Volume 1 Chapter 10: Operation WestWind Part 2

AU: Suffer y'all. Yes new chapter "mhrmmhrmhrmhr you said that you were busy" shut up and enjoy

August 26th, 1941

The camp was being vacated. They were now going to approach the enemy fort.

The tanks were the first to leave after refueling followed by motorized infantry and artillery.

A small detachment was left to defend the camp to allow supplies to still reach them.

The tanks thundered forward with general Rommel in his commander car. His personal tank didn't have all of the radio equipment he needed so he switched vehicles.

He picked up the intercom.

"Report: what did the scouts say?"

"General der und Panzertruppe, the scouts report that in about 50 km we will reach the fort. They have confirmed extensive fire damage and partial collapse of the eastern gate."

"Those bastards! They actually collapsed the wall! I'm giving them the Iron Cross first class and nobody can stop me!"

"Proceed with stage 1, encircle the fort!"

"Jawohl!"

The tanks under his command formed a pincer maneuver and raced around the walls.

The guards inside the fort crowd out in alarm to see massive numbers of grey boxes moving outside their walls.

Soldiers began pouring onto the ramparts and opened fire on the tanks.

Arrows fell short and stuck into the ground. Larger ballista rounds could reach the sky ants but couldn't even penetrate the armor of a Panzer I.

The tanks linked up on the rear of the fort. They had successfully cut off the enemy's retreat path.

Taking the bait swarms of soldiers and civilians poured from their homes and swarmed the open hole in the wall.

The flanking tanks punched through the gates mowing everyone with machine gun fire and canister rounds (grapeshot).

This only caused more chaos and people to leave the intact pats of the city and get flushed to the burned districts.

Once they routed all people in intact districts the tanks slowed their pace. They allowed for the survivors to gather up and concentrate near the hole caused by the Henkel He 111.

Before they were able to flee through the hole more tanks and motorized infantry poured through.

This caught the enemies by surprise and they retracted only to get blocked by the flanking tanks.

Rommel was watching from afar with his binoculars. He grinned, his plan worked flawlessly. Not a single German life was lost and he captured a whole city and majority of its civilians and soldiers with minimal damage. He would surely be commended.

Inside the pocket large amounts of civilians and soldiers were stunned. On all sides of their own city the enemy was around them. Their own walls blocked their means to escape.

Smoke was rising from the castle on the middle of the city.

NSS soldiers were breaching the gates and captured everyone alive using a new weapon called pepper spray. It was highly effective on soft targets.

Seeing the situation as hopeless the highest ranking enemy in the pocket surrendered. This was followed with mass surrendering of all enemies.

The Germans dismounted their trucks and halftracks and began collecting weapons and searching everyone. Personal items such as jewelry were left alone but things like knives, swords and even staffs as they were deemed weapons from encounters with magic.

A large pile of weapons and confiscated items were piled in front of a thin but menacing officer. His uniform was much more colorful then the ordinary soldier's but he was clearly their leader.

The defeated enemy commander asked to speak with the German officer.

The officer laughed at him and shooed him away like one would to a dog.

The officer could feel a hand on his shoulder and he turned angry to who was touching him.

He spun face first into the General.

He gasped and quickly saluted which the General returned.

"Feldwebel-Wachtmeister Schubert, where is the highest ranking enemy officer."

"Uh... he is there."

The officer pointed at the commander who was standing a few meters from them.

"Ah."

Rommel turned to the commander. Two NSS guards followed him with StG 41s.

The enemy commander looked at him, this new officer had more metals and colored ribbons on him than the other officer. This was the real leader.

The commander fell to his knees.

"I beg you, please spare the people. They have nothing to do with our conflict. Please show mercy to them. Take whatever you want but please spare them!"

Rommel smiled. He recognized a kind and strong leader who was prepared to die in order to let his people live. He would do the same for Germany.

"I understand. My objective is not to kill all of this lands inhabitants but to remove its leadership. All soldiers follow me. All civilians will return home. If anyone solider tries to hide from us we will not be kind."

The NSS guard on his right chambered his StG. A bullet casing flew out and echoed with a ping.

Rommel scowled, that was not necessary but he appreciated the sound effects.

The commander shouted at his soldiers who stepped forward and formed lines.

They were marched to a separate section and forced to sit. The civilians returned to their homes.

The Epruilon flag was taken down from the castle and replaced with a Imperial German one.

Over the next few days the occupying forces swept the city and cleaned up resistance. More reinforcements kept arriving as supplies were funneled to the troops and civilians.

The city was a staging ground for a drive to Minas, the capital.

Rommel's 7th panzer division was part of a two corp strength systematic attack which blitzed through southern Epruilon. By the end of the week about 32% of the Kingdom was in German hands.

The allies couldn't stop the Blitz, the Kingdom had no ability to defend.

In total all of the day's objective points have been captured. Poland fell within a month, France took 46 days. At this rate they may conquer the whole nation is less than a week.

In all 78 tanks broke down with mechanical or geographical problems such as engine failure or getting stuck in mud. There were a total of 28 fatalities with about 471 injuries. Two planes were shot down and no naval losses.

Military inspectors estimate anywhere between 500 - 1000 Epruilon soldiers and civilians died. Another 2000 or so were injured. They captured 20000 soldiers and seventeen cities and large towns. Six of the eight oil reserves were captured entirely intact. In fact all but one were abandoned. Only one silver mine was captured. Several copper, nickel, salt and gold mines were captured but were put under imperial jurisdictions as they shared a throne with the royalty of the Kingdom of Epruilon.

Using captured gold reserves and mines the minister of the treasury estimated that this campaign would pay itself off plus fill the existing treasury by 300%. This would allow more changes in the future to run more smoothly.

___________________________

Three days earlier

Near Wallaceburg, Epruilon

Prince Andrew Wallace was attending a meeting with four other high command officers. Two were them were Stabsfeldwebel officers of individual divisions. He was commander of the 8th mobile flak division, a 8000 man troop with 360 flak 36, 39 and 40 guns. As royalty and an essential part of the attack plan he was in attendance.

Along with him was Heinz Guderian, a famous German tank commander and father of modern tank warfare. His 2nd panzer army would assist them in this attack. Standing off to the side was Generalfeldmarschall Erwin von Witzleben who was a key member of the German resistance in the original timeline. He would personally command two entire infantry divisions as they assaulted the city.

The prince listened as Guderian and one of the Stabsfeldwebel officers argued about the best entry point of the city. Guderian wanted CAS to hit the gate to let his tanks spearhead a direct attack into the city and blitz all the way to the citadel in the center. The officer wanted to naval invade with a battalion of marines which were recently trained.

German army doctrine calls for extensive bombing before all attacks which was Andrew's duty (AU: Rommel was a bit out of the books as he took the fortress city without artillery strikes as he didn't need to). Andrew just listened as his job was simple.

Finally Guderian relented but only agreed for the naval invasion if his tanks breached the gates first and distracted enough soldiers for a safe landing. The marines then would block the rear gate and prevent an escape.

Generalfeldmarschall Witzleben then clapped his hands twice.

"Alright gentlemen, with that out of the way lets move on to other issues."

He pointed to a stretch of swamps which bordered the northwestern part of the city.

"Our spied and reconnaissance aircraft spotted huge creatures gathering here. We need to confirm locations and the prince will bomb them. Guderian, send a platoon of light scouts to act as spotters. Relay locations to the 8th flak."

"Jawohl."

"The Stabsfeldwebel Thomas, your infantry division will be supporting the armored thrust through the southern gates. Prince Andrew will respond to calls for artillery strikes."

"Jawohl Generalfeldmarschall!"

The meeting adjourned. Generalfeldmarschall Witzleben pulled Prince Andrew aside.

"Listen closely. I don't really care that you are a noble or related to the Kaiser. However on the field I am your superior. My orders are final. Follow them or prepare to lose your rank on your first battle. Remember this is war, all people here are your enemies unless they surrender. Good luck."

He patted Andrew on the back and walked off.

Andrew stood there for a minute. Military officers were always this bold? He however understood the Generalfeldmarschall's point. He was not the leader. He needed to follow orders to ensure a victory.

He exited the room and emerged into a rush of soldiers, vehicles and trenches. This was the 2nd corp's camp. He climbed out of the trench and entered a car waiting for him.

The drove around until they reached the encampments of the 8th flak.

The car was received by several Stabsgefreiters. He then exited and greeted the escorts.

The walked together to another section of trenches where the soldiers pitched tents inside and above the trenches.

The officer quarters were next to the radio room. He peered inside the radio room. The nearest operator stood up and saluted. Before anyone else stood up Andrew told them at ease.

He checked radar and new magical sensors smuggled in from spies (AU: part of a bonus chapter in the making). Nothing was out of ordinary.

He then left to attend a meeting with other ranked officers.

The room was filled with people from battalion commanders to platoon leaders.

Andrew stood in front of them with a wheeled board with a map on it.

"Ahem... orders from the top have come in. Our division will station about 10 km from the enemy fort. 1st - 5th battalions would shell the city. The 6th will target potential risks on the swamp. Afterward we will provide fire support to the ground units."

He paused to look around the room. There were a lot of eyes on him.

"There is a high chance that magical barriers would be deployed around the cities and could absorb our shots. They however do not have much durability so just keep firing, we got shells to spare."

"Sir! What if they absorb all of our shells?"

"Not possible, they don't have enough high ranked magic users to last more than two minutes of intense fire."

"Jawohl!"

Andrew then went into detail explaining where smaller units will station and what formations to take.

After the meeting adjourned, Andrew went to his quarters. A small bed with small pieces of furniture littered the room.

He threw himself on the bed and hit his head on the iron grate at the front of the bed.

"Ow, fuck!"

He rolled around in pain for a bit until his swelling went down a bit.

"All units prepare for action!"

A man with a megaphone was relaying orders outside. That was Andrew's cue and he gathered in front of his unit. All 8000 men were lined up and in order.

Andrew arrived and stepped on a crate so all could see him.

"Fellows! My name is Andrew Wallace of the Kingdom of Epruilon. I am the brother-in-law to the Kaiser and commander of the 8th flak division. This invasion has two meaning: to reclaim stolen land and show case German firepower to the world! Not one nation will dare to show their fangs to us after this war. Now fellows in the 8th, your guns stand tall, put them to use and march to the beat of our flak guns."

He then paused. There was little movement as then the troops started stomping and calling:

"Lang lebe der Kaiser!"

Andrew basked in the flurry of chants and stomps then they were stopped by officers and the crowd dispersed.

Final checks were done in preparation for the attack.

The armored units from the 2nd Panzer Army started to leave first with mechanized infantry carriers following them.

Several destroyers were picking up the marines and gathering for a naval invasion. Since there was no port available the troops had to use the Marinefährprahm landing crafts to ferry troops to the awaiting ships.

His division were almost done attaching the cannons to trucks and horses. They had a few halftrack mounted guns as well. Andrew would ride his command truck.

Once the signal officer waved at them they started to move.

They reached their predetermined position within a hour. Andrew dismounted to observe the city which once housed him.

On the outskirts of the port city of Wallaceburg the flags of the Junta were displayed.

Parts of the wall were charred and evidence of a battle littered the ground.

Several corpses of soldiers were on the ground.

Andrew grimaced while looking through his binoculars. The city fought for him, and they suffers as a result.

"Don't worry, I will liberate this city."

He checked his watch. 5 minutes to the bombardment.

From his elevated position he could see the center of the square. Several t shapes were visible. Those weren't there before. Several heaps were on the side of the square.

He checked his watch again. Then he lifted his flag.

"Fire!!!"

The thunder of artillery cannons boomed. Thousands of shells rained on the city.

Buildings exploded and the walls crumbed in the attack. After about a minute of firing a magical barrier was raised.

Shots kept exploding on the shield as they were firing HE shells.

Andrew could sense the magical pulse emitted by the barrier and knew that its strength was depleting very quickly.

"Keep firing! The shield is about to go down!"

The cannons kept firing. More shells exploded on the shield.

Then the shield shattered and the shells rained on the city once more.

The cannons were still firing when the call of ceasefire was given.

"Ceasefire!"

The echoes of other officers relaying the order filled the air.

The tanks hidden in the forest roars to life and raced to the destroyed gate.

Hidden naval guns which were cover in rubble started to fire.

"Where the hell did those cannons come from?"

"Sir! We should fire!"

"No! Wait for the request for support!"

Several tanks took fire. The round shot couldn't penetrate the armor but it caused serious outside damage and tracked a few tanks.

"Request for fire support!"

"Affirmative. Fire at will!"

8.8 cm anti tank guns and howitzers opened fire. Plumes of debris and fire exploded around where the cannons where.

Several direct hits annihilated a cannon position. Fire started burning from the high explosive which ignited the gunpowder storage.

A large cloud of black smoke bellowed from. The city.

The tanks broke through the gates with infantry trailing behind them.

Andrew from his position could see the destroyers firing their guns at the shoreline. Landing craft raced to the port.

They docked and started storming positions to reach the rear exit.

Several planes were approaching. They were later than expected but they still rained bombs on the city.

Several wyverns tried to flee with people on them, however bursts from the fighters quickly downed them before they could fly high enough.

After the walls and surrounding districts were taken with street-to-street fighting only the citadel remained.

Soon a white flag was displayed on the roof, an universal sign of surrender no matter the universe.

The city was in smoking ruins. Damage was high. Many buildings were crushed during the artillery barrage.

The wall was unsalvageable and was demolished by engineers brought with the tank units.

The citadel however was not damaged highly.

The Germans lost two Panzer IIIs to enemy fire and one blitz truck. 56 were dead and 522 wounded, mostly tank crew.

The kingdom suffered about 400 dead and 1200 injured. 5000 were captured and transferred to the a temporary camp near the Atlantikwal. 12 mages were captured as well as the 5th prince.

"Sir, they caught your brother."

"Good. I want to speak with him."

Andrew got permission to speak with his brother.

He entered a room which two guards were watching from a distance.

Andrew sat down in a chair. Charles Wallace the 5th prince sat across from him.

A guard walked up and removed his blindfold.

"Ahghh, how dare you..."

"Missed me?"

"YOU. HOW DARE YOU BETRAY THE KINGDOM!"

"Who started the civil war? It wasn't us, it was you."

"So what? You lost! Now you kiss the feet of a foreign king!"

The guard hit Charles with the butt of his gun.

"Ack!"

The guard raised his gun to strike again but Andrew waved him off.

He respectfully bowed and retreated.

"So. You are a big shot here eh?"

"More than that. I am the brother-in-law of the king of these people."

"What? How?"

Then Charles face contorted as he came to a realization.

"That bitch! She sold herself to a foreign king? The gentle rose of the kingdom did that? Haahahahahahahahahahahaha!"

This time Andrew felt his anger boiling. He motioned to the guards.

They started punching and hitting the prince with their guns. Then Andrew stopped them when he felt better.

"You asshole."

The 5th prince coughed blood. Apparently his lungs were damaged.

"Cruel as ever brother? Eh? You can't fool that king. You're a sadist. You are the reason for the war. You know it."

"Spin whatever lies you want, I know what I did. I also know what you did as well. Extortion, bribery even collaborating with hostile nations and the demon kingdoms. Those are punishable with death. However you are subjected to a free and fair trial under the German court of law. All political prisoners are to be sent to Berlin for further interrogation and await your sentence."

"What? What bullshit is that? Free and fair trial? German court of law? You're not even following the laws of the kingdom!!! Traitor!"

Andrew couldn't handle the yammering of his brother anymore.

"Take him away. I have nothing else to say."

The guards gagged the 5th prince and blindfolded him again. Then they dragged him to his cell.

"Ahh."

Andrew sighed and stretched his arms up.

That was both tiring and refreshing. His job was not done until he captured his older brother.

"Joseph, prepare your ass. I'm going to shove a 155 mm gun up that shit."