Chapter 11: You Are Not Fighting Alone!

Two flowers bloom, each representing a different branch.

The Belgians sought external aid from the Britannians, and the back-and-forth negotiations and planning took up almost an entire day.

On the front lines, King Albert of Belgium, not yet utterly despairing, certainly would not allow his troops to falter or cease their offensive.

Both diplomatic appeals for help and efforts to break through on their own had to be maintained with gritted teeth, fighting to the very end.

Because of the psychological tactics employed by Lelouch and Colonel Lister, Belgian morale was scattered and unstable. The entire morning of the 26th’s attack was almost entirely wasted.

The remnants of the Belgian 4th Division were pulled back to Ostend for relief and rear-guard duties, while the 6th Division exerted minimal effort; each charge was easily repelled by the German forces.

With the pressure on the eastern flank greatly reduced, Colonel Lister could even spare more troops to hold back the French counterattacks on the western front.

As a result, the French offensives appeared relatively ineffective, repeatedly pushed back by the Germans.

The Frankish 75mm artillery grew more numerous, but still failed to bring about a decisive change in the urban combat.

In the city already devastated into ruins, randomly shelling the rubble with 75mm shells did little damage. The defenders, taking shelter on the reverse slopes of the collapsed debris, could easily rely on the increasingly solidified ruins to absorb the impact and shrapnel.

Only by bringing the 75mm guns close enough for direct line-of-sight fire to systematically eliminate enemy strongpoints, or by using much larger-caliber heavy artillery for indiscriminate bombardment, could the situation be turned. Unfortunately, the Franks moved sluggishly and could not bring their super heavy artillery to the front lines within a day or two, leaving them helpless.

On the eastern front of Nieuwpoort, it was not until around one or two in the afternoon that the morale of the Belgian troops soared with the arrival of the elite 1st Division, composed entirely of royal loyalists, that the situation began to improve.

Lieutenant General Albert Bergham, commander of the 1st Division, was utterly loyal to His Majesty the King. Before departing, the King had personally gripped his hand tightly, shaking it with fierce encouragement.

“The survival of the kingdom hinges on this battle. If even you, General, cannot break through, then Belgium will end here.”

The King’s words hammered into Bergham’s heart, sealing his vow to serve to the death and save his homeland.

After resting for just over half an hour, having eaten lunch and briefly recovering from the forced march, Bergham ordered an all-out assault regardless of cost.

To boost morale, the lunch for the 1st Division’s soldiers was lavish—everyone received canned meat.

His Majesty also donated all the royal reserve wines, hams, and other precious delicacies to reward the troops.

Moreover, the King advanced six months’ worth of pay to every soldier in the division, handing out gold and silver coins from the royal treasury in British pounds and foreign currency.

Once preparations were complete, Bergham requested fire support from allied forces, hoping the Britannian light cruiser Bold, which had been patrolling nearby waters yesterday, could rake the battlefield with its 150mm guns.

Then, the Belgians would concentrate their few 75mm guns to provide covering fire. He even informed the French forces across the town, hoping they could advance their 75mm artillery a few kilometers forward and fire over the town at the German defenses on the eastern side, thus supporting the Belgians.

Sadly, although Bergham’s plan was sound, once it came time to implement it, he quickly realized critical gaps and missing links.

“General, the French say they are willing to push their 75mm guns to about three kilometers from the western front, to fire over the town at the eastern side. However, the Britannians cannot cooperate—we received a secret message saying the cruiser Bold was suddenly reassigned to a more important mission.”

“Damn those Britannian bastards! Always letting us down at critical moments! How many times in history have they betrayed their allies? What mission could be more important than helping us break through?” Bergham seethed with frustration.

But with no alternatives and no time to wait for the Royal Navy’s cooperation, he immediately ordered a half-hour of fire preparation followed by a full charge.

...

Within Nieuwpoort, the Franco-Belgian artillery fire had never been so intense.

A group of officers and Lelouch were huddled in Colonel Lister’s regimental cellar, faces grave and alert, allowing no slack.

“The Belgians must be mad! Their morale was so shattered by us, how could they suddenly rally like this?” one staff officer cursed in frustration, unable to comprehend the sudden change.

“Calm down! This is the enemy’s last desperate act!” the colonel’s face was pale but resolute.

“The colonel’s right. They’ve been struck where it hurts most and are now lashing out. If we survive this wave, they will surely collapse,” Lelouch added, not trying to curry favor but sincerely wanting to steady the troops.

The colonel gave him a brief approving glance, then calmly issued orders: “Captain of Company One, bring all our 77mm guns to the western defense line. Try to observe the French artillery positions for counter-battery fire.

The enemy shells flying over our heads show the French have pushed their artillery to the limit. We should seize this opportunity for a counter-battery strike.”

The major commanding Company One hesitated but finally spoke up before executing the order:

“But if we move all our artillery to the western line for counter-battery fire, when the Belgians charge from the east, we won’t have enough long-range fire to repel their infantry.

Do we have to resort to elastic defense again, letting enemy infantry engage us at close quarters in the town? Our casualties are nearly unbearable as it is.”

Several other officers nodded in silent worry.

This was no trivial concern.

Fortunately, just as everyone exchanged anxious looks, Colonel Lister reassured them: “I am confident in this decision because we still have a trump card—Lelouch, read out the divisional reply we received this afternoon!”

“Yes, sir!” Lelouch rose promptly and read the telegram aloud:

“Divisional headquarters reports: Upon receiving flood warnings yesterday, our artillery regiment immediately withdrew and has redeployed on the northern hills near Diksmuide. Last night, we requested urgent dispatch of long-range heavy artillery with a range over 15 kilometers.

The army command expedited the transfer overnight by train to Tielt, and this morning the guns were urgently moved by truck to Diksmuide.”

This telegram had just arrived after lunch and was unknown to most officers until now. The colonel revealed it to rally morale before the impending battle.

Some officers were slow to grasp its significance, but a few with good geographical knowledge immediately understood.

For example, the major assigned to Company One, after pondering for a few seconds, pointed at the military map on the table:

“Is this the small hilly area north of Diksmuide? The division headquarters is isolated south of the river Yser by flooding in Diksmuide.

According to the map, the town center of Diksmuide is 18 kilometers from us, and the hills are 16 kilometers away. But if we draw a perpendicular line from the coast, those hills are only 14 kilometers from the nearest point on the coastal highway.

So the division means that although their main infantry cannot come, their artillery regiment has relocated and redeployed overnight and this morning, and can still support us in battle!”

After this analysis, even the least informed officers understood.

Indeed, while the great flood cut off the 12th Division’s main force, the widest part of the Yser’s flooded area is roughly 20 kilometers across, about 10 kilometers on each side of the river.

But some places are narrower, with higher terrain reducing the flood zone to about 15 kilometers.

At this range, infantry reinforcements were impossible, but some artillery could shell the coastal highway across the flooded zone.

The headquarters had spent considerable time relocating to find viable firing positions.

More importantly, the soldiers of the 16th Regiment felt that neither their division commander nor the army command had abandoned them; both were doing everything possible to participate in this battle.

Though only the 16th Regiment infantry appeared to hold the front line, they were not fighting alone.

“With divisional artillery supporting, this is secure!” Several officers visibly relaxed, shifting from despair to optimism.

The colonel frowned slightly and gave Lelouch a look, who quickly reminded everyone:

“Don’t underestimate the situation. It’s not as dire as we feared, but not as easy as you think. Nearly 15 kilometers is a long distance.

The division’s artillery regiment’s howitzers cannot reach across the flooded zone to the coastal highway; their range is insufficient.

Only the four long-barreled 105mm cannons assigned to counter-battery duty per division can make that shot.

Fortunately, last night the headquarters borrowed eight more 105mm cannons from neighboring units, pooling artillery from three divisions.

Additionally, the army command borrowed four prototype 150mm long-barreled cannons from Krupp’s Aachen testing grounds, transported overnight by train.

Thus, we have twelve 105mm long-barreled cannons and four unknown model 150mm long-barreled cannons.

The best part: none of the Belgian or French 150mm or smaller artillery pieces have the range to reach our positions.

This means our artillery can bombard the Belgians unopposed while they cannot return fire!

The empire invested heavily in long-range counter-battery cannons, yet previous battles offered few chances to deploy them.

Now, with the Belgians isolated by floods, they unwittingly present us with a perfect opportunity to test these tactics!”

The officers’ spirits lifted at these words.

Since ancient times, the scenario where one side can strike without retaliation is a severe blow to enemy morale.

Regardless of the damage inflicted, once such a situation arises, the day the defenders give up and collapse is not far off.