Chapter 7: When it Comes to Technology, Westerners Might Excel; But in Strategy, Westerners Are Truly Masters of the Art of War

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“Release the civilian refugees from Belgium who were rescued this afternoon from the flood zone?” Colonel Lister was momentarily stunned upon hearing this suggestion, unable to respond immediately. “But this afternoon, the division headquarters sent a message instructing us to rescue some Belgian civilians as a favor. They said it was to have more eyewitnesses in case of future international disputes, to prove that the flooding was caused by Belgians blowing up the dikes, and to avoid the Empire being framed.”

“If we release them now, won’t we lose those eyewitnesses? They will surely be detained and pressured into changing their statements.”

Lelouch wiped his mouth, gaining a clearer understanding of the propaganda tactics employed by these Demanian people.

They may be adept at technology and engineering, but when it comes to strategy and psychological warfare, they pale in comparison to Eastern wisdom.

In that case, today would be a good opportunity to open their eyes.

Lelouch took another sip of wine, cleared his throat, and said solemnly, “Even if we need witnesses, we don’t need hundreds of them. We can select some representative individuals and release at least half of them.”

“Moreover, we can screen them. Those who no longer have family or any refuge in enemy-held territory should be kept; they have no leverage and are likely to be truthful, less prone to coercion.”

“Those who still have family in our controlled areas can be released. They will be wary of speaking recklessly for fear of retaliation against their loved ones, so it’s better to do them a small favor.”

“And once they are released, rumors might spread privately about our army’s benevolence and the desperate speed with which we fled the flood zone, indirectly disproving that we blew the dike—if we had, our troops wouldn’t have been present in the low-lying areas.”

“We just repelled De Gisel’s forces. If we combine this with psychological warfare and propaganda to disrupt the Belgian military’s morale, perhaps the enemy will crumble faster!”

Lelouch had long held the view that military action and propaganda should be used in tandem to ruthlessly undermine the enemy. He had mentioned this when encouraging Captain André to broadcast warnings along the banks of the Izar River.

Earlier, more pressing combat tasks prevented him from delving deeper into the practical implementation.

If the enemy isn’t defeated on the battlefield first, relying solely on moral condemnation to shake their resolve is futile. Condemnation only offers a graceful exit once the enemy has already suffered military setbacks.

Now that the enemy has just been dealt a crushing defeat, the timing is perfect.

With only a few words, Lelouch’s insight made the straightforward, purely military-minded Colonel Lister gasp in admiration.

“Is he Demanian? How can he be craftier than a Britannian? Only those London financial sharks who plot daily could think through such matters so thoroughly...” Lister couldn’t help but muse wildly.

“So, when do you think is best to release the refugees? Midnight?” The colonel and other seasoned officers, unfamiliar with such behind-the-scenes tactics, did not hesitate to ask Lelouch directly.

Fortunately, the German military discipline was strict, and rewards and punishments were clear, so there was little worry that the credit for these strategies would be stolen.

Lelouch, ever thorough, proceeded to analyze the matter further: “I think we can start preparing tonight, carefully selecting who to release, treating them well before their departure with some small kindnesses.”

“Then, just before dawn tomorrow, we negotiate with the Belgian forces. Meanwhile, we launch two additional operations: first, broadcast disinformation via radio to enemy senior officers, telling them their king and cabinet have betrayed the people, and that their war decisions serve only London bankers' interests.”

“But this won’t affect lower-ranking enemy troops, since ordinary soldiers don’t have access to radio. So we need a second measure—”

“For example, we could request permission from higher command to gather enough reconnaissance planes tonight, then print and duplicate leaflets along with aerial photos taken yesterday showing the enemy blowing up the dam.”

“At dawn, we fly close and drop these leaflets en masse, ensuring many grassroots soldiers find them and learn the truth. I refuse to believe their morale won’t crack!”

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Releasing rescued refugees, radio broadcasts, and aerial leaflet drops.

A three-pronged propaganda campaign—let’s see how the enemy tries to block it!

These tactics may not immediately force the enemy to surrender, but they will certainly erode their will to fight!

The colonel had never considered these matters before. Seeing Lelouch’s comprehensive plan, he placed his full trust in him.

He immediately promised to arrange for the adjutant to handle refugee screening and have the regiment’s radio operator send a message to division headquarters.

When saying this, the colonel even showed some sympathy:

“You’ve been sending messages all day and just inspected the defenses with us—you must be exhausted. Get some rest. I’ll have the radio operator handle the message to headquarters.”

Lelouch himself felt quite tired, especially since he hadn’t eaten all day and had just wolfed down dinner, flooding his stomach with blood, making him even sleepier.

Yet upon hearing the colonel’s arrangement, he was inexplicably jolted awake and quickly realized another problem.

Before his time travel, he had studied many WWI and WWII histories, knowing that Demania’s codes were as fragile as paper in the face of Britannian cryptanalysis.

Every time a world war broke out, their codes were deciphered early on.

For his plan to work optimally, surprise was crucial. That was why he suggested a coordinated strike at the right moment, catching the enemy off guard.

But if they first send a radio message to division headquarters, or even to army headquarters, it would take hours, possibly half the night.

By then, the enemy could have intercepted and deciphered the codes, and everything would be exposed.

The Belgian forces might implement strict propaganda controls by morning, forbidding soldiers from picking up any leaflets, nullifying the effect.

Surprise is essential in propaganda.

“Could we delay the message until just one or two hours before the operation, like we did with the flood warnings this afternoon?” Lelouch naturally recalled today’s successful experience and reasoned along that path, showing some dependence on precedent.

If the message is sent at the last minute, the enemy won’t have time to react. Interception, analysis, and decryption all take time.

But Lelouch soon realized the situations differ entirely.

This afternoon’s order was implemented immediately after division headquarters’ decision, without preparation time.

But printing leaflets, aerial photos, and coordinating enough planes for leaflet drops requires nearly a full night.

If he delays the message to preserve surprise, higher-ups won’t have time to prepare.

Therefore, the message must be sent early in the evening. If confidentiality can be ensured, that’s best; if not, surprise must be sacrificed.

With this in mind, Lelouch gently warned the colonel: “Sir, surprise is very important in propaganda. If we send the radio message too early tonight, the enemy may become suspicious beforehand...”

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Lister furrowed his brow. “Do you think our coded transmissions will be intercepted and deciphered by the enemy?”

Lelouch wanted to give a blunt yes but had no proof and didn’t want to reveal this vulnerability. After hesitating, he gave a vague response:

“Regardless of whether they can decrypt it, if we send messages too frequently during this life-or-death moment, the enemy will be more alert.”

Lister rubbed his stubbled chin, pondering, then suddenly recalled something.

“Wait, you said your squad was sent this morning to repair the town’s wired telegraph cables? Can they be fixed?”

“If we use wired telegraphs to contact headquarters, the enemy won’t intercept the messages. If they don’t even know these messages exist, how could they spy or suspect anything?”

Lelouch’s eyes brightened instantly.

Indeed, he had forgotten about the task his original body had inherited before the possession: repairing the telegraph cables.

Wired telegraph messages are much harder to intercept than radio.

Radio waves spread indiscriminately in the atmosphere. To reach a command post 100 kilometers away, anyone within a 100-kilometer radius who tunes into that frequency could intercept the message.

Wired telegraph signals, however, travel only along the cables and have almost no effect in the air.

To eavesdrop on wired communications, one must physically tap into relay stations or receiving stations, plant spies, cut and splice cables, or connect a receiver to the splice.

In other words, physical contact with the cables is necessary to intercept wired communication.

By the late stages of WWI, Britannia had invented a semi-contact listening method that didn’t require cutting cables—simply wrapping a coil around the cable to detect signals electromagnetically.

But this was 1914, and such technology did not yet exist.

“Since it’s dark and less likely the enemy will interfere, I’ll lead some men immediately to see if we can repair the telegraph line. Colonel, please grant me two hours. If after inspection it cannot be fixed, you can then use radio to contact headquarters.”

Having figured this out, Lelouch decisively made his request.

It was about 8 p.m. now. If not fixed by 10 p.m., they would forgo surprise and send the radio message.

The colonel checked his watch and nodded firmly, “Good. We’ll prepare other things first and wait for you until 10. Focus on your task; you don’t need to worry about the fighting.”

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