Chapter 219: Invasion of Luxembourg Part I


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    Desperation was the mother of stupid decisions; when one felt cornered, they tended to be anxious, and when humans became anxious, they generally did not think through their decisions properly before putting them into motion.


    And this was the case for the French Army and their leadership. It was a tale as old as time itself, or at least as old as democracy... Politicians hid themselves away while starting wars neither they nor their privileged children had any intent to fight.


    At least monarchs generally fought in the wars they started-or they had in years past. In fact, during Bruno''s past life, thest national leader to fight in a war was actually King Albert I, who had rallied his forces and fought alongside them in a defensive operation against the Germans at the start of the Great War.


    In this timeline, however, Belgium continued to remain neutral, as Germany had chosen to fight on the defensive within the Western Front as a result of Bruno''s rmendations. This, however, would ultimately not seed in keeping Belgium out of the war.


    Because, as Germany had warned Belgium at the start of the Great War when going through proper diplomatic channels to seek military ess in order to strike at France, the French Army was not polite enough to afford the same courtesy.


    The French had, without provocation or prior statement, walked their soldiers into the borders of Belgium and Luxembourg alike, and on the same day no less. The immediate result was Luxembourg calling upon Germany for aid, as the Kaiser had previously promised the House of Luxembourg armed support in the event of a French invasion.


    As a result, the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg had immediately sent a telegram to the Kaiser asking for his previously promised support. Wilhelm''s response was simple:


    "Within the hour, the French invaders wille to sorely regret their decision to invade a neutral nation."


    The Kaiser also rmended the House of Luxembourg arm any form of resistance they could to buy the German Army time to reach their aid. This, in and of itself, was, whilemon sense, not exactly a practical solution for a small nation like Luxembourg, which did not have an actual standing army.


    At best, they had twopanies of what were essentially volunteer units who performed the roles of civil defense andw enforcement. It was not exactly a force capable of opposing a French invasion, nor did they have the arms necessary to create an emergency militia.


    Thus, for the most part, Leon and his men were able to march through Luxembourg with rtive impunity.


    Years had passed since Leon was first given the rank of Général de brigade, which was the lowest General Officer rank within the French Army, and he had only recently been promoted at the start of the war to the rank of Général de division.


    Was a division of 25,000 men overkill when deployed against a nation such as Luxembourg, which could at most field 240 men in defense of its borders? Absolutely...


    However, Luxembourg was merely meant to be a staging point to attack German borders, which the French had, under ack of intelligence and wrongful assumptions, presumed their enemy had not fortified due to sharing a border with a neutral nation.


    So long as the 25,000 Frenchmen could strike at what they assumed was a weak point in German defenses and ovee those presumedck of defenders, then they could easily march a corps-sized unit straight into the fathend.


    Hence why Leon was incredibly smug when he and his men stood within the Luxembourg Pce, staring arrogantly at the current Grand Duchess, Marie-Ad?de, who had only turned twenty years old a month before the war broke out.


    Her father, the previous Grand Duke of Luxembourg, had passed away in 1912 with no sons and six daughters. As the oldest of her sisters, Marie-Ad?de was the heir presumptive at the time of her father''s passing and was coronated as the independent and neutral nation''s first female monarch shortly after her predecessor''s burial.


    By all ounts, Marie-Ad?de was a rather attractive woman. Having existed in an era before makeup became so advanced that it could magically conceal a woman''s imperfections, she had facial features that most men would consider to be appealing.


    And it was perhaps because of this that there was a mixture of lust included in the smug expression on Leon''s face as he demanded the woman''s full cooperation.


    "As you can see, Your Highness, the French Republic now controls your petty little monarchy. Frankly speaking, I think it would be in your best interest to treat me, your new overlord, with a bit more respect and grace than you have shown toward me up until this point... Being friendly with your upiers is simply a matter ofmon courtesy, no?"


    It was not as if the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg wasn''t aware of who Leon was. The French had, after all, made a big deal about the man and his supposed abilities as a militarymander. Rumor had it he was the Republic''s answer to the Wolf of Prussia.


    But upon meeting the man in person, Marie-Ad?de could not help but show the French general nothing short of disdain. Even her gaze toward him was as if he were beneath her in every manner. And this was not some snobbish noble attitude; rather, she truly felt that Leon was a lowly creature, one undeserving of the reputation he seemed to have.


    Because of this, she rather fearlessly chided the man for his ill-earned reputation as a capablemander.


    "Am I supposed to believe that a little rat like yourself is somehow the equal to the Wolf of Prussia, a man who, in his mid-twenties, routed the Russians at Port Arthur and annihted their army in Mukden?


    Only for a yearter to march a division of volunteers into the Russian hearnd, breaking the siege at Saint Petersburg, and hounding the Reds across the Siberianndscape, sniffing them out and tearing them apart down to thest man?


    A general so capable that he smashed half of the Serbian Army at their border within the first hours of your so-called Great European War, only to annihte what remained of their forces at Belgrade less than a monthter?


    What, pray tell, have you, General, done that is remotely so terrifying as to equal the Butcher of Belgrade in terms ofmand and ferocity? Your sole im to fame is that you massacred a few uppity savages in Madagascar.


    And that somehow earned you the infamy you allegedly possess? Allow me to be frank, General... Even if you invade mynds and upy my home, there is nothing you can do to force me to concede my family''snds to you. You are simply undeserving of such an admission of defeat..."


    Leon was not a man known for hisposure, and because of this, his face turned ugly just a moment before his hand struck, pping the Grand Duchess violently across the face and knocking her to the ground as he did so.


    Even so, she did not squeal in agony like amon pig. Not a sound escaped her lips as she wiped the blood from her mouth, cursing the Frenchman in her own native tongue, which he could notprehend.


    Knowing that she had insulted him, Leon lifted the woman up and screamed in her face while practically foaming at the mouth.


    "What did you just say to me, you fucking whore?"


    The Grand Duchess of Luxembourg simply smirked smugly as she once more spoke in perfect French so the fool knew exactly what she had said about him.


    "I said you hit like a little girl..."


    The Frenchman raised his open palm once more, prepared to strike the woman, when an explosion rocked the foundations of the pce. This was followed by the echo of gunfire, which tried to shoot down the German bombers in the sky above Luxembourg, but failed miserably to do so, as the French machine guns and rifles severelycked the range capable of


    such a feat.


    A French soldier instantly rushed into the room, with a shaken appearance, almost as if he had seen something horrible. He was covered in blood and dust as he informed hismanding


    officer what had happened to him.


    "Sir... Our front line... It''s... It''s gone!"


    Leon, having thought he heard the most absurd thing in his life, let go of his grip over the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, forgetting all about his wrath toward her as heughed at the words that were spoken to him by his subordinate, almost as if he hadpletely misheard. "Gone? What do you mean, gone? You''re telling me the brigade I sent to secure the eastern border of the city is gone? What do you mean, gone? Gone as in deserted? Gone as in moved forward with our ns to secure the German border? Gone how?! Spit it out, you fool!" The soldier quickly overcame the shell shock he was suffering from as he informed Leon of what exactly had happened to their forces and how the Germans had so quickly punched through into the city.


    "Sir! The First Brigade has beenpletely annihted! Down to thest man! The Germans


    have begun to encircle the city and are using armored cars to protect their troops from our gunfire in their advance. If we do not retreat now, we will be surrounded within the hour!"


    Leon could hardly believe his words. He was not aware of any armored car that could remotely be used as a shield to soak up bullets for the infantry behind them. Then again, the armored cars of the era were made of inferior steel riveted together at angles that were easy to


    prate.


    The same could not be said about the German Armored Cars which until now had remained undetected by French intelligence and had primarily been utilized in the field of


    reconnaissance. Leon naturally had a hard timeprehending his current reality because of


    this.


    But, ultimately, he was forced to make a decision, stand and fight against a German division armed with air support and armored cars. Or... retreat from the City of Luxembourg and take up a line of defense further in the west. In doing so, allow the Germans to effectively upy the most strategically important region of the Grand Duchy. Time was of the essence, and Leon did not know how to decide at that moment.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om