338 – Attack on Veneta Castle (5)
Immediately after the siege ended, the command barracks.
Although the Reich Imperial Army commanded by Peter Jaeger succeeded in climbing up the walls of Veneta, they failed to cross and occupy the walls and were forced to retreat.
So, when the sun rises tomorrow, I have to climb up that horribly high 6-meter wall all over again from the beginning.
The atmosphere between the commander and staff gathered here was not bad at all, no, it was very good.
“Ha, if the sun hadn’t set, we would have taken over Veneta Castle.”
“Still, thanks to Brigadier General Werner and Major General Laura’s proper judgment and continued push, wouldn’t they have killed at least 10,000 militiamen?”
“Morale will be at a very low point. Also, when we go to fight, there might be someone who puts down his spear and runs away as soon as he encounters us.”
Social life means that when working with other people at work, there are times when you have to make an effort to smile and pretend to be happy even when the situation is not good.
The officers gathered here now smiling and saying that we can fight better tomorrow are by no means empty words or pretense.
This is my first proper siege war during my nearly 15 years of military service, but according to what I learned while studying war at the Staff College.
Even when attacking smaller castles and spending more time, there were many cases where they could not even overcome the castle walls.
Well, even if it wasn’t impregnable, the castle was quite tall and strong.
Furthermore, since the clue to occupying Veneta Castle, which is also the capital of a principality, was obtained in just one day, honestly, if the officers ask, we should at least relax the military and hold a celebration tonight.
Even though the results haven’t come out, it’s a big milestone that’s worth it.
But since no one said anything about resting on a nice day like today, it would be right to come up with a plan to destroy that castle as soon as possible.
“Now, everyone pay attention.”
The officers stopped talking and looked at me.
“When advancing on horseback into enemy territory, once you get the momentum, isn’t it more effective if you just keep pushing? So, commander Bon has devised a way to steer the trend of the day, break the enemy’s morale, and quickly capture the castle.”
I said that and handed out to the generals a brief report written by the commander’s headquarters staff.
“According to the testimony of officers including Captain Landel, Brigadier General Werner, and Major General Laura, who were the first to climb the castle today, the soldiers guarding the walls of Veneta Castle are weaklings who have not received proper training. “They say that his combat ability is almost at the level of a scarecrow, and his morale is very low.”
Some of the officers looked at me wondering why I was saying such an obvious thing.
It is completely understandable. Everyone here is a person who felt and witnessed firsthand that the combat power of the militia was extremely low during the last fight on the Brito Plain.
It would be a waste of time to talk about everything we already know in front of those officers.
“Furthermore, in today’s siege, we pushed them back unilaterally, so their will to fight, which had already hit rock bottom, must have dried up. Certainly, when we face the militia again the day after tomorrow, we will realize that we are much weaker than we were today. So, if we keep pushing like this, according to Commander Bonn’s calculations, we will be able to occupy the capital of the Duchy of Veneta within three months at the earliest.”
Capturing the capital of the Principality of Veneta means the destruction of the principality, and furthermore, it means that we can gain enormous influence over the union principalities that surrendered to us on the way here.
It is the most honorable career for each officer, and not only will it be a specialty that will help with promotion, but he will also be given enormous rewards…
Everyone gathered here had big smiles on their faces, as if they were ecstatic just thinking about it.
In particular, Anya and Laura slowly looked at me and opened their mouths again and swallowed their saliva. This must have been because of my mood or something wrong.
In this situation, it would be good to keep saying pleasant things, but I raised my voice to announce a better plan.
“However, if the siege continues for three months, our army will lose tens of thousands of soldiers. So, I thought of a way to minimize the sacrifice and take over the enemy’s castle. “So that we can listen carefully and implement it accordingly.”
All the officers listened to those words.
“First of all, our army will divide his troops into four major groups from now on. Siege units, night combat units, rest units, and guard units. It will be divided into four units, and each unit will take on roles in roughly this order. The troops that fought the siege today will rest the next day. The next day after resting, they are assigned to night battles, and those who fought night battles are assigned to guard duty the next day and rest. When on guard duty, each soldier stands on duty twice a day for two hours each, and rests the rest of the time.”
“This is Major General Toffler, commander of the 3rd Division. Isn’t it more difficult to attack a castle at night than to siege it during the day? Then, I think it is right for those who fought the siege at night to get a full rest the next day.”
As Major General Toffler said, fighting the same type of battle at night is much more difficult and difficult than fighting during the day.
You can see clearly in front of your eyes during the day, but at night you cannot secure your vision, so it is dangerous, so your instinct to live to avoid getting hurt activates without your knowledge, resulting in great mental and physical exhaustion.
However, this is assuming that the ‘same’ type of battle is fought during the day and night, and since I am not carrying out a surprise operation, I have no intention of making my soldiers fight the enemy head-on at night.
Night siege warfare is so inefficient that it’s like throwing soldiers’ lives into a trash can.
“Commander Bon has no intention of doing something crazy like climbing up the castle walls at night and ordering them to fight. Therefore, the night combat team plans to only attack from a distance with arrows, magic, ballistas, and catapults against the trembling guys who don’t know when we will attack. “I will never cross the wall, rest assured.”
“Thank you, Captain. But the fact that he wants to attack the enemy even at night…”
“If we fight from the front, those behind the walls have the advantage, but our imperial army takes the lead in the battle. So, what if I give the order to attack Veneta Castle at night? Our Duke must deploy his soldiers on the walls and be as ready as day. In addition, citizens will be anxious and unable to sleep well as attacks continue at night, so their morale will drop to the bottom of hell.”
According to the lessons I learned from my experiments with guerrilla training and mock battles, soldiers were able to demonstrate a certain level of combat power if they were given a minimum amount of food and slept well.
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However, unless they are specially trained elite troops, even if they are fed well, if they do not sleep properly, their combat power will plummet and they will be unable to hold a spear and fight.
In particular, if you let militiamen who do not even know how to properly hold a spear, let alone the rituals, sleep for a few days and then fight, a situation may occur where they die of exhaustion while wielding a spear without any exaggeration, or fall asleep while wielding a spear.
“From now on, I want to use these tactics to conduct siege wars. What do you think?”
The officers heard my story and ran.
He spoke with an air of applause.
“If you make ordinary soldiers, or rather scarecrows with spears, unable to sleep, they will collapse on their own even with the slightest help. Then, there will be fewer sacrifices for our allies who die while attacking the castle. Very good!”
“I didn’t like the guys who were hiding and holding on, relying only on the damn castle walls. If Captain Jaeger’s plan is used, that castle wall will likely turn into a tomb for them. “I’m sure.”
“Since there is no need to fight among soldiers who move at night except for archers, crossbowmen, and wizards, why not manufacture more catapults and operate more catapults?”
I clapped my hands at those words.
“Okay, then our future strategy will be like this. First of all, tomorrow I’ll take a full rest like I said. You guys should go to sleep quickly too. You can feel free to do anything except drinking. And at 8 a.M. The next morning, we will reward Captain Randel, who was the first to go up to the castle today, so that all generals above the rank of brigadier general can come out, that’s it.”
**
8 O’clock the next morning, the square in front of the commander’s barracks.
After the reading of the contents of the long award certificate of Lieutenant General Hindenheim, who served as the deputy commander of this expeditionary force, Captain Randel came up.
“Loyalty! “Captain Randel Mayer of the 12th Division of the Reich Army!”
I couldn’t recognize him because there were so many people named Randel within the Empire, but the Randel who appeared in front of me was the same Sergeant Randel who had said that he would marry his fiancé if he returned alive from the Battle of Gunrichen.
The last time I heard from the 7th Division about 6 years ago, I heard he was a second lieutenant, and he was promoted very quickly.
Still, I asked vaguely just in case.
“Are you really the Sergeant Randel who said he would marry his fiancé when he returns from Richen?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“This is such a great relationship. When the war is over, come visit the Marquis Jaeger’s residence in Reichburg. “It would be nice to have a drink together and talk about old times.”
“It is an honor.”
After chatting alone for a while, I attached an eagle symbolizing a major to his hat and shoulder epaulettes and attached a medal to his chest.
“Commander Bonn pays tribute to the indomitable spirit and prowess shown by Major Randel Meyer of the 12th Division. Accordingly, with the authority of the commander of the Reich Imperial Army, he orders a special promotion to the first rank and rewards him with the Gold Cross and a grant of 500 gold.”
And on this day, while eating with Laura, Charlotte, and Anya, I brought up Randel’s story and told him in detail about my relationship with him.
The next day, the siege that started in the morning was once again fiercely waged, and when night fell, I immediately gave an order.
“Prepare for field battle! Bring out the prisoners. Bows, crossbows, ballistas, and catapults are all brought out! “They won’t be able to sleep a wink from now on!”