I Became a Genius Commander at the Academy - Chapter 73

EP.73

“Damn Ludvik, after the famine the year before last, he randomly killed the surrounding tribes and plundered food to survive, just as the Chief of Staff had predicted. While the barbarians were fighting and blocking each other, the attackers killed all of those who were blocking. However, Ludvik also attacked as an attacker and lost many soldiers, so he only succeeded in expanding his territory, and his military power was greatly weakened compared to before.”

If you hear this much, you might be mistaken in thinking that the empire will be safe in the future because the military power of the nomadic warchief named Ludvik has weakened.

no. This is not a very good situation for the Reich Empire.

Because the barbarians were divided into several groups and attacked the empire, even though Ludvik boasted of great power within it.

If the remaining weaker tribes attack Ludvik’s base and territory, he will lose his place to return and will not be able to dare to attack the Reich Empire.

If there are no hostile forces around him and he succeeds in occupying a large territory, it is because of human greed that if he gains one thing, he wants to gain another.

It becomes like a large bomb that may explode at any moment. That’s the problem.

“The good news is that the Chief of Staff provided weapons and minimal food to the weaker tribes to unite them, so even if the Ludviks succeeded in unifying them, the damage they suffered was not significant. “Compared to two years ago, the number of warriors seems to have decreased by about 20%.”

Losing 20% of the troops in one war is equivalent to being on the verge of annihilation, so he probably wants to live quietly for the next few years.

To restore one’s strength and build up the strength to one day take control of Sweden or the northern part of the Reich Empire.

“Still, he has 10,000 cavalry and 30,000 infantry. On the other hand, we have 5,000 knights and 50,000 infantry. “If Ludvik’s tribe attacks, we have enough power to stop them or win in an all-out war, but we are not enough to completely prevent his marauding troops from attacking in the meantime to replenish the food shortage.”

This is because a considerable number of castles and walls were built for the purpose of defending the Köppenhavn Peninsula and the northern border of the Reich Empire.

Because the area was so large, it was impossible to surround the entire border with a wall, so these men, who traveled up to a hundred kilometers a day on horseback, made up their minds and formed a marauding force of about a thousand men to break through the siege and invade the northern part of our empire. It’s not that difficult to make a mess.

In Joseon, during the Manchu War, there was a case where only 300 men rode horses from Liaodong to Ganghwa Island, broke through all defense lines, and imprisoned King Injo in Namhansanseong Fortress.

“If that happens, the empire will be forced into a situation where it will have to give up its northern territory in the worst case. No matter how much food, weapons, and armor are provided from all parts of the empire to protect the north, it is impossible to protect a place that has been completely devastated.”

After saying that, the corps commander slammed the desk and said,

“As the head of the Earl of Northenburg family, I cannot allow such a shitty thing to happen while I am protecting the North. This is the situation now. If we continue like this, you will receive dishonorable retirement and I will have my head blown off for not being able to protect the frontier. So, just a moment ago, I called in commanders above the battalion commander and discussed countermeasures, but half of them were bullshit and half were vague.”

More than 30% of the people coming here as battalion commanders are graduates of the General Staff College, and the fact that even their plans are being criticized seems to mean that the situation is quite serious.

“According to what I heard from the President of the Staff College, the reason Ludvik’s power was suppressed to this extent was because the plan you came up with was effective. I was looking forward to it when I heard that you were here. So hurry up and say what you think.”

I told you to just speak comfortably. It sounds like they will not sit still unless they come up with a proper strategy.

“We must review strategies to eliminate fundamental problems in advance before it escalates into a more serious and large-scale war. “Before that, I would like to know the quantity and quality of food and supplies delivered to soldiers these days.”

Offensive Expedition Destruction Defense Considering all types of military maneuvers, a man who thinks about winning a single battle cannot achieve a strategic victory.

Because even if you kill all the enemies and there is no one to fight against the land, you will have no choice but to return home when you run out of food.

In the worst case, if I cannot maintain the land I conquered with my blood due to lack of supplies, I will have no choice but to return the territory to the enemy.

A representative example was the nine northeastern provinces learned in Korean history.

As he was a corps commander, he seemed to understand the importance of supply, and Lieutenant General Nordenburg answered willingly.

“They said that because of the new supply base policy you proposed, those who stand guard in company units at the front lines of the fortress can now eat their fill without having to hunt or do anything else. Also, in our fortress, the proportion of food purchased and supplied locally has decreased to about 5-10%.”

What I wrote about in the paper I submitted, a method still used today, was to put as few types of weapons, food, and armor as possible into standardized boxes and move them around.

Although this may not seem like a big deal, assuming that roughly a cartload of flour is recorded in the documents.

When providing flour, if you send a medium-sized cart, each person has different standards for how many kilograms of flour are contained in that medium-sized cart.

What if 500 kg of flour is loaded into a medium-sized cart at headquarters, but it is considered full at about 400 kg at a stopover point?

And there were many cases where non-commissioned officers and soldiers in charge of transporting food, and sometimes even junior officers, took advantage of this to take advantage of it.

On paper, it clearly states that one cart of flour will arrive, so it comes without error, but 100 kg of flour disappears in the middle.

However, if sealing paper is attached to the box standardized by the headquarters, it cannot be opened without permission. This is because the number and kg of each item in the box are determined.

If you steal something from it, it will be revealed quickly. Moreover, if you build a warehouse, you can take it out of the warehouse right away when you need a lot of food and weapons at once, such as in an emergency.

“Then, the operation I would like to propose is for the Northern Army to attack the Ludvik tribe’s base when their power is relatively weakened, kill them, and take over their territory.”

“…It’s a bit big. Do you think it’s okay?”

“Anyway, if the Northern Army cannot root out the Ludviks and occupy their territory, the empire will continue to live with great worry. “Don’t you know?”

As they say, even if we fight hard and completely annihilate the Ludvik tribe and overcome the crisis of the empire.

When the territory occupied by Ludvik becomes empty, other nomadic barbarians move in and form a force.

The Swedes may attack, saying that this is an opportunity to greatly expand their territory, and a situation may arise where the Reich Imperial Army does the trick and the Swedes eat the good stuff.

“Furthermore, if we properly prepare beef jerky and biscuits that are easy to preserve and transport for a long period of time by creating a warehouse in an appropriate location in the area occupied by our imperial army, as I suggested, the supply problem to maintain the new occupied territory will be solved to some extent.”

Anyway, the tactic we will adopt this time is a scorched earth operation, so any soldiers who truly resist will have to be killed, if possible.

Captive soldiers, women, and children who gave up resistance would become slaves or be dispersed to the warmer regions of the empire and live as serfs.

Because if you leave it here, you never know when it might rebel or turn into a resistant barbarian like Ludvik.

Then, most of the new people who come to settle in this empty area due to the death or departure of the nomads who lived here will be the second or third sons or daughters of serfs who do not even receive land to cultivate.

Because it’s in the north, it’s very cold from late fall, but the climate in spring and summer is really good, so it’s the best land for farming wheat and barley.

This will be something that the Crown Prince and other competent administrators will suggest, not me, but since I am the one who laid the foundation, I will be rewarded unofficially.

In any case, if this strategy, which I proposed when I came to the Northern Army as a regiment commander, is accepted, the empire will either hit the jackpot or hit the jackpot depending on my proposal.

“As long as we can maintain the occupied area, Lieutenant General, you will be promoted to captain or even marshal for successfully leading this expedition.”

Well, out of the 10 captains, only 1 is promoted to marshal, so it will take a long time.

If you have the merit of killing a barbarian who is a source of concern to the empire and taking over his territory, they will make you a marshal the day before you leave office, even if you become a general who only keeps his position afterwards.

When my desire was stimulated, the corps commander looked back at my achievements and medals so far, nodded, and said.

“I haven’t asked other generals or regiment commanders yet, so I can’t adopt it right away. Of all the ones I’ve heard so far, I think the strategy you mentioned is the best. You had a hard time coming this far. Rest well here today. “Leave for the 24th Regiment’s garrison tomorrow.”

And the next day, the Northern Army Corps Commander delivered an order to the 24th Regiment.

[The Töner tribe under Ludwig plundered the area near Flensburg. Retaliate thoroughly.]

In order to succeed in the scorched earth operation, we must first scare Ludvik. That’s good, if you turn the place where the Töner children live into a wasteland. Instead of being subjected to the bait-and-switch tactics they love so much, we could rip them out of their mouths.

See next episode