EP.147
The next day, the Reich 7th Division command barracks.
In this currently empty barracks, I slammed the innocent desk and shouted.
“What the f*ck! Why did I get caught in this bullshit trick of a double agent? “At most, I thought it was 4,000 before I joined and fought with His Highness the Crown Prince!”
Of course, if it’s 9,000 to 8,000, compared to the fight in Hattin Forest, the situation is much better now.
The fact that Count Bern, whom we built trust by communicating with the Reich Empire over several years, was actually a double agent means that the strategy we had established itself evaporated into thin air.
If we were to assume the worst, our imperial army was in danger of being annihilated by the hands of Swiss idiots.
However, in life, only bad things happen and only good things never happen.
“If I had chosen an easier route to march, our 7th Division could have been annihilated by now. Perhaps Count Ticino would have camped near Lindenhof Hill and defend it like an iron wall, and he might even have prepared a detachment to attack us while we were struggling.”
If that had happened, our division would have suffered damage close to annihilation or been annihilated.
However, we somehow succeeded in avoiding such a situation, and we faced each other on the Jungfrau Plain. If our army was victorious here, the entire army would gather under His Highness the Crown Prince and fight.
The morale of the Swiss soldiers will drop to the ground.
As I calmed down and sat down, the officers who had entered the barracks and were only watching me looked at me with worried expressions and asked.
“Director, are you okay now?”
“There’s no way it’s going to be okay. I feel sick to my stomach. However, I feel like Count Ticino would be very happy if I die from a vase here, so I can’t die even if I want to. So even if I die, I will destroy all those damn Swiss bandits and die.”
“So do we. “I plan to avenge my grudge for trying to put the 7th Division in a corner.”
All the officers who said that ground their teeth while thinking about the evil Swiss guys.
I unfolded the map of the Jungfrau Plain drawn by the scouts, then placed the wooden horses symbolizing the imperial army on the map and spoke.
“Count Ticino’s army is 9,000, and there are 8,000 soldiers in our 7th Division, so there is not much difference in numbers. “I think it is very likely that the Swiss and our troops will fight head-on in an all-out war.”
And what follows will be a very standard battle.
In other words, crossbowmen and wizards stand at the forefront and fire arrows and magic towards the opponents, gradually reducing their numbers.
The two armies slowly approached while fiercely withstanding each other’s long-distance attacks.
Then, when the distance gets closer, the wizards and crossbowmen who attack from a distance will move to the rear and attack the enemy with howitzers.
In the end, there will be hand-to-hand combat between infantry soldiers using spears and swords.
“Like this, the fight will become more and more confusing, like falling into mud. These guys, who can be said to be the best on the Europa continent in terms of their infantry abilities and capabilities, are trying to win the infantry battle. “We will do our best to cause great damage to our infantry at the front.”
When this happens, when a person is extremely focused on one thing, they become unable to notice even if someone calls them or something big happens around them.
You become very vulnerable to attacks from knights or archers coming from directions other than the battle with the infantry facing you from the front, which is where you focus.
This is because both the defensive and offensive power of the infantry square are concentrated at the front.
If the knights take advantage of this opportunity and attack the flanks of the infantry, they can, with a little bit of exaggeration, collapse the formation like cutting tofu with a kitchen knife…
“For the Swiss infantry, mainly composed of highly trained mercenaries, simply attacking the flanks is not enough. It will be difficult to inflict significant damage. Therefore, we will divert the archers and knights to the enemy’s rear and attack the enemy crossbowmen and wizards.”
The reason for doing this is that no matter how powerful the Swiss infantry is, it is only the soldiers holding polearms such as halberds or long spears that can inflict significant damage in a head-to-head match with the knights.
This is because crossbowmen and wizards, even with their combined strength, do not have the defense power to stop a chunk of steel weighing more than several hundred kilograms.
In addition, since both knights and archers use hit-and-run tactics, the Swiss ground dogs cannot provide timely support no matter how much they fly or crawl.
Archers and knights can effectively block the enemy’s long-distance support without suffering much damage, and can instill anxiety in the Swiss infantry that their rear is being attacked.
“Chief, but the enemy outnumbers us, so why not set up an ambush for the soldiers in the forest? We need countermeasures.”
Those guys are definitely the ones who sneaked into the forest last time and raided our campsite.
Although I say they suffered a huge blow thanks to my thorough preparation.
Just as the saying goes that a criminal always returns to the scene of a crime and that a thief never lets go of his habits, the Swiss bandits will once again try to ambush their soldiers in the forest.
So, when I looked at the officer who made the suggestion and nodded, he spoke impassionedly as if he thought this was an opportunity to catch my eye.
“So, why don’t we take some of our troops out to watch the forest next to us? “I think that even if we allocate just two battalions, we can prevent a situation where our flanks are attacked while defenseless.”
As the officer said, I think it would be a very good strategy to allocate troops to secretly wait in the forest and prevent a surprise attack on our infantry at a critical time.
It’s okay if you can’t predict that the enemy will come.
If you expect a surprise attack force to plunge a sword into your side, you will naturally have to thoroughly defend your side as well.
But in this situation, wouldn’t it be better to pretend to show them an opening and lure them into a trap rather than splitting up the infantry?
“It’s definitely a good operation. “But I have a slightly better idea.”
“What kind of operation is this?”
“If they want to gain the upper hand in a surprise attack, wouldn’t they have no choice but to attack right near our division?”
This is inevitable because the commanders of our unit, including me, are not stupid and stupid, so we can prepare for unexpected surprise attacks.
There are always scouts and messengers nearby to find out whether the enemy is approaching or not.
There would be no reason to risk getting caught by starting from a forest far away from the 7th Division and increasing the distance traveled to a plain with a clear view.
“So isn’t it like we already know where they are going to come from?”
“That’s right.”
Then I pointed with my baton in the direction of the forest and said,
“So, we will show the enemy that our flanks are defenseless and lure them in a strange way. We will continue to send reconnaissance units into the forest on the side of the unit to monitor and check the movements of the idiotic Swiss hillbillies. And then!”
I will move the wizards towards the forest next to our unit in advance.
“I plan to fire a barrage of fireballs and flaming arrows at the time they arrive and burn the enemy soldiers to the ground.”
Well, it’s not like burning dry wood, so it’s unlikely that the Swiss soldiers will burn to death like Zhuge Reson’s Battle of Red Cliffs.
At the very least, as the leaves and trees burn, a huge amount of smoke will be released, and those who come for a surprise attack will have no choice but to run away to avoid suffocation.
The Swiss infantry, suddenly blinded by smoke, would suspect that they had been caught in the fire.
Then, of course, the enemy will be embarrassed by unexpected situations and the fear of fire hidden in his instincts.
“Our soldiers, who already know that fire will break out and smoke will rise, are planning to shout this to the enemy soldiers who are shocked and confused by the sudden smoke. ‘The Reichs ambushed the flank of the Swiss army!’”
Of course, we have no intention of splitting up our units and ambushing the Swiss soldiers through the forest paths.
In a chaotic situation where you can’t see well because of the smoke, it would take a long time for them to realize that we didn’t set up an ambush.
“Then the enemy will fall into confusion, and we will not miss the opportunity and increase our momentum to launch an all-out attack and slaughter the enemy infantry.”
See next episode