Chapter 26
Chapter 26
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: Offensive Spirit (2)
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The artillery simulation began, and the referees scurried about busily to make their judgments.
"You there, direct hit. Come out."
"Yes?! W-wait a second!"
"Hey! Don't interfere—get out now!"
Of course, with no cover available, there was no evading the barrage.
The soldiers, who had stood there dumbfounded, were rounded up like salted fish and led away by the referees.
It was just a mock battle—if it had been real combat, it wouldn't have ended with simply dying; panic would have spread, causing secondary casualties for sure.
And yet, watching this, the staff officers...
"Damn it, what's with all these casualty judgments over some artillery?"
"Well, we can hold with what's left, can't we? Send a messenger telling the troops to hold their positions firmly."
From the command post, they couldn't see how the battalion was faring.
The staff officers, lacking real combat experience, issued half-hearted commands, and the battalion commander's face grew increasingly distorted.
His patience was remarkable. I was on the verge of spewing curses, rank be damned.
"Enemy main force engaged. Their formation includes a cavalry company."
"Ha! Mixing infantry and cavalry? Pathetic!"
"Fire is concentrating on the left flank."
"Tell them to hold! We're in a favorable position anyway."
Favorable? Favorable? You mean like how our lines are shattering like glass?
The operation plan was in ruins, and they called it favorable?
The right flank forces were idle, while the left flank crumbled bit by bit. Beyond the porous fire net, the enemy cavalry had nearly succeeded in their flanking maneuver.
As the battalion commander and I stared gravely at the operations map, the inevitable explosion finally happened.
A messenger burst in, panting heavily, and shouted.
"Frontline commanders have judged to fall back to reserve positions!"
"What?! Who authorized a retreat?! Don't they know we can counterattack if they just hold a bit longer?!"
"Go tell them now! No retreats tolerated!"
At such nonsense, not only us but the evaluation team standing nearby shot them openly pitiful looks.
I desperately wanted to step out for a smoke, but my seniority and rank didn't even allow that.
All I could do was sigh with Manstein and grumble.
"...Think if we bashed those staff officers' heads in and dragged them out quick, we'd have a shot?"
"What do you think, senior?"
"We're screwed."
Manstein shook his head at my question and explained.
"They're already battered from the artillery, combat effectiveness low, and now the left flank's broken. Literally snapped like a bird's wing."
"..."
"Worst of all, that cavalry company's the problem. We should've turned them into mincemeat from the start, but they succeeded in infiltrating the rear."
"Haa..."
Though just a lieutenant, these were Manstein's words—no one else's.
"...No. It's still worth a try."
"Oh, seeing some hope?"
"Hope my ass—with promotion on the line, I have to think we can do it."
His credibility went without saying... but at least for now, it was too early to judge...
If only we could do something about those staff officers, but all we could do was burn inside.
"...You think we can still win?"
Then the battalion commander approached and whispered so the staff couldn't hear.
The biggest issue was the cavalry company that had pierced the rear. Deal with them, and we'd manage.
"Yes. Merge most of the right flank forces to the left, send the supplies the staff blocked quickly, and we can hold somehow."
"Resupplying mid-battle... No choice but to use any method available. And the cavalry company?"
"Lure them to the empty right flank. Deploy heavy weapons there and isolate or annihilate the cavalry."
"So we must resupply either way... What if the cavalry spots it?"
A headache. We needed to resupply before the cavalry reached the right, but doing so first risked exposing the supply line to the approaching cavalry.
The right flank forces had to rush to the crumbling left, and even if they had spare time, they couldn't match the cavalry's mobility.
Meaning we couldn't prevent hit-and-run attacks on the supply line.
Still, heavy weapons had to be deployed on the right no matter what.
It looked tough, but not impossible. Nothing in the world is absolutely undoable.
Rommel's eyes flashed, and Manstein felt a tingle at his fingertips.
"The warehouse is overflowing anyway thanks to those doomed staff officers. Let's use it for some deception."
"How?"
"Split the supply lines into two. One to the fierce fighting on the left flank, the other along the foggy riverbank to the right."
"So toss scraps on the left supply route as bait, and set up the real one on the right?"
The capable superior immediately grasped what Rommel meant.
Rommel grinned and said,
"That way, even if right flank troops shift left, we'll buy decent time. They'll think clinging to our supply line weakens the left and earns them merits to boot."
"Then, once the right is ready, cut the supply route to redirect the cavalry back to the right?"
This... this could work.
The cavalry, fixated on the left supply line, would assume the right was completely empty and attack without much caution.
Then the heavy weapons unit on the right would sweep the cavalry company... and the scales would balance.
Manstein's sharp mind quickly recalculated factoring in the elements.
"This..."
"This will work."
Unable to stay out of the intellectuals' conversation, Manstein cut in with eyes gleaming in ecstasy.
His madness shone through, leaving the battalion commander speechless.
Practically drooling, Manstein pressed,
"No, this is the only way. And it must be executed now for effect. Battalion Commander, decide."
"..."
"If we're staining our records anyway, better to thrash about, right?"
Rommel seriously backed the mad-eyed Manstein, and the battalion commander gritted his teeth.
He casually picked up an ashtray and whispered quickly to Rommel and Manstein.
"If this fails, you're done for... Hey!!!"
Then he hurled the ashtray with lightning speed.
"Wha—gahk!!!"
The ashtray traced an artistic arc and struck a staff officer squarely on the nose.
Forcing back a laugh, the battalion commander roared.
"You ruined the whole operation!!!"
"B-B-Battalion Commander!!"
"I'm not your battalion commander, you fucking idiots!!!"
The battalion commander's outburst stunned not just the staff but the evaluation team and lieutenants too.
They'd hoped for some solution, but not like this.
In any case, the staff, whose hearts had been sinking with the approaching defeat, faltered at his words.
"I-Idiot?! That's too harsh!!"
"If you can't win a winnable fight, what else are you but idiots?!"
"..."
"You fucking bastards!! If you botched the plan, run yourselves ragged, grab rifles and charge—do something!! What are you chit-chatting for?!"
Crushed by the battalion commander's lion's roar, the staff clamped their mouths shut.
At their hopeless sight, his nape heating up again, the battalion commander fiddled with the Luger pistol at his waist.
The chill atmosphere paled the staff's faces.
Just moments ago they'd strutted with official documents; seeing them cowed like this was a textbook case of the strong bullying the weak.
"So! So, Battalion Commander, are you saying you have a better plan than us division general staff?!"
A senior staff officer mustered courage and snapped back.
As if waiting, the battalion commander grinned and replied.
"Yeah, I do! You failures, shut up and obey orders!"
"Ha! According to division's official..."
Smack!! When the staff wouldn't snap out of it, the battalion commander unleashed his finisher: the nut-shot.
"Guhk!!"
Wham! Crash!! As the staff doubled over in pain, the battalion commander kicked him flying.
Looking coldly down at the fallen staff, he turned.
"Anyone else got something to say?"
"..."
The staff didn't dare defy, scrambling to avoid his gaze.
At last, the battalion's discipline was restored... though looking at the evaluation team's faces, it felt like we'd become a Tang Dynasty army.
The battalion commander nodded in satisfaction and barked orders like a machine gun.
"Send the weapons stockpiled at HQ to the battalion. Grab horses, catch a Pegasus—get them here however."
"Yes sir!"
The quartermaster officer originally from the battalion replied energetically, face flushed.
Emboldened by the response, the battalion commander declared loudly.
"Immediately detach heavy weapons crews and minimal forces for key defenses—concentrate the rest of the right flank on the left."
"Yes sir!"
"Set up one supply line segment to the left... and those bastards."
Whoosh—the battalion commander pointed at the staff with a disgusted glare.
"Put whips or bayonets in those bastards' hands and send them to guard the supply line."
"Battalion Commander?!"
At last, justice was served.