It's Daniel Steiner's Trap
It's Daniel Steiner's Trap
The Mechanized Infantry Brigade directly under Imperial General Staff Headquarters deviated from its route and entered a nearby forest.
The sight of approximately 4,000 soldiers leading tanks and half-tracks into the forest was nothing short of spectacular.
The tanks, which had been advancing without hesitation, trampling the small trees fallen along the roadside, gradually slowed down before coming to a complete halt.
Because the order of Brigade Commander Daniel Steiner had been passed down.
"We bivouac here today! I repeat! We bivouac here today!"
When the officer who heard the radio message shouted, the soldiers repeated it back, and the order was naturally relayed.
The soldiers, having set down the packs they carried on their backs, pitched tents and began sentry duty according to their officers' instructions.
While they were busily moving about, Daniel dismounted from his military vehicle and stretched his stiff body.
'It's already been a week of marching. I feel exhausted even though I haven't done anything yet.'
If he was feeling tired just from riding in a vehicle, he could only imagine how the soldiers must feel.
That was why he had ordered them to begin bivouac preparations earlier than usual today.
So that the soldiers could recover from their fatigue, even just a little.
'And also....'
Daniel didn't have the slightest intention of arriving at Penbark quickly.
'I was sincere when I told the Chief of the General Staff that occupying Penbark would help suppress the spread of the war, but that didn't mean I wanted to do it myself.'
He didn't want to repeat that terrible battle he had experienced when he was the Chief of Staff of the 7th Armored Division.
Because he absolutely refused to twist his body to survive on a battlefield where his life could be snuffed out at any moment.
'So I'll delay the battle as much as possible.'
Daniel Steiner's plan was simple.
'By now, they'll know we're coming....'
The Penbark Defense Force, upon hearing the news, would naturally request support from the Allied Forces.
What Daniel wished for most was for Allied reinforcements to arrive before the brigade could occupy Penbark.
'Because I can use the excuse that the enemy's response was swift, and while we're in a standoff, I can request reinforcements and rest at the same time.'
If things worked out well, Imperial General Staff Headquarters would give up on occupying Penbark and issue a return order.
If that happened, Daniel would naturally be able to impress upon the Chief of the General Staff that he was 'not a competent front-line commander.'
'The icing on the cake would be if the Chief of the General Staff becomes disappointed in me. She'll realize I'm unnecessary as a front-line commander and never send me to the battlefield again.'
It was a perfect plan.
However, a condition had to be met for this perfect plan to work.
'The Chief of the General Staff must judge that I didn't disobey orders.'
It was only natural, but the moment he deliberately stalled the army's advance, he could be summoned to a court-martial.
Even if it wasn't a court-martial, a mutiny could break out the moment perceptive officers or soldiers realized that 'the Brigade Commander is deliberately stalling the advance.'
He had no intention of delaying the battle while taking such risks.
So the stratagem Daniel came up with was 'to move in a way that allows the enemy to respond.'
What this meant was, from the moment he led the brigade out of the capital, except when bivouacking, Daniel had been moving along a straight route.
As if there was only one destination.
'Unless he's an idiot, the Penbark defense commander will know that an Imperial brigade is heading for the bridge over the middle reaches of the river.'
Unless he was prepared to completely halt the city's functions and engage in urban warfare, the Penbark defense commander would carry out a delaying action until reinforcements arrived.
The key to a delaying action was obstructing the enemy's movement route, and as such, they would either try to destroy the bridge or set up an ambush operation while lying in wait nearby.
Neither option was bad for Daniel.
If the Penbark Defense Force destroyed the bridge and left, it meant the road was blocked.
Then he would just have to buy time by saying he needed to find a crossing point, moving down to the shallow waters of the river's lower reaches.
On the other hand, if the bridge was intact, he would order an all-out reconnaissance on the grounds that something was suspicious.
If they discovered the enemy in the process, he would order a temporary retreat using the excuse that their position was unfavorable, and buy more time by moving to the lower reaches of the river.
'Well then. What will you do, Chief of the General Staff? When you hear the report, you won't be able to convene a court-martial since I'll just be an incompetent general.'
Just make me serve in the rear obediently.
As he wore a smile that conveyed that meaning, Pelf, the intelligence staff officer, approached him.
"Brigade Commander. May I have a word with you?"
He had decided not to return to the 7th Armored Division but to become a staff officer under Daniel Steiner. Thanks to higher command's approval, he was still working under Daniel.
From Daniel's perspective, it was a bit awkward, but since he couldn't push him away, he nodded.
"What is it, Major Pelf?"
"Ah. It's nothing, but...."
Pelf spoke with a slightly troubled expression.
"I understand that the Brigade Commander is advancing toward the bridge over the middle reaches of the river. If we secure a sturdy bridge, we can advance quickly and, of course, receive supplies easily. So securing the bridge is practically the core of this battle."
"So?"
"The problem is that the enemy will know that. Our army's movement route is steadily heading toward the bridge over the middle reaches of the river, so even if the enemy doesn't want to know, they can't help but know. Surely they'll be setting up an ambush or trying to blow up the bridge, won't they?"
Daniel secretly broke out in a cold sweat.
Because everything Pelf said was correct.
"It would be better to go down to the lower reaches of the river, find a spot where the riverbed is solid and shallow, and have the engineer company create a temporary crossing point."
He wasn't wrong, but if they went down to the lower reaches right away, time would be shortened.
From Daniel's perspective, who wanted to drag things out as much as possible, it was advice he absolutely couldn't accept.
But if he said, 'Because I don't want to fight, I need to buy time,' the respect Pelf held for him might turn into disgust, and he might draw his pistol.
Daniel, who had been mulling over how to answer, turned to look at the soldiers pitching their tents.
"Major Pelf."
The eyes filled with melancholy were a bonus.
"Your words are so accurate they could be in a textbook. Certainly, if one doesn't want to take risks, it would be right to follow your advice. But there seems to be one thing you're overlooking."
Daniel slowly closed and opened his eyes, then looked at Pelf seriously.
"The battlefield never flows according to the textbook. Because it is not the textbook that commands the battle, but humans. Do you know what this means?"
Daniel himself didn't know what it meant.
He was just pretending to sound profound.
But that pretense of profundity gave Pelf a sort of enlightenment.
"......Are you, by any chance, trying to use reverse psychology against the enemy?"
There was no way that was true, but Daniel nodded gravely.
"Because tactics and strategy are, in the end, about dealing with humans."
To someone who didn't know Daniel's true feelings, he was nothing short of a competent general the likes of which would never be seen again.
*
Meanwhile, at the Penbark Defense Command, Command and Control Room.
"Your Excellency! The full military muster is complete! Please give your orders!"
At the words of the regiment's deputy commander, Defense Commander Dolbaf let out a low groan.
Having to face Daniel Steiner felt like a heavy burden.
But he couldn't just sit idly by, so he maintained his composure and opened his mouth.
"......What is the current movement route of the enemy brigade?"
"They are moving toward the bridge over the middle reaches of the Ebrand River. It seems they intend to secure the bridge. Judging by their advance speed, we can reach the bridge first."
The operations staff officer, who had been listening beside him, chimed in.
"Your Excellency. We must act before those bastards secure the bridge. How about leading the troops there and setting an ambush?"
It was the orthodox approach.
Because if they led the troops and ambushed them near the bridge, they could win with a high probability.
'But....'
Dolbaf couldn't shake his ominous feeling.
Dolbaf, who had remained silent for a while, slowly lifted his gaze.
"Is that so? Can you truly say it is the right thing to do, to send the army to the bridge and order an ambush?"
The staff officers, who didn't understand what Dolbaf was talking about, looked at each other.
Watching them, Dolbaf quietly continued.
"If the enemy commander were some nobody, I would have accepted the staff's opinions and ordered an ambush at the bridge. But what we're up against is Daniel Steiner. Everyone here knows that the bastard is like a cunning fox."
Only then did the staff officers realize what Dolbaf was saying, and each of them tensed up.
"Did Daniel Steiner use a direct approach during the Nordia invasion? What about when he captured the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Belmore in the border zone? Even when he fought the Allied 12th Armored Division, the bastard reverse-engineered the spatial movement using Ethelium as if he were showing us how it's done."
Dolbaf closed his eyes as if he were sick of it.
"Daniel Steiner always set a trap in his own den and waited for the enemy to come. In that respect, look back on the current situation. Does this look normal?"
Dolbaf pointed to the enemy movement route on the operational map laid out on the command table.
"Daniel Steiner is strangely exposing his movement route to us. As if to say, 'We're going to secure the bridge, so come and stop us'! I ask the staff once more! Does this look normal to you?!"
The staff officers had no choice but to remain silent.
Because Dolbaf was right.
If Daniel had prepared some kind of trap and was waiting, the Defense Force would inevitably suffer massive damage.
Having persuaded his staff, Dolbaf let out a low sigh.
"We are not sending the army to the bridge. It's regrettable to lose the bridge, but......."
Dolbaf's eyes trembled once as he turned to look at his staff.
Biting his lip hard, Dolbaf continued with difficulty.
"Because avoiding dancing in Daniel Steiner's palm is the priority."
And as he said this, Dolbaf thought.
'Daniel Steiner. I won't let myself be played the way you want.'
No matter what, he resolved not to fall into Daniel Steiner's trap.