Academy Genius Commander

83 – Northern Occupation War (1)

A year after the subjugation of the Thoner tribe, significant changes have occurred in the plan for the northern conquest operation.

First of all, the emperor declares that an evil barbarian like Ludvik should not exist in this world, and declares that it is not enough to mobilize only 50,000 people.

As a result, a total of 20,000 troops were pulled out from the eastern Czech Republic and the southern front, where there was a lot of room, and we conducted a large-scale expedition with a total of 70,000 troops.

What has not changed is that the initial tactics for this expedition are based on the conquest operation I proposed to pacify the north.

Because of this situation, the secret letters often sent by His Highness the Crown Prince were accompanied by a signal that if even a small contribution was made in this battle, it would be confirmed that a star would be attached.

‘Earl Benner, no, the captain has recently entered and is greedy for promotion to a marshal. I hope you can help me well.’

Even though I felt the burden on my shoulders a bit heavy when I was pressured to be of help by someone so high up.

The expectation of so many people and the tactic I devised that I was given the opportunity to create a war by applying it in reality made my heart race.

With a beating heart, I stepped into the strategic meeting room at Nordport Castle, the base of the Northern Army, where the command headquarters was set up to command a large army of over 70,000.

“You said Thoner and his tribe’s soldiers were defeated by that bastard?”

“They say he’s only 24, no, he’s only 25 now.”

“They said that the basis for this operation came from a report written by that guy… What kind of strategy will he show?”

I heard words filled with feelings of envy and jealousy toward me.

In the beginning, when I was a student platoon leader, no matter what I did, contempt and disregard returned, and after I was active on the Rhineland front, there were two reactions at the same time: an attitude of trying to ignore it and not caring about it, and a little recognition.

After my active service on the Czech Republic front, I established myself as a clear competitor to nobles in the truest sense of the word.

Now, because of the many achievements I have made, there are people who are jealous and envious of me even among the many star-wearing generals gathered here.

It makes me think that time flies and that people change faster than that.

As the planner of this subjugation operation, to announce the draft plan in front of everyone, when I stood on the podium next to Earl Benner, the commander-in-chief of the barbarian subjugation army.

“Yes, sir, son-in-law. No, Colonel Jaeger. How are you?”

In normal cases, there is no case where the commander-in-chief asks everyone to listen in a warm voice like this when he goes out to explain the operation.

In this case, Count Benner must have asked me on purpose to show off how close he is to me.

“It’s a bit cold in the north, but I’m doing well thanks to the captain who cares about me. Also, the top-notch wine you sent me the other day went well with Major Laura.”

After answering that, as expected, Count Benner chuckled and slapped me on the shoulder several times.

“is it? It’s nice to hear you say that. I’d like to stay up all night and talk about what happened so far… but after the expedition, let’s slowly unwind. Now start explaining the operation.”

At the same time, I tapped on the bulletin board with the map with the silver baton given to me by the crown prince and said,

“I will explain the operation in earnest, so please pay attention to the various generals and officers present here. This time, our barbarian subjugation army is planning to attack the enemy based on the scorched earth operation, and our future policy will maintain the same stance.”

The Northern Army’s strategic goal is to completely absorb the peninsula occupied by them into our empire’s territory.

To do this, they burned down all the villages that the barbarians used, and made the fields so that no one could live on them.

The second son, third son, or daughters of serfs who had to work as day laborers because they did not receive land to cultivate in the empire were to be relocated here to establish a new base.

On the other hand, among the captive barbarians, males aged 15 or older were killed, and the rest were torn to pieces and sent to various difficult occupations in the empire or reclaimed agricultural land.

“Therefore, before we ambush the enemy, we will give them a loud bluff that unless they surrender first, we will kill all the men and burn the village.”

Usually, if you threaten in this way, other countries will try to raise morale by claiming that they will kill you even if you surrender.

The barbarians of the anti-agricultural antagonism we deal with have the concept of a tribal group, but they do not have a sense of belonging to the nation, which is more than a tribal concept.

That’s why I should give you this carrot at the same time you wield the whip.

“Along with this, a full-fledged expedition to the tribes following Ludvik began, and as they invaded, they chattered like this. Even in the middle of a fight with us, if you surrender, you will preserve your village, your property and your family. Then, Ludvik, who has not completely taken control of the tribal chiefs, will fall into suspicion that there will be a traitor among the tribal chiefs, and the subordinate tribal chiefs will fully consider the option of betrayal if the situation is not good.”

If you were a noble belonging to the Imperial Army, if you betrayed yourself and surrendered, you would lose the property and honor you left behind in return.

Even their loved ones are executed for treason, so they do not surrender except in special cases recognized by military law.

That’s why there are many people who choose to fight to the end and die even in desperate situations where they have to surrender.

It would be extremely rare to risk one’s life for a guy who forced other tribes and barbarians to follow him with his own strength like Ludvik.

Because the empire gives proper compensation to the family if a commander or nobleman dies fighting without surrender, but the nomads do not compensate the family of the hero who died fighting for the tribe, and the surviving one shares his wife and children.

“As we distrust each other like that, if we slowly make our way north, old Ludwik will get impatient and have no choice but to hurry. Just like the old Thoner who ran out when our regiment only razed 2 villages. Then, before he even starts the war, he is worried about whether to fight or surrender, so he fights at a disadvantage, taking his allies with low morale and the will to fight.”

“But we can’t ignore the possibility of them abandoning the village and running away, can we?”

“When I think about it, I don’t think it’s anything to worry about. It was like that when we subdued the Thoner tribe. Seeing that Ludvik neglected the burning of several villages, the tribesmen and the tribal chiefs will now decapitate Ludvik and offer it to us, fearing that they have lost their place of living and have no place to return to.”

It’s natural to be forced to go in and work for a chieftain to protect one’s property, but it makes no sense to ask for free service when one loses one’s family and tribe’s livelihood.

In that case, he would rather surrender to the Empire and protect his property and tribe.

“Furthermore, let me tell you the lesson I learned from dealing with the Thoner tribe the other day. Although their cavalry archers are powerful, if you don’t fall for their provocations, the Imperial Army will definitely win.”

Because the infantry was weak, it was easy to win by killing only the infantry who made up the majority of the troops.

Even if you include the consumption of troops in the middle of the arrow, if you properly cope with the maximum amount of protective gear, you can defeat the barbarian with less damage than fighting a proper regular army such as Czechia or Francois.

“Therefore, the soldiers’ armament should be as heavy as possible, and the knights and infantry should be mobilized to damage the enemy’s central army as much as possible. In addition, you should prepare as many shields and armor as possible to deal with the attacks of arrows from the horse. We also need countermeasures to stop the fire arrows.”

When he said that, everyone including Count Benner nodded and expressed an opinion in agreement.

“Certainly, if you analyze the record of fighting and defeating them, it was a case of losing while trying to catch up with the cavalry archers with infantry or cavalry.”

“Since they can’t catch up in terms of speed, they ignore it altogether and attack weak units first. It’s a novel and effective strategy.”

So I went back to my seat after explaining the rough tactics and strategy.

The generals fought with the momentum to emit even lasers from their eyes in order to seize the opportunity to make the ball big somehow, as if this was their chance.

“Our brigade will stand in the vanguard! Just leave it to me.”

“No, that’s not it. I, Brandenburg, will fight directly in the vanguard to show the dignity of the empire.”

“It’s just that this time, Colonel Jaeger’s regiment is in the vanguard…”

Watching that, I secretly approached Count Benner and said.

“Please give me a seat on the far left of the left field or the far right of the right field. I will fight moderately and then stab the gap.”