Chapter 176
Chapter 176
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 176
Chapter Title: New Tactics (1)
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And so, after finishing my two months of reward leave, I was assigned as the operations officer and division commander of the 7th Guard Division, just as I had requested.
Normally, a division commander position is held by a major general, and occasionally a brigadier general, so it felt a bit awkward for someone like me, a lieutenant general, to be managing just one division.
But our 7th Division had lost so many soldiers to discharge and death that we had to rebuild the unit from scratch, and it needed to possess combat prowess befitting a Guard Division. That was why even a lieutenant general like me could take the post.
The division's garrison was assigned to Hamburg City, about a day's carriage ride from the capital.
All these benefits and exceptional procedures were courtesy of His Imperial Majesty the Emperor and His Highness the Crown Prince, so as division commander, my job was to transform the 7th Guard Division into the Reich Empire's finest unit.
With that thought in mind, I ascended the platform on the parade ground, and enthusiastic cheers erupted toward me.
"Long live the Division Commander! The Division Commander has returned to our 7th Guard Division!"
"I gave up discharging at the end of my term because I believed the Division Commander would come back and applied to become a non-commissioned officer!"
"Long live Lieutenant General Jaeger! Long live the 7th Guard Division! Long live the Reich Empire!"
I had expected a warm welcome, but memories from my life in Korea made my skin crawl at the idea of privates at the end of their terms staring at me and becoming NCOs because of one person.
Still, here, for a serf—or even a commoner—to rise in status, advancing through the ranks in the military was the fastest path.
In the Korean military, what everyone dreaded—receiving NCO applications—was seen as a great honor.
And if I thought positively, wasn't this proof of how much popularity I had?
"Division, atten-hut!"
At my command, the soldiers stopped cheering and fixed their eyes on me.
Due to deaths, discharges, and promotions, we were short-staffed—not at full division strength, with only about 4,000 men present.
Even so, seeing that many respond sharply to a single word from me was moving, no matter how many times I saw it.
"To commemorate my return as the 7th Guard Division's commander, before my inaugural address... Sergeant Randel! Is Sergeant Randel present?"
I pretended not to know, but while I was on leave, Randel had married his fiancée and officially become husband and wife.
For killing two enemy officers and fifteen soldiers on Lichten Hill, his merits had earned him a medal and promotion to sergeant.
"Sergeant Randel of the 7th Guard Division, present!"
"Did you have a good wedding?"
"It was the most glorious moment of my life. With the massive wedding gift money and the speech you wrote for the ceremony, the villagers were genuinely envious, and we were blessed by everyone!"
Like that, I had similar conversations with a few other memorable soldiers I'd spoken to during the Lichten Hill battle.
Officers, NCOs, and privates of the 7th Division alike—they all saw me as the commander who had held the most brutal and dangerous spot on that hellish hill from start to finish, for their sake.
I could visibly see them recalling the events from back then, remembering how I'd cared for lowly soldiers like a father.
"Excellent! Those who got married back home, thank you for tying the knot and coming here. And those who brought your wives and kids along—you're my pride! I truly take pride in all of you."
No matter how honorable and career-boosting it was to become an NCO, these men had fought in the horrific battle on Lichten Hill—a fight that would go down in Reich Empire history.
That's why I'd petitioned His Imperial Majesty to let all survivors discharge immediately, regardless of time left on their service, if they chose to.
They'd even received a hefty sum to start new lives, so it wouldn't be strange if war and the military left them disgusted and opting out.
"So as long as I'm the 7th Guard Division's commander, I'll fight right alongside you, taking the greatest risks at the front. Just as I did on Lichten Hill."
To the soldiers, NCOs, and junior officers, it might sound like the clichéd lines from some lofty superior.
But since I'd truly fought beside them, these words would move their hearts.
After saying that, I gazed at the soldiers and appealed to them with crisp movements and a firm voice.
"I promise you this as well. If you trust and follow me, I'll give you opportunities to shine beyond what you achieved on Lichten Hill—along with honor and financial security. But that path will be extremely arduous. That's why I demand from you abilities and resolve greater than what you showed on Lichten Hill. Will you still follow me?"
At those words, soldiers, NCOs, and officers alike answered as one.
"We'll follow you to hell itself if you're with us, sir! You're the only one who's ever treated us lowly soldiers like people!"
"We'll die with you, sir, and live with you! If we weren't prepared for that, we wouldn't have stayed in the 7th Division!"
"Let us fight for the Empire!"
The soldiers' morale was sky-high, their motivations crystal clear.
"Very well. Then I grant you the right, from this moment, to walk the harsh path of becoming the Empire's shield to protect it and its spear to slaughter its enemies. But that path will be far more grueling than any training you've endured before—sometimes so tough you'll want to give up everything."
Drill might be tolerable, but guerrilla training that tested human limits, winter and summer survival training to fight in extreme climates.
Close-quarters combat training to defeat superior numbers, not just thrusting and blocking spears on command.
None of it would be easy.
And on top of that, the officers and staff here would have to design policies to modernize the Reich Empire's army amid the training.
It'd make them puke from exhaustion.
"But I guarantee you this. Follow me, and I'll bestow honors and riches greater than the glory you earned surviving that horrific melee on Lichten Hill. If you want nobility, I'll give you the strength to climb there. If you dream of beauties on both arms, I'll provide the chance to rise to a station worthy of it."
Tough training demands clear rewards and goals.
Only then do soldiers find the drive to surpass their limits, and unyielding will grants the power to leap beyond them.
"In exchange, from now on, your division commander will become a demon to forge you strong—no mercy. But don't forget: only those who conquer this training can belong to the glorious Imperial Guard Division."
With that, I set my Reich Empire general's cap on the lectern before me and donned the prepared red cap, flipping it backward.
On my signal, the officers, NCOs, and soldiers who'd trained with me since my battalion days—through drills and guerrilla exercises—put on the same caps.
"......What the hell? Why'd he suddenly switch hats? I feel uneasy all of a sudden."
"What's with that menacing cap? Why does it give me the chills? Tell me, Lieutenant."
"Everyone's faces changed the moment they put them on."
Of the roughly 500 soldiers and knights I'd taken to the Czechovia Front, about 120—soldiers, NCOs, and officers—had followed me here.
Among them were some who'd risen from private to officer, real oddballs. And those instructors in red caps? They had the chops to run the exact same training I'd done back in Bruno territory.
Of course, the Empire's class system meant NCOs couldn't boss officers around like in Korea...
But I could organize officer-instructors according to rank distribution anyway.
And to minimize resistance to training, I'd made sure instructors outranked trainees by at least one grade.
"These men in red caps are the comeback heroes who've followed me from the Czechovia Front battles to now. They'll personally lead your training as instructors. Address them as drill sergeants."
Call it my imagination, but those cap-wearing drill sergeants grinned wickedly, ranks be damned—faces set with grim resolve to make us taste the grudges they'd built up under Lieutenant General Jaeger's training.
"Finally, no exemptions by rank. The higher the rank, the stricter the training. Especially for lieutenant colonels and above—I'll oversee it personally, so look forward to it. I'll whip your stamina up to swordmaster level."
The parade ground soldiers stared at me, dumbfounded, like they'd been clubbed over the head.
"Today, to prepare for tomorrow's training, we'll loosen up lightly. Everyone, in uniform, follow me for a 10km jog. After, we'll form temporary units for training. Now, prepare to match my pace. Division, left face."
As everyone turned left, I slowly moved to the far left of the formation.
Because with most soldiers untaught even basic facings like left face or right face—let alone drill—it took time for 4,000 men to pivot.
Of course, after full training, they'd turn in seconds.
"Now, match my speed and run! No stragglers—think of it that way. Remember: every drop of sweat shed here today spares a drop of blood on the battlefield. Endure."