Chapter 244: Contemplating Mortality and God’s Will in the World
To say that Bruno was not the least bit concerned with Leon's death, which was revealed in the papers as an act of German artillery, was quite the understatement. If not for the fact that French propaganda had painted the failed general as Bruno's rival on the world stage, he
would have forgotten all about the man.
Leon had not earned his position, he was given it because of Bruno's rapid rise. They needed a young face among the general staff, one with a good service record as an officer, and Leon's shared history with Bruno in the east gave him preference in this regard.
However, the man had proven to be volatile, quick to anger, extremely selfish, shortsighted, and incompetent on a scale larger than the command of a battalion, especially when given his own theater, albeit a minor one like Luxembourg to plot, and invade on his own.
The result of which was his death at the hands of his own men. Who concealed this act of murder and mutiny as a random casualty of the war. In the end, Bruno had nearly forgotten about Leon, and any grievances against him and the French General was merely a one-sided affair.
Bruno simply didn't care, Leon's death had no real impact on the war, and he was a figure from his past life that was unknown to history, meaning he was incredibly unlikely to leave a real footprint on the world after the Great War was over.
No, Bruno was far more interested in important French figures of the era, like Charles de Gaulle, who, ironically enough, was currently serving in Belgium as a much lower ranking officer than Leon had been at the time of the man's death.
Charles de Gaulle was currently a lieutenant in the 33rd Infantry Regiment, which according to Bruno's intelligence was receiving a severe pounding from the Belgian-German alliance that they were defending against as Bruno himself currently sipped from a cup of coffee within the city of Belgrade and read from the daily newspaper.
In Bruno's past life, the man had been a major player in shaping the world during and after WW2. Though from 1916 until 1918, he was a prisoner of war in the previous timeline. Only reaching the rank of captain by the time he was captured.
Whether Charles would live or die was up to fate to decide. Even so, Bruno couldn't help but feel that there was something that didn't sit right with Leon's sudden death. According to his intelligence, the only artillery employed in the battle were lightweight 60mm mortars which had been used by the Stormtroopers in their assault.