Thoroughly convinced by Lelouch's plan, Major General Karl knew time was of the essence. He asked no further questions and immediately arranged for a reconnaissance plane, preparing to send Lelouch to the army group headquarters first to meet with his elder brother, Duke Rupprecht. There, Lelouch could secure a confidential, handwritten endorsement from the Duke and file an official record of the operation.
Afterward, he would fly to Wilhelmshaven to meet with Rear Admiral Hipper and discuss the specific battle and intelligence verification plans.
After all, the Britannia forces wouldn't be sitting idle. Having suffered heavy losses and lost face, Minister of the Navy Warton was likely already plotting how to get even.
Given Britannia's decision-making efficiency, they could very well finalize their attack plans and adjust their fleet deployment at any moment.
Moreover, Dover, the home port of the Britannia Channel Fleet, was a mere 150 kilometers from the area around Nieuwpoort and Ostend.
In contrast, the Demanian Navy coming from Wilhelmshaven would have to detour slightly into the open ocean to avoid detection near the coast of the Netherlands, making their total voyage 500 kilometers.
Converted into nautical miles, both of those figures had to be divided by 1.8.
An older fleet steaming at a top speed of 20 knots would only take five hours to reach Nieuwpoort from Dover.
A high-speed battlecruiser fleet traveling at 26 knots from Wilhelmshaven to the battlefield, however, would need at least twelve hours.
Of course, fleets rarely maintained their maximum speed for the entire voyage. Even after arriving in the combat zone, they wouldn't just engage and flee; they would have a considerable loiter time on the battlefield.Britannia was especially confident in both its naval intelligence gathering and its overall troop strength. Generally unconcerned about being ambushed by Demania, their fleets were often emboldened to fight protracted battles upon reaching a war zone.
But no matter how one calculated it, the Demanian Navy's decision-making had to be as fast as possible. Only then would they have a greater chance of seizing the window of opportunity; there was absolutely no time to dawdle.
...
Late into the night, Major General Karl finally finished writing two handwritten letters and stamped them with his seal.
He then had his private car race Lelouch to the airfield, having already arranged for a highly reliable reconnaissance pilot to stand by.
"Wear extra layers on the way," Karl said. "Try to catch a nap on the plane if you can. I'm afraid you won't have time to sleep tonight, but thankfully, you young people have plenty of energy."
When handing over the letters, Major General Karl also made sure to provide Lelouch with a thick lieutenant's winter uniform and a reindeer-leather military overcoat.
Lelouch didn't stand on ceremony; he got right into the car and waved goodbye.
As he climbed in, Lelouch used the dim light by the division headquarters' entrance to vaguely make out a few letters engraved on the hood of the commander's car: "BFW."
Historically, this small, private startup located within the Kingdom of Bavaria wouldn't receive royal investment until more than a year into the war. They would then be ordered to expand and upgrade, simultaneously changing their name to "Baria Motor Works," which was when the "F" in their acronym would be swapped for an "M."
'As expected, the BFW of 1914 is still just a scrappy little startup. The car engine they built vibrates so violently. Is Major General Karl using this just to "support domestic products"?'
Lelouch thought with a touch of wicked amusement as he bounced along in the car.
At least at this point in time, the quality of BFW's engines was noticeably inferior to Benz engines, which already had over thirty years of history. But then, who could blame them when BFW had only just been founded?
Benz Motors was located in Stuttgart, within the neighboring Principality of Württemberg. Württemberg was also one of the four southern states, and supposedly had very close ties with the Kingdom of Bavaria as neighbors. However, when it came to building engines, every kingdom under the Empire liked to support its own local brands.
Half an hour later, the car arrived at the airfield. This was Lelouch's first time seeing a field aerodrome from this era, and the environment was incredibly crude.
It was just a packed dirt road without a hint of poured concrete or asphalt, yet it qualified as an airfield. Lush grass grew on both sides, likely kept to reduce wind-blown dust.
A wooden biplane was parked directly on the grass. The engine cowling on its nose was painted with the same three letters: "BFW."
Seeing that brand made Lelouch's heart skip a beat in apprehension.
In the early days of World War I, aircraft engine development was still highly unrefined. A massive number of aircraft engines were simply lightweight modifications of car engines. The main process involved taking the original steel structural components of the engine and replacing them with aluminum wherever possible.
Fortunately, what they lacked in hardware could be compensated for with software. Major General Karl knew exactly the quality of his planes, which was why he had specifically found an exceptionally reliable pilot for tonight's operation.
Lelouch jogged over to the plane and saw a captain offering a friendly handshake. He hastily reached out to return the gesture.
The captain introduced himself. "Max Immelmann. You must be Lieutenant Lelouch Hunter, right? Don't worry, I'll get you to Duke Rupprecht safely."
"So it's Captain Immelmann. I've heard much about you," Lelouch replied politely. They shook hands, and Lelouch climbed into the back seat of the reconnaissance plane.
Captain Immelmann walked over to the nose of the aircraft. He inserted a crank handle into a small hole on the side of the engine cowling and cranked it vigorously a few times, much like the hand-cranked tractors of the 1980s in later generations.
Only then did the engine slowly sputter to life. Immelmann vaulted into the cockpit and began taxiing before lifting off into the sky.
As the nose pitched up and turned toward Antwerp, Immelmann secured the rudder and finally had the leisure to turn back and chat with Lelouch. "Lieutenant, you said you'd heard a lot about me earlier. I wonder what exactly you've heard."
"I've heard much about your daring flying style, of course," Lelouch said. "Word is you can perform a vertical roll. Today's mission is just to get me there safely, so please don't pull any of those flashy, dangerous stunts."
The first flight maneuver in the history of human aerial combat to be named after a pilot was the Immelmann turn (also known as the Immelmann roll). In later generations, this maneuver would be considered an entry-level staple for every pilot, consisting of pulling the aircraft up into an inverted climb while executing a half-roll to achieve the fastest possible 180-degree vertical turnaround. However, at the end of 1914, it was still a signature move exclusive to Max Immelmann himself.
Immelmann had initially thought Lelouch was just offering empty pleasantries, but seeing that the lieutenant actually knew his stuff, Immelmann felt rather pleased and dropped any thoughts of teasing him.
"I didn't expect you to actually understand flying. Alright, I promise I won't scare you on the way."
True to his word, Immelmann's flying became much smoother, completely devoid of any showboating.
Even so, the plane was tossed up and down by turbulent air currents throughout the journey, prompting Lelouch to complain, "They really ought to equip all pilots with lap belts to strap them to the seats! That way it wouldn't be so easy to fall out, and you could use even more aggressive flight maneuvers in combat in the future."
Upon hearing the first half of Lelouch's sentence, Immelmann's instinct was to argue. He knew full well that airplanes didn't need seatbelts; even during high-G maneuvers, centrifugal force alone was enough to pin a pilot firmly into the cockpit.
Having a seatbelt would actually hinder escape in the event of a crash or forced landing, as it couldn't be unbuckled instantly.
However, the second half of Lelouch's comment immediately changed Immelmann's mind, dispelling his urge to argue and instead piquing his curiosity.
"Are you saying... fighting with airplanes? By bringing a pistol and shooting at each other?" Immelmann asked. "Isn't it a bit unchivalrous to directly assassinate the enemy pilot? Still, your line of thought is quite inspiring. If it's for combat, adding a seatbelt to avoid sliding around during violent maneuvers does seem somewhat necessary."
"Who said combat between airplanes has to be with pistols?" Lelouch replied. "Why not remove the rear seat of a two-seater reconnaissance plane and use the payload meant for a second crew member to install a fixed machine gun instead? Wouldn't it be better to have the pilot directly operate the trigger to strafe enemy planes right in front of them?
"If you don't want to target the pilot specifically, you can just spray indiscriminately. You'll likely hit the fuselage or wings. Shooting down the enemy plane while allowing the pilot to glide down and escape—that's chivalrous enough, isn't it?"
Lelouch didn't intend to immediately interfere with and alter the developmental course of aerial combat doctrine. Mainly, his current rank was too low, and he lacked the status and authority to speak on such matters. If he brought certain ideas out now, the credit wouldn't go to him anyway. It was better to take things slowly.
He simply happened to run into Captain Immelmann today, and dropping a few casual pointers to help the man master these concepts faster was a good way to build a positive relationship.
Once Immelmann made a name for himself in the future, he would naturally remember Lelouch's foresight and come seeking further advice.
Captain Immelmann indeed fell into deep, albeit brief, thought. Fortunately, Lelouch reminded him to focus on flying, which kept them from overshooting their destination.
...
After a short flight of just over an hour, Immelmann relied on his undeniably superb flying skills to smoothly execute a night landing. Guided solely by the lights flanking the runway, his touchdown position was incredibly precise.
As soon as Lelouch climbed out of the cockpit, he saw several high-ranking officers dressed in luxurious attire standing next to the tarmac.
The man at the front looked to be in his forties or fifties. He sported a buzz cut and a thick handlebar mustache. With heavy brow ridges, deep-set eyes, and a square jawline, he wore a general's uniform draped in a red-fox fur robe embroidered with the twin-lion crown crest of the House of Wittelsbach.
Clearly, this man was Major General Karl's elder brother, the commander of the 6th Army, the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Bavaria, Duke Rupprecht.
Lelouch hurried forward and saluted. "Lieutenant Lelouch Hunter, Line-Laying Platoon Leader of the Army Group's Direct Communications Battalion, reporting to Your Highness the Commander."
The Duke merely gave a slight nod, sizing him up for a moment. Lelouch's injured, bloodshot left eye left a strong impression on him, making the Duke instinctively view him as a loyal and honorable soldier.
Thus, the Duke didn't make things difficult for him. "In his telegram just now, Karl repeatedly told me he had discovered a rare talent—someone who, if utilized properly, could make tremendous contributions to the Empire. He didn't go into specifics, only adding that we would have time to slowly understand your abilities in the future. I trust he has his reasons for valuing you so highly, and I am somewhat aware of your previous foresight.
"This is my handwritten letter to Rear Admiral Hipper. I've instructed him to assist you to the best of his abilities, provided it doesn't violate his military duties. Time is tight right now, and I have no desire to delay operations. Answer me one question, and you may take this letter."
The Duke's attitude clearly showed he was prepared to focus on the big picture while letting go of the minor details. With time being so tight today, he trusted that Karl had already acted as the gatekeeper for the specifics.
The Duke merely wanted to personally ask Lelouch a question of fundamental principles. If Lelouch could provide a satisfactory answer, the operation would be greenlit.
Lelouch knew this was inescapable. It was much like how an ancient emperor, even if unversed in literature, would always hold a final palace examination to ask one last question as a formality after the Ministry of Rites finished the imperial exams.
"Please ask, Your Highness," Lelouch said, snapping to attention, his expression as calm and unruffled as ever.