Germany does not seek survival

"Captain! What's the chance?"

The soldiers asked a flurry of questions, and Faust answered on Rommel's behalf: "The 7th Company will soon be reorganized. We will be incorporated into a newly established Guards Jäger Battalion. This new unit will enjoy the highest supply priority and will become the spearhead of the entire army."

Chapter 30: A Gathering of Heroes

Most of the soldiers in the 7th Guards Company were not very enthusiastic about continuing the war, but they were very happy when they heard Faust say that the new troops could get a higher priority for supplies.

There are no atheists in the bomb craters. When the war just started, the soldiers were all eager to join the army. But after more than two years of torture, the hungry guys had only one wish, which was that they could fight, but at least there should be enough canned food, right?

If canned food isn't enough, at least eat less synthetic bread mixed with sawdust.

This winter, life on the front lines was extremely difficult. Supplies were scarcer than ever before, and soldiers were forced to eat cats and dogs to fill their stomachs. Those who, like Little Mustache, could comfortably eat cat meat and denounce those who refused, saying, "The French army was still eating rats in 1870!" Ultimately, they were a minority.

Even Xiao Huzi himself, because he has a pet dog and loves dogs very much, refuses to eat dog meat. He is a childless dog-loving man.

At home, ordinary people were forced to feed on cats and dogs. Bread was made from sawdust and potato peels, and milk was almost unavailable. If Germany did not achieve some major victories on the front line, it would be difficult for it to survive the next year of 1917.

The soldiers of the 7th Company of the Guards almost all felt the same way. At the dinner table welcoming Faust's return, everyone agreed that if the Empire did not win a big victory soon, given the current situation where the soldiers on the front lines were so hungry, they could only hold out for another year or two at most, and then they would have no choice but to seek peace.

Of all the people present, only the man with the mustache was furious when he heard the word "peace talks", while the others remained relatively calm.

Faust revealed to everyone, "After we are reorganized into the new unit, we will most likely be transferred to participate in the Romanian Campaign. Romania is a weak target. At least this battle will be concluded in a short period of time, and we should be able to achieve a relatively clean victory."

After Romania's independence, its monarch was also a member of the Hohenzollern royal family invited from Germany. However, he defected to the Allied camp, and the whole of Germany was extremely angry about this. Therefore, if Romania could be quickly defeated in a short period of time, it would definitely have a great boosting effect on the morale of the German people.

Moreover, Romania is also an important grain-producing country in the Balkans. Once the German army occupies Romania, it is possible to improve the current famine crisis in the country.

Rommel agreed: "The Western Front has been in a complete stalemate for two years, and there is no possibility of breaking the deadlock in the short term. Therefore, the hope of the war must be on the Eastern Front. At least, the battle lines on the Eastern Front have always been more fluid. Unlike the Western Front, everyone is huddled in trenches and torturing each other."

Trench warfare is indeed a powerful weapon to undermine morale. Unless one is a special person like a mustache, the average person will have all his heroism worn away after two or three years in a trench, and will just want to end this damn war as soon as possible.

The situation on the Eastern Front was different. The battlefield on the Eastern Front was many times larger than that on the Western Front, so many fronts did not form a tight trench network. Both the Russian and German armies still had opportunities for mobile warfare.

As long as mobile warfare is the main approach, the morale of the German army on the Eastern Front will definitely be stronger than that of the German army on the Western Front.

So historically, at the end of World War I, the German troops on the Western Front collapsed in large numbers and were disarmed in large numbers by the Allied Forces; while the German troops on the Eastern Front maintained higher morale under the influence of the October Revolution in Soviet Russia.

After returning home from the Eastern Front, many German troops took a right-wing stance and became the main force of the "Free Corps" to suppress the German Communist Revolution.

Because the German army on the Eastern Front truly believed they had won the war, winning all the way from East Prussia to Warsaw, Kiev, and Riga, and even forcing the Soviet Union to sign the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. How could they have lost? Unlike the German army on the Western Front, which had been completely defeated by the Allied forces at the end, their morale and spirit were still there. They must have been very dissatisfied.

"According to the transfer order from Army Group Headquarters, the 7th Company will be transferred back to China next week. We will go to Munich to participate in the reorganization of the troops and receive specialized training. According to my speculation, we will then be transferred directly from Munich to the Romanian battlefield."

Faust gave everyone another reassurance: "After arriving in Munich, we will receive new equipment, including a large number of Germany's most advanced weapons. This will ensure that we become the most advanced unit in the German army in terms of equipment."

Still, some soldiers asked Faust: "Boy...Mr. Lieutenant, when can we set off?"

Faust laughed and scolded: "Don't be so impatient, we won't have to wait long. We will leave Saint-Quentin in the next few days, next week, at the latest."

As soon as they heard that they could leave Saint-Quentin, the whole company burst into cheers again, because the trench warfare on the Western Front was too torturous, and the frequent news of victory on the Eastern Front made everyone full of fantasies about the Balkan battlefield and the Russian battlefield.

Rommel asked cautiously, "How are the personnel arrangements for the new troops?"

Faust replied, "The new unit will be organized as a battalion for now. I certainly hope you can be the battalion commander, but the likelihood is that the battalion commander will transfer a noble officer. However, once the new unit's experiment is successful, it will soon be expanded to a regiment and then a division. Then, each of us will rise with the tide. The future is bright."

Rommel temporarily accepted Faust's words, and Faust brought out another benefit he had obtained from Crown Prince Rupprecht.

"This note in my hand was approved by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. With this, we can obtain a batch of the latest equipment."

The weapons and equipment of the 7th Guards Company were not bad to begin with, but Faust believed that since they would be heading to the Eastern Front to participate in the war, their weapons and equipment should be adjusted in a targeted manner compared to those on the Western Front.

In terms of rifles, the main focus is to add a dust cover to the original G98 rifle to adapt to the more complex and changeable battlefield environment.

In terms of machine guns, Faust took a fancy to the German MG15 light machine gun, an improved version of the Maxim machine gun, with a total weight of less than 20 kilograms. It was the first truly light machine gun in human history.

Then comes the artillery. The choice must be the light Krupp mortar, which weighs 150 kilograms and can be divided into three parts for transportation. Under extreme conditions, even mules and horses are not needed, and soldiers can carry it directly.

The next day, Rommel took Faust's note and received a batch of new weapons, but there were also more targeted new equipment, such as flamethrowers and 105mm mountain howitzers produced by the Skoda Arsenal. These good things had to be collected after arriving in Munich.

But there was good news at last. Next up was the 7th Company and part of the 16th Infantry Regiment. They would all take the same train to Munich.

Before leaving Saint-Quentin, Rommel organized a farewell ceremony to the position. Everyone dug a handful of soil in the trench of Saint-Quentin, and then without any further lingering feelings, all boarded the train.

Faust closed his eyes and had a good sleep as the military train's whistle sounded. When he woke up again, the train had returned to Germany and arrived in Bavaria soon after.

Munich is where Faust was born, but he grew up in the slums of Munich and did not have much good impression of this city in his memory. When he returned to his hometown today, he did not feel any special nostalgia.

What surprised Faust was that although supplies were so tight during the war, the high-end restaurants and hotels on Schlesmer Street in Munich were still decorated with lights and kept brightly lit all night, with noble men and women driving luxury cars constantly coming in and out.

Now, even a die-hard fan of the Empire like Little Mustache began to have some fire in his eyes.

Faust remained calm, knowing that such a huge difference between the front and the rear would help the soldiers turn around, and soon, Crown Prince Rupprecht's men came to take away the Seventh Company.

There were four people sent by Crown Prince Rupprecht, two noble officers and two civilian officers, all of whom were Bavarians.

The leader's scarlet collar insignia had a double row of silver lines, indicating his rank as colonel. He introduced himself to Rommel and Faust:

"From now on, I am your battalion commander, Franz Ritter von Epp, formerly the commander of the 1st Jäger Regiment of the Bavarian Royal Guards."

Colonel Epp was previously the commander of the Guards Jäger Regiment and was awarded the Max Joseph Military Medal, the highest level military medal in Bavaria. He was full of honors. The fact that he was appointed as the battalion commander of a battalion also shows how much the Bavarian top leaders valued this new force.

Colonel Epp then introduced the remaining three officers: "According to the instructions of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, the commander of the first company is Captain Rommel. The remaining three company commanders are: Commander of the second company, Wilhelm von Thoma; Commander of the third company, Ferdinand Schörner; and Commander of the heavy equipment company, Albert Kesselring."

Chapter 31: Grossdeutschland Camp

The officers of the new hunting battalion would definitely be selected mainly from the Bavarian nobles trusted by Crown Prince Rupprecht, but Faust also made some suggestions. He wrote a letter to Lieutenant General Claus, in which he mentioned the names of several young Bavarian officers that Faust remembered.

Most of these names were found by Faust based on the memories of later generations. The key point was that they had to be of Bavarian origin and civilian origin. As a result, the only two people whose backgrounds and ranks matched and who were capable of serving in the new troops were Scherner and Kesselring.

Kesselring's background was almost identical to Rommel's: he came from a family of teachers, received a military education, was exceptionally talented, had strong professional skills at his post, and was ostracized by the Junker aristocracy.

Like Paulus, Scherner also came from the University of Munich. After all, this school was the most important university in Bavaria, so it was not surprising that many civilian officers had a background in Munich.

Now, Faust's plan to form a small group of Mu Da might become a reality.

These two fellow countrymen of Faust were both outstanding first-class commanders in the German army in World War II. Scherner was the soul of the German mountain troops in World War II and the last commander-in-chief of the army of Nazi Germany. Kesselring, needless to say, was in charge of the navy, army and air force, and could command them all. They were all top commanders and could be called all-rounders.

The last one is Captain William von Thomas. Like Colonel Epp, he is also of noble birth, but he is from the lowest level of knight nobility in Bavaria, and his family background is not prominent.

In addition, thanks to Faust's hard work, Captain Paulus was successfully transferred to the Jäger Battalion to serve as the battalion's combat staff officer. Little Mustache and Sorge were then transferred to the first company of the Jäger Battalion and incorporated into Rommel's troops.

As for our Faust himself, he served as the deputy company commander of the first company of the hunting battalion with the rank of second lieutenant.

The total strength of the entire Jäger Battalion was over a thousand men, and the Seventh Guards Company brought by Faust only accounted for a quarter of the entire battalion's strength. The other three companies were all from Bavaria's ace troops, but because Faust's reputation was far-reaching, everyone looked up to the newly arrived Seventh Guards Company. During the reorganization, according to the instructions of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Lieutenant General Claus, the number of the First Company of the Jäger Battalion was also given to Faust.

Colonel Epp was a high-ranking noble, and held the rank of colonel. He was rather arrogant in front of Faust, and without further greeting, he gave the order directly:

"From now on, all of you must accept my command. Obedience is a soldier's first duty, understand? Damn it, I was asked to go from being a regimental commander to commanding a battalion... I don't want to see anyone fail. I don't care who your backers are or who your patrons are. In my army, I, Colonel Franz Ritter von Epp, am the only leader. Once I give the order, we must act. There are no excuses!"

Colonel Epp did not think much of Faust, Rommel and others. After all, he was a colonel, and his rank was much higher than that of a captain or a second lieutenant.

However, the other three captains in the hunting battalion, including von Thomas who came from an aristocratic family, all showed a very friendly attitude towards Faust. Everyone had seen Faust's battle record in the newspaper. Such warriors have always been highly respected by grassroots officers within the German army.

Especially since the Battle of Verdun, the German army has suffered repeated setbacks on the battlefield, and it is rare to see a miraculous heroic deed like Faust. The General Staff must have publicized it. Faust's achievements, which Rommel deliberately reduced in order to "rationalize" them, have returned to the level of Faust's actual achievements under the exaggerated propaganda of the General Staff.

After a back and forth discussion, it can be said to be very objective.

The temporary base of the Jäger Battalion in Munich was the Lohrmann Brewery on Brunner Strasse. Before the war, this was one of the most important breweries in Bavaria. During the war, in order to set an example of saving food, the Munich government announced the closure of the Lohrmann Brewery and converted it into a large barracks.

However, all the breweries that supply the general public have been closed, but the red wines loved by the rich and powerful are still supplied as usual.

Captain von Thoma, Captain Scherner, and Captain Kesselring all looked very excited when they saw Faust. Captain von Thoma asked Faust about the "Miracle of Saint Quentin" in disbelief. Before Faust could answer, Rommel spoke for him:

"Everything is true... It should be said that the General Staff's propaganda is not exaggerated."

Captain von Thomas stroked his long chin, incredulous. "One man blew up three tanks? Captured dozens of French soldiers? Just one man, just one man."

Captain Kesselring, like Rommel, had received training at the Artillery School. The two had already known each other before this meeting. Kesselring trusted Rommel's character very much and knew that Rommel had always been cautious in his military achievements and was not the kind of person who would violate his principles for publicity effects.

"I believe what Rommel said. Even Rommel said so. Lieutenant Faust's heroic deeds must be true."

Captain von Thomas was still surprised. "That...that's too much."

Captain von Thomas, Captain Kesselring, and Captain Scherner, the three captains of the Jäger Battalion, now stared at Faust with all six eyes. Faust could only rub his head:

"I was only doing my duty, gentlemen. But the balance of war is not decided by one or two warriors. Our new troops will not rely on one or two warriors, but on new organizations, new equipment, and new tactics."

Captain Scherner said, "From what I've heard, this new unit was also proposed by Lieutenant Faust to the higher-ups, right?"

Faust replied, "I only made a few suggestions. The majority of the plan for the new troops came from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Captain Scherner's hometown is Munich, the same as Faust's. However, unlike Faust who was just a test-taker, Captain Scherner was very fond of mountaineering before the war. He was a participant in Germany's famous "Bird Movement" at that time and had set several records for climbing the Alps. Therefore, he was more interested in the mountain troops themselves.

All the soldiers of the Jäger Battalion had arrived at the Löhrn Barracks in Munich by train. His Royal Highness Crown Prince Rupprecht was still on the Western Front and could not come to Munich in person. He sent his chief of staff, Lieutenant General Claus, here first to take charge of the specific organization and training of the Jäger Battalion.

Lieutenant General Claus particularly valued Faust. He believed that the new Jäger Battalion had to have a particularly famous war hero like Faust as its signboard, so that it could leave a deep enough impression on the German public like the Richthofen Fighter Wing and the Roll Battalion.

As soon as Faust and others arrived at the barracks, Lieutenant General Klaus spoke to Faust first. His tone was very good, and you really couldn't tell that he was a lieutenant general talking to a second lieutenant. Judging from their age and appearance, they looked more like father and son.

"The General Staff has designated the new unit as the Provisional 1st Jäger Assault Battalion. Essentially, it's an assault battalion, not a Jäger battalion. Its future tactical missions will be similar to those of the Storm Commandos, focusing on deep assaults across the front lines, rather than mountain warfare like traditional Jäger battalions. However, you will also be responsible for mountain warfare when needed."

The German Emperor's Army in World War I did not have the habit of giving honorary names to ace troops like the German Army in World War II. The famous Red Baron Squadron was just an nickname given by the Allies to the 1st Fighter Wing of the German Air Force, and it was not an official honorary number.

However, due to the decline in German morale this year, the General Staff is already considering awarding the new ace troops with Guards numbers and other new honorary numbers in the future.

Faust made this suggestion to Crown Prince Rupprecht and Lieutenant General Claus.

"The new unit should have a well-known and memorable name. This will facilitate publicity and align with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's wishes, allowing more people to know that our Bavarian troops are not inferior."

Lieutenant General Kraus said: "That also requires the approval of the General Staff."

Faust said, "The request made by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is reasonable and logical, and the General Staff will certainly not refuse it."

"Do you have any good suggestions? The new unit honorary designation should be easy to remember and louder."

Faust smiled and said, "I have a good idea. To prevent the Prussians from thinking our unit is engaging in Bavarian regionalism, I propose that the honorary designation of the Jäger Assault Battalion be changed to the Großdeutschland Battalion."

Chapter 32 Mountains

The full name of the Grossdeutschland Battalion is the 1st "Grossdeutschland" Jäger Assault Battalion of the Royal Bavarian Guard. It retains the beginning of the Royal Bavarian Guard and the name of the Jäger Assault Battalion, which is enough to let the German people know in propaganda that this is a unit belonging to Bavaria.

Germany's unification lasted only forty-five years, starting from 1871. The form of unification was a federal one, and differences in customs still led to considerable separatist tendencies in various parts of Germany.

When many Germans are asked about their identity, they will say with a sense of regionalism and ethnicism: I am Prussian, I am Bavarian, I am Saxon, I am Württemberg, I am Baden...

This is similar to how the ancient Germanic peoples called themselves Vandals, Teutons or Goths instead of calling themselves Germanic peoples.

Before Bismarck unified Germany, the residents of northern Germany all spoke Low German. Bavarian farmers could only partially understand Low German, and northerners also had difficulty understanding High German in southern Germany.

It was only after unification that Bismarck managed to change this situation by using Germany's world-leading compulsory education system to forcibly indoctrinate the entire population with standard German.

However, separatism of large principalities such as Bavaria remains a very sensitive political issue in Germany.

The name of the Great German Battalion proposed by Faust can indeed effectively avoid misunderstandings about the Jäger Battalion by outsiders. Faust himself certainly does not want the Jäger Battalion to have too strong a Bavarian local flavor.

Faust has a detailed revolutionary plan for the future, in which the Greater German Camp will play a very important role as a spark.

The spark of the National Socialist Party must certainly not be kept to itself, but must be open to all of Germany, all Germans, all of Central Europe, and even all of Europe and the world, to absorb revolutionary patriots.

Lieutenant General Claus agreed to the honorary number proposed by Faust. Subsequently, whether the Jäger Battalion could use a highly symbolic number like the Großdeutschland Battalion would depend on whether the General Staff would accept it.

Lieutenant General Claus smiled and said, "The General Staff will not embarrass the Crown Prince over such a trivial matter."

Faust thought, then, would the General Staff embarrass the Crown Prince on important matters?

The German army's army group-level commander included Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria on the Western Front and Prince Leopold on the Eastern Front.

Prince Leopold was the eldest son of the Bavarian Regent Luitpold. His younger brother Ludwig III was the father of Crown Prince Rupprecht. The uncle and nephew were originally army commanders, which was considered a special treatment given to Bavaria, the number one prince, within Germany.

However, after two or three years of war, most of the noble generals in the German army who came from royal families and princes were proved to be good-for-nothings.

It was precisely these uncle and nephew of the Bavarian royal family, one on the Western Front and the other on the Eastern Front, who both emerged as rising stars and became star commanders in the German army by virtue of their command abilities with real guns and swords.

Crown Prince Rupprecht was promoted to commander-in-chief of the army group because of his victory in the Battle of the Vosges Mountains. Prince Leopold followed Hindenburg and Ludendorff to win the Battle of Tannenberg. After Hindenburg replaced Falkenhayn as Chief of the German General Staff this year, Prince Leopold filled Hindenburg's vacancy and became the commander-in-chief of the German Eastern Front.

The two Bavarian royal families, one in the west and one in the east, have such great power that naturally makes the German high-level political arena appear chaotic and subtle.

Faust did not need to consider such high-level political issues for the time being. Lieutenant General Klaus first transferred a large number of new equipment to the Grossdeutschland Battalion at the Loren Barracks, and then arranged the barracks and training grounds.

Because time was very limited and the German offensive against Romania on the Eastern Front was about to enter a critical period, Lieutenant General Claus thought that it would be best if the Großdeutschland Battalion could complete its training before the end of 1916 so that it could participate in the German army's final general offensive against Romania.

All the soldiers have arrived, and many of them are elite soldiers who were specially transferred from other troops after writing applications.

The main reason these people came to the Grossdeutschland Camp was, of course, to be in the same unit with the famous "Saint Quentin Siegfried".

Faust's appearance is very unique. He wears a black eye patch on his weak eye, and his short golden hair is combed back tightly, forming a neat hazelnut head and an extraordinarily handsome face.

Anyone who has seen Faust's photo in the newspaper will definitely recognize him at a glance.

"Hero Saint Quentin! He has the bearing of an ancient Teutonic warrior. He is indeed an extraordinary person."

"We're here for you, Siegfried of Saint-Quentin. Everyone has heard about your bravery on the Western Front. You single-handedly destroyed three French tanks and captured hundreds of French prisoners. You fought one against a hundred, like Lohengrin."