210 – Operation ‘Storm’ (5)
A month after the siege began, the overall situation of the war for the conquest of the Duchy of Orléans changed greatly.
First, each legion, led by six counts, marched to the capital of each territory belonging to the Duke of Orléans, as I did, subduing landlords such as the baileiffs, and hiring serfs as chores.
After arriving at the castle, they held a banquet with wheat, barley, meat, beer, and wine purchased from the supply bases and locals in the middle.
The city’s defenders held out well at first, firing arrows at the corps stationed outside the castle, burning their will to fight. The allies did not resist at all according to my order.
After besieging the castle for a week or two, their morale, which was not very high, fell and gradually hit the bottom.
To the Orléans soldiers who stood guard, the chores said, ‘Are you from the territory like us? I secretly brought it because I was thinking of the guards.’ He secretly delivered a sandwich made of leftover meat and bread…
Some guards who were caught for not properly cleaning up were beheaded on charges of treachery, even though they did not hand over any information.
The units and commanders to which the soldiers belonged were suspected of colluding with the enemy, and even the same soldiers became suspicious of each other and lost trust in each other.
I made plans to become like that, but if I was in the position of being victimized, I would have had circular hair loss as well as M-shaped hair loss and even hair loss on the crown.
No matter how I desert, I can’t escape because my family is left behind… If you ask to surrender, you will be branded a ‘traitor’ and beheaded along with your family in a guilt-by-association system without a mouse or a bird knowing.
I would rather not be distracted if a battle breaks out, but the enemy will throw an untimely party, eating meat and alcohol on a fictitious day, with our serfs dragged from outside the castle.
How and how long can the Orléans soldiers survive in the worst environment in a war where life and death are at stake?
Meanwhile, in the Duchy of Orléans, under siege by my direct corps…
“Damn it! Mom! Dad! I want to go back to town!! I would rather die of hunger without wanting to eat even a single piece of meat than starve to death. I also have meat… I mean, I don’t know how to eat meat.
Ciel von Kreutel You bastard! No, Your Majesty the King. Here comes a lowly serf, so please accept the surrender! And give me a piece of meat before I die!”
When I looked in the direction of the sound, a soldier wearing several layers of worn-out clothes and no gear was running, screaming recklessly.
It’s only about 400 meters from the wall to the camp where our soldiers are, but isn’t that too reckless?
The soldiers under my command or the people I still need to protect are not, but I hope that they will survive since they surrendered on a humanitarian level.
No, if that guy who deserts during the day survives and joins us, he’ll be a good totem that lowers the enemy’s morale, so I hope he stays alive…
One of the knights who saw it drew his sword and shouted loudly.
“Unholy, he is a traitor who openly deserts in broad daylight. Shoot and kill immediately!!”
The soldier who was deserting heard those words and poured out all his energy from sucking on his breast, moving his feet and running towards our camp.
As a result, we narrowly avoided the arrows fired by the soldiers standing guard on the wall, and finally arrived in front of the soldiers standing guard on our side.
Soldiers who had been on guard late at night for several days ago took advantage of the weakened surveillance and deserted thanks to the darkness.
Seeing that, I often jokingly said to the officers around me, ‘Isn’t that why even the soldiers who stood guard during the day deserted?’…
I thought a lot when I saw a guy who actually deserted or ran away during the day like that.
It is not natural to feel guilty because it did not openly massacre like war criminal countries or countries that committed hateful crimes during World War II.
No, I don’t mind the death of my enemies, except for war crimes such as killing civilians, rape, and needless looting.
If I’m reluctant and try to minimize the enemy’s damage, it’s just heartbreaking to see a soldier who believes in me and follows me die.
However, if you use a strategy that inflicts pain as if drying the opponent to death, you will minimize the loss of life of allies and enemies.
In this way, you can secure more population when occupying the territory. In this era, more population means more labor force and greater national power.
So, as a monarch and on a personal level, I like fighting in this direction the most.
Apart from this, I don’t enjoy killing, so I thought it would be better if less people died.
To lose morale to the point of deserting in broad daylight at the risk of being killed by allies in a normal combat situation… I have to kill 30% of the enemy’s troops, so my soldiers have no choice but to die to some extent.
In this siege, a lot of money and goods were lost, but no one was killed except for the enemy dukes and titled vassals. Didn’t this situation worsen?
If they collapse even a second faster, the time the enemy suffers will decrease and the consumption of supplies will be drastically reduced.
As I was lost in my thoughts, an officer came up to me and asked.
“Your Highness, it seems that the number of enemy soldiers deserting in broad daylight will increase in the future. Would you support desertion like soldiers deserting late at night?”
It’s a matter of course, but the morale drop of a soldier who deserts at night is different from the impact of a hero who openly runs away from enemy lines during the day.
So, the way to end the war quickly is to apply more than that and let them know that they can safely surrender even if they desert during the day.
“Let it be. However, if you find a soldier trying to desert to scare the enemy, mobilize a sniper and blow off the heads of the knights controlling them.
Then, the other guys around will think, ‘Let’s go under Her Majesty Kreutel and find the light!’ If the number of soldiers deserting in this way gradually increases, the morale of the enemy will be very low.”
Then the officer standing in front of me said with an embarrassed expression.
“No matter how loyal I am to Your Highness… If the soldiers start deserting over the walls in groups, they will consider surrendering. Even more so, if the lord to serve is also dead… “
He had a look on his face that made him devastated just to imagine that I was going to die.
I don’t know anything about him except for the rank of officer in front of me, but I could tell what he thought of me.
Looking at it, I felt a little bit encouraged because I thought that my journey thus far was not in vain.
“Yes, you will just want to give it all up. No, I think that those who do not give up in such a situation are strangely loyal.
However, the enemy in there is in a position to suffer it, and we are in a position to drive it into that situation. Never mind. As of now, organize snipers in groups of 5 and have them patrolling about 250 meters from the wall.
And order them to provide cover for those attempting to desert.”
“Yes, I understand.”
After saying that, the officer quietly stepped back from me and went around giving orders to the other soldiers.
Meanwhile, the soldiers of our camp mingled with deserters and chores from Orléans Castle, continuing to eat and drink wine and meat, singing and dancing.
“Our~ village~ Beatrice, my beloved girl! I wanted to hold your hand once.”
“That bastard can’t sing dirty. Hey, stop calling and punish me or drink!”
“You are punishing me for being a sergeant. Next time you get caught, I’ll pour you a big glass.”
Also, from the enemy castle wall, which was only about 400 meters away, the sound of the soldiers agitated at the sight of what was happening could be heard.
“Hey, isn’t this why we have to desert too? No family members are held hostage anyway.”
“Ha… What are you really doing? The war is over anyway.”
“Huh? I… The crazy guy over there goes down the rope. Catch that bastard!”
It’s normal to not even talk during the guard, but since it’s been over a month since the enemy hasn’t invaded, the tension has eased enough.
Since there are no CCTVs here to monitor soldiers standing guard like Korea, it is easier to talk and run away.
However, it takes time to go down the castle wall by rope, and the knight found him in the middle and shouted.
“Kill that bastard! It’s a deserter!! Bow right now… “
The knight who supervised the soldiers standing guard nearby couldn’t speak any further.
Because the sniper I had placed shot the head of a knight who was commanding ordinary soldiers on the wall.
The knight who had his head pierced collapsed without even being able to cry out, and some of the remaining soldiers who saw it quickly hung a rope on the wall and began to descend.
He must have thought that if it were not for this opportunity, he would not be able to safely desert.
So, 5 or 6 soldiers safely formed a group and deserted and surrendered to us.
Today alone, more than 50 soldiers deserted while standing guard.