Academy Genius Commander

75 – Elimination of the Thoner tribe (4)

Extermination War In other words, ‘scorched earth tactic’ is a strategy that cannot be used if allies in extreme situations are not prepared to completely give up occupied territory to repel an enemy invasion or weaken the enemy’s power.

If the scorched-earth tactics are implemented, the occupied fields will be completely devastated, as well as the remaining food, livestock, and houses.

It will take several years to literally rebuild an area that has become completely barren into a habitable village again.

In addition, the villagers who lost all the fields they cultivated, the livestock they raised, and even the house they lived in know, of course, because they are in a poor position.

Afterwards, if proper assistance is not provided, the man will be put in an extreme situation where he will be a criminal and the woman will have to sell her body for a living.

So, when fighting in Visochia, the Czechs did not use clear-field tactics even though they knew that our imperial army would requisition food from their territory.

“If we thoroughly destroy their village, the barbarians from the north will gnash their teeth at us, but until now, they kidnapped the people of our empire, sold them as sexual toys, and enslaved them to enjoy luxury. There is absolutely no need to feel guilty. Therefore, I will only explain the purely strategic reasons and benefits.”

Soldiers and commanders of the rank of colonel, there are times when on the battlefield, even the lives of allies have to be viewed as numbers on a ledger.

I don’t need to consider the circumstances and feelings of those who killed and plundered the people of my empire. Because it pays off equally.

“First of all, when the doctrine of the Northern Army was created, it was a nomadic tribe that we dealt with. So, if the number was wrong, even if they ran away with the minimum number of livestock and their families, there was no case that everyone would die of starvation. Now that they are also raising livestock and farming at the same time, if they abandon their fields and run away, if not all of the tribe die of starvation, more than half will die of starvation.”

When the Czech Republic War broke out, the Reich Empire army could plunder enemy villages and kill the villagers at any time.

However, that was always the realm of possibility, and the Reich Empire did not.

After it was occupied anyway, it was the land and the inhabitants of the Reich Empire.

However, the strategy our military will use now is to destroy the village, the base of survival for the barbarians.

Even if the barbarians saw villages disappearing one by one in the hands of the Reich Empire, they would have no choice but to respond to my request to fight on the battlefield that was only advantageous to us.

“Of course, Thoner, who leads about 20 large and small tribes under Ludvik, who calls himself khan, will not come out and fight in a place that is unfavorable to them to the extent of destroying a village. They will gnaw at them one by one, making it impossible for them to come out to fight even in places that are unfavorable for them to fight.”

If a village, a small tribe, is robbed, Thoner won’t come out to fight against our provocations, claiming that this is an imperial trap.

Due to the nature of nomads who are at a level that is inferior to that of a tribal state, let alone centralized, if two or three tribes are robbed like that, their leadership will be questioned, and we will have no choice but to come out to fight where we want.

If I didn’t, the tribal chiefs below me would pull out their swords and threaten me, saying that if I followed that son of a bitch, we would all lose our wives and children and starve.

Rather than rummaging around like that, there is no choice but to aim for a chance to turn the tide in an unfavorable battlefield.

“I have a question. Then what about the remaining prisoners after the village is razed to the ground? Kill them all?”

To be honest, since the tribesmen over there killed and sold innocent civilians first, it wouldn’t be a big mistake if we did the same, but it’s a waste of manpower to kill.

Killing an enemy’s wife and children for no reason before a war, or doing something mean, will only end up boosting the enemy’s morale.

“When a village is razed to the ground, all who resist are killed, but those who surrender or have no will to resist are captured alive, and men and women are separated as much as possible in a suitable place in the village, and their limbs are bound and imprisoned.”

But if you don’t kill them and let them live, it’s a good way to break the enemy’s morale.

No matter how much he is the regimental commander of the Northern Army, he has some degree of autonomy. If you kill barbarians needlessly, you will only build notoriety.

“Anyway, if they fall for our provocation and show up to lead their soldiers to fight, we will engage in an all-out war. The battle is going to go something like this.”

Having said that, I placed the three wooden horses representing the barbarians and the horses representing the knights, wizards, and infantrymen of our regiment on the map on the table and said.

“The tactic mainly used by the enemy is to divide the troops into three groups, left and right, centered on the central army with the tribal chief, and use the left and right armies to lure us in and try to scatter our regiments. Troops used as decoys will try to target the left and right sides of the allies.”

On Earth, they skillfully attack with archery while riding a horse, called Partian Shot, and repeat bouncing. When the allies are at a disadvantage, they dig into the inside of the formation and charge, breaking down the enemy lines with their specialty.

Of course, compared to the power of a completely nomadic people like Mongolia, thanks to farming and not hunting.

Although his proficiency was so far off that it was incomparable, he did not completely collapse the enemy with just such a tactic, but only to the extent of inflicting a considerable amount of damage.

“However, the range of a bow that can be used on a horse is around 100 meters, and this is a level that wizards, crossbows, and archers can counter. We will do only minimal counterattacks and defenses against the attack of the left and right armies, which are in charge of luring them, and focus our attack on the central army.”

With that said, one of the officers questioned.

“But unless they are fools, wouldn’t the Central Army, who were under heavy attack, try to run away? Of course, considering the tactics they usually use, there are infantry in the central army where the chieftain is, so they can’t just run away.”

When I signaled for someone to answer that question, Laura answered for me.

“Previously, when the colonel fought in Czechia, the enemy’s infantry battalion reinforcements were properly used with 12 knights to stop them. If you divert the knights to the rear of the enemy central army and collide with them at the right time, the central army will be stranded. In this case, there is a possibility that the enemy’s central army will mobilize cavalry to repel them, but if the horses of Major Werner’s 50 knights are also plated with plate armor, they will be able to withstand the arrows of the enemy cavalry to some extent.”

After all, it was Laura’s answer, who was also the head of the academy and graduated as the top of the staff college.

I made a fortune saying that I was attacking the Central Army, and then I was able to figure out how to catch their feet and prepare for the enemy attack perfectly.

“When we tie the central army down, we will adopt the strategy proposed by Captain Laura. In addition, they don’t have the level of control to force a single unit to sacrifice when needed like we do. If you add a little bit of exaggeration, it’s like a gang of gangsters attached to a little bit of strength in the neighborhood called Thoner Tribal Chief.”

At this, the officers all looked at me with puzzled eyes.

Well, it’s not a situation where you have to curse at the enemy commander, and everyone may be dumbfounded because you called the enemy commander a gangster during the strategy meeting.

Everyone gathered as one under the name of Ludvik, and the subordinates who fought for him received posts such as ‘Chief of Ten’ and ‘Centurion’ according to their merits, tribesmen, land and livestock. .

Even if a tribe wins a war, if it loses a lot of warriors fighting a war, it will reduce the number of people who can engage in labor and reduce food production.

Then, even if support comes from the center, the tribe can survive without dying of starvation, but they do not have that.

“Unlike the hardened cavalry, the infantry are frankly very poor at the level of Reich Empire trainees. Therefore, if you stick with the hardened infantry in the north, they will be cut into excellent numbers. Then the enemy cavalry will charge to relieve the infantry.”

It is known to all that their foot soldiers are of a lower rank than mounted cavalry and, frankly, not very strong.

However, they must be stronger than our new recruits, as they have to farm in a rough place, do all sorts of chores, and sometimes fight wild beasts. Still, wouldn’t it be helpful to say something like this to improve morale?

“When we pretend not to notice it, and then the momentum of all of them rushing into one place hardens and we can’t change direction. I turn the infantry in the direction they are coming and completely block their cavalry charge with my long spears.”

No matter how skilled the cavalry archers are, when they charge into enemy lines, they come in line, so if they suddenly change direction at that time, they will bump into each other more often or be trampled to death.

The more skilled the cavalrymen, the less likely they are to change direction when they know the enemy is squared off with long spears and wizards and archers are openly waiting to come to their deaths.

Even knights with chain armor on horses often die when they are blocked by spearmen holding long spears.

It’s a video even if we don’t know what will happen if our spearmen run into those lightly armed and even holding a bow and holding only a short cavalry sword.

So we held a meeting for several hours to find out what was missing from the operation, make up for it, discuss it over and over again, and even finish the division of duties.

Just then, when I came here, the amount of meat and beer that I bought with my own money arrived, enough for all the members of the unit to eat.

Then the officers, including the deputy regiment commander, who were a bit disappointed at the fact that there was no dinner party, looked at me with thrilled eyes.

“I heard a lot at the Staff College that you guys in the north are having a hard time. But planning a strategy was the most important thing, and I purposely didn’t say it because it would be difficult if my mind was somewhere else at the thought of having a dinner party. Now, call the soldiers and have them prepare for the dinner.”

To be honest, I thought I had to rush out immediately.

In this case, it is rather more important to let the officers and soldiers know that I am loyal to my principles, but also have a generous side and know how to give.

That way, the soldiers will trust me more and work harder to earn awards by accumulating achievements.