Chapter 61
Chapter 61
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: Polish Encirclement
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"This is it."
Suddenly struck by an idea, I grabbed the pieces on the operations map.
"What? What is it!"
"Can we stop the cavalry corps?"
In response to the commander and staff officers' questions, I silently placed the pieces carefully on the map.
"What... does this mean? I don't quite get it."
Silence fell with the staff officer's words.
Heh heh heh. No wonder it's hard to understand.
But the commander and chief of staff should be able to grasp what these pieces signify.
"What do you think, sir?"
"Uh? Uh..."
Commander Francois gave an ambiguous smile in reply.
"Hahaha! What a brilliant idea! How did you come up with this?"
"Thank you. Though it does come with some risks, to be sure."
"Oh..."
Chief of Staff Grüner let out a small sound.
And then silence again.
This awkward quiet felt strangely off. These guys... no way, right?
"...You wouldn't happen to not understand, would you?"
"Well... so, you're saying we lure the enemy cavalry corps toward the 1st Corps."
"Yes. That's it."
"...How?"
"..."
As Grüner asked softly, the back of my neck heated up.
They really didn't get it? Then why the positive reaction earlier?
As I glared at them steadily, the two men slowly averted their eyes.
Holding back a sigh, I explained.
"Right now, the initiative in the engagement lies with the cavalry corps. That's an undeniable fact."
"...Yeah, that's certain."
"So instead of seeking an honest frontal approach, we need to think about how to deceive the cavalry corps."
Swish—I picked up the piece symbolizing the enemy cavalry corps and continued.
"There aren't many ways to inflict near-annihilation damage on the cavalry corps. We either encircle them, immobilize their mobility, or lure them into attacking our forces and counterattack."
"Right."
"For these scenarios to succeed, we must successfully deceive the enemy."
Francois and Grüner sank into deep thought.
"So you're saying we show them an opening that makes them charge right in."
"But the enemy knows we absolutely need to eliminate their cavalry corps, so they'll be on guard... It won't be easy to fool them."
"Yes, we need to make even such a wary enemy let their guard down."
"How?"
"Through disinformation and exploiting information gaps."
Thud! I set the piece down and pressed on.
"From confirmed communications, the enemy knows we're trying to establish an encirclement, but they don't know how many troops we've committed to it."
"Is that so?"
"Yes, that's correct."
As Francois raised an eyebrow and asked, Grüner replied.
"We adjust the 20th Corps' speed to be slightly slower and put up strong resistance against the pursuing cavalry corps. We deceive them into thinking something massive has gone wrong with the 20th Corps."
Scratch—I drew the 20th Corps' advance route along the ruler.
At the end of the line were cities named Biawa and Podlaska.
"The 20th Corps prepares in full readiness and waits for the cavalry corps. Calculations show they'll clash near Biawa and Podlaska."
I lightly drew the line, tapped the spot with my finger, and put down the pencil.
But the staff officers' reactions were skeptical.
"I doubt the enemy will fall for something this simple."
"Isn't there too much uncertainty? If we don't completely neutralize their cavalry scouts, the 20th Corps' preparations will be exposed."
"What if the cavalry corps spots the trap and bypasses it?"
Snap! At Chief of Staff Grüner's final question, I flicked my fingers.
"That's the key. We induce the enemy to cleverly notice it. This isn't just any trap—it's designed to be discovered."
"...What?"
"A mediocre trap won't deceive the enemy. We have to account for them noticing and plan accordingly. Fortunately, we have one more resource to continue the strategy."
I picked up the piece for the 1st Corps left in Lublin.
Though the 20th Corps would serve as the main feint, the 1st Corps was actually the most crucial.
"We send the 1st Corps to Lublin at regular marching speed—or even faster forced march."
"What? Not together with the 20th Corps?"
"No need to concentrate forces. We leave encirclement formation to the 20th Corps for now, while the 1st Corps focuses entirely on preserving combat strength and moves carefully to minimize traces, heading straight to Lublin."
"...Wait, hold on. Huh? Look at this?"
Finally getting it, Francois's eyes lit up.
That's right! I was stumped on how to explain, but now it's clicking. If they see the big picture, they'll get the gist.
"If they bypass the 20th Corps, the enemy will think all our encirclement forces are behind them and let their guard down. Facing an extreme supply crisis, they'll surely send the cavalry corps to Lublin."
"For resupply! Exactly! And that's when the 1st Corps, pre-positioned in Lublin, intercepts the enemy cavalry!"
"Ah, now I get it."
"You should have said so from the start!"
"This has real potential. We're betting on the enemy thinking they've eliminated all variables."
The staff officers finally understood and exclaimed in admiration.
With the strategy set, the staff officers whispered among themselves, and the room quickly buzzed with activity.
"We'll need to pay more attention to the 1st Corps' supplies."
"Even for a short operation, we should plan supply routes via detours."
"We need more detailed plans for annihilating the cavalry at Lublin."
"How do we minimize traces? We'll have to send the corps via a route the cavalry corps wouldn't take."
Once the strategy was decided, the top-notch German staff officers rapidly fleshed it out with superb tactical proposals.
In the dramatically shifted atmosphere, Francois grinned ear to ear.
"Of course, it's not a perfect strategy! But what strategy in the world ever is?"
"True. If the cavalry corps bypasses even Lublin, we're in trouble..."
"Hahaha!! Then we admit defeat—what else can we do! If it fails after all this effort, it fails!"
"Ugh. Ugh."
"Truly, there's no greater treasure on our Eastern Front! Creating opportunities out of thin air!"
Bam! Bam! Laughing heartily, Francois slapped my back with full swings.
It hurts, you old man!
Ignoring my pain, Francois straightened up and issued orders.
"Alright, let's quickly refine the strategy and execute it! We'll complete the Polish encirclement no matter what!!"
Watching them move with machine-like precision and unity...
The pain in my back faded before I knew it, replaced by a growing sense of fulfillment.
This tingling in my fingertips.
Vast armies and the finest staff officers moving and thinking like limbs at my command. This omnipotence.
A sensation I'd long forgotten revived.
I clenched my fist tight.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Lublin.
The encirclement was complete, and the enemy 8th Army had surrendered promptly.
The fact that the 8th Army—which had nearly wrecked the Polish encirclement if things went wrong—surrendered the fastest tickled me oddly.
The news of Brusilov's suicide felt the same.
"The remnants of the 8th Army's last cavalry detachment are in that forest, right?"
"Yes, Major."
"They won't hold out long."
"We've sealed off the entire forest, and the enemy is completely isolated. That place must be pure hell right now."
Through various clever maneuvers, the 1st Corps had brilliantly herded the cavalry corps into that massive forest.
With dwindling food, weakened immunity, and perfect terrain for plague...
No joke, it really must be hell.
"Induce their surrender before we get called butchers. No point in killing more..."
"As expected of Major Rommel! If we take them all alive as POWs, our merits will shine even brighter!"
"No, that's not what I..."
"Guh! I get your noble heart, Major, but don't worry! Your achievements—and ours—have already spread across the world. No chance of undervaluation!"
"...Forget it."
Impossible to reason with these war machines.
In this society, no one as normal, intellectual, and ordinary as me can live easily.
I need to promote quickly and put them all under me.
"Anyway... hurry the surrender inducement. The 9th Army has taken Warsaw, so a tsunami of fleeing Russians will hit soon."
"Understood! I'll relay to our corps commander too!"
"Good. Keep up the good work."
With that, I got in the car and headed to the temporary 8th Army headquarters nearby.
Francois and Grüner were waiting from afar.
"Hahahaha! There you are!"
"Were you waiting? It's cold out..."
"For our mascot, the Red Fox, this chill is nothing!"
"..."
"Ahem."
As I shot him a look, Francois finally stopped laughing and cleared his throat.
Then, in a serious tone, he continued.
"Joking aside, it's actually about something else."
"What is it? Bad news...?"
"Hmm... I'm not sure myself."
An ominous feeling crept in, and Francois's reluctance to get to the point was frustrating.
If he were a subordinate, I'd yell, but he's the boss. Really.
Perhaps not totally oblivious, he saw the light fading from my eyes and quickly continued.
"An intelligence agency from General Staff... Abteilung III b... came to our headquarters."
"Why?"
"To take you in."
"...Pardon?"
Commander Francois.
Have you been drinking since midday?