307 – Training is like actual combat, actual combat is like training (6)
As if to prove the saying that someone’s happiness can be someone else’s misfortune, the Farosia Area Army The division commander of the 18th division was pulling out his hair.
“Ugh, sh*t! We strengthened our guard as you said, but what a disaster this is! Colonel Checker You bastard! “I’m telling you to give me my supplies!”
At those words, the officers belonging to the 18th Division quietly lowered their eyes and lowered their heads and did not react in any way.
In normal times, he would have tried his best to return the division commander’s mental state to its original state by saying some words of comfort, but it would be useless to try to stop a person who lost his senses when his supply detachment was ambushed and two days’ worth of supplies were lost. Because I thought it was
In normal cases, if you see someone like a division commander losing his temper and going on a rampage, you would think it was pitiful even if you couldn’t say it, but in the military, there is no one who doesn’t know that supply is like a lifeline without any exaggeration.
None of the people here made fun of the division commander’s outburst or cursed in his heart, saying he was crazy.
Major General Hausen exploded with anger for nearly 5 minutes, and after the training was over, he was able to regain some composure after resolutely resolving to order Lieutenant Colonel Checker to be fully armed and return to the parade ground for a week.
“Vice Division Commander, how much supply is left for us now?”
The deputy division commander shook his head at those words.
With just this reaction, all the officers here could tell that the current situation was not very good, and they braced themselves.
“…… The supply team was scheduled to arrive tomorrow, so we have one day’s worth left based on fixed-rate rations.”
We were mentally prepared that shocking words would come out, but the fact that there was only one day’s worth of food left while the supply depot was robbed brought a great psychological shock to everyone.
A low, heavy curse rang out inside the conference room.
“f*ck, how do I do this?”
“……Are we screwed?”
“The mock battle hasn’t even started in earnest yet. If we get swept away like this, how will we fight on the Manfell Plain?”
Major Housen listened to the officers’ complaints and looked down at the map with an expression of loss in the world and thought.
Spears, arrows, weapons, and armor are well guarded at the main camp, so even if a battle with the 7th Guards Division occurs, it will not lead to a catastrophe in which they will not be able to fight due to lack of weapons.
It was clear that if food was not properly distributed on the way, the hungry soldiers would not be able to fight properly.
The good news for him was that this was training and not actual combat, but that fact did not bring much comfort to everyone here.
“Operation, when will the next supply unit arrive?”
“……It will arrive in three days.”
“Then we will have to split one day’s worth of food over three days. It’s so f*cked up that I’m speechless. “What on earth did Lieutenant Colonel Checker, who was in charge of the supply unit, do to get into trouble?”
The division commander, who said so, firmly resolved that after this training, he would personally call Lieutenant Colonel Checker into the division commander’s office and have a pleasant interview separate from the post-training evaluation.
The other officers looked at the scene and prayed for the soul of the poor lieutenant colonel.
“Vice Division Commander, there is no need for anything. From now on, make sure to limit your rations so that you don’t starve once you arrive at Manfell Plain. Also, send a messenger and tell them to hurry up and see the supply unit in charge of the next supply.”
“Yes, I understand.”
“Of course, our commanders also participate in this limited distribution. The idea is to eat less and hold on as long as possible. I feel like I want to preserve my stamina by setting fewer boundaries. Our opponent is Captain Jaeger. If you lower your guard, you never know what might happen again. “We will maintain our alert posture as is,” He said.
With those words, the officers thought about how they would survive the next three days.
Everyone didn’t say anything, but they all thought the same thing.
‘f*ck, we’re screwed. ‘I should have looked into it from the moment I heard that Captain Jaeger would be appointed commander.’
Still, Peter Yeager acted like a devil from hell, but no one complained because the reward was generous and up to standard.
**
At the end of the meeting, the soldiers of the 18th Division, who were taking a break, gathered in groups of twos and threes and chatted.
.
When there was nothing going on, it was common for soldiers to be honest about their desires and to share dirty stories or gossip with their families back home or with their unit superiors.
When an unfortunate incident occurs, such as the one where the supply depot is stolen, bad stories related to it spread widely.
“Sergeant Hans, who manages the company’s supplies, said that the entire supply chain was robbed yesterday, damn it. “I think this training went wrong.”
“…… Doesn’t the fact that the supply unit was robbed mean that there is no food for the entire 18th Division? “Then what happens?”
At those words, one of the sergeants in charge of the deputy platoon commander looked at the new recruit with pitiful eyes and said,
“How did you live when you ran out of food during the famine?”
“… I had to starve until high-ranking officials sent aid from the government.”
“That’s right. It’s the same thing. But now it will take a few days for the supplies to arrive. “f*ck, so we have no choice but to starve.”
“… Just marching is so painful, how can we survive without food?”
When the sergeant saw the officers moving behind him, he covered the recruit’s mouth and spoke in a whisper.
“Even if this is training, if you are caught complaining about supply, you will be beaten with a club for lowering morale. “Just shut up and eat whatever you get.”
The new recruit remembered seeing one of his seniors hit by a stick and not being able to move his toes for a week, so he nodded his head vigorously.
And the company commander and subordinate platoon commanders of each company delivered the orders decided by the division headquarters like emotionless dolls.
“As of now, our 18th Division is serving limited rations. In accordance with the limited ration policy, from now on food rations will be reduced to 1/3 of the usual amount.”
A soldier must consume more than twice as many calories as an ordinary adult male in order to barely survive the grueling schedule of marching and war.
Sometimes that is not enough and you have to feed them lots of side dishes and snacks to fight the war, but what if you end up eating only 1/3 of the usual food rations?
It will be difficult to control one’s body, let alone lift a weapon.
The senior non-commissioned officers who knew this recognized the situation and received the food with a look on their faces as if they had lost everything in the world, while the soldiers received the food without knowing what fear would come.
Normally, when one squad’s worth of food is received, the cauldrons provided to each squad are full, but now only the bottom is barely covered.
When the youngest members of the squad saw that, they sighed heavily.
“f*ck, aren’t my seniors going to kill me if I take this as a ration?”
“If I eat just this and march all day… I’ll die, right?”
“…… Help me, damn it.”
Just like that, the youngest children went to their squad with food, and since the seniors knew the situation, they did not complain but did not crave the youngest members.
“Ah, did you just bring this for me to eat?”
“The platoon leader said he would implement limited rations. Are your ear holes clogged? They say that’s it. Just eat it, damn it. “If you complain any more, I will kill you.”
“…… Yes, Sergeant Gern.”
No one was making jokes, even though it was normally mealtime and should have been a relaxing time with small talk.
As a result, the morale of the entire army fell further due to mental fatigue as well as physical exhaustion.
I hope that the controllers who have experience fighting with Peter Jaeger in Richen will step forward and lead the way.
It was said that if you feed water with a lot of salt to soldiers who are struggling, they will not die from exhaustion for about 2-3 days.
Unit commanders forced soldiers to drink water mixed with salt.
Thanks to this, the soldiers of the 18th Division were able to finish the march just before reaching their limit, except for about 30 who were exhausted and unable to fight.
And when we arrived at the Manfell Plain, we were able to receive proper supplies.
However, because the physical strength that had already been lost could not be restored by eating properly for just one day, everyone, regardless of whether they were soldiers or officers, became weak like a scarecrow.
“….. Was the spear this heavy? “f*ck, I feel like I’m going to die.”
“If you don’t think you can handle it, quit! “Right now, it’s not a real battle, it’s just training like a real battle!”
“You can endure it, but those who neglect it will be killed when they return to the main unit! f*ck, if you don’t even pretend to train properly during this training, the battalion commander… The battalion commander could be called to you!”
The controllers who saw various arguments coming and going wrote this in their notebooks.
From noble mtl dot com
‘The soldiers’ ability to carry out battles was almost at its limit due to the plunder of supplies by the 18th Division and the 7th Guards Division.’
Meanwhile, Peter Jaeger, who received a similar report on the situation of the 18th Division from his subordinates in the 7th Guards Division, commented as follows.
“…… I had been trying to improve my constitution for two months, but when I actually entered the mock battle, I never thought I would be so easily defeated by these tactics. Didn’t you learn to prepare for a crisis like this in the General Staff College? Ha, I don’t want to do this either, but considering their performance in the war that will be five years from now, thorough ‘training’ would really help.”
One 7th Division soldier who heard this story from those around him thought to himself.
‘The day will soon come when we can have fun with the Red Hats flying once and for all!’