Chapter 2

With a unique setting and interpretation.

An unexpected malfunction in the explanation text.

Two weeks after Werner had a direct talk with his father, he was in America.

That said, he did not come alone.

He was not just an ordinary civilian but the second son of a noble family.

He was accompanied by a group of about thirty people, including guards, butlers, and maids.

There was no way Werner would go searching for people on his own. He immersed himself in sightseeing in this era's America, while his butlers and maids searched for Henry Ford.

He had a direct talk with Henry Ford and succeeded in recruiting him without much trouble.

The 300,000 marks were approximately 70,000 dollars in US currency, and under the gold standard, 4.2 marks ≈ 0.35g of gold, which equated to 1 dollar.

1 dollar could be exchanged for about 1.5g of gold, and around the same period, the Japanese yen was 1 yen ≈ 0.75g.

Therefore, 1 dollar ≈ 2 yen, and in the contemporary Japanese yen, it was about 140,000 yen.

The annual income of the Governor of Tokyo Prefecture was 4,000 yen, and the average annual income of the 47 governors in 21st-century Japan is 21 million yen, making it about 5,000 times more valuable.

Thus, when converted to 21st-century Japanese yen, the 140,000 yen would be approximately 700 million yen.

This clearly demonstrated how much the Rundstedt family was profiting.

His family was one of the few remaining Junkers who owned large estates.

In any case, Henry Ford was more focused on improving the automobile itself rather than managing the company, and he was increasingly at odds with other co-founders like Henry Leland, who were oriented towards luxury cars.

During this time, Werner approached him.

He offered a generous condition: if Ford came to Germany, he would use 70,000 dollars to set up a company and allow him to build the cars he loved.

Ford readily agreed, immediately contacted his wife, packed his belongings, and boldly submitted his resignation to Leland and the others.

Thus, Werner achieved his initial goal, but he decided to recruit the Wright brothers as well.

He had used up the 300,000 marks given to him by his father as military funds, but the 10,000 marks given to him as pocket money were still intact.

Therefore, he had his butlers and maids search Ohio based on his vague memory and found the eccentric bicycle shop that was making flying machines.

School was about to start, but he managed to get his father to arrange for him to stay home. Werner gave the Wright brothers 10,000 marks (≈ 2,400 dollars) from his pocket money as a preparation fee and offered additional funding if they came to Germany.

The Wright brothers were running a bicycle shop, but it was primarily to raise funds for their flying machine. If they had a sponsor, they wouldn't need to do that.

They readily agreed, packed their belongings, and moved to Germany.

Werner was deeply impressed by the ease with which he achieved his goals in America.

He realized the immense power of social status and money.

If he were just an ordinary civilian, he might have been considered suspicious, but Werner, with his entourage, clearly did not look like an ordinary person.

Moreover, passports of this era were more like visas, consisting of a single sheet of paper.

They listed the nationality and status of the owner. In Werner's case, his nationality was the German Empire, and his status was a student at the Prussian Royal Cadet School.

Even if one didn't know what kind of school it was, the name alone would reveal that he was a future officer candidate in the military.

In any case, after recruiting the Wright brothers, Werner returned to Germany and, after bowing to Gert and negotiating, managed to secure funding and land.

Gert, though reluctant, agreed that it was too late to back out and, after warning Werner that this would be the last time, provided him with 400,000 marks and a portion of the farm, 2 acres of land, with a contract.

Werner, realizing that he could not afford to fail in many ways and that he had taken the first step in changing history, immediately took action.

During the week he spent negotiating with his father, Henry Ford and the Wright brothers stayed as guests at his home.

They seemed to have exchanged information during their stay, and Ford showed a great interest in the Wright brothers' airplane.

The Wright brothers, in turn, hoped to apply Ford's experience as a car manufacturer to their airplane.

On October 15, 1901, Werner, along with Ford and the Wright brothers, established a company with 400,000 marks as capital.

The company was named RFR Mechanical Works.

The name was derived from the initials of their family names.

However, neither Werner nor the Wright brothers had any expertise in running a company.

Therefore, Ford, who was eager to start making cars, reluctantly took on the task, thinking that once the company was on track, he could tinker with cars to his heart's content.

Ford's work, however, was not in transactions, sales, or administration, but primarily in constructing the company building and experimental facilities.

By December, the facilities and equipment that satisfied Ford and the Wright brothers were finally in place, and they began to immerse themselves in research.

Werner, on the other hand, returned to the cadet school in Lichterfelde two weeks after the company was established.

No matter how excellent a student he was or how high his father's rank, he couldn't afford to neglect his studies for long.

When Werner returned to the cadet school in Lichterfelde, he was looked at askance by teachers and instructors for taking a leave of absence that exceeded the long vacation, but he silenced them by showing excellent performance in the regular exams.

During this time, Werner focused on a homework assignment given in a tactics class.

The assignment was to create a tactic of his own, whatever it might be.

It sounded good to say that it was to cultivate flexible thinking on the battlefield, but the cadet school did not offer highly specialized courses, and one had to advance to the Army University to study them.

In essence, it was a test to see if one had reached the minimum necessary level to be a field commander.

Werner, thinking that it was a lost cause anyway and that it was okay to let his hair down once in a while, wrote about a combined air-land attack and a large-scale breakthrough.

In simpler terms, it was a combination of the American-style AirLand Battle and the Soviet-style large-scale breakthrough.

Both were far ahead of their time, but Werner thought that, although they were severely degraded for this era, they could still be recreated to some extent.

According to the homework Werner submitted, the key to the tactic was the extensive use of airships and artillery.

Aircraft were not yet practical, so airships were used as an alternative.

Airships could carry the extremely heavy and large wireless equipment of the time and had a long range.

While the accuracy of bombing was a compromise, they could carry a considerable amount of bombs.

However, if they were hit by enemy fire—more likely due to their large size—the consequences would be catastrophic.

In any case, airships and artillery were used to attack enemy artillery positions along with the front lines.

When the enemy realized this and sent reinforcements from the rear, bridges, and command posts, they were also attacked by airships.

Then, small units would break through weak points in the enemy's defenses, and artillery would concentrate fire on locations designated by infantry units as needed to weaken the enemy.

Subsequent friendly units would expand the breakthrough, and finally, infantry mounted on vehicles, artillery towed by vehicles, and cavalry would break through the positions in one swift move.

This would be done not just in one place but simultaneously in multiple locations.

It was a problematic and full of holes, but as a student's wild imagination, it was probably acceptable, Werner thought.

As expected, his instructors thought he was acting out of character and asked if he had a fever, but some people were intrigued by his theory.

"Excuse me, are you Mr. von Rundstedt?"

Someone called out to him in the school cafeteria.

Werner was not isolated at school—due to his family background, he had quite a few friends.

However, at that moment, he was alone.

"Indeed, I am. Who are you?"

"I am Erich von Manstein."

Werner took a minute to let the name sink in and stared intently at Manstein's face.

"Is there something on my face?"

"N-no, I apologize, Mr. Manstein."

Werner immediately stood up and stood at attention.

Manstein's stepfather, Georg, was a major general, and it would be impolite not to show respect.

Moreover, Manstein's biological father was General Eduard von Levinshy, and his mother's sister was the wife of Major General Hindenburg—later a field marshal.

Most importantly, meeting Manstein himself required a show of respect.

However, Manstein, realizing that it was due to his birth, smiled wryly.

"It's not that I'm amazing, but my parents are. I'm just a first-year student."

Werner wanted to point out that Manstein would achieve incredible things 30 years later but restrained himself and took a deep breath instead.

Then, he asked,

"So, what do you want from me?"

"Yes, I wanted to hear more about the tactical paper you wrote... I find it extremely innovative and logical."

"That's an honor. But it has many flaws."

"Is it more interesting than the Franco-Prussian War?"

Manstein laughed, and Werner nodded in agreement.

The most recent large-scale foreign war was the Franco-Prussian War, which was 30 years ago.

The history class was the most boring.

"Fortunately, the school has a library, and there are plenty of materials. Would you like to work on improving the flaws? And there's another person interested in your paper besides me."

"Who is it?"

"He's in the same class as me, Guderian."

Werner was taken aback.

It made sense that someone of the same age would be there.

"Um... Mr. Manstein..."

"You can call me by my first name; I'm younger than you."

"Alright, Manstein. How about starting a war study group with Guderian and me?"

"I'd be delighted. He'll be happy to join too."

Thus, Werner, Manstein, and Guderian formed a war study group.

Initially, the discussions centered on Werner's paper, but gradually shifted to what was needed to achieve those tactics, and eventually expanded to politics and diplomacy.

As the study group was led by the well-known student Werner, more and more people joined out of interest, and eventually, they were able to borrow an entire auditorium after school.

The teachers and instructors also encouraged the group, seeing it as a form of self-study, which became a tailwind for the study group.

As a result, Werner's ideas began to spread.

These ideas included combined air-land tactics, infiltration assault tactics at the squad level in individual battlefields, and large-scale breakthrough tactics that simultaneously attacked and engulfed the entire front line.

The group also extensively discussed various fields needed to achieve these tactics, including large numbers of vehicles, airships, and cavalry, powerful and mobile artillery, ample supplies, dense and precise reconnaissance, and tight information sharing.

After much discussion, the study group reached a conclusion.

The key to victory was not the battle itself but how much material, manpower, and information could be prepared for the battlefield in advance.

To Werner, this was obvious, but it was something he knew only because he knew the future.

The study group continued even after Werner, Manstein, and Guderian graduated, and new students were almost forcibly recruited by upperclassmen.

Then, on May 24, 1903, the day arrived.

Werner was about to graduate from the cadet school and had already decided to advance to the Army University. He was enjoying his time at home, learning from his brother Karl, who was serving in the military and preparing for his studies at the university.

However, that day was special.

Using his father's connections, he invited as many of his classmates and underclassmen as possible to his home the day before, and they were having a grand party.

He also invited his brother Karl, his father Gert, his cousin Gotthardt Heinrich, and as many relatives as possible.

He invited as many parents of the students as possible, and the situation escalated to the point where Manstein's stepfather and biological father brought their wives.

Werner had asked Manstein to invite his stepfather and biological father, but he never expected them to actually come.

To make matters worse, even Field Marshal Hindenburg, who was related to Manstein's mother, showed up.

When Werner asked why the Generals Levinshy and others had come, it turned out they wanted to meet him, who had become famous at the cadet school.

Of course, Werner took advantage of this opportunity to network and have his face remembered, and he had the paper compiled by the study group copied and submitted directly to the generals.

Everyone, including Manstein and Guderian, was curious about what would happen, but Werner didn't reveal anything until the 24th.

On the 24th, he invited as many newspaper reporters and university professors in engineering as possible, and even invited Karl Jatho, a German aviation researcher, from Hanover.

Then, at exactly 11:00 AM on the 24th.

It was a day with strong winds.

"Whenever you're ready, brother!"

Orville's words were met with a slight nod from Wilbur, who then turned to the gathered audience.

The audience, numbering over 200, watched with curiosity.

"...I feel a bit embarrassed."

Wilbur's back was patted by someone.

Turning around, he saw Ford standing there with a confident look.

"This is the airplane we built together. We've been experimenting almost every day. My boss, though a layman, made some surprisingly specific suggestions about the aircraft. If this fails, it's the boss's fault."

Encouraged by Ford's bold and somewhat pessimistic statement, Wilbur nodded vigorously and started the engine.

The roar of the engine was immediate.

The audience, who had never heard such a sound before, were taken aback, but Wilbur, undeterred, removed all the restraints that had been holding the aircraft, the Wright Flyer, in place.

Orville, using all the flying skills he had acquired since 1899, slowly moved the aircraft into the wind.

The aircraft creaked in various places, but this was expected.

If it could fly for a few minutes, or even a few seconds, it would be enough—

Orville, Wilbur, Ford, and even Werner, who had gathered a large audience and couldn't back down, all prayed.

Eventually, the Wright Flyer, gaining lift, slowly but surely rose—

"It flew..."

Someone whispered, and the words echoed strangely despite the propeller noise.

The Wright Flyer flew about ten meters at a height of about one meter above the ground before landing.

"Success! Success!"

Ford shouted.

Wilbur ran over to the Wright Flyer and embraced Orville.

The audience, especially the newspaper reporters, reacted the fastest.

They rushed to the Wright brothers with notepads and cameras, eager for the big scoop.

The university professors began to debate how such a contraption could fly, while Karl Jatho trembled.

He felt a stronger desire to fly than jealousy.

He looked for a certain person.

The person who had brought him to this place and was an investor in RFR.

"Mr. Rundstedt, I beg you to let me join RFR!"

Werner, intimidated by Jatho's intense expression, reluctantly agreed and quickly left the scene, heading to Manstein and Guderian.

There, the cadet school students, including Manstein and Guderian, were already sitting on the ground, discussing how to effectively use the airplane and how many they could produce.

Thinking about how diligent they were, Werner declared to them,

"Gentlemen, I am convinced that in the near future, the quality and quantity of these airplanes and the quality and quantity of their pilots will determine the course of war!"

His words caught the attention of not only the cadet school students but also his relatives, including Gert, Karl, and Gotthardt.

"Even now, these are simple machines, but I declare here that in the future, aircraft without propellers will fly faster than sound, and humans will reach the moon!"

When asked for the basis of this claim by General Levinshy, Werner quickly responded.

"The answer lies in whether the guns and artillery we handle are the same as those in the Franco-Prussian