140 – Operation to Attack Switzerland (3)
About half a year had passed, and I was with the officers I had always been with, such as Anastasia, Werner, and Marco. He was inaugurated as the commander of the 7th Division.
I wanted to take Laura, a capable commander and subordinate, with me, but I thought it would be impossible to take a pregnant Laura to war.
I had no choice but to ask Laura to stay home and give birth to a healthy and beautiful child.
When we parted ways, Laura told us to return safely and warned us to be careful of the woman who, like a stray cat, would target the man named Director Peter Jaeger wherever we went.
Even for the sake of her pregnancy, she was determined never to lay her hands on any of the Swiss women.
And now our Swiss expeditionary force quickly descended south with 50,000 troops and arrived at Konstanz, the frontier city on the border between the Reich Empire and the Principality of Switzerland.
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The lower-ranking officers and soldiers were given a break, but the generals and commanders, including myself, went straight to the castle’s conference room for a military meeting.
The five division commanders, excluding me, stood slightly apart and muttered as if they were somehow wary of the man named Peter Yeager.
“This is the first time since the conquest of the Principality of Switzerland 200 years ago, when His Majesty the Great Rudolph IV led the 50,000-strong army and was defeated.”
“But this time, His Majesty the Crown Prince has personally come to conquer us, and we must win this time if we want to be promoted to lieutenant general.”
“Last time, wasn’t Lieutenant General Stefan also promoted just because he was a commander, even though he received all the credit that Major General Yeager gave him? So, he will be able to get promoted just by taking the 3rd rank merit position. To be honest, my retirement age is next year…”
I have about 35 years left before my retirement age, so I can live without worrying about my rank or retirement age, but other directors probably…
When I was feeling a bit sad about the reality of having to live with age, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Deputy Commander Lieutenant General Witzleben came in and spoke.
“Let everyone take their seats. “Then, we will now discuss the grand strategy in earnest.”
All the other officers, including me, sat down, and behind them, a major who had been following His Highness the Crown Prince like his older brother these days posted a map on the bulletin board.
“First of all, the cantons we must attack are Bern, Basel, Bad, Ticino, Lucerne, and Obwalden. Here are 6. Now, the Swiss Expeditionary Force will divide the army into six divisions and attack the three cantons of Bassel, Bad, and Ticino, with each division taking charge of about half a canton, and gather in Liechtenstein in Obwalden.”
Bassel, Bad, and Ticino are among the smaller cantons in Switzerland, but without exaggeration, they have wide plains in this difficult principality with only mountains.
In terms of population, it is not much different from cantons whose areas are several times more different, and it is also the main point of the transportation route connecting the empire, Peronia, and the Principality of Austria.
This is where a considerable number of mercenaries use it as their base.
“According to information sent to this deputy commander by Count Alain von Bern of the Canton of Bern, who is currently in communication with us. “I understand that the counts of the three cantons of Vassel, Bad, and Ticino received orders from the Duke of Switzerland to stage a moderately delayed war, then retreat and join them near Liechtenstein.”
That order issued by the Duke of Switzerland is a very realistic and rational order.
Because Switzerland has now dispatched a huge number of mercenaries to two fronts, and there is an absolute shortage of properly trained mercenaries.
Due to the barren terrain of Switzerland, each person’s life is precious, so unnecessary sacrifices must be reduced as much as possible.
So, they will not choose any other tactic than to buy time until they can gather reinforcements from other cantons and, if possible, some of the mercenaries sent there.
I had already received word of this from my father-in-law, and perhaps it had already spread to the rest of the division commanders and generals, so I didn’t react as if I was overly surprised.
This was information that the military officers could never know unless they stole confidential documents from the Imperial Intelligence Department, so they all looked around with shocked faces.
“For some reason, I thought there was something from the moment they asked me to come back to this terrible place…”
“I never thought that a nobleman as high as the count of a canton would betray me.”
“Does Deus really want us to conquer the Swiss who live on dry bread with cheese dip?”
Then, the deputy commander, perhaps intent on waiting for the respect for the crown prince to increase as they exchanged opinions, quietly watched until the officers at the rank of lieutenant calmed down on their own.
I think the crown prince has planned everything from start to finish and is about to start a battle to prove his qualifications as an emperor.
If the country heard that the earl of a duchy known for its extremely tight internal unity had betrayed and joined the crown prince, the country would react in the same way.
In fact, when Captain Banner told me the news, he was so happy that he went home, buried his face in his pillow, and shouted hurray.
“So, from now on, we will announce the region that each division will be responsible for. First, Major General Zeppelin’s 12th Division and Major General Andex’s 14th Division constitute the Bard Canton, while Major General Welf’s 4th Division and Major General Konrad’s 18th Division constitute the Bard Canton. Lastly, Major General Jaeger’s 7th Division and Major General Falken’s 19th Division attack the Tishno Canton. In addition, Deputy Commander Bonn and His Highness the Crown Prince will lead a 2,000-man Royal Guard and act like a Zeppelin division.”
Because I was the youngest and rose quickly among the division commanders here, I expected to be recognized as the most capable major general and assigned to the most difficult area.
Bad premonitions never go astray. The Count of Ticino, who is based in the Ticino Canton, is famous for using bold and courageous tactics even in Switzerland, where there are already many militarily capable counts.
In other words, he is a very difficult person to deal with.
So, compared to other divisions, the 7th Division under my command will encounter quite fierce resistance.
“Finally, all units will be able to join near Liechtenstein Castle on May 26th, two and a half months from now.”
It’s a harder schedule than I thought, but there’s nothing I can’t do if I try.
That’s because the only tactic the enemy can use now is to tie us up with just one engagement.
“Yes, I understand.”
“I will do as you command.”
“Our 14th Division will wipe out the Swiss hillbillies in one go!”
The Crown Prince nodded his head as if satisfied with the reaction, but the Deputy Commander seemed a little distrustful of the reaction, so he clicked his tongue and continued his speech.
“I am not doubting your abilities and competence. However, the road here is very rough and it is a place where crazy people live who sometimes attack villages. “No one knows how our Reich Empire was defeated during the Battle of Garten 200 years ago.”
The Battle of Garten, in short, 200 years ago, when His Majesty the Emperor of the Reich Empire was leading his men on a march through the narrow paths of the Garten Mountains in Switzerland.
A certain foolish general was deceived by scouts and enemy spies and reported that he could relax his guard, believing the intelligence that the enemy’s main force was a week’s walk away.
As a result, the imperial army, which had let its guard down and was marching down a narrow road, was ambushed by Swiss mercenaries and militiamen who were hiding in the forest next to the mountain road.
Because the marching road was so narrow, it was difficult for the knights to even secure space to dismount from their horses and form a square.
His Majesty the Emperor retreated after losing 10,000 troops in a surprise attack by 3,000 Swiss militiamen who took advantage of the chaotic situation where infantry, knights, and horses were all tangled up.
In other words, he was conveying the message that we should conduct thorough reconnaissance if we do not want to be surprised by a surprise attack on a mountain path if we let our guard down.
“Also, this place is completely different from François, our empire, Czechia, and Austria. Each man living in the village is stronger than a fairly well-trained soldier, so they can form an organized militia if just one officer enters the village. So, stay alert and be as vigilant as possible.”
With that, the deputy commander finished his advice to us and then handed over the leadership to the crown prince.
His Highness drew his sword, pointed it at the ceiling in front, and said with a smile.
“My proud generals and officers, fill this rough terrain with the glory of the empire!”