Infanterie-Regiment 'von Lüttwitz' Nr. 44: „Im Syndöneisch Krieg"
Note: This story, while inconsequential to the Kingdom of Pomerania, and hardly noteworthy even for the Tsukijin themselves; nonetheless is of great importance to the men of the 44. Infanterie-Regiment and their commander, Joachim-Friedrich Pomu von Lüttwitz. It was the actions of this regiment during this conflict in Syndeoneia which earned its informal nickname 'Das Eiserne Regiment'. It's official name now is immortalized as „Infanterie-Regiment 'von Lüttwitz' Nr. 44", as a tribute to its commander during this conflict by Feldmarschall von Quedlinburg in 1105. This tale comes to us from the Aide-de-Camp to Lüttwitz, Oskar-Pomu von Westerfeld and it is highly recommended that the reader of this work also read the journal of Oberst von Lüttwitz.
- Infanterie-Regiment 'von Lüttwitz' Nr. 44: „Im Syndöneisch Krieg"
- Kapitel 1: Wirklich, Feucht hinter den Ohren!
- Kapitel 2: Kommen Sie zur Besinnung! Sie sind ein Pommer, kein Fisch!
- Kapitel 3: Marschwitz und Lüttwitz
- Kapitel 4: Eure Einstellungen werden sich ändern, oder ich werde sie für euch ändern.
- Kapitel 5: Feuertaufe
Kapitel 1: Wirklich, Feucht hinter den Ohren!
"Oberst von Lüttwitz! Ah, it is a pleasure to meet you!" extends his hand to shake the hand of Lüttwitz, who duly response.
"A-a Pleasure!" replied Lüttwitz nervously.
Westerfeld, nodded with a smile before motioning towards the men of the 44th, lined up in parade formation ready for the arrival of their new commander before remarking. "At your command, are the finest men in all of Pomerania! The mighty 44th Infantry Regiment! We await your orders, Oberst von Lüttwitz!"
"T-Thank you, uhh Herr von Westerfeld..."
The nervous Junker, through the nepotistic actions of his father, had received command of a regiment immediately staff college. It was rather unusual for this to happen, and truthfully, was not something that Lüttwitz himself wanted; but when your father has the ambitions of a man possessed by a demon and ties to the real demons within the Royal Family, it was a given that young Lüttwitz would get such a command. The 20-year-old certainly had the talent and aptitude for command, shown by him graduating at the head of his class, but by no means was he ready to command a whole regiment! To make matters even worse for the young man, the 44th, along with the 7th Infantry, the 21st Infantry, 24th Infantry, the Leib-Kürassiers and the 10th Hussars, was being sent to fight for the Tsukinode Empire alongside mercenaries in Syndeoneia! He truly was being thrown into the fire right away, and he was totally unprepared for this entire affair. He cursed his father in private as he made his trip to Karolineshafen to meet with his men and was a total nervous wreck by the time he reached the port.
In front of him stood the 1,500 men of the 44th Infantry Regiment, eager for their new commander to speak to them. The 44th was a proud regiment, hailing from Lüttwitz's native Albingia. It had proved it's well during the recent wars against Lucania under Feldmarschall von Quedlinburg, and many of the men were eager for the opportunity that was offered to them by the war in Syndeoneia. But to say the regiment was skeptical of its new commander was an understatement. Many of the officers spoke out against the appointment of this mere boy as their commander. Though they kept their tongues idle, many of them couldn't help but fear for the worse when the nervous Lüttwitz showed up and greeted them awkwardly that morning. The boy barely looked able to lead a company, let alone a regiment and looked rather pale and frail to them. Those idiots in the Royal Family clearly bungled this!
Lüttwitz nervously looked over his men, knowing that a strong first impression might dictate everything from this point forward. He had to say something before they boarded their ships and made their way to Kure by the way of the Iwaki Canal. With some hesitance, he grabbed his sword in some hope that the steel would calm him and opened his mouth.
"Men of th--e 44th! Your fame precedes you on the fields of.... Scheiße! I forgot!... of Michelstadt and Großheubach! But soon, we will... we will win even greater glories on foreign shores! Gulps I.. I will admit that I am quite nervous, and indeed, you c-c-can measure me as wet behind the ears but as a native son of Albingia, I will bring glory to her and Pomerania. By Pomu, we shall triumph!"
The men were quite unenthused by the lackluster speech, but they still gave their young commander their approval with some cheers. His honesty was a good start for many of them. But for Lüttwitz, he thought he screwed up everything with his speech and was humiliated by it. It was now an uphill fight for him, it seemed, as the orders were given to embark. He barely said a word the rest of the day, instead finding some solace alone in his cabin as the trip to Iwaki began. He soon would have to meet with Graf von Marschwitz, the commander of this expedition, when they arrived in Iwaki and his nerves were still sky high. Hopefully, some rest and liquor could calm him before that time came!
Fortunately, he found some comradery with Westerfeld and the regiment's quartermaster, the old and wise Klaus Ammermann. Both of them told the young officer that they believed he would do well, and that they would ensure that through their own actions. Furthermore, Ammermann offered some wise advice for the young noble worth noting. "The men will follow you for your actions, not your words! A silver tongue is worthless without valour and bravery! Lead by example and the words will come to you eventually!" As it turned out, these words could not be truer for Lüttwitz, and the men of the 44th. For the fame he would lead them to in Syndeoneia would be because of his actions, not his words.
Kapitel 2: Kommen Sie zur Besinnung! Sie sind ein Pommer, kein Fisch!
The much-anticipated meeting between the commanders of the so-called "Expeditionsstreitkräfte" at Iwaki never happened. Marschwitz and the other senior officers had taken horse to their real destination, Kure long before. Indeed, it was the 44th that was actually late as its men found out upon arrival, as the other regiments had arrived two weeks before! This was no surprise to Oberstleutnant von Arnstein, the former acting commander of the regiment, as he had been informed of this long before that there would be delays to the 44th's arrival, largely due to the coming of Lüttwitz. However, in an instance of absentmindedness, he had forgot to inform Lüttwitz of this and subsequently, this quite enraged the stereotypically punctual Albingian when he found out of this. Though Lüttwitz was still rather unsure about himself being the commander and struggled in that role, his nature shown through rather well in this instance as he dressed down the Oberstleutnant.
"Oberleutnant! It was your duty to inform me of all things upon my arrival and to make sure our regiment reached Kure on time without me... Why did you fail to not only mention this to me but disgrace the honor of this regiment by not ensuring out timely arrival with the others!" said an impassioned Lüttwitz
A stone faced Arnstein, who wasn't about to take a dressing down from a mere boy replied "Kommandant, while I must admit my own error in not informing you of this delay...However, I protest the supposed dishonor that you believe this has caused the regiment, for Graf von Marschwitz was well aware of this and gave us full permission to do this..." with a bit of snark he continued "Thus, it was done in regards to you kleiner Junge that the I ordered us to wait at Karolineshafen. For as you have admitted... You were unsure of yourself, and the duty thrusted upon your shoulders...."
Unimpressed by these excuses, Lüttwitz sternly replied: "Oberstleutnant, it is not your duty to care about my duty nor my own feelings of uncertainty."
Sharply, Arnstein retorted: "I must disagree, for you clearly are not ready for your command and it was in your own best interests for that to happen!"
While everything Arnstein said was true and Lüttwitz knew it, He understood very well that he could not stand for such statements and had to put his foot down. Drawing deep within his Uradel blood, he was figuratively put his foot on the throat of Arnstein. He calmed himself for a moment and walked over to the window in his cabin and looked outside for a moment as Arnstein stood there patiently awaiting his answer. He then turned around and gave Arnstein a dressing down that the veteran Oberstleutnant has not received in many years.
"Oberstleutnant... Your interests are not to care about my own feelings when my presence is not available, and as the acting commander for me, you would have no reason to believe that I, a proud Pomeranian and Albingian of Uradel stock and with an illustrious heritage, would be unfit nor unready for my command. Indeed, it is not your concern at all for what I would have to deal with, but rather to accomplish the duties of our regiment in my absence. This includes upholding the honor of our regiment in the eyes of our overall commander and our fellow country men. By supposedly worrying about me, you have brought dishonor to our regiment." slamming his hands on the table in front of them he then rebuked him with great force. "Come to your senses! You are a Pomeranian, not a fish! Do not be concerned with me, nor make excuses! You are dismissed!"
Shamefully, Arnstein saluted and left with his tail between his legs. He did not expect someone whom he perceived as a Junker in over his head would be so forceful and commanding when faced with opposition from a junior officer. After thinking it over, he came to respect Lüttwitz. Perhaps this boy would be a good leader. He came to apologize to Lüttwitz later that day, and offered his resignation based on his failures earlier but Lüttwitz rejected it. Lüttwitz explained that he could not permit a veteran officer from the Lucanian Campaign that had earned his stripes such as Arnstein to resign over what he did to make it easier for his CO. He thanked Arnstein for his concern, but also reminded him that everything he said; he truly meant and that furthermore, he did not want him making decisions that would make things "easier" for him but make decisions that were the best for the Regiment given the context. As the passage through the canal was started, the two men talked a good bit along the way and came to be rather close friendship.
Kapitel 3: Marschwitz und Lüttwitz
A humid breeze filled the air in the streets of Kure as Lüttwitz made his way to meet with his CO, Feldmarschalleutnant Hermann von Marschwitz. Marschwitz had a reputation as a demanding, but considerate officer that sought the most out of his men and gave forth the same levels of effort on his own end to ensure that their duties were fulfilled. He had risen rapidly through the ranks, thanks to his excellent leadership during the Lucanian Wars, and at 32, was considered one of the rising stars within the Pomeranian General Staff. On the recommendation of Feldmarschall von Quedlinburg, he was made the commander of the Königlich Pommersche Armee forces that were being sent to Syndeoneia and took commands only from the commander-in-chief of the land forces in the expedition, Generalfeldmarschall Ludwig von Bodelschwingh-Plettenberg. This was a testament to how highly Marschwitz was thought of by his peers, and this was not lost of Lüttwitz.
Entering the Brick house that Marschwitz had set up his HQ in, Lüttwitz was immediately greeted and directed to meet with Marschwitz immediately, who he was told eagerly awaited his arrival. Walking into the room, he saw Marschwitz sitting calmly smoking a pipe.
Like a robot, Lüttwitz saluted. "Herr Kommandant!"
"At ease, Oberst" said Marschwitz firmly as he motioned to the chair in front of him. "Please, take a seat."
Lüttwitz sits down with some anxiety in his step, which Marschwitz picks up on immediately. He looks at the boy in front of with a cold glare for a moment before remarking "Herr Lüttwitz, how was your trip to Kure?"
"I-It was, well, rather fine. However, Herr Kommandant, I must admit it is dishonorable for us to be the last to arrive!"
Marschwitz smirks and then replies. "Ah, you have some Moxey to you boy.... Nonetheless, it is nothing to worry over, as I am sure you know that I was the one who gave those orders."
"Jawohl! But If I could say something, Herr Kommandant. It would have preferred to just meet with my regiment here at Kure! N-not questioning your orders, Herr Kommandant!"
The stiff Marshwitz seems to relax with his smirk and chuckles: "I see, I see!" before turning stone faced again. "Oberst von Lüttwitz... Do you know why I called to meet you today?"
"Nein, Herr Kommandant!"
Marschwitz takes a long puff from his pipe before explaining. "Oberst, given that you were assigned this command right out of school... It should come as no surprise that this is quite the controversial decision within our Officer Corps... Many are unhappy that a Junker like yourself got command of a regiment when many qualified officers were available..." He takes another puff "However, I am not one of them... Indeed, Herr von Lüttwitz, I once was in your own shoes a dozen years ago."
Lüttwitz wanted to speak up and say he had no issue with the others taking issue with him and such, but Marschwitz's presence had him shut up as he went on. "Being from a countly family, I too enjoyed the priviledge of nepotism... I had scarely graduated when I was assigned to command the 13th Infantry... I was totally out of my depth, and it showed. I could barely even draft proper orders or process orders from my superiors without the intense weight of failure on my head. I was a commander in name only... Not one soul took my orders seriously, and many saw me as a figurehead, like some of the other upper nobles are as commanders... But that was not how I wanted to be known... No, that would not stand... However, had it not been for the blessings of Feldmarschall von Quedlinburg, that would have been my fate... Do you see where I am headed?"
Lüttwitz contemplated these words for a moment before remarking. "Yes, yes indeed, Herr Kommandant. You are repaying the favor given to your by Feldmarschall von Quedlinburg to me, are you not?"
"Quite... But not totally... You see... Feldmarschall von Quedlinburg did ask me to look over you personally, and furthermore it was he, not the King nor your smoozing father that had secured your appointment to this post... I do not entirely know the purpose, but that grand old man has a reason for everything. Did you ever meet him?"
"Only when I was a lad."
"Well, it is a known secret in the Generalstab that the Feldmarschall pays close attention to all cadets and Junkers coming up the ranks... He clearly thinks highly of you, and I must admit that his reasoning is likely accurate given what I know of you." He takes out a paper and puts on his monocle to read of it "You graduated with extremely high scores, it is said that your scores were the best in quite a while. You earned many merits during your time and were highly commended by all of the professors and officers at the school. The notable words that I draw from this report is that. "He is the very image of the type of young officer that we seek to produce. He has great potential as a Staff Officer or as a Field Commander."
Taking off his monocle, Marschwitz picks up his pipe again and says bluntly "I expect you to prove yourself to be worthy of all these words of praise and that you will live up to the expectations of Feldmarschall von Quedlinburg, understand?"
"Jawohl, Herr Kommandant!" Lüttwitz says rigidness
"Good, with that said, you must understand that you have my full support and if any of your subordinate or peers gives you shit over your youth, you will bring it to my attention so I can handle it..."
"Jawohl, Herr Kommandant!"
Chuckling, Marschwitz says: "I appreciate your formalness, Oberst von Lüttwitz. Moving forward, I will brief you on our situation." takes a puff "You will be under the direct command of Generalmajor von Hofacker along with the 7th Infantry under Oberst von Wedel. I will warn you now that Herr von Wedel is not going to take kindly to your presence, but I have already dealt with him, so he ought to give you no issues. Report to Generalmajor von Hofacker for your direct orders, train your men with rigidness, and I await to see if you live up to the standards that have been set before you. Dismissed!"
Saluting his superior, Lüttwitz marched out of the room with confidence but also some degree of added pressure. He was determined to live up to the standards that had been placed on his shoulders, and the simple words of support from Marschwitz. He would report to Hofacker the same day, who briefed him simply to drill his men and keep them in order until the day came.
Kapitel 4: Eure Einstellungen werden sich ändern, oder ich werde sie für euch ändern.
The 5 months between the regiment's arrival in Kure and its embarkation was one of very little activity for the 44th, aside from the usual drills, training and marches. While little of note happened during this period, the growth of Lüttwitz as a commander during this period is rather notable for those who witnessed it such as Westerfeld and Ammermann.
Early on, he asked Marschwitz about command styles and confessed to him that he was not confident about getting his own style to work. After some probing, Marschwitz finally understood what Lüttwitz was asking and simply told him. “You will find a way to make it work or you will find another style that does work.” He refused to elaborate further, explaining that he had to figure it out himself and that directly telling him would take away from his own learning experience. Lüttwitz left understanding yet unsatisfied at the answer, but he knew that was the best he would get from his mentor. He asked the same question to Westerfeld, Ammerman, and Arnstein as well, but they all advised him to take Marschwitz at his word and figure it out himself.
He pondered and pondered over this for weeks. The entire problem for him was that his style, given his age and lack of respect, in his mind would not work. You see, the style was unorthodox in several ways.
First, Lüttwitz believed that every man regardless of class or rank should be subject to the same rules and punishments in theory, but in practice, he believed that the officers in particular had to be held to standards above their men. This thought was not an uncommon one in the Pomeranian Army whatsoever, but it wasn’t commonly practiced despite the efforts of reformers. For Lüttwitz, the cowardice of the common soldier came not from the soldier themselves, but their CO. This was a classical thought from Quedlinburger School of Command, and itself would have not been an issue if Lüttwitz received the respect that the commander of the regiment should. Many of his subordinates did not have respect for him, and this for him would prevent this from being put in place.
Secondly, Lüttwitz furthermore believed that each soldier should be able to conduct the same roles as combat engineers did. He had come to this conclusion from his studies of the Lucanian Wars, where during several occasions, the Regulars were unable to properly construct field fortifications that could have been extremely beneficial to the army in those instances. This was a rather unique take, and while it was not controversial in of itself; he understood well that the men would hate this without the first style being implemented.
Thirdly, he was really invested into logistics and sought several methods of improving it within his own regiment. From sanitation within camps to the amount of logistical officers, he wanted to overhaul it greatly. The main issue for him with this was that it required the approval of his CO, Hofacker, as it would require his approval for several parts given that it would be the assigning of men or recruitment of more men to accomplish these tasks.
Finally, Lüttwitz was a true blooded Pomeranian at the end of the day. He wanted to heavily drill his men, and wanted them to be the most well drilled regiment in the whole army; not just in the expedition, but in the Kingdom itself. Although he was interested in maintaining flexibility in rough terrain like many from the Quedlinburger School, there was no doubt that the ultimate goal was to drill the men to utter perfection. He wasn’t satisfied with just being good, his inner perfectionist demanded more from himself and his men. And without the respect of his men or his subordinates, he simply would not be able to live up to his own standards.
However, come mid-November, Lüttwitz had at last mustered up the will to implement his style and quickly called a meeting with all of his subordinate officers to discuss it. During this meeting, it was clearly apparent that something had changed deep down in Lüttwitz as he was much more authoritative than he had been up to this point. He frankly told his subordinates that he did not care if they despised him for what he was or what he was going to be as their CO. He was going to put into place his ideas and they would just have to deal with it or resign. Perhaps being too confrontational, he also bluntly told them that he knew many of them hated him for nepotism and that he found it insulting. “Your attitudes will change, or I will change them for you.” This shocked many of the officers, Arnstein included, and many of them actually left the meeting feeling more discontented than they had been before. It truly wasn’t the smartest of moves by Lüttwitz and ended up undermining his own position with his COs for the time being. They even went as far as to petition Marschwitz and Hofacker about this, asking for their CO to be reassigned or they would resign their positions. The most shocking person that was part of this group was Arnstein, someone who Lüttwitz trusted and when he found out his second-in-command was part of this group, he was livid.
But at the end of the day, Marschwitz told them frankly that he did not care about their petty complaints or feelings; and that they needed to start acting like Pomeranian Officers and not “Syrenians”. He went as far as to say that he would accept all of their resignations now, but would ensure that they would never hold a position above that of a Sergeant in the army ever again. To Marschwitz, he quite honestly did not sympathize with officers who were offended about their commander being blunt about his position with them. However, Hofacker was more sympathetic to them, but still told them that Marschwitz’s word was the final word on this matter, but that he would talk to Lüttwitz personally.
Hofacker did talk to Lüttwitz, and reprimanded him for being unprofessional with his subordinates and furthermore rejected all of his logistical ideas that would require more men assigned to him. He called Lüttwitz a young fool who ought to respect his other officers more, and that such an attitude would not get him far in the army.
Lüttwitz recognized his error, and accepted Hofacker’s words but deep down he believed he made the correct move. Part of his true nature had been revealed, and he wasn’t going to be truly sorry for acting as himself.
Regardless, Lüttwitz would implement his command style onto his regiment in short order despite the grumbling of the officers, who were now clearly polarized against him. When he announced the changes to his men however, many of them cheered him on and were happy with what he was going to put in place.
Over the course of the next 4 months, Lüttwitz would drill, train and mold his regiment into what he wanted it to be. His success was limited by time, and the continued strain that existed between him and many of his subordinates, but Lüttwitz was satisfied with the progress that had been made, particularly regarding the training and drilling of the common soldier. He was no longer this scared boy who didn’t entirely know what he was doing, but was now a determined and stern leader. But he still had the great urge to prove himself, and when the regiment embarked for Syndeoneia in March, he was on a mission to not only prove himself in the eyes of his peers, but to bring great amounts of glory to his family, country and the men that served under him.
Kapitel 5: Feuertaufe
The two-month journey across the Heavenly Sea to Syndeoneia was an uneventful one, aside from the sea sickness that struck Lüttwitz, and many Pomeranians during the trip. Soldiers they were, sailors they were not and getting off the bloody ships was the hope of most of them. Alas, it would be mid-May when land was finally sighted. Without hesitation, the Fleet quickly subdued and took over the island of Antipatros and the Pomeranians were finally able to get some respite.
It had been expected that Imperial Marines would do most of the heavy lifting in regard to establishing beachheads for the main army to land at, but with their attention drawn elsewhere, it came down to the Royal Pomeranian forces to carve out a foothold on the Tsoumala Peninsula for the rest of the army to land at. Marschwitz had no experience with such a task, nor did Bodelschwingh-Plettenberg or any of the Pomeranian Mercenary Officers. Indeed, the Pomeranian Army, in its long history, had never conducted an amphibious assault like what was required. Pomeranian Mercenaries, well known for their availability and reliability, had also never attempted anything like this before. Fortunately, an Imperial Marine Commander, Hideki Mori, was able to lay out the essence of what was needed to accomplish this task. Mori had told them that what they needed above all else was aggressiveness and boldness in the immediate landing and to push forward to their objectives despite the cost. He told them that this would certainly be an opposed landing because the Tsoumala Peninsula was the key to Kallipolis and he frankly told them that it was his opinion that they should wait till the Marines returned. Bodelschwingh-Plettenberg was rebuffed by this suggestion and ordered Marschwitz to draft plans to conduct an opposed landing on the Tsoumala in the first week of July.
Marschwitz, while not a fan of the idea and wanting to take Mori’s suggestion, obliged and he came up with a plan. He had come to realize that the best way to take the Peninsula was under the cover of the big guns of the Imperial Navy and with a force no more than the size of a regiment in the immediate assault. Specifically, only one company would be landed at a time. He asked for volunteers for this risky move and Lüttwitz immediately stepped forward and said. “The 44th will take those objectives, Herr Kommandant!” It was then settled, it would be the 44th that would get the task done. Although many of his subordinates thought Lüttwitz was insane for even offering the regiment for the task, he made it clear that someone had to do it and why should it not be them? It would be the Grenadier Company that would be the first ashore, but their commander was less than enthusiastic about getting his beautiful Grenadiers killed. He protested and tried to get out of it the best he could, but to no avail. And much to the humiliation of Major von Kessler, he wouldn’t even be the one to lead the Grenadiers into this maelstrom! No, Lüttwitz himself would lead the 120 Grenadiers into battle.
The day came, July 4th, 1097. Aboard the mighty 74, the Téméraire, the 150 Grenadiers stood on deck in formation as Lüttwitz paced back and forth in front of them. He was not the best at giving speeches, but he would give one regardless to these brave Grenadiers that would actually be fondly remembered.
“My Brave Grenadiers! We are about to do something that our illustrious army has never accomplished before… An amphibious landing on enemy shores! It would be a lie to say that I myself am without fear given the circumstances but let no man say that their Oberst is a coward! All the struggles you are about to face, shall be my own struggles and I am certain that the greatest soldiers in the whole world, Pomeranian Grenadiers, will not only accomplish the goal we have been set for, but I am damn sure that you will win a stunning victory! Your deeds today, Pomu willing, will surely be plastered as one of the finest chapters in the history of the Pomeranian Army. Let us write that together, and may Pomu grant us a glorious victory today! POMU MITT UNS!”
The cheers of the inspired Grenadiers was drowned out by the roar of the mighty cannons of the Imperial Navy that came crashing down on the Syndeoneia force entrenched on the Peninsula. As the Grenadiers were lowered into their boats, the Syndeoneians, under cover, waited carefully for the attack to come. With great vigor, the Grenadiers came towards the Peninsula with Lüttwitz in the first boat. Suddenly the great fear of war took a hold of him, and he was truly terrified as he continued to watch the bombardment as the boats got closer and closer to shore.
When they finally made landfall at 845 hrs, the Junker was frozen still like a statue as a hail of fire and fury came from the defenders onto the Grenadiers. He had to be dragged from the boat by one of the Grenadiers named Hans, who quickly moved forward to the immediate cover. Still frozen in fear, Hans shook the young man screaming at him: “GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF! WE HAVE TO MOVE!”
Finally snapping out of it, but still shaken, Lüttwitz shouted: “A-Alright men… Let’s get them!” and with a sudden amount of courage, he stood up, drew his sword and screamed: “FOLLOW ME!”. With a mighty shout, the Grenadiers with their bayonets fixed charged forward with their Oberst. Lüttwitz’s hat was shot off almost immediately, and a shot of canister cut down the man who saved him, Hans right before his eyes, but he had to push on and by Pomu, they did. They reached the Syndeonian position, vaulted over the ramparts and soon found themselves in melee. Just after he had landed on his feet, Lüttwitz was bayoneted by a Syndeoneian and then had a stray shell from the Imperial Ships explode right next to him, knocking him out temporarily and inducing shell shock. Fortunately, the shell killed the man who bayoneted him and Lüttwitz staggered to his feet to see that the Grenadiers were pushing the Syndeoneians to their second and final line. He called for them to halt at the edge of this line and regroup as the rest of the regiment came ashore to support them in their final charge. He didn’t even mention that he was wounded, and probably forgot himself as he was running off pure adrenaline at this point. Fortunately, it was noticed that he was bleeding heavily from his torso by his comrades and he was patched up on site by a medic as they waited for the rest of the regiment to come up.
By 1000hrs, the rest of the regiment was ashore and formed up alongside the Grenadiers for the final push forwards. Against the will of the medics and even his own men, Lüttwitz insisted that he would lead this final assault with his brave grenadiers and at 1015, the whistle was blown signalling the final assault. After crossing over the rampart and firing a volley at the Syndeoneians, the 44th charged forward with great zeal against the fire of the entrenched defenders. Lüttwitz was right with them, until halfway when another shell, this time from the defenders landed right next to him and knocked him unconscious, bleeding profusely from his head.
He woke up 6 hours later in a Field Hospital greeted by Marschwitz and others, who informed him of the outstanding success that his regiment had just achieved. They had not only taken the positions, but captured 2,000 of the defenders as well at the cost of a mere 150 men. They told him that his regiments actions were remarkable and would be written of for years to come, along with their young brave commander. But Lüttwitz didn’t feel brave at all. He remembered Hans dragging him from the boat, he remembered getting screaming, mostly in fear as he went forward and he had indeed pissed himself in fear during this whole ordeal. The image of Hans, his savior, getting his guts torn open by canister next to him left him shaking and he would burst into tears over it as everyone still was congratulating him. He cried out: “HANS!”, which greatly confused his other officers who assumed that the shell hit was still taking a toll on his mind and they left him for the time being until he was right in the head. It truly was a baptism of fire for Lüttwitz, but also one of the most glorious moments in the 44th’s history. But yet greater glory was yet to come for both the 44th and their commander.