Human thought is capable of leaps.
Just like Morin now.
When the thought of “bread for five hundred thousand Marks each” flashed through his mind, he inevitably thought of the mustachioed man passionately giving a speech in the Beer Hall. Then, he inevitably thought of the Second World War in the other world. And then, he thought of how the German Army in WWII dealt with even sturdier Belgian fortresses like Fort Eben-Emael.
Airborne!
The moment this word flashed through his mind like a shock of electricity, Morin felt a sudden epiphany. The path of thought that had been completely blocked by the current predicament was suddenly wide open! That’s right! If we can’t break through on the ground, why can’t we descend from the sky?
“General!” Morin grabbed Ludendorff’s arm.
His sudden action startled both Ludendorff and the surrounding staff officers.
“Captain Morin, you…” Ludendorff looked at him, somewhat surprised.
“General, are you able to call for Armored Airship support?” Morin asked urgently, his eyes shining.
Ludendorff paused, then nodded.
“As the Deputy Chief of Staff for the Army Group, and now personally leading the support for the front line, I do have the authority to directly call upon the air support forces attached to this Army Group.”
He looked at Morin with some confusion. “However, based on the attack situation during the day, the moment an Armored Airship approaches, it will face fierce attack from the enemy’s anti-air Magic Guided Devices. Even if we call them over, they probably won’t be able to do much, and it will only add unnecessary losses.”
“No, General!” Morin shook his head, his tone hurried with excitement. “I don’t want them to provide fire support!”
“I hope the Armored Airships can carry me and a portion of my Assault Troops to the sky above the fortress!”
Ludendorff’s brow furrowed, and the staff officers around him were all bewildered.
Fly over the fortress? And then be riddled with bullets by the enemy’s anti-air Magic Guided Devices?
“And then what?” Ludendorff voiced the question in everyone’s mind.
Morin took a deep breath and said word by word: “Then, we will directly Air Drop from above the fortress and complete the infiltration!”
“Air Drop?”
Ludendorff chewed on this novel term, his expression shifting from confusion to surprise, and then to contemplation.
The staff officers behind him all widened their eyes, as if listening to an Arabian Nights tale. Jump from the sky? Is this man mad?
“Yes, Air Drop!” Morin nodded heavily.
“How will you manage it?” Ludendorff pressed, his voice already carrying a hint of uncontrollable excitement, clearly having grasped the potential.
“The airship should be equipped with parachutes for emergency escape,” Morin explained. “Even if not, it doesn’t matter… I myself am a Spellcaster, and I can use [Feather Fall] to safely land my soldiers from the air.”
At this point, Morin also realized the biggest difficulty of the plan.
“However, the anti-air Magic Guided Devices in the fortress are indeed very powerful. The Armored Airships truly cannot withstand the attack from the Magic Guided Devices.”
“Unless…” Morin looked at Ludendorff, “we can have two Armored Airships act in concert.”
“One will serve as a feint, attracting the fortress’s anti-air fire from the front.”
“The other will carry our Assault Team, take the opportunity to quickly approach from the flank/rear, and complete the Air Drop!”
Morin’s plan exploded in the minds of Ludendorff and all the staff officers like a heavy bomb.
Everyone was stunned by the madness and audacity of the plan.
But after the shock, an unprecedented light burst forth in Ludendorff’s eyes. He stared intently at Morin, as if trying to see through the young man.
Ludendorff realized that this seemingly insane plan was indeed the only possible way to break the deadlock right now, and the fastest way to achieve it!
Once Morin successfully lands his Assault Team inside the fortress cluster, even if he only causes chaos inside one fortress and destroys a key command node or weapon system, the main forces pinned down in the front can seize the opportunity to launch a general assault!
The risk is huge, but the reward is equally huge! This perfectly aligned with his consistent military philosophy—using a certain cost to achieve a decisive victory!
“Good!”
Ludendorff grabbed Morin’s hand, the smile on his face no longer concealable.
“Captain Morin, you truly did not disappoint me!”
He immediately ordered the Colonel Staff Officer beside him: “Immediately have the forward command post set up the radio and contact the Army Group Command Post in my name, requesting them to coordinate with the First Army Group to temporarily transfer their attached Zeppelin Armored Airship L29 to support us!”
“General, this…” The Colonel Staff Officer looked hesitant. “General Mackensen is advancing north on the First Army Group side, and their air support mission is also heavy. They might not easily agree…”
“He will,” Ludendorff interrupted confidently.
He turned to Morin and chuckled like a simple old man. “If General Mackensen learns that Captain Morin’s Instruction Assault Battalion urgently needs air support, I believe he will not refuse.”
Just like that, in the late hours of August 4th, a mad plan capable of changing the trajectory of the entire Western Front campaign was settled by two equally mad military men in a small patch of woods on the edge of the Liège Fortress front line.
Subsequently, the attack by the ‘Meuse River Battle Group’ gradually slowed down, just as Morin had predicted. Aside from maintaining the encirclement of the Liège Fortress cluster and sporadic artillery harassment, no large- scale offensive was launched.
This abnormal calm led General Gérard Leman, the fortress’s commander of the Flanders defenders, to become even more convinced of his judgment—the Saxon offensive had been successfully thwarted by them.
His confidence swelled to its peak upon receiving the latest news from the rear. According to reports from Brussels, the main force of the Holy Britannian Empire’s Expeditionary Force would complete its landing at the Port of Dunkirk within the next few days!
“Gentlemen, every day we hold out here, the closer our allies get to us!” General Leman told his subordinates confidently during the operational meeting at the fortress command post. “Victory is bound to belong to our Flanders!”
The defenders inside the fortress were greatly encouraged by his speech and immersed in an atmosphere of optimism.
They were unaware that in the seemingly tranquil night sky above them, a deadly assault capable of subverting their understanding was quietly brewing.
By the afternoon of August 5th, just as Ludendorff had anticipated, the Zeppelin Armored Airship L29, originally tasked with supporting the First Army Group, duly arrived in the Second Army Group’s operational airspace.
After receiving the request from Ludendorff—under the pretext that the “Instruction Assault Battalion urgently needed support to execute a special mission”—General Mackensen agreed to the temporary transfer almost without hesitation.
The fully operational L29 would take on the important role of attracting enemy fire during this operation.
The sun slowly dropped below the horizon, dyeing the clouds a magnificent orange-red.
In a concealed open area in the rear, the Armored Airship L28, having completed emergency maintenance in the air, slowly descended to an altitude of just 50 meters above the ground. This was the lowest safe altitude an Armored Airship could reach, outside of a normal landing or an unfortunate crash.
The cargo doors on the airship’s belly opened, and several large, cage-like man-carrying gondolas were slowly lowered.
The 19 most elite soldiers, selected from the four companies of the Instruction Assault Battalion, lined up and boarded the gondolas one after another, under the gaze of Kleist and the Company Commanders.
The faces of these soldiers showed a hint of nervousness… but even more, unconcealed excitement and pride. Being chosen to participate in this unprecedented ‘Air Drop’ operation was the highest honor for each of them.
The 20 Assault Troops, including Morin, had now changed into captured Grand Duchy of Flanders uniforms. He patted Manstein, who was also wearing an enemy uniform and looked a little uncomfortable, signaling him to relax.
“Sir, are you really going to lead the team personally?”
Kleist and 4th Company Commander Klaus made one last attempt to persuade Morin to change his mind.
“You are the commander of the entire battalion; you cannot put yourself in such danger!” Kleist’s tone was firm.
1st Company Sergeant Klaus also chimed in: “Yes, Sir! Leave this charging-into-battle work to us!”
Morin looked at the two large men, who were blocking his way like door gods with worried expressions, and found it both frustrating and amusing.
He cleared his throat, put on a serious face, and brought out the authority of the principal military officer.
“I am the Battalion Commander and the principal military officer of the battalion. This is wartime. The moment the guns start firing, everyone in the battalion must obey my command! This is an order, not a discussion!”
Seeing that the two still wanted to speak, Morin changed the subject.
“Besides, your two ‘vibes’ are too obvious.”
He looked up and down at their muscular physiques and chiseled faces.
“The moment you two stand there, it might as well have ‘I am a Saxon soldier’ carved on your faces. You are completely unsuitable for infiltration operations.”
Although this reason was a bit tenuous, Kleist and Klaus exchanged glances and actually felt there was some truth to it.
“Then, then what about him?”
Kleist was still a little unconvinced, pointing at Manstein, who was already aboard the gondola, also wearing an enemy uniform.
“Is Staff Officer Manstein suitable for infiltration? He doesn’t look like a Flanders man either!”
Morin heard this, the corner of his mouth slightly lifted, and he delivered a checkmate argument that the two could not refute.
“He speaks fluent Netherlandic.”
“Can you two roughnecks do that?”
Kleist and Klaus were instantly silenced. The two opened their mouths, struggled for a long time, and finally sighed helplessly, silently stepping aside.
The gondolas slowly ascended, and the figures on the ground grew smaller and smaller.
Kleist and Klaus, and all the soldiers of the Instruction Assault Battalion, looked up, silently watching their commander and the Assault Troops disappear into the airship’s massive shadow.
The gondolas were hoisted back into the airship’s spacious cargo bay.
Morin and Manstein stood together. Both wore officer uniforms, Morin as a First Lieutenant and Manstein as a Second Lieutenant.
Manstein’s face was tense. Morin could feel that the young operations staff officer beside him was so nervous that his palms were sweating.
“Don’t be nervous, Manstein.”
Morin comforted him.
“Do this a few more times, and you’ll get used to it.”
Manstein’s mouth twitched upon hearing this, forcing out a smile that was uglier than a cry.
A few more times? Captain, are you really trying to comfort me?
After everyone had boarded the airship, an officer from the airship walked over and saluted Morin:
“Captain Morin, the Captain requests your presence on the Bridge.”
(End of this Chapter)
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