328 – Battle of Brito Plain (6)
About an hour after Captain Jaeger ordered to send out scouts, several scouts came running out of breath.
“Here’s a report! Looking at the current enemy camp, mercenaries are stationed at the front and middle of the line, and militia from each city are stationed at the rear.”
Peter Yeager frowned when he heard the news.
As a commander in charge of a large army of over 150,000 men, he tried not to appear agitated, but he had no choice because the premise of his operation was destroyed by the enemy commander’s orders.
However, thanks to his career as a soldier for nearly 17 years, he did not express his honest feelings out loud…
‘There is a saying at the General Staff College that the strategy developed in the command barracks before the war turns into useless nonsense in less than five minutes, and it feels bad to actually experience that.’
The actual battle began about an hour and a half later, so unless the enemy was an idiot, it was a situation where they could have responded to Jaeger’s aim.
For the Reich Imperial Army, which was dealing with a large enemy force with a relatively small number of troops, the collapse of the main premise of the operation was not a good situation.
However, Captain Jaeger knew that his agitation could make his soldiers tremble with fear, so he put on a very relaxed expression and laughed empty-handed.
“Huh, I see. Captain Campio wasn’t an idiot. Okay, then I guess we can use another move.”
Both the scouts and staff were greatly relieved to hear that Peter Yeager was going to any lengths.
Peter Yeager had planned several strategies in preparation for times like this, but he needed time to think about which strategy would be best for him now.
First of all, I decided to take action that needed to be taken right now.
“Delivery to all units, send the 7th Guards Division and other vanguard units to the rear and replace troops. The messengers must follow orders. In addition, tell the cavalry cavalry and knights that the enemy’s disposition will change and the strategy will change, so tell them to stand by in a comfortable position.”
“Yes, I understand.”
The messengers who received the order rode on horseback and set out to deliver the information.
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Meanwhile, the 7th Guards Division, the vanguard of the Reich Imperial Army, moved 100 meters in a prone position and fought at the vanguard for over an hour.
The physical strength of his soldiers, including division commander Laura, had been greatly exhausted.
If it were another unit, it would not have been strange to see soldiers slowly dying from enemy attacks as well as some collapsing from exhaustion.
“Our 7th Guards Division is a strong army that achieved victory by fighting against over 100,000 Swiss soldiers with only 8,000 soldiers! “But we can’t lose to these mercenary babblers!”
“We will fight till the end until the order is given! Concentrate your efforts to break through the center!”
“Fight and never forget what training you received and what difficulties you overcame to get here.”
No, this is a unit that is held on like pillars by capable officers and non-commissioned officers who have accomplished several major feats that can be called feats.
As an elite division in which only those who meet its high expectations can serve as soldiers, there have been some who are panting from exhaustion, but no one has yet exhausted themselves.
On the contrary, they fought more fiercely in a situation that seemed to be in danger, and the mercenaries who faced the enemy held out their tongues.
“Crazy bastards, Tilly said that Jaeger’s 7th Division is full of crazy bastards. “What are these guys really?”
“They’ve been running wild with swords in the vanguard for over an hour, so why are they still flying around? “Isn’t it normal to gradually get tired and stretch out?”
“f*ck, if I return alive, I’ll have to grab Duke Veneta by the collar to extort more money from him.”
The morale of the Reich Empire soldiers rose in a fight that was slightly beyond the 7th Division’s common sense, and they were in a state of excitement.
As Peter Yeager predicted, even though his physical strength was at its limit, he was able to hold on somehow, and this was what the officers were thinking in this situation.
‘Our unit’s physical strength is already at its limit. If you don’t shift slowly, you won’t even have the strength to hold the spear, and it could become dangerous.’
However, the mission given to them was to break through the center of the Veneta Allied Forces as the Reich Imperial Army until the order to change was given.
“If you hold on just a little longer, the shift order will be given! “Hold on at all costs until your shift!”
“The company commander will stand at the forefront! Follow me!”
“Long live the Reich Empire! Long live your Majesty the Emperor!”
The best they could do was to hope that a shift would come and to take the initiative themselves to help the soldiers endure.
And at this time, messengers on horseback began to travel around the vanguard and spread orders.
“This is an order for the units fighting in the vanguard, led by the 7th Guards Division, to retreat to the rear! “Move to the rear of all units!”
As soon as Laura heard the command, she immediately responded.
“7Th Guards Division, move to the rear immediately! “This is an order to switch with another unit!”
At the same time, soldiers from other divisions belonging to the 2nd line arrived like a flood of water, and the soldiers and officers began to retreat while maintaining order.
Others came for the shift, so they could retreat comfortably, but because of their pride, unlike other units, they maintained their discipline and retreated even though they were exhausted.
On the other hand, Captain Campio of the Venetian Allied Forces breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that the front line had finally stabilized a little.
“It seems like we are finally out of danger. I almost broke through the center. “It’s like the damn 7th Division. What on earth were they thinking that allowed them to use such a reckless strategy?”
No matter how focused the mercenaries were on destroying the enemy in front of them, it would be crazy for 8,000 troops from one division to crawl under the spear and make a surprise attack.
But Peter Yeager and the smart and rationally crazy men of the 7th Division succeeded in sneaking under the bars and ambushing their own troops.
Because it was daytime, the sun was shining very brightly, so there was no problem with visibility.
Maybe that’s why I felt bad because I was attacked like a blind man, but I was so dumbfounded that I even felt empty.
It was such a situation, but in any case, Captain Campio had 250,000 troops and his opponent only had 150,000…
This was what everyone here was thinking.
‘As long as Peter Yeager doesn’t use another strange trick, he can easily win.’
“Send the elite mercenary unit to the vanguard, and send the mercenary unit that fought at the front as much as possible to the rear to rest. Then send out the knights and order them to prepare to attack the rear.”
A staff member asked about the captain’s order.
“Wouldn’t it be better to attack the flanks of the Reich Army, such as its left or right wing? It’s good to send the knights to the rear, but isn’t that Jaeger captain holding on? If he directly commands the infantry, he might do something crazy like he did in Linz before, using the infantry to block the knights.”
“No matter how much that damn Jaeger flies and crawls, there is a limit. Those who have now been transported to the rear have pushed themselves beyond their limits in breaking through the vanguard. “What can we do with those who are taking a break?”
The staff member who asked the question made a sheepish expression and scratched his head, while the rest of the officers in the headquarters laughed.
Because now, before their eyes, there is hope that they can catch that damned Peter Yeager.
On the other hand, Peter Yeager succeeded in finding the most efficient strategy to use in this situation after the soldiers, including the 7th Division, retreated and returned.
He immediately gave orders to put into practice the plan he had conceived.
“Knights and archers form a diagonal line and attack the enemy’s rear! Based on the horizontal line, the left side is the front, and the right side is the back! The diagonal line must be continuous from beginning to end!”
The strategy he came up with was a diagonal formation, which was mainly used by the great king of a certain kingdom who liked potatoes a lot.
They form a diagonal line, and when each unit in the line collides with the enemy at the perfect time, the impact spreads widely.
If we attacked using that principle, the ragtag militia would be defeated without even using their hands or feet.
Also, if a powerful shock is given to the army like a kind of liquid, the aftermath will spread throughout the army and its combat power will plummet, so if you were aiming for that time, it would have been worth aiming for a central breakthrough.
“If I use this strategy, the enemies will mobilize their knights and rush to the rear to take my head… If I’m going to deal with 250,000 or 150,000 people, this would be the best.”
As soon as the decision was made, Captain Yeager ordered the soldiers in charge of support from the rear.
“Start cooking right now! Feed the soldiers to their fill, even if it’s porridge with biscuits and salt! And add salt to the water! “The Beneta will soon attack the rear with all their might.”