I Will Stage A Coup D’état - Chapter 7



Only Noblemtl

EP.7 Spanish Civil War (3)

The Korean army’s attack on Madrid, which began in December 1936, achieved significant results.

South Korean forces completely drove out Republican soldiers from the University district of Madrid, one of the most important battlegrounds.

The losses suffered by the Republican forces in this attack were not small.

The Soviet volunteer army attempted a counterattack using its own T-26 tanks, but it was useless.

The Korean military had an invincible friend in the form of concrete structures.

“You stupid Ivans. Pushing tanks into a street fight without any coordination. You’re putting on a show to make a tank teppanyaki.”

We relied solely on our defensive capabilities and recklessly pushed forward, destroying the Soviet tanks with flying colors.

When passing under a building, throw a Molotov cocktail or grenade and it will go boom.

If you pass by a sheltered position without knowing it, you will be hit from the side by an anti-tank gun.

As they crawled through the complex ruins, they ruined their tracks with the piano wires they had installed.

That’s what they said, but a tank is a tank.

Moreover, unlike similar tanks such as the Nazi’s Panzer I, the T-26 was a modern tank with fairly good defensive and offensive capabilities for 1936 standards.

As a result, in order to capture a few Soviet tank crews in a battle, they had to be prepared to sacrifice some of the ship’s infantry.

“When I return to my home country, I will insist that we must develop tanks. This time, I realized how difficult it is for infantry without tanks to fight.”

Operations Chief of Staff Colonel Park Jun spoke in a strong tone.

Well, it’s better to have something than nothing.

The problem is that even if we try to produce tanks of Korean size, we won’t be able to compete with the communists.

They’re crazy guys who produced tens of thousands of tanks even during the Cold War.

Anyway, everyone seemed to have become believers in the tank religion after seeing the majesty of the red tank.

A more reliable countermeasure against enemy tanks was needed.

If casualties pile up like this, it won’t be good for my position at all.

The only sure way would be to have an anti-tank weapon that could suppress the T-26 from a distance, but there is no such weapon.

‘Is that all?’

I already knew the answer.

Even the weapon was an all-weather weapon that could be used even in the sky.

‘Aht aht.’

88mm anti-aircraft gun.

The legendary war weapon loved by the German army.

When I asked Colonel Ha Yu-jin, who is also in charge of liaison with the German military, he said that the only models currently deployed to the defense forces are the FlaK 18 and Flak 36, and that the latter is not enough to meet the demands of the German military.

I asked my home country to purchase 88mm.

“I’m not asking for a tank to counter the T-26. I’m sure there should be a weapon to counter it. Even a FlaK 18 would be fine, but I’d like to be given an 88mm.”

The Army responded lukewarmly to my demands.

To sum up their reaction in one word:

‘Ah, I don’t have any money, so why are you asking me to buy you expensive foreign weapons? It’s not even an anti-tank gun, it’s an anti-aircraft gun?’

I, too, had no intention of backing down after eating just one bite of the Pakku.

‘It’s time to borrow the power of the ruthless politician, Lee Seong-jun. Come and get a taste.’

As a veteran tactician trained in battle, I took advantage of the Army’s weaknesses and let their guard down.

An anonymous letter of accusation was sent directly to the National Assembly, the largest political party in Korea.

And a few days later, there was chaos in the home country.

“The soldiers have no weapons to fight against the Reds’ iron horse, so they fight with Molotov cocktails and grenades. Is this, is this the reality that is happening in the strongest army in the East?”

“Yes, sir. Our army also has anti-tank weapons….”

“Oh, what good is a weapon that only knocks on iron plates?”

To be honest, it wasn’t to that extent, but that was the atmosphere of the congressional hearing, he said.

It is true that the Korean Empire’s National Assembly lived as a puppet of the military, but it did not live in silence or bow its head.

Since the parliament and cabinet were nominally above the military, there were often instances of parliamentarians harshly scolding military generals when there was a justification for it.

Shouldn’t we advertise that ‘we are not a military dictatorship but a constitutional democracy’?

Anyway, when the members of the National Assembly shouted, the effect was immediate.

The Army Department spit out the budget as if nothing had happened.

However, I added one clue.

88mm will ‘absolutely’ destroy the tank.

Otherwise, he said he would hold them ‘responsible’.

In late January 1937, our troops received twelve German-made 88mm anti-aircraft guns.

Of course, it was difficult to use these weapons right away.

Proper use of the 88mm required proper training.

I thought so, but things in the world aren’t always like that.

“Our soldiers destroyed the T-26 with 88mm guns?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Every day, I saw an enemy tank firing its main gun at a certain position, and I set the gun angle to 88mm.”

Chief of Staff Colonel Gong Sang-jin reported on the 88mm’s achievements and suggested awarding medals to the soldiers who destroyed the tanks.

‘This is an angle.’

I did some self-promotion and called in a war correspondent from my home country for an interview.

“So, as soon as you got your hands on the weapon that the General claimed to have acquired with ‘foresight,’ you achieved success.”

“Um. Well, yes.”

“You are amazing. I am learning from you, General, the insight of a competent soldier.”

My conscience is a little prickly, but it is still a crime to have gotten something for free.

Anyway, I am a pseudo-politician who lives off of my image.

There was no problem with a little ‘unintentional’ hype.

Aren’t nitrogen cookies like that?

I held a newspaper in one hand and a criminal record report in the other and shouted at my home country.

In this way, Pyongyang had no choice but to become mute.

At least, my country would not interfere with whatever I did on Spanish soil.

The expeditionary force was now like my kingdom.

I began to tease the officers of the expeditionary force as I had done in the division.

It started with individual meals.

At such a meeting, I indirectly lamented the ‘reality of the country’ and the incompetence of the military, and if caught up in this, I talked about my vision for the future of the country.

We didn’t share too many stories at once.

I treated the officers appropriately, drawing a line.

As some time passed, the atmosphere within the expeditionary force changed strangely.

“His Excellency Lee Seong-jun is truly a wise man of this age and a visionary who will build our country on a rock.”

“Do you know how many plans Your Majesty has? Your Majesty was born to lead the great Korean people.”

The young officers would clip out my editorials from the Korea Daily and carry them around in iron cases.

Oh, um. That’s a bit.

Anyway, there was a strong atmosphere of following me among the young officers.

Older, senior officers were a little different.

They considered me to be a reasonably competent tactician or commander.

So, I started to feel uncomfortable with the atmosphere of people ‘following’ me.

This atmosphere became even stronger when I took the initiative to roam the battlefield wearing a monocle.

“Do you know what His Majesty said when he personally inspected the front line where bullets were flying?”

“No. What did you say?”

“The soldiers are my children. I cannot leave them in fear,” he said.

If this sounds like a story you’ve seen somewhere, you’re not mistaken.

Because I copied and used exactly what Walter Model said.

I often went on inspection tours in these ‘dangerous-looking’ areas to create ‘talking points’.

It is the duty of army idol Lee Seong-jun to provide his fans with something to talk about.

Through this ‘event’, I appealed to the Spanish expeditionary force and the soldiers in Korea about what an attractive soldier ‘Lee Seong-jun’ was.

This guy has a sexy brain, vision, and humanity.

Are you an all-powerful superhuman?

This was exactly the image I was aiming for.

As I built up a ridiculous image in Spain and became more and more famous, the War Office could no longer tolerate it.

They sent this Lee Seong-jun back to his home country by increasing the number of stars on my shoulder.

“If you’re a two-star lieutenant general, you’re not worthy of your unit’s rank. Just return.”

The Army Department that had sent me to Spain tearfully sent me back to Pyongyang, but it didn’t matter.

I increased my rank and also used up my image.

My strength has increased several times compared to before I went to Spain.

The day before I returned home, I had a small dinner with the officers of the dispatched force.

“If you ever have any difficulties in the future, come to me. You are mine forever.”

The investigation was clearly aimed at a private organization, but no one recognized that this was a problem.

The senior officers thought it was just a compliment, but the younger officers, being my followers, took it at face value.

However, these hints and the indirectly built bond will be of great help in ‘persuasion’ in times of emergency.

I ended my six-month service in the Spanish Civil War by saying goodbye to my officers.