Tyranny of Steel

The time had come, in a few days, the day that Berengar had pledged to provide military support to his ally in the Iberian Peninsula will have arrived. After months of preparation, the First Division was ready to ship off to Granada, where they would fight against the Catholic Armies until every single inch of Iberian Land was under the control of Al Andalus once more. 

Berengar stood in front of his army dressed in his field uniform, which was based upon a Field Marshal's variant of the M40 Uniforms worn by the Wehrmacht during the middle of the Second World War from his previous life. There were a few minor differences between the uniform currently worn by Berengar and that of the Field Marshals of the Second World War.

The primary difference between the uniform that Berengar currently wore, and that of the original, was that the red trim that scaled across the edges of the uniform was replaced with a forest green color. Much like you would have seen in use by the Cold War Era East-German Border Guard

At his collar, Berengar had unique tabs made for his position as King of Austria and Reichsmarschall or, in other words, the Marshal of the Realm. These tabs were based upon the Reichsmarschall tabs used by Herman Goering in his past life, the difference being that the center material was not white but forest green instead.

Hanging from his collar was his Grand Cross of the Iron Cross and his Austrian Military Merit Order on top of it. On his shoulders, he had tabs unique to his position. Like the collar tabs, these were based heavily on Herman Goering's, the difference being the nazi reichsadler was replaced with the double-headed eagle of Austria. 

Pinned on his chest above his top left pocket was a series of three ribbon bars, signifying his glorious feats in combat. Below these ribbon bars, placed square in the center of the pocket itself, was his Star of the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross. 

From his right shoulder to his left hip was a Sam Browne-style shoulder strap connected to his belt; both were made of black leather. The belt buckle was made of white gold with the Austrian double-eagle imprinted upon it.  On his left side was his black leather holster, which contained his revolver.

Below this belt were his trousers in the style of a Wehrmacht Field Marshal's Jodhpurs. The difference was that the stripe was not red but the same forest green that trimmed his tunic. These pants were stuffed into a pair of black leather officers' jackboots.

Finally, atop his head was a new eyepatch, made of black leather, with an Iron Cross patch sewn into the center. Unlike his other stately eyepatch, it did not have a gilded edge. Above that was an officer's brimmed cap in the style worn by the Field Marshals of the Wehrmacht.

The primary difference between this cap and that of the original was that the golden Nazi Reichsadler pin had been replaced by the Austrian Double Eagle of Berengar's Kingdom. In fact, the entire uniform was completely rid of any form of nazi paraphernalia and was instead replaced with Imperial symbolism. 

As Berengar stood in front of his soldiers on the docks of Trieste, it was this image that they gazed upon. His soldiers were dressed in the style of the M40 Field Uniform used by the Wehrmacht in his past life, but with feldgrau painted steel armor in the form of German Trench armor from the Great War.

They also wore M35 Stahlhelms with the Austrian Reichsadler painted on the side. Slung over their shoulders were the Schmidt Needle Rifles, and clipped to their web gear were two Stick Grenades per soldier, alongside the standard equipment.  Berengar began to give a speech to his gathered soldiers before they embarked on their journey to reclaim Iberia for their Moorish allies.

"I gaze upon you, the sons of Austria, and my heart is filled with pride. Pride in our people, pride in our Kingdom, but most of all, pride in our strength! Each and every one of you is about to embark on a journey to a land far away from your birth, with a single purpose. To kill our enemies!

Now I know what many of you are thinking, why should I fight and die in some God-forsaken spit of land so that the Muslims can reclaim Iberia? However, if you are thinking in such a manner, I must inform you that you are gravely mistaken...

You will not be killing for the sake of the Granadans. You are doing so for the well-being of your people! Make no mistake; the Church will rally together all of the significant Catholic Kingdoms to march upon our soil in five years. 

Hundreds of thousands of enemies will enter our lands in an attempt to butcher our families. Why? Because we dare to disagree on the teachings of Christ? Or maybe it is to stifle the growth that every man, woman, and child in this Kingdom has fought so hard to achieve!

Now I want to ask each and every one of you a straightforward question... If the three Catholic Kingdoms of Iberia were to no longer exist, would they be able to assist our enemies in destroying our homes? Nein!

Thus do not think of this as throwing your lives away for some filthy Saracens on the other side of the world so that they may see some peaceful days. Instead, think of it as taking the fight to your enemies so that your people and your families will never see the horrors of war that you as men must witness!

There is a fire inside each of us that burns brighter with every passing breath! We, as Germans, understand the art of war on a profoundly intimate level. It could be considered a right of passage for all of our young men to enter the battlefield and claim glory for themselves, for their King, and their Fatherland! Now it is your turn, so go forth and kill the enemies of Austria! Hail Victory!"

As Berengar finished his speech, the crowd of 25,000 soldiers and the sailors who would spend the next few weeks ferrying them across the Mediterranean threw up Roman Salutes and chanted in unison the following phrase. 

"Hail Victory! Hail Victory! Hail Victory!"

A cruel smile etched itself upon Berengar's lips as he witnessed this; he had only seen such a spectacular scene in the historical videos of a specific mustached man's speeches from his past life. Berengar had no intentions of creating a fascist state. Instead, his goals were purely Imperialistic; he envisioned a society akin to a far Grander Second Reich rather than its failed successor. 

However, one could not deny the powerful speaker and propagandist that man was. As such, Berengar had on occassion borrowed specific phrases and gestures from the Third Reich, such as the term "Hail Victory" and the Roman Salute, to use among his troops. It seemed to have the desired effect, as the soldiers were fired up and ready to kill any Catholic Iberians they came across. 

As for Berengar, for the time being, he had no plans to interfere in Granada. Arnulf was a capable enough commander, and he was needed in the Fatherland to further enhance its industrial capabilities. The King of Austria had seen enough of war for the time being, and six months was not enough time of peace for him to properly enjoy himself. 

While the Soldiers of Austria prepared to embark on their newest war, Berengar returned to the palace, where he approached with trepidation. He may have forgotten to inform his loved ones that he was not, in fact, embarking on war at the moment. He knew how they worried about him while he was on the battlefield, and that fact that he had not informed him that he would be staying behind was sure to cause some panic. 

As he entered through the doors of his palace, he was immediately greeted by his three wives and his younger sister, who all jumped into his arms, colliding with him like an avalanche forcing him down onto the ground. They were visibly upset. Clearly, they thought he had left them behind without saying goodbye. 

Eventually, Berengar chuckled before rising to his feet; he could tell by their pouting expressions that they were greatly displeased with him. Deciding to diffuse the tension Berengar made a joke, which went as well as you might expect.

"I was only gone for a couple of hours, and yet you girls look like I have been away for a lifetime. Did you miss me that much?"

The various reactions from the four women were complicated. Adela seemed to be pouting with a small tear in her eyes. Linde seemed to be angry, and Honoria seemed to be pleasantly surprised. As for Henrietta, Berengar had no idea what was going on in her head, but she appeared dreadfully worried about his safety. 

Noticing that he had ruined the mood, the young King of Austria quickly gathered the girls together for a group hug and informed them of his decision.

"Relax, I'm not going away to war for a while; if I were to leave, who would continue my efforts to industrialize the nation? Unless something serious happens during the conflict, I will be here with you four girls. Now let's get something to eat!"

After saying this, Berengar led his family towards the Dining Hall, where they all began to celebrate the fact that the young King had not left them all behind. Later that night, Berengar would retire to his quarters alongside his three wives, where they would have their own little private party.

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