I Became a Genius Commander at the Academy Chapter 7

EP.7

“Cadet Platoon Commander Peter Yeager! On June 8, 220 Imperial Calendar, I was ordered to be transferred to the 3rd Battalion, 4th Company. Loyalty!”

When I saluted like that, the company commander in front of me, who looked to be in his 40s, looked at me with an annoyed expression.

Anyone who graduated from the academy will be promoted to captain in their early 30s at the latest, and major before 40, or if they are passed over for promotion, they will be discharged and become a mid-level administrative officer… He

must have been a company commander who was a senior officer.

“I am Captain Simon Werner, commander of the 4th Company. Welcome to the move. Since I am a senior officer, except for you, all the officers in our company are former senior officers.”

If you look at the person’s expression, you can tell that they do not welcome the move in at all, but you can completely understand how that person feels when they make that expression.

This is because deploying a cadet platoon to the front line is like asking a company to provide new training in a situation where work is so busy that employees have to work overtime.

So, it is common sense that cadet platoons are usually deployed to supply units or, if lucky, to second-level units, so that they can experience at least a little bit of actual combat before going to the front lines.

As the novel goes, Major General Stefan von Koser, commander of the 8th Division, which oversees the Rhineland front, wanted to impress His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

A student platoon was called to the front line and the company commanders, who were already fighting frantically, were given training for new recruits and ordered them to fight together on the front line.

Even as a rookie platoon leader with no real military experience, I would be thrilled if I were told to fight the enemy by joining forces with a ‘unit that barely sticks together and relies solely on individual spear skills’ when marching.

A student platoon leader bringing a soldier who had only trained for a month to a battlefield where life is at stake can’t be seen as a good thing.

If a company commander welcomes a guy like that, it definitely means that he is an irredeemable unit commander at the level of the Dark Independence Army.

That’s because their unit is already trash, so it doesn’t really matter if a new recruit who can’t do their job comes along, so they’re probably reacting that way.

Still, I felt lucky that my immediate company commander was not a nobleman from the academy but a senior officer.

Since I myself come from a commoner background, I won’t find fault with my background, and I will have a lot of practical experience, so it’s even better.

Meanwhile, the company commander seemed to think that a new piece of luggage had arrived and even sighed this time.

“If we had met in another rear unit or if it were peacetime now, I would be with you as a company commander and teach you how to lead a platoon and how to handle soldiers. It’s different here. We have to fight the Francois Republic army starting tomorrow. Therefore, without going through that process, we should start right away with a strategy meeting with each platoon leader. Are you ready?”

Usually in novels or movies, the main character says, ‘Yes, I’m ready!’ If you give a lively answer, people like company commanders will look at you favorably, but it becomes a bit of a cliché.

War is a cold place that does not give children like me the opportunity to calmly learn something, nor does it regard them as immature.

What if, in such a place, a student platoon leader with no actual combat experience shows a confident and lively appearance…?

On the outside, they may be praised for being motivated, but commanders such as company commanders may be labeled as low-ranking people who do not know what they will do because of their motivation or heroism.

Because the most frightening thing in war is not a strong enemy, poor supply, or inferiority of troops, but the friendly commander who is immersed in heroism.

So I spoke in a cold voice, suppressing my excitement as much as possible.

“Yes that’s right.”

Perhaps he actually liked that, and the company commander spoke with a slightly more relaxed expression than before.

“Then let’s look forward to it. Go straight to the company headquarters barracks. Other platoon leaders will be waiting. “I’ll be there soon too.”

**

As I entered the company headquarters barracks following the company commander’s instructions, I saw the platoon leaders of each platoon eagerly exchanging opinions with each other.

“Sub Company Commander, the condition of our platoon members is not very good. I hate to tell you, but these days, they keep being mobilized for war. Even if we can’t send them to the rear with a vacation, I think we should give them a drink each.”

“1st Platoon Commander, we have alcohol in stock, but isn’t your platoon in charge of security today? Also, don’t you know that if you give alcohol once, you have to return it to everyone in the company?”

“Lieutenant Parker, not only the guys in the 2nd platoon, but also the others are in a mess right now. Let’s ask the company commander to let us drink some water when we have some free time after the battle. Aren’t there enough public funds?”

“What is the status of the three wizards under the wizard class leader? “There’s a new girl coming in, so I don’t think we’ll get along well.”

It is said that until the Middle Ages or modern times, it was common for merchants to follow the military and provide various types of meat and alcohol to prostitutes.

In fact, the sight of commanders speaking openly like this was truly shocking.

Especially when I was attending the academy, I thought that the only women who joined the military were officers who were educated at the academy… but it

turns out that women are also joining the military as wizards who don’t need that much physical strength.

Shocked by these new facts, I looked towards where the other officers were, and a man called the deputy company commander came up to me and asked.

“I am Vice Company Commander Wagner. So, are you the new recruit?”

“Yes that’s right! “This is student platoon leader Peter Yeager!”

“Is that so? Welcome to the 4th Company, kid. “Now that you’re here, make sure you memorize the names of the other officers.”

Unlike the company commander, who treated me very coldly and like an annoying burden, the deputy company commander treated me in a style similar to that of an insider he had seen in Korea, so it felt unfamiliar.

If even the deputy company commander was a cold person, it would have been really difficult.

After taking a deep breath and remembering the names of all the officers around me, the company commander came in, saw me, and asked.

“You probably remembered all the officers’ names, right?”

“Yes that’s right.”

“Okay then, from now on, we will discuss how to execute the strategy handed down to us by the battalion commander. “Please bring the deputy company commander’s map.”

After speaking, Vice Company Commander Wagner placed a map and several wooden horses on the desk.

The company commander began his explanation by moving each horse on the map.

“The Imperial Army will march out at around 7:00 a.m. tomorrow and invade the Wellos Plain, where the Francois Republic is stationed. “The 4th Battalion, to which we belong, stands at the very end of the division’s right wing, and the vanguard of the battalion is our company.”

When I heard that I would be at the forefront, I felt two conflicting emotions.

First, I am looking forward to seeing how far the unit I have trained and raised through sweating for a month will be used in the actual battlefield and how great a feat it will be able to achieve.

Another thing was the tension of having to take the lead in a war that was incomparably harsh and difficult to a mock war, and the fear of being the first to kill someone.

On the other hand, other platoon leaders, including the deputy company commander, grumbled and protested as if they were annoyed by this situation.

“Even if it is the battalion commander’s order, isn’t this too much? Even though we received support from a platoon led by Jaeger, we had more troops than a normal company. “Aren’t you just a kid with no actual combat experience?”

“Honestly, we can’t go to war while also taking care of children.”

“Company Commander, we are not a correctional unit that comfortably trains green-faced officers who have just graduated and soldiers who have just been conscripted in the rear.”

At the academy, I was discriminated against because I was a commoner and an orphan, but here, I heard complaints because I had no experience in actual battles, so should I say things are better?

Or should I be saddened by the fact that I am being criticized for my lack of experience here as well?

However, it cannot be said that the Jaeger platoon can fight at the same level as other platoon commanders.

No matter how well I have the ability to run a platoon, it is only theoretical, and the little I have actually used it for is through platoon training and mock battles, and no one knows how it will work in practice.

The company commander took out a letter from his pocket, placed it on the desk, and said to the opposing officers.

“I protested like that too. However, Lieutenant Colonel Hans Weber, the student platoon leader selection officer at the Academy, evaluated Peter Jaeger as follows. Let’s see.”

When I heard that, my head went blank.

This is because when the academy selected students to go to the Rhineland front, they did not say that they would be assigned to a platoon with mid-term evaluations or mock battle evaluations recorded.

“By training soldiers in just one month, we succeeded in raising the platoon’s combat capabilities to a level close to that of an active platoon fighting on the front lines. In a mock battle, a platoon of the same size was defeated by a landslide without a single casualty. It is recorded that, as an evaluator, he judged that this unit would be able to play a sufficient role even if deployed immediately. Also, this guy is a commoner, not a noble. “It is judged to be a more believable story because there is no need for an evaluator from an aristocratic background to give such a positive evaluation to a student from a commoner without any basis.”

When I said that, the mood of the officers looking at me changed a little.

Just a moment ago, he went from being a guy who seemed like he would be a burden if he stood in the vanguard, to a guy who could be trusted even if he was fooled once.

The platoon leaders here are well aware of the status-centered thinking of the academy evaluators, so they must have thought that an evaluator much higher in rank than them would not go to the length of lying to assign a platoon.

Although I received an unexpected mid-term evaluation, I never thought I would receive this much help.

“Still, this is the first battlefield for Jaeger Platoon Commander, so it may be a bit difficult to do his part. So, next to the Jaeger platoon, the 1st platoon leader and I will command and assist the platoon of the 4th platoon leader who was killed in the last battle. “How is it?”

The other officers agreed, although they expressed some dissatisfaction as if they had nothing more to say.

“The division commander plans to slowly push this front line until His Majesty the Crown Prince arrives, and then launch a full-scale attack. Therefore, tomorrow’s battle will be a very minor and tedious one.”

When a battle takes place on the plains, we usually expect victory or defeat to be achieved within a day or a few days.

Battles involving thousands or more people often last from a few weeks to several months.

And in such cases, from what I learned at the academy, there is no need to prepare separate complicated operations because there is no active offensive at the division level.

It’s my first time on the battlefield and I’m standing in the vanguard, but I guess I’m glad that it’s not a decisive battle that will determine the fate of the division.

“Then I will conclude the meeting.”

As everyone was trying to stand up, I thought of a method the newcomer could use to get even a little more points.

“I’m sorry, Company Commander, but I still don’t know the surrounding geography of where this unit is located. So today, me and my platoon will be on night watch and on guard, so could you please take a moment to assign a gunner to tell me what to do?”

When I heard those words, the eyes of the platoon commanders who had been looking at me wary just now looked like, ‘What is this guy?’ The look in his eyes changed.

For the person designated as a gunner who is supposed to teach me, what if I were to take on the night shift, even though it would be an additional task right now?

The platoon members who were worried about low morale can be given drinks and women tonight so they can relax and enjoy themselves.

This positive attitude of a new recruit who is helpful to the unit is a good attitude to gain favor with seniors.

So is that so?

The company commander also said, ‘Huh, this guy is amazing, isn’t he?’ He said with an expression in his eyes that said he liked it.

“I have to go to my first battle tomorrow, and there are people willing to stand on night duty. Good. When you are on duty tonight, I will personally teach you, so learn well. But if you stay up all night without sleeping, tomorrow will be difficult. “Go in quickly, sleep, and come out on time.”

“Yes, I understand!”

As a result, I ended up on night duty with the company commander that day.

In addition, thanks to the fact that I volunteered to be on night duty, other company members except our platoon were able to rest without excessive drinking.

The company commander must have been very pleased with my consideration so far, and while on duty at night, he told me about his proper attitude as a platoon leader and his fighting experiences until dawn.

And when the day dawned at 7:00, a magnificent trumpet sound sounded, announcing the departure of the entire army.

This is my first real experience after reincarnating in another world.

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