Chapter 49: Making the Enemy's Cavalry Division Sing and Dance!

Pressured by the corps commander, Major General Rawlinson had promised to launch a full-scale counteroffensive before dawn.

In reality, however, some British Army officers on the frontline had already organized small-scale counterattacks that very night, based on their real-time assessment of the battle. They aimed to snap the pincers the German Army had thrust into their lines and reclaim their lost positions.

It wasn't just the British Army on the northeast side of the German pincers taking action. On the southwest side, French generals, eager to support their allies, also initiated several waves of flanking offensives.

Unsurprisingly, these hastily organized counterattacks failed to sever the German pincers, instead resulting in heavy casualties for their own side.

This was because the main forces of the Baria 12th Division and the 6th Division had already fully deployed into the positions they had seized during the day, establishing a rock-solid defense.

Even the command headquarters of the 12th Division's commander, Major General Karl Luitpold, had moved forward by at least five or six kilometers.

A massive number of MG08 Heavy Machine Guns, and even some direct-fire field artillery, had been hauled into the newly occupied trenches.

Thus, whether it was the British Army or the French charging back into the fray, they were charging straight into an inescapable net of overlapping defensive crossfire!

In fact, the most devastating casualties suffered by the British and French forces that day stemmed directly from these counterattacks—

After a full day of bloody fighting, Lelouch's own company had suffered over 70 dead and more than 100 heavily wounded who had to be evacuated to the rear. His unit had sustained a casualty rate of up to one-third, not even counting those with light injuries who remained on the firing line.

Meanwhile, the number of enemies killed or wounded by Lelouch's company was only in the upper hundreds. Even pooling the combat achievements of both Storm Battalions, the total enemy casualties were perhaps nearly two thousand.

Given that the enemy forces weren't elites—the British 3rd Corps had previously suffered heavy losses at Mons and was now largely composed of fresh recruits—this kill-to-death ratio wasn't anything extraordinary on its own.

The Storm Battalions' greatest contribution lay in the breakthrough itself: tearing open a gap that allowed the German Army to shift from the role of "attacker" to "defender."

By threatening the enemy's retreat routes, they forced the enemy to attack exactly where the Germans wanted them to.

Originally, the two German divisions would have had to climb out of their trenches and charge, exposing themselves to the direct lethality of artillery and machine gun fire.

Now, they could hunker down in the trenches and let the enemy do the charging, leaving the foes exposed to artillery and machine guns instead.

If warfare could be quantified in data like in the game Hearts of Iron , it was equivalent to the entire German offensive force originally suffering a debuff of "defense halved," while the enemy enjoyed a positive buff of "defense doubled."

But now, thanks to the disruption caused by Lelouch's tactics, the local offensive and defensive roles had been inverted. Both German divisions now had their defense doubled, while the British and French forces had theirs halved.

After repelling two enemy counterattacks that evening, Major General Karl felt remarkably refreshed. His understanding of the sheer magnitude of Lelouch's contribution grew increasingly tangible.

"Who knew an offensive campaign could be fought like this... fought this brilliantly!" he marveled. "My soldiers were supposed to be the ones forced to bite the bullet and charge! Now, thanks to that kid's planning, we can sit comfortably in our trenches and let the enemy charge into a hail of bullets!

"After the war, I absolutely have to urge my older brother to promote him! As long as he compiles a field manual for this Storm Battalion tactical doctrine so it can be rolled out across the entire army, that planning merit alone will guarantee him the rank of Major!"

Major General Karl reviewed the latest combat reports pouring in from the various defensive sectors. Seeing how the British and French forces were being mowed down like wheat on both flanks of their position, he felt an unparalleled surge of exhilaration.

Trading a pinpoint breakthrough by just two battalions for the ability of two whole divisions to fight defensively from entrenched positions—this deal was far too profitable!

The two German divisions sat securely in their trenches through the night, inflicting thousands of casualties on the counterattacking enemy.

The more the frontline British troops failed in their counterattacks, the more grim tidings were reported up the chain of command, leaving the top brass increasingly anxious and desperate to double down on the offensive intensity.

For instance, the British cavalry corps stationed in Poperinge was repeatedly harried by phone calls from the Commander-in-Chief of the British Army, Marshal French. He demanded that they reach the town of Bailleul before dawn tomorrow to launch an all-out assault on the German Storm Battalions that might have infiltrated their rear! They were to wipe them out completely!

...

Unaware that he was being targeted by the British high command, Lelouch was currently leading a few small units, weaving through the vulnerable rear areas behind the town of Bailleul and wreaking havoc.

Ever since breaking through the British Army's heavily fortified zone, his operational space had actually expanded significantly. Using the cover of night to launch sneak attacks, he had inflicted considerable damage on the enemy's rear.

Around 3:00 a.m., two vanguard reconnaissance platoons dispatched by Lelouch, led by Lieutenant Model and Lieutenant Dieter, broke into smaller elements and successfully crept up to the railway line connecting the town of Bailleul to Stenford in the rear.

The mission Lelouch had assigned them was to inflict maximum damage on the railway. He knew that only by making the enemy realize they could no longer protect the railway sustaining their supplies would the garrison inside Bailleul fall into a panic and consider retreating, thereby shattering the morale of the British 3rd Corps on a strategic level.

However, since December 21 corresponded to the fifth day of the lunar month, the waxing crescent moon was quite dim. Visibility was exceptionally poor that night, and initially, Model and Dieter didn't even know where they had snuck to.

It wasn't until they blindly pushed forward and suddenly spotted a train passing about a kilometer ahead that they realized they had finally bypassed half the town and reached the rear railway line.

Catching sight of the train loaded with supplies, Lieutenant Dieter couldn't suppress his urge to wreck it. "Let's get up there and fire a few rounds from the Grenade Launchers to blow that train sky-high. There's definitely no time to get close and plant explosive charges now."

Model, however, was more cautious. He mentally reviewed their commander's pre-departure instructions before rejecting the idea.

"No! The commander ordered us to destroy the railway. Relying on a few Grenade Launcher rounds will, at best, damage or derail the train; it won't guarantee severing the tracks. We only get one shot at a sneak attack. Let's take advantage of the enemy's lack of preparedness and sneak over slowly to rig the explosives.

"Besides, the commander deduced that once the railway is cut, the enemy will definitely lose the will to hold the town and might retreat north to the high ground. They just brought those supplies in; they won't necessarily have time to use them all. We might just end up claiming them for ourselves. If you absolutely have to blow up a train, do it when it's heading back after unloading its cargo."

Dieter thought it over, realized it made perfect sense, and decisively agreed.

Switching to stealth infiltration mode, the two Storm Battalion platoons slowly advanced. Along the way, they engaged in brief firefights and wiped out two British railway patrol squads.

Since battles were raging everywhere, these skirmishes didn't draw much attention. The concept of special operations didn't exist in this era, so rear-guard vigilance was often incredibly lax.

Half an hour later, they reached the edge of the railway. They quickly buried their demolition devices, stuffing every explosive charge they had underneath the tracks and lashing them tightly to the sleepers.

Before long, the same train that had delivered military supplies to the town came chugging back, just as predicted. It was now hauling a cargo of wounded soldiers, corpses, and a handful of civilian staff who needed evacuation. Of course, Model had no idea who was on board. And on the battlefield, no law dictated that a train carrying wounded men couldn't be blown to pieces.

Model saw only a trainload of enemy combat personnel retreating.

"Detonate!" At Model's order, the accompanying engineers from the assault platoon slammed down the plungers. Over a dozen kilograms of TNT instantly detonated, ripping several sections of the track into the air and launching the five or six nearest train cars skyward. The remaining cars were violently dragged off the rails and overturned by the immense force.

The vast majority of the British soldiers on the train were killed in the explosion, crushed by the impact, or thrown to their deaths.

A few wounded survivors struggled out of the wreckage, only to be caught in a pincer attack by Model and Dieter. They swept the train's ruins with submachine gun fire several times before hurriedly pulling out.

At around 4:00 a.m., Model finally linked back up with Commander Lelouch and gave a brief report.

"Sir! We found the British railway and blew it up!"

Lelouch couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "Excellent! Now the British 3rd Corps in Bailleul will have no choice but to retreat! But let's not get careless; the enemy is bound to launch one last wave of frantic retaliation.

"Right now, we need to hurry and reinforce our fortifications, holding the line until the reinforcements step up to cover our defense. Once that happens, we'll have completely secured the fruits of our victory. Send a telegram to Colonel List; tell him to hurry over with the 16th Regiment and take over the trenches, and tell Battalion Commander Rundstedt to gradually converge on our position!"

"Yes, sir!" Platoon Leader Schweinsteiger, who was in charge of communications, immediately went to arrange it. Meanwhile, Model and Dieter joined the men digging deeper trenches, adding more foxholes, and camouflaging their firing points.

And as it turned out, Lelouch's guess about the enemy's movements was practically spot on.

Barely twenty minutes later, a vanguard reconnaissance platoon radioed back a warning to Lelouch:

"Sir! I see a massive mobile force heading our way from the direction of Stenford to the north! It's the enemy's cavalry division!"

"A cavalry division?" Lelouch paused, his mind involuntarily recalling a movie he had seen in his previous life: War Horse .

That 2011 film featured scenes of British cavalry divisions during World War I wildly waving their sabers as they charged to their deaths against heavy machine gun nests.

It was only 1914 now. The war had just begun a few months ago, and the enemy's tactical doctrine was indeed still quite archaic. Could they really be...?

At the thought of this, a surge of fierce anticipation welled up inside Lelouch. He quickly turned to the man beside him. "Model, how much do you know about British cavalry? Do you know what weapons they use?"

Model's foundational knowledge was solid. He answered without a second thought, "They carry pistols and carbines, as well as charging weapons like sabers and cavalry swords."

Lelouch was overjoyed. "Excellent! Split into two platoons and take cover in the adjacent woods. Dig some foxholes and pack the excavated dirt tightly over the bipods of your light machine guns! Fill every container you have with melted snow to cool the machine gun barrels! Better yet, just shovel snow directly over the barrels to bury them, leaving only the muzzle exposed!

"Gather all the submachine gunners together! In a bit, use the submachine guns to stall the enemy and bait them in! Make them think we lack long-range suppressive firepower!"

Under Lelouch's methodical command, the officers and men of Company A all sprang into action. Simultaneously, Major Bock, leading the companies of Rommel, List, and others from the rear, accelerated their march to converge on the location, selecting suitable defensive positions along the way to set up a pocket trap.

Lelouch felt his blood boiling with excitement. After fighting high-intensity, stifling battles all day, he finally had a rare opportunity to rely on an intergenerational gap to bully an enemy with outdated tactical thinking. How could he not seize such a chance?

Of course, he had to show weakness first to bait the enemy into overcommitting and going all-in!

In just a moment, he would make those "nomads" sing and dance!

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