304 – Training is like actual combat, actual combat is like training (3)
Ferosia District Army, 7th Guards Division headquarters conference room.
As soon as I entered, everyone stood up, led by Laura, who had now become the deputy division commander of the 7th Guards Division.
Regardless of age, the faces of the officers were all full of anticipation, like children about to go on a picnic.
The 7th Guards Division is a group of guys who went through the hellish battlefields of Switzerland and Austria with me, so I thought they would have very high trust in me.
Although almost all of the officers here who are majors or higher are older than me, I am deeply moved to see them greeting me with such selfless and bright faces.
While I was taking a moment to gather my emotions from such sentiments, Laura took a standing stance on behalf of everyone and raised her hand to salute.
“All at attention! Salute to Captain Jaeger!”
When the sound of loyalty rang out so loudly that it hurt my ears, I also accepted the salute with the right attitude.
“Everyone, please sit down.”
After everyone had sat down according to my orders, some of the officers who had fought with me spoke to me in a friendly way.
“I thought that if you were a lieutenant general, you would definitely be promoted to general within a few years. I never thought I would get 4 stars before I turn 30. “You are truly amazing.”
“I heard that Her Highness Louise and Master Frederick also came together! I would like to see. “Can I come visit you in person after training?”
“Thanks to the letter of recommendation from the commander, I successfully graduated from the General Staff College and came back with my official staff badge!”
“Didn’t Charlotte, who is equivalent to an honorary soldier of the 7th Guards Division, come?”
When Laura saw this scene, she did not speak, but puffed out her chest and looked very proud.
I’m sure she’s not saying anything right now, but she probably feels like bragging to the neighborhood that my husband is such a great person.
If you brag so widely, many troublesome things will happen, so Laura’s bragging will probably be focused on Anya.
‘No, I decided to work together with the captain in a mock battle this time.’
It wasn’t a very long time, but the seniors of the 7th Guards Division and I kept asking each other how we were doing after meeting for the first time in a long time, and when the conversation made some progress.
I pointed with my baton at the map depicting the terrain we would fight in this time.
“After today’s strategy meeting, there’s a good bar near here, so I’ll rent the whole place and treat you to something. So, let’s put off solving the problem for a bit and focus on this mock battle from now on.”
All the officers unanimously said what I said.
“Yes, I understand!”
The atmosphere that had been friendly until just now suddenly turned into a sharpened blade, as if it was about to go to war.
“As you all know, this mock battle starts with both armies being completely equal in size. The enemy’s troops are one division with about 8,000 men, and our troops are also one division with about 8,000 men. The organization consists of three infantry regiments, 500 knights, and 500 archers.”
In an actual battle, fighting with the same organization and the same numbers never happens.
However, in a mock battle, the numbers of both armies must be equal to prevent excuses that they lost due to the difference in numbers.
From noble mtl dot com
Since proper lessons can only be learned by analyzing mock battles in the absence of extenuating circumstances, the army was organized with the most ideal number.
“In two weeks, our 7th Guards Division will begin its march from the village of Oppenheim and move to the Manfell Plain, where a full-scale battle will take place. “This training will be carried out as closely as possible to actual combat, so during the movement, we will be supplied by rear support units or actually buy food from villages along the route.”
All the officers nodded and spoke as if they were deeply impressed by those words.
“I heard it was a mock battle based on the phrase ‘training like real combat, combat like training.’ “Have you even implemented the supply that hurts our heads the most?”
“I think an officer who has received this kind of training will do his job properly even if he is sent straight into an actual war.”
“I think it’s just training, but at this level it’s actually the same as war.”
The officers expressed their admiration for replicating the same format as actual combat in training, and this is bound to happen.
Even if the supply is very well maintained, there is no guarantee that the war will be won, but an army without food and weapons will inevitably be defeated, no matter what great general it is commanded.
Among the things taught at the Imperial Academy and Staff College, the importance of moving and maintaining supplies is taught to the point where nails are stuck in the ears.
If the supply date is delayed without any special reason, it is taken seriously enough to be referred to a military court.
However, in this world where there are no trucks, railroads, or transport ships, supply is a problem with numerous variables that, without exaggeration, can drive people crazy.
However, it is impossible to realize this difficulty through training alone, but through this mock battle, you can directly experience the problems that come with it, so you will enjoy it.
“Also, since this training is in a practical format, of course, blocking and plundering the opponent’s supply routes is allowed as soon as the training begins. There is one problem with cost, so if supplies are looted, the bell made by the wizards should indicate that it cannot be used by the enemy. In addition, surprise raids are of course permitted. “Then, from now on, we will begin the full-fledged announcement of the operation.”
With those words, everyone’s attention was focused on me.
“As soon as the war begins, we will dispatch 30 archers into 5-person groups and dispatch them in 6 groups. So, we will search all the routes shown on the map to find the enemy’s location, the location of the supply unit, and the supply route.”
If you know the enemy’s location, you can send a surprise attack unit at any time, and if you figure out the supply route and chase them down and wipe them out, no matter how much training you have, you have to go to war while the enemy is hungry.
Just as a hungry army cannot fight properly, when a full-fledged fight breaks out in a mock battle, as soon as the enemy grabs the spear, he will stumble from hunger and weakness.
In the past, when fighting the Archduke of Czechia in the Visochia region, I played around and reduced supplies, but as the fight went on, the Czech soldiers were half-stretched.
If supplies are completely cut off during a mock battle and you starve, will you be able to even properly hold a spear?
However, even though it is not a real war, non-combat losses will occur if soldiers die or become exhausted due to fatigue.
If something like that happens, it would naturally be a huge loss from the imperial military’s point of view, so when food runs out, they will supply the minimum amount of food.
For those who seem to be unable to survive, the controllers dispatched to both armies’ units will immediately send them to the rear for treatment, thereby minimizing the number of people who die or suffer aftereffects.
“After identifying the enemy unit’s location, organize light cavalry and a surprise attack unit and march as quickly as possible to prevent the enemy from coming easily. In addition, supply units will be raided as often as possible to prevent them from receiving supplies.”
If there is a surprise attack even once, the morale of the unit drops drastically, and the number of soldiers often decreases exponentially.
If both allies and enemies experience this situation simultaneously in a mock battle, it will remain as a basis for good information and operations.
The unit that actually undergoes this type of operation must be very terrible.
“Captain, then how do you plan to protect our supply unit?”
“As the vice division commander said, protecting the supply unit is very important. Therefore, our troops will deploy one infantry battalion, one knight battalion (48 men), and 100 archers so that we can maintain supplies no matter what happens.”
The soldiers belonging to the supply unit are all trained just like regular soldiers, so they are fully capable of fighting in times of emergency.
Even if you mobilize troops to attack the rear, it is virtually impossible to mobilize more than one infantry battalion in a battle at the division level.
So, if you prepare to this extent, it will be okay.
“All remaining issues can be handled at the level of each unit, so I will leave them to each unit. This concludes the meeting. “Everyone, please prepare thoroughly for the mock battle that will take place in two weeks.”
The officers puffed out their chests and spoke as if they believed my encouragement.
“We will show once again that the 7th Guards Division is the most elite division in the Reich Empire.”
“I will never let anything hold me back, Captain. Please trust us and leave it to us.”
“We will show you better than our best.”
And then we moved to another location that evening and enjoyed our second drink at the bar I rented until late at night.
After that, the appointed time came so quickly that it became the day of the long-awaited mock battle, and the mock battle finally began.
And on the fourth day after the mock battle began, a report was posted.
“The location of enemy troops and supply units has been discovered.”