EP.261
And two weeks later, Gdnia Castle on the west coast of Warsaw.
After giving orders to disperse our expeditionary force into divisions and take over the western coastal area on the Glopino Plain, I led one of the divisions and headed toward Gdnia Castle.
As I expected, there were no soldiers inside the castle that could be called soldiers wearing matching, worn-out armor, let alone soldiers wearing proper armor.
To put it bluntly, the soldiers who were protecting the city’s security were gone, so a vigilante-like organization was roughly guarding the walls instead.
As soon as I told them to surrender and open the gates, the influential people leading those who remained in the castle of Gthnia immediately expressed their intention to surrender.
In addition, there were reports that the divisions dispatched to other western coastal areas had slight differences in the process, but the results were that all gates were opened without resistance.
But a sigh came out of my mouth.
“Captain, are you unwell? “Your face looks a little off.”
I responded by waving my hand.
“No, Vincent. “If I wasn’t feeling well, would your sister next to me have stayed still?”
As I just said, there is nothing wrong with my body.
However, the atrocities committed by the damned Grand Duchy of Warsaw’s army when they were emptying the castle were so outrageous that it made me feel annoyed and sigh.
If you read my thoughts, those bastards who took all the nobles of Warsaw and ran away without leaving a single soldier in this castle will say this.
‘This is a clear field tactic, you Peter Yeager! If you feel unfair, don’t occupy other people’s land!’
The cowardly bastards confiscated almost all of the people’s food until next year’s harvest and ran away.
Strategically and tactically, that is correct, but I thought that if the Archduke of Warsaw was planning to engage in politics in the future, he would not go to this extent to maintain his image at least…
“I am glad that you do not have any major problems with your body. As you know well, please keep in mind that your body is not yours alone. “I would like to earnestly request this from the captain, who is an officer in the secretariat of the expeditionary force commander and personally my brother-in-law.”
Charlotte nodded and agreed with Vincent’s words.
As far as I know, it is a tradition dating back to the Paleolithic era for younger brothers and older sisters to bicker with each other, but why on earth do they get along so well in this family?
After lightening the mood through small talk, I asked Vincent.
“I asked you to come and see the situation in Gdnia Castle as an imperial soldier. What is the public sentiment toward the imperial army?”
“I don’t feel very good about the imperial army because you plundered the western coastal area and burned villages last time. “It is said that in the back alleys, there were often people trying to form groups to chase out the Reich troops.”
“What if we beat or kill citizen serfs who show resistance to us for no reason just because public sentiment is evil? “According to the unit’s own inspection, I reported that there were no crazy people disobeying my orders because I had threatened to apply military discipline so strictly.”
“It seems that those who do not comply with legitimate control are threatened with swords or those who are too rebellious are struck several times with sticks. However, judging by the rumors in the back alleys of crazy acts such as pulling out a sword and killing the natives of this castle or raping and plundering…”
“It seems that everyone is following the control well.”
When I entered the castle of Gdenia, the first thing I instructed my soldiers to do was not to use unnecessary violence.
He even warned that if excessive suppression was discovered, he would personally punish them by military law.
Naturally, this order also applied to other divisions under my command that maintained security in other cities.
In this world, where there is no medieval manly culture and no human rights for prisoners, it is a strange world where you are praised by the bards for being truly good if you do not rape or kill the residents of the occupied territory and steal half of their wealth.
I wonder if I, who banned the abuse and killing of civilians according to the Geneva Conventions in line with the standards of the 21st century, may seem like an idiot.
In a situation where the people’s sentiment is not good due to the plundering of coastal villages, if blood is shed for no reason, something like a mass uprising by the residents could occur. That is why this measure was taken.
Seeing that the soldiers are following my orders well, I guess we won’t have to see one of the West Coast cities suddenly set on fire by rebels.
I gave Vincent 2 silver for his hard work and said,
“You worked hard, you worked on holidays, so this is the holiday work pay I give you. And tomorrow, I will be away from work for a day under my authority, so if you don’t have anything special to do, you can rest comfortably.”
“Thank you, Captain.”
“Ah, on your way, visit the division military police commander and be sure to tell him. I know there is a personnel evaluation at the end of this year, but if you want to get promoted, you shouldn’t make any mistakes here. Instead, tell them that if they maintain good discipline among their soldiers until the peace negotiations, they will be guaranteed a reward and a promotion to the first rank.”
The discipline management referred to here has the meaning of preventing soldiers from causing accidents as much as possible, but it has a stronger meaning of ensuring that those who cause accidents are caught and severely punished.
Soldiers with an excited atmosphere of victory, average elementary school education, and no concept of human rights are likely to cause trouble in the occupied territories.
The problem is not simply that people are stealing food from people selling in the market, but it is very likely that it is a violent crime such as rape, murder, and looting.
It would be nice to be able to stop everything in advance, but if we find the person who committed the crime and execute him in front of everyone, we can prevent the anger of those who committed the crime from boiling over and exploding.
In addition, trust in the Reich Imperial Army was built to some extent.
Vincent, who had received the order, quickly disappeared and I carefully opened the letter from Minister of Military Affairs Kaitel that Vincent had left behind.
Actually, it’s not a big deal if you break it down a little, but this is the response that 2 million people living on the West Coast received after begging for enough food to not starve to death for several months.
I thought that no matter how great Kaiemon was, there was a great deal of anger hidden inside him.
Personally, I am more scared and nervous now than when I was standing on an unfavorable battlefield.
[Dear Count Peter von Jaeger, I am reading your report from Warsaw. You also performed beyond imagination in Warsaw. As someone who served as second-in-command in the Stockholm Expeditionary Force, I am very proud. After all, it is a performance worthy of a great general who is called the treasure of the empire.]
…… A nobleman who rarely includes flowery language in his New Year’s letter full of pretense and pretense that he sends every year sent such pretty words?
This is 100% foreshadowing that a sentence mixed with tremendous anger will follow.
Reading the next sentence makes me drool because I’m scared and nervous.
[You requested supply support for the national interest of the empire. To me, who believes that the true attitude of a Minister of Military Affairs is to listen as one should. You’re not the kind of person to ask for support you absolutely don’t need, are you? So, as soon as I received this letter, I delivered it to Your Majesty, and Your Majesty said this. ‘Captain Jaeger requested food support to feed 300,000 people for a year. Just add half more. In times like this, the more supplies, the better.’]
I requested food for 300,000 people, including supplies that would be lost during transportation, but it’s enough food for 450,000 people for a year… I’m
so grateful for His Majesty’s grace, but I feel like I’m pretending because it’s a burden. .
[However, because I know your personality, I adjusted it appropriately and lowered it to around 350,000. And in order to secure the supplies, I had a long argument with the Minister of Finance of the Empire, went to the Chief of Staff, sat down in the logistics department, and did the paperwork myself. In the past, when I was cutting piles in Stockholm, I was so impressed by the hard work of the soldiers that I am doing it again.]
Other details include supplies for 10,000 people per month, 1 year’s worth of food, and 1 year’s worth of food for 3,000 people transported by sea. It was written that a year’s worth of food would be transported by land, so enough food for 13,000 people would be transported per month.
There is also a story that all the staff in charge of logistics in the General Staff are unable to leave work because they are squeezing out transportation capacity.
I am truly nervous to return after victory and meet Captain Keitel.
To the point where skin is already growing on my body.
Charlotte looked at me with concern as I was very nervous, but then I heard a sound outside the door.
“Influential people from the western coastal region came to visit. “Can I let you into the office?”
“No, let’s take you to the banquet room.”
If I don’t achieve the maximum result here, how much will I be robbed by His Excellency Kaiemon?
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