Youjo Senki - Volume 12 - Chapter 2.5

THE SAME DAY, THE 8TH PANZER DIVISION

From Colonel Lergen’s perspective, one’s expression often told more than their mouth. Not that some things weren’t worth being put into words anyway, but the smile of a certain young lieutenant colonel, wearing a cap stained with what was almost certainly the blood of her enemies, spoke volumes to him.

He knew exactly what this meant—that Lieutenant Colonel Degurechaff had come with good news. It didn’t take an Imperial engineer to figure that out. Her smile made it clear she had the news he was waiting for. Strangely enough, though…the young 8th Panzer Division major standing with her seemed a bit uneasy. He was a young officer, but even taking that into consideration…what had him so agitated?

Beginning to feel a little agitated himself, Colonel Lergen questioned the situation for a moment, only to soon stop himself. He looked at the small child, drenched in blood, smiling from ear to ear. This was, objectively, a bizarre sight to see. And yet, the sight wasn’t unsettling for Lergen in the slightest.

“Well, this is a bit of a problem…”

It appeared he was utterly desensitized to the sight. Be that as it may, it wasn’t something he could fix about himself despite identifying the problem.

He allowed himself a bit of a wry smile before looking Degurechaff in the eyes, who responded with a perfect salute. There was nothing else for Colonel Lergen to do or say. Why would the 8th Panzer Division reprimand the poor girl for a heroic victory?

The young major stood at ease while Tanya gave Lergen her report.

“We annihilated the majority of the enemy mage regiment. With friendly forces securing air superiority on top of that, nothing shall threaten our air superiority for the time being.”

“Great work. That’s fantastic news.”

Air superiority. A phrase that was always pleasing to the ear. For a panzer unit that wished to move quickly, safe skies were an immense tactical advantage.

“All that’s left is the enemy’s field troops. Things don’t look so well on this front.”

“Colonel Lergen. Could it be that you’re having a difficult time destroying their troops?”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

“Why is that?”

Lergen paused for a moment. He questioned how much detail he should go into before concluding that he could simply excuse the young major from the meeting. Giving the young major simple orders to take care of did the trick. The two watched as he ran eagerly out of the room before Lergen gave his explanation with a sigh.

“We can’t help it if General Zettour’s political maneuvers will take precedent over military tactics, but the cease-fire has had grave consequences. While we managed to stockpile a bit of fuel and resources, the enemy has done far more with their time.”

Not only did the Empire have a chronic lack of…everything, but their position wasn’t great, either.

Lergen decided to share the main cause of the problem next.

“What’s more, we clearly lack the soldiers needed to wipe out the enemy forces… Were we allowed to attack toward the capital, it would be a different story…but we have clear orders not to do that. This is a severe restriction.”

“Is it a spatial restriction?”

“Yes,” Lergen said, confirming her suspicions. Despite the many restrictions on where they could send their troops and how they could use them, they lacked the manpower to complete the many goals that must be met in each location.

“If we divide up your unit, do you think you could become a hammer, Colonel?”

“Would your troops act as the anvil?”

Colonel Lergen looked Lieutenant Colonel Degurechaff in the eyes for a short moment before shaking his head.

As they were both career soldiers, he and Tanya quickly came to the same conclusion: It wouldn’t be possible. Tanya joined the colonel in a duet of sighs, which filled the empty command room with orchestral disappointment.

“As it stands, we were able to use our mobility to threaten the enemy to a certain degree. But at this rate…”

“You needn’t say the rest, Colonel. There is a high probability that the advance on this front will completely stall… I can only wonder what the general’s aim is in all of this.”

The reason the two could share in their show of pessimism was that they were two commanding officers in the same room.

With this in mind, Tanya offered Lergen her thoughts.

“The Ildoan peninsula isn’t that wide, geographically speaking. This is ideal for building a defensive line. Should the enemy set up their trenches, it will be hard for us to advance.”

Geography was everything in a war. In Ildoa’s case, the peninsula presented an extremely thin front, which made it much easier to defend. Leaving no space for an attacker to slip through, they could thoroughly cover the entire line with a minimal number of troops.

“Colonel…since it is you I’m speaking with, I’ll share a bit more with you. We have a total of twenty-two divisions here on the Ildoan front. This certainly isn’t small from a tactical standpoint, but it dwarfs our numbers in the east in terms of relative scale.”

“I know. The general shared with me the disposition of our troops. It is clear to me that the intention was to gain an advantage using our high mobility throughout Ildoa.”

“That’s correct. In all honesty, we have a full army here.”

Up until recently, Lergen had been going over the numbers back at the General Staff Office.

He’d done the final numbers for the east and the reserve forces, but it had been a long time since he’d seen a front as heavily loaded as Ildoa’s.

“Six full panzer divisions, and five more mechanized divisions. The majority of these eleven divisions deployed at full strength, including my own panzer division, while the rest met the bare minimum needed for a division.”

“So half of them are built for speed. It’s clear that this is meant to be a mobile war. I’m surprised we’re able to hold the line in the east while bringing this many to bear in Ildoa… So why the delay?”

Lergen knew the value of taking advantage of an opportunity to break out of a bind, and he had experienced the tragic consequences of coming to a standstill. For only a few days earlier, he successfully led the 8th Panzer Division south past the enemy’s defensive line.

“It’s quite frightening. We’ve put everything we have into this war and used it well, but I can’t shake the fear that we’ll let this chance slip by.”

“It is strange. Is a supply problem causing our current delays?”

Perhaps the general was concerned about logistics.

“No,” Lergen answered, accompanied by a firm shake of his head when addressing the question about logistics.

“We certainly are lacking in areas, such as fuel, but this is Colonel Uger and General Zettour we’re talking about here. We have it much better here than we did in the east.”

While they received only the bare minimum amount of fuel necessary, this much was to be expected.

They had bullets and fuel. Taking it a step further, they had enough warm meals with plenty of fat on them for at least two a day. Their logistics department was doing fantastic work considering how deep into enemy territory they had advanced.

“I’m still at a loss as to why we accepted the cease-fire in the first place. According to my sources, General Zettour used my name to approach our enemy?”

Lergen shot Tanya a look and could tell she knew exactly what he was talking about.

“Yes, I was brought along as his personal bodyguard for the talks.”

General Zettour really did trust this girl. To an incredible extent, even. While appreciating the general’s trust in the lieutenant colonel, Lergen asked a question that had been plaguing his mind for a while now.

“Why did the general stop our advance? Why did he authorize the cease-fire in the first place?”

“I haven’t the slightest idea why he would do either of those things.”

“Despite being there for the talks?”

Degurechaff answered his question by quietly shaking her head. Both she and the colonel shared the same thought.

Why did we need to stop a week ago?

The Imperial soldiers knew what would happen if they did: This front would get bogged down in trench warfare.

All it took was for the enemy to dig the holes to hunker down in, and considering how long and thin the Ildoan peninsula was…they didn’t need to dig too many holes. There weren’t many locations as difficult to attack as this one. The moment the battle devolved into trench warfare, it could easily turn into a stalemate.

Lergen was very apprehensive about the prospect of getting mired in hell like he did back on the Rhine front.

“The last thing I want to get us into is more trench warfare. Now is our only chance to advance.”

“We have broken through a large-scale web of trenches before…”

“We can’t pull another Open Sesame. It would take far too long to prepare the tunnels. No matter how you shake it, our current line of attack is designed to hit hard and fast. There’s no reason to even consider anything else.”

Lergen crossed his arms and then reached for some tobacco before sensing someone staring at him.

“What’s the matter, Colonel? Is there something on my face?”

“I must admit, I’m a bit relieved to see you with such a troubled look on your face.”

“What? Wait, what do you mean by that?”

“I would’ve been worried if I saw you with a wicked smile. The sort General Zettour shows when he is cooking up something wretched.”

“Ah…,” Lergen responded with a troubled chuckle. “A smile…”

That wasn’t something he could easily show in a situation like this. It went without saying why. And yet, it was strange how the world worked sometimes. For whatever reason, it was just as clear to him that the General Zettour in question was most definitely smiling that very second.

Lergen put the tobacco back down and tilted his head to the side in thought.

“I have no intention of criticizing my superior, but I have no idea what General Zettour plans to do. Surely you must have some insight?”

“I can offer you only a sip of a fine liquor brewed from guesswork and secrecy. How would you like it served?”

“Dilute it with a bit of water for me. What do you think his goal is?”

“World peace.”

Degurechaff stared straight into Lergen’s eyes when she said these words. She spoke without the slightest hint of hesitation or sarcasm—she chirped her nonsensical response as if it were a universal truth.

“I believe that General Zettour is a pacifist that knows no peers.”

“Perhaps you should look up the meaning of that word, Colonel.”

“There’s no need for that. If there is no aspiration more noble than peace in this world, then General Zettour is a true pacifist. That is what I believe, at least.”

“Are you being serious?”

Lergen gave Degurechaff a dumbfounded look, but she continued as serious as could be.

“There is no one in this world who wishes for the Empire’s peace more than the general. To do virtue to the transitive property, if we’re able to accomplish world peace, it means peace for the Empire.”

The Empire’s peace. World peace. And the general’s goal. As easy as these words were to say, they thoroughly stimulated Lergen’s mind.

“So why do you suppose the general is having us attack Ildoa?”

“My best guess is that if world peace isn’t possible, then he decided the next best option was to watch the world burn to a beautiful crisp.”

“Come again…?”

Lergen stared blankly while Degurechaff calmly restated her opinion.

“He wants to bring an end to us and the world.”

“Like a double suicide? Ha, ha-ha, ha…” He forced a laugh out, only to realize he wasn’t laughing nearly as much as he had intended to. “Hopefully his wish doesn’t come true… Hm?”

“Colonel Lergen?”

That was when the realization hit him, leaving him with no choice but to laugh.

What if we’re fighting despite knowing his wish can’t come true?

Lergen knew well the anguish of being a buffoon. He had experienced failure in his own struggle to secure peace. A path he wasn’t able to pursue, and a point of true remorse for him.

The world was so vile that it made one want to vomit. Which was why it took everything the colonel had to keep his composure.

He crossed his arms and shook his head to relieve himself of his cruel imagination, but there was a thought that refused to leave.

It couldn’t be. Could it?

His concern would eventually find its way to his lips.

“If our orders were to put pressure on the Ildoan capital, then it just may be viable diplomatic ammo. But what if we look at the situation with a total disregard for common sense?”

“What’s that, Colonel?”

“Let’s think this through, Colonel… We are currently at a standstill with the Ildoa troops, who now have the backing of the Unified States, despite having the enemy capital within firing distance.”

“That is correct… Hm?”

Degurechaff then gave Lergen a look that suggested she knew where he was going.

With a difficult-to-describe expression about her, she continued.

“In normal circumstances, our current situation could be evaluated as stagnation. For we have yet to lay a finger on our should-be target, the capital.”

This was what the situation would look like to untrained eyes, at the very least. The Empire had failed their mission and the Ildoan and Unified soldiers had successfully protected the capital. The newspapers would focus on the prior, without going into too much detail on the immense damage suffered to make the latter happen.

“Precisely. Even the enemy soldiers will view this as our failure to seize the capital.”

“But the only reason we haven’t done so is because General Zettour gave us clear orders not to. What if it’s the opposite? Not that we lost our chance to attack the capital, but…?”

The two both engaged in examining the situation from a more demented perspective. What if, from the very beginning, their potential attack on the Ildoan capital was not the goal itself, but the means to achieve a different goal?

Lergen turned to Tanya, speaking in an attempt to organize his thoughts out loud.

“The Unified States will come to Ildoa’s aid. The Empire will lose to the duo, who are filled with joy over the victory they earn.”

This was the moment both of them realized a mistake in their train of thought.

They would experience victory, only to end in defeat.

Defeat. After the media told the world the Alliance had successfully defended the capital.

It would give them a taste of heaven before pulling them down to hell.

Essentially, the actions of a man with a wonderful personality.

“Colonel, I think I know what’s going on.”

“Oh? And what’s that?”

Lergen’s question was overshadowed by the sound of someone rushing into the tent. It was the same young officer who Lergen had sent out earlier on an errand.

“Colonel Lergen! We have emergency orders from Command…!”

“Thank you,” Lergen said as he looked down at the note in his hand before telling the major to return to the communications room. Just as he was finishing reading the message, he realized Colonel Tanya was smiling to herself. “Colonel Degurechaff?”

“Let me guess. The orders are for a full-scale attack. Our target is the enemy field troops… And I’m guessing we’ll be surrounding them from their flank.”

Tanya easily listed her predictions, which made Colonel Lergen look from her to the paper in his hand, then back to her.

He then closed his eyes for a moment before expressing what had him so stunned.

“Did you already know these orders?”

She knew what he meant by this.

“So I am correct…?”

“You are, Colonel.”

He passed her the note, which she read in a single glance before grimacing.

“He is the worst sort of con artist, isn’t he?”

The general’s plan was as crafty as could be, after all. According to the orders he gave, the field soldiers sent in to defend the Ildoan capital were unable to retreat for political reasons. Therefore, the Empire had successfully managed to use the capital as bait to trap the enemies in their current position.

With this in mind, there was only one plausible course of action the Imperial Army had left to take…and that was a full-scale attack. The Empire would likely allocate half of their armored forces to create an echelon to penetrate the enemy line south of the capital, taking out any field troops who would try to establish their base while posing a counterattack with any surviving troops. It was simple. Their enemy had spent the last week accumulating as much firepower as they could for one goal: to protect the capital. The Empire would, in turn, crush the culmination of all their effort in a single blow.

“We’re going to crush their dream of protecting the capital.”

“…We’re going sweep their glorious victory right from under their feet…”

“It’ll be nothing short of mental torture.”

“You’re right about that,” Lergen agreed as he felt the lightening of his soul. “Our job is to show them this is a lost cause.”

“That it’s all a lost cause.”

“Yes…”

Colonel Lergen then realized something unsettling as he gently shook his head.

“…So we’re giving them a glorious victory, then taking it right back…”

“What’s that, Colonel?”

He waved away Tanya’s questioning look, swallowing the doubt in his mind before sending her off.

It wasn’t something he wanted to say out loud.

That this…was exactly what had happened to the Empire.

1 Why is it usually called an armored division instead of a tank division in English? I supposed that technically, an armored division is made up of more than just tanks, including mechanized infantry and other stuff…but I think the real reason is that languages are hard…