Chapter 10

[ x ] Due to the decisions of the General Staff, the thirty thousand troops defending Fallholt were now just like the rest of the Western Army Group the first and last line of defence protecting the Empire in the west. This fact thoroughly destroyed all confidence the army group once held, thus you decided the troops would now urgently need a scapegoat, for as long as a soldier had someone he can curse he won't break. [Grants reputation with Major General Manfred von Ulmer, Major General Otto von Fuchs and Major General Monbert von Stein, but costs reputation with the higher ups of the Northern Army Group.]

But while you very much so felt like cursing both the northern and central commands for their gambit, you just about managed to refrain from cursing Central for their part, seeing as the Northern Army Group most likely didn't just nicely ask for the support of the Great Army. And with that fact in mind, you decided to focus on making the Northern Army Group the sole scapegoat for the Western Army Group's anger, which as it turns out after just a few hours of flying is quite easy for a Mage Battalion. For even the 354th can spread that point of view from the north to the south of the lines in no time at all, and that without anything being officially recorded.

It was of course clear to you that the Northern Army Group's past actions helped you immensely in that effort, so you were still a bit grateful that they swiftly provided you with a partial fix to the whole mess they made with how they now reeked even more of the greed for glory that the troops in the northern theater were so infamous for. Though seeing as the terrible reputation they had amassed over time was what ultimately allowed your little idea to take off without a hitch which in turn quickly restored the bare minimum of moral to the troops, you weren't blinded with anger and confusion anymore.

For all that mattered in the end was that the lines were strong enough that they wouldn't be destroyed as long as the spirits of the men defending said lines wouldn't break first, and there was if nothing else enough indignation and anger to make sure that wouldn't happen any time soon. For neither greed nor incompetence were traits that were well received by these men that would willingly sacrifice their lives for the good of the people and the Fatherland, who would have guessed.

But despite how much focus you redirected, the fact remained that while it gave you a bit of favour with the generals this was still a change for the worse when you looked at the Western Army Group and the Fatherland as a whole, so you genuinely hoped that reality would in the end simply prove your efforts meaningless. The Great Army was after all the favourite tool of the General Staff and thus could do far more than simply smash the enemies of the Reich in a single massive blow, for the Great Army was designed to swiftly expand in times of war, which could still change the situation for the better.

For while the Great Army would normally focus on a single front, there was currently no reason to not deploy some if not all of the newly raised Divisions to the Rhine with the great and steady progress they were already making up north. Or in other words, if Central doesn't commit any more Divisions to winning the battle with the Entente things could still work out in favour of the Empire all things considered. For as long as the lines on the Rhine aren't literally overrun before those reinforcing Divisions arrive, the massive losses the Republic would suffer by invading could decide the war right then and there for the Empire through the sheer difference in population alone, so again, things could still work out, there was no reason to panic just yet.

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So though it was getting a bit too close for comfort there was still a decent chance that trusting the higher ups in Berun and their gambit would work out, the question now was if you should give them that trust after they so carelessly moved the Great Army, or if you should do something yourself to improve the position of the 354th. The generals sitting on the supplies stored in Fallholt liked you quite a bit by now and could surely help you out with both material and manpower if you decided to burn some of your favour with them. And seeing as they wouldn't be opposed to strengthening their part of the border, you couldn't imagine that they would throw away an opportunity to do just that while gaining a scapegoat of sorts.

But would it truly be worth it? That favour could come in handy some day for your career if things work out and the Empire wins against the Entente, but then you really couldn't imagine that storing it all up and then dying would do you or the Fatherland any good, what a mess. Thinking about it, it really was depressing that you're seemingly completely unable to change anything of impact with how so much of your influence will only be a drop in the bucket in the worst case scenario, and you couldn't help but wonder how many drops it will take you to fill that little bucket of yours one day.

Please select the option you like the most:

[ ] Three Artillery Divisions can't be withdrawn in one go seeing as they are slow moving and heavy hitting priority targets that would be vulnerable, meaning the 354th was essentially stuck in Fallholt for as long as the Empire wanted to retain the position which with your already constructed defences and all the supplies would be quite some time. And furthermore you couldn't imagine that the generals defending said supplies would decide to abandon so much as a meter of imperial soil even if their lives depended on it, so you would have to make sure that Fallholt would be as fortified as it could possibly be whatever the cost. [Grants Fallholt additional defences which turns the Fallholt supply depot into Fort Fallholt, but costs reputation with Major General Manfred von Ulmer, Major General Otto von Fuchs and Major General Monbert von Stein.]

[ ] You decided that you couldn't waste your limited influence like that, maybe things will work out, there were already quite a few defences even before the trench training of the 354th fortified Fallholt after all. [Conserves reputation but grants nothing.]