Germany does not seek survival

Lieutenant General Claus continued, "That's right. During the Fifth Army's battle against the French at Verdun, when they faced the French bunkers, a low-ranking captain named Roll proposed a completely new infantry organization and tactics. Within the Fifth Army, they called it the assault battalion tactic."

Faust nodded secretly. He knew that the "assault battalion" mentioned by Captain Roll was the German "Storm Commando" that shone brightly at the end of World War I.

The Storm Troopers were called assault battalions, but their organization was actually slightly smaller than a normal full-scale German infantry battalion. However, their equipment was more luxurious, including light machine guns, lobster armor, ear-protecting helmets, flamethrowers, body armor, rifle grenades...

All of the German army's latest equipment was given priority to the Storm Troopers to test various infantry tactics.

Lieutenant General Claus explained, "During the Battle of the Vosges Mountains, Captain Rolle experimented with this new tactic. Before launching their attack, the Storm Troopers would first undergo intensive artillery fire, then, under the cover of a slowly advancing barrage of fire, alternately provide cover and rapidly advance. Their goal wasn't to annihilate the enemy or capture positions, but rather to quickly bypass enemy fire support points, quickly penetrate deep into the enemy's territory through the gaps in their defensive formations, cut off their communications, and create opportunities for a major breakthrough."

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In view of the poor response of readers to Yu Wen's sudden writing of pornographic articles, if I plan to write something of this kind in the future, I will mark the chapters with *. Readers who do not want to read this kind of content can skip it directly.

Chapter 20 War Heroes

The Storm Troopers' tactics brought great fame to the Fifth Army and Prince William, who received almost all the praise from the German side in the Battle of Verdun.

This incident made Crown Prince Rupprecht very unhappy.

Rupprecht is the Crown Prince of Bavaria, or in Chinese, the Prince of a vassal state. He has no competitive relationship with Prince William of the Empire.

What made the Crown Prince very dissatisfied was that in the Battle of Verdun, in addition to the Storm Troopers under Prince William, the Bavarian Alpine Hunter Battalion also played a very important role.

It can even be said that the role played by the South German Mountain Hunters in the Battle of Verdun and the Battle of the Somme was actually greater than that of the Storm Commandos.

Lieutenant General Claus adjusted his glasses and asked Faust, "Do you know the Bavarian Guards Jäger Regiment?"

Faust was not very familiar with the various troop organizations and numbers of the German army, so he shook his head and denied it truthfully.

Lieutenant General Claus' tone sounded very unhappy. "The Bavarian Guards Jäger Regiment was one of the three regiments of the Empire's First Mountain Army before the war. They were all the most elite mountain infantry in the south."

Before the outbreak of World War I, the German army had not considered fighting in terrain such as the Alps, so it did not attach importance to mountain troops. The entire army had only one mountain army, and it only had three mountain chasseur regiments under its command.

However, Crown Prince Rupprecht attached great importance to mountain troops because Bavaria is adjacent to the Alps and mountain warfare is the Bavarians' strong point.

The Bavarian Guards Jäger Regiment brought together all the elite mountain jägers in southern Germany. Most of the jägers were originally hunters and forest rangers. They were good at shooting and were also good at operating in complex terrain.

The Jägers had learned lessons from the Boer War early on and were accustomed to using very loose skirmish lines rather than dense formation charges.

After the Battle of Verdun broke out, the Bavarian Guards Jäger Regiment was also ordered to participate in the war. At that time, at the insistence of Crown Prince Rupprecht and Chief of Staff Claus, the Jäger Regiment was reinforced with 26 heavy howitzers.

The German army first used heavy artillery to clear the way, and the powerful firepower devastated the area from no-man's land to the French positions. Then the three battalions of the Jäger Regiment formed the first wave of attack.

The Bavarians' offensive tactics were different from all previous German tactics. The three powerful and dense battalions would form a skirmish line and advance in unison. The two battalions in the first line would be led by experienced old chasseurs, while the other battalion in the second line would carry 24 machine guns and 6 77mm cannons. In this way, the second wave of powerful firepower could cross the first wave of attack and suppress the French firepower points. This intensive but deadly attack tactic was the first time in human history.

The Chasseurs advanced quickly through the smoke, using rifle fire and hand grenades to cover two machine guns to a position where they could suppress the French fire point, successfully destroying the French machine gun bunker.

After that, the Chasseurs encountered a fierce counterattack from the French army with superior forces. A large number of French soldiers came out of the cellars under the ruins and fought hand-to-hand with the Bavarians. This bloody battle lasted for several hours, and the French army was defeated.

The Bavarian Guards Jäger Regiment thus won the glorious victory of Fleury.

In this battle, the Jäger Regiment broke through the French army's depth of two kilometers, captured more than a thousand French prisoners, and defeated a division of the French army in front of them. The record was brilliant, but in the end, the Germans only knew the glory of the Storm Troopers, and the contributions of the Bavarian Jäger Regiment were selectively ignored by the Prussian Junkers in power.

Crown Prince Rupprecht placed his marshal's baton on the military map. The baton spun around on the table for a few times and finally stopped in front of Faust.

The Crown Prince frowned. It was obvious that he cared about this matter very much. The fact that the contribution of Bavaria's elite troops was ignored meant that Bavaria's political status within the German Empire was shaken to some extent.

When Bismarck unified Germany, the northern German states had already been annexed by Prussia by force. The national strength of the southern German states was a hundred times lower than that of Prussia. Only the Kingdom of Bavaria was the largest in size. Although it was not as strong as Prussia, it had a quarter of Prussia's national strength.

If the Bavarians really wanted to resist unification by force, they could have allied with France, Austria-Hungary and Italy, and with the help of the towering and steep mountains in the south, if they had held on firmly, it would have been hard to say how much Prussia would have had to pay to pacify and unify Bavaria.

However, the Bavarians chose peaceful unification and voluntarily submitted to the central government.

Correspondingly, Bismarck also gave Bavaria far more autonomy than other princes. Except for the military and diplomacy, everything was allowed. Even in the military and diplomacy, it was only stipulated that Bavaria could not hinder the overall interests of Germany.

Such a great degree of autonomy has indeed contributed to the close relationship between Bavaria and the central government in recent decades.

It seemed that Bavaria was about to melt into the empire, but then the war broke out. As Germany's war situation became increasingly unfavorable, the narrow-minded and conservative nature of the Junker nobles began to be exposed again.

Crown Prince Rupprecht and Chief of Staff Claus did not tell Faust about the struggle between the Prussian and Bavarian high-level officials.

But having said that, even without saying it explicitly, Faust himself had already guessed it almost exactly.

It turns out that the mighty German Empire, which was known as the world's best iron army, also had internal disputes between the main line and the collateral line.

Lieutenant General Claus came from the oldest Junker family in Prussia, but as the adjutant and chief of staff of Crown Prince Rupprecht for more than ten years, he was already half Bavarian and naturally made all-out efforts for southern Germany.

After Faust, a Bavarian, caused a big disturbance in Saint-Quentin and became a war hero, his fame spread quickly and reached the ears of Lieutenant General Claus.

Lieutenant General Claus seemed to be actively courting Faust, saying, "We've carefully examined your record and the way you fought in Saint-Quentin. There's no doubt you're the man we're looking for, a soldier more suited to lead the commando than Captain Roll."

Crown Prince Rupprecht stopped trying to be coy and asked directly, "I have a plan. We plan to further reorganize the Bavarian Guards Jäger Regiment, modeled after the Storm Troopers, to form a more targeted Jäger assault unit."

Lieutenant General Claus said: "During the Battle of Verdun, the Storm Commandos and the Jäger Battalion both demonstrated the tactical value they derived from them. They were to do exactly what you, Faust, did at Saint-Quentin."

Faust raised his head and looked at Crown Prince Prurecht and Lieutenant General Claus. Both of them were powerful and controlled hundreds of thousands of troops. If he had the chance to speak in front of them, he had to seize every opportunity to speak.

"Your Highness, and Your Excellency, Lieutenant General, with all due respect, do you intend for me to participate in the formation of a new type of Jaeger unit? However, I have no experience in leading troops. Even if I complete my reserve officer training, I would only be able to perform the duties of a platoon leader at best."

Lieutenant General Claus snorted softly and said, "You still don't understand your own importance! In the newspapers, the German press has portrayed you as a heroic figure like the Red Baron. The new unit needs a Bavarian combat hero to serve as a symbol and lead the troops' morale, just like Richthofen to the 1st Fighter Wing and Captain Roll to the 5th Assault Battalion."

Crown Prince Rupprecht smiled faintly and said, "Don't worry. With your consent, I can transfer you from the King William I Guards. In fact, if your unit wasn't a top-tier unit of the Prussian Guards, I'd just need to sign my name and you'd be transferred to the Bavarian Guards Jäger Regiment by now."

Crown Prince Rupprecht's words were a bit disrespectful, so Lieutenant General Claus excused him, saying, "Actually, His Highness saw the report about you and learned that you were from Munich. He was very happy that Munich could produce such a famous war hero, so he came to meet you. The Crown Prince likes you very much, and as long as you agree, we can transfer you from the Prussian army."

Chapter 21: All About Imperialism

Every fixed unit of the German Imperial Army, down to the regimental and battalion levels, recruited soldiers according to the district division method. Therefore, the transfer of personnel between units was easier at higher levels, but more difficult at the grassroots level.

Especially when transferring from the Prussian army to the Bavarian army, the difficulty is even greater.

Crown Prince Rupprecht was a high-ranking official, commander-in-chief of the army group. If he really wanted to transfer an ordinary soldier, even a particularly famous war hero like Faust, he could do it with just a word from the General Staff.

However, Crown Prince Rupprecht was very reluctant to seek help from the General Staff controlled by the Prussians.

Besides, the Dauphin really liked Faust.

Crown Prince Rupprecht stood up, walked to the window, lit a cigar, and said, "I have a godson, the son of Lieutenant General Claus. The young man looks very similar to you. Unfortunately, he died a month ago."

Faust saluted Crown Prince Rupprecht and said, "Your Highness, I will certainly obey your orders. However, I believe that if the Bavarian Guards Jäger Regiment is to be reorganized into a more targeted assault force, it would be wise to first form a smaller pilot unit to conduct battalion- and company-level trials before the formal restructuring. If the results are positive, then it wouldn't be too late to move on to a regimental-level restructuring."

A plan had already emerged in Faust's mind.

To be honest, Faust didn't want to be suddenly transferred to a new unit. He had worked hard to build up some basic skills in the 7th Company. If he was transferred to the Bavarian Hunter Regiment, it would be very difficult for Faust to work with Rommel, Little Mustache and others.

But if we were to form a new hunting force at the battalion or company level...

Then Faust can bring all the people from the Seventh Company over.

The new Jäger assault force, composed entirely of veterans of the Seventh Company, would certainly make it easier for Faust to develop the National Socialist Party and paint on a blank sheet of paper, and would also help Faust better control this force.

The German army in World War I was very different from the German army in World War II. In terms of troop organization, the German army in World War I still retained many traditions of modern Western armies. At the regimental and battalion levels, the troops were very independent, and the officers and soldiers of a regiment were usually all from the same hometown. It was only in the later stages of World War I that a large number of old German troops were crippled, and mixed formations became more and more common.

Faust said, "Your Highness, the miracle of Saint-Quentin wasn't accomplished by me alone; it was the work of the entire 7th Guards Company. The soldiers of the 7th Company are just like me. While we haven't received specialized assault training and aren't a professional assault battalion, the 7th Company has honed tactical skills similar to those of the Storm Commandos during the war."

Faust walked up behind Crown Prince Rupprecht and said, "I request Your Highness to form a battalion-level Jäger assault detachment based on the 7th Company of the Guards. Aside from the 7th Company, the rest of the battalion's troops can be borrowed from the Bavarian troops."

Crown Prince Rupprecht frowned. "It's not that easy to borrow a troop from the Prussian Guards."

Lieutenant General Claus said immediately, "Your Highness, I have many friends in the Guards. It would be difficult to lend out the King William I Guards, but if it's just a Guards company, that's easy. I can arrange it right away."

Crown Prince Rupprecht said slightly displeasedly, "Do we still need to ask the Prussian War Ministry for help?"

Lieutenant General Claus said: "I can solve this problem at the army group level!"

Crown Prince Rupprecht reluctantly agreed and said, "Marquis Claus, please draft a pilot report for the Jäger Assault Battalion. Once submitted to the General Staff, we will immediately begin forming the force. We will first loan Faust's unit over. The remaining three companies will be loaned from the Bavarian Guards Jäger Regiment."

In the German army during World War I, an infantry regiment usually had three infantry battalions under its command, and an infantry battalion had four infantry companies under its command.

According to Lieutenant General Klaus's plan for the Jäger Assault Battalion, the newly formed Jäger Assault Battalion will be composed of three mountain Jäger companies and a heavy equipment company. This heavy equipment company will include a machine gun platoon, a light mortar platoon and a flamethrower platoon, specifically to provide fire support for the Jäger Assault Battalion.

Faust pleaded again, "Your Highness, during the battle of Saint-Quentin, I also received assistance from some soldiers of the 16th Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment. If there is an opportunity, I hope to transfer the bravest of these soldiers to the Jäger Assault Battalion."

Crown Prince Rupprecht waved his hand and agreed to everything: "That's no problem! I can transfer the Bavarian troops directly through the Bavarian Army Ministry."

Germany's army management system is actually completely different from the stereotyped and rigorous impression of Germans.

After the unification of Germany, the armies of the three kingdoms of Bavaria, Saxony and Württemberg still maintained semi-autonomous independence. Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony and Württemberg were all under the imperial system and still had their own army department.

Therefore, the highest organ of the German army is the General Staff. Because Germany has four army ministries, it can only exercise control over the army through the General Staff.

After discussing the plan for the new type of Jäger assault battalion, Crown Prince Rupprecht originally wanted to invite Faust to dinner at the Fountain Manor, but Faust was still worried about his old leader Rommel who was waiting for him outside, so he politely declined the Crown Prince's invitation.

Upon seeing this, Crown Prince Rupprecht stroked his mustache and said with a smile, "Marquis Claus, look! This is our child. The bloodline of a general has been passed down from generation to generation. Who says Bavarians aren't as good soldiers as Prussians? We Bavarians are no worse off."

Lieutenant General Klaus said reservedly, "Faust will become one of ours. Your Highness, please rest assured. He will definitely be one of ours."

Crown Prince Rupprecht watched Faust leave Fountain Manor, and his expression gradually darkened.

"In this era, the war stars widely publicized by the mass media are more valuable in the eyes of the German people than the princely bloodlines passed down from generation to generation!"

Faust's remaining task is to participate in the training of reserve officers. Generally speaking, the training time is two to three months, and then he will take the exam. After passing the exam, he can obtain the rank of second lieutenant.

But Faust did not want to waste his precious time in the training class. After leaving Fountain Manor, he immediately asked Captain Paulus for some teaching materials for the reserve officer crash course and started reading them immediately.

Fortunately, Faust's current body not only has terrifyingly strong muscles and exaggerated sharpness of his five senses, but his brain is also extremely clear and his memory is almost as good as that of a computer.

Faust only needed to glance at the reserve officer training materials that Captain Paulus brought, and he could memorize all the contents on that piece of paper, and could read a professional article of thousands of words in one minute.

As he read further, Faust read faster and faster. He took a copy of the "German Junior Officers' Combat Manual" sent by Paulus in his hand and flipped through it as quickly as a bear digging corn, shaking his head left and right. He could read not only ten lines at a glance, but a hundred or even a thousand lines at a glance.

Paulus was shocked: "I don't understand, Faust, what are you doing."

Faust stopped flipping through the pages of the book and answered seriously, "Quantum speed reading."

"Quantity...quantum?"

"Energy quanta, the quantum proposed by Professor Planck, the wave-particle duality of light studied by Dr. Einstein, this is the quantum wave speed reading method! Forget it, I tell you, you won't understand, don't disturb me while I'm reading."

Rommel was still waiting for Faust in Spa. This time, Rommel was able to borrow Faust's help. During their trip to Spa, they also received a lot of scarce supplies for the 7th Guards Company.

Paulus took Rommel to receive more than 100 woolen blankets, cowhide boots, and several wooden boxes filled with canned beef. In addition, Rommel also received a batch of new rifles for the 7th Company.

Germany's military production capacity was unrivaled in Europe, and it was relatively easy to replenish its military equipment. However, since the outbreak of the war, Germany had been subjected to a comprehensive blockade by the Allies, and food and clothing were in short supply. Those boxes of food were much rarer than ordinary military equipment.

"Chocolate, Bavarian apple jam, Haase cheese, smoked ham, Thuringian sausage..."

German soldiers on the front line often had to rely on black bread mixed with sawdust to fill their stomachs, but in the town of Spa where William II was staying, there were so many supplies stored, including food, drinks, and even champagne.

In fact, as the German counterattack in the later stages of the Battle of the Somme progressed, the German army plundered a large amount of food, vegetables, meat and wine from the newly controlled French territory.

Among these spoils, most of the more luxurious wines and delicacies were sent back to Germany to satisfy the appetites of the empire's ruling class.

Faust turned his head away and could see that Rommel's face was by no means happy.

Rommel looked at the mountains of fresh food, champagne and red wine in the warehouse in Spa, and his expression became numb.

This German soldier, who came from a family of teachers, must have truly believed everything declared in the imperial propaganda machine. I wonder what he would start to think when he noticed the growing gap between the rich and the poor in the rear?

Faust put down the "Quantum Speed ​​Reading" textbook and patted Rommel on the shoulder: "This is the Empire. If you want imperialism, you will get everything that imperialism has."

Chapter 22: Revolutionary Army Strategy

The training school for reserve officers is located in the largest Belgian city near Spa, the famous fortress city of Liege.

When World War I broke out, the city of Liege was a very critical point. In order to attack France from Belgium, the German army had to capture Liege first, which was more difficult than expected.

According to the orders received by the superiors of the 7th Company, Rommel had to return to the front line and continue to command his troops before Faust passed the examination for reserve officers and the army group completed the preliminary formation of the new jäger unit.

Faust, accompanied by Captain Paulus, went to the German Army's temporary school for reserve officers in Liege for training and examinations.

That’s right, Faust’s instructor in the reserve officer crash course was Captain Frederick William Paulus.

"Paulus is my teacher?"

Faust was ashamed: "Just don't teach me to the point of Stalingrad..."

At first, Faust did not have a very good impression of Paulus. He knew that in history, Paulus surrendered with the German Sixth Army in Stalingrad, which was a turning point in World War II.

However, after actual contact, Faust soon discovered that Paulus spoke modestly. In terms of military work, although he was only responsible for a small job like training Faust, his attitude was very serious and responsible, and he did not show any negligence.

The two men had arrived in the suburbs of Liege by carriage. While in the carriage, Paulus seized the opportunity to answer Faust's questions. Because Faust read too fast, he had a lot of questions in a short time. Only a professional staff officer like Paulus with strong business skills could cope with Faust's lightning-fast questions.

"The operational manual is vague about the specific arrangements for reconnaissance missions. How should this be done?"

"Orders issued to reconnaissance units should specify their precise mission. They should include the time of departure, information on adjacent reconnaissance units, sectors or directions, objectives to be reconnoitred, daily adjustment lines for patrols, instructions for relaying reports, and the location of intermediate objectives, which must be reported to superiors upon arrival. Other elements of information include the required reporting time, as well as the time of departure of the main force, its route of march, and its objectives. In addition, it may be necessary to include instructions regarding contact with the enemy and local civilians..."

"The manual says that troop movement and marching are essential components of warfare, and that the success of all operations depends largely on the safe execution of the march and the integrity of the troops after the march. However, it doesn't explain how to ensure these two things during the march."

"Commanders need to carefully plan stops and rest periods, enforce strict marching discipline, take good care of feet, maintain good horseshoeing, and maintain clothing, equipment, saddles, and harnesses. Excellent medical care and adequate food for both soldiers and horses are the most effective means of maintaining and enhancing marching performance. Sore feet for soldiers and lame or sore backs for horses will adversely affect the march..."

“Right at the battalion and company level, what should the commander do?”