143 – Counter to Surprise (2)
When dealing with the army of another empire or principality, if a general such as a division commander directly goes to the front line, the morale of the friendly troops increases and the morale of the enemy decreases. In most cases,
Because the majority of soldiers from empires and principalities are in the same position as Korean soldiers, who want to finish their military service as soon as possible and go home to live while plowing the fields while touching their wife or fiancé’s breasts.
This is because the opposing soldiers, consciously or unconsciously, are reluctant to have a high-ranking person take the lead and fight with soldiers whose morale is high.
That’s true, whether it’s an empire or a republic, most of those who serve as regular soldiers are serfs or, at most, middle-class citizens.
For those people, if their country collapses, only the subject of taxes will change, but there will be no change in how they live…
So, if you die while protecting your country, it will be a dog’s death in which only you and your family will suffer.
However, since the country of Switzerland does not have a serf system, its citizens have very strong loyalty and pride in their country.
Even though ordinary farmers are brought in, their morale is so strong that they cannot be defeated by most elite soldiers.
Our allies are in a daze because they were ambushed by me, the division commander, but their morale is still rising.
Rather than being frightened by this situation, the enemy did not hesitate to point his weapon at me and his knights while making all kinds of sarcastic remarks.
“Hey, there’s no one among us who’s scared because the enemy’s division commander himself was born, right?”
“If we lose this war, we will become like serfs who are laughed at all the time. “That’s scarier than dying.”
“If we step back from here, our family’s life will become unspeakably miserable! Let’s fight to the death!”
And the important thing now is that these friends are our enemies.
“Die! “You damned invader!”
While shouting like that, I dodged the attack of the guy who tried to hit my head with the halberd that can be said to symbolize Switzerland.
And then I stabbed the attacking soldier with a half-sword through the gap between his helmet and his neck, killing him.
At this time, the infantry in the rear had also succeeded in reorganizing their formation to some extent, and the spearmen were walking slowly in a square formation.
“The division commander bought us time while we were surprised and dazed! “Now it’s our turn!”
“Long live the Reich Empire! Long live the 7th Division! Long live the division commander!”
“Kill all the Swiss bandits! “It’s time to wipe out every single one of them!”
I thought it wouldn’t be easy to gain time at the front with a small group of knights, so I was thinking about falling back.
I felt grateful and glad that support came at such a time.
I think I should praise the officers if they successfully complete today’s surprise defense.
In addition, an arrow flew from behind, making the sound of cutting through the wind, in the direction of the Swiss bandits lying in ambush in the forest.
“f*ck, f*ck! It’s an arrow! “Arrows are flying!”
“Damn it, you’ve already come to your senses.”
“Anyway, should I just shake off this situation and run away? Or should I jump out?”
The Swiss soldiers did not lose their temper or become scared even when arrows flew, and showed that they were able to endure well based on the battles they had experienced so far on the battlefield.
Watching that, I thought to myself that it would be great if our Reich Imperial Army could respond so calmly and calmly in a situation like this.
But that’s it, what I have to do now is to kill at least one more Swiss bastard in front of me.
“Spearmen, push back the enemy! We have to maintain our formation and stab them to death! Crossbowmen and archers keep shooting arrows toward the rear of the enemy’s commando unit! “Attack with the determination not to let anyone live.”
As soon as my order was given, the spearmen slowly began to push away the Swiss infantry, stabbing them with their spears.
The groans of soldiers dying from arrows began to be heard from beyond the forest.
Furthermore, I see that no trumpet sounds or flags requesting reinforcements are raised in any place other than the one where I am currently engaged.
The enemy’s attack appears to be limited to the area I am currently commanding.
If we analyze this situation, we can see that our troops gained the upper hand over the enemy who launched a surprise attack.
And is it because the soldiers usually perceive this atmosphere first?
The infantry cheered and began to actively attack.
“Kill the Swiss hillbillies! “They are a bunch of scumbags who attack in the early morning without any fear!”
“Don’t forget the resentment you had for marching in full military gear because of those bastards!”
“Spearmen at the front, watch your insteps and shins! “The Swiss bastards will crawl like cockroaches and stab you with daggers.”
So the soldiers began to move forward step by step, killing the Swiss bandits while applying strong pressure.
Just in time, a loud trumpet sound was heard from the Swiss army.
“f*ck, I should kill all those damn Reich pigs.”
“Retreat, retreat! Sheesh, damn it.”
“Consider yourself lucky, you little brats! Deus has given you a chance to drink more of your mother’s milk.”
Then the guys grabbed their spears and quickly started running away into the forest.
It is usually natural to run away when a surprise attack fails, but it is absurd to see them running away so quickly right in front of your eyes.
From a military perspective, it is much better to run away quickly than to stubbornly endure.
On the other hand, the officers and soldiers under my command were really annoyed when they remembered that they had marched in full military gear because of those bastards.
In a state of great anger, he raised his spear and advanced quickly, ready to chase down the enemy.
“Because of that bastard, this old man got so tired that he sprained his back!”
“f*ck, it’s unfair that he was dragged out in his later years, but he’s a complete military commander! “I can’t believe I’m marching in full armor!”
“Let’s kill all the bastards who ruined Sergeant Otto’s last years!”
At the same time, a significant number of Swiss infantrymen were killed by our pursuing infantrymen, and the situation of the war became a situation where we were completely pushing the enemy.
As a commander, I naturally want to take advantage of this situation to reduce the enemy’s morale and troops as much as possible.
Considering that the majority of deaths in war occur when the formation is broken and the chase begins, rather than when the enemy is in formation and fighting hard, it is right to not miss the moment and pursue unconditionally.
Rather than making that choice, I took a slightly more conservative and safer command, even if it was a bit of a waste.
“Give orders to the entire army. Order to stop pursuit and return. “Anyone who tries to pursue us any further will be subject to military law.”
Because we were on the receiving end of the surprise attack, not the one carrying out the surprise attack, it was impossible to predict how many enemies there were or what strategy they had hidden behind them.
They don’t know this terrain as well as the Swiss guys, so if you chase after them at will, there is a high probability that you will be ambushed.
So, rather than choosing to take risks and invest, it would be better to be satisfied with the great significance of successfully defeating the enemy’s operation.
“All arrow shooting must stop and all soldiers must firmly maintain their positions. “Until you receive instructions from the division commander, absolutely do not move, even if the enemy shows an opening.”
After giving that order, the riders and buglers sent a signal to all soldiers in the division to defend the formation.
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The infantrymen who had been pursuing the enemy right up to the forest also turned and began to return to where their units were.
“Ha, I should have killed all those bastards.”
“But they probably searched more than we did.”
“When they came to attack those damn bastards, they must have come in smiling. “It feels like death right now.”
Even after all units returned, we remained on alert for about an hour, while sending out scouts to search the forest where Swiss soldiers might be hiding.
At that time, I did not find any enemy soldiers hiding, so I ordered our division to be on high alert.
We set up guards for about half a day more to watch, but there was no sign of the enemy.
“From now on, all troops will recover the corpses of allies and enemies. As for the enemy corpses, identify only those who appear to be commanders and roughly throw them into the pit. Bury our soldiers’ bodies respectfully. “And then I take a break today.”
This is how I ordered to clean up after myself.
The outcome of today’s surprise attack was as follows.
60 Friendly troops killed, 90 wounded.
140 Enemy soldiers were killed, but the number of wounded could not be counted.
When I received this report, I muttered while reading it.
“If I followed them in pursuit, a lot of people would have died horribly. “You f*cking bandits.”