Having been given approval from the Kaiser to teach the world a powerful reminder about who had become the supreme hegemon of the coming century in this world, Bruno immediately gave the order to break the cluster shells out of storage and to bring them to bear on Paris specifically its outskirts.
Wanting to prove a point, and not cause any unecessary suffering to the innocent civilians who had been caught up in the madness of their failed government, Bruno spent the time it took to transfer these shells to the frontline having the German Air Force drop fliers on the city basically stating that they would begin shelling the outskirts within the next few days as a result of France's stubborn refusal to surrender.
These fliers were written in French and were naturally there to get the civilians out of dodge before the attack could begin. Giving them both the option of doing so to surrender to the Germans and be cared for until Paris surrendered, or flee further into the city where they would be safe from the attack.
Naturally, Bruno had suspected the possibility that Paris would become a new Berlin and would fight until the last man. Thus, these fliers were already printed in sufficient quantities well in advance of the city's encirclement.
Eventually the shells arrived, and so too did Bruno with them, not wanting to miss the fireworks of his latest weapon, Bruno approached Heinrich, and the other General officers safely at the rear of the siege camp and was swiftly greeted with a respectful salute. Your next read is at Freewebnovel
"Generalfeldmarschall we were not expecting your presence here... Have you come all this way just to witness us shell a few empty buildings?"
Bruno scoffed as he gazed through his binoculars towards the city's outermost layer, quick to ensure there was nobody left behind during their attack. After which he responded to the question with an almost amusing tone in his voice.
"No, I have come to witness your Army light a ring of fire around Paris... Let us see how much resolve the individual soldiers trying desperately to defend this city still have when they realize that hell has come to Paris, and has brought its demons with it!
So long as the fliers have been distributed over the course of the last few days as I ordered you all to do so, then we have given enough notice. Anyone left behind does so knowing the risk, begin the assault!"
The fliers had indeed been distributed over the last few days, and the Germans had accepted many Parisian refugees, giving them a safe place to stay, while clothing and feeding them as many appeared malnourished from the ongoing effects the war was having on their country.
As a result, the cluster shells which were loaded into thousand of guns which surrounded the city of varying sizes. Such as 10.5cm, 15cm, 17cm, and 21cm guns opened fire on their precise coordinates.
The shells flew through the air at such a high velocity that nobody had time to witness their ascent, nor could they see the shells break apart into small balls which belted the French landscape, igniting into napalm sending streaks of fire high into the skies as they did so.
And the barrage would continue for three hours creating a terrifying ring of fire surrounding the city in its entirely and burning everything within its destructive wake completely to ash.
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From the perspective of what remained of the French Government, they had spent the last few months fortifying their city, and ensuring that its people would defend them until the last man.
They were quite confident that their enemy would grow sick of bleeding for every inch of Parisian soil, and in doing so would come to the negotiating table with far more favorable terms than an unconditional surrender. Thus these elected officials were swirling their cognac and eating what remained of France's fine cheese while the rest of its people starved.
Celebrating their perceived "victory." At least until the first round of shells was fired precisely around Paris in a way that created a ring of fire around it. When the flames appeared through the windows of the Palais Bourbon, the men damn near choked to death on their spirits.
At first, they thought they were perhaps seeing things, until the overwhelming heat spread through the city as the napalm continued to burn, and the fire spread. The weapons Bruno had chosen were napalm based cluster munitions, and napalm was notorious for spreading rapidly.
Anything touched by the highly flammable substance it would stick to, and if you tried to pat it out like a normal fire, it would only spread further. It was a horrific substance that the world had only seen used in German flamethrowers up until this point.
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From the perspective of the French government, their city was now surrounded by a wall of fire, and that wall was slowly beginning to spread inward as more shells exploded and spread the highly flammable and viscous substance everywhere.
The French politicians immediately began to panic, that is until a servant ran in and handed them a piece of paper which contained a telegraph sent to them by the commander of the German Army which surrounded the city.
It had two sentences written on it, but the intent behind them was clear enough to break the will of the French Government and what remained of its army that had stood so defiant for so long.
"I wonder if you will continue to be obstinate until your beloved city and everything in it is turned to ash. That would be a quite a sight to witness...."
Nobody in the French Government had suspected Bruno to be so ruthless. Although the official cause of his actions at Belgrade was because the city would not surrender, the most powerful figures in the world knew it was really a message towards those lurking in the shadows, that his people were not to be touched.
And he had decided to use the headquarters of the Black Hand who had so thoroughly provoked his ire to prove this point. But now, there were many who were suspecting there was some truth to the matter, that Bruno would rather annihilate an entire city than send millions of his men to fight for control of each building.
The French politicians stared at one another with a mixture of complicated emotions. Despair, fear, fury, and hatred all began to overwhelm them. Some cursed, others panicked, and a few even began to cry as they drank their sorrows away.
In the end, the French President, Raymond Poincaré looked upon those who had sided with him and refused to surrender, and shook his head, sighing heavily as he gave the unthinkable order to surrender.
"I will not have a thousand years of our people's heritage and pride burned to ash over night. I will not be the President who saw Paris removed from the map and all of human history. No... I must confess, I did not expect the Wolf of Prussia to take such shameless measures in order to preserve the lives of his men.
But it is clear to me now, we are dealing with a man who cares more about those beneath his command than the millions of innocent men, women, and children who oppose him. If it were anyone else, I would call his bluff...
As with Belgrade in 1914, we too now face the possibility of total annihilation, and this time he does not intend to preserve our history, as the man has deemed us unworthy of such grace... I hereby invoke my powers as president of France to order an immediate surrender of all hostilities.
All men and boys carrying arms must immediately drop them, and allow the German soldiers to ensure a peaceful transition to the end of this war. Any soldier caught defying these orders will be imprisoned and executed as traitors of the nation.
Now go, and alert the Germans of what I have said, before they burn the entire city to the fucking ground!"
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After Germany's recon planes confirmed the French Army had disarmed and entered a state of surrender, Bruno have the order for their planes to fly overhead and give the inflamed regions of Paris a chemical bath that put out the flames immediately upon contact.
Chemicals fell from the sky, much like a crop duster, and put the raging napalm to rest. Revealing the scorched earth below, and the ashes that remained of what had existed prior. When it was determined safe to continue, the German soldiers waiting outside the city began their advance into Paris.
The German 8th and 2nd Armies began their march through the French Capital, securing every soldier, every firearm, and every munition stockpile within the city, before Bruno would march up to the Palace of Versailles and climb its hallowed steps, raising the banners of the German Reich above it, and claiming a supreme victory for the Central Powers.
In doing so, ending the Great War in his new lease on life and accomplishing what he had been preparing a lifetime to face. Though the Great War had finally come to an end, after much bloodshed, the world that would come was far from secure, and the German Reich would need direct guidance on how to steer these turbulent waters in order to ensure the future that Bruno, and God desired came to fruition.