288 – The Great War of Bohemia (4)
A few days after suppressing the rumors spread by Matthias, a scout reported that the distance from the enemy army was only about a day’s walk.
On the night of hearing the news, all the nobles belonging to the first princess faction gathered together and began a meeting to prepare for the final battle.
Although Maria was young, she led the meeting, showing her monarch-like charisma as always.
“Before discussing how to fight against the enemy, I will now tell you the information obtained from our scouts.”
On the battlefield, a commander’s ignorance is a sin.
If you charge without knowing how many enemies there are and then get surrounded and die, or if you run with all your might without calculating how far away the enemy is and cause the soldiers to exhaust themselves before they fight, or if you don’t know if there is food left in the enemy territory. If a soldier invades the state and starves to death due to lack of supplies, all fault and responsibility lies entirely with the commander.
War is about ethics, morality, and nothing else, and the loser is unconditionally bad.
‘Winning is justice.’
“Contrary to our expectations, there are over 90,000 troops under Matthias.”
There are more than expected, but compared to the soldiers we mobilized, the number is slightly smaller, so we are not outnumbered…
This is now Mathias’ territory, so considering that he knows the geography of this place well, our troops may be at a slight disadvantage.
When the nobles heard those words, their expressions darkened slightly.
“Our troops may be slightly larger, but since this is enemy territory, they should know the geography of this place better than we do… This has become very difficult.”
“Still, we are not at a disadvantage. “Isn’t the most important fact that their morale is low?”
“It is worth a try, but we must not let our guard down.”
This is my own calculation, but if you look at the win rate in the current situation, the ally is 49 and the enemy is 51.
Originally, I came with a relaxed mind, expecting about 60% friendly forces and 40% enemy forces.
It’s a bit disconcerting that the premise is broken, but isn’t it true that nothing in life always goes as planned?
“Still, according to what the scouts said, the enemy’s morale is very low. It seems that they had been urging their soldiers by threatening that they would lose everything if they lost this war, but during the march they found out that we were coming here and distributing food to the territory, and because of that, they lost their motivation to fight. “It seems to have worked.”
Whether now or then, there is only one reason why soldiers fight with swords, spears, and guns.
‘To protect one’s family and property.’
If not for this, why would you fight while throwing away your only life?
So, in any era, commanders such as generals and officers say these words.
If we are defeated here, our hometown will be devastated, our elderly parents and young children will be brutally murdered, and our wives and younger sisters will die while being used as s*x toys.
But even though our army plundered, they came back and gave us food, and they saved the lives of the people living here without harming them at all from the beginning… There is no way the soldiers would want to fight.
If they can return with their lives saved, the person who controls them will change from Matthias to Maria anyway, and other than that, there will be no change in their daily lives.
“And the place where we will encounter the enemy is expected to be Hamlet Plain. From now on, each of you can freely say what you think.”
“I think it would be better to fight on flat ground. The morale of the enemies is very low, so if we fight head-on, they will be pushed back quickly.”
“Count Sauer, what you think makes sense. “Our troops have a larger number of troops and the enemy’s morale is low, so a simple head-to-head battle with the fewest variables would be fine.”
At those words, Count Sauer snorted and spoke excitedly.
“Isn’t a standard strategy the best tactic? Especially in times like now!”
I think I understand why they are so overly excited.
I guess he wants to play an active role in this war and gain a solid position so that he, the future husband of the Empress, can’t be purged without permission even if I am offended.
‘If you wanted to put in the effort, you should have just come to me and stabbed me in the head…’
And the head-to-head strategy he proposed is very ineffective in the current situation.
“Your Highness, now is the time to play with the enemy rather than fight head-on.”
Maria tilted her head when she heard me.
“This is enemy territory, so our troops are at a geographical disadvantage. But how are you going to play with your enemies?”
The enemy will know the geography of this place well.
The enemy must have thousands of soldiers from the local area.
However, in war, just knowing geography well does not necessarily give you an advantage.
“First, take a small number of elites and continue to sporadically launch surprise attacks on the enemy’s main force. If you do that, your allies will not be able to inflict significant damage to the enemy, but you will be able to continuously reduce the enemy’s numbers and further lower the enemy’s morale, which is already low.”
What determines the outcome of a war is the morale of the soldiers.
And that morale depends on whether or not the soldiers believe they can win this war…
What if you make people who have no intention of fighting fall into the misconception that they are being beaten one-sidedly, even if it means only minimal damage?
‘You will fall into the illusion that you will never win.’
Marquis Schweig asked.
“Good idea. However, if you are going to make a surprise attack like that, you should do it when the distance to the enemy is wider. Wouldn’t it be meaningless to do it when the distance to the enemy is small like now?”
After hearing those words, I dragged the wooden horse symbolizing our allies to the back of this plain.
“Our army surprises and ravages the enemy with a small number of units, while retreating at the same time. This will allow you to gain distance from your enemy and create a few more surprise attacks. And as far as I know, Mathias is a very impatient person, so if he sees our troops retreating and continuing to attack with small units, he will think this way. “I don’t know what it is, but Her Majesty’s army is at a disadvantage and is retreating, so we need to hurry up and fight.”
Maria listened to me and nodded her head.
“Mathias has always been impatient. Moreover, their army’s morale is extremely low. So even if they get the feeling that we are luring them, they will have no choice but to follow. Otherwise, the unit’s morale will completely drop and the battle itself will become difficult.”
If the morale of the army is completely low, a miracle can occur where 5-10% of the soldiers evaporate every time they open their eyes.
If that happens, the remaining soldiers will think that they have had enough of this war, and if they risk their lives fighting and are about to die, they will start thinking about putting down their spears and surrendering when they encounter the enemy.
If we advise them that they will not harm us if we surrender now, they will be afraid of the commander holding a sword behind them and will try to force them to fight, but they will see an opportunity and try to surrender somehow.
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Even if there are tens or tens of thousands of such people, it is not scary at all.
‘If you take the knights and kill about 100 of them with one blow, they will disperse on their own.’
Mathias will know this well, so he will follow along while crying to avoid the worst.
“I think it would be a good idea to set up a trap, such as a wooden fence, about three days away from here and lure them there. In the meantime, I will try to break their morale as much as possible.”
“Can you do it?”
“All you need are a few elite knights, a wizard who can ride a horse, and an archer.”
Anyway, it will just sneak up and hit you in the back.
If they come after me, it will be a series of running away and telling them to catch me.
So, there is nothing too difficult.
Ah, it would be nice to have more trustworthy people…
We should take Dalton with us too.
‘This battle will be the last war, so we should give them a chance to increase their territory.’
“Please place Baron Maurer under my command. “I have been working with him for a long time, so I think it will be of great help if we go together during a surprise operation.”
“It’s not that difficult. “How many troops do you need?”
“About 300 people are enough.”
There was no original intention to annihilate the enemy by carrying out a surprise operation, so that was just the right amount.
“I will authorize you to take Baron Maurer and his troops, and if necessary, even knights and wizards under my direct command. “I hope other nobles will actively cooperate with Viscount Cologne.”
“Thank you.”
This time she looked around at the other nobles and spoke.
“As Viscount Cologne said, we decide to retreat back slowly. Separately, each noble must first select soldiers and send them to the plain, which will be the battlefield. “We have to build a trap.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Maria drew her sword, raised it to the sky, and shouted.
“This war will be the last civil war of the Rhine Palatinate Empire. “I hope everyone will do their best to bring peace to the empire as soon as possible.”