforms appearing on the banks of the Seneca River in the Invalides, I knew that Paris had reached its most dangerous moment, and that danger was not created by the Teutons, but by that arrogant bastard Joe Harrison.

This is why I strongly opposed awarding this guy the 'Defender of Paris' medal and the 'Legion of Honor' medal; it wasn't out of personal feelings, but because Joe Harrison's military adventures nearly destroyed Paris.

—From *The War Memoirs: Henry*

(End of this chapter)