Re: Blood and Iron

Chapter 255: Discussing Counters to German Gains and Advancements



Technological advances, upon technological advancements, one could simply not fathom the degree to which the German Reich had not only shocked their enemies on the global stage but also their allies.

Armored cars were one thing, they had already been developed by nations and deployed as far back as the Italo-Turkish war of 1911. And sure, the ones used by the Germans were far more advanced in pretty much every way. But going against such vehicles was to be expected.

The same could be said for military aviation. Were the German planes significantly more advanced than their adversaries? Most certainly, but given a few years of development, this gap could reasonably be closed, at least to a certain extent.

Would losses be significant between then and now? Oh yes, but was the situation for the allies untenable? Not entirely. However, the revelation of the Panzer, when combined with

Armored Cars, and motorized artillery/logistics had proven to be a complete upheaval over the norms of what warfare was supposed to be.

The reason the great war had resulted in a complete and utter stalemate during Bruno's past life, one waged in primarily trench warfare. This was because small arms and artillery had advanced well beyond the means of transportation.

It was hard to make a rapid advance when artillery could take you out from 17km away while you were being transported via horse-drawn carriages. But armored cars? And Tanks at that? They were far quicker than the enemy artillery could lock onto them.

And with the designs Bruno had made, a direct hit was not a lethal blow to such vehicles, at least not always. With the introduction of armor years in advance of the Great War, giving Germany enough time to manufacture thousands of armored cars and tanks prior to the outbreak of the global conflict.

Well, it put Germany in a position to steamroll the world if they wanted. But Bruno's opinion was that such a quick victory would not compel France to kneel before Berlin. No, it would only embolden them to wage a second world war years down the line when they felt they had prepared enough to take on the German Reich for a third time within the span of a hundred years.

Because of this, Bruno had coerced Germany into fighting a defensive war, using their overwhelming advantage of preparation, technology, and mobility to inflict mass casualties on the French while their armored battalions steamrolled through the Balkans, Ottoman Empire, and Italian Peninsula.

It was only after France was isolated, alone, and having spent millions of their young men into a meat grinder with little success did Bruno intend to march his armored cavalry straight through Paris. But France had yet to truly suffer, at least not to the extent Bruno desired, hence why Germany continued to defend its territory and that of its allies on the western front.

The introduction of the Tank however, and its display as a seemingly unstoppable force in Albania had forced the Allied Powers to take action. They either needed a weapon that was capable of piercing its hull, or they needed tanks of their own to counter the overwhelming number of armor Germany had produced in secrecy while preparing for this war.

Because of this, both French and British military leadership were gathered in Versailles to discuss the dire situation they were in. The French Chief of Staff, General Joseph Jacques Césaire Joffre, was outraged over the losses they had sustained thus far, but he bit his tongue. While secretly holding contempt for the British for joining the assault on Alsace-Lorraine far too late to make a difference, he was not a man who would openly provoke his allies, especially as the situation grew increasingly dire with each passing day.

Worse yet, the loss of one of their generals had proven to be far more troublesome than the French initially thought. Leon, while proving to be utterly incompetent, and quick to anger, had been for the last decade or so built up as France's solution to Bruno's rising infamy. He alone was in the eyes of many citizens, France's best hope to counter the Wolf of Prussia and his ravenous advance into Paris. Leon, having officially been killed by German Artillery, only further to worsen the morale of France's citizens back home.

Initially hopeful of reclaiming territory which France had claimed, and lost to the Germans in 1871, the French had seen tens of thousands of their men die in the trenches, with hundreds of thousands wounded, and the war had been going on for less than a year at this point.

Try as the French Government might have to hide these statistics from the public people in Paris, at the very least knew they were losing this war. And badly at that. What with Leon's death having no longer been capable of being concealed, the idea that France had any hope of reclaiming disputed territory with their neighbors to the east became non-existent overnight.

In fact, many were now wondering if they could even defend their own borders, as even now, while having all the advantages in the world, there was no sign of a German advance into French lands. They merely held their ground and defended what was theirs.

And this was the French General's biggest concern, as he spoke about these matters as if it were the heaviest weight on his heart.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"I'm not sure how much longer the French people can tolerate this war. Our losses have been exceptional for a campaign that has lasted less than a year. Especially when one considers we have yet to encounter the man most renowned for obliterating enemy armies to the last man. He was instead sent to the Balkans, no doubt to knock our allies out of the war while we recklessly send men and their equipment to ruin against the German fortifications on our eastern borders. And now I'm hearing that the Germans have decided to strap howitzers onto the tops of their invincible armored cars.

Is there any point in fighting left? The moment the French public hears of these new German machines of war, you do understand that we may very well be looking at nationwide civil strife? Or have I perhaps been exaggerated to about the severity of the situation we have now found ourselves in?"

The British Chief of Staff was no less haggard in appearance. No doubt having little sleep after performing long nights on the job, desperately trying to come up with a solution to the German Armored problem they would inevitably encounter when the Reich finally turned its full attention on to the Western Front.

This could reasonably explain the weariness in his voice when he spoke about the British solution to the German Armor, or what they hoped would be a practical end to the threat once and for all.

"I understand your concerns, and I have no doubt you are working on your own solutions at the moment. Our own engineers, however, have assured me that they are working on a man portable weapon that should be capable of dealing with the German Armor.

At the same time, we are developing our own armored vehicles to counter this threat. But these things take time. If you can prevent your public from rioting and assure them that victory is a matter of patience, we could have the earliest variants of these weapons fielded by the Spring of 1916.

I know you don't want to hear it, but my advice would be to keep holding on. In the meantime, the Crown has authorized the mobilization of another million men to France in order to aid

you in this war.

So long as we stand united in the face of our shared enemy, we will not be defeated. I can assure you of that!"

Frankly speaking, the French General put little stock in the promises of his British Ally, but any hope to latch onto at this moment, especially if it could be used to keep the masses in check, was something he was willing to take. And thus, he could only sigh and shake his head

as he spoke his honest thoughts on the matter.

"I sure hope you are right..."