Academy Genius Commander

88 – Northern Occupation War (6)

When I returned to my unit on the far left of the left wing, the two battalions I had left behind were fighting enemy infantry.

While directing them, the deputy regiment commander greeted me with a smile when I arrived.

“Ha ha, regimental commander. You have suffered a lot.”

Usually, when hearing this, the superior encourages the subordinate by saying that the subordinate suffered more.

It was because he took the number of soldiers that were less than one regiment and defeated the enemy with an attack with the divisional flag received from the commander-in-chief.

I didn’t feel like saying that you suffered more, even with empty words.

Even so, the deputy regiment commander who maintained the line until I returned with two battalions must have suffered greatly.

“Yes, you have suffered a lot too.”

When the deputy regiment commander said this, he nodded his head and said in a bright voice, as if he had guessed how tired I was as a regiment commander.

“But thanks to the colonel, the battle has become really easy. Thanks to the regimental commander’s excellent tactical judgment, we have succeeded in destroying about 2 battalions so far. If the regiment commander had failed, the enemy’s momentum would still be strong, and we might all have perished. ha ha ha.”

It’s a joke mixed with compliments that we can give because we’re at war and we’ve got a clear victory.

In fact, as I said, if I had failed in the charge, I wouldn’t have been able to block the line that one regiment should have been able to handle with only two battalions.

Because the enemy you have to deal with at once rushes in at the regimental level, but the soldiers under your command are pushed out of numbers if they are half that number.

Well, even if I was injured and didn’t charge and held this position, the enemy’s first infantrymen were elite troops, so it would have taken quite a while for the infantry battle to turn the tide of battle to our side.

“By the way, how much damage have the two battalions suffered so far?”

“Anyway, since the number is small, there are two companies that consume a lot, so we returned to the base along with the wounded, and I think the rest of the units must have sacrificed a little.”

In the game, when an ally soldier dies, it shows the number of soldiers lost, but in reality, that’s not the case.

In the field, only reports of the level that a certain unit suffered great damage or that the battle could not continue, so it is necessary to judge the damage situation through rough information.

As for the current situation I think, the deputy regiment commander defended this front well, but both battalions would have lost a considerable number of soldiers.

If it wasn’t for that, there wouldn’t have been a retreat of not one company, but two companies as a whole.

“First of all, the soldiers I took with me when I charged into the enemy camp caught the enemy off guard, so there were few casualties. So, I’ll change immediately with the two battalions you commanded. And then you can get some rest.”

“Then I will retreat to the rear of the regiment with them.”

Having said that, the deputy regiment commander moved to lead the process of withdrawing the two battalions to the rear.

I went to the front of the regiment to observe how we were fighting and to give proper instructions.

“Kill the barbarians! Kill them all!”

“You savage bastards who would not be enough to kill you by grinding your face on a stone floor!”

“Take a taste of the side. Bastard babies! I’ll return you to my true self!”

While saying that, the soldiers under my command gave the savages a true education using the means of violence.

“f*ck, aren’t those bastards the ones who just charged at me like madmen?”

“Asshole, shut the f*ck up! Can’t you see the sword of the tenth commander next to you?”

“Aagh! die! die!”

The barbarians, who witnessed the sight of their comrades returning to their proper form, trembled in fear of us.

Even if it’s not to the point of deserting in front of the enemy yet, it must be difficult to fight a proper battle if you’re so afraid.

Also, unless there is a special opportunity, we will not be able to reverse the current situation in which we are winning.

Around the time I was roughly guessing the current situation, Laura, who was commanding the infantry battalion next to me, approached me and asked me.

“Colonel, it reminds me of the time we fought in Visochia. Didn’t the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Grand Duchy of Czechia flee on horseback when we had almost won? There is a possibility that Ludvik will escape like that Nikolai back then…”

When I heard that, I shook my head.

Because Ludvik’s situation was completely different from Nikolai’s.

First of all, Nikolai had a castle to protect him if he managed to escape, but Ludvik had to go back to where he lived, and there would be no castle to defend himself.

They are bound by a very loose master-servant relationship called a tribal state, so if Ludvik loses this battle, all of the subordinate chieftains who were bestowed with land and tribesmen by him will cut down on Ludvik.

If that happens, according to the unique sentiment of barbarians, the culture of killing their chieftain and surrendering in order to survive if the numbers are wrong.

You can kill Ludvik and Ludvik’s family and surrender to live.

He knows that well, so rather than run away, he will try to find a chance to win by fighting somehow, and he will fight to the death.

“Once, he can never run away like Nikolai. If he did, he and his family would be killed miserably. So, as long as there is a possibility of reversal…”

Talking that far, I suddenly thought of the strategy he was going to take.

“Yes, those bloody anti-farming barbarians will try to use the most effective tactic they’ve always used.”

At those words, Laura nodded and said with an understanding expression.

“Certainly, he is also the commander-in-chief leading a huge army of 60,000 people. You won’t want to give up until the end. Then, do you think the chieftain will directly lead the charge by mobilizing archers, shooting arrows, and aiming for an opening?”

“Right, Captain Benner has already prepared for it. As long as the battle between the infantry has stabilized, can’t we just play around with our knights?”

To tell the truth, the knights had done all that a knight had to do in this war by first destroying the barbarian foot soldiers before I charged with them.

Now that they’ve come to a tough war, it would be good to prepare another stage for them to make great achievements.

Besides, since I read the enemy’s tactics, I can’t miss an opportunity to make a bigger contribution if I do well just because I’m in the left wing.

“Major Laura, lead your 20 knights and go to the commander to ask for permission to act.”

“All right. What can I ask for?”

“I want to find out which unit has suffered the most damage in the current Imperial Army, except for the front, and go there to support the enemy’s last all-out attack.”

When I said that, Laura took a pen from where she got it again and started writing down everything I said.

“In addition, if you find a troop of knights who have lost their commander because the enemy’s cavalry rampaged a lot against the knights, ask if it’s okay to take command of them and join them with reinforcements.”

If the commander had been someone other than Count Benner, no matter how many knights were wandering after losing their leader.

If a colonel picks up all those guys and goes to support the heavily damaged allies, few commanders will accept this as a good thing.

Because no matter how much the Imperial Army goes back to meritocracy, moving troops belonging to other units in this way can be an act of screwing up a high-ranking person such as the brigade or division commander to which the unit belongs.

So, in that case, it is usually the case that the authority is delegated to a person with a level of general or higher at the headquarters, but…

Because I have the authority to judge the field a step up, and if the commander, Earl Benner, is a bit forced, I can lead the knights who have lost their commander in that way.

“Yes, I understand. Colonel.”

Saying that, Laura quickly led about 20 knights to the place where Captain Benner was.

After about 40 minutes, he returned with a letter with an answer written on it and a scroll that looked like an order.

“As suggested by the colonel, the commander has permitted the two knight battalions under the 24th Regiment to act alone, and has given the authority to command volunteers from the retreating knight troops due to the loss of their commander.”

When I heard that, I asked, delighted that things were going according to plan.

“Okay, then where did you say the weakest place in the Imperial Legion has taken the most damage?”

“You said it was near the 12th Division on the right wing. It is said that the 7th Regiment belonging there suffered heavy losses and retreated.”

“Leave the command here again to the deputy regiment commander, and let’s lead the knights to the right wing and collect the retreating knights.”