Chapter 563: The Echoes of Victory
Bruno sighed in relief after the peace had been negotiated. How the deconstruction of the Japanese Empire unfolded was not his concern. He was not a politician; he was a soldier, and the war was over.
Because of this, Bruno found himself on a flight back to Innsbruck. He had been away for too long. Nearly three years in total. From the fall of 1929 to the summer of 1932, the war had waged.
Could it have been concluded sooner? Most certainly; but that would have required moving greater assets from the Fatherland to the Pacific cause. And that would not have the intended effect Bruno desired.
Germany had won the war, with Russian support. They had done so entirely with their eastern colonial forces, not a shred of support from the main army or the naval assets designed to counter Britain, France, and America in the Atlantic.
That was why the war had lasted so long: limited manpower, limited resources, small gains that accumulated over years.
Ironically, the war between Germany and Japan had lasted nearly a year longer than the Great War itself.
When Bruno finally entered his home, he was a tired man. He had only seen his family on brief occasions throughout these last three years. His heart was heavy with the costs paid for victory.
But the moment he stepped through the door, all of that was forgotten.
His wife stood in the doorway, stunned that her man had returned. No message had been sent ahead, no call made.
When she saw him there in full regalia, she rushed into his arms as if she were still a young maiden in love, wrapping herself around his neck, kissing him again and again, barely whispering between gasps.
"Is it done? Are you home at last? For good this time?"
Bruno snickered and kissed her back. She, like him, had aged gracefully; yet even now there was still no woman in this world he would dare say was more beautiful.