401 – Make the Bastion again(1)
One of the ways to win the enemy in war is to deceive the opponent, and the reason is very simple and obvious.
Rather than attacking the opponent when they are fully prepared, striking them in the back when they are off-guard and unprepared is an effective way to minimize losses for allies and maximize results.
So, I went to great lengths to raise an army of 1 million in 6 months and went straight to Warsaw.
Thanks to this, Warsaw and the Allied Forces faced our forces without even being able to prepare for anything.
Currently, I am marching leisurely, feeling like I am at a picnic, if only a little exaggerated.
“Marshal, is it possible for the war to proceed this easily from the beginning?”
I shrugged my shoulders at those words.
“Is that possible? “War is inherently painful to prepare for, but what becomes more painful is when you actually start to ‘march’ by moving your army.”
“Is that so?”
“A guy who wants to go to the academy and become an officer doesn’t know this. Are you sure you’ve read all the books I recommended? “Captain?”
Carl was highly regarded for being the first to step up and inspire courage in the people during the last Battle of Bastion, and for fighting bravely as a standard-bearer in charge of the enemy’s flag, never backing down.
Besides that, while leading the reserve unit, I was lucky enough to stab and kill an enemy major general.
In any case, because he was a character with strong ‘symbolism’ who did the work of rallying those who fought in Bastion rather than his actual achievements, the Imperial Army Chief of Staff gave him a generous reward.
My arbitrary commission was officially recognized locally and I was officially made a second lieutenant. Afterwards, with the addition of killing an enemy commander and a brave battle, I was awarded the rank of captain and the Knight’s Cross.
This may seem a bit excessive, but even thinking about it again, Carol’s achievements deserved such a reward.
They say there are no ifs in history, but without his activities, the empire could have collapsed.
“My son Friedrich also finished reading books like that at the age of 12.”
When Captain Karl heard what I said, he protested in a tone of bewilderment.
“No, isn’t that a textbook from the Staff College?”
“It’s just an advanced 3rd year academy course. So, I thought that if you studied and memorized it for half a year, you would have learned it well. I didn’t go to the Staff College and was a professor at the Staff College, but didn’t you say that you wanted to study with me? “Don’t you have to put in that much effort to follow me?”
“……”
“No matter how thoroughly you prepare for war, there will always be variables. When the war started, the march was supposed to take three days according to plan, but it was not uncommon for it to be delayed due to sudden rain and take a week.”
I know this because I was reincarnated here and experienced many such things while on the march.
While on the road, it suddenly rained for several days and we were stranded, or a sudden landslide occurred and an entire military warehouse was blown away.
Even though hygiene management was very thorough, sometimes, thanks to people who found it annoying, a water-borne epidemic broke out and 1,000 people were wiped out.
And since there is no way to march when this problem arises, the only way is to set up camp for a few days and play card games and wait.
“That’s not all. Sometimes, the soldiers complained that they wouldn’t be able to survive any longer if we didn’t give them raw meat instead of salted meat, so we suddenly had to get a herd of cattle from the village…”
Captain Karl interrupted me mid-sentence.
“You were filled with fury until you went to war, but why did you become so relaxed now that you were gone?”
I smiled and answered.
“It’s very simple. When preparing for war, it is very helpful to go into a state of rage, go mad, and prepare thoroughly. As proof of that, I got a little angry, so your Excellency, the Minister of Finance or the Minister of Military Affairs, pulled out missing supplies from strange places, and noble families voluntarily donated their entire treasury to be used for the military budget.”
Karl laughed hollowly at those words.
For your information, I have never threatened them.
However, logically, if we cannot mobilize a million troops now, the Empire’s reputation will be lost, so I just said that I am not sure what His Majesty will do if he is displeased.
Also, I just told the nobles that after the war was over, I would like to be invited to their house with the Bastion Division in a non-threatening way.
Keitel, or rather, Kaiemon, Minister of Military Affairs, personally instructed His Excellency the Minister of Finance to create a budget that did not exist, and the nobles opened their eyes to patriotism.
“But on the battlefield, you must act completely rationally. And there is a limit to a person’s mental power. But what kind of foolishness would it be to get angry in a place where there is no chance of enemies appearing?”
“That’s right.”
“I’m just making the 100,000 soldiers I personally lead suffer for no reason. And anyway, I’m going to kill them all or make them surrender and make them pay for their sins for the rest of their lives, so why should I get so angry now?”
“That’s right, we need to conserve our strength if we want to make their castle Bastion.”
Before I knew it, Carl was busy with his teeth, and then he looked at me with an evil smile like a typical villain.
This kid seems to have plenty of talent as a soldier.
I thought that in a war, the one who turns the other side around wins.
Then, the best guy here is the one who thinks about it 24 hours a day once the war starts because he enjoys rationally harassing the enemy.
“Marshal! Here’s a report! “I have surrendered at Depica Castle, 20km south of here, saying I do not want to engage in combat with the Marshal!”
Is it because they marched in without giving themselves time to prepare due to shock and fear?
Or, did the country just give up the idea of resistance because they were afraid of the commander?
Already, 10 of the castles along the route of the army group I lead have surrendered without any resistance.
“Based on the principle that no one who surrenders before the siege of the castle will be killed, all of them will be spared. However, all soldiers within the castle will be disarmed and taken as prisoners of our army. We take over half of all the food left in the castle, as well as horses, oxen, and carts.”
This is an era in which the value of food and livestock is especially high. This is equivalent to stealing half of your entire wealth, but in return, you are saving your life.
In addition, the reason we are taking the soldiers is to prevent them from attacking us by falsely surrendering and cutting off our supply lines.
“Tell them that if the conditions are not accepted, the castle will be immediately surrounded and captured.”
“Yes, I understand.”
And as I continued marching for a few more hours, I came across Kourszow Castle, the largest fortress and city among the castles on our route.
“It’s so big. “It’s five times bigger than Bastion.”
According to information gathered by scouts, there are approximately 50,000 troops stationed within this castle.
If you think about that alone, it would obviously be impossible for me, who led only 100,000 men, to tear down this castle.
But I have no intention of sitting here and acting like an idiot waiting anxiously for reinforcements to arrive.
“Captain Karl, convey the order to the entire army that the castle will be surrounded.”
“Yes, I understand. Then what will the enemy do?”
“I plan to teach them some good lessons for a while.”
“You mean teaching?”
Hearing those words, I said with a crazy smile.
“If you surrender before the castle is surrounded, everyone will be spared, but after the castle is surrounded, everyone will be killed. “I guess I’ll have to make a Bastion.”
Karl, like me, was a guy who had suffered a lot, so he gritted his teeth.
“We must make the Warsaw bastards pay a price in blood.”
“However, we gave them a chance to surrender, so I think it was a sufficiently merciful act.”
After a brief conversation, I approached the castle gate with the soldiers of the Bastion Division while the other soldiers surrounded the castle.
Following the precedent of not shooting or threatening messengers who came to deliver a message, no one targeted me.
All the soldiers who had been brought in cheered.
“Long live the Reich Empire! Withdraw from the Grand Duchy of Warsaw! Heavenly punishment! To hell!”
“Please make this land a living hell like Bastion!”
“Long live Marshal Peter Yeager! Long live the Reich Empire! Long live your Majesty the Emperor! Justice for the Warsaw bastards!”
All of these people had joy on their faces at the fact that they could now take true revenge on the Grand Duchy of Warsaw that killed their families.
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There was no fear or tension about war.
If other units had done the same, I would have said something, but the Bastion unit is an elite unit that has overcome the worst situations.
It is rather strange to be discouraged after just one siege.
I drew my sword and raised it to the sky to calm them down.
Everyone became quiet.
And he shouted loudly towards that castle.
“Surrender!”
Even if I said that, the miracle of opening the gates did not happen right away.
I didn’t say that with any expectations. However, what I want to do now is to completely break their morale.