EP.375
Bastion Castle command and control room.
“Honestly, if it weren’t for Marshal Jaeger, the castle would have already been breached. But don’t you feel a bit uneasy about a night raid when just focusing on keeping the door closed and secure isn’t enough?”
“That isn’t entirely wrong, but the problem is that if we just keep guarding the castle like this, the morale of the soldiers and civilians will drop to the ground. Then it’s all over.”
“We need to show that we can do something, whether it’s a night raid or something, but is there any way?”
When conducting a night raid on a typical battlefield, you lead your troops and use terrain features such as forests or mountains near the garrison where the enemy troops are stationed, hiding your body as much as possible.
This is because if concealment is not done properly, your head may be blown off during a surprise attack at night.
However, there were no forest hills to hide in between Bastion Castle and the Allied Garrison, and the Archduke, who had a fear of me, Peter Jaeger, set up his camp about 600 meters away from the castle walls, as if surrounding them on all sides.
Originally, in order to siege a castle, it was enough to have an appropriate number of troops, so the rule was to build the garrison somewhere a little further away… You crazy people.
“What do you guys think about the night raid proposal I mentioned? Are you for or against? “Feel free to express your opinion.”
Other officers, regardless of rank, said, ‘You tell me it won’t work.’ ‘Is that okay? The other person is the enemy.’ He recommended that he speak first in secret, in the same way as older brother first.
In the end, Lieutenant General Hautman, who could be said to be the most senior person besides me, sighed and answered.
“I strongly agree with your intention to study at night. But realistically, this is too difficult. The enemy is seven times more numerous than our allies, and in order to make a surprise attack, you have to get close to the enemy camp without being detected. “The distance between the enemy camp and the Bastion Castle where our troops are stationed is about 600 meters, and there is no cover at all.”
“So the lieutenant general is saying that a night attack is not appropriate under the current circumstances?”
“That’s right. Wouldn’t it be better to use other methods to raise the soldiers’ morale? Not only all the soldiers in this castle, but even the civilian women and girls are fighting with respect for the enemy who takes the lead and fights. “How about awarding the Iron Cross to all soldiers and civilians, ex officio?”
If you just listen to the name of the Iron Cross, it seems like something grandiose, but in reality, there is nothing that special about it.
It’s like an excellent soldier certificate that a company commander can give to a soldier who didn’t make a big contribution in the war, but only if he has a certain level of ability and fights hard.
In fact, although it is registered as a medal in the Imperial Army’s award regulations, in reality it does not have any benefits other than ‘additional points when applying for non-commissioned officer positions’ and is not reflected in personnel evaluations.
But are you showing off by spraying something like that on the soldiers who are risking their lives here?
“Lieutenant General Hautman, all of those here have been fighting for over a week on a terrible battlefield comparable to that hellish Lichen. “How would it help boost their morale if we just awarded them the Iron Cross, which only has meaning when being commissioned as a sergeant?”
“It is as you said. Then, wouldn’t it be possible to award a medal lower than the Knight’s Cross, which is a ‘title’ given ex officio by the Marshal? “How about awarding appropriate medals to non-commissioned officers and soldiers who have shown outstanding performance and saying, ‘His Majesty has not forgotten you and we will definitely win?’”
Now, my memories of Korea have almost faded away from those related to military history, but among the things I’ve seen before, there was something like this.
‘Soldiers who serve in the military live with only honor in mind.’
Moreover, as Houtman said, it was to give soldiers and civilians the expectation that their dedication would be rewarded by the empire.
It would be a good idea to give medals generously to soldiers and civilians who have performed well in order to make themselves and the Reich Empire more trustworthy.
“You are right. “Then, even though we are in the middle of a meeting, I will first convey this to the company commanders of each company.”
As he said that, an ensign in charge of the officer messenger who was waiting next to him came out.
Karl, the boy who supported me when I first arrived at Bastion Castle, is now serving as a temporary second lieutenant under my authority.
I heard that you had your first opportunity to participate in the war as a second-line reserve unit not long ago, and I wanted to ask you what kind of performance you had.
“You go out immediately and tell this. ‘The company commanders of each company are to record as much as possible the activities of the soldiers, civilians, and women, and among them, those who have achieved remarkable results or performed outstandingly and fought hard are to be divided into three grades in order and reported.”
It will be said that those selected from among those who have achieved remarkable achievements will be awarded the Golden Cross and, at the end of the war, awarded the Order of the Knight’s Sword and made into real knights.
Then, the soldiers and civilians here will look forward to the future after surviving this hellish war and fight even harder for a better future, and the chances of this castle surviving will increase.
Originally, this would be beyond my authority, but this battle in Bastion is a critical war that will determine whether the empire falls or survives.
His Majesty will certainly allow this level of dogmatism.
If it becomes a problem, I should pray and pray to His Majesty based on my achievements so far, end it with a resignation from my position as Marshal, and then live a full-fledged life fishing with my father-in-law.
After this war is over, the empire will have achieved hegemony, so the empire will definitely be fine without me.
And Carol left immediately.
“Oh, by the way, are you all against night raids? Anybody is welcome, so please tell me a way to study at night.”
Then Randel stood up from his seat in the corner and spoke.
“Lieutenant Colonel Landel, commander of the 1st Battalion, 7th Guards Division! “There is a good strategy I would like to suggest.”
“What is it?”
“Actually, there is a civilian named Heinz who is close to the soldiers in my battalion, and according to the information I received from him, there is a secret passage to the outside world in the castle brewery. Two weeks ago, I sent the 1st platoon under my command to check and found that it extends far away from the military camp where the Warsaw army is currently stationed, and there is a very high probability that the enemy is unaware of this fact. So, how about sending a small number of soldiers here to shake up the enemy lines?”
According to what I heard, before being dispatched to this front, I even heard that he graduated from the General Staff College with excellent grades, ranking 12th out of 40 fellow soldiers.
I never would have thought that in a situation where other officers were trying to persuade me to give up the night raid, I would come up with a plan that was reasonable, feasible, and had a very high probability of success.
Maybe that guy, like me, goes from being a serf with nothing to proving his ability and eventually becoming a titled nobleman?
However, I decided not to use this strategy.
This is because there are too many enemy forces and it was judged that it would be difficult to carry out operations such as destroying facilities with only a small number of soldiers.
“Colonel Landel, your operation appears to be very good. However, even if we try to make a surprise attack according to the plan you suggested, it will be difficult because the Archduke of Warsaw, the commander-in-chief of the Allied forces, is so afraid of us that he is on high alert.”
At those words, Randel looked regretful and tried to sit down.
“However, as a superior, I am very proud that you, who was a coward at Richen Hill, have shown such bravery and now have wise judgment. “After this battle, I will make sure to tell your story to His Majesty when we do business together.”
When Randel was told that he would directly convey his achievements and name to His Majesty in return for actively participating in the meeting and suggesting a reasonable strategy, Randel was so moved that he was almost on the verge of tears.
The other officers, even the highest ranking lieutenant general except me, looked at Lieutenant Colonel Randel with envious eyes.
The other officers, stimulated by Lieutenant Colonel Landel, tried to come up with a strategy to gain recognition from me and gain a foothold for great success after the war.
“Now, I would like to talk about a night attack, which is not what the enemy thinks. “Are you okay?”
Everyone nodded their heads in agreement with those words.
Well, who wouldn’t agree with what the Marshal says…
“Marshal Bon is planning to fire a fireball from the castle wall and hit their camp directly.”
“But isn’t the fireball’s range less than 400 meters?”
I said with a chuckle at those words.
Do you really think so? I don’t think so.
A word from the author (author review)
Your comments and likes give strength to the author.
See next episode
