EP.184
And half a year later, a week before the departure of the Austrian expeditionary force.
“Then, from now on, I will disclose all top secrets related to the expedition to officers of colonel or higher.”
With this declaration, everyone’s attention was focused on the staff officer who was making the announcement at the front.
Most of the officers here had no idea what classified information was about to be announced, so they seemed filled with anticipation and a bit of concern.
The Crown Prince and I, who already knew all the information, realized that this expedition had now begun in earnest.
“First of all, the Austrian Expeditionary Force consists of a total of 14 divisions and the total number of troops is 115,000. The Commander-in-Chief is Crown Prince Michael von Reich, the Deputy Commander-in-Chief is Lieutenant General Peter Jaeger, and the Chief of Staff for Personnel, Transport, Administration and Intelligence constitutes the General Headquarters.”
As originally planned, even if His Highness the Crown Prince goes as commander-in-chief, if the number exceeds 100,000, it is true that a captain-level commander will accompany him as the second-in-command.
Thanks to the numerous achievements I have accumulated so far and the strong support of His Majesty and my father-in-law, I was able to become a lieutenant general and second-in-command.
Furthermore, the command of the 7th Guards Division also belongs to me.
“And according to reports from the Imperial Intelligence Department and the troops deployed in Czechia, the Grand Duchy of Czechoslovakia has currently deployed 80,000 troops centered on Charlesburg Castle near Visozia. It is said that 30,000 men were dispatched as a follow-up unit for defense.”
When we heard that, the generals and officers, including His Highness the Crown Prince and I, spoke with expressions full of concern.
“Offense is much more disadvantageous than defense, so if we fight like this, won’t we actually be losing the war with Czechvia?”
“Our second-in-command is Lieutenant General Jaeger. “You must have something on your mind.”
“That’s true, but Director Gapel… I feel a little uneasy.”
If the place I was planning to attack was Czechia, I would have changed the place I wanted to attack as soon as I heard that information.
Because no matter how much I am a flying and crawling general, unless I am a walking natural disaster general, it is absolutely crazy for the defending troops to attack with almost the same number of troops as the attacking side.
“In addition, Archduke Weidmann von Austrian, the Archduke of the Grand Duchy of Austria, gathered a large army numbering 130,000 people in western Austria, centered on Linz. Furthermore, Austria and Czechia even entered into a military alliance to attack the imperial army together if the soldiers of the Reich Empire attacked western Czechia or northern Austria through Visozia.”
If this happens, the worst situation will happen when we attack Czechvia and have to fight against a large army totaling 240,000 people.
Perhaps that’s why the officers had expressions on their faces that seemed to say, ‘If this continues, won’t our organization be ruined?’
The moment I heard about the number of soldiers the Austrians had gathered and the military alliance between the two countries, I was extremely embarrassed.
Because if they had only acted according to the information I leaked, the Archduke of Austria would have had absolutely no reason to enter into a military alliance with Czechvia.
This is because Austria will definitely suffer a loss if it concludes a treaty to send reinforcements if Czechvia is attacked.
In other words, if you judge based on these facts, you will come to this conclusion.
‘The Austrians already know that they, not the Czechovians, are being attacked through the double agents I dispatched. However, I feel very grateful to the Austrians who signed this treaty because the Duke of Czechvia seems to be the country that is being targeted.’
“But this time, the area the Empire will attack is the western part of the Grand Duchy of Austria, along the route from Innsbruck to Linz. Therefore, reinforcements from the Czechoslovak army will not come.”
In a situation where a mutual defense treaty was signed, the western part of the Grand Duchy of Austria was attacked, but it may sound absurd to say that the Grand Duchy of Czechia would not send reinforcements.
However, most treaties of this era are made as a joke to lay the groundwork for hitting the other side hard in the back.
In most cases, even if there is only one letter different from what is written in the treaty, they find fault and do not implement the treaty that is unfavorable to them.
This is a world where, in extreme cases, the agent on the side of the annulment erroneously took the King’s seal and claimed it was invalid.
It is impossible to believe in the treaties of this era, except that they were actually decided by the difference between victory and defeat in the war.
“…… Lieutenant General Yeager did another thing. In order to gather a large army of over 130,000 men in Linz, Austria, troops would have had to be gathered from all over the Grand Duchy…” “
In Innsbruck, isn’t Linz empty except for the minimum number of defensive troops?”
“It’s always fun to rob empty houses. Additionally, unless the Archduke of Austria is an idiot, he will have no choice but to give up his advantage in defense if he wants to intercept us. “The enemy will not be able to take advantage of the defender’s advantage.”
The staff here are jumping for joy, but the Crown Prince and I cannot look at this situation very optimistically.
Because at most, five people, including Mathius, who was planted as a double agent, betrayed.
This is because the beautiful plan to strike the enemy in a big way fell apart, and he ended up fighting at a disadvantage than he expected.
Therefore, much of the confidential information and information about the Austrian military that we received from those acting as double agents has proven to be unreliable…
That is why His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, who is sitting in the highest position in the exact center to my right, said, ‘This is a trap.’ I tried to get up as if to shout.
I grabbed the hem of His Majesty’s clothes and shook my head to signal him.
‘For now, let’s just pretend we were fooled. That’s a more effective way to screw them, Your Majesty.’
The most fatal thing from a deceiver’s perspective is to pretend to be deceived until just before the critical moment.
Counterattacking at a critical moment is the most effective.
“I cannot reveal his identity yet, but the empire has dispatched several spies to Austria. In addition, some of them are now serving as officers in the Austrian army.”
At those words, the officers here cheered.
“As expected, it’s His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Vice Admiral Jaeger. It is difficult to persuade an officer in the Austrian army. “You managed to bring in our own officer.”
“Isn’t it actually like looking at the enemy in the palm of your hand?”
“This expedition will be very easy.”
…… No, we got hit in the back. Still, I’m just pretending not to know and then trying to break Ostrich’s head.
It’s a shame because I made preparations and tricked him into withdrawing his troops to the west of Innsbruck.
If I had relayed the correct information to Martius, who was acting like a double agent, I would have just given up on this expedition.
His Royal Highness must have thought the same thing, but it really took ten years.
“So, it is the opinion of the General Staff College that this expedition will proceed well without any major problems. “This concludes the general presentation.”
As soon as he finished speaking, applause rang out from all over, and the other generals had already started drinking bowls of kimchi soup.
I quietly took out a fountain pen and wrote on the paper on my desk.
[Four people including Major Martias betrayed. Otherwise, there would be no way for Czechia and the Grand Duchy of Austria to form an alliance. However, since we sent them so carefully, the Grand Duchy of Austria will think that we were deceived by them, so I think it would be better to keep everything as it was, except for the marching route.]
Then, I wrote a note to His Majesty sitting next to me. handed it over.
So we listened to the briefing session on the strategy that took place over the next three hours, and His Royal Highness carefully called me to a corner and asked.
“Lieutenant General Yeager, what is this situation for us now? “Is it the worst or the best?”
First of all, even though Mathius, who was acting as a double agent, was stabbed in the back, no reinforcements will come from Czechvia since the advance route has been changed anyway.
So it’s definitely not the worst situation.
However, it cannot be said to be the best since the double agents and various secrets planted have gone to waste.
“It’s up to you and me. However, since your majesty and I have joined forces, shouldn’t we be able to overcome even the worst?”
After hearing those words, His Highness laughed and said.
“It’s always best when you and I are together. “This was a pointless question.”
Then he spoke while gritting his teeth.
“Martius Bolton Ludwig Vili Josef… You betrayed the Empire even though I gave you the chance. I swear to Deus that I will tear you limb from limb and kill you once this expedition is over. “Also, it’s really funny that you’re still playing in the palm of Lieutenant General Jaeger’s hand after betraying him like that.”
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