Albert II was naturally aware that his eldest son, the Crown Prince Georg, had formed the Instruction Assault Battalion before the war and was attempting to promote army reforms.
However, he hadn’t paid too much attention to it; instead, he felt gratified that Crown Prince Georg was focusing his energy on military affairs.
Because before Georg began military training at the age of eighteen, the Crown Prince’s main hobbies… were the violin and artistic creation.
For a child from an ordinary family, such hobbies would be fine, even commendable for cultivating character and taking the first step toward becoming a musician or artist.
But Georg was not a child from an ordinary family; he was the heir to the Saxon Empire.
Such hobbies were clearly unsuitable for his status as the future ruler of the Empire.
And Albert II could not accept an heir who was a useless romantic.
So when the Crown Prince turned eighteen, Albert II sent him to a military academy, while also preparing to have another child just in case.
However, after entering the military academy, perhaps some “iron-blooded gene” in Georg’s bloodline was activated, and from then on, he never looked back on the path of focusing on military affairs.
On the other hand, Albert II himself had always longed to contend with the Britannians for hegemony, desiring more “land under the sun” for Saxony.
Therefore, the imperial ruler focused a considerable part of his energy on the navy and single-handedly facilitated the establishment of the High Seas Fleet.
This also led to his lack of attention to the army and air force, areas where traditional Saxon military aristocrats like Schlieffen and Little Moltke had always held sway.
So right now, Albert II actually quite approved of the Crown Prince’s push for army reform.
And the names of the Instruction Assault Battalion and Morin had indeed been mentioned a few times before.
But as the imperial ruler, Albert II focused more on macroscopic aspects, so it was hard for him to be interested in a mere army captain.
But today’s situation was different.
The joint report submitted by the Army Department, the General Staff, and the Crown Prince made him take it slightly seriously.
This combination itself was very interesting…
The Army Department and the General Staff could be said to represent the collective Imperial Army, which included both conservatives and reformists, while his son Georg represented the will of the royal family and a new force trying to change the status quo of the army.
“Let me see what you guys have come up with.”
Albert II muttered to himself and opened the first page of the document.
What caught his eye was not a lengthy battle overview or data analysis, but a concise personal resume.
“Friedrich Morin, Army Captain.”
That name again.
Recently, this name had appeared with a bit too much frequency.
Whether in the battle reports sent back from the front line by General Mackensen or in the General Staff’s briefings on new weapons, his shadow seemed to be everywhere.
His Majesty the Emperor leaned back in his chair, deciding to carefully examine this young man’s resume first.
He wanted to know what kind of person could make the Army Department, the General Staff, and the Crown Prince endorse him simultaneously.
Albert II’s gaze swept line by line across the resume, his originally somewhat weary expression gradually replaced by an indescribable surprise.
Name: Friedrich Morin
Gender: Male
Date of Birth: December 26, 1892
Place of Birth: Dresden
Rank: Army Captain
Position: Commander of the First Imperial Guard Instruction Assault Battalion, Saxon Empire
Service History:
Late January 1914: Commissioned as a Second Lieutenant into the 8th Infantry Division – 16th Infantry Brigade – 32nd Zwickau Infantry Regiment of the Imperial Army, serving as an infantry platoon leader.
Captured along with General Mackensen and others during an officer corps reconnaissance mission in Seville, later rescued.
Early February 1914: Participated in the Battle of Seville, demonstrating excellent frontline command capabilities, proposing numerous suggestions regarding “urban warfare,” and developing the “HEAT warhead” during combat.
Late February 1914: Promoted to Army Lieutenant, serving as Company Commander of the 1st Company, 1st Battalion, 32nd Zwickau Infantry Regiment.
Late February to Early March 1914: During operations in the Kingdom of Aragon, led troops in a raid on the headquarters of the Aragon Kingdom’s 32nd Regiment, capturing six intact Britannian Magic Crystal Cannons.
In the night battle at Vallecas Heights, coordinated with friendly forces to defeat the elite Britannian “Black Watch” Highland Infantry Regiment and occupy the heights.
March to Early August 1914: Promoted to Army Captain, formed the Instruction Assault Battalion and served as Battalion Commander. Simultaneously studied at the Saxon War College, receiving high praise from Vice Dean General Hohendorff and others.
August 4-5, 1914: Participated in the Battle of Liège Fortress.
On the night of the 5th, led a team to airborne into Liège via Armored Airship, destroying the defender’s headquarters, large Anti-air Magic Devices, and the fortress magic center, ultimately causing chaos in the fortress.
August 10-12, 1914: Led a team to storm Charleroi, using a battalion-strength force to block the Gallic Republic Army’s Ninth Infantry Division and part of the Third Cavalry Division.
August 20, 1914: Participated in the attack on the Britannian Expeditionary Force defending Arras, opening a breach on the enemy’s flank first.
August 23, 1914: Participated in the Battle of Amiens, commanding the Instruction Assault Battalion to be the first to penetrate the urban area, controlling the river-crossing railway bridge, and killing 5 Highland Mages through large-scale demolition tactics in subsequent battles.
September 3-6, 1914: Participated in the Battle of Creil, proposing “Stormtrooper Tactics” and acting as the vanguard of the assault group to pierce the enemy defense line during the battle on that day.
September 6-8, 1914: Participated in the Battle of Paris, leading the team to cover the Armored Train ‘Odin’ in assaulting and destroying the peripheral fortress cluster of Paris, and coordinating with the armored train to penetrate the city and destroy the Eiffel Tower during the Eiffel Tower crisis.
After reading Morin’s overly spectacular resume, Albert II couldn’t quite calm down.
He focused on the Imperial Navy, but that didn’t mean he knew nothing about the army.
On the contrary, as the supreme commander of the Empire, he knew quite a bit about the army’s organization, tactics, and promotion system.
Precisely because he knew, he understood how outrageous this resume was.
From a newly graduated Second Lieutenant to a highly decorated Captain and Battalion Commander, winning both the Second Class and First Class Iron Crosses… it took less than nine months.
During this period, he and his troops participated in almost all key battles on the Empire’s Western Front, playing a significant role each time.
Airborne behind enemy lines, interspersing in front of the enemy, blocking enemies several times their number, breaking through positions, urban assaults…
Any single achievement listed on this resume would be enough for an ordinary officer to boast about for a lifetime and earn a decent medal.
And this young Captain named Morin seemed to treat these things as routine.
“Developed ‘HEAT warhead’… Proposed ‘urban warfare’ and ‘Stormtrooper Tactics’…”
Albert II tapped his fingers lightly on the desk, muttering these keywords, and then saw the nicknames for Morin.
“Mage Killer of Seville, Night Ghost of Vallecas Heights, Butcher of Charleroi, Eye of the Sky of Amiens, Formation Breaker of Creil… Roasted Pork Knuckle Terminator?”
The Emperor couldn’t help but smile and shake his head after reading these nicknames. He turned the page, which contained more detailed combat records of the entire Instruction Assault Battalion.
Including operation times, general deployment situations, battle processes, results, casualties, and other detailed information.
Every battle was recorded in extreme detail, accompanied by hand-drawn tactical maps and post-battle summaries.
He browsed through it roughly, his surprise growing with each look.
The combat style and effectiveness of this unit brought up by Morin had completely exceeded the definition of infantry by various countries in this era.
They were like a sharp scalpel, always able to cut open the enemy’s most solid defense line at the most critical moment with minimal cost.
“No wonder Georg and the frontline generals value this unit so much. It’s indeed the key to the Western Front battles.” Albert II finally understood that his son seemed to have created something extraordinary this time.
His gaze returned to Morin’s personal resume, looking more carefully this time.
Especially family background, interpersonal relationships, military academy experience… even some deeds of debauchery in Dresden were not missed.
“From a declining Junker noble family, turned out to be a playboy mooching drinks everywhere in his early years…”
“But after being personally discovered by General Mackensen, not only did he become an excellent Imperial soldier, but he also received high praise from Vice Dean Hohendorff of the War College…”
Seeing the relationship between Morin and General Mackensen, a smile appeared on Albert II’s face.
“The old general really dug up a treasure for the Empire this time,” he muttered to himself.
A “loyal,” highly capable young officer with outstanding military exploits in a short time was exactly what the Empire needed now.
“I didn’t expect a descendant of a declining Junker noble family to have such talent… Could there be more undiscovered outstanding talents hiding in those long-established, prosperous families?”
The Emperor’s mind immediately became active.
Perhaps he could use Morin’s example to publicize it well.
Mobilize those somewhat slack noble children in the country more, letting them prove their value on the battlefield like Morin.
Maybe he could really discover a few more talents like Morin?!
The Empire’s war machine was fully running, and it needed a steady stream of fresh blood, especially excellent commanders.
While calculating in his mind, Albert II cast his gaze to the last part of this proposal—the content about the “plan” itself.
The ideas of the Army Department, the General Staff, and Crown Prince Georg were clear. Since the Instruction Assault Battalion achieved excellent combat results in a short time, this showed that this new set of infantry tactics was effective.
Then the next steps were logical.
To facilitate the promotion of these tactics to the entire army, they applied to expand the existing Instruction Assault Battalion into a larger, better-organized instruction unit.
This unit would not only undertake the teaching task of training assault tactic backbones for the entire army.
At the same time, it must also possess extremely high combat effectiveness itself, able to be used as a strategic reserve force in key battles.
In the proposal, a new name was given to this new unit—Imperial Guard Instruction Assault Unit.
Albert II saw this name, and the corners of his mouth rose slightly.
Because he instantly understood the deep meaning behind this designation.