260 – Driving a Pile into the Enemy Country (1)
There is a saying like this among the lessons I learned at the academy.
‘A battle involving tens or hundreds of thousands of troops is a stepping stone to a larger scale war.’
As he said that, the professor looked at us and said this.
When victory is achieved against a large enemy force in a specific area, the enemy commander must retreat to reorganize his troops.
When retreating, the remaining troops in each castle or city are taken with them to fill the number of soldiers. If they are abandoned in front of the enemy, those left behind often surrender unconditionally to the enemy because they know that reinforcements will not come for a while. .
The soldiers who surrendered are prisoners of the enemy army while the war continues, effectively becoming lost allies.
For that reason, there are almost no soldiers in any city or stronghold left behind after the enemy’s large army retreats, so the gates are very easy to open.
So, large-scale rotation is similar to a kind of land grab, and winning in one rotation drops numerous castles even without a separate siege.
For example, when I went to Oslo Castle right after the Stockholm Kingdom’s victory on the Osby Plain, I passed through several castles.
When we arrived at the castles, there were almost no administrators or even soldiers left in the castles.
While I was lost in these idle thoughts, the generals sitting in front of me were passionately exchanging opinions with each other.
“Director Gallant, we have now succeeded in inflicting a blow to Warsaw from which it will never recover. So, we must not miss this opportunity and occupy it as aggressively as possible.”
“So now that we have finally established a sea supply route through Gryfino Castle, let’s go to Lodz Castle?”
“Isn’t Lodz Castle empty anyway? “It’s worth a try.”
“War is not an adventure, Brigadier General Gnabry.”
In this situation, Laura and other field officers did not dare to intervene in the debate between the stars.
The generals were divided into two factions.
The side that wants to occupy the land stretching west from Gryffino Castle to the border of the empire, as claimed by Major General Gallant, and the side that wants to take the route south from Gryffino Castle, as Brigadier General Gnabry said.
Once the exchange of opinions between the two factions was somewhat over, the eyes of the generals and field officers naturally focused on me.
With the intention that I, their commander, will come forward and organize all opinions.
After clearing my throat a few times to clear up the slightly heated atmosphere from discussing the operation, I opened my mouth.
“Both the opinions of Major General Gallant and Brigadier General Gnabry are correct. So, after this expedition, I will record in the personnel evaluation that the strategy of the two was quite good.”
At those words, smiles appeared on the faces of two men in their 50s for a moment.
“However, as Director Gallant said, I think it is most important to completely solidify the land west of Gryffino Castle.”
“I want to know why you think that way.”
“We, the Reich Imperial Army, need to assume that this war may be a long one. The reason is that His Highness the Grand Duke of Warsaw has not yet proposed negotiations to end the war.”
From noble mtl dot com
If I were the Grand Duke of Warsaw, I would have faced the reality as quickly as possible and immediately proposed peace negotiations to avoid further damage.
However, His Highness the Archduke may have finally come to his senses, or the internal order is so messed up that he is so caught up in the ‘purge’ game that he has no time to pay attention to this point, but he has not brought up the topic of negotiations.
In this case, even if you have won a big victory, the moment you catch the opponent who bows by suggesting negotiation first, you will be giving up some of your strategic advantage, so you will start from the bottom.
From a victorious position, abandoning the advantageous position we gained by shedding blood and moving forward to end the war would be an action that would cause damage to the empire.
This can be seen as treason against His Majesty the Emperor, so no matter how much I am the commander, I cannot end the war here on my own.
The generals all nodded as if they understood what I said.
“Assuming that the war will be prolonged, wouldn’t the first thing we need to do be to completely take the western part of Griffino into our hands so that supply can continue? However, if we are trying to secure the Lodz area south of Gryfino, the only supply route for our troops connected to the Reich Empire is sea supply through ships. Also, keep in mind that Warsaw’s navy is still intact.”
In pre-modern society, even after the creation of large-scale land transportation such as trains and trucks, ship transportation was by far the most efficient way to transport large quantities of cargo at once.
It goes without saying that in the Reich Empire, where there was no electricity, trains, trucks, or roads paved with asphalt or cement, ships were advantageous for transportation.
The current situation is that although a significant portion of Warsaw’s army has been wiped out and cannot be recovered, their navy is completely intact.
So what if the route through which we can supply essential supplies such as food, weapons, armor, and arrows is limited to the sea?
The Archduke of Warsaw will use his navy to completely deplete our supplies, and in the worst case scenario, the Reich Imperial Army will lose its fighting ability due to its supply being cut off.
The generals here seemed to have realized this as well, sighing loudly and saying,
“Once sea supply is cut off, it will take at least one to two months for the next supply to arrive. “I feel like I could die if I starve for just one day, but if supplies don’t arrive for two months…”
“Our troops may be trapped in Warsaw and searched for. “That situation on the damn Swiss front…”
“Don’t even mention it! “Isn’t this an unprecedented disaster when His Majesty, the current Emperor, was almost captured by that bastard, the Duke of Switzerland, when he was the Crown Prince?”
An army that has lost its fighting ability, whether its number is 100,000 or 1 million, is virtually the same as a ragtag Tang army.
I wonder if His Highness the Grand Duke of Warsaw is aiming for this, but no matter where you go on the continent of Europa, there is no one with a four-star rating who would make such a basic mistake.
The importance of maintaining supply was what we heard so loudly at the General Staff College, and those who have not suffered through the headache of carrying 1 arrow and 1kg of biscuits on the battlefield will never be promoted to that level.
No one would make such a mistake other than Lieutenant General Renya Mudaguchi, who is called the dark independence fighter dispatched to the Japanese army.
“Therefore, our forces must completely occupy the western territory of Gryfino Castle in preparation for a long-term war. And I will resolve to hold out until the Grand Duchy of Warsaw bleeds dry and dies.”
The Grand Duke of Warsaw lost close to 80,000 combat troops, so the morale of the Grand Duchy’s army must have hit rock bottom and gone underground.
In such a situation, if we express our intention to fight for a long time, the nobles will unite and stop us, saying this is crazy.
The more time passes, the more advantageous it will be for the Reich Imperial Army.
After successfully defeating the enemy, our forces will succeed in securing Gryffino Castle and the land route leading to the empire.
This is because it is possible at any time to fiddle with secret weapons such as all-out war with additional troops during peace negotiations with the enemy.
“Does anyone have a different opinion up to this point?”
The generals around me nodded in agreement.
“Then, from now on, I will direct the course of action of our Warsaw Expeditionary Force. “Look at the map.”
When I pointed at the map with my baton, everyone’s eyes turned towards it.
“Each unit disperses into one division and surrounds the walled city, recommending surrender and opening the city gates. By now, the news of the crushing defeat of the 150,000 troops led by Captain Tateushu must have spread widely, so those remaining in the castle will at least know that no reinforcements will arrive for the time being.”
For a water battle to begin successfully, you need to be confident that friendly reinforcements will come.
If you don’t come, staying in the castle for a long time will only make you hungry, scared, and suffering from the fear of being killed by the enemy at any time.
No matter how long you wait, there is no hope for things to get better, so you end up giving up.
“So, if you ask them to mobilize troops and open the gate, they will open it willingly. If the gate won’t open, send me a request for assistance. “We will send an appropriate number of support.”
Even though I said this, there is more than a 97% chance that I will not have to send support separately. Still, it is always right to be prepared for any emergency.
“When the gates are opened, any kind of looting, violence, or any action that violates military law is prohibited. No, drinking alcohol or looking for prostitutes is strictly prohibited from the moment you open the castle walls and enter. And after the Warsaw soldiers leave, the military unit stationed in the castle will temporarily take over the disruption of security and order, and completely bring the western territory to our side.”
Since we have a record of plundering in the past, it is necessary to receive support and provide supplies necessary for survival after occupation, if only to gain public support.
If you apply to the Imperial Army Supply Corps, they will provide you with enough food and necessities.
Because the Minister of Military Affairs of the Reich Imperial Army is none other than General Keitel.
If you just trust and follow Kaiemon, you will never run out of supplies.