Chapter 156
Chapter 156
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 156
Chapter Title: Tactical Victory & Strategic Defeat (3)
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Lichtenburg Castle lay sprawled across the nearby plains.
Switchland Expeditionary Force command tent.
Gathered here were the division commanders including myself, the deputy commanders, and key command staff from the expeditionary force headquarters, such as His Highness the Crown Prince.
Under normal circumstances, someone would crack a dad joke before the meeting to lighten the mood, or at least tease me—the youngest general present—about how these were my glory days.
But our expeditionary force was now completely trapped in enemy territory, in a desperate situation where total annihilation could come at any moment without it being the least bit surprising.
In a predicament like this, one wrong word to try and boost morale could earn you every curse in the book from all the pent-up frustrations around the room. So everyone had wisely kept their mouths shut.
The heavy silence dragged on until His Highness the Crown Prince finally broke it.
"I have failed this expedition. I never anticipated that Count Bern was a double agent, and it was my grave mistake that led us this deep into their territory."
Frankly speaking, His Highness falling for this was an utterly unfortunate turn of events.
After all, who could have predicted that a count who had been feeding the Reich Empire's Intelligence Bureau valuable Switchland intelligence for years, promising betrayal, was actually preparing to stab us in the back?
So even if he tried to deflect some blame onto the Intelligence Bureau bastards while admitting his own fault, it was a situation anyone could understand.
"I have no excuses to offer you all. I am truly, deeply sorry."
Yet His Highness openly acknowledged his error and bowed his head before everyone.
Even in Korea, where public apologies to the nation were a thing, a president bowing their head was seen as a massive deal. In the Reich Empire, where class and authority were rigidly defined, this was simply unheard of.
The generals, myself included, immediately dropped to one knee to show our respects and spare His Highness any embarrassment. In turn, he personally raised each of us to our feet, one by one.
"Now, let us discuss the full retreat operation. Anyone with thoughts on the retreat should speak freely."
No one stepped forward at first, so I quietly raised my hand and spoke.
"There is a retreat plan in this situation that can most efficiently save and send back the largest number of troops."
At my words, the gazes and attention of all the generals focused squarely on me.
Given how cornered we were—where the best we could hope for was to somehow save His Highness and get him back to the Reich Empire—it was no wonder.
If some madman suddenly claimed there was a way to efficiently save the most people, even I'd be dying of curiosity.
"I'll now explain the operation in detail. First, we must lead our 50,000-strong army through Ticino Canton, the path the 7th Division took. That's how we'll survive."
"Why Ticino Canton specifically? Is there a reason you didn't consider other routes?"
"From what I anticipate, the other cantons currently have village men organized into militias, standing by with veteran mercenaries capable of leading them. If we try to pass through those routes, they'll rally those villagers into fighters to bog us down. They'll do everything to slow our feet."
The Reich Empire forces, slowed by such tactics, would inevitably be caught and devoured by Switchland troops—no way around it.
The route through Ticino Canton that I mentioned was a bit different.
"However, Count Ticino of Ticino Canton borrowed troops from other cantons just to annihilate our 7th Division. More than half of them are dead or wounded, leaving them with diminished fighting capacity. So they won't have many commander-level mercenaries or militia villagers positioned to wage guerrilla warfare or defensive battles for delaying actions in each village. That means the militias they can organize to block the Empire's retreat will be limited in number and scale."
For reference—though I didn't mention it here—I had all captured prisoners executed, regardless of age or rank.
Normally, I wouldn't dream of such a thing unless I'd lost my mind. But in a situation where we'd have to fight rearguard actions during the retreat, dragging prisoners along was impossible.
And releasing them to maintain speed? They'd grab spears or swords and grab our ankles soon enough.
So this was something I had no choice but to do—to survive myself, and as a Reich Empire general, to send as many of our 50,000 troops home safely as possible.
Because of this, I'll probably never end up in a good place after I die.
"If you want to survive, we must go through Ticino Canton, the path the 7th Division took—no exceptions."
Everyone in the room nodded in agreement, and I immediately moved on to the next part of the plan.
"The escape route will be as follows. Now, for the most critical part: the order of escape and the tactics for rear defense. Once this meeting ends, Your Highness, I request that you lead 2,000 knights in escape."
His Highness looked ready to snap in anger for a moment but quickly calmed himself and asked,
"Understood. Is there anything else you'd have me do afterward?"
Here, tending to His Highness's pride would help maintain friendly relations going forward.
"The moment Your Highness enters the Reich Empire, issue mobilization orders to the 14th, 16th, and 25th Divisions and have them assemble near the Switchland-Reich Empire border. And please have them stand by there until the other divisions return."
"Understood. I'll see it done."
"Thank you, Your Highness."
After that exchange, I traced the path through Ticino Canton that we'd taken with my baton and continued.
"Once Your Highness departs, we'll slowly withdraw via Ticino Canton as well. Along the way, we'll set up camp in positions ideal for engaging the enemy, draw them in, and repel them in the first wave. This will temporarily tie their feet."
The Switchland Duke was currently dispersing his forces through paths only locals knew, lulling us into complacency to the bitter end.
Scouts made it hard to confirm exact numbers, but one thing was certain...
Unless the Duke was insane, he'd prepared far more troops than we had.
"After tying them down like that, we'll send one division out of the six on the escape. Every soldier in that division will be given horses to move even a bit faster. We'll use spare mounts from the knight units, along with mules and horses pulling supply wagons."
Knights were normally provided with at least three horses each: one primary mount and two spares from the Empire.
If the knights generously handed over their spares, we could mount 10,000 infantry.
Gathering every pack animal pulling wagons would let us horse about half the troops.
Most regular infantrymen—barring any NCOs—could barely handle walking a horse at best once saddled up.
But horses and men had vastly different walking speeds and endurance anyway. Even atop pack mules, it would greatly boost our mobility.
"We'll repeat this: engage to tie them down, then send one—or two or three divisions at once, depending on the situation. Finally, a single division will remain to secure the retreat path to the end, slowly withdrawing from the Switchland Duchy."
It might sound impossible, but our tactical goal wasn't victory—it was buying time for the other retreating divisions to escape.
We'd gradually shrink our force size while conducting guerrilla warfare during the retreat.
"And for this battle, we'd like the 7th Division to take on the most vital rear-guard role. Would that be acceptable?"
His Highness glanced at the other generals for approval with his eyes. When they all nodded, he placed a hand on my shoulder and said,
"Colonel Jaeger, you must return alive. You've got to, so I can hold your child someday."
"Yes, sir. Understood."
"And if you haven't named the child yet... When I return alive, I'll personally choose the name."
Some might think naming a child is no big deal, but in the Empire, for a lord to name a vassal's child...
Barring the parent stabbing their lord in the back, it was as good as a vow to protect them to the end, no matter what.
In other words, even if I fell here, my child would enjoy the protection of the Crown Prince—most likely the next Emperor. Their future would be secure.
The fear and tension of possibly dying for real hit me hard this time, and His Highness's consideration moved me to the point my eyes welled up.
But in moments like this, keeping up the bravado to the end would boost everyone's morale—and if death came, at least I'd leave a cool impression.
"I already thought I couldn't die before holding the child Laura gives birth to. Now, with the curiosity of what name Your Highness will choose, I couldn't die even if I tried. So I'll definitely return alive."
And that very night, His Highness departed for the Empire via the Ticino Canton route, accompanied by the deputy commander, his guards, and 2,000 knights.