265 – Battle of Griffino (3)
When I ordered the construction of siege ballistas, the generals began to guess my intentions rather than asking me why.
“A naval battle is ultimately not a battle of who can board the enemy’s ship first and achieve victory in hand-to-hand combat, or who can hit it first with a hammer attached to the bow (a tool for breaking down wooden doors such as castle gates). Do you want to?”
“Although siege ballistas are powerful, it is standard to use small ballistas (large anti-personnel and anti-target crossbows) when supporting close combat or engaging in long-distance firefights between fleets…”
“Isn’t it clear that Captain Jaeger has some deep thoughts?”
As they say, this is what the Imperial Academy and the General Staff College teach about naval warfare.
The basics of maritime combat are hand-to-hand combat, killing the enemy soldiers on the deck of the enemy ship and taking over each ship one by one.
Or, hitting the side of an enemy ship with a strong wave to make a hole and cause it to sink.
These are the ways to win a naval battle.
Other countries also operate their navies following this tactic.
So, in order to kill even one more person in close combat, it is better to load at least one more soldier on a small ballista.
However, the number of ships is three times greater and the number of soldiers that can be mobilized is three times more, so if we sit back and engage in close combat, we are 100% bound to lose.
“We will avoid close combat as much as possible in this battle. If possible, do not use the shock absorber attached to the bow. This is because both the opponent and I know the tactics used in naval battles so far. Therefore, in order for our troops to achieve victory, we must try new tactics instead of the old tactics we used previously.”
As I said, standard tactics are the type of strategy that I know and everyone else knows.
The fighting method that everyone can perfectly understand has infinite ways to destroy him, and it is even more fragile if such tactics are used when the allies are at an absolute disadvantage.
If you are going into a situation where you are at a disadvantage, rather than showing all your cards, doing something crazy that no one has ever done will increase your chances of winning.
“For that purpose, our troops use the tactic of attacking from a distance with siege ballistas instead of preparing for close combat. Since it is used in sieges, it is very powerful, so if you get hit once, it will be of great help in breaking the enemy’s morale.”
Siege ballista… To put it simply, it can be said to be a giant crossbow used to destroy stone castle walls.
If you hear that it is a weapon used to destroy castles, you may be mistaken for thinking that it is as powerful as a cannon.
No matter how much of a siege weapon it is, it is impossible to exert a level of power that can destroy a block of stone with just the tension of the rope.
No, even breaking through the deck of a ship made of thick wood would be difficult.
However, if you succeed in hitting the sailors huddled on the deck preparing for close combat, you can kill quite a few people at once.
When they approach to engage in hand-to-hand combat, if they get very close and use siege ballistas, at least several, or as many as a dozen, enemies will be wiped out with a single blow, like a bowling pin being knocked over by a bowling ball.
Unexperienced power and tactics will make the Warsaw officers’ judgment very dull.
In order to maximize this power and advantage…
“From now on, I will announce the plan I just revised. First, we will fight the enemy with 40 ships equipped with siege ballistas.”
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Even though it is for siege use, its size and weight are lighter than the Trebuchet, which weighs several dozen tons each, so about 8 can be installed on one ship depending on the installation.
4 On the left, 4 on the right, and so on.
“Also, in a typical naval battle, we face the enemy head-on, like a duel where we know the enemy and fight openly, but we do not have the power to do that. Therefore, our troops will fight by making full use of the ambush. “Everyone, please look at the map.”
The generals’ eyes all turned to the map of Warsaw’s coastal city and coastline displayed on the bulletin board.
“According to what is written in the war record, the enemy is currently waiting at Utsuro Port, 50km away from the port near Gryfino Castle, and concentrating their remaining forces. “Through this, we can see that they believe in the superiority of numbers and are trying to attack us from the front.”
They may be overconfident because the difference in power is more than 3 times, but it is said that they are in a hurry because the situation in the Grand Duchy is very urgent.
It’s not that I emotionally don’t understand why they are rushing.
The only way to save the collapsing country is to defeat the imperial army as quickly as possible, so of course we have no choice but to hurry.
However, the more you rush, the more things you miss, and the more likely you are to respond to the other person’s provocations.
In other words, there are more gaps that I can poke into.
“Therefore, I will proudly draw the idiots who come to kill us here, near the port of Mielno.”
“What method do you plan to use?”
“I plan to throw bait that the guy has no choice but to bite. “Three ships, including the flagship I boarded, will pretend to search for the enemy’s route and patrol, engage with the enemy’s scout ships, and when their main force comes towards us, we will retreat in the direction of the main force of 20 ships.”
General Timo of Warsaw must be more desperate and desperate for victory than anyone else right now.
His country is in danger of being destroyed by an invader named Peter Yeager, and if he loses this battle, the Grand Duchy will not be destroyed.
This is because it will be a disaster of a level that will be difficult to repeat due to massive losses.
But if you succeed in defeating me, you will be able to obtain everything from fame, wealth, and power as the hero of the country…
Teemo, a young man in his 40s who has reached the rank of captain, will attack me with bloodshot eyes in an attempt to slit my throat.
“Once I confirm that I am retreating, the 23 ships, including the flagship, will turn their bows and move near El Condor Island near Mielno Port. Then, the enemy will surely follow to destroy our main force, and when the 120 ships of the Warsaw Fleet cross the halfway point of El Condor Island, the remaining 17 ships will surround the enemy’s rear. Accordingly, the main unit will turn its bow to surround the enemy’s front lines.”
The siege will be similar to the Great Battle of Hansando, which is said to be a masterpiece of Admiral Yi Sun-sin, who always achieved miraculous victories even in absurd situations.
In a situation where the enemy is blocked by friendly ships, you will be hit by massive rocks with a siege ballista that you have never experienced before.
The enemy commander’s judgment ability will momentarily deteriorate, and soldiers in a state of panic will stamp their feet, not knowing what to do, rather than daring to engage in close combat.
It’s like if you were jaywalking and were about to get hit by a car, you could have survived if you just ran a little, but for a moment you would be so scared that you wouldn’t be able to take your feet off.
“The enemy, who is surrounded by friendly ships on all sides, left, right, and right, will not be able to guess our numbers. Therefore, at this time, you must fire at least one more ballista at the enemy to reduce the number of soldiers and make the enemy frantic. Of course, there are limits to being distracted.”
Humans are animals with excellent adaptability, so even if they smell a fairly terrible smell, if they sit for more than 10 minutes or even 10 seconds, their nose gradually adapts to the terrible smell, and they no longer feel pain from the terrible smell.
No matter how much confusion you fall into during the war, as time passes, people will begin to come to their senses one by one, even in that noisy, chaotic, and dangerous situation.
As time passes, everyone will return to their original state and come up with an appropriate strategy to deal with me.
In the process of getting there, a huge number of enemy soldiers will die, but that alone will not be enough to overcome the disadvantage in numbers…
“If you stay out of your mind for a while, the fishing boat I commandeered from Mielno Island will come for support. These fishing boats will be driven by fishermen, and will be loaded with highly flammable oil, straw soaked in oil, dry leaves, and firewood. While you are distracted, these ships touch enemy battleships. Then the enemy fleet will burn very brightly even though it is on the sea.”
Even if a fire extinguisher or extinguishing agent made using chemicals is used, if a fire starts properly in a building, it cannot be easily extinguished.
It would be impossible to extinguish a burning ship without proper fire extinguishing techniques, let alone fire extinguishing chemicals.
In addition, battleships are primarily made of wood, which is always in a ‘dry state’ except below the waterline, so it burns dirty easily.
In the Age of Exploration, it would have been forbidden to light a fire in the kitchen of a ship and cook porridge whenever the waves were even a little rough.
“If the Warsaw guys’ ship catches fire, their fleet will be in great confusion and not be able to function properly. At that time, our forces will invest the power we have in defeating a large fleet of 120 ships. “Everyone, start preparing.”
When he said that, all the generals left in groups of three and five.
Meanwhile, I called an influential person from the village who was also there to assist with the administration and asked for a favor.
“Gather some fishermen. “I have a favor to ask you.”
Now all you have to do is find brave fishermen to light the enemy fleet.