Chapter 163: Mobile Assault

Morin’s gaze followed Ludendorff’s finger and landed on the name ‘Charleroi.’

He knew that this was an important border city in the Grand Duchy of Flanders and a crucial transportation hub connecting to the Gallic Republic.

If this city and a few other key border cities were occupied, the right-wing group of the Saxon Empire could complete its deployment and strike straight for Paris…

“I expect your Instruction Assault Battalion, as the assault vanguard for the entire Battle Group, to tear open the enemy’s line of defense for us!”

Ludendorff’s gaze turned to Morin, his eyes filled with anticipation.

Morin was not surprised by this arrangement. After all, the practical combat effectiveness of the Instruction Assault Battalion had already been proven. Getting heavily utilized in the battles to come was only natural.

He calmly looked at the map for a while, then voiced his concerns.

“General, the straight-line distance from Liège to Charleroi is roughly eighty to ninety kilometers, and there is no direct railway line along the route.”

“If we force the unit to conduct a rapid march, the physical exhaustion will be very severe. Even if we could arrive on time, the soldiers would require sufficient rest before they could recover combat effectiveness and launch an attack.”

“There is also the most critical issue: logistics.”

Morin paused, and continued:

“According to our previous calculations, on a marching day without combat—a ‘quiet day’—our entire battalion consumes approximately five tons of supplies for men and horses.”

“And once we reach Charleroi and transition into an offensive state, that consumption rate will immediately spike to the ‘combat day’ standard.”

“The Instruction Assault Battalion is also equipped with a large amount of automatic firepower, and ammunition consumption far exceeds that of ordinary units…”

“Staff Officer Manstein and I have calculated that under sustained offensive conditions, we require approximately twelve tons of supplies per day just to maintain combat effectiveness.”

“And that is only a theoretical figure; the actual consumption is likely to be equal to or greater than that…”

Morin looked up, meeting Ludendorff’s gaze, and said slowly and distinctly.

“Therefore, General! I must know how my unit will receive these vitally important supplies?”

After hearing Morin’s concerns, Ludendorff nodded in approval, his eyes showing unconcealed admiration.

“Excellent! Captain Morin, you are not only a brave soldier but also a competent commander!”

“However, all the concerns you’ve raised were fully considered by me when I made this decision.”

A mysterious smile appeared on Ludendorff’s face.

“I have just received a batch of vehicle reinforcements from the Second Army Group…”

“I intend to assign sixty of the newest model of Military Trucks, along with eighty heavy-duty horse-drawn carriages, entirely to your Instruction Assault Battalion. This will allow you to carry sufficient operational supplies and conduct an unprecedented rapid Mobile Assault!”

Sixty trucks?

Morin was somewhat shocked to hear this number.

He looked at Ludendorff in surprise, momentarily unsure what to say.

Could the Army actually allocate so many trucks at once to support the operation of a single battalion-level unit?

Seeing Morin’s astonished expression, the smile on Ludendorff’s face broadened.

“Are you surprised, Captain Morin?”

He seemed to enjoy Morin’s reaction at the moment.

“As a matter of fact, the inspiration for this idea came from your battles in the Kingdom of Aragon.”

Ludendorff’s eyes shimmered with a light called ‘wisdom.’

“Since elite light infantry can tear open the enemy’s lines and achieve a tactical breakthrough through rapid movement and infiltration.”

“Then, if we equip them with vehicles that possess greater mobility, wouldn’t the distance of this breakthrough be extended indefinitely?”

Morin couldn’t help but exclaim internally.

He never imagined that Ludendorff would realize the immense advantage of ‘mobile warfare’ so quickly. This future ‘Master Lu’ truly lived up to his reputation!

“General, I am somewhat curious…”

Morin stabilized his excited emotions and asked tentatively:

“How does the Army Group have so many trucks?”

In the world before he crossed over, the German Army at the start of World War I was notoriously a ‘mule-and-horse’ unit with extremely limited mobility.

However, the situation in this world seemed to deviate significantly from the history he knew.

“Haha, this is not the Army Group’s credit.”

Ludendorff waved his hand, a look of self-satisfaction on his face.

“This batch of trucks was specially reinforced by the General Staff for our right-wing Army Groups before the war.”

As Ludendorff explained, a new piece of information quickly flashed up in the [Intelligence] tab in Morin’s view.

[The right wing of the Saxon Empire Army (First, Second, Third, and Fourth Army Groups) has currently received reinforcement totaling 5,042 Military Trucks.]

Immediately following, the [Information] section also displayed the detailed data for this type of truck.

[2.5-ton class 6×6 Radiant Crystal Power Military Truck, with an effective payload of approximately 2.5 tons. Under good road conditions, the maximum speed can reach 72 kilometers per hour, and it can carry 25 fully armed soldiers at one time.]

Looking at these detailed specifications, Morin was once again greatly shaken.

Over five thousand trucks! Schlieffen, if he knew this news, would probably sit up in his grave laughing.

This meant that the main force of the Saxon Empire Army’s right wing already possessed quite powerful motorized mobility.

Since Ludendorff had already spoken to this extent, the Instruction Assault Battalion, as a unit under the command of the ‘Ludendorff Battle Group,’ naturally had no reason to refuse the mission.

Seeing Morin accept the task readily, Ludendorff nodded with satisfaction: “The vehicles will all be in place this afternoon. Speed is key in war… Complete your preparations as quickly as possible, and set off immediately!”

“I assure you, the main force of the Battle Group will also follow up as soon as possible, and will absolutely not leave your Instruction Assault Battalion with any concerns!”

After leaving the Battle Group Command Post, Morin walked back to the camp, simultaneously processing the information he had just received.

Clearly, the ‘Schlieffen Plan’ in this world was indeed some kind of reinforced version.

Besides the reinforcement of troops on the right wing, the vitally important mobility capacity had also been greatly bolstered.

Based on the military history he had studied before crossing over, the Schlieffen of that world, before leaving office, had emphasized one crucial point, besides his famous instruction to ‘do not weaken the right wing’…

That was, the Army must achieve large-scale motorization as quickly as possible.

He advocated providing the spearhead units with a sufficient number of new vehicles, at least enough to supply six to seven corps. If this plan could have been implemented, it would have significantly increased the overall mobility and strike speed of the German right wing.

Regrettably, this did not happen due to the neglect of the General Staff’s successors, resulting in the German Army not having enough vehicles to support this ambitious plan when the war broke out.

After moving away from the railway lines, the operational range of the troops was essentially limited to between forty and sixty kilometers due to supply issues.

Although there were instances in history where some tough units managed to stretch this range to one hundred and sixty kilometers…

This was obviously an extremely severe test and torment for the troops’ physical condition and logistics.

However, in this world, perhaps due to the thriving Radiant Crystal industry, or for other reasons Morin was unaware of, the General Staff of the Saxon Empire Army had not neglected the aspect of ‘mobility.’

“It’s possible the ‘Schlieffen Plan’ in this world might actually succeed after all.” Morin couldn’t help but marvel inwardly.

August 6th, Afternoon.

Just as Ludendorff had said, a massive convoy gradually arrived at the Instruction Assault Battalion’s garrison.

Sixty brand-new Military Trucks lined up in a spectacular long row in the open area outside the Liège Fortress core.

The soldiers of the Instruction Assault Battalion all gathered around these Steel Behemoths, pointing and discussing curiously.

“My God, are these trucks? They’re much bigger than horse-drawn carriages!”

“I heard we get to ride in these to battle next?”

“That would be so comfortable, no more walking!”

The soldiers’ faces were mostly alight with excitement and novelty.

But Morin, Kleist, and the Company and Platoon Leaders all looked troubled as they stared at the heap of large vehicles.

“Sir, how do we allocate supplies and personnel? Which company gets which trucks?”

“Do we need to separate ammunition and fuel? What if they get hit by a shell?”

“How should the marching sequence be arranged? Should the Machine Gun Teams and infantry be separated?”

A torrent of questions flew at Morin.

Even though the Army Group had sent an experienced Logistics Officer to assist them with preparation, Morin still felt overwhelmed.

He finally understood what was meant by ‘the worries of the fortunate.’ Commanding a traditional infantry battalion and commanding a Motorized Infantry Battalion were completely different concepts.

This rookie Battalion Commander of his had to start learning from scratch again.

“Alright, stop arguing! One by one!”

Morin roared, his head aching from the noise, finally silencing the scene.

He took a deep breath and forced himself to calmly address the problem at hand.

“Kleist, you are responsible for personnel boarding. By company, each company is allocated twelve trucks, with one designated as a spare!”

“Manstein, you and the Logistics Officer are responsible for loading supplies! Ammunition, food, medicine—load them by category and mark them clearly! Non-urgent items will be transported by the horse-drawn carriage unit directly attached to the battalion headquarters!”

“Company Commanders, manage your men! Once aboard, no unauthorized movement!”

Morin issued his commands one by one.

Under his direction, the chaotic scene finally began to become orderly.

Soldiers started boarding the trucks, supplies were loaded, and the horse-drawn carriages began loading fuel and spare parts.

The entire garrison area of the Instruction Assault Battalion transformed into a busy construction site.

The preparation work was finally declared complete around 4 PM, when the last batch of supplies was loaded onto the vehicles.

(End of this Chapter)