Chapter 49
Chapter 49
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: Hammer and Anvil (2)
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That evening, when Count Venner—deputy commander and effectively the real commander of the 40,000-strong Chekovia Expeditionary Force—received Major Peter Jaeger's operational plan through Colonel Hans Weber, his emotions were a tangled mess.
Of course, no one with a normal mindset enjoys being on a battlefield.
Especially not commanders like him, who directed wars where countless lives hung on a single order— they could never relax out there.
But today, his complicated feelings weren't due to the war turning against them or supply issues cropping up.
On the contrary, it was a great situation: the Jaeger Battalion, where his daughter served, had smashed a knight battalion and an infantry battalion, and his daughter had racked up a kill on an enemy company commander in her very first battle, boosting the entire army's morale.
That's why the count had already passed out a round of beer to his staff officers and soldiers under his command.
"Ha~ That Jaeger bastard. He pulled off a plan on the Rhineland Front where a single company raided a division on its own. Now he's using an entire division as a hammer in a semi-encirclement tactic."
Yes, his mixed feelings stemmed from encountering a plan even he—a count who had risen to lieutenant general through proven ability—couldn't have devised himself.
As he read further down, the initial plan described seemed like mere child's play.
[However, even with a division striking from the side, the marching distance is considerable, so in a standard engagement, the enemy is likely to notice. For the operation to succeed, His Highness the Crown Prince must lead his 32,000 men in a feigned retreat to lure the enemy. The enemy commander, thirsting for victory, will then commit everything to decapitating His Highness and won't watch the flanks...]
Reading on, Count Venner was so flabbergasted that he clutched his forehead and muttered.
"While the enemy is blindly attacking His Highness's main force, we hit their flank for a semi-encirclement? What kind of insane idea is this?"
It was absurd, but military operations sometimes turned mad ideas into history-making triumphs depending on the situation.
Conversely, textbook-perfect plans could end up as trash-tier disasters.
And in the count's eyes, though Major Jaeger's proposal was crazy, it was the most suitable operation given the Chekovia Expeditionary Force's circumstances.
The Crown Prince, on his first real campaign, aimed to solidify his position through this war and craved a flashy, undeniable victory.
Meanwhile, the Chekovians, facing the Reich Empire's Crown Prince in person, dreamed of taking his head to flaunt their power across the continent.
So if the Crown Prince took the bait, the enemy would chase without fail.
If this worked and the expeditionary force under the Crown Prince won, the victorious commander would gain immense prestige for staking his life on the triumph, securing his path to the throne stably.
Politically, strategically, and circumstantially, this plan was a sure thing.
As deputy commander, he drafted a recommendation to adopt it.
Then, with a sigh, the count grumbled bitterly.
"The more that guy shines under His Highness, the better my position gets from sending Laura as his aide. But when I met Laura on the Bisocia Front and urged her—'Once this war ends, go to General Staff HQ; it's essential for building your career'—and she refused..."
The count trailed off, clamping his mouth shut.
Because voicing the rest might jinx it—Peter Jaeger might just steal away his precious only daughter, whom he'd raised with such care.
At least Jaeger was a bookish model officer who didn't chase women, focusing solely on military feats and fief management—that was some comfort.
"She refused General Staff and her eyes sparkled as she said, 'I admire Major Jaeger. I respect his brilliant tactical and strategic skills, and how he's explosively developed the fief he was granted. That's why I want to learn more under him and be of help.' Admiration, my foot— the poor girl, who's never known romance, just doesn't realize her feelings are love yet. Give her a spark and..."
With that, Count Venner envisioned the inevitable future.
Jaeger dragging Laura before him, begging permission to marry her.
A scene no father wanted to imagine.
But deep down, he thought:
'A guy like Jaeger Major would be the best catch among thieves. Laura's a girl anyway; she can't inherit my title. It's set for my nephew, so no status issues.'
In the end, the count decided to shelve worries about the future.
Instead, he began drafting letters to allied noble houses.
About his daughter's achievement that day.
In the midst of a busy war, sending such news might seem odd, but nobles had a duty to report their family members' feats in real-time.
The same night, late, the Crown Prince approved Major Jaeger's plan.
A week later, in the basin near Kaines Mountain.
I, Peter Jaeger, was here with my battalion, digging fortifications to stop an enemy army of 20,000 that wouldn't even show up.
Not full-on Korean War-style double- and triple-layered trenches or sandbag walls, mind you—no hardcore grunt work like that.
We were setting up wooden stockades to block enemy advances, propping wagons behind them for sturdy walls, and digging shallow ditches.
"Ha, fuck. What kinda bullshit is this? I gotta pass sergeant exam to get married, and here I am shoveling shit?"
"Sergeant Charles, don't be so down. Didn't the battalion commander say? In a~ month or two, over 20,000 will come. Shine then, snag that promotion."
"You better own that. Fail, and after the war, your wallet's mine."
The soldiers bantered like that to push through the toil, and in just a week, they built a sturdy wooden fort viable for real combat defense.
If my plan went off, though, this fort they'd slaved over would be abandoned in hours.
Whether they knew or not, even my company commanders—except those on watch—were rolling up sleeves and pitching in.
My aide, Lieutenant Laura—no, now Lieutenant Venner—watched the wooden fort with keen interest.
"When you gathered the division's officers and explained your new fortress design, I didn't grasp how it'd work. Even hearing 'use wagons behind stockades as walls,' I doubted it'd hold up. But seeing it built... it looks solid enough to repel a few knight charges."
"Can't test it, but it should block a spell or two, or arrows. Less troop drain in defense means 8,000 can intercept 20,000 no problem."
Pairing wagons as barricades with cannons could stop knight charges cold.
No cannons here, though, so we'd repel them but not shatter them.
Mages in place of cannons might yield similar results.
"Place mages behind the wagons; blast approaching heavy infantry with spells for big impact."
Hearing me, Laura imagined it—mages behind the wagon-stockade fort sniping foes—her eyes sparkling at the structure the men labored over.
Soon after, though earlier than usual, the meal-ready signal came.
We got rations nearly double the norm.
"1st Platoon, attention! These portions mean tough shit tomorrow. Stuff your faces fast and crash hard!"
"3rd Company! Stay sharp."
The junior officers sensed something big brewing, if not the full plan.
"Lieutenant Venner, once you're done eating, hit the sack. Tomorrow looks busy."
After dinner and six hours' rest, bugles blared with a booming announcement.
"As of now, we're marching back to His Highness the Crown Prince's battlefield! Ditch heavy wagons and tents—rapid march to hit the enemy's flank!"