Why Is There Oil Here?
Why Is There Oil Here?
I let out a quiet groan to myself and straightened my posture, glancing around to gauge the reactions of those nearby.
I didn't quite understand how things had turned out this way, but in any case, I was now the "rising star of the Operations Staff Office," so acting strangely and arousing suspicion would be troublesome.
For now, there was no choice but to perform my duties calmly and plan for later.
'For now....'
The priority was to process the documents that had been sent to me.
I let out a low sigh, picked up the documents placed beside the telephone, and checked their contents.
Sarak─
As I flipped through them, the contents turned out to be extremely mundane.
Most were requests to grant operational approval or to authorize the construction of military buildings.
The procedure was for me to review them first, and if there were no logical issues, approve them and send them up the chain.
【Operations Staff Officer ▶ Deputy Chief of Operations ▶ Deputy Chief of Staff, GHQ ▶ Chief of the General Staff】
In broad terms, approvals moved up through that chain.
Since it wasn't a particularly difficult task, I approved them one by one, except for a few documents that required the readjustment of resources and manpower.
When I opened the last document, I was taken aback.
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《Logistics Department Construction Approval Request》
To: Deputy Chief of Operations (Colonel Ernst Bark)
From: Logistics Staff Officer (Captain Arnob Haubut)
Date: March 16, 1944
Subject: Eastern Front Logistics Department Construction Approval Request and Site Selection
Responsible Officer: Operations Staff Officer (First Lieutenant Daniel Steiner)
───────────
It was a Logistics Department construction approval request with nothing particularly strange about it.
There was just one problem: the responsible officer was listed as me.
'...Why?'
That was what I couldn't understand.
The Logistics Department was a small-scale supply depot designed to smoothly receive materiel from the rear logistics headquarters at a midpoint and then resupply it to the front lines.
In short, it was an important strongpoint for securing supply routes, built to prevent materiel from being left unattended.
Logistics was so critical it was called the mother of war, and they were entrusting it to an operations staff officer?
What's more, to a first lieutenant who had only clumsily filled an operations staff officer position after a one-grade accelerated promotion?
'It seems there was some confusion in the reporting...'
No matter how I looked at it, I needed to bring this to the Deputy Chief of Operations' attention.
Having made up my mind, I stood up with the documents and entered the Deputy Chief of Operations' office, located within the Operations Staff Office.
The Deputy Chief of Operations, buried among all sorts of reports and documents, raised his head upon hearing my footsteps.
"Hm? Ah. If it isn't our hero, Daniel!"
Colonel Ernst Bark laughed heartily and straightened his back, exuding the air of a kindly neighbor.
However, one must not judge a person by first impressions alone.
A man who had risen to the rank of colonel in the Empire had surely been through all sorts of trials and tribulations.
"I merely did what was expected. The title of hero is somewhat burdensome."
In any nation, humility was a virtue. Pleased with my deferential attitude, Ernst smiled and began to speak.
"So, First Lieutenant. What's the reason you came looking for me?"
"I came to report that I've finished the initial approval of the documents that arrived at the staff office."
"Ah. Already? As I've heard, your handling of work is excellent. Bring them here."
I nodded and placed the documents on Ernst's desk.
However, I didn't set down the document proposing the Logistics Department that listed me as the responsible officer. Seeing that, Ernst tilted his head.
"What about that one?"
"It was addressed to me as the responsible officer. Strangely, the upper approval fields were empty, which suggests the Logistics Staff Officer likely made an error."
Ernst blinked a few times, then burst into laughter. Why was he laughing?
"Ah. It's only natural you'd find it strange, but that isn't the Logistics Staff Officer's mistake."
"If it's not a mistake, then?"
"The higher-ups intentionally assigned that task to you. As you can see, I've been very busy lately, so part of the reason is to distribute the workload. As for the other reason, you understand without me saying, right?"
My brow furrowed instinctively.
This—the higher-ups were testing me.
They were as good as telling me to prove that catching the spy and noticing the enemy troops hidden in the hill country had not been mere flukes.
The importance of logistics was something any military officer knew, but building a Logistics Department at an appropriate location was no easy task.
Building a Logistics Department fundamentally required safety from enemy attack, good accessibility, and sufficient space to accommodate a vast amount of materiel.
So they had apparently judged this to be a suitable test to gauge whether I could perform the role of an operations staff officer.
'Who is it? Is the Chief of the General Staff sounding me out...?'
I didn't know for certain, but this was an opportunity.
A golden opportunity to spectacularly showcase my incompetence!
If I built the Logistics Department in some ridiculously terrible location, my performance rating would plummet into the abyss, and if that happened, it would naturally be possible to secure a discharge from the military.
Excited by the thought of discharge, I gave Ernst a crisp salute.
"Thank you for trusting me! I will do my utmost to build the Logistics Department!"
Pleased by my words, Ernst smiled and nodded.
"Good. Rest assured, I'll fully support you with the budget, so proceed with the work without worry."
"Understood!"
Even as I answered vigorously, I was grinning slyly inside.
'I'm sorry, but you'll be regretting this before long.'
Because I was going to build the Logistics Department at the theoretically worst possible location.
*
Half a month later. Rear lines of the Eastern Front.
Bardenplatz Plain.
Wuuuung─
Heavy equipment moved onto the plain, transporting construction materials and making the very ground resonate.
Watching the scene from a distance, Logistics Staff Officer Captain Arnob Haubut couldn't help but dislike that particular spot.
'What on earth was the higher headquarters thinking? Entrusting the construction of a Logistics Department to a first lieutenant who's still practically a greenhorn...'
Because that damn bastard had given the order to build on the Bardenplatz Plain, all sorts of manpower and resources were being consumed right now.
'Just why order it to be built here?'
The Bardenplatz Plain was a wide-open field. That meant it was incredibly vulnerable to enemy artillery barrages.
Thus, to defend against that, protective walls had to be built separately, resulting in extreme waste of materials.
Was the protective wall the only problem? If they were going to build a Logistics Department on a plain, they should have built it somewhere that could make use of existing roads.
But the Bardenplatz Plain had absolutely no usable roads nearby.
That was essentially the same as having to pave new roads all the way to the Bardenplatz Plain.
If you paved an incoming road, you had to pave an outgoing road as well, doubling the cost.
It was, quite literally, an unparalleled bullshit waste of money.
'Daniel Steiner, was it? That damned brat...'
Because of a greenhorn officer who didn't even know the basics of logistics, the Empire's taxpayers' money was being wasted in real time.
Arnop hadn't considered his own patriotism to be particularly deep, but watching the taxpayers' money being squandered right before his eyes naturally stirred his patriotic feelings.
But how could a mere captain, a logistics staff officer, defy the orders of the General Headquarters?
Even if Daniel Steiner was lower in rank than him, his authority was immense.
That was proven by the fact that, no matter how much his complaints grew internally, the moment Arnop actually stood before Daniel, he couldn't utter a single word.
When Daniel came out to inspect this place a week ago and gave the order to proceed with the Logistics Department construction as planned, Arnop hadn't been able to oppose it.
Contrary to his inner feelings, Arnop, too, was an inescapable bureaucrat of the Empire.
'If headquarters says jump, you jump. What can you do...?'
Feeling frustrated, Arnop took a pack of cigarettes from his chest pocket, extracted one, and placed it between his lips.
As he took out his lighter and lit the end of the cigarette, the radio attached to his shoulder epaulet crackled.
─ Logistics Officer! Can you hear me!?
This guy always contacted me right when I was about to smoke. Arnop grabbed the radio, pressed the transmit button, and replied.
"Did you omit your rank and name again? If you come at me like that, how am I supposed to know who you are and answer?"
─ Ah! You're really finicky. Sergeant Winter Enfelt! Satisfied?
"Satisfied. What business prompted you to contact me?"
─ Well, didn't we conduct a ground survey? Brought in the experts and all.
Arnop nodded.
It was natural to conduct a ground survey before constructing a building.
It had become mandatory after an incident some time ago when a building was constructed without proper surveying, the ground collapsed, and there were casualties.
─ The experts' results came out today, and well, what should I say? It made me think that headquarters didn't entrust the work to First Lieutenant Daniel Steiner for nothing.
Huh? It was puzzling, because just yesterday this sergeant had been cursing Daniel right alongside him, and now his attitude had changed.
"Just get to the point. The point. Just what was the result?"
─ Hahaha! Well, you see...!
The sergeant shouted in a joyful voice.
─ It's oil! Oil! Oil was discovered beneath the ground! And a large quantity at that, enough to make extraction worthwhile!
At that, Arnop dropped the cigarette he'd been holding.
'What?'
Oil? The Bardenplatz Plain was an oil deposit?
If so, the one who didn't know the basics of logistics wasn't Daniel, but Arnop himself.
Arnop let out a deflated sigh and wiped his face with his hand.
'Don't tell me, First Lieutenant Daniel Steiner...'
Had he known all of this from the very beginning? Thinking that way, Daniel's brazen attitude started to make sense.
Letting out a low laugh, Arnop clasped his hands behind his back in self-mockery.
'As I thought...'
It seemed an astonishing talent had been posted to the headquarters.
*
Meanwhile, Daniel Steiner, who had heard that the Bardenplatz Plain, where the Logistics Department was about to be built, was an oil deposit─
Was panicking in real time.