Reich Marshal of the Belkan Reich

RM Vol 4: War – Chapter 29: Case Yellow (Day 9 – Let’s all take a breather for a bit…)

It was a slap in the face. Losing five whole Air Groups, hundreds of aircraft, and thousands of airmen have nearly crippled the entire Erusean Royal Air Force. The devastating blow to the might of the RAF may not have shocked the world as a whole due to the information blockade, but it sure knocked the Eruseans down multiple pegs. As of the Ninth Day on Case Yellow, the Eruseans have pulled back nearly all of their air assets for home defense. Right now, not a single airplane can be seen flying above the Erusean Channel. The Royal Navy fleets that are tasked with ferrying men and materials to Dunkirk do so while unprotected from the air. Yet, as if not willing to play their cards just yet, the Belkan Reich makes no move to intercept the transfer of war supplies, not even by sea.

Understandably, the inaction of the Belkan Reichsmarine and Air Force baffle the Erusean Kingdom. Still, after incurring a track record of losing one decisive engagement after another, the Eruseans are forced to play it safe and admit their inferiority. To protect the lifeline of the Erusean Expeditionary Force at Dunkirk, the Kingdom commands the Royal Navy to pull ships from elsewhere, going as far as conscripting war vessels from the rest of the Commonwealth. Though not all of the subordinate nations to the Erusean Kingdom can send over their ships immediately, what does arrive at the European theater inflates the Royal Navy's vessel count by three times. In the Erusean Channel alone, the Royal Navy has at least 10 battleships and battlecruisers at any given time, alongside their complement of escorts. Yet, understandably, there's not a single aircraft carrier insight, the Royal Navy has developed an allergy to them after what happened to HMS Ark Royal and HMS Hermes. The fact Ark Royal is still a trophy ship in the Belkans' hands notwithstanding.

Nonetheless, while the Royal Navy is gearing up for a big fight that is written in stone, the EEF by now is neck-deep in trouble. After Frankforce fails to retake Arash, the EEF has no choice but to hunker down and hope for the best. It truly turns into a situation of every man has to dig a hole, using it as both a cover and a shallow grave when shit hits the fan. The only other overt move they've made so far is a surprising push for Brussel. In an effort to save the Principality of Darscen's capital city and its Royal Family, the Eruseans expend a big force to try and save their ally. In actuality, this move is to ensure Darscen Army that is protecting the EEF's flank doesn't capitulate because their King and Queen are captured by the Belkans. Not just that, in the event the Darscen Royal Family does surrender their nation, the EEF force there can easily subsume the remaining Darscen Army units that still want to fight against the Belkans. This is Lord Gort's true objective as the Allied forces don't have any hope of breaking the Belkan encirclement of Brussel. Instead, more capable fighting units are needed to stage a long-term defensive and counterattack strategy. It would be a shame if these Darscen soldiers were to surrender to the Reich. As for their Royal Family, well, Erusea also has a Royal Family of its own. It's a ruthlessly pragmatic approach, but it's a necessary one in Lord Gort's mind.

Even with the fresh meat and metal coming into Dunkirk on an hourly basis, the EEF find no other recourse other than to turtle up and hope the Reich screws up somewhere. That though, is something easier said than done. However, with how the Royal Navy seems oddly enthusiastic about guarding the mud sluggers that are the Royal Army these days, Lord Gort thinks they may still have a chance. A slim one, but a chance nonetheless.

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Nearly 20% of the male population of the Principality of Darscen are members of the Darscen Army, culminating in a force that is as big as the original EEF if you include emergency conscription. However, the Darscen Army is hopelessly underequipped to deal with the Belkan tide. At the start of the war, they had 16 actual tanks, Erusean-made Valentines, with the rest being lightly armored vehicles or tankettes. However, by the third day of Case Yellow, all the Valentines were destroyed by a precision bomb strike in their tank depot. This means that, for the majority of the war, the Darscen Army has primarily been an Infantry or Motorized Army at best. Without a proper Air Force to call its own, the Darscen Army is officially in an even worse state than the EEF. Limited to human waves and attrition tactics in the face of the Belkan Blitzkrieg, it's no wonder that the Darscens are hopelessly beaten black and blue to the point of having their capital city surrounded. The only thing keeping them in the game since day seven of Case Yellow and beyond is the surprising order from the Reich Marshal to slow the advance of Army Group B.

No, this is not because Yuki is doing this out of the goodness of her heart. Instead, it's to present the Darscen capital with an ultimatum to surrender. After all, they're all nobles here, proper respect has to be given as parts of the nobility. This is not to mention that Darscen and Belka never have a serious blood debt in the first place. Still, presenting an injunction was indeed a spontaneous decision on Yuki's part, though influenced by her two mothers back home. In other words, politics.

Royalties need faces. Tearing them all down with the flames of war is an act of barbarism in the eyes of the ruling class, no matter how you can justify it. Future Belkan conquests may be hampered when rulers see it's better to go down in a blaze of glory against a ruthless enemy if there's no other alternative. At least that way, they can earn a footnote in the history book. Yuki admits that she may have been overzealous on her Conqueror's path, one that gave the impression that she would burn everything the Allies had to the ground. Her mothers' reminder helps in stopping her Armies from making a potentially costly mistake.

War is not just about bullets and corpses, it also includes compromises. If promising some benefits to the Royal Family of Darscen can pave the way for easier assimilation of the country, then Yuki should take it if possible... As long as it's not too ludicrous, of course, there are bottom lines for everything. That said, it doesn't mean that Army Group B will just sit around and do nothing. General Belladonna has done too much for her to stop for a parchment that may not even be signed. Other than having her Army Group surrounding Brussel, Yuki also orders her to put pressure on the Darscen royalties by surgically targeting the Erusean reinforcements coming their way. In other words, it's a show of force, the carrot and the stick, a textbook method that Yuki somehow skimped over. Maybe, the Reich Marshal has been blinded by her tendency to completely crush her enemies using her cunning intellect and powerful military. Or it's due to Yuki traveling on the path to reacquire her Divinities and one of them is Destruction. Either way, it's a good thing that she has her family to ground her back to reality, otherwise, the path ahead may be even more bloody and violent.

As for why it takes them this long to consider that: Hey, it's a good idea not to stomp them too hard... Well, they too forgot the minor details sometimes, ok? When presented with the most beautiful plan with the highest chance of success, you tend to ignore the minor details until they become relevant. It's what happens sometimes with Plan V2, for despite its grandiose, it can't carpet all the variables.