The Finest Hour

by Carlo Zen

  Anyhow, in exchange for that meager piece of intelligence, they were now stuck writing letters explaining that all the personnel they had dispatched "died in an accident during training." And at this rate, they would have to blame someone for this huge accident and somehow fake it in a believable way.

  The human loss was too major to brush off. On top of that, the questioning of the survivors was not going well.

  "...How? How is it that a station so secret you can't even tell me about it gets targeted and attacked by imperial mages?!"

  Agh, if there was ever a headache worth griping to the heavens for, this is it.

  Now even John was being suspected. He had to sigh.

  Is that any way to talk to an old man who's ground his bones down with hard work? Has the boss finally succumbed to paranoid delusions? John had to wonder for a moment as he retaliated with a hard stare.

  But faced with Habergram's impatient return stare that confidently asked, Got a problem with that? John was the first to back down. Well, with such serious suspicion that we have a mole, everyone will be under scrutiny.

  Not many people knew, but the Commonwealth's intelligence agency had been suffering a streak of failure. There were just too many "unfortunate coincidences."

  It may have been an unfortunate tragedy that the section dispatched to the Entente Alliance got shelled into oblivion along with their observation post. When the imperial mages unexpectedly encountered the Entente Alliance fleet, it was possible that their stray shots just happened to concentrate on one spot---even if, in a turn of bad luck, someone the Commonwealth was doing its utmost to protect happened to be in that location. Probability theory showed that it wasn't impossible.

  And the subsequent discovery of their submarine was also theoretically possible. Given the nature of boats, the chances were nonzero.

  In other words, even if they could declare the chances were too low for mages to have possibly encountered ships at sea, it was not unheard of. Thus, the current silencing of any discussion regarding the cargo due to confidentiality concerns might have been the result of the product of an unfortunate coincidence.

  So yes, one could argue those cases were bad luck, despite the astronomical odds. Then this happened.

  When people voiced suspicions that perhaps it wasn't a coincidence, that it could have been a leak, an investigation was only a matter of course. Naturally, in order to conduct such an investigation, it was necessary to keep secrets. So the Commonwealth's intelligence cooperated in utmost secret with the Republic's intelligence agency. The secret facility where they worked together was extremely well protected.

  Of all the things that could happen in the great big world, perhaps imperial mages just happening to also attack that facility during an assault on headquarters was just one more possibility.

  Well, coincidences are just horrible---horrible enough that it wouldn't be strange to discover a mole in the Commonwealth... There John stopped thinking.

  Frankly, what they needed was a realistic plan of action, not idle speculation.

  It may have been an unbelievable story, but if it was a coincidence, he had to prove it as such or the specter of suspicion would torment him forever. If it wasn't a coincidence, there had to be an awfully big mole scrabbling around. If that was the truth, he had to shine a light on it and drag it out.

  "Well, all we can do is make an inquiry."

  "...But we've done that several times."

  Hmm. Maybe moles can burrow unexpectedly deep. Should we look even if we have to dig? John adjusted his appraisal of the spy. "I'll see what I can find."

  It's a bother, but maybe I should shake down the Home Office, too.

  He revised his plans in his head. If he was looking for a mole, he had to consider the possibility of leaks from other departments, too. Sadly, he didn't have much time.

  The collapse of the Rhine front was coming. All military specialists agreed. Incidentally, "Mr. John" didn't have any issue with that judgment, either. It was more about whether he had time for a leisurely mole hunt or not.

  John was the type who knew his limits. In other words, when something was impossible, he thought, Mm, yeah, this is probably impossible.

  JUNE 18, UNIFIED YEAR 1925, OVER THE OUTSKIRTS OF PARISII

  If I must confess my emotions at this moment, honestly, I'm feeling absolutely refreshed.

  Good morning. Or perhaps "hello"? "Good night"? I'm not sure which greeting is appropriate, but I'm not averse to wishing everyone good day with a smile.

  On the contrary, I'll smile and send a greeting to not only the people of our beloved Empire but everyone in the whole world---straight from the imperial Rhine lines where we continue mopping up enemy.

  Yes, thinks Tanya, relaxing her lips into a gracious smile and recalling the moment they crossed the wasteland below. That is what used to be the Rhine front. The abundant greenery, the brooks that used to be resting places, all shelled into nothing. Nothing but the desolate remnants of trenches remain.

  I was here with my fellow soldiers, and some of them are here still, their bleached skeletons buried beneath the earth. After crossing that bony soil, luring in the main forces of the Republican Army, and then encircling and annihilating them, there is nothing to stop us on the road to Parisii.

  Yes, we're advancing on the escargots' Parisii. Now that ending the war with our own hands is more than just a dream, the scenery is so wonderful it makes me want to praise the Reich, crown of the world.

  Was this as expected? Or was it strange that there was no resistance? The mage vanguard only makes contact with Republican forces on the outskirts of the city. But what luck---they manage to acquire the railroads intact, so they even have heavy artillery.

  That makes the advance a bit sluggish, but all the officers of the Imperial Army, including Tanya, believe that the attack will continue unhindered and that the capture of the city is only a matter of time.

  That scene, in a way, is something not just Imperial Army officers but officers from any army have dreamed of. The attack is so glorious that a competition even begins to see who can be the first to storm into the enemy nation's capital.

  And then the 203rd Aerial Mage Battalion, part of that vanguard who reached the outskirts of Parisii, finally finds some Republican soldiers prepared to defend their capital to the death.

  From above, it looks like it must be mainly units that were garrisoned in Parisii. What she can see seems like about two divisions---infantry divisions bearing no similarity to the armored or mechanized varieties. From the dearth of young people, she infers that these units must be mainly an emergency mobilization of reserves.

  Though the army is currently building trenches in the suburbs, behind them, the city streets and their pristine rows of buildings seem to remain entirely untouched by field engineers---at least, as far as she can tell from the positions being constructed below her.

  ...They should have at least dismantled some structures, to give themselves a clear line for their defensive fire, and blown up bridge pillars, but they didn't.

  Too bad for the guys who were emergency mobilized, but apparently they were being made to defend the city from the outskirts because the government was hesitant to wage urban warfare in the capital.

  "...Those poor guys. They really lost the boss lottery. I---or rather, the Imperial Army in general---we're extremely blessed in comparison."

  ...Or maybe if they had been trained appropriately and holed up in sturdy, entrenched defensive positions with heavy artillery backup they would have managed to be a threat.

  As it is... Tanya chuckles to herself.

  A mere two divisions won't be enough to stop the tide of an Imperial Army fresh off its victory on the Rhine lines. The Republicans actually are pitiful for having a superior officer who would order something so ridiculous. On that point, Tanya is glad to be blessed with mostly good human relations, beginning with General von Zettour, but really from the bottom on all the way up.

  "Fa
iry 01 to CP. It's just as we heard. Infantry two divisions strong are constructing defensive positions."

  "Roger. Support the armored division until they arrive."

  Lately, we're getting lots of easy jobs---it's great.

  Just as she was thinking that, Intelligence had hit them with some enemy intel that could actually prove to be a threat: The Republican Army was building defensive lines around the periphery of Parisii. On top of that, multiple other divisions seemed to be gathering to defend the city. That has been the big news for a little while now.

  Thanks to that, our plans to stand by got changed to a mission of recon and anti-surface attacks. It was news that suddenly made me wonder if I should I be happy about the additional pay or bemoan the reduction in vacation.

  But, Tanya mentally murmured, looking at my current situation, I should celebrate receiving such an easy task with odds in my favor. I might even earn a bonus.

  "Fairy 03 to 01. Data input complete. I've sent the observations to the artillery."

  "Fairy 01, roger. Now focus on observing."

  Normally, observers face the most enemy interference, but with none of that, the sky is calm. Considering that over Norden the Entente Alliance mages managed to give us hell, it's surprisingly calm.

  That's how truly peaceful it is out here. Aside from the occasional explosion on the surface sending up smoke, the sky is blue---it's a fine sunny day.

  And as such, it was pitiful how wimpy the normally terrifying anti--air fire was. Anti--air cannons generally stick out on the surface, but Tanya and the 203rd Aerial Mage Battalion didn't spot a single one.

  Those Republican numbskulls probably thought installing cannons in their city would tarnish its beauty. Or maybe they didn't want to alarm the citizenry by intimating that the battlefield would come so close. In any case, as far as Tanya and her unit can tell, the enemy is extremely weak in anti--air fire.

  Even flying through, all they spot are a few 40 mm machine guns. There are none of the terrible 127 mm cannons.

  On top of that, there's no sign of what would usually be the mages' first targets, heavy artillery. Actually, the greatest firepower they see on the battlefield is an outdated field gun. The trickiest to deal with will be the mortars issued to the infantry. Long story short, the battlefield has relatively little enemy artillery.

  In close-quarter combat, heavy artillery would have too high a chance of accidental friendly fire; given that the most firepower a foot soldier can use under those circumstances is the mortars, then that's what they need to be careful of... To put it another way, though, that means there's nothing else to worry about.

  After all, to a mage, that's not enough firepower to constitute a threat. As long as they're in the air, it can't do much of anything to them.

  "Fairy 03 to all units. Be aware of the artillery's firing lines."

  Actually, grumbles Tanya in her mind, the worst thing that can happen to us now is being mistaken as the enemy by our own guns. As it stands, the only thing to do is roll our eyes and trample them.

  I don't want to be blown away by friendly 180 mms. Tanya should be in the safe zone, but she decides to fly higher just in case.

  Her altitude adjustment isn't enough to cause her to lose sight of movements on the ground. Luckily, visibility is great; there are hardly any clouds. I'll just enjoy my view of the imperial mages forged on the Rhine lines firing away at the Republicans and their 80 mm field guns.

  The range of a 180 mm is very different from an 80 mm, so I'm sure things will develop in a one-sided way. We have them literally outranged. That should make this quite easy.

  Since we're on an anti-surface strike mission, not a bombing mission, we're heavily armored, which weighs us down a bit, but this is just one of those times you have to bear it.

  To be safe, we assumed the dregs of the Republican Army's mages would intercept, so if spotting artillery fire was too dangerous, the plan was to throw a ton of grenades on the ground troops' heads and move in for a hand-to-hand fight.

  So we loaded up on potato mashers, but now the artillery is going to handle the ground forces, so we have no use for them. That said, I can't cast off ammunitions bought with the nation's money just because they're heavy---although maybe I could make the excuse that I needed to be lighter in case of hand-to-hand combat with enemy mages.

  Ultimately, since no enemy mages appear, there's nothing to do but observe for the artillery carrying all this heavy stuff.

  ...So did General von Rudersdorf misread the situation?

  "Fairy 01 to HQ. We've acquired the designated airspace. No resistance. No enemy mages in sight."

  Yes, the Imperial Army has been advancing smoothly, but if we can really march right into Parisii with no resistance, something is off.

  Well, but there is some resistance. But it's difficult to understand why they aren't gathering all their remaining troops for a mass effort.

  Like, we're circling above the enemy capital with good visibility! This isn't just unexpected; it's unbelievable. It's so empty here it would feel more realistic to suspect we're getting lured into some kind of trap.

  Nothing about this is what you would expect.

  Usually, this airspace would be tightly secured. It's easy for mages to conceal themselves for an ambush. That's why we performed recon-in-force on the Rhine lines, to drag them out of their lair.

  Our goal this time in Parisii was to draw the defensive units out by running attack missions on them, but...strangely, there's no sign of them anywhere. Even if there aren't any conspicuous measures like anti--air cannons, there have to at least be some mages. That's what we're all thinking, and I can hear people warning about the possibility of an ambush.

  If the Republican Army tried to fly over the imperial capital, there would be a hell of an interception.

  We were sure this whole area would be ready to saturate the sky with anti-mage fire that could penetrate defensive shells and protective films.

  The troops accepted that forecast with next to no objections. They'd learned on the Rhine lines how stubborn the Republican troops are, so it was only natural. But here we are with not a single shell coming at us. Unless a majority of the enemy are believers in passive resistance, they must just not be here.

  In that case, it starts to feel like we really took out the Republic, but at the same time, a total lack of anti--air fire is kind of eerie. Are there a bunch of characters loyal to their duty holed up somewhere, waiting to blow themselves up to take us with them?

  No, this is their capital. They aren't so politically blasé that they would blow it up themselves.

  "HQ, roger. Keep observing impacts and stay on your toes."

  But though that may be bothering me, I have to focus on other things right now. The army wants to avoid urban warfare; they'd rather obliterate the city before the enemy can hole up in it. I have no objections to that. You could say they have the right intentions.

  Rather than fighting a tricky urban battle and sweeping through each area in turn to wipe out the enemy, it's much easier to surround and annihilate them. Above all, it's effective.

  But if we take the time to blast the city with our artillery, we risk letting them escape. Or it's possible that units will drop out of the fight and begin withdrawing. In that case, someone will have to cut off their retreat in the rear.

  Naturally, if there are no other airborne units, the mages will be put in that role. If we're unlucky, my unit might be sent on a mission to drop in and attack them.

  Of course, this is much better than being in the trenches.

  That said, getting jumped in a city in the middle of enemy territory doesn't sound like much fun. It's obvious that the best would be to not have to do it.

  All we can do is pray the artillery gets the enemy movements and terrain down and does their thing. Well, and I guess we should consider if anti-surface supporting fire would discourage a retreat.

  "Fairy, roger. We'll be on guard."

  We made i
t this far without getting Dunkirked. Once we win the war, I should be able to enjoy the rest of my life. Tanya is extra vigilant precisely because they are fighting a winning battle.

  If you don't survive until the end, you don't get to partake in the victory. I don't want to get injured during my final missions.

  JUNE 19, UNIFIED YEAR 1925, THE REPUBLIC, DEPARTMENT OF FINISTÈRE, BREST NAVAL BASE

  The Imperial Army had breached the defensive lines outside the capital and entered the urban area, and the report stating as such reached the naval base at Brest promptly. Vice Minister of both Defense and the Armed Forces, Major General de Lugo had complicated feelings about the awful news.

  Though he had been expecting the notice, to actually get it was incredibly irritating.

  He was the one who had drafted the plan for just this sort of scenario, but he had only done so shamefully, weeping inside.

  A plan to withdraw from the continent...

  No other job in his life was so humiliating as drawing up this plan. Major General de Lugo had walked the path of light during his time as a proud Republican soldier, and now he felt utterly disgraced. Even more than that, however, he was filled with anger.

  So many soldiers, his brothers, had died believing in the glory of the Republic. It was because of their voluntary efforts that they had been able to draw the Imperial Army's attention to the capital.

  He knew that the time they were giving their all to buy would do more than anything else to keep the pulse of the Republic beating, so he couldn't waste a moment of it.

  But as a Republican soldier, he couldn't help but feel disheartened. Shouldn't I be there lined up with my brothers-in-arms? The conflict plagued him.

  As a commander, though, he knew he had to lock those feelings up deep inside. Everyone was carrying the same burden.

  Which was precisely why he couldn't undermine the importance of fighting through. He had managed to gather all the ships he could at the Brest naval base in the department of Finistère without the Empire noticing.

  To make the most of the opportunity, they were departing packed full of heavy armaments and resources, from the common to the scarce, in addition to many soldiers. The land and people they were meant to protect they left behind.