Chapter 46 Confess First, Negotiate Later

The stalemate lasting over two months had left the Allied high command completely unprepared for the sudden German offensive. German tanks, emblazoned with iron crosses, roared out of the darkness like legendary beasts.

Facing such an assault, the Allies were utterly unguarded. The outer defense lines of the temporary camps were practically non-existent, and the checkpoints and machine-gun nests crumbled at the first touch. German infantry followed closely behind the tanks, driving deep along the roads and wantonly attacking every target in their path.

These scenes, straight out of a nightmare, felt utterly surreal.

The Germans showed no mercy for the Allies' laxity. The Luftwaffe destroyed various barracks, and Stukas accurately bombed the surrounding pillboxes. Even though the garrison forces had meticulously applied camouflage paint and hung camouflage nets over these bunkers, the German air force seemed to possess X-ray vision, unhesitatingly blasting the semi-concrete fortifications and their camouflage into fragments.

After all, the Allies had previously held an absolute advantage; even though they were temporarily not attacking, they had maintained an offensive posture. While defensive works existed, how could anyone have truly invested excessive effort into them?

The attacked Allies were overwhelmed, completely unable to control the current situation and plunging into utter chaos. A squad of German assault pioneers, wearing white snow capes, slipped into the US positions like ghosts. Armed with STG-44 assault rifles, the tongues of fire spitting from their muzzles flickered in the snowy mist.

A US machine-gunner had barely swung his barrel around when a Panzerfaust rocket blasted him and his sandbags into the sky.

"Retreat! Retreat!" an officer shouted. But where was there to retreat to? Grey German figures were everywhere, and countless steel helmets suddenly sprouted from the snow—they looked like an undead legion crawling out of hell, while the American soldiers were hunted deer.

The crisis on the front lines threw the Western Allied Command into turmoil, but the French military conference in Paris lacked such gloomy despair. This was because the command of the Western Allies was dominated by Britain and the United States; due to the fall of the French mainland, the forces in overseas colonies were insufficient to claim a dominant role.

Although five armies had now been rebuilt, reorganized, and split to restore a certain level of strength, the war was already drawing to a close, and contending for Allied command was far too late.

As opponents of the Germans in two world wars as well as the Franco-Prussian War, the thunder in the Ardennes was shocking, but a multitude of previous precedents allowed French generals to remain unfazed.

"Judging from the current balance of forces between the enemy and ourselves, this is nothing more than a Kaiser Offensive," General Delagrange judged nonchalantly, winning agreement from the generals present, including Tassigny and Juin, who endorsed his assessment.

The Kaiser Offensive was the last large-scale offensive launched by the German army at the end of the First World War in 1918. After this offensive, the German army retreated to the Hindenburg Line, leaving only the question of when they would lose the war.

The Kaiser Offensive and this Ardennes counter-offensive were very similar in timing.

Differences still existed, however. In the two world wars, the nations bearing the brunt of the damage were different; in the First World War, France bore the brunt, and in the final months of the war, France could barely hold on, being replaced by Britain and the United States.

The current situation was precisely the opposite: Britain and the United States were bearing the brunt. If the Ardennes counter-offensive were to achieve its strategic objectives, the main direction of attack would undoubtedly be the northeastern front deployed by Britain and the United States, replicating the outcome of four years ago in Belgium and the Netherlands where the French army was encircled.

"It's merely a Kaiser Offensive." In Turin, Koman also received word that the German army was launching an offensive from the Ardennes, primarily by listening to German broadcasts and having people translate the content. Perhaps because the war situation was unfavorable, news on the Axis side was low-key, but the Germans were certainly not modest; the desperate desire for a second Dunkirk in the broadcasts was audible to anyone.

When Lefebvre came to see Koman, he reported on several matters currently of concern. Martin had achieved significant results in Genoa, packing up the local advantageous industrial technologies and science and engineering faculty and students to send to France, and they had already set out.

Once they had departed, the matter was basically a foregone conclusion. Martin was now preparing to come to Turin to rendezvous with the fraternal troops, barring any delays from other affairs.

"In addition, people from several families have been saying at the division headquarters that the wrong people were arrested. After all, they are great nobles of Turin, and our pressure is also quite high," Lefebvre reported after finishing on Genoa.

Class loyalty comes before all else! Even though Koman regarded the Kingdom of Italy as a defeated nation, Britain and the United States had a relatively soft attitude toward dealing with Italy, so he still could not go too far.

"Have Martin investigate the Bishop of Genoa first, and we will begin a synchronized investigation on our end. For now, I'm going to go meet with a few Royalist families," Koman said, standing up to leave before suddenly adding, "Remember to remind me when the Italian Communist Party congress is convened; I'm afraid I'll forget once I get busy."

There had always been rumors of a tradition of pederasty in Catholicism. Koman had only heard of them but never witnessed them, though he figured that Italy was the stronghold of the Holy See and had once even housed the Papal States.

If such a tradition truly existed, then Italy, which accounted for a third of the cardinals, should definitely be a hard-hit area.

He was still accustomed to seizing leverage before co-opting a faction. Investigation might not be easy, but it was certainly something that needed to be done. Cardinal Cardina of Turin was the first to fall into Koman's sights; otherwise, why would a modernist believer like him bother making his company attend mass?

Half an hour later, Koman obtained the consent of his superior, Celt, and arrived at the temporary detention site for the Turin nobility—a former corporate dormitory repurposed by the French military as a temporary internment camp.

The conditions were neither good nor bad, but for these pre-war bigwigs of Turin, they were perhaps a bit crude.

Leafing through the prepared documents, the head of the Roero family was brought in. Italian features were relatively pleasant within Europe, but clearly, the head of this prominent family was not among them.

A somewhat exhausted Roero sat down; clearly, the psychological pressure over this period had been immense, and even without encountering any harsh torture, he remained trapped in anxiety and apprehension.

"Mr. Roero, sixteen thousand hectares of vineyards—truly a precious asset. One-fifth of Italy's wine exports are in your hands," Koman exclaimed while flipping through the intelligence. "Your son has even killed people; what a delightful surprise. It seems you will be reunited very soon."

"Slander, there is no such thing." Roero clasped his hands tightly, staring straight at Koman. "Is there not a foundation for cooperation between us? How dare you, a low-ranking officer, do this?"

As a great noble of Turin, he had his own intelligence channels. There was an agreement between the Allies and Italy; the previous mistakes lay entirely with Mussolini, so what did they have to do with him?

"No such thing? Could the investigative report given to me by the Italian Communist Party be fake?" Koman feigned surprise, reading the contents over and over again before suddenly teasing Roero, "I don't care about your several illegitimate children, but I believe no country treats murder as a trivial matter, right?"

"Let's return to the starting point. With the momentum of the Italian Communist Party currently so fierce, shouldn't I do something to win over public support in order to alleviate the class contradictions they talk about? Diverting contradictions, of course. Naturally, if Mr. Roero is unwilling to cooperate, so be it; it's not strictly necessary for you to cooperate."

"Then tell me, what do you want me to do?" Roero could not help asking aloud. Doing anything was fine as long as he regained his freedom; remaining confined like this was certainly unacceptable.

"I still prefer your unyielding demeanor. If the nobles of Turin were all as understanding as Mr. Roero, our work would be much easier." Koman set the intelligence aside. "But first, you must still plead guilty, and have the other families visiting here today plead guilty as well. Only then can we move Paris."