Reiwa Chemist Yōko Takatsukasa Reincarnation: Saving Japan with Plastic Material

Appearance

As I mentioned in the activity report, each chapter will probably be short for a while.

- Toshitsugu Utei

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Appearance - 1

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On that day, the German commanders believed that the offensive would result in "casualties in the tens of thousands" until they appeared.

"Report! The Allied forces are launching intense shelling on the outskirts of Châlons-en-Champagne and Auxerre! Is it a prelude to an attack?"

"I suppose it must be. Abandon the front line under attack at once. Withdraw to the second line and beyond. There's no need to foolishly take artillery shells head-on."

Receiving the report, General Max von Fabeck, commander of the German 1st Army, gave such instructions without any particular thought.

"They never learn. There's no way psychological advantage can overturn material superiority."

General Fritz von Below, commander of the German 2nd Army, appeared genuinely astonished. They had repelled three previous counterattacks by the Allied forces (formulated by Joffre), and this time, they thought it would be the same. Germany had lost 1,5 million soldiers on the Eastern Front, but they had inflicted 1,1 million casualties on Russia and learned a defensive tactic called "elastic defense" to counter the infiltration tactics used by the Russian army in the Battle of Tannenberg. The reason previous Allied attacks had not succeeded was not only due to Joffre's incompetence.

"Judging from the attack direction, they plan to advance from the north and south targeting our Troyes, encircle and annihilate our forces in front of Paris."

"I don't see how that is possible... But in case the enemy breaks through the front line and approaches Troyes, we'll promptly abandon Provins and retreat eastward to Trois..."

"We will lose territory, but they will lose more lives. This war has entered a war of attrition. If that's the case, it's clear which is more valuable: mere occupied land or the brave souls of our soldiers."

At this point, the Germans had successfully deciphered Japan's attack intentions. However, naturally, they couldn't predict the exact method, and this became their fatal flaw.

. . .

"...It's time. Remove the camouflage! All vehicles, advance!"

Lieutenant General Yoshifuru Akiyama, commander of the 1st Motorized Division, shouted. The disguises to make the Type 3 assault vehicles look like storage sheds were removed, revealing the 4,0L forced air-cooled engine A040A, which emitted the distinct dry roar typical of two-stroke engines.

"What is that!?"

"A mass of iron is charging at us!"

"Fire, fire! Stop them!"

German soldiers on the front line facing the Japanese attack attempted to counter with rifles and machine guns. However, their handheld weapons couldn't penetrate the Type 3s' armor. Instead, they were mowed down by the pom-pom guns mounted on the vehicle's upper surface. Even throwing grenades had no effect.

"Request artillery support! Maybe we can crush them with shells!"

"Will it hit!? They're so agile!"

"You won't know until you try!"

Support requests, sounding like screams, reached the front line, and the German artillery positions began shelling the 1st Motorized Division. Shells landed among the group of iron boxes, causing some vehicles to be disabled with damage to their undercarriages.