Chapter 3
October 12, Unified Year 1883
Posdamnt, Imperial Heartland
Schnantzern Estate
As he had been given more access to the literature from the office of his Father, Franz had gained a better understanding of his nation. It was with this newfound insight that he understood how insane his newfound country was, and also how royally screwed they could be.
In 1866, a Confederation of dozens of states left behind from the dissolution of a great Empire came together in an international upheaval, uniting under one Emperor, one state. In his previous world, such an action would have never happened due to countless reasons that Franz had never cared to research.
Obviously, this unbelievable act was met with immediate aggression from almost all surrounding states.
The Commonwealth nearly had a heart attack from the abrupt upset of balance within Europe.
The Rus Empire rose an eyebrow, surprised at the outbreak, but much too busy with paying attention to the rapidly rising Dominion to care.
The Legadonia Entente Alliance was confused as to the change in borders, suffering from the whiplash of such an uncertainty.
But the Francois Republic was different.
They had essentially burst a vein, for it was their defeat simply a year earlier that had allowed for the unbelievable rise in nationalism in those states, and the utter humiliation of this would cement the Reich as their enemy for years to come.
Surprisingly though, they would not be the first to strike conflict. It would instead be the unsuspecting Legadonia Entente Alliance who took the fall first, though it had not been entirely too violent.
Just months after the conception of the Empire, the Commonwealth was forced to mediate between the two nations as they struggled to solidify the lines concerning their territories, an extremely vague, and honestly, worrying Treaty being written in accordance with the situation.
The 1867 Treaty of Londinium went as well as anyone could suspect, and completely failed at one thing while succeeding in the other. Sure, the confusion stopped, but the hostility continued despite that for many reasons, most including what can only be seen as misconceptions.
The next battle of the Empire would not take place in writing, though.
The Francois Republic attacked merely months later as weathering problems ensuing border issues with the new nation adjacent to them became much too dire. Their history and otherwise gave them the confidence that they would prevail this time over a consolidating heap of different countries.
They miscalculated.
Over the next year, they would find that an assortment of multiple like-minded peoples banding together would not be a mess, most especially when their foremost traits were the arts of rationalism and intelligence. Their military might, despite their lack of clear reorganization, was effective.
Their anger of the Francois found no outlet, like fire to water, as the famous defensive doctrine of the early Empire immediately began to show.
It was during the same time a skirmish broke out in the unredeemed lands of Ildoa, aggression sprouting between the Empire and the Kingdom of Ildoa regarding its ownership. It was apparently still seen today as a miracle that its leaders met, and decided on terms of Alliance rather than war, much unlike its neighbor, the Francois. The land was ceded to the Ildoans, despite the fact it cut a sliver of the Empire from itself.
The Rus Empire showed a slight amount of aggression following the localized war between the Empire and its ally, the Francois, but the Republic was much too prideful to ask for assistance, and the Commonwealth was watching closely on terms of continuing the level of balance within Europe.
It was due to this surprising assortment of reasons, among others, that allowed for the persistence of the Empire, despite all odds.
As 1870 began, the Empire had solidified itself among the others, as if a statement to the world, that it deserved its place.
The globe yielded.
Franz idly thought of the amount of luck, the miracles he'd dare say, needed for such a situation to happen. He understood why it would never have occurred in his last life considering the varying political landscape, and that it was surprise enough that so many nations had even gathered successfully in the first place.
However, the Empire survived its first four years of unadulterated tensity with bravado, which he couldn't scoff at whatsoever. The ideals and beliefs carrying this nation were much too large to laugh at.
The Empire seems to have continued to expand its might, most especially when it comes into terms of its military, which finished restructuring in the mid-1870's, not long after the birth of Franz. It took a decade for such an issue, but what had left was an organized Government and Army from top to bottom, based on steadfast ideologies, and an ever changing military organization behind a strict doctrine of defense.
There had been countless issues plaguing the borders of the Empire and the surrounding nations, and it seems it had gotten to the point where the Empire was forced to view each of its neighbors as a potential enemy, most especially so for the likes of the Francois.
The Empire continues to grow, and the tension within Europe continues with it, balance continuing to tilt and aggression continuing to rise.
That seemed to be the current history of his nation, other than the most recent territorial dispute between the Empire and the Republic, who seemed to be at each other's throats like usual, and once more failed to make any ground in a more neutral relationship.
Franz felt that he should at least be glad that the Commonwealth had a good bit of enmity with the Francois as well, or this situation wouldn't continue to fare so well for the newborn nation.
Closing the book, he finally found the figure of his Father who was once more sat before him at his desk. He took the time to look over the uniform the man wore, still surprised by the fashion choice of the Empire, or rather, the lack of one.
It seemed that the country has continued to be in some sort of limbo when it comes to the uniform of their combined militaries, many differences being seen all across the regions in various terms of wear. For an Empire of people focused on organization and rational thought, they really haven't shown such when it comes to their apparel.
His father in specific seemed to be some sort of nightmare born from the conception of the German Empire of both the First and Second World War of his previous world, something that he couldn't help but finally attempt to speak up about.
"It's curious, Father. Why are the uniforms of our military so chaotic?
Weitzel raised his gaze from his typewriter, circling back to his own attire, before sighing out slightly, continuing his work with a slight sigh.
"It's what happens when multiple nations come under one, bringing their pride and histories with them. Despite our similar loyalties, some of us just can't not argue with one another. I'm confident our Emperor will tire of this bother soon enough though."
Franz tilted his head inquisitively as he asked another question.
"What is the official uniform then?"
The typing paused once more as the man responded.
"Something that looks like the one I am wearing now. The Emperor has shown interest in the affiliated prototypes, and so the General Staff has seen fit to officialize this… Idea, as its official look."
The man sighed once more, looking a tad weary as he peered away from his device.
"I don't think you'll need to worry about wearing this eyesore when you make it into the ranks. It's still in the works, but they should come to an agreement by the time you join."
His curiosity abated, Franz gave his Father leeway to continue his work as he looked past him once more to the window, looking at the rapidly cooling weather that would give way to Winter once more.
What a world I've been born into.
May 28, Unified Year 1884
Posdamnt, Imperial Heartland
Schnantzern Estate
Another year older, another year of preparation.
Almost in his teens, Franz had found his training becoming more difficult by the month, along with his progress in learning beginning to require exertion and effort. He had begun to realign himself and push to learn more, especially in topics he had not used much before when he was in his previous life.
Other subjects, however, were different.
"You are garrisoned in a town, reminiscent of our current architecture. You have only two hundred and fifty men under your command. An unknown enemy force of unspecified number will be entering the urban center. Your orders are to defend the settlement at all costs."
His Father looks down at him, making a pyramid with his fingers as he inclined an eyebrow, his mouth opening once more.
"What are your orders?"
Lacking hesitation, Franz responded with his own questions.
"Is the enemy aware of our presence. What is the enemy made up of? Do they have any field guns present? What is the status of any Imperial citizens within the town?"
Weitzel paused in thought, bringing his fingers up to tap his mouth as he placed his elbows down on the table, smiling slightly.
"Your enemy may or may not know of your presence. There is only infantry. They follow ordinary military organization in rank and file. Innocents have been vacated."
"Do they know that there are no civilians present? How are they entering the establishment?" Franz asked immediately after.
"You don't know."
The eyes of the man sparked, and Franz immediately understood the theoretical situation.
"Set up men on the outskirts of the town out of sight to count estimated number of any arriving enemy force and view how they move. Once this is done, they shall report back, and if they are just marching straight, I would order my men to set up in pairs along the rooftops and highest floors of buildings across the road that they are most likely to travel through, or roads if the force is larger than anticipated."
Franz tapped his chin as he continued.
"Tactical focus would be on beheading the troop, which means that I would order my men to focus on those with excess regalia and any other individuals who seem to have commanding power or are speaking to droves of soldiers. Our attack would be initiated once most of the enemy enters the town, or if they begin to enter buildings en mass. I would say shooting the suspected commander of this group would suffice for the beginning of our main assault."
The boy raised an eyebrow, looking forward to Weitzel as the man nodded slightly.
"Keeping to the highest points and taking these shots while staying out of sight should be sufficient to keeping our casualties low, even if the enemy outnumbers us, especially if their command is destroyed early. My soldiers being dispatched in groups of two should be well enough to help if one were injured."
Somewhat satisfied with his own analysis of the situation, Franz looked to his Father as he awaited a response. The man puckered his lips slightly as he clasped his hands together on the desk.
"Indeed, such an approach could serve to dwindle an unprepared and unknowing enemy simply streaming into the town. Now let's go back and say it was reported that they are congregating to enter in teams, knowing of your presence. What then?"
Franz slightly tilted his head in response.
"Do we have time to prepare before this assault?"
The man simply nodded, pushing the boy to speak once more.
"Keep to the rooftops but expand from teams of two to squads of ten, which should give me twenty five total fireteams. Use buildings in the major centers of the town, sprinkling these units across the settlement. Block entrances and stairways to the rooftops of these locations, starting from the bottom to the top. Beforehand, place blockades in the streets and otherwise to slow down movement of any enemy and cause distractions that can be used to begin combat in further surprise."
The boy nodded to himself as he crossed his arms.
"I would leave first contact to the discretion of these unit leaders, trusting the experience and capability of those Non-Commissioned Officers."
Weitzel smiled as he shook his head, leaning back into his chair once more.
"Commendable. We have yet to even begin on the topic of Urban warfare too. Have you been reading up in private again?" He asked curiously.
Franz simply smiled wider, shaking his head with a slight chuckle.
"Its not the best, really. It would be much easier in such a situation if we had some type of weapon that could rapidly fire rounds, like that Maxin gun created a few years ago, but more mobile and maneuverable."
He had noticed a while ago, but it seems the progression of this world was much quicker than that of the previous. This was most especially apparent when it came to military technology all across the globe.
He understood that this so called 'Maxin gun' was the Maxim machine gun of his previous world, but he was quite sure it had not been present in the 1870s, nor used in that time period either. It was this hurried advancement that seemed to be causing many of the more later technologies to appear earlier than they should.
This was most especially so for the minds of the Empire, true to their traditions and culture of essential engineering genius, improving weaponry in droves ever since the union of the Germanian nations.
However, Franz found himself concerned at the prospects. Combining technologies and strategies of destruction from two global wars into one. Just how fatalistic would such a conflict be?
"That's true." The words of his Father pulled him out of his thoughts, his head tilting forwards.
"Its thankful that the smartest minds of the nation are working at enhancing our military might."
The man had a slight smirk, something mirrored on Franz own face as he kept his worries in his own head.
He still had time, hopefully. From the words of that woman, he was born entirely too early to be drawn into such a deplorable war.
He had time to spare, all he would need to do is make the most of it.
December 31, Unified Year 1884
Posdamnt, Imperial Heartland
Schnantzern Estate
This really wasn't what was going through his mind when he thought of making the most of his time in this Empire.
"Bwother!" A pitched voice called for him, a sigh being extracted from him on an immediate basis as a few laughs occurred around him.
He resigned himself to pick up the small blonde furball from under their armpits, hoisting her to his lap as he continued to stay seated, uncaring for the hands that had now started to play with his unfortunately long hair.
He would really need to cut it soon.
Christmas had ended merely days ago, but now was the celebration of the new year bound to begin. That meant most of the family would be meeting within the area of the Estate, laughing and playing together, talking about stories and otherwise.
He recognized all of the faces, but some were more familiar than others. He was sure that many of those gathered today were extended family and servants. It was unfortunate that he couldn't miss this event, where he would have rather been reading through history in the safe confines of his Fathers' Study.
Unfortunately, the man had essentially dragged him out of the room, leaving him to suffer in the current situation.
A fatigued smile graced his face as he pulled a small box from his pocket, courtesy of a quiet trip to town. He waved it in front of the face of the small child, catching their attention immediately.
No words were exchanged as the creature grabbed onto the box and tried to open it, finding failure at every attempt. He couldn't help but smile, pledging never to admit that his little sister was indeed quite adorable.
"Need help, Lea?" He asked, amusedly.
"No!" She merely shouted back as she continued to claw at the simple packaging.
Despite being almost four years old, she seemed to be unable to crack the foolproof nature of a tight package and knot.
He caressed the head of the feisty beast as he idly thought about the past decade.
He will have lived in this world for 11 years, being conscious for only 7 at this rate. Its terrifying to think of how much has changed but calming to remember that his priorities have never done the same. It is merely the target of said precedence that has shifted.
Instead of laboring in the offices of the Pentagon years in the future, in the post modern era of the late 21st century, using his tired mind to list strategies and tactics, predicting the future of the weary American Union, battered after decades of warfare, he is now here.
In a world yet touched by the embers of said war, but rapidly approaching total destruction. One where he resides within a new people, a new nation, with a new family giving him all the same love.
A Mother who stays off to the side, speaking with her sisters and otherwise with a sly smile on her face, sometimes directing her soft yet strong gaze to his corner with approval.
A Father who supports his every move, understanding his aspirations and dreams, and with those similarly deep brown eyes looks upon him from his own corner among the other military officials of the family, pride overflowing.
And his sister. Innocent as she is as she finally opens the box, pulling a small silver pendant, her name etched in a luxurious scrawl, squealing in delight. The hug that impacts his chest slightly calms his thoughts as he sighs out once more, the memories of his past drifting away.
He was no longer that old man, but he would always remember the teachings of that wizened mind. Of the mistakes the soul had made, the failures and the pains. It would carve the path for a future, one where his newfound… No, where his family would be safe and sound.
A life where he would be able to watch his parents grow old happily. Where he would be able to do what he couldn't in a life past, to find the love of his two lives, marry, and bear children. To watch his sister grow into an accomplished and prosperous young woman.
For these he would fight tooth and nail. This was his providence, and whatever plans those deities had in store for him, he could only merely say that their luck would be tough in the future. He had spat them once in the face before, and he would not hesitate to do it again.
For he will never buckle, nor yield.
He will bleed, maybe cry, and scream.
But he would never, ever, waver.
And that brought a smile to his face.
AN:
I heavily underestimated how difficult writing a ff like this would be lmao
Sorry for the late upload, but to explain, it seems I had forgotten just a few things:
I am not an old man, nor do I have any kind of strategic or tactical knowledge, I am not in the military, I am not wise nor that intelligent, and I am a new writer
I heavily underestimated how much research and back searching I would have to do just to write the first section of this chapter, from the German Question to the nations involved, to the solutions and the real life occurrence, its quite a lot to keep sifting through on the constant while also keeping an eye on the canon.
Like, did the Austro-Prussian war not even happen in this universe? The times I wish the author went a little more in depth with the conception of the Empire and shit instead of just saying 'uhhh yeah they're kinda new and uhhhh, they did a lot of shit and now most of their neighbors no likey them hahaha lol!~'
Kill me.
But hey, this is like, almost completely new territory being so far back if I'm not wrong, so I am here to begin it with my lackluster historical, political, and military knowledge, so no biggie! I'm definitely going to make some kind of history buff angry one of these days, who will read this and start pissing and shitting all over my head, but thats for the future hopefully.
I would just like those reading this to remember that I am not any type of military otaku or anything, I am just some normal dude who wants to write a fan fiction for a fandom that they unhealthily adore after being inspired by the works of his peers. So please treat me well!
I wont deny that this will be a great learning experience though, and I feel invigorated knowing there are still people reading and interested as much as I am!
So here it is, the third installment in what is probably gonna be way too many chapters until the series time period even begins, but whats the fun in rushing!
I'll keep with it as long as I can, and honestly, I'll probably start bullshitting information soon enough, especially when it comes to military stuff. I'm gonna have to go to some library to read the Art of War or something at this rate.
Until then though, see you guys in the next chapter!
Respect to my fellow writers!