For anyone with a slight understanding of World War I history, the name Ludendorff will not be unfamiliar.
Morin was naturally no exception.
As he held that slightly plump but powerful hand, looking at this major figure who, in another world, would eventually become the Quartermaster-General of the Saxon Empire and even participate in the infamous 'Beer Hall Putsch' after the war, a feeling of utter unreality surged into his heart.
A living Master Lu!
The feeling was marvelous, like looking at a famous painting in a museum and having the person inside suddenly step out to shake your hand.
Ludendorff seemed to notice Morin's surprise, and a flicker of curiosity crossed his eyes, hidden beneath his slightly plump eyelids: "Captain Morin, have we met before? Your reaction suggests you know me."
"Ah, no, not at all, Your Excellency, General."
Morin quickly replied. He couldn't exactly tell the General he had seen him in history books in his past life.
"I've handled a few tasks at the General Staff before and heard of your great name. I just didn't expect to meet you here."
This explanation was not unreasonable.
Ludendorff squeezed out a kind smile, a smile that made him look like a simple, honest neighbor rather than the General who would later be known for his iron fist and ruthlessness.
"I see. I didn't realize I was quite famous among you young people."
He let go of Morin's hand, and the conversation quickly returned to the current military situation.
Glancing at the demoralized soldiers of the 14th Infantry Brigade who were being regrouped nearby, Ludendorff's brow furrowed again.
"You just mentioned that General Wussow of the 14th Brigade was killed in action?"
"Yes, Your Excellency, General." Morin nodded, his mood becoming heavier. "He was killed while leading the troops in the night raid just now."
Ludendorff was silent for a moment, then let out a heavy sigh.
"Wussow was a brave officer, but he was too impulsive."
He looked around, observing the battlefield that had just experienced a massacre, and finally issued an order: "From now on, I am temporarily taking command of the 14th Infantry Brigade."
The surrounding officers immediately snapped to attention, and no one raised any objection.
As a high-ranking observer sent by the General Staff and the Deputy Chief of Staff for the Second Army Group, Ludendorff's rank and authority were sufficient for him to make this decision.
"Captain Morin…"
Ludendorff turned his attention to Morin.
"Tell me about the specific situation at the Liège Fortress, especially the daytime attack—why did it turn out like this?"
"Reporting, General, I only brought my troops to the front line this afternoon and don't know much about the daytime battle."
Morin answered truthfully:
"I only know that the 'Meuse River Battle Group' suffered heavy casualties today. When our battalion arrived at the rear, the Field Hospital was already nearly filled with wounded."
"Then how do you view the night raid just now?" Ludendorff pressed.
"A complete and utter disaster," Morin answered without mincing words. "Charging soldiers into open ground illuminated by searchlights without effective fire suppression or a clear understanding of the enemy's defense deployment is no different from ordering them to commit suicide."
Upon hearing Morin's blunt evaluation, the staff officers around Ludendorff all looked slightly displeased, but Ludendorff himself nodded, seemingly agreeing with Morin's opinion.
After a moment of silence, Ludendorff turned his gaze back to Morin.
"I am somewhat surprised, Captain Morin… I always thought an elite unit like the Instruction Assault Battalion would be spearheading the attack. Why did your unit only enter the fighting tonight?"
His tone was mild, but Morin detected a hint of inquiry.
Morin inwardly forced a wry smile. He couldn't very well say that General von Bulow treated them like a treasure and was afraid they might get a scratch, could he?
He could only steel himself and reply: "Reporting, General, our battalion only arrived at the front line this afternoon. Our first order was to protect the Supply Train in the rear."
"Protect the Supply Train?"
Ludendorff's eyebrows involuntarily twitched. The officers behind him also exchanged glances, their expressions somewhat peculiar.
Ordering an ace Assault Battalion directly under the General Staff to guard a warehouse was indeed a baffling operation.
Ludendorff gave Morin a deep look, seemingly trying to read something on his face.
But he quickly looked away, choosing not to pursue the matter.
He knew this likely involved complex personal politics that a temporarily assigned 'Observer' should not pry into.
"Alright, let's not discuss these matters any further," Ludendorff waved his hand. "Now, I want to go to the front and check the situation."
"General!"
No sooner had he spoken than a Colonel Staff Officer beside him immediately spoke up to dissuade him.
"It's dark now, the frontline situation is unclear, and a battle just occurred—it's too dangerous!"
Morin also quickly interjected: "General, it's truly unsuitable to go to the front line now. The enemy's searchlights are still sweeping everywhere…"
Ludendorff was unmoved. He glanced at Morin, his tone brooking no argument: "With the Instruction Assault Battalion—a direct unit of the General Staff—here, what is there to fear?"
At this remark, Morin immediately felt immense pressure.
Damn it, that's a lot of flattery! If I let you lose a hair, the General Staff will have my hide!
Although he had confidence in the abilities of the 1st Company's hardened veterans, this was still a battlefield, and bullets and shells are blind.
If Ludendorff were killed here, who could Morin turn to for justice?
"Your Excellency, General, it's not about whether we are here or not—it truly is too dangerous," Morin insisted, gritting his teeth.
"What, Captain Morin, do you lack confidence in your troops?" Ludendorff countered.
"Of course not!" Morin immediately straightened his posture. "I am only concerned for your safety…"
"My safety is now entrusted to you," Ludendorff patted Morin's shoulder, then led the way forward, giving Morin no further chance to object.
Well, he was stuck now.
Helpless, Morin turned to Kleist and Manstein and ordered: "Kleist, take the battalion's main force and deploy in the rear, ready to support at any moment! Manstein, you come with me!"
Then, he called out to 1st Company Acting Company Commander Klaus: "Klaus, take the 1st Platoon of the 1st Company and escort His Excellency, General!"
"Yes, Sir!"
And so, Morin, leading a platoon of elite soldiers, cautiously moved toward the area where the fighting had just occurred, surrounding Ludendorff and his staff officers.
The night was deep. The air was thick with the pungent smell of gunpowder and blood mixed together. The ground beneath their feet was littered with shell craters and scattered equipment.
In the distance, the massive silhouette of the Barchon Fortress loomed like a lurking monster. The searchlight beams from the fortress occasionally swept across the area, placing immense pressure on the small team creeping through the darkness.
They eventually reached the flank of the small patch of woods, the spot where the 1st Company had previously ambushed the enemy's counter-charging force.
From here, the full view of the Barchon Fortress was visible.
Ludendorff and his staff immediately raised their binoculars, meticulously observing the distant fortress.
Morin watched their movements, his heart pounding nervously.
'Gentlemen, take it easy! This is not a sightseeing platform!'
"The searchlights are too much trouble."
Ludendorff lowered his binoculars, pointing at the beams sweeping back and forth in the night sky:
"With these things operating, any night operation we attempt will be discovered in advance. The recent night raid suffered a heavy loss because of them."
The staff officers beside him nodded in agreement. In the face of these glaring beams, the cover of darkness was virtually meaningless.
Ludendorff raised his binoculars again, observed carefully for a moment, and then sighed: "Captain Morin, you are right. This damned place exudes a stubbornness that makes it a tough nut to crack, from the inside out."
After the failed night raid and the successful counter-charge, the defenders of the Barchon Fortress were clearly more vigilant.
The frequency of the searchlight scans was much faster than before, and figures could faintly be seen moving at the machine gun positions and gun emplacements above the fortress.
Under these circumstances, let alone a large-scale night assault, even small-scale infiltration became extremely difficult.
Ludendorff seemed to realize this. He looked at Morin with some regret: "What a pity. If the 14th Brigade hadn't so impulsively launched that night raid just now, perhaps you and your Instruction Assault Battalion would have had a chance to sneak in quietly."
Morin's heart skipped a beat. He hadn't expected Ludendorff to know so much about him and the Instruction Assault Battalion.
"Your Excellency, General, you…"
"I heard about your battles in the Kingdom of Aragon, and it wasn't just me."
Ludendorff smiled, as if seeing through Morin's thoughts:
"Many people in the General Staff are very interested in the 'Assault Tactics' you proposed.
We even specially organized personnel to conduct a detailed analysis and Wargame Simulation of your battles in Aragon… The results of the simulation were quite interesting."
Ludendorff continued:
"Under specific conditions, your tactics—centered on elite infantry and emphasizing firepower, mobility, and surprise attack—can indeed achieve combat effectiveness far exceeding that of conventional forces… That's why the General Staff approved the formation of the Instruction Assault Battalion and appointed you as its commander."
At this point, Ludendorff's gaze turned back to the distant fortress, with a hint of expectation in his eyes: "So, Captain Morin, now facing this fortress, do you still have a way to create another Aragon miracle? Even just a small-scale infiltration?"
Faced with Ludendorff's high hopes, Morin fell silent.
He knew that Ludendorff wanted him to do what he did in Aragon: lead a small, capable detachment to silently infiltrate the interior of the fortress, create chaos from within, and create an opportunity for the main force outside.
All eyes were fixed on Morin.
They all hoped that this young officer, who had repeatedly created miracles, could deliver another surprise.
However, Morin slowly shook his head.
"General, I'm afraid it would be very difficult… The soldiers of the Instruction Assault Battalion are essentially ordinary people; they just have different training and equipment. They are not invulnerable supermen."
Morin pointed at the distant fortress, analyzing calmly.
"After the fierce daytime assault and the night raid just now, the defenders of the Barchon Fortress are fully prepared. Searchlights, flares, plus the Barbed Wire and Trenches on the perimeter, form a defensive system with virtually no blind spots."
"Under these circumstances, even if I force the Instruction Assault Battalion to infiltrate, we would only be torn to shreds by their machine guns and Magic Crystal Cannons, pointlessly increasing casualties."
"This is not cowardice, General."
Morin met Ludendorff's gaze, his tone earnest. He wouldn't try to show off at this moment.
"It is simply that this fortress cluster is, objectively, an extremely sturdy fortress that is almost impossible to break through from the ground."
Disappointment showed on the faces of the staff officers behind Ludendorff, but Ludendorff himself remained calm, only gesturing for Morin to continue.
"In fact, before the recent battle, I took men to the front to observe," Morin continued. "I wanted to see if we could use earthworks to dig Trenches or tunnels to approach the base of the fortress."
"For this, I specifically checked the soil quality nearby."
"Based on my observation, the area around Liège is widely underlain by massive amounts of limestone."
"If we dig from the surface, we would first encounter a layer of relatively soft loess or alluvial soil, perhaps only about a meter deep… but very quickly, we would hit the extremely hard limestone bedrock underneath."
"Moreover, this limestone bedrock is not a single flat layer; its distribution is irregular. We might be digging forward only to suddenly encounter a massive piece of limestone blocking the way, which absolutely cannot be excavated using only the engineer shovels and spades our infantry carry."
Morin's analysis somewhat surprised the staff officers present.
They were all experienced career military men, but none of them had been meticulous enough to study the geological structure of the war zone before the battle.
"What's more fatal," Morin emphasized, "according to the intelligence I gathered from the wounded and the retreating officers, the fortress is equipped with a large number of Magic Crystal Cannons."
"I encountered this weapon in the Kingdom of Aragon. It fires shells similar to a mortar that can explode in the air, using shrapnel for large-area lethality… For infantry performing digging operations in open terrain, the threat is immense."
"It's highly likely that the enemy only needs a few salvos to completely annihilate our digging forces in the exposed Trenches."
After listening to Morin's analysis, Ludendorff's brow finally furrowed tightly.
He raised his binoculars again, looked at the sturdy fortress, and let out another heavy sigh.
"You are right. This is indeed a thorny issue."
He lowered his binoculars, his expression filled with regret and helplessness.
"The large Magic Guided Devices in the fortress seriously threaten our armored airships in the air, severely limiting the intensity of air support. We can only consider long-range bombardment, but the effect, as you've seen, is not ideal."
"If even your Instruction Assault Battalion, which is most proficient in infiltration, has no solution, then relying purely on infantry to fill the gap will make it impossible to take this fortress cluster…"
A hint of reluctance was in Ludendorff's tone:
"It seems we can only implement the contingency plan and deploy siege heavy artillery from home… But this will delay us by at least a week, or even longer. The entire operational timetable set by the General Staff will be disrupted."
Morin knew that the siege heavy artillery Ludendorff spoke of referred to the 420mm caliber 'Big Bertha' heavy howitzer produced by the Krupp Armory.
In the history he was familiar with, the Liège Fortress was indeed eventually breached by this heavy artillery.
However, the Liège Fortress in this world, enhanced by Magic Guided Technology, had clearly become a 'reinforced version.'
Morin couldn't be sure whether the 'Big Bertha' could still deliver the final, decisive blow as it did in the other timeline.
"Actually…"
Morin looked at the searchlight continually sweeping across the distance, pondered for a moment, and continued:
"If there were a way for our men to cross these last few hundred meters of the death zone and appear directly inside the fortress… the Instruction Assault Battalion would still have the confidence to display its full strength."
Ludendorff: "But the problem is, these last few hundred meters now appear to be an insurmountable chasm…"
One plump, one lean; one old, one young.
Two soldiers whose souls came from different worlds, but who were both troubled by the unconquerable fortress before them, stood side by side and let out a long sigh simultaneously.
Ludendorff sighed because he felt that the General Staff's operational plan, precise down to the minute, was about to completely collapse due to a small Liège Fortress, and all subsequent military operations would be severely affected.
Morin sighed because he was deeply concerned that the historical trajectory of this altered world had not changed too much.
He could almost see the two million Imperial Marks he had just obtained rapidly turning into bread costing five hundred thousand Marks each—and that, damn it, was just the morning price.
(End of this Chapter)