Re: Blood and Iron

Chapter 312: The Allied Counterattack Begins



Gunfire echoed in perfect tandem with the roar of engines and artillery. The Spring Offensive of 1916 had begun, but it was not the Central Powers who had moved their pieces on the

chessboard into play first.

Nay, that boast belonged to the Allies who came crashing over the German fortifications built at the edge of Luxembourg like a tidal wave of steel. Frankly speaking, the defenses were light, and the battle was brief, a mere skirmish, if you would.

It was such a rapid and unexpected victory at the border that while the Allied troops began to cheer and embrace one another for their first major win in God knows how long; the commanders began to speculate that something was seriously wrong.

But after thoroughly searching the area, no signs of treachery could be found, and thus it could only be concluded that their armor had truly trounced the enemy. But if this were truly the case, then why? Why were there no flak guns, which in time past had shredded their tanks, both at the Alpine theater, and in Belgium?

Better yet, why were there no German planes soaring above the sky? The Officer in charge of the French Brigade that was in the vanguard was a man who Bruno knew all too well from his past life. Or, more accurately, knew of all too well.

Charles De Gaulle, having miraculously escaped from a German Prisoner of War camp after the unit he was a mere junior officer in was decimated in the first wave of the war. Charles returned to France where he gained some success in minor skirmishes with the enemy.

And had quickly risen through the ranks to the position of colonel. Why was he made a colonel despite his relatively young age and lack of experience? Because the French had lost hundreds of thousands, if not over a million men so far in the war, and many of them were officers of every rank.

Even French Generals had not been spared the grim reaper's scythe in this war. And because of this, any officer who remotely showed some intelligence, capability, and ingenuity in the field was placed on a fast track to promotion.

Because Charles de Gaulle had seen how adept the Germans were at preparing for this war, and tricking their enemies into attacking precisely where they desired, he was the only man highly skeptical about this whole affair.

In fact, he outright voiced his concerns about pushing further into Luxembourg before their scouts could verify whether or not the enemy was lying in wait for them. But eager for further glory, after having been starved of it for two whole years, the General placed in command of the Anglo-French force which pushed into Luxembourg's borders ignored these concerns.

What would a mere 25-year-old officer with limited experience understand about seizing the opportunity when it was presented to you? Because of this, Charles was quickly chastised, and threatened with being stripped of his command should he press the matter further.

With a heavy sigh, the notorious man who would one day become the President of France, that is, if he were given the opportunity to thrive in this life as he had done in Bruno's past, could only return to his unit and tell them to be on the lookout for potential traps and tricks.

After which, he loaded on top of one of the Mk II Tanks, that was painted with the colors of the French Army, and began pushing forward with his unit towards the city of Luxembourg where the enemy had pulled back to in order to form a secondary line of defense.

Behind his brigade were 1,000,000 men of French and British Nationality, who were advancing along with them. The Allies had come in force to seize Luxembourg, and they refused to leave without significant gains against the German Borders.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

The General placed in command of the Western Front was a man Bruno would instantly recognize from history, even if he had not personally interacted with him much over the course of the last few years.

Paul von Hindenburg was a highly decorated Generalfeldmarschall within the German Army, and was naturally given command over the defense of the German Borders which they shared with France.

He was also the man who had plotted the downfall of the Allied Army Group, which was pushing into Luxembourg. In fact, it was a rather devious plot if one really thought about it. One which he suspected the Allies who were desperate for a major victory would entirely overlook, and would only discover after it was already too late.

As previously discussed, the border with Luxembourg and France was a specifically designed failure point. As only a few kilometers of it were actually shared with the French Republic. The rest of Luxembourg's western border was along the German Reich, and Belgium's borders.

But this small gap was all that was needed for the French to pierce through, and hopefully create an entry point which they could then spread out into Belgium and Elsass-Lothringen. Such was their aim with this offensive.

However, there was also another outcome. One which the Allies and their desperation would not possibly think of.

And that was the fact that German forces waiting on the Belgian and Elsass-Lothringen borders would stand idly by and let the Allied Army reach the borders of the Prussian Rhine Province. And once they had done so, envelop around them, cutting them off from support from Allied Territory in France.

Once surrounded, they would be annihilated by the German Forces on the western front. Sometimes history's most common and simple tactics were also the most effective. And like Hannibal had done to Rome at Cannae, so too did Paul von Hindenburg hope to achieve against the British and French in Luxembourg.

Thus he had a haughty expression on his face as he voiced his well-conceived plan aloud to his subordinates, while also making a remark about Bruno's infamy, and march to the Bosphorus as if it would pale in comparison to his own feat here on the West.

"That boy only knows how to bully those weaker than himself... The Wolf of Prussia? An unearned moniker if you were to ask me. Here I will crush the true rivals of Germany, and after I have sent this Army to hell, I will seize Paris and end the war before he ever steps foot in the

Alps!"

The officer directly beneath Hindenburg's command could only sigh and shake his head. There was a very simple way for the Allied Powers to avoid annihilation entirely, and that was to simply not walk into this trap that had been sprung for them.

Whether or not anybody in the British and French Armies had enough common sense to pull off such a simple counter however, remained to be seen.

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