Academy Genius Commander

375 – Wizards can be used like artillery (1)

Bastion Castle command and control room.

“Honestly, if it weren’t for Marshal Yeager, the castle would have already been breached. “But isn’t it a little unsettling to think of 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 have 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.

If concealment is not done properly, your head may end up being blown off during a surprise attack at night.

However, there are no forests or hills to hide in between Bastion Castle and the Allied Garrison, and the Archduke, who has a fear of me, Peter Jaeger, has set up his camp about 600 meters away from the castle walls, as if surrounded 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.’, ‘Will that work? The other person is your enemy.’ It was recommended to speak first in secret, in the same way as older brother first and younger 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 situation?”

“Yes. 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?”

The Iron Cross is a medal that seems grandiose when you just hear its name, but in reality, there is nothing that special about it.

If a soldier who did not make a big contribution in the war has a certain level of ability and fights hard, it is like a certificate of excellent soldier that the company commander will give with great determination when it comes time to award a sergeant.

In fact, although it is registered as a medal in the Imperial Army award regulations, in reality, it does not have any benefits other than ‘additional points when applying for non-commissioned officers’ 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 Hautmann, 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 the military and history, but there was something like this among the words I once saw.

‘Soldiers serving 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 good to give medals generously to soldiers and civilians who have played an active role 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.”

When he said that, an ensign in charge of messenger who was waiting next to him came out.

Carol, 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 he had the opportunity to play an active part for the first time in the war as a second-line reserve unit not long ago. I wanted to ask him what kind of performance he did.

“You go out immediately and tell this. ‘The company commanders of each company should record as much as possible the activities of the soldiers, civilians, and women, and among them, those who achieved remarkable results, performed outstandingly, and fought hard should be divided into three grades and reported.”

The Golden Cross will be awarded to those selected among those who have achieved remarkable achievements, and at the end of the war, the Knight’s Sword Medal will be awarded, making them true knights.

Then, the soldiers and civilians here will look forward to the future after surviving this hellish war, and they will 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.

Your Majesty will certainly allow this level of dogmatism.

If it becomes an issue, I should pray and pray to His Majesty based on my accomplishments so far, and end it with my resignation as Marshal, and then go back to fishing with my father-in-law.

After this war is over, the empire will have achieved hegemony, so the empire will definitely be fine even without me.

And Carol left immediately.

“Ha, by the way, you’re 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 Randel, 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. According to the information provided by him, there is a secret passageway 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 Staff College with excellent grades, ranking 12th out of 40 fellow soldiers.

I never thought that in a situation where other officers were trying to persuade me to give up the night attack, they 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?

But I decided not to use this strategy.

This is because there were 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.

“Lieutenant Colonel Randel, your operation looks 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.”

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At those words, Randel made a sad expression 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. “When this battle is over and we do business together, I will make sure to tell your story to His Majesty.”

When it was said that in return for actively participating in the meeting and presenting a reasonable strategy, he would directly convey his achievements and name to His Majesty, Randel was so moved that he was almost on the verge of crying.

The other officers, even the highest ranking lieutenant general except me, looked at Lieutenant Colonel Randel with envious eyes.

The other officers who were stimulated by Lieutenant Colonel Randel 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 in agreement with those words.

No, I mean, who wouldn’t agree with what the enemy is saying…

“Marshal Vaughan plans 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.”