Let’s turn back time for a moment.
A few hours before the 19th Division of the Kingdom Army clashed with the former Northern Army, now the Revolutionary Army.
Lieutenant General Heimburck, commander of the 19th Division, had prepared thoroughly.
“Dig trenches and build barricades! If it’s too difficult to build earthen walls, at least make wooden fences and set them up! Whatever it takes, hide yourselves and build obstacles to hinder the enemy!”
“General, the soldiers are complaining about exhaustion. They’ve been working for hours without rest, and if you keep urging them…”
“Are you saying we should just sit idly while the rebels approach? Even if they’re exhausted, we need to prepare so we have a better chance of victory!”
He expanded the existing garrison by building additional defenses.
Although there wasn’t much time, so proper construction was impossible, he did the best he could with what little time remained.
He built earthen walls, dug hiding holes, and set up artillery positions.
With a force of 10,000 men, it wasn’t too difficult.
They managed to create a makeshift fortress that, for a field fortification, was fairly decent.
“This will be enough to hold out for a week, even against an enemy several times our size. We just need to wait for reinforcements to arrive!”
“Do you think our forces will arrive on time?”
“Of course they will! With us holding off the rebels, how could they refuse reinforcements?”
He had already requested support from nearby stationed units, so now it was just a matter of time.
Even if it took five or six days, if they could hold out, the situation would turn in their favor.
The rebels would soon face overwhelming numbers and crumble helplessly.
This was his strategic plan.
Well, it wasn’t exactly a bad idea.
Lieutenant General Heimburck was not a completely incompetent officer, and the 19th Division’s combat ability was among the best.
If he were fighting against a typical rebellion or foreign invaders, his calculations would likely have been correct.
However, unfortunately, the Revolutionary Army coming down from the North was far from an ordinary insurgent force.
“Rebels approaching from the 3 o’clock direction!!”
“What’s so fast about them? They’re maintaining formation while running?”
“Each artillery unit, prepare to fire! Everyone, take combat positions! We must somehow stop their momentum!”
The fiercely loyal to the royal family, Lieutenant General Heimburck, had assumed that the enemy’s fighting strength was only comparable to his own, or perhaps slightly below.
Up until now, the rebels in the kingdom had been nothing more than peasant uprisings or soldiers who had rebelled against orders.
He had carelessly assumed that the enemy would be the same.
While the deputy commander had joined the officer corps, ensuring a bit more discipline, they were still nothing more than rebels against the royal family.
They surely wouldn’t have a proper fighting force.
In other words, he had underestimated the enemy due to his own biased loyalty.
“We can’t stop them! They’re closing the gap without even giving us time for counterfire!”
“Then shoot them! Do I have to give you instructions for everything?!”
But think about it.
The Northern Army had been stationed on the frontlines for over ten years, fighting in the most difficult and intense areas of the entire front.
Like in the Middle Ages, there was no such thing as rotation or time off.
These troops had been stuck in the snowfields, only getting rest during brief vacations.
Soldiers who had spent their youth battling in blizzards—could they really be ordinary?
Rather, each and every one of them was an elite, a member of an elite force.
In contrast, the 19th Division had been a reserve unit stationed in the rear since the war started.
They had trained well, but had never experienced real combat.
Occasionally, they were called to the front when the lines were short of troops, but that was more of a matter of transferring entire units, making it almost meaningless.
In other words, this battle could be defined as a clash between a battle-hardened elite force and a rear-line reserve division.
Let alone the difficulty of the battle, the morale of the 19th Division was already crushed by General Carolus’s psychological warfare.
The outcome seemed almost predetermined.
“The rebels are right on top of us! Fix bayonets and prepare for close combat!”
“F-Fuck this! I can’t take it anymore!”
“I surrender, I surrender! I don’t want to die here!”
The Northern Revolutionary Army attacked swiftly, not giving the 19th Division any chance to react.
Using their long experience, the veteran soldiers of the revolution found weaknesses in the enemy formation and immediately broke through, creating chaos and disorder on the battlefield.
As a result, the defenders of the 19th Division lost the advantage of firepower and defensive fortifications.
The division’s discipline completely broke down, leading to mass desertions.
Soldiers, who had already lost trust in their superiors, began to throw away their weapons and flee, even with officers standing right before them.
“Have you all lost your minds?! The enemy is right in front of us, and what the hell are you doing?!”
“Shut up and get lost! Why the hell should we risk our lives fighting amongst ourselves?!”
“Go suck up to the damn royal family! We’ll take care of surviving on our own!”
The soldiers had long since thrown away their trust in the ruling class.
After being forced into difficult labor for pointless construction projects, they were now told to fight against an overwhelming enemy force.
What soldier would want to fight under these conditions? If they were lucky, they might just curse and keep fighting.
With the breakdown of formation and increasing instances of fraggings, it was clear that the makeshift fortifications couldn’t hold.
The hastily constructed fortifications began to fall, one by one, from the outer perimeter.
It didn’t take long before the enemy had penetrated deep into the defenses, as smoothly as if dye was mixing into clear water.
It only took 30 minutes for the revolutionary cavalry to reach the position of Lieutenant General Heimburck and his command.
Revolutionary Army casualties: 92.
19th Division casualties: 1,288.
This was a resounding victory for the revolutionaries.
“You should have prepared better.”
The first battle under the banner of revolution ended with little fanfare.
Just when it seemed like it would get intense, the enemy quickly surrendered.
There was no time to even unfold the command tent or maps, as Lieutenant General Heimburck was captured, and that was the end of it.
Our forces suffered fewer casualties, so I suppose that’s something to be thankful for.
“How many are dead?”
“About forty. Another thirty are seriously wounded.”
For the price of subduing an entire division, these losses were relatively light.
Though these were my own soldiers, and their blood is irreplaceable, if we’re committed to the revolution, some sacrifices are inevitable.
I’ll make sure to properly compensate their families later.
“Bury the bodies well and mark the graves. Even if it’s just wooden gravestones, do it.”
“Yes, don’t worry.”
Now, it’s time to have a serious conversation with my dear prisoners, former comrades.
“What are you doing?! Traitors! Where are you taking me?!”
“Shut your mouth. You’ve been captured; what’s all this noise?”
Lieutenant General Heimburck, still shouting and struggling despite being bound with ropes.
On the other hand, my subordinates had an utterly gloomy atmosphere as they were dragged in front of me.
Behind them, the disarmed soldiers of the 19th Division were being closely watched.
I had them kneel on the dirt floor, and I placed a simple chair in front of them and sat down.
“So, it’s been a while. How have you all been?”
“You treacherous bastard! You’ve lived your whole life under the king’s grace, and now you betray the kingdom?! How can you—”
“I regret that things have come to this. We didn’t want to see our own blood spilled, but in the end, it was inevitable.”
“The goddess will not forgive you!! You and your family will pay the price for this treason!! You will pay the price for defying the royal family and the sin of rebellion!!”
“Who will shut this fool up? Oh, right. Good job.”
For now, I gagged the idiot who still couldn’t come to his senses.
I then turned to the soldiers who seemed to have realized the reality of the situation and spoke to them in a friendly tone.
“Once again, I want to make it clear that I didn’t want to fight you. It was because of one foolish idiot causing a ruckus that I had no choice but to resort to force.”
“We do not see you as enemies. Despite everything that’s happened, you are still our comrades.”
I subtly mixed in that message to make them feel at ease with us, to help them view us more familiarly.
“Originally, I planned to take away the weapons and supplies and let you go… but it seems that’s no longer possible.”
Now, we were getting to the main point.
“As we all know, the central royal family and the nobility are greedy and wicked to the core. If I let you go now, it’s obvious they’ll treat you like defeated dogs and punish you.”
Even though we were severely outnumbered and had little chance of winning, that didn’t factor into the equation.
To those high-ranking nobles, these soldiers were nothing more than worthless trash.
They were vermin who couldn’t even carry out their one job of stopping the traitors.
They wouldn’t hesitate to behead them, accusing them of deliberately betraying the kingdom.
“So, here’s my offer. Why don’t you join the revolution with us?”
“I… what?”
One of the mid-ranking officers asked, seemingly confused. I ignored him and continued.
“You might as well point your rifles in a different direction. Rather than die for a senseless loyalty, why not rise against the incompetent royal family and the corrupt nobility?”
“Wouldn’t it be better to at least fire a shot at the enemy? Let’s tear down this rotten kingdom together.”
“If you join us, I’ll treat you as comrades. I swear on my honor that you will be treated equally. Let’s raise the flag of the revolution and march forward together.”
Join us in bringing down the kingdom.
Even if we die, let’s take this chance to settle the grudges we’ve been carrying all these years.
With that, I stood up from my chair.
I threw a few bayonet knives onto the floor, then turned to face them.
“If you have the guts, kill Heimburck. Kill the royal lapdog and show your resolve. If you’re not interested, just stay quiet and step back.”
This wasn’t about persuasion.
It was about dealing with the fanatical royal loyalists, much like when we killed the Northern Army Commander, accusing him of the grave crime of murdering his superior.
Whether they liked it or not, they would have to share in our fate.
“I’ll return in one hour. By then, I expect an answer.”
After leaving only a few soldiers to monitor them, I discreetly slipped away.
When I returned with my subordinates, there, in the place where the 19th Division soldiers had been, was the mangled corpse of one of their own.
Not a single person had backed down or fled.
“General Royten, does this prove our resolve?”
“…Yes. Welcome to the revolution.”
With this, I had gained reinforcements and solidified the ranks. Another victory.