novelraw Chapter 573: Revised - 573 This is the War between Shire and the Council
Chapter 573: Revised - 573 This is the War between Shire and the Council
Small snowflakes fluttered in the air like cotton tufts carried by the wind, following different trajectories before disappearing into the muddy ground.
Jangbulu, a small town located between Brussels and Namur, greeted its first snowfall of the year.
The 6th Army Group took several days to move from the River Somme to here. The soldiers felt a bit relieved looking at the snow, as they preferred it to uncontrollable rain that would flood the trenches while they slept.
However, they soon realized they had celebrated too early.
Kristen was promptly stripped of his acting command of the 6th Army Group and returned to his position as the head of the 1st Specialized Artillery Division. The entire Army Group maintained radio silence with no contact with the outside world permitted.
Then, a large number of unfamiliar officers took over the 6th Army Group, with nearly all officers from regiment level and above being replaced, leaving only a few staff familiar with the situation.
Reorganization began next.
The soldiers thought it was just routine training, but to their horror, they witnessed officers and soldiers who had "performed" or led during the mutiny being summoned for questioning. Some never returned, allegedly confined for disobedience.
The soldiers were in a state of panic:
"We’re isolated, they’re disciplining representatives, what should we do?"
"Where is General Shire? Where is he?"
"He probably doesn’t know what’s happening, he’s on vacation, this might be intentional!"
"God, someone help us!"
...
At noon, Shire arrived at Jangbulu just in time.
He came by plane, ignoring the cold rain and snow, and was still shivering and wearing a wet uniform when his car entered the camp.
The soldiers were drilling in the square under the officers’ orders. Seeing Shire’s figure, their hearts began to ease:
"Great, the General is back."
"He will surely protect us."
"These arrogant officers (referring to the officers who took over the 6th Army Group), they were nowhere to be seen during battles, now they dare to boss us around?"
Some even caused disturbances, which took the officers a while to control.
...
Shire felt confused when he entered the command post, thinking he might have come to the wrong place, as he didn’t recognize any of the officers coming and going.
After asking, he confirmed that this was indeed the 6th Army Group.
Those officers recognized Shire immediately, each saluting him with surprise and awe, as if not expecting him to return at this time.
A few even turned and ran towards the command post.
Shire knew they were definitely "informing," notifying the higher-ups that Shire had arrived.
Soon, a group of senior officers came out to greet Shire. He glanced around, recognizing only Wei Gang.
Leading the group was a middle-aged General with the same rank as Shire, unconcernedly shaking Shire’s hand with a host’s demeanor: "Welcome, Commander, I am your Chief of Staff, I am Gustav Gamelin!"
(The above picture is Gustav Gamelin, Xia Fei’s advisor, known as France’s smartest General, but actually a fool. His use of WWI tactics in WWII directly led to the swift surrender of the French Army, making a mockery of himself. Even in WWII, he stubbornly believed aircraft to be useless, tanks useless, and that war should rely on infantry and cavalry.)
"Hmm." Shire scrutinized Gamelin, making a double entendre: "Nice to meet you, General, this is the first time I’ve met my Chief of Staff in such a manner."
Gamelin, well aware of the underlying meaning, responded calmly, "Sorry, Commander, this is the higher-ups’ arrangement, and we are merely following orders."
Shire smiled lightly: "Then I hope you don’t mind showing me around my command post?"
Gamelin stepped aside, gesturing a "please" position.
While walking towards the command post, Gamelin explained calmly: "The higher-ups believe that since you have troops stationed in Belgium, and you performed outstandingly in Belgium, they’ve transferred the 6th Army Group here under your unified command. You have no objections, right?"
"Of course not." Shire replied politely: "The higher-ups have thought this through thoroughly."
You’ve already transferred them, can I even object? Plus, that’s not the main point.
Gamelin seemed to see through Shire’s thoughts: "As for not notifying you, it’s because you were on vacation, and radio silence was for confidentiality. You know, troop redeployment should not be known to the enemy."
"Yes, of course." Shire nodded: "You’ve done an excellent job."
Shire deliberately used "you," implying the council.
The command post was a two-story building; after going up the stairs and turning down a corridor, they arrived at the operations room.
Embarrassingly, the command post lacked a Commander’s desk.
Several staff members hurriedly moved a desk to the main position, placed a chair, and hastily arranged a lamp at the corner of the desk.
When Shire and his entourage entered, the staff were still busy wiping dust off the desk and chairs. Upon seeing Shire, they stopped hurriedly and stood at attention.
Gamelin remained calm: "We’ve just arrived; everything’s just been arranged."
Shire smiled and nodded: "You’ve considered everything thoroughly, I have no complaints."
Gamelin gracefully bowed: "Glad to serve you, Commander!"
Shire sat at the Commander’s position, as the staff busied themselves, the command post operating normally, with Shire alone being idle, seemingly redundant.
The desk was empty with no files, occasionally receiving some irrelevant telegrams.
Shire realized he was being sidelined by the council.
The council didn’t need Shire to command the 6th Army Group; they only needed Shire to nominally hold the Commander title, to pacify the 6th Army Group’s soldiers and the French Army.
Even if they did anything harmful, such as ordering punishment for mutiny representatives, they could blame Shire.
This way, while suppressing the soldiers, they also weakened Shire’s influence, achieving dual purposes—a cunning strategy.
During this, Shire exchanged glances with Wei Gang, who subtly shook his head and continued working inconspicuously with others.
This was the result of the act Shire and Fuxu played.
The council believed Fuxu was Shire’s enemy, allowing Fuxu to easily place Wei Gang in the 6th Army Group.
So what now?
The simplest option would be to abandon the 6th Army Group and return directly to his mechanized forces.
However, Shire knew he couldn’t do that.
If he couldn’t protect those mutiny representatives, such as Jeremy or Darlan, it would be a fatal blow to Shire.
The soldiers would know Shire couldn’t protect them; they would have to obey the council, or face a dead end.
On the other hand, if Shire could protect them, they’d defy the council and follow Shire.
So, this was a war between Shire and the council; he couldn’t back down!