Academy Genius Commander

50 – Hammer and Anvil (3)

All armies at this time, including the army of the Reich Empire, could move an average of 12 to 14 km per day, and if they were reduced in size and moved in units of divisions, they could move 1.4 times that amount, or 16 to 20 km.

People who have gone through marching training in Korea ask, ‘Why is it that I can only walk?’ You may have doubts about it.

When marching in South Korea, trucks or various vehicles that can move faster than people are usually mobilized.

However, the army of this era relies on horse and oxen-drawn carts for supply, so you have to keep up with the speed.

This limits the distance you can travel per day.

However, if you move with a minimum of all kinds of supplies and food, people of this era have solved all movement by walking or running since they were young, and they have the stamina to walk about 40 km a day because they have done hard farming work.

I shouted loudly for the soldiers who were running around with their armor and weapons on to hear.

“If His Highness the Crown Prince and Count Benner are responding correctly, the enemy will be stepping up their offensive with only the minimum number of troops left to annihilate the 32,000 troops led by His Highness the Crown Prince. If we take advantage of that gap and attack the flanks of the enemy, we can slit the throats of the enemy commanders and other high-ranking people!”

Until the rapid march began, even a very small clue, let alone an outline of the operation, had to be concealed.

With more than 8,000 soldiers already on the move, there was no need to hide or conceal the operation any longer.

Therefore, it is necessary to simply outline the operation to the soldiers, give them a sense of purpose, and make them endure with evil.

Because the human spirit often has the power to overcome the limitations of the body.

“Rather than suffering like a dog for months on the battlefield, let’s fight and finish with the determination to die hot today!”

“If we unexpectedly appear and strike from the side… they won’t come to their senses! Then, let’s slit the throat and throw it away!”

“The battalion commander will guarantee this. Regardless of whether you’re a soldier or an officer, I’ll make a request to His Highness the Crown Prince and ask you to grant her wish! So hold on!”

Other commanders listen to my words and gain strength, encouraging their subordinates in a similar way.

No matter how much you think about it, unless you’ve been given a position in the prince’s clique like me, it’s obvious that as a battalion commander, let alone the crown prince, your wish will be rejected in the deputy commander’s line as a minor major.

Then, if a guy who made a big contribution comes out among the soldiers, how are you going to take responsibility?

However, the encouragement that they shouted without thinking about taking care of themselves in that way motivated the soldiers in their own way.

When I roughly measured the speed, it was moving at about 8 km per hour, so I thought it was time to arrive.

In front of my eyes, Czech Republic soldiers came in, united in the shape of a huge rectangle.

It was so far away that I couldn’t understand what they were talking about or what orders they were giving.

The trumpets and drums are blaring loudly, and the speed at which the enemy soldiers are pushing through the lines is inferred.

I could see that His Highness the Crown Prince and his troops were carrying out the decoy strategy I suggested, and that the enemy commander was happy to use this momentum to secure victory.

Just then, a knight holding a flag representing the crown prince of the Reich Empire appeared on horseback and shouted in a loud voice.

“Pigs in Czech Republic have their heads in the feed trough! I hit my head!”

When the soldiers heard that, they looked at each other’s faces with expressions wondering what that meant.

The meaning of this ciphertext was accurately communicated to commanders above battalion commanders, including myself.

‘The Crown Prince and Earl Benner will soon stop faking defeat and strike back.’

Is it because everything is running really smoothly?

The atmosphere in our division, to be precise, was limited to high-ranking officers above majors, and it became as bright as villagers ahead of a feast.

“Good! Let’s just go like this!!”

“For the honor of the family! For the tomorrow that I put a star on!”

“This time, the battalion commander is directly in the lead, just look at my back and follow me!”

When the soldiers saw their commander who started to make a fuss out of excitement, they intuited that the operation was going very well.

“Let’s win and go home!”

“Long live the Reich Empire! Long live His Highness the Crown Prince!”

Even in the midst of exhaustion, they cheered and responded to the orders of the higher up.

Then, intelligence officers belonging to the division rode and ran shouting.

“I’ll rest for an hour from now and go fight!”

“Drink all the water in your canteen and eat a handful of salt! If you eat something like food because you are hungry, you may die from pretending!”

“Gather in units of each battalion! Gather in battalion units!”

Considering the order to rest by having them assemble in battalion units.

The division commander will have us charge sequentially in battalions and attack in a diagonal formation.

That way, if you adjust the speed well, you won’t have to spend tens of minutes to an hour preparing formation to make a turn, so you can take full advantage of surprise.

Meanwhile, when the order to rest was issued, the soldiers of our battalion sat down on the ground and took a rest.

“f*ck, does it make sense to have me return the distance I walked a day a week ago in just 6 hours?”

“So, why did you build the damn camp?”

“That must have been an attempt to deceive the enemy. To be honest, who would have expected us to come back so quickly after seeing us even constructing the camp?”

There is a saying that if you want to fool the enemy, you have to fool your allies first, so I devised such a strategy, but I feel a bit stung.

Because it’s true that you suffered in vain because of me anyway.

“Everyone pays attention to Jaeger. From now on, eat water, salt, and sugar together. Then it will be a little better.”

If they were only replenishing water, they shouldn’t be allowed to eat salt, but a tremendous amount of sweat flowed from the bodies of the soldiers who walked fast for six hours.

In other words, a huge amount of salt and water is discharged from the body, and the strength is completely lost.

Even if you do not supply nutrients through food, you can recover some of your lost physical strength by supplementing with water, salt, and sugar.

So we took a break for about an hour, when we heard the sound of drums and trumpets.

I have to risk my life in a life-and-death fight, but playing with a light beat doesn’t suit me well.

“Our division is going to catch the enemy off guard from now on! Winning or losing depends on our performance, so fight for your life! His Highness the Crown Prince will generously reward you for the achievements you have made.”

In a normal case, it would be nothing more than a common statement from the commander, half sincere and half a lie.

However, since this is the first war the crown prince waged in a true sense, it is certain that a huge amount of rewards will be given out if the soldiers also work hard.

Because usually, praising and giving generously to subordinates’ achievements is a good way to promote one’s impression.

If a soldier fought without sparing himself and killed an enemy commander higher than a battalion commander or regimental commander, he would receive a reward and farmland at the level of surety in one shot of his life.

So what the division commander says is 120% true for now.

“The tactic is very simple! Just kill the enemies you see in front of you! kill and kill! Then, when the commander of each unit gives instructions, follow them.”

Normally, even when conducting a surprise attack like this, I would put in a complicated strategy, but now it’s a completely exceptional situation.

Officers below the colonel, including me, probably only have that much information.

Because if we fail here, all we can do is retreat.

“The 13th Division, attack in formation!”

When the order was given, the soldiers belonging to the division started to charge towards the enemy in line with their steps.

The distance to them is about 600m now, but the enemy division commander and other commanders are blind to killing the crown prince.

All we have now to deal with are a few soldiers on the left wing of the enemy army.

Of course, even if it’s a little, it’s a scale that looks like thousands, but compared to fighting over 50,000 soldiers, that’s what it is.

no We have a numerical advantage, so it’s unspeakably good.

“Jaeger Battalion, we collide with the enemy two steps ahead of our troops. Prepare accordingly.”