I Became a Genius Commander at the Academy - Chapter 141
EP.141
In this way, the Swiss Expeditionary Force advanced towards their respective areas, and our 7th Division also advanced, gradually taking over the Ticino Canton as instructed.
What I see now is the beautiful scenery of Switzerland that seems to have been copied exactly from the picture.
On the right, there are tall trees standing thickly, and on the left, there are mountains with beautiful lines that stand as high as sheer and show off the majesty of the ice caps. A mysterious azure lake appears from time to time, and a clear stream flows along the valley.
Personally, it was so beautiful that I would like to go on a family trip here with Laura and my soon-to-be-born baby if I ever take a long vacation.
Maybe that’s why the soldiers and officers also opened their hearts to this peaceful and leisurely beautiful scenery, relaxed a little and started chatting.
“Boss, when I earn a lot of money and get discharged, I want to set up a newlywed home here with Maria.”
“I will be discharged from the military in two years, and I feel like I should bring my damn wife, get married, and take her on a trip I’ve never been able to do before. “The water is clear and the air is good.”
“I really envy the Swiss people who live in places like this. “The air is nice and the mountains are nice.”
When I heard that, two thoughts came to my mind.
The first is that throughout history, whether in the modern era or the Middle Ages, if you lived in a place with nice mountains and clear water, you suffered really badly.
This is because good mountains mean that transportation is inconvenient, and for people on the Europa continent who mainly live by farming, it means that there is a severe lack of farmland for cultivation, which is directly related to the problem of difficulty making a living.
The second is that, no matter what, there is always a very high possibility that something will happen when tension is released like this.
Well, contrary to expectations, nothing may happen.
Wherever you look, you can often see forests or rough terrain suitable for ambushing at least 100 troops in the Ticino canton of the Principality of Switzerland.
Count Ticino, who rules such a place, would naturally try to launch a surprise operation using geographical features to tie us up.
While I was driving the horse, lost in thought, Anya, who had taken the role of adjutant next to me in place of Laura, came up to me and asked.
“Director, do you have any concerns? “If there is anything I can do to help, I will do my best.”
I answered those words with a serious expression.
“No, it’s not that big of a deal. “I just started thinking a little more.”
“Director, you are Anastasia Kergit’s benefactor and hero. So, I am happy to answer any question, even if it is a personal question.”
“Okay, this might be a little rude, but can I ask you something?”
Instead of answering that question with a yes, I nodded my head in agreement.
“The White Wolf tribe also often attacked the upper reaches of Sweden, right? “Like other northerners.”
Asking Anya, who was a lieutenant colonel of the empire and even received a knighthood, about her time as a northern barbarian could be a bit of a remark that has crossed the line.
In particular, the story of attacking an intact merchant is considered a crime in the empire, even though it may not be known among nomadic peoples.
Although it is rude to ask her this in itself.
“It used to be like that. “I had no choice but to make a living.”
“I see, then it would be nice if you could answer my question based on your experience at the time.”
“Yes, Chief.”
And after hesitating for a moment, I asked.
“It looks like Count Ticino of Switzerland is going to ambush our division. “Based on your past experience, does it seem like a surprise attack on our division could be successful?”
“It’s about half and half. Aren’t you avoiding the rough roads as much as possible and only going back to the ones that are difficult to attack? However, I can see places here and there that look good for ambushes.”
“If that is true, the enemy will attempt a surprise attack when the 7th Division is likely to relax and inflict a heavy blow.”
Moreover, the reason our division was so relaxed and tolerated noise during the march was because they strategically judged that there would only be one large-scale battle in the County of Ticino.
We are dispatching archers and other scouts to places such as forests and mountains along our route to search for them as much as possible, but we have not yet been able to find any evidence that the enemy is hiding a large number of troops.
Therefore, in this situation, if you think about it with common sense, you can say that there is still no element of surprise.
If you think about it conversely, it is common sense that unpredictable variables always occur on the battlefield.
Moreover, our empire has not sent troops to Switzerland in nearly 200 years, so no matter how much we try to find out in detail by sending scouts.
It is difficult to identify all the side roads that only the people of the Principality of Switzerland know about, as well as good places to set up soldiers in ambush.
All of these circumstances tell us only one thing.
“Considering Count Ticino’s tendencies and the situation we are in, he will definitely come to ambush our 7th Division in the next few days. “I need to prepare.”
That’s right, when I was fighting on the Rhineland front, I successfully launched a surprise attack in an unexpected place.
As a result, there was a time when a division was overturned with only about 100 soldiers.
Moreover, although no group movements have been detected around here yet, it seems quite possible for Count Ticino to ambush us if he wants to.
In addition, the Principality of Switzerland even has a record of winning a complete victory by surprising the imperial army in the Battle of Morgen, which took place over 200 years ago.
We can’t forget the taste we had before and will definitely come to attack us.
After consolidating my thoughts, I called the messengers nearby and gave an order.
“As of this time, all knights are to dismount from their horses, put on breastplates, foot and shinguards, and carry halberds carried by infantrymen. In addition, soldiers wear armor and march ready to fight the enemy at any time.”
It may seem awkward for a soldier on the battlefield to march fully unarmed, but the majority of medieval armies originally rarely marched fully armed.
This is because the armor worn by knights alone weighs 20kg, and the armor worn by soldiers usually weighs over 10kg, making it very heavy.
I had to wear that armor and walk 30km every day for days, maybe even months.
Even if they manage to hold out for up to a week or two, if it goes beyond that, there are cases where the soldiers collapse from exhaustion.
Usually, when marching, they often put their armor on a wagon, wore only their combat uniform, and marched with their weapons in hand.
“In addition, all soldiers are asked to wear capes to protect themselves from the cold because it is cold.”
Another reason for doing this is to protect the soldiers from the cold.
But the real purpose is to hide even the slightest appearance that we are properly armed.
Then they are likely to think like this before ambushing us.
‘Those bastards are walking comfortably without even thinking that the soldiers of the Principality of Switzerland are nearby.’
“Also, to maintain the soldiers’ physical strength, we exclude three major breaks at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and a 10-minute break every two hours. Considering that I will be moving around wearing armor, I will take another large break before lunch and dinner. At this time, soldiers who are not on guard will be ordered to stop marching and take a nap on the road.”
If you increase the rest time like this, the distance you can march will decrease, but the amount of physical strength consumed will also decrease.
In addition, the enemy will lower their level of alert by saying that there are crazy people who even take a nap while marching because they cannot be seen.
They will probably try to carry out surprise operations more actively.
“Finally, today we will march in the normal formation like this, but starting tomorrow, we will reorganize and march with one cavalry platoon and one infantry platoon. Disseminate orders to all units, and as soon as the delivery is complete, stop marching and put on armor first. Then immediately spread the order throughout the division.”
If you mix knights and infantry into platoons, there will be approximately 37 people, and this is the minimum number of people that can be defended even if attacked from any direction.
In other words, we will be able to take advantage of the Swiss bastards’ plan to throw our division into chaos through a surprise attack.
And the messenger immediately began to convey my orders to the commanders of each unit, and I immediately put on my armor.
“As soon as all the armor is put on, we will march at the normal marching speed! “March for two hours, eat dinner, and set up camp!”
If I do this for a few days, I think it will come quickly.
Will I be able to catch it properly?
See next episode