“Cutting out the flowery language and getting straight to the point. What’s the current military situation? What are our remaining forces and the enemy’s scale?”
For a soldier on the battlefield, etiquette is a luxury.
I had just instructed colonels and below to set up the garrison and immediately sought information.
During the few weeks we were moving and couldn’t receive communications, I wanted to understand if there had been any slight changes on the front lines.
“Have you read the report sent to the central command?”
“Yes.”
“There hasn’t been much change. A few artillery positions were lost, and about 3,000 soldiers died. Meanwhile, the Imperial bastards received 3,000 reinforcements.”
Major General Mauer sits in his chair, placing chess pieces on the map.
Artillery, cavalry, infantry, and battle mage units, etc. Roughly expressed, the overall configuration was like this:
â–¡â–¡â–¡â–¡ â–¡â–¡ +++++ +++++ ++++++++++â–¡â–¡ +++++ 000000 ++++++
Here, the top is the enemy, and the bottom is our forces. â—‹ is cavalry, + is infantry, â–¡ is artillery and battle mage units.
If terrain and elevation were considered, it would become more complex, but that’s difficult to depict on a flat surface, so it’s omitted.
To briefly explain this configuration… it was a comprehensive and clearly disadvantageous situation.
“There’s not a single advantageous point.”
“I’m sorry. I tried my best, but still…”
“It’s okay. I’m not saying this to reprimand you. You did well, Mauer.”
Central, left wing, and right wing.
In all three sectors that compose the front lines, our forces were being pushed back.
Imperial troops were pressing our soldiers from all sides, who were barely holding on by relying on the terrain.
The only reason we’ve held on is the minimal artillery firepower gap and Mauer’s good command. Without that, the front lines might have collapsed long ago.
‘Now I must turn this situation around.’
How can I reverse the tide with the approximately 20,000 troops I’ve brought?
Dispersing troops here and there? This is a grave mistake.
Adding 20,000 doesn’t change the fact that the Northern Army’s total force is still below the Imperial Army’s. The overall manpower problem remains unresolved.
Then keep them in the rear as reserves? That’s the worst possible strategy. It’s suicide.
When manpower is critically short and the situation is precarious, why save soldiers? Wait until the front lines collapse before deploying?
The answer to this has long been proven by history. Selective concentration.
“General Elan.”
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
“Grant the marching soldiers two days of rest, including today. They’ve suffered walking for weeks, so they’ll be unable to perform missions immediately.”
“Understood.”
Didn’t Napoleon himself say he always defeated fewer forces with more? I intended to use the same principle.
Although total numbers might be low, it’s not difficult to gain local superiority at some points on the battlefield.
In fact, it’s a strategy possible anywhere, if the operation is properly planned.
“The right wing had many hills, right? So moving a regiment or larger unit at once would be difficult?”
“It’s closer to a plateau. The surface is frozen, with lakes and streams nearby.”
“Either way, movement will be challenging.”
The right wing is out of consideration due to terrain.
The center is out of consideration as attacks are impossible without suppressing the left and right wings.
The only remaining option was the left wing.
“Good. Then concentrate the support troops on the left wing. Who’s the current commander there?”
“General Hashvalt. The friend you recruited last time.”
“Oh, him? Tell him I’ll be in command from now on. I’m incorporating his unit under my command.”
“Won’t mixing troops with different military branches and organizations cause confusion?”
“It’s a hundred times better than having two heads in one army. And I’ve handled mixed units several times when I was the Northern Army’s deputy commander. Don’t worry.”
The enemy’s right wing was estimated at around 20,000. Meanwhile, our left wing was only 12,000.
But what if we deploy the entire central army of 20,000? That would be 32,000. That’s 60% more than the enemy.
Moreover, since the unit just arrived, detailed information likely hasn’t been leaked yet.
If we hurry, we could aim for numerical superiority and the element of surprise.
“Operation begins at 0800 the day after tomorrow. Reorganize until then and ensure instructions are delivered to subordinate units. That is all.”
Two days of rest. Another day to move to the battle position.
And the full-scale engagement occurred three days later.
“General! The Kingdom forces are moving!”
“What?”
On the morning three days later, the Imperial Army general commanding the right wing couldn’t hide his confusion.
‘Why are the Kingdom troops suddenly moving? Weren’t they always stuck in their trenches because they lacked numbers?’
“Indeed. They have no advantageous elements for field combat.”
Field battles between armies long stationed in the same region are rare where unit size matters as much.
Prepared defensive facilities are hard to use, and factors like terrain, troop morale, and supply status are mostly already known by both sides.
It’s like an open poker game where victory depends on who has more cards, or in this case, troops.
From this perspective, the Imperial Army has two full divisions.
The Kingdom Army is barely at one division with two or three additional battalions.
No matter how you look at it, the Imperial forces have the advantage.
Even if the enemy commander were a heaven-sent military genius, such a gap would be difficult to overturn easily.
“Did they collectively eat something wrong and go crazy?”
“Maybe there’s pressure from above to do something since they’ve been in a standoff…”
“No. It might simply be a change in leadership. Newly assigned officers often want to make a name for themselves by doing something foolish.”
Their knowledge and reasoning couldn’t comprehend the cause.
They could only wildly guess something was happening inside the Kingdom Army.
Normally, they might have hypothesized about troop reinforcements, but the current situation prevented that.
“They definitely pulled their reserves to block the eastern front (western from the Kingdom’s perspective). The Kingdom couldn’t possibly have reinforcements left here.”
“Exactly. Aren’t they committing around 150,000 troops there?”
“It would be nearly impossible to manage that loss and still worry about other fronts.”
A disaster caused by Lieutenant General Liebert’s reckless desire for military achievements.
Recovering from a defeat losing nearly 100,000 troops would require pulling every possible rear-area soldier.
They would surely rush to conscript new soldiers and scrape together reserves, enlisting anyone they could.
Therefore, the Kingdom Army would have no capacity to deploy additional troops for now.
The Imperial Army was thinking exactly that.
And honestly, they weren’t wrong.
Here’s the translation, maintaining Korean naming conventions:
“Carolus had to extort private soldiers by threatening the nobles just to handle the aftermath.
However, what they didn’t expect was that the kingdom had actually mobilized central troops.
“Anyway, this works out well for us. How many enemies have appeared?”
“About 8,000 approximately.”
“Then there might be an ambush. Issue the deployment order. Go out and wipe them out in one go and return.”
The general, delighted at the chance to achieve military merit after a long time, ordered the entire right wing of the Imperial Army to advance.
Without knowing what dangers might be lurking on the battlefield.
“Haha, those bastards really came out of the fortress! Such incredible idiots!”
On the wide plains nestled between hills, two armies faced each other.
8,000 versus 20,000.
The difference was almost threefold, evident even in the length and thickness of their formations.
The Kingdom’s Army was only able to deploy soldiers in thin lines, while the Imperial Army had created multiple thick battle formations.
The moment they engaged, it seemed like a resolution was imminent.
“General, isn’t something strange? I don’t see any soldiers from the Kingdom’s Army holding spears…”
“Really? Perhaps they’ve run out of spear inventory.”
Though he discovered something suspicious, he didn’t pay much attention.
The glory he was about to grasp was dancing before his eyes.
Minor doubts didn’t concern him at all.
“If these guys are our opponents, victory will be as easy as eating porridge. Advance!! Annihilate the Kingdom’s sons of bitches!”
The deployment order was issued with great momentum.
The entire Imperial Army’s right wing simultaneously took a step forward.
Utilizing their numerical superiority, they gradually narrowed the distance, surrounding the enemy like a crescent.
1000 steps.
800 steps.
600 steps.
400 steps.
200 steps.
Just fifty more steps and gunfire from the musketeers would begin.
They would continue firing until the distance between friend and foe became zero, ultimately transitioning to a battle of formation strength.
A fierce melee with clashing spears and swords would determine victory.
That was the standard of warfare in this era.
However, at the moment the Imperial Army felt completely secure—
–Tatatang!!
“T-the enemy is firing in unison!!”
The Kingdom’s Army lined up and simultaneously began firing muskets.
The first row knelt, the second row stood, and the third row propped their guns on the shoulders of the soldiers in front, unleashing countless flames and lead from the entire formation.
“Those, those crazy bastards. Could they have composed the entire unit of musketeers?!”
Only then did the Imperial Army realize.
The “thin line” formation wasn’t due to insufficient troops.
Rather, it was a strategy to maximize the soldiers’ firepower.
“Soldiers are dying en masse! Even the sergeants and junior officers! General! We urgently need a countermeasure!”
“Approach first. Somehow get close and drag them into close combat! In close combat, we’ll have the advantage!”
Musketeers are strong, but disadvantaged in close-quarters combat with cold weapons.
Even if we suffer losses, closing the distance will give us a chance.
With that judgment, the Imperial Army steadily advanced despite being hit by a hail of bullets.
But the moment their blades were about to touch—
–Clang!
“You bastards. Did you think we’d come without any preparation? Huh?”
“W-wait, they’ve attached bayonets to their guns?!”
They realized again the existence of this new invention called a bayonet.
The idea of attaching a blade to the end of a gun to replace cold weapons.
A simple yet surprisingly novel invention that hadn’t even been conceptualized in this world.
Although somewhat less convenient than actual spears or swords, its efficiency was beyond description.
The Imperial Army couldn’t push forward against the Kingdom’s Army as expected, instead finding themselves completely immobilized.
And in that moment—
“General! Unidentified troops have appeared on our flank!!”
The hidden Kingdom’s Army revealed themselves, targeting the Imperial Army’s vulnerable points.
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