by Carlo Zen
And in fact, many of the survivors report a prevailing attitude that they could hold out until the Republic saved them.
Then the Empire issued its last warning.
“This is a warning for the irregular combatants of the armed revolt. In accordance with article 8, paragraph 5, of the Rules of War on Land, I demand someone meet with our representative to discuss the subjects of the Empire you so unjustly imprison.”
In response, the city of Arene said, “We are the citizens of Arene. There are no prisoners. We are just people asking to be free.”
And so, according to the Rules of War on Land, since there were no prisoners and no imperial citizens among the irregular combatants occupying the city, the Empire carried out an operation to capture it.
In order to avoid the heavy responsibility for each soldier that would result if they went into the city and had to visually confirm their targets, they aimed to cause widespread fires via artillery bombardment from positions surrounding the city.
A portion of the documents shows that they had chosen targets that were likely to spread the flames as proof-of-concept for a firestorm.
This notorious atrocity perpetrated by the Imperial Army is commonly known as the Arene Massacre.
We have with us Professor Walter Halbom of Londinium University. Professor Halbom, we’ll jump right into it. Why did the Imperial Army take such drastic military action with no hesitation?
“Well, you have to understand how the imperial soldiers were thinking. Their paradigm tended to have military leanings. To put it another way, they wanted to apply that logic to everything.
“In other words, they were thinking in terms of strategy and whatnot.
“You can probably understand the significance of riots behind the Western District Army’s front for guys with that mind-set.
“Let’s take this step-by-step. First, the Empire’s Arene-Roygen region has always contained sparks of partisan resistance. The Imperial Army hypothesizes that someone is inciting the area’s anti-Empire faction.
“I think the real problem was that that possibility couldn’t be completely denied.
“And if you consider that the uprising cut off the western Imperial Army rear areas from the front, the rest is simple.
“What the Imperial Army General Staff feared first and foremost at the time was the western army getting pinned down before they could scrape together the troops for a unit to suppress the revolt. Most of the Empire’s forces were committed on the Rhine lines, so an attack from the militia while the troops were pinned down by the Republican Army might have been enough to cost the Empire the western industrial district.
“The second possibility was that the revolt would stay contained within the Arene-Roygen region. In that case, they would be able to protect the industrial region, but…Arene was a major city on the supply rail line. I think that played a major role.
“Because, you know, if there is pressure on the supply lines, the troops won’t be able to fight for very long no matter how tough they are.
“The potential was there for the Empire’s worst-case scenario to come to pass—at least, it wouldn’t have been an unexpected line of reasoning for the imperial side.
“We can see that the anti-Empire movement uprising gave the Empire a tremendous shock in terms of strategy.
“I myself can declare, from my experience serving, that the mere notion of the communication lines to the rear becoming paralyzed is terrifying for anyone.
“So I think the Imperial Army was imagining the Republican Army Command would throw their weight around. If that happened, the imperial forces would be requested to urgently eliminate the resistance, but they would have to worry about Republican mages joining and strengthening it.
“At that point, the army was already short on troops for the front, so stabilizing the rear at the same time was a practically impossible demand.
“With these two difficult problems, the Empire now faced a major dilemma. The only good thing—or perhaps, the disastrous thing—was that they had an intercepting mage unit as reinforcements.
“The mage units Command kept on hand as reserves for the army had a measure of firepower. That gave them the option to suppress the separatist independent movement.
“Of course, if they mobilized them here, they wouldn’t be able to use them to resist an invasion.
“Naturally, that led to worries that the main battlefront could collapse. Additionally, in a battle to capture a city, the mage units would really only be good for intimidation and diversions.
“But on the front lines, they could wipe out or repel enemy units.
“Should they prioritize fending off attacking Republicans? If they did that, with the rear devoid of soldiers, the revolt was liable to spread. If that happened, it could have a markedly negative effect on the supply lines, causing enormous losses in a battle of attrition. On the front lines, where they were already fighting close-pitched battles, it was hard to imagine they would be able to take such losses.
“So should they put down the revolt first? But spending the time of their only reserves to suppress the revolt could prove fatal. If the reserves got tied up and lost time and the Republican Army broke through, the invasion could result in an immeasurable increase in casualties. All the lives lost countering the sneak attack and pushing the enemy back would have been lost for nothing, and that would not be acceptable.
“For the Republican Army, on the other hand, success was guaranteed. No matter which objective the Imperial Army chose, the Republicans would achieve something in the end.
“It is here that the Imperial Army commits an obviously atrocious deed, leaving a mark on history no country should make.
“Who ordered it is unclear. We don’t even really have a record of who carried it out. These were truly soldiers who had to be left out of the records.
“While they were soldiers of the finest caliber who pulled off a miraculous defensive battle, they were also the lowest of the low who deeply stained the Empire’s honor.
“Now in the postwar period, many soldiers criticize them. Personally, though, I defend the people who were put in that difficult position. Under the circumstances, they had no alternative options, and additionally, it came down as an order.
“What is certain is that someone saved the Empire’s battle lines, although I have to say, the method is not one I personally agree with.”
Thank you, Professor Walter Halbom.
Now, take a look at this next video… Professor Halbom offers this internal document from the Imperial Army General Staff.
She might call it “an extreme form of ‘practicality.’”
Command has removed her restraints. Wisely, to achieve victory, they took away her limits. These are the orders of the army, of the Empire, and as a soldier, I am forced to obey. The impulses that were successfully suppressed with logic will be unchained for this great cause. Or perhaps it’s that the cause she had to hesitate will disappear.
Whose responsibility is it when a beast bites into a meal thrown in front of it? I believe those responsible are none other than the ones who threw the sacrifice to the starving animal.
*A scribbled note discovered in a wastebasket at the Imperial Army General Staff Headquarters
MAY 4, UNIFIED YEAR 1925, THE RHINE FRONT
“As chief of staff, did you know this might happen?” the army corps commander generously pretended to ask, trying to hide the tremble in his voice at the seriousness of the situation.
Actually, though he was controlling his expression, he was seething internally. The Republican Army had moved far more quickly than the Empire had anticipated.
News had come in that, completely contrary to their expectations, mage reinforcements, albeit a small number of them, had entered Arene.
Arene’s defenses would probably grow stronger as more time passed. Meanwhile, our plan has utterly failed. The initial confusion had finally been brought under control, and they were getting a grasp
on the situation, but he wanted to shield his eyes from the pathetic spectacle of panicking troops. Is this really our Imperial Army?
Even the suppression unit the central General Staff promised them had gotten held up, and this was the result. He wanted to chew out the Railroad Department, who was responsible for managing the schedules, and ask what the hell they had been doing.
But the necessity of such complaints showed how bad the situation was in Arene. If the trains that ran through there were paralyzed for even a day, the supply line delivering tens of thousands of tons of ammunition and food to the front would be physically disrupted. Unless each division was sent at least five hundred—but a thousand, if possible—tons of supplies, the frontline troops would find their ranks thinning out. That statistic was now basically the General Staff’s nightmare.
To make matters worse, there was no alternative line. Arene was a main relay point that even had a switchyard. There were branch lines, yes, but as for whether or not they could serve the front, the hopeless, pale faces of the Railroad Department members said it all. The Imperial Army was realizing again what an Achilles’ heel logistics trouble was when invading—especially after cutting off its enemies up north.
So for a moment, what crossed the commanders’ minds was the furious scolding they would unleash on the Feldgendarmerie, since they had failed to quash the sparks of rebellion.
The army corps commander wasn’t the only one softly sneering, “You good-for-nothing freeloaders.”
He didn’t know where the military police’s precious Feldgendarmerie had been napping, but talk about lazy. If you have a siesta custom, get your asses back to the countryside. Though no one said it out loud, they all groaned and spat on the ground.
Circumstances were so lamentable that someone murmured, “We could have avoided this if we had one of our brave, loyal mage companies.”
The situation was rapidly deteriorating. They couldn’t help but fear the worst.
Riots in the rear. Thanks to that, the units were stuck.
If we move the front, won’t the Republic react? As long as that worry remained, they had to keep movement of troops to a minimum. But if supplies were interrupted for even a few days, they would soon lose the ability to fight.
So the threat in Arene had to be eliminated. Well, that was easy to say. It would be very difficult to get rid of the rebels quickly now that Republican mages had joined them.
“Yes, sir, there was some idea. Operations, please explain.”
But as expected, you could say, it took the staff corps very little time to collect their analyses of a scenario like this. Plans made in advance may not be everything, but they can help you tackle your problems.
“Sir. We have a plan drawn up from a purely military view to achieve a very limited aim that was created as part of strategy research.”
“What? Is it actually usable?”
The only issue was whether what they came up with was usable or not.
After all, the situation was bad. A half-baked scheme wasn’t going to cut it. He would accept anything as long as it solved their problem in one shot.
…But from the sound of it, he couldn’t expect too much.
“Well, it will definitely achieve certain results. But it will require a, uh, very important decision to be made…”
Just spit it out, he stopped himself from shouting.
“We don’t have time for this. Tell me what it is.”
“Yes, sir. It’s a plan by the war college’s strategy research committee submitted with the idea of eliminating enemy units building defensive lines in an urban setting, including mages, in an extremely short amount of time.”
As far as the dubious army corps commander could tell, it sounded like an effective plan. If the strategy research committee at the war college had submitted it, that meant they acknowledged its practicality. If they could really use it to quickly take out mages and other defenses in an urban setting, the plan would be invaluable in their current predicament.
“…This is quite groundbreaking, isn’t it? Why didn’t it get passed around to all the armies?”
If it’s so useful, then why not share it?
“Does it violate the Worms Convention?” Perhaps wondering the same thing, the chief of staff voiced a possible worry—an international treaty.
They imagined that the rapid capture of a city and elimination of resistance would be difficult without using gas or heavy artillery. Of course, gas wouldn’t be allowed in a city. And even the General Staff probably didn’t have a plan to defend against gas.
“No, the legal specialists say it doesn’t conflict with any existing treaties.”
“Even better. So what’s the problem?”
There shouldn’t be any reason to hesitate if it’s legal. Honestly, we don’t have a second to lose.
They didn’t have time to debate with the legal specialists. The army corps commander banged the table in irritation and urged the hesitating staffer on with his eyes.
“The plan was written on the assumption, from a purely military point of view, that there are no noncombatants in the city, only enemy forces.”
“What is that supposed to mean? How can we use something based on such an improbable assumption?”
He nearly shouted that it was stupid. There aren’t any cities where only enemy soldiers live.
Cities are mostly civilians. At most, civilians with militia among them. And they had confirmed when they occupied Arene that many civilians lived there.
“Well, we’d create those conditions by following a legal procedure.”
Both the one answering and the one asking spoke in a monotone to conceal their emotions.
“In short, it’s a sort of deceit. According to the legal specialists, the plan is only valid upon ruling out the existence of noncombatants, so we’ll just make sure there are none.”
“…So we’d just be killing everyone regardless of gender or age?”
It was unmistakably clear. In everyone’s heads appeared an urban battle. Yes, a bloody slaughter in the guise of an urban battle. Everyone understood that if they were being told to take this rotten fight seriously, they couldn’t bother with legal practicality.
“We would employ the simple, straightforward method of burning the city down.”
I just want to be done with this is what the tone of the Operations officer seemed to say as he continued the requested explanation. He wasn’t the only one who wished there was nothing to continue.
“A fire attack? Well, that’s classic. But against mages?”
“Have you ever heard of a firestorm?”
A terrifying report or a proposal from hell. The one who thought of this was either a lawyer so cunning the devil would invite them to join forces or a criminal. This way of thinking is practically inhuman. Only a devil who forgot their reason and conscience in their mother’s womb could come up with such a tactic.
That someone would equate having the technical capabilities for an operation with actually doing it… Are they deranged?
“No, it’s the first time I’ve heard of it.”
“It was proposed after the idea was verified by looking at large-scale conflagrations of the past.”
Urban warfare has many different legal constraints. The topic of the research was how the army should deal with them, but nobody would have thought to look for a plan that removed them.
No, for better or worse, outside of the specialists, no soldiers felt like confronting the laws at all. To put it nicely, you could call them simple; to cast it negatively, you could say the army had an anti-intellectual streak. So they weren’t used to explanations of legal principles.
But from a soldier’s point of view, the rules of engagement were to some extent self-evident, and indiscriminately shooting civilians was like police groping for a solution to a hostage crisis and deciding to shoot all the hostages along with the criminal. Certainly, apprehending the culprit would be the highest priority, but would you
arrive at a plan to eliminate the hostages instead of save them? Ideas that are purely unthinkable for a normal person are a soldier’s common sense.
Of course, there is the delicate issue with military wisdom that the ethics and morality tend to be old-fashioned, due to the inevitable reference to wars of the previous era for its standards.
Still, a soldier’s way of thinking was generally rational. This way of thinking was such a single-minded pursuit of purposive rationality that it was anomalous.
“It seems they’ve arrived at one conclusion, which is that, ideally, the operation should be carried out by mages with fire attacks.”
“Never mind the theory. Has it been put into practice?”
“When it was attempted on army exercise grounds, a phenomenon approaching the projected results was achieved. If fire attacks are coordinated from multiple locations, it’s plenty possible to create.”
And when he understood, the army corps commander was frightened of the plan his army had received.
…Ohhh, oh God.
Why, why must I do such a thing?
Why must I be ordered to carry out a plan conceived by the devil?
When I respond to the immediate summons, an Intelligence officer wearing the rank of captain meets me. In other words, I’m sure he is the bearer of bad news. Having made that conclusion, Tanya takes a deep breath to brace herself.
Always be calm and collected.
But that thought promptly crumbles. That’s how shocking the news is. The news that…
“The rear has been cut off.”
One of my forerunners gave me a piece of advice: “What’s important when being brought bad news is whether or not you can find the silver lining.”
Ever since then, I’ve remained faithful to it.
For instance, right now, I have a cup of real coffee in my hands, a treat from the rear headquarters, and I’m glad I’m not drinking it because doing a spit take or choking on it would have been a terrible waste of such a valuable item.