OR1-EP5: Hymn of the Bridge (12)

No one would want to go to war or become a casualty of war if the days of peace and plenty were to last. The authorities of the Union of South Africa, led by Governor-General Herzog, believed they had to completely destroy these hostile forces lurking in South Africa by means of war, but the means needed to be as legal as possible and without provoking resentment from the citizens. Thus, by first accepting the request for negotiation in good faith, and then by exposing the fact that the Rhodesian rebels were not sincere in the negotiation process, Governor-General Herzog was able to finally and completely silence public opinion against it. Now, he was able to mobilize all of South Africa's resources to fight to the end against these scum who were openly provoking rebellion, and there was no one who could stop him from eliminating the traitors hiding in Rhodesia.

"I used to know an MP who liked to make extreme statements and his ideas were welcomed by many." Governor-General Herzog talked to McNeil about his thought process in this boondoggle, "When he talked about destroying the poor, destroying the weak, destroying those other communities that are endangering us in the EU, his followers were thrilled by it ... But when it was discovered that he had brutally abused a pet dog, his support fell at an incredible rate, and eventually he himself was forced out of politics."

"Why is that?" McNeil really didn't understand the reasoning; he was a soldier, not a politician, and although he had been involved in some intrigue, he was ultimately not very good at studying the principles involved.

"A sound bite is impossible to refute, it's too abstract, too fanciful, too far removed from our lives." The Governor-general was composing a speech for tomorrow, he needed to mobilize the citizens with a speech, "For example, now that I say that we are going to exterminate the weak who are dragging the country down for the sake of the great cause of the EU, I think there are many people who will support me; however, if I were to put this slogan into practice, for example, by learning from the Spartans, who threw the newborn babies into the snow in order to test their strength or weakness and decide whether they should live or die, everyone would think me an inhuman beast. When the butcher's knife comes to their necks, most people will come to their senses ... McNeil, and concrete and small evil deeds are far more frightening than empty slogans. The fellows who shout slogans don't always have the opportunity to try them, while the hooligans and dregs of society who oppress law-abiding citizens in their daily lives are able to carry out their criminal activities wherever and whenever they please."

The day after the negotiations broke down, Governor-General Herzog decided to deliver a speech that was broadcast live to the whole of South Africa. Seven of the eight legal media outlets allowed by Governor Herzog to cover the news were disciplined enough to change their original programs and broadcast the Governor-general's speech live at the prescribed time, while the last one seemed oblivious to the tense nature of the situation - they were still broadcasting a cooking show.

The head of the TV station told reporters afterwards that since seven media outlets had already gone to broadcast the speech live, citizens who did want to watch the speech would certainly not come to see their cooking program. Whether they broadcast the speech live or not would not affect the big picture.

Governor-general Herzog began his speech by praising the soldiers and commanders who are fighting on the front lines, before expressing his gratitude to the citizens who have given him unconditional support since the beginning. He then spent about an hour explaining to the citizens the seriousness of the current situation. During his speech, Governor-General Herzog constantly emphasized that the Rhodesian rebels were the vanguard used by the Britannian Empire to enforce the tyranny of its monarchs, the undead of the Middle Ages, and argued that the South African authorities had done everything they could to prevent the outbreak of war before the event. Inevitably, the bent Rhodesian rebels did not understand the good intentions of the Governor-general and preferred to be lackeys of the Britannian Emperor rather than free men of the EU.

"Citizens, some unsubstantiated gossip will say that it was I who pushed them to the brink, and that it was we, South Africa, who made them choose to raise the anti-flag." The Governor-general, still wearing his military coat, set his large-brimmed hat aside and looked straight into the camera lens. The director of the scene decided that the Governor-general looked unseemly in a military coat with an empty lapel pin, and improvised by pinning a double-headed eagle insignia in the place of the lapel pin to indicate the Governor-general's authority.

Governor-general Jacob Herzog raises his right hand, extends his right index finger, and points upward. Above his head was only the ceiling, and the devout spectators were convinced that the Governor-general was swearing inwardly to God.

"... This claim is a complete rumor. My fellow countrymen, if we in South Africa had decided to eradicate them with the utmost force and determination, could these unsuspecting miscreants have stood in the way?" The Governor-general narrowed his eyes gravely to hide the occasional nervousness that surfaced within him, "Contrary to what has been propagated in certain media outlets, our defense forces have exercised maximum restraint in the face of vicious traitors. However, these cowards interpreted our kindness as weakness, and they plundered our land, killed our families, and are going to enslave our descendants, intending to turn the free land of South Africa into the farms and pastures of the Emperor of Britannia!"

Indeed, the central aim of both the incriminating investigation plan drawn up by Governor-General Herzog and the assassination plan Adalbert decided to carry out was to turn the already fractured African Britannian leadership into a scattered mess. The African Britannians' civic organizations, mainly the Rifle Association, had always had a high level of prestige, and since McNeil had already killed all of the Rifle Association's main leaders in the chemical plant, the African Britannians, who had hastily decided to rise up and rebel, had to take in the bureaucrats who had fallen out of power on the brink of death in order to save their lives or more power. As a result, these outsiders, who were so centrifugal to the African Britannians, were simply unable to deal with the complexity of the situation, and they were unable to even control the rebels, who were on the verge of defeat, so much so that rumors were repeatedly circulating in Rhodesia that the rebels would take over the power of the Free State in the form of a mutiny. As a result, those merchants who were supporting the rebel activities behind the scenes had to face the pressure directly, and they naturally refused to shed their blood for the rebels in order to preserve their own sphere of interests, and perhaps turned to Governor-General Herzog when the situation was reversed.

The Governor-general in front of the camera was spreading his arms wide and pointing his hands in two separate directions.

"O people of Rhodesia, I have given you two paths, one leading to peace and prosperity, and one leading to war and disaster." The Governor-general was filled with grief and indignation as he accused the atrocities that had taken place in Rhodesia, "Yet, you have rejected peace and our goodwill. Well, I am here to tell you plainly: I gave you war, and you asked for it! From this day forward, the door of negotiation has been closed to you forever, and you have proved by your own folly and short-sightedness that you are not qualified to sit at the negotiating table at all."

The audience, who had been specially invited by the Governor-general to come and listen, began at once to applaud; these were the Governor-general's ardent supporters, some of whom had previously voted for Governor Herzog in the election of the consuls, and whose enthusiasm did not seem to have been dampened by the Governor-general's defeat. The audience, which included old men in their seventies and eighties as well as young men in their twenties, carried banners and flags of various colors to show the determination of different groups throughout South Africa to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Governor-general. Among them were the indigenous people, who made up about a third of the audience and who, without Governor Herzog's affirmative action bill, would still be, by and large, slaves to the African Britannians - they had no reason to oppose the Governor-general at this point in time, even though some felt that Governor Herzog's policies were not necessarily being implemented.

"... The price is heavy, and war inevitably brings tragedy. So, at what point will this war stop? In order to prevent similar tragedies from happening again, we don't want a compromise, we don't want a stage victory, we want a complete victory, a total victory!" The Governor-general duly withdrew his right hand and clenched it into a fist, "Citizens, as long as there are those who dare to call citizens of different skin colors slaves by denying them the rights granted to them by law, this war will never end. It will continue, and our weapons are not guns, they are ideas. War only destroys those who are the most determined enemies, and the greater number bury their enmity in their hearts. We should not blame them, however; parties faced with trials on the wave of changing times will always be alarmed."

There were also many who decided to boycott the Governor-general's inflammatory speech. Anti-Governor Herzog marches and rallies occurred in varying degrees throughout South Africa, with the organizers of the marches claiming that Governor-General Herzog's projected widespread conscription and mobilization had been a gross violation of civil liberties. Coinciding with the rallies, which were also being held by supporters of Governor-General Herzog, a large-scale brawl began between the two sides, in which dozens of people were killed that day and hundreds of others were hospitalized for treatment of their injuries. South African parliamentarians eager to show their heartfelt support for the powerful and bloated Governor-general also took to the streets to organize social events in support of the Governor-general, and for a time there was only one voice left in the whole of South Africa; any citizen who dared to oppose Governor-General Herzog must be a Britannian spy and a potential collaborating traitor.

"Therefore, with the utmost sincerity, I hereby call upon the citizens to see the real enemy: the natives expelled from their ancestral lands, the miners whose families are buried in mass graves, and all those who have been victimized by the privileges of Britannia, it is time to take back your birthright. We do not want one side to enslave the other, but only for all to coexist peacefully, and for no one to have the privilege of being superior for no reason. In the name of God, we shall prevail, long live the democracy and free United Republics of Europa! Long live victory!"

Amidst mountainous cheers, Governor-General Herzog concluded his speech, and solemnly proclaimed that those rebel leaders who were willing to throw in the towel would be welcome at any time to return to South Africa. In this atmosphere of optimism and joy McNeil left the Transvaal and returned by military transport to his barracks in north-west Rhodesia. In his estimation, Colonel Duttmann, who had already infiltrated into Rhodesia, would have already engaged the rebels, and if the Colonel had been in command, the Rhodesian rebels would have failed in their attempts to use the negotiations as a cover. He waited patiently for the plane to arrive at its destination, said a hasty goodbye to the representatives of the other troops traveling with him, and continued on his way in the jeep. By about 5:00 p.m. that afternoon, he finally saw the camp, which had changed little.

Major Gene Smilas had stayed behind to man it, his job being to defend it against enemy raids and to pick up the colonel at the front at any time. The major acted pleased to see McNeil's successful return. He told McNeil that they were not to be deceived by the lie of peace talks, and that Colonel Duttmann had taken advantage of the opportunity to cross the enemy's lines and enter the mountains. The smug rebels still thought that their plan could be carried out successfully, and when the next round of melee began they would realize that the troops in the front line would be completely cut off from the rear.

Without a word, McNeil listened to Smilas recount the little things that had happened in recent times before asking a question:

"So, why don't you go ahead and split your forces to attack another location as originally planned?"

"It is not necessary for the time being. The current operations have all been able to proceed without incident, and I think the Colonel himself would consider it more prudent for our reserve forces to remain here." Smilas balked at the idea that there was no reason for them to take the initiative, but that they should wait for Colonel Duttmann's next instructions.

McNeil always felt that something was fishy, and he couldn't find the key problem with it, so he had to superficially agree with Smilas. He returned to his quarters and decided to keep a close eye on the recent battle. The rebels were using the negotiations to stall for time, and the South Africans knew it and played along with the rebels quite cooperatively, so the extent to which each of them was aware of the enemy's machinations could only be told by those who were actually in charge of the specific activities. Before the short-lived peace talks began, the rebels were planning to move their elite troops to the southwest to resist the defense forces, and McNeil wondered if they had changed their plans. According to Smilas, the colonel's decision at the time had been to continue into the mountains to set up an ambush, since blindly withdrawing to the same spot would have alerted the rebels. In any case, air control remained in the hands of the defense forces, and even if there was a possibility that Colonel Duttmann had been negligent, the rebels would not have gained a huge advantage.

The next few days were particularly difficult. While the soldiers restlessly trained in their camps, Smilas made frequent telephone calls to get in touch with the other troops to inquire about the situation on the frontal battlefield. According to the friendly forces, they had managed to open a gap in the enemy lines on the third day of the war, however the rebel counter-attack was too ferocious for the defense forces, who had failed to anticipate the rebel action, to resist for a time, and were simply pushed back by the rebels. The infuriated commanders had no choice but to have the air force bombard the rebel rear before discussing the next phase of the battle plan. As for the Airborne Corps, which Lieutenant General Wood had high hopes for, they were still holding their ground in the northeast, waiting for the rebels to move the last of their defensive forces and then swoop down on the enemy's heartland.

Seeing that the always optimistic McNeil had become silent, unease inevitably arose within the hearts of the other soldiers. This inexplicable panic quickly spread from the rank-and-file soldiers to the commanders, and in the end, it also had a not-so-small negative impact on Smilas. Everyone was just minding their own business, and they could only wait for the final results to see if Colonel Duttmann's whims could lead them to victory.

That morning, Major Smilas received a strange announcement. This order from division headquarters called for all troops to defend in place and not easily allow the rebels to find a hole in the defense. Perhaps the defense was concerned that the rebels were breaking out to the northwest, thus breaking through the encirclement that was capable of almost completely sealing off the rebels.

Smilas called the other officers who remained behind to discuss the intent behind this order. While most of the officers insisted that it was just a common order calling for stronger defenses, several of the same officers pointed out the possibility of the situation at the front getting out of hand.

"Before the temporary ceasefire, our troops had already suppressed the rebels, and the current change in the situation just means that rebel reinforcements arrived at the front - at least in part."

"It's a pity that the air force won't share the enemy's intelligence with us; if we could get an updated map of the enemy's distribution position in time, we wouldn't have to speculate here."

Becoming a little more frightened by the thought, Smilas decided to call McNeil in to discuss the new orders, and he sent two of his soldiers in search of McNeil to find McNeil convincing the other soldiers to organize his outfit.

"McNeil, the officer wants you to meet him ... What are you doing?"

"Doing what needs to be done." McNeil said goodbye to the other soldiers and was led by the guards to Smilas' quarters. Smilas read the original text of the contents of the order to McNeil, and then asked McNeil for his opinion.

McNeil sat slightly lazily on a small stool and said absently:

"You have your own counselors and assistants, there is no need for me."

"That's right ... I just wanted to get your opinion." Smilas tugged at his beard and began to consider the need to cut it off, "I heard you were mobilizing other soldiers to get ready to leave, so it looks like you've already made up your mind."

McNeil took the map and drew two horizontal lines on the front line where the two armies were facing each other. He extended his right hand and pointed to the vertical direction of the horizontal lines and said:

"First, the enemy has indeed arrived, and the air force did not inform the ground forces of this information, not because they deliberately blocked the news or the so-called military disputes ... is that the enemy changed routes during the negotiations. They broke up their light infantry units completely and crossed directly over the mountain range, and these soldiers had already arrived at the front line before the fighting resumed ... There is no doubt that the air force, which would only patrol the battlefield according to its usual practice, did not even notice the rebels hiding in the woods."

"Gee, that's bad." Smilas' expression gradually became grave, "Wouldn't the officer be in danger? So how come the always well-informed intelligence services haven't overheard anything relevant from the enemy?"

McNeil laughed his head off as he commented without irony, "Well-informed? Major, for God's sake, honestly, I've never heard of them actually stealing any secrets from the enemy in this war ... But the enemy's movements are certainly noteworthy, and they're truly out of this world."

Still, even if the rebels could take advantage of the mountainous environment while sending light infantry to the front, they couldn't get artillery and other equipment over the mountains as well. As for using transport planes-assuming that they weren't afraid of having their transport planes shot down just after taking off-it was possible to try. The rest of the Volunteer Division's equipment, therefore, had to be transported honestly to the front by an escort from the route along which Colonel Duttmann expected to set up an ambush. The rebels had the option of crossing the valley or railroad transportation, and the plan Adalbert had devised was to counteract the enemy's actions against both.

"This looks like Britannian tactics."

"That's right. Exactly what the Britannians often do when they conduct military maneuvers in the rainforest zones of South America." McNeil corrected Smilas, "It's just that I didn't expect them to live and learn to play these tricks in mountainous areas with some vegetation."

McNeil then analyzed that the Colonel's actions may have been exposed, and that if the Colonel decided to attack while the rebels were transporting supplies or back-up troops were passing through, he may have been caught on both sides. Normally, for the purpose of securing and clearing this not-so-obvious road, the rebels would leave some of their soldiers patrolling the neighborhood.

By this time, Gene Smilas had come to a clear judgment of the situation. Colonel Duttmann's chances of winning were diminishing; his movements had been detected by the rebels, and at any moment he could fall into a desperate situation. However, Smilas still harbors a sense of luck, and he doesn't want to take the initiative to put himself in harm's way. Since the colonel hadn't issued any new orders so far, he would only fool himself into thinking nothing was happening.

"We wait for the officer's orders." Smilas concluded.

"Can't wait, Major." McNeil slapped the table with a demeanor that was alive with Smilas's superior officer lecturing him, "Colonel Duttmann has never been one to let anyone else take the credit for his work, and he'll only let up and ask for help if he's dying. If he is finally forced to ask for help, it will be too late then. We need to leave now. Right now. There's no other choice. Otherwise, you will be guilty of resisting command and getting your officer and friendly troops killed."

Not daring to use his future as a bargaining chip in another way, Smilas immediately ordered all the soldiers stationed here to set out, aiming for the very town that he had previously thought should be his second objective when he supplemented Adalbert's plan. If they could successfully capture that town, they would be able to make contact with Colonel Duttmann without difficulty, and if the friendly troops were trapped, they would be able to save them from the same perilous situation.

McNeil had already prepared everything, and he volunteered to lead a few soldiers to scout the way ahead. Smilas allocated him a truck and instructed McNeil to pull back as soon as he encountered a large enemy force.

"Still, I'm curious as to how the hell they managed to hide it from our side and mobilize their troops during the negotiations." McNeil was equally baffled, and he could only explain it away as the rebels having a plan and his side lacking a response. He got into the truck and had the soldier who was the best at driving act as the driver, with himself in the co-pilot's seat and the rest of the soldiers sitting in the truck's compartment. The rickety truck quickly rolled away from Smilas's sight with dirt and dust and smoke, leaving the Major full of misgivings.

He remembered that McNeil had actually carried some newspapers with him on his way out and couldn't help but feel sorry for the combat specialist's carelessness.

TBC

Chapter Notes：

Defining citizens of hostile nations as non-human is a specialty of the EU. Immediately after Japan was occupied by the Britannian Empire, the EU expropriated the property of all Japanese.

Despite the seeming unity of public opinion, no one can say what public opinion will evolve into in ten years' time.