Chapter 177
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 177
Chapter Title: Eastern Front Counteroffensive (1)
"Ah, I want to get promoted!"
"Don't shout it so loud, you madman."
Władysław Sikorski, now used to Manstein's outbursts, pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and muttered under his breath.
Sikorski had grown friendly with Manstein thanks to their bond from the recent battle, but even setting aside the typical Junker arrogance, he still couldn't quite wrap his head around the man's overflowing ambition.
"You're already a captain at your age—that's a straight shot to the top already. What's with all the impatience?"
"Władysław, every man wants to claim the summit. Do people climb mountains for no reason? They do it because the peaks are high."
"Hmph."
"So put in a good word for me at the operations meeting, Colonel Sikorski."
Sikorski let out a wry chuckle and shook his head, as if to say there was no stopping him.
Rumble~ screech!
Just then, the sound of several vehicles pulling up nearby echoed through the air.
"That's..."
Sikorski spotted the people stepping out of the cars and adopted a serious expression.
"Chief of the General Staff Falkenhayn and Marquis Hans von Choi?"
"That's right."
Sikorski nodded at Manstein's wide-eyed exclamation and straightened his cap.
"It's finally starting."
The counteroffensive aimed at the Eastern Front.
And the moment of liberation for his homeland—Poland—which he had never once forgotten, was drawing near.
"Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince."
"It's been a while for you too, Hans."
September 24, 1913.
I arrived at Eastern Front headquarters alongside Falkenhayn and the rest of the OHL staff, exchanging warm greetings with Crown Prince Wilhelm, whom I hadn't seen in ages.
The Crown Prince—hero of Tannenberg and currently riding high in Berlin's popularity alongside Ludendorff and Hoffmann—had barely changed since I'd last seen him before he headed to the front.
Of course, he'd only left home two months ago, so it was hardly surprising.
"By the way, how are Cecilie, the kids, and Luise doing?"
"They're healthy to the point of bursting with energy. Luise is the same. If anything, the Crown Princess wanted to go nurse the wounded soldiers alongside the other princesses but was disappointed she couldn't go on her own."
"This is the time to be most careful, after all. Anyway, you're the one running around everywhere, busier than ever."
"It's the nature of my job. At least I'd like to make it back to Potsdam for the due date."
I'm a lousy husband forced to wander far from home because of the war, but I want to be by Luise's side when she gives birth.
"Then, for you to hurry back to my little sister's side, Ludendorff and I will have to redouble our efforts."
"I always have high expectations for the 8th Army. Come on, let's head inside."
A moment later.
"Sitting here with Hans feels refreshing."
"Haha, it takes me back to the Herero Rebellion."
"Yes. We owed Major General Ludendorff quite the 'debt' back then."
"Ahem! Y-yes, that's right. Hahaha!"
8th Army commander Crown Prince Wilhelm and his chief of staff, Major General Erich Ludendorff.
"Colonel Hoffmann, could you pass me my glasses? Getting on in years, my eyes aren't what they used to be."
"Right here, Commander Eichhorn."
Veteran 9th Army commander General Hermann von Eichhorn, and Colonel Max Hoffmann, freshly promoted to chief of staff for his merits at Tannenberg.
"I hope there's another chance to charge across the plains on horseback this time. Part of me wants to lead from the front."
"Please spare my heart that, Commander Mackensen."
10th Army commander General August von Mackensen and his chief of staff, Colonel Hans von Seeckt.
"General...? It's time to get up..."
"Eh...? Sorry about that. I must've dozed off without realizing."
Newly formed 11th Army commander General Max von Fabeck—who would go on to shine on both the Western and Eastern Fronts in the original history—and his chief of staff, Colonel Paul Grünert.
"The moment every Pole has dreamed of has finally arrived. Colonel Sikorski."
"Yes, I can hardly wait to rush to the battlefield, General Piłsudski."
Polish Legions commander Józef Piłsudski, practically stamping his feet in eagerness to reach Poland as soon as possible, along with his chief of staff Władysław Sikorski.
All the Eastern Front commanders and chiefs of staff had gathered in one place, excluding 7th Army commander General Josias von Heeringen, who was deployed to the Galicia front.
"Now that everyone's assembled, let's begin the meeting."
With the Eastern Front field army commanders and their staffs seated around the massive operations table, Falkenhayn—who had come to the front lines with me personally to underscore the offensive's importance—opened slowly.
"As you're all aware, the primary objective of this offensive is the complete recapture of Russian Poland and Galicia. Additionally, to secure Memel against potential Russian attacks at any moment, we'd like to take Lithuania as well."
Falkenhayn pointed his baton at key spots on the large map spread across the conference table.
"To achieve this, the 8th, 9th, and 10th Armies will break through Russian defensive lines in three prongs and advance into Poland, while the 11th Army under General Fabeck handles the occupation of Lithuania and prepares for subsequent advances into Latvia and Estonia."
"We'll give it our all to complete the mission."
Fabeck replied with confident assurance, as if to say leave it to him.
And rightly so—he was a man widely regarded as highly capable after commanding multiple field armies.
"Once the offensives into Poland and Lithuania begin, the Austro-Hungarian forces under Chief of Staff Conrad von Hötzendorf and General Heeringen's 7th Army will launch their own assaults on the Galicia front."
"With Bulgarian and Greek forces newly joining them this time, they shouldn't disgrace themselves like before."
If the Galicia front—which had at least managed some success after East Prussia—collapsed as well, the Russian Empire would begin to crumble swiftly.
And around now, our Communist Heavenly Demon Lenin, closely watching the Great War's flow from Switzerland, would no longer be able to sit idle and would start making his move.
"The entire Eastern Front in motion. Excellent. Personally, I'd love to push all the way to Belarus and Ukraine while we're at it..."
"Unfortunately, autumn has arrived, and Rasputitsa has set in across Belarus and Ukraine. We'll have to hold off until winter."
General Eichhorn smacked his lips in disappointment but nodded at my words.
Even just recapturing Galicia and occupying Poland was ahead of schedule compared to the historical Gorlice-Tarnów Offensive, which only succeeded in 1915—our advance was plenty fast, so there was no need to rush further.
Better to solidly secure Poland, Lithuania, and Galicia rather than get bogged down in Russia's infamous mud, wasting precious time. Instead, conscript Poles and Lithuanians as planned while preparing for a winter offensive.
"If we seize Poland quickly and push south, we could encircle the Russian Southwest Front in Galicia."
"Mm, the crux will be how fast we can crack Warsaw, the expected hotbed of fierce fighting."
The commanders nodded at Mackensen's words.
"General Piłsudski, what's the atmosphere and situation among the local Poles?"
"Plenty still eye us with suspicion, but they'll cooperate with the Germans once they advance. Even now, our citizens in Warsaw are preparing an uprising. I stake my honor on it."
Piłsudski thumped his chest confidently in response to my question.
With active Polish assistance, the advance would be smoother—not to mention tackling Warsaw, which was girded by the natural barrier of the Vistula and promised tough going.
That said, uncertainties lingered.
Our own troops.
Not to speak ill of my own Germans, but they'd earned infamy for war crimes in this region rivaling the professionals: the Russians.
My presence here was precisely to coordinate with the soon-to-be-liberated nascent Poland and prevent any such incidents beforehand.
"Very well. Finally, as Foreign Minister, I must ask the commanders to strictly enforce discipline among our troops. The moment overzealous soldiers commit any 'unnecessary acts' in Poland or Lithuania, it could jeopardize the Empire's entire war effort."
"Ahem, duly noted, Minister."
In plain terms: no dreaming of looting or rape in occupied territory.
Poles already harbored poor feelings toward Germany—if their 'liberators' ran amok, they'd lump the German Empire in with the Russian one.
My plan to use them as manpower to ease the two-front strain would go up in smoke.
'Just look at Iraq or Afghanistan to see what friction with locals during wartime brings.'
No need to go far: Ukraine during Barbarossa made it obvious.
Ukrainians, tormented by the Soviets and Stalin's steel mustache, initially welcomed the Nazis as liberators—but once they experienced Nazis as worse than the Soviets firsthand, many turned back, deciding the Soviets were preferable.
Not all, of course; hardcore nationalists like Stepan Bandera, consumed by rage against the Soviets, allied with the Nazis and committed genocide.
Still, I wanted to avoid that at all costs. The commanders got the pointed warning despite my tactful phrasing and cleared their throats in acknowledgment.
"In any case, this offensive will be the grandest across both the Eastern and Western Fronts. Its importance needs no emphasis. We must make it succeed."
Everyone in the room nodded in unison at Crown Prince Wilhelm's words.
Anticipating the thunder of artillery that would soon echo across the Eastern Front once more.
"Is everyone here?"
"Not a single one missing."
"Then let's get started."
Meanwhile, in the underground beneath Warsaw—the hottest spot for this offensive in a certain sense—hushed voices whispered to one another.
These were Warsaw's citizen leaders.
Gathered at Piłsudski's call for an uprising.
"The German offensive will begin soon. We must finish preparations before they reach Warsaw."
"That's no issue. But can we really trust the Germans?"
"According to General Piłsudski, Marquis Hans von Choi—who promised independence—is coming with them. The odds of deception are low. Besides, we're in no position to be picky about hot or cold water right now."
And just as he said, in the Great War, Poland's path to independence lay solely in cooperating with the Entente powers.
The fact that Germany was the linchpin made it hard to trust, that was all.
Yet in these dark times, it was a faint glimmer of hope beginning to shine.
For the Poles, it was the last chance to seize independence—they couldn't let it slip away.
"I hope General Piłsudski's faith proves true."
"We're all thinking the same. So, can I take it you're all agreed to launch the uprising in tandem with the German assault on Warsaw?"
With that, every gaze in the Warsaw gathering turned to one spot: the Polish socialists standing in the corner.
The socialists themselves looked utterly baffled.
"Why are you all staring at us like that?"
"But you lot are... you know."
"Damn it, we're not like Rosa Luxemburg, who went mad for revolution and betrayed the blood in her veins. Our top priority is always Polish independence!"
Indeed, Rosa Luxemburg—a Pole who prioritized class struggle over independence—had such a terrible reputation among Polish socialists who valued anti-Russian struggle and independence above all that she was branded a tsarist spy.
"Of course, cooperating with the German Empire isn't exactly comfortable for us. But for the sake of our homeland Poland's independence, it's a price we can gladly pay!"
The other Warsaw citizens nodded, as if convinced by the socialists' most heartfelt cry yet.
"Right, then—disperse before the Russians catch on."
With that, the Warsaw citizens melted into the darkness.
Awaiting the liberation of Warsaw soon to come.