Re: Blood and Iron

Chapter 205: The Iron Cross 2nd Class

Chapter 205: The Iron Cross 2nd Class

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While Heidi made use of her contacts to search for those responsible for the murder of the Bosnian Serbian family, which had rather graciously served German and Austro-Hungarian troops who occupied the city of Sarajevo a year prior.

Bruno himself stood in the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a royal procession was made for the troops in the region. Not only did the Kaiser come with his personal guard, but he also brought reinforcements to the front lines.

Less than a week had passed since the war began, and yet things were going better than anyone had thought possible. British expeditionary forces had yet to make their way to the European mainland, with every attempt being sunk in the seas before they ever reached the shores of Normandy.

Meanwhile, the French Army's repeated attempts to assault the German border fortifications, prepared long in advance at Elsass-Lothringen, had met with repeated and gruesome failures. At the start of the war, Bruno had crushed one half of the Royal Serbian Army.

Though the Serbians immediately began conscripting and arming every man and boy who could bear arms in preparation for the upcoming siege of Belgrade, Kaiser Wilhelm II had recalled Bruno back into Austro-Hungarian territory to reward him for his crushing victory over the enemy in the opening stages of the war.

To put it simply, Bruno was being awarded for his efforts in two distinctive ways. While the German Army secured the area where the Kaiser would publicly promote Bruno to the rank of Generalfeldmarschall-the highest rank in the German Army-the Kaiser also intended to pin a distinctive honor on the man's chest.

Bruno once more found himself face to face with the German Emperor as the man stripped the shoulder boards from his uniform, replacing them with the distinctive crossed batons that a Generalfeldmarschall would proudly sport.

In addition, Wilhelm handed Bruno an Iron Cross 2nd class and pinned it in front of his other medals. For this ceremony, Bruno only wore those medals authorized by the German Army, such as his China Medal and his Cross of the Iron Division.

Everyone else who would be rewarded for their efforts at the Serbian border would receive their honors from their direct commanding officer. Only Bruno, who now answered solely to the Kaiser, would have the medal personally pinned on his chest by Wilhelm.

After doing so, the German Emperor patted Bruno on the back before saying something to him in an informal and friendly tone.

"If it were up to me, I would have given you one of these a long time ago. Unfortunately, we only mint these things for the sake of major conflicts, and the last time an Iron Cross was in production was 1870.

I get the feeling that you will have earned all of the grades by the time this war fully comes to an end. So keep up the good work, and there will be more of these to come in the future!"

Bruno responded silently with a salute, which the Kaiser returned before giving a message to his troops to inspire them. His speech vaguely resembled an oration he had given in his past life.

"Arise, to arms! All hesitation, all delay is treason to the country. It is a question of the life or death of our Empire, of the life or death of German might. We shall resist to the last breath of man and horse, and shall fight out the struggle even against a world of enemies. When Germany has remained united, she has never been vanquished. Forward with God, for God will be with us as He was with our fathers."

The 2nd German Army was chosen as the reinforcements and mustered to support the German 11th and 8th Armies in their assault on Belgrade, immediately saluted their Kaiser in perfect unison, like a well-oiled machine, before being dismissed by him.

Afterward, the Kaiser turned to Bruno and spoke of his vision of Bruno's victory, with words that were also eerily reminiscent of those he had said in the previous timeline.

"I get the feeling that this campaign of yours will come to an end before the leaves fall from the trees. Godspeed, my friend, and may the Lord have mercy on your enemies..."

After saying this, the Kaiser turned away from Bruno, not noticing the death glare Bruno was giving him. In his past life, these words resounded in history as a curse. Could the Central Powers have achieved a total victory and ended the war before the year was over?

Most certainly, had they achieved victory at the First Battle of the Marne. But fate had other plans in mind, and these words, which the Kaiser had spoken, were often considered a severe lack of understanding regarding the modern battlefield, preluding a meat grinder the likes of which mankind had never witnessed before.

Bruno immediately pulled out his case of cigarettes and began to smoke, a sudden and dreadful feeling overwhelming him as he looked off into the distance towards the Serbian border, thinking to himself that he had just been cursed in a way that would bring him great misfortune and misery in the coming days.

"I suddenly get the feeling that this campaign is about to become a long and brutal affair..."

It did not take long for Heidi to receive confirmation of her worst fears. The family who owned the restaurant where Bruno had been personally seen dining, and with whom he had casually and cheerfully struck up a conversation, had been murdered in connection with the actions of Serbian intelligence.

The Serbian Government had decided to rile up ethnic tensions in the region to destabilize Bosnia and Herzegovina following Bulgaria's defeat in the Second Balkan War. After it was discovered that Bruno had given an excessive tip to the young waitress, local nationalist militias assumed she had been sleeping with him as his mistress.

Sleeping with a general representing a foreign and occupying power? In what world was that not treason? Because of this, she and her family were brutally murdered, and their place of business was burned down as a reminder of what would happen to others who had done the same, or sought to do so.

Unfortunately, this was all a misunderstanding, resulting from the Black Hand's deliberate attempts to cause trouble in the region. And when Heidi learned of this, she felt nothing but pain for the victims and for those who would yet suffer.

She knew all too well that Bruno's lack of mercy extended to the innocent caught within the blast range of his artillery when aimed at his enemies and wherever they might be hiding. Because of this, there was a part of her that wished not to tell the man what she had come to learn upon investigating the incident.

But she also knew she had told him not to show any mercy to their enemies, and this heinous crime was a provocation toward Bruno. Whether intentional or simply the result of the chaos, the Serbians had sown in the region, Heidi couldn't find out, but she knew the results would be the same, regardless. Thus, there was a heavy tone in her voice when she finally spoke to her husband on the phone, conveying her thoughts as she did so.

Bruno was silent for a long while, causing further concern within his wife's troubled mind. He spoke up before she could inquire as to whether he was alright, stating a simple phrase before

hanging up entirely.

"I'll handle it. Get some rest..."

Heidi suddenly got the feeling that Bruno was about to do something unreasonably destructive and, in doing so, might provoke the Balkans into a stiffer resistance than they otherwise would have fought with had he not decided to make an example of the Serbian Royal Family and their seat of power...