Chapter 23: Sea and Land Coordination, Simply Marvelous

Hipper’s fleet, spearheaded by submarines and small destroyers, navigated cautiously to avoid civilian vessels and maintain the secrecy of their movements.

After a long afternoon of such careful sailing, the time had just passed four-thirty. In the North Sea, during the transition from late autumn to early winter, the sky began to darken, which only served to enhance the fleet’s security and concealment. The North Sea is at a very high latitude; as winter approaches, the days grow noticeably shorter. Combined with high winds and rough seas, it is the perfect environment for clandestine operations.

As night fell once more, Lelouch, who had been observing the entire operation, felt a growing admiration for Hipper’s command abilities. He was truly a man who, in history, had led battlecruiser squadrons on numerous successful raids, slipping in and out without a scratch.

Hipper, his nerves finally relaxing, returned to his captain’s cabin, opened a bottle of wine, and poured himself a small glass to soothe his spirit. Before nightfall, he had been wound tight as a spring, fearing that at any moment his position might be compromised.

“Would you like a glass? Now that it’s dark, there’s nothing to fear. The hardest part of this battle is simply the approach; once the real fighting starts, it’s actually easier.” Hipper, out of kindness, gestured with the bottle toward Lelouch.

Lelouch quickly accepted and poured himself a drink. He was well aware of his own position; had he not been acting as a temporary envoy for Duke Ruprecht, a mere lieutenant like him would never have been allowed to stay by Hipper’s side to observe.

As Hipper watched him pour, he remarked jokingly, “My wine doesn’t come for free. The Duke praised your resourcefulness in his secret letter. Now that you’ve observed for a whole day, do you have any suggestions for the coming battle? Give me at least one.”

Lelouch took a slow sip, clearly thinking hard. “I am no expert on the specifics of naval engagement, so I won’t offer reckless advice. But seeing how cautious you’ve been all the way here, even a layman like me knows that the hardest part isn’t the battle itself, but how to arrive at the battlefield undetected and then withdraw safely afterward. Since you’ve managed the first half, why don’t we discuss the withdrawal? What was your original plan?”

Hipper’s brow furrowed at the question. He downed the rest of his wine in one go and let out a long sigh. “Fortune favors the bold; how can one earn glory without taking risks? Theoretically, there are only two paths after the engagement. One is to ignore the terrain of the Dogger Bank and break through at full speed along the shortest route back to Wilhelmshaven. The second is to be more conservative, veering slightly east and withdrawing along the twelve-mile limit of the Netherlands’ coastline.

I know David Beatty might be lured to the vicinity of Yarmouth at best. Once he realizes we’ve attacked the Channel Fleet, he’ll react and turn to intercept us near the Dutch coast. But he won’t know exactly which point I’ll use to return; he’ll have to spread his forces thin in a search pattern. He won’t be able to concentrate his strength, but I can concentrate my entire fleet. We might just be able to punch through and escape!”

Lelouch thought carefully, then shook his head. “While a direct retreat offers a chance to break through, it’s still too risky. I wouldn’t say your plans are wrong, but I can offer a third option just in case: if returning to Wilhelmshaven becomes impossible, turn due east after the battle and head for the port of Antwerp in Belgium! Let’s not return to the homeland.”

Antwerp was less than 150 kilometers east of Nieuwpoort and Ostend. Retreating into the coastal fjords would bring them there. Compared to the 500-kilometer journey back to Wilhelmshaven, it would save at least two-thirds of the distance.

Hipper’s eyes lit up, but he quickly regained his composure, confirming seriously, “The port of Antwerp is certainly large enough, but when the Imperial Army took it, were the port facilities sabotaged by the enemy?”

Lelouch replied, “You can rest assured on that point. Our 6th Army and the friendly forces of the 4th Army participated in the Battle of Antwerp; I am familiar with the situation. The Empire took the port on October 10th. Before the Belgian army retreated, they had no opportunity—and dared not—execute a scorched-earth policy. At least eighty percent of the port facilities were preserved.

It has been over half a month now, and the Empire has dispatched a small number of personnel to perform maintenance. Docking a fleet will not be a problem. The biggest issue is the lack of military shipyards; if your warships are heavily damaged in the subsequent fighting, emergency repairs in Antwerp will be difficult. If no repairs are needed, once you arrive in Antwerp and the enemy relaxes their vigilance, you can choose another winter night to return home; one night is enough to cover half the distance. Furthermore, while you remain in Antwerp, the enemy will fear an Imperial breakthrough in the Channel and will be forced to keep Beatty tied down, compelling them to divert more forces to the Channel Fleet.”

“Everything depends on the situation, but regardless, you’ve provided a viable alternative. This bottle of wine is yours.” After much deliberation, Hipper gave this assessment and handed the remaining bottle, from which he had only poured two small glasses, to Lelouch.

...

The fleet sailed for several more hours, drawing ever closer to the Belgian coast. Lelouch, having nothing to do that night, stayed in the wireless room of the *Derfflinger*. He helped Hipper with odd jobs, familiarized himself with naval radio operations, and slept whenever he was free—as a lieutenant in the communications corps, this was his area of expertise. The fleet’s communications officers treated him with courtesy, knowing he was a guest of the General. During the fleet’s radio silence, the receivers were kept in a listen-only mode; they could receive, but could not transmit.

...

After an unknown amount of time, the radio receiver suddenly crackled to life. Lelouch, who had been dozing, snapped awake and asked the duty officer, “Is that a message from friendly forces? Decode it immediately!”

“Yes, sir! Receiving now…” A communications sub-lieutenant was already at work. A few minutes later, the translation was complete. “Sir, it is an unencrypted message. Our army units in Nieuwpoort and Ostend reported almost simultaneously that they are being shelled by unknown enemy warships! And there are suspected 12-inch heavy guns!”

Lelouch felt a chill, followed by a surge of excitement. That vindictive fat man, Wharton—he clearly didn’t like to let a grudge fester overnight. He hadn’t managed to retaliate last night, so he was doing it today! Calculating the time, the enemy ships must have set sail from Dover after nightfall. If they had come from Plymouth, they would have had to set out a day earlier.

But that was no longer important. The result was that on this night of October 29th, at 10:00 PM, a fleet equipped with 12-inch main guns was bombarding those two towns!

Lelouch ordered, “Notify the General immediately! And calculate how long it will take us to reach the battlefield!”

“At full speed, about three to four hours.”

The news was quickly delivered to Hipper, who perked up and ordered the fleet to proceed at full speed, keeping the radio tuned for any further enemy intelligence.

Lelouch mused, *I hope the enemy continues the bombardment and doesn’t just run after a short burst. But it doesn’t matter; even if they run, our ground forces will provide real-time updates. We can shift our course slightly westward and intercept them on their way back to Dover.*

For the enemy bombardment fleet to escape pursuit, there was theoretically only one possibility: to have the Channel Fleet turn directly into the nearby French port of Dunkirk to hide. However, the enemy wouldn't anticipate the danger they were facing. Given the pride of the Britannian Royal Navy, they would never coordinate with the French to request temporary use of a military port. Wouldn't that make them look like cowards? The French would laugh them out of the water. Even though Britain and France were currently allies, they had a thousand years of mutual history and looked down upon one another.

...

Meanwhile, in the town of Nieuwpoort, Colonel Lister and his remaining battalion, along with two fresh regiments sent by Major General Karl, were holding their ground among the ruins of the town and the dozen kilometers of coastal road leading to Ostend. They were organizing an elastic defense, following the strategy Lelouch had discussed with them before he left a day and a half ago.

Anticipating that the enemy might deploy heavy-gun warships, Colonel Lister’s deployments were centered entirely around this threat. Within 36 hours, they had mobilized second-line troops to hastily dig a dozen layers of trenches along the coastal road, with a shallow trench every few hundred meters. These trenches weren’t reinforced; they were dug directly into the mud to shield against shrapnel and blast pressure. Because the coastal soil was loose and the nearby flood zones had softened the ground, digging was easy and required little effort.

These works had little defensive value against a full-scale assault, but they served to obstruct the enemy, increase the difficulty of a rapid advance, and prevent the naval bombardment from inflicting concentrated casualties. In each trench, Colonel Lister left only a small number of sentries. As long as the enemy didn't launch a dense charge, the main force remained dispersed to minimize the impact of the shelling.

One of the central tenets of modern warfare is that as firepower grows stronger, commanders must commit fewer troops to a given length of the front line to avoid being slaughtered by heavy fire. *If the enemy doesn't charge, I don't occupy the position.* By the end of the Great War, and even during the Korean War, facing the superior firepower of the Americans, the opposing side would often reduce their presence to "one or two sentries per platoon in the trenches, with everyone else hiding in bunkers."

Colonel Lister couldn't quite achieve that level of sophistication, but he had at least learned to leave only one squad per platoon in the line, with the rest dispersed. Major General Karl had also provided many small boats, enough to evacuate all personnel by water if necessary. When the shelling became too intense, they could simply row south under the cover of darkness to avoid the kill zone and retreat to the rear.

Consequently, through these advanced anti-bombardment tactics and thorough psychological preparation, the Britannian fleet’s shelling caused few casualties among the German forces. The Britannians thought they were doing well; after nearly an hour of bombardment, Vice Admiral Hastings, who was in charge of the Channel Fleet operations, assumed that Nieuwpoort must have been reduced to hell on earth. He nonchalantly radioed the French army on the shore: "Let those Franks go up and collect the bodies. They’re lucky to have Royal Navy battleships cleaning up the mess for them; this kind of victory is like a gift."

The French army launched an assault immediately upon receiving the message. Unfortunately, as soon as they moved forward, they discovered that the ruined town of Nieuwpoort still bristled with interlocking machine-gun fire, which mowed down several rows of soldiers. The French were furious, cursing the incompetence of their allied fleet over the radio.

Vice Admiral Hastings felt a bit embarrassed. *How deep were those Demanian rats hiding when the battleships were firing? Did they evacuate and then return to their positions the moment we stopped and the French charged? They’re too flexible!* He had no way of knowing how long Lister and Karl had been preparing for this.

Hastings had no choice but to order another round of bombardment. This time, he coordinated with the French to ensure they charged the moment the shelling stopped, giving the enemy no time to re-man the front lines. The French complied, finally seizing the two westernmost blocks.

But it wasn't over. Even with the French moving as fast as possible, they only captured two blocks. As they charged toward the third, the Germans—who had withdrawn during the shelling—slipped back in, quickly reconstructed their firing points, and began reaping lives once more. The French were forced to choose between making a bloody, blind charge or stopping again to let the British ships shell the area. Each round of bombardment only helped the French take two or three blocks.

To fully take Nieuwpoort and push to Ostend, this "sticky" style of warfare would keep Hastings’ fleet occupied for a long time. Even so, French infantry casualties remained far higher than the Germans'.

...

"Hastings is in high spirits, bombarding a ruined town and the makeshift trenches on the coastal road for over three hours. The army brothers are truly worthy of respect—did you say the commander of that town was named Lister? Just a colonel? He’s definitely a talent; he’ll probably be a general after this. To be able to hold ground under naval fire, then orderly abandon positions to delay and wear down the enemy—that’s no easy feat."

At 1:30 AM, three and a half hours after Hastings began his bombardment, Admiral Hipper’s battlecruiser squadron finally closed in on the Britannian Channel Fleet. Only when he saw the flashes of the 12-inch main guns of the enemy pre-dreadnoughts through his binoculars did Hipper truly admire the army’s tenacity. He still couldn't believe Hastings had stayed in one place for so long. The ground positions had only retreated three kilometers—hardly even out of the town—but Hipper, out at sea, didn't know those details.

The opportunity the army had bought for him was perfect.

"Admiral, shall we open fire immediately?" asked Captain Hanke of the *Derfflinger*.

Hipper waved a hand. "No rush. Since it’s a night battle, and the enemy has exposed such a significant opening, we must close in quietly before striking. Otherwise, given the errors in night observation, our accuracy will be too low. However, have the destroyers keep a sharp eye out for enemy destroyers or torpedo boats. If there’s any risk of being approached by enemy auxiliary craft, open fire at once."