Academy Genius Commander

73 – Eradication of the Thoner tribe (2)

“Damn Ludvik, after a bad harvest the year before last, as predicted by the General Staff Headquarters, he randomly killed the surrounding tribes and plundered food to survive somehow. As the barbarians hit and blocked each other and fought, the attackers killed all those who blocked them. However, Ludvik also lost many soldiers as an attacker and only succeeded in increasing the territory, but the military power has become much weaker than before.”

Hearing this far, one might have the illusion that the empire would not be safe in the future because the military power of the nomadic warchief named Ludvik had weakened.

not. It was not a very good situation for the Reich Empire.

Because if the barbarians were divided into several groups, when Ludwik attacked the empire even though he boasted a mighty force within it.

If the rest of the weak tribes attack Ludwik’s base and territory, he will lose his place to return, so he can’t bear to dare to attack the Reich Empire.

Because of human greed, if there are no hostile forces around him and he succeeds in occupying a large territory, he wants to get another once he gets one.

He becomes like a big bomb that doesn’t know when it will explode. that’s the problem

“Fortunately, thanks to the Staff Headquarters uniting the weaker tribes by providing them with weapons and minimal food, even if the Ludvik guys succeeded in integrating, the damage suffered is not so great. Compared to two years ago, the number of warriors seems to have decreased by about 20%.”

If you lose 20% of your troops in a single war, you’re on the verge of annihilation, so he’ll want to live quietly for years to come.

In order to restore one’s own power and build up the power to one day obtain possession of Sweden or the northern part of the Reich Empire.

“Still, the strength he possesses is 10,000 cavalry and 30,000 infantry. On the other hand, we have 5,000 knights and 50,000 infantry. If Ludvik’s tribe attacks, it has enough power to stop them or fight an all-out war to win, but it’s not enough to completely stop his marauding troops from attacking to replenish the lack of food in the middle.”

This is because a considerable number of castles and walls were built for the purpose of defending the northern border of the Kopenhavn Peninsula and the Reich Empire.

Since the area is so large, it is impossible to enclose all parts of the border with walls, so those who travel up to one hundred kilometers a day on horseback decided to organize a plundering force of about a thousand men to break through the siege and invade the northern part of our empire. It’s not that difficult to make it into a mess.

In Joseon, during the Byeongja Horan, only 300 people rode horses to Ganghwa Island to break through all the defense lines, and there was a case where Injo was imprisoned in Namhansanseong Fortress.

“If that happens, the Empire will be forced to give up its northern territories in the worst case. No matter how much food, weapons, and armor are provided from all over the empire to protect the north, we can’t defend a completely devastated place.”

After saying that, the corps commander slammed the desk and said.

“As the head of the county of Northenburg, I can’t let sh*t like that happen while I’m guarding the north. this is the situation now If we continue like this, you will be dishonorably retired, and I will be decapitated for not being able to protect the frontier. So just a while ago, I called in commanders higher than battalion commanders and discussed countermeasures, but half of them were bullsh*t and the other half were ambiguous.”

More than 30% of the guys who come here as battalion commanders must have graduated from the Staff College, but the fact that even their schemes are being criticized seems to mean that the situation is pretty serious.

“According to what I heard from the president of the Staff College, Ludvik’s forces were able to be suppressed to this extent because the strategy you proposed was effective. I was looking forward to hearing that you came here just in time. So go ahead and tell me what you think.”

I just told you to speak comfortably. It sounds like he will not stand still unless he comes up with a proper strategy.

“Before it escalates into a more serious and large-scale war, we must review strategies to eliminate fundamental problems in advance. Before that, I would like to know the quantity and quality of food and supplies delivered to soldiers these days.”

Attack, Expedition, Destroy, Defend. When considering all sorts of military maneuvers, one who considers winning a single battle cannot achieve a strategic victory.

Because even if you kill all the enemies and there is no one to oppose the land, you have no choice but to return home when you run out of food.

In the worst case, if supplies do not reach the land occupied by blood and cannot be maintained, I have no choice but to return the territory to the enemy.

A typical example of this was the 9 northeastern provinces learned from Korean history.

As if he understood the importance of supply well because he was a corps commander, Lieutenant General Northernburg replied with a willing face.

“Because of the new supply base policy you proposed, the fort likes that the guys who stand guard at the front in company units can eat their fill without having to hunt. Also, in our fortress, the proportion of food purchased and supplied locally has decreased to about 5-10%.”

What I wrote in the thesis I submitted was a method that is still used today, but it was to put as few types of weapons, food, and armor as possible in a standardized box and move it.

Even if this doesn’t seem like a big deal, assuming that roughly one cart’s worth of flour is listed on the document.

If you send the amount of one medium-sized cart when paying flour, each person has a different standard for how many kilograms of flour go into that medium-sized cart.

What if the headquarters put 500 kg of flour in a medium-sized cart, but at the stopover, 400 kg is considered full?

And there were many cases in which the noncommissioned officers or soldiers in charge of transporting food, and sometimes even the junior officers, took their share by abusing it.

On paper, it is clearly written that a cart of flour is coming, so there is no error, but 100kg of flour disappears in the middle.

However, if you attach sealing paper to the box standardized by the headquarters, you cannot open it without permission. For each item, it is decided how many pieces and how many kg are put in the box.

If you steal something from it, it will show up soon. In addition, if you make a warehouse, you can take it out of the warehouse right away when you need a lot of food and weapons at once in an emergency.

“Then, the strategy I would like to propose is for the Northern Army to attack their stronghold directly, kill them, and occupy their territory, targeting the time when the Ludvik tribe’s power is relatively weak.”

“…… It’s a bit big, is that okay?”

“Anyway, if the Northern Army can’t eradicate the Ludviks and capture their territory, the Empire will continue to live with great anxiety. Don’t you know?”

As the saying goes, even if we fight the hardest battle and completely annihilate the Ludvik tribe, the crisis of the empire is passed.

When the territory occupied by Ludvik becomes empty, other nomadic barbarians come in and form a force in its place.

The Swedes come in saying that this is an opportunity to greatly expand the territory, and the Reich Empire forces perform tricks, and the good thing is that the Swedes can come up with a yummy situation.

“Furthermore, if you build a warehouse in an appropriate place in the area occupied by our Imperial Army and properly prepare jerky and biscuits, which are easy to store and transport for a long time, as I suggested, the supply problem to maintain the new occupied area will be solved to some extent.”

Anyway, the tactic we will adopt this time is the scorched earth operation, so we have to kill all the soldiers who really resist.

Captive soldiers, women, and children who gave up resistance would be enslaved or dispersed to the warmer parts of the Empire to live as serfs.

Because if you leave it here, you never know when it will rebel or turn into a resisting savage like Ludvik.

Then, most of the people who come to settle in this area, which has been vacated by the death or departure of the nomads who lived there, are mostly the second and third sons or daughters of serfs who do not even have land to cultivate.

It’s northern, so it’s very cold from late fall, but the climate in spring and summer is really good, so it’s the best land for wheat and barley farming.

This will be something proposed by the Crown Prince or other competent administrators, not by me, but once the foundation is laid, you will receive an informal reward.

Anyway, if this strategy that I proposed to come to the Northern Army as a regimental commander is accepted, the empire will either win or lose depending on my proposal.

“If it is possible to maintain the occupied area, it will be possible to be promoted to captain or even marshal with the credit for successfully leading this expedition.”

Well, out of 10 captains, only one is promoted to a marshal, so it will take a long time.

If you have the achievement of killing a barbarian, the trouble of the empire, and eating his territory, even if you become a general who only keeps your post later, you will have enemies one day before your retirement.

After stimulating my desire like that, the corps commander looked back at my achievements and medals so far, nodded, and said.

“I haven’t asked other generals or regiment commanders yet, so I can’t adopt it right away. Of all I’ve heard so far, I think the strategy you described is the best. You had a lot of trouble coming a long way, rest here today. Leave for the 24th Regiment Garrison tomorrow.”

And the next day, the commander of the Northern Army Corps delivered the order to the 24th Regiment.

[The Thöner tribe under Ludwig plundered the vicinity of Flensburg. Retaliate thoroughly.]

“Because we have to scare Ludvik in order for Operation Scorched Earth to succeed. It’s good, if we turn the place where the Thoner kids live into a mess. Instead of being lured into the lure warfare they love so much, we might be able to pierce their jaws. .”