The Battle of Shenyang (8)
The drizzle that had begun falling at 6 PM finally eased by evening, once the sun had set. But unlike the brief rain that had cleared earlier, the troops of Seo Jae-pil's 2nd Division, who had set out from Wonsan in the morning and begun pushing from the eastern edge of Shenyang, were brimming with discontent.
Of course, they weren't complaining merely because the weather was poor or because the roads had turned into sucking mud from the rain.
"Damn it."
Their real grievance was the enemy's stubborn refusal to surrender. "You bastards, why not just surrender? Why are you running around like this? What the hell are you doing?!"
Unlike Woo Beom-seon's 1st Division, Seo Jae-pil's 2nd Division had been saddled with tasks far beyond their scale.
Their mission was not simply to advance from Wonsan to the eastern edge of Shenyang, but to sweep the entire front line face-to-face like cleaning with a broom, driving the Qing soldiers northward.
The problem was that the operational radius matched the intensity of forced marches, and the fatigue was no joke. Moreover, despite months of them coming to surrender with white flags, these bastards had somehow turned to eating crow meat and weren't surrendering easily.
Through this process, Seo Jae-pil's 2nd Division had reached here. The soldiers scouting ahead on the road grumbled.
"Hah, is this place in Liaodong really livable?"
"Ugh, my shoes are completely soaked."
"Hey! The wheel came off again!"
"Damn it!"
After trudging silently through the rain-soaked, sagging heads, they soon spotted another overturned ammunition cart. Their thoughts converged on one thing: What the hell kind of land made our ancestors so desperate to fight here?
"Hmm."
Meanwhile, watching the soldiers struggling in the sucking mud with arms crossed, Seo Jae-pil stroked his chin and muttered.
"This advance speed is really 'not bad at all.'"
By the way, his own uniform trousers and French leather boots, personally bestowed by the Tongryeong-nim, were already dirty from being immersed in mud.
Shrugging his shoulders at the background of the struggling soldiers and the gloomy Shenyang landscape, which had been thoroughly soaked by the recent rain, Seo Jae-pil nodded.
"The soldiers will tire easily."
The main battle hadn't started yet, but recalling the intermittent resistance of the Qing forces trapped in the city and the subsequent mopping-up operations, he frowned.
And that mopping-up and resistance were still ongoing.
"Hng."
After staring at the supply clock and maps in the command post for a while, Seo Jae-pil sighed and shook his head. It wasn't late yet, but a sense of unease coiled in his heart like a snake.
Then, as he tried to urge the soldiers, seeing their hardships with his own eyes, his throat tightened, so he forced his gaze away.
"Is it fortunate that the enemy's morale is also low? I don't know."
Whether the rain was light or heavy, it was an equal disaster for both sides in the army.
The roads and the trenches dug by the Qing forces had turned to mud from the unexpected drizzle, which had become a significant obstacle to the Republic Army's advance, which had occupied the outskirts of the city and entered the urban area.
Of course, this was also the case for some Qing troops who had hidden back into the city after their retreat route was blocked by the swollen river.
However, unlike the Qing soldiers who had simply hidden in buildings, the Republic Army, burdened by the expectation of a large-scale battle in the open fields of northern Shenyang, had a different situation.
For example, to perform large-scale firepower and maneuvers, each division and regiment needed to consume far more ammunition and supplies than usual, so they had to carry them separately on carts.
The soldiers in muddy clothes removing the wheels from the cart in front of Seo Jae-pil were the evidence.
"Put some strength into it! Push!"
"Hey, put a fulcrum underneath and push hard! All you got!"
"Urgh!"
"Push!"
It wasn't that they were overloaded with supplies. Thanks to Lieutenant Colonel Ninsted and Brigadier General Dye's emphasis on efficiency and the Tongryeong-nim's constant education that soldiers eat, the Republic Army had been thoroughly trained in European-style logistics.
However, the carts and carriages conscripted from the civilians in Liaodong and Manchuria were in poor condition, and repair tools were lacking.
"Can't see a thing ahead!"
Another issue here was the fog. Thanks to the intermittent drizzle that didn't stop but filled the air with moisture, the city was naturally enveloped in fog.
As a result, many units had wandered around in the complex alleys of the city, lost their way, and returned to the main gate.
"Where the hell are we?"
"Isn't that the gate we passed earlier?"
"Company commander, where are we now?"
"Hey, I don't know either, so look for another unit. Hurry."
It was perfectly covered, enough to make anyone fall into confusion.
"Damn it!"
"Get them!"
Additionally, there were occasionally foolish Qing soldiers who had lost their units, wandered around, and naively surrendered by saying 'I'll surrender to you.'
Therefore, in the thick fog where visibility was poor, the scouts and advance units assigned to reconnaissance and scouting often ran into refugees, hidden snipers, and stragglers hiding in unexpected places.
Especially, unlike the Republic which mostly had single-story houses, the urban areas of Shenyang with multi-story houses, brick-walled mansions, and flat roofs provided an ideal environment for the Qing soldiers who hadn't retreated to hide and snipe from cover.
"Tick, ting!"
"Sniper!"
"Duck!"
With a short burst, the sound of bricks shattering and flying dust erupted on the road, and the soldiers fell to the sides.
The soldiers who had barely escaped the sniper's line of fire finally regained their senses and shouted at each other.
"Where is he!"
"I don't know!"
"Bang!"
This was the problem. Allowing the enemy an opportunity from an unseen place. So the ones who suffered every time were the soldiers picked for search teams, scouts, or those guarding carts and standing alert.
Of course, there was a solution.
By taking time, launching a massive attack in broad daylight, and clearing the streets block by block, even a few stragglers would be worse than worthless.
But with the time before the major Shenyang battle, unlike other units, they couldn't hide their upper bodies, and they had been exposed almost defenselessly in the street clearing and map cleaning with bare bodies. In fact, the number of casualties in the operation to clear the Shenyang urban area was higher than in the occupation battle at Wonsan.
With another gunshot, the soldier hiding behind the cart and looking up fell forward.
"Thud!"
"Hit!"
"Aaaah!"
A soldier guarding the ammunition cart was shot and his head burst, so he collapsed. Immediately, the Second Lieutenant who tracked the direction the bullet came from through the darkness and the flash of flame drew his sword like lightning, pointed it at the window, and shouted.
"Window! Third floor!"
"There!"
The squad leader's rifle spat fire, and at the same time, eight riflemen poured bullets into the window where flames had erupted.
"Got him!"
A confident shout. Briefly, a figure in the shadow jumped 'flick!' It was a hit. The bleeding Qing sniper staggered out of the building and fell.
At that moment, on the opposite side of the sniper who had been caught through the window, another flame burst from the roof.
"Thang, tta-dang!"
"Ugh!"
"Damn it!"
The soldier who had been happily capturing the sniper from the window fell backward, and the squad leader, grabbing his shoulder, fell from the horse.
"Commander Chamwi!"
When their superior was shot, the furious subordinates spat curses and raised their guns. Revenge!
"These bastards!"
"Die!"
"Opposite side! Roof! Roof!"
"Bring grenades!"
The ones who immediately found several gun barrels on the roof threw grenades and incendiary bombs with terrifying shouts, and the burning cans floated in the night sky with long tails.
"Tu-tong, gong!"
"They're falling!"
"Good!"
Soldiers clenching their fists while recovering the injured Chamwi and the fallen, in perfect position at the perfect time, the grenades successfully exploded.
The grenades filled with nails, iron powder, and stones exploded on the roof, and the two Qing soldiers who were lying prone and sniping on the roof became pulp and fell.
"Tsk, you bastards."
"How's the view?"
The ones pierced by the sharp grenades, lying on the road with their whole bodies covered in blood, looked just like frogs hit by a car.
"Well fought."
"Yes, well fought. But do you know? We left Wonsan six hours earlier than scheduled. But do you know? If we go like this, we'll arrive at the destination an hour late."
Unlike the other generals who were leisurely riding horses and walking away from the soldiers, the one who thought hiding behind the soldiers was the act of a coward and was watching his subordinates' battle closely turned to the 2nd Division Commander Seo Jae-pil and spoke.
"Perhaps you should report to headquarters. 'Due to the damn rain, we are having difficulty securing the map. Sir, also, some stragglers have switched to guerrilla warfare, making street cleaning inevitable. Therefore, operational modification is unavoidable.' Right? Should we contact the main force now and adjust the rendezvous time?"
"That is impossible to say."
However, Seo Jae-pil was stubborn. No, he trusted his subordinates. Watching the soldiers groaning while clearing the road and pushing carts, Seo Jae-pil said to the adjutant.
"Fog? Rather, it's good. Thanks to the fog, the enemy doesn't know how far we've approached? If we continue rapid advance like this, besieging and annihilating them is not even a dream. Moreover, the enemy can't carry out smooth retreat operations because their retreat route is partially blocked by the swollen river. This will further increase the chance of operational success. Hmm, there's still about an hour of leeway, so let's proceed calmly as planned."
"...Understood."
"Well then."
"?"
After refusing the adjutant's suggestion, Seo Jae-pil rolled up his sleeves and walked steadily to the rear of the ammunition cart stuck in the mud and bumped shoulders with the soldiers.
"Well, one, two, three, push together at the same time."
"Eh? Eh!? General!"
"Well, General!"
Even though one soldier startled by Seo Jae-pil's appearance fell on his butt and fell backward, Seo Jae-pil didn't back down.
"Well, time is short!"
As Seo Jae-pil, with mud on his dirty cart wheel in hand, joined them, the startled adjutant and officers fidgeted, and the startled soldiers shouted but Seo Jae-pil himself had an expression that didn't care and was only earnestly ordering.
"Well, don't open your mouths. One, two, three!"
"Ugh, heave!"
"It's done! They're moving!"
With his command, everyone put all their strength, and the cart wheel quickly came out of the pit, and upon confirming this, Seo Jae-pil hurriedly picked up a plank and pushed it into the gap and said.
"Well, if we put this on, the other carts won't sink as much when passing. Pay attention at the front."
"Understood, General!"
"Yes, good work."
After patting the soldiers' shoulders with 'tuk tuk' and giving them strength, Seo Jae-pil returned to his position, and the soldiers and adjutants who were blankly watching him hurriedly returned to their positions and began earnestly encouraging the other unit members.