The encirclement of the Boxer's last stronghold within the region was held for several months. There was only one way in and out of the temple, and it was secured by the German soldiers who took turns keeping watch.
After only one attempt to leave the temple, which resulted in the deaths of twelve boxers. The rebels stayed put within the temple for the remainder of the "siege."
At first they thought the Germans were trying to starve them out with their encirclement. But they had enough supplies to last through the end of winter. And because of this, they thought the German leadership was foolish to make such attempts.
Eventually, however, the day arrived where the German Battalion got their hands on their new prototype weapon. As it was Bruno's design, he quickly worked together with those men in his company who were most mechanically inclined. Putting it together in no time.
There were a few dummy rounds included in the munitions case. So that Bruno and his men could properly zero the weapon on the enemy's location. Nobody besides the Battalion commander really knew what Bruno's plan was.
Nor did they understand what exactly Bruno and his men were fiddling with. From their perspective, it was a short and thin steel tube. They couldn't possibly comprehend that this one weapon would forever change the nature of warfare in this world.
Bruno had no practical experience with operating mortars. In his past life, he was an infantry officer and was not adequately trained on their operation. But due to the fact that he designed the damn thing, based upon a newfound understanding of mechanical engineering via studying the subject in his life, and a basic comprehension of how mortars functioned in his past life. He figured it out pretty quickly.
Once the weapon was zeroed in, Bruno ordered the men to launch one of the dummy rounds to test the weapon. The echo of the mortar round blasting off alerted all troops in the immediate vicinity as the shell flew up into the air, well above the target before falling down in the center of the temple plaza.
To the Boxers inside the complex, this was a bizarre sight. A metallic object shot up into the air and fell into their position. But it caused no damage to any of the structures, or the men within them. They began to laugh and shout at the Germans as if this was somehow a failure on their part.
But Bruno ordered another dummy round to be launched just to ensure the weapon was indeed fixed in the right position. And again, an explosive blast echoed across the mountain range, while another inert round landed on the plaza, a foot or two away from the initial target.
None of the Boxers understood what was happening, or how the next round would be their undoing. But upon seeing that the prototype mortar was functioning flawless, Bruno gave an order to his company to take up positions at the bottom of the staircase and to be prepared to begin their assault.
"On my mark, prepare to charge the enemy!"
The men quickly got their weapons ready, and in position as they waited for the command. Bruno then gave the order for the mortar to fire. And when it did this time, the Boxers weren't laughing anymore.
The detonation of the air burst mortar round, which contained an aerosol version of CS gas immediately caused all the men caught up in its mist to begin choking and oozing snot from their noses, while crying profusely.
Yet it was not a single round which affected them. Bruno ordered the launch of all shells on the temple plaza complex. With each round fired, the mortar team became more and more competent at their jobs.
The time between each round fired became shorter while they continuously fired into the Temple Plaza. Eventually the entire area was full of tear gas, while the boxers affected by it had no means to retaliate, and were instead flooding out of the fortified buildings and the makeshift defenses they had made trying desperately to get some clean air to breathe.
Once they were on their knees choking on the gas, Bruno ordered his men to assault the complex. They quickly rushed up the staircase, not suffering from a single round fired at them as they approached the temple plaza. Remaining a safe enough distance away from the tear gas to not be affected by it.
The German soldiers then formed ranks and opened fire on the temporary disabled rebels, who were riddled full of bullet holes by the sudden attack. Once the CS gas cleared, the German soldiers flooded into the complex, making short work of any boxers who remained.
The assault ended as quickly as it began, and with no resistance from the rebels holed up inside the temple. Had the Battalion not waited until the mortar and the tear gas arrived, then the casualties they would have sustained taking the temple complex would have been severe.
Once it was confirmed that all rebels had been eliminated, Bruno ordered the team to break down the mortar and pack it back up. All the while the Battalion commander approached him in shock at what he had seen.
"I will admit, I was growing impatient waiting for this mysterious weapon of yours to arrive. Had I been forced to sit here for another week, I would have ordered the assault, regardless. But I'm glad I didn't....
This thing you have here, I have never seen anything like it before. It's like a mortar, but much smaller, and lighter weight. Easily carried and operated by a small number of soldiers. Even capable of being lifted up to such a high elevation with relative ease.
The lives of hundreds of your fellow soldiers were spared because of you and your plan. Victory on this day is yours, Captain, not mine. I'm curious though, what exactly is this device you waited so long to get your hands on?"
Bruno had a smug smirk on his face. He didn't take credit for the invention, rather he claimed it was the product of the engineers who worked for his father.
"You should thank my father's company, and the talented men who work there as engineers and chemists. Without them, this new lightweight mortar would not exist in this world."
To a certain extent this was true. Bruno might have a proper knowledge of mechanical engineering and basic chemistry. But he was not omniscient. Though he had knowledge of the future about how mortars would come to evolve later on in this century. He himself got many things wrong when designing it.
These errors were solved by his father's engineers, and the chemists they collaborated with to come up with the functional designs of the two weapons that they were currently testing in the field. As for the Lieutentant Colonel, he couldn't help but suspect Bruno played a larger role in the development of the lightweight mortar and CS gas than he was letting on.
Still, he didn't bring these suspicions up, and instead made a comment about how warfare would forever be changed as a result of this weapon.
"Whoever is responsible, the Reich owed them a great deal. I will write to the General personally and tell him about this wonderful new mortar your family has developed. With any luck, we can keep this weapon a secret from the other great powers, giving us an edge should the day come where we must take up arms against them!"
With that said, the Mortar which Bruno designed would be further developed, tested, and experimented on. In the coming years, the German Empire would keep the existence of their lightweight mortars a secret from their rivals on the global stage. While further expanding on the variety of calibers, they could successfully be chambered in.
---
While Bruno continued to contribute to the Occupation of Northern China by the Eight-Nation Alliance. His wife was at home waiting for his return. It had been nearly months since Bruno first left Heidi's side. And by now, there was a noticeable bump on her belly.
The last time Bruno had visited Heidi, he had just graduated from the Academy, and was granted two weeks of leave to spend with his wife before being deployed overseas for the foreseeable future. During this time, he had thoroughly impregnated the woman.
He had the opportunity to do so over the holidays while he was in his final year of the Academy. But chose not to for a series of complicated reasons. This time, however, his perspective had shifted.
Seeing as he was about to enter a Warzone, Bruno saw it as a prudent time to leave an heir behind, as doing so would ensure that his family would provide for Heidi should the worst happen to him during his deployment.
Of course, Heidi had only found out she was pregnant a month or so after Bruno had left her side. Currently, she was sitting on the sofa, while wondering what kind of expression Bruno would make when he found out he was a father.
Heidi was so entranced with the idea of being a proper family together with Bruno that she had forgotten an important letter was supposed to arrive today. And it took her some time to regain her clarity where she immediately fetched the mail, which should have arrived by now.
When she saw the seal on the letter and the family which it belonged to, she was quick to take a deep breath before opening it. Once she did so, she read its contents. The message itself, if read plainly was merely an exchange of pleasantries between two family members. But when decoded in the way the Heidi and her cousin had agreed upon, it read as follows.
"Dear Lady Heidi von Zehntner,
It has been some time since I last sent you a letter. I regret to inform you that I have been quite busy as of late. What, with the nature of my work, is it any wonder that I have been unable to properly communicate with you?
You will be pleased to know, however, that I have not forgotten your request. And have been following the career of your husband quite closely. No doubt this is the least I can do to repay the favor which my beloved little sister owes you.
There has been much talk of your husband, Captain Bruno von Zehntner, and his contributions to the war efforts around the office. And I have it on good authority that the old timers in the Central Division even plan to have him attend the Prussian War college once the war is over. That is, of course contingent on his continued success in the field.
If your husband continues to perform in the way has so far, then the man has a bright future in the Army, and may even one day become a general. I know you worry about his safety, as I'm sure my sister would feel the same were I in your husband's situation.
But you can rest assured knowing that if the rumors are to be believed, he is deeply concerned about his own safety and the men beneath his command. If so, he won't needlessly put himself in danger. And with the attention he has been gathering, I doubt his commanding officer would risk such a thing as well.
I only have one other thing to report. I do not intend to worry you about this matter, as it is currently being taken care of by my friends in the field. But there appears to be a conspiracy among several of your husband's fellow officers to eliminate him, and play it off his death in the field as a fatality caused by the enemy.
As I previously stated, you do not need to worry about this matter. As I already have my men working on apprehending the conspirators and bringing their criminal actions to light. By the time you read this letter, they should already be in prison awaiting their execution.
That is all I have to report for now. I do look forward to a time where you and my sister can get together once more. After all, you are now officially a noble lady, albeit through marriage. And there is no reason for the two of you to hide your friendship any longer.
In the meantime, I will continue to monitor the situation regarding your husband's career, and let you know if there are any further developments. You will always have friends among my family and those of our allies. No matter what kinds of games your bastard of a father may play at.
-Sincerely,
Your cousin, Prince Karl Georg von Bentheim-Steinfurt."
Heidi smiled at the letter before raising it over a nearby candle, and lighting it aflame. It, along with the words contained within were thoroughly burnt to ashes. After all, it was quite the criminal act for her cousin to report classified and internal military information to her. And the last thing she wanted was for the man to get in trouble.
After all, if he came under investigation, then it would be revealed that she used a favor which the Princess of Bentheim-Steinfurt owed her from their years together as children, to coerce a military officer into giving her classified intelligence on the War in China.
If such a thing occurred, then she could be in serious trouble along with her cousin Karl Georg, who worked as an analyst at the Information Division of the German Army's High Command. Which was Imperial Germany's foreign intelligence bureau.
But Heidi was just so worried about Bruno's wellbeing. That she could not help but check up on him. Nevertheless, the two of them took precautions in the sharing of such sensitive information. Creating their own form of encryption to exchange letters freely, and openly without anyone thinking the wiser.
Which after burning the evidence, Heidi pulled out a pen and paper, and began to write back to her cousin in the same encryption style of the letter she had received. What the letter contained exactly, only the two of them would ever know. But suffice to say the timid little rabbit that Bruno had married had more connections that could aid him then he could possibly realize.