Joseon Needs a Coup - Chapter 112
Only Noblemtl
#112. Glory and Terror Mixed (6)
“The enemies are fleeing! Shall we go and crush them all?”
“No, our goal is to break through Langfang and find Admiral Yeonggili and his men who have moved north along the railroad! Once they are somewhat organized, we will advance along the railroad!”
In a part of the city that had been reduced to rubble and ruins, I gave orders to the battalion commander and other company commanders.
The debut of the Assault Infantry Battalion was a great success.
Just like a fancy stage where idols debut, they fully demonstrated their true worth.
Of course, dynamite was a million times safer than the kind of high-quality, explosive-prone stuff that grenadiers used, but it wasn’t easy to throw something with such incredible explosive power right in front of enemy lines.
It was not for nothing that European armies treated grenadiers as elite soldiers.
Even as they watched the enemies shoot and their comrades die next to them due to poor quality grenades, they silently advanced forward and tore off the enemy’s limbs. They were men of such strong will that the word “strong heart” could not even describe them.
The trumpeters and drummers gathered the troops again, and I gave the order to leave only some troops here to form a defensive line, after which we immediately attempted to move quickly along the railroad.
“They’re trying to stop us again!”
Even though their ranks had already collapsed, their fighting spirit, fueled by religious fanaticism and hatred, seemed unbreakable, and they charged toward the assault battalion advancing along the railroad.
“Commence firing while moving forward!”
Of course, there was no time to seriously deal with each and every one of the remaining enemies, so they were quickly crushed by pouring out fire as they advanced.
Enemies who charged indiscriminately were repeatedly struck down by a hail of bullets, and those who occasionally approached were blocked by a wall of bayonets.
In most cases like this, the victim died a horrible death, with their head crushed by a buttstock or their lungs pierced by a bayonet, making their blood boil.
“Commander, over there!”
“······.”
The soldier in the lead shouted, and immediately I lifted the binoculars I was carrying and looked where he was pointing.
And finally, we were able to encounter the isolated rear of Admiral Seymour and his forces.
However, they were not alone there, and they were also facing a group of Boxers and enemy cavalry, engaging in a painful battle.
Amid the loud gunfire, flags indicating their affiliations could be seen fluttering.
“Form a line of three abreast. Quickly destroy the enemy’s formation!”
Although I was exhausted from fighting since morning, if I could land a proper blow this time, I could make it so that the Dongbok-sang guards and the Boxer rebels would have difficulty moving for a while.
When all three companies, except the fourth company that formed a defensive line in the rear, had joined in, I organized them into an attack formation.
As I watched the troops regroup, I emptied the spent cartridges from my revolver and counted the other cartridges on my waist.
Then, the other officers who saw it quickly checked how many bullets were left in the pistols they had been issued, and immediately began reloading.
Although there were no orders, other soldiers replenished their ammunition used up during the melee and prepared for the upcoming battle.
He pulled the bolt, inserted a new clip, and pulled the dynamite he had used up during the assault from his pack and stuffed it into his waistband. It was a smooth movement.
And everyone looked at me. They all had a look of half worry and half anticipation, as if they were waiting for the order to attack.
I cannot abandon their hearts, so I said, slung my sword over my shoulder in my left hand and raised the revolver in my right hand into the air.
“This attack will crush them. That is why our assault must succeed! Let only screams and cries of lament be heard from their ranks!”
“Advance!”
Along with a short but powerful speech by Lieutenant Park Seung-hwan, three companies in three ranks advanced to the sound of drums.
A familiar marching tune was played, probably the tune of the French military song, “The Song of the Onion.”
It was very upbeat and the lyrics were quite humorous, so it got the best response from the soldiers.
Personally, I wanted to make them sing the tune ‘Victory is Ours’, but I didn’t have the time or the need to get involved in that.
Because you just have to advance properly according to the melody.
As the brisk military song was repeated and the pace of the advance became faster and faster, the aggro was properly drawn to the Qing army and the Boxers who were attacking the positions that the Allied forces had been defending for a long time.
“stop!”
When the distance was about 300 to 400 meters, I gave the order to stop.
It was a pretty good shooting position.
It was a place where you could climb up to the high ground and engulf your enemies in a net of fire, while also watching their movements.
Along with that, the lively melody also stopped, and immediately the entire cavalry took up a firing position.
“Are you going to open fire here?”
“The 3rd Platoon and the Russian Navy Ground Forces will remain here and fire at the enemy lines. I will personally command the remaining 1st and 2nd Platoons and strike at the enemy’s lungs.”
“Is this the Colonel himself speaking?”
“Didn’t you take the lead and fight earlier? It’s dangerous. Instead, I, as the battalion commander, will take the lead and fight.”
“There is no need for that. Sometimes it is necessary for the higher-ups to take the lead. It is necessary to make the tired ones willing to fight on the battlefield.”
In particular, the accumulated fatigue of the 1st Platoon, which fought from the beginning, will be considerable.
If I continue to fight them all as they come, I will lose even more stamina, so I decided that for now, I needed to land a big, unforgettable blow and render them groggy.
To do that, I had to personally break through the enemy’s offensive unit lines and advance toward the center. That way, at least until the rescued units reorganized their lines and withdrew, the enemy would not make any significant moves.
“The battalion commander will stay with the 3rd company and block any enemies that may approach from the flank. Send a messenger to the cavalry to inform them of the situation.”
“Okay, take care.”
Instead of answering, I just waved my hand.
While the 3rd Platoon and the Russian naval infantry poured out their fire, the 1st and 2nd Platoons, waiting behind the hill, waited for the signal.
The signal to move forward was after three volleys, so everyone waited calmly.
There was cheering at the first Japanese attack.
Perhaps it’s the shouts of Admiral Seymour’s forces in the distance.
They seemed to be beginning to feel hopeful at the news that reinforcements had arrived.
They resisted, shooting even more and more fiercely than before.
Then an angry voice was heard in the Japanese colonial era.
It seemed that the enemies, who had only just realized that Langfang had been breached, were running towards us.
Screams echoed among their shouts and cheers.
It was the last cry of the dying.
Although he was creeped out, he didn’t show it and released the safety of his revolver.
So everyone held their breath and waited for the final salvo. And then, when the battalion commander, Lieutenant Park Seung-hwan, gave the order to fire, I stood up.
This was the perfect time for the shock troops to run wild, as the enemies were tangled up after receiving a barrage of fire.
Without any orders, the companies emerged, flanking the 3rd Platoon and the Russian Naval Infantry, who had been firing silently.
The charging enemies hesitated for a moment, but then charged forward, attempting to surround us and suffocate us with their sheer numbers.
I ordered forward fire and continued to descend the hill and pour down fire, and the 3rd Platoon and the Naval Infantry, which had regained their firing angle, also began to continue firing.
It was closer to individual fire than a volley like before, but the ceaseless barrage of fire provided a pretty solid cover.
Occasionally, retaliatory fire was fired in our direction, but it was not fatal as the already weak firepower of the Allied forces in front and the enemies on the flanks who had to deal with us was halved.
Still, casualties could not be avoided.
As cracks began to appear in the ranks as some soldiers fell to bullets, company and platoon leaders sent out others to fill in the gaps.
I also took my position on the right side of the battle line and continued to encourage the soldiers.
Of course, it was something that was accompanied by swearing and shouting, as well as words that were likely to boost morale.
As they slowly but surely overcame their numerical disadvantage and pushed the front line forward like a steamroller, this time the Allied forces also responded.
A group of soldiers, probably US Marines, rushed out of their defensive lines as if responding to our attack, putting pressure on the Boxers who had been hit from the flank.
Although there were only about 100 people in number, it seemed that the side on the defensive could not help but panic when the sudden change to an offensive was made.
Normally, in such cases, it would be necessary to deploy reserve forces to block the attack from a weak point, or to take tactical action by making a detour and counterattacking again, but it was difficult to expect that from them, who had no established command system. They were just pushed around like rabbits being hunted.
The moment to finally strike the decisive blow has arrived.
I put the whistle in my mouth and told him to repeat what he had done before.
Under cover of rifle fire, the soldiers of the 1st Platoon took out the dynamite they had stuffed into their waists and threw it as far away as they could.
Boom! Boom!
Although it didn’t have as much power as in the narrow city streets before, the shocked enemy lines couldn’t withstand this much.
The Allied forces, who had witnessed the dynamite being thrown around like madmen, looked this way with disgusted expressions.
But it didn’t end there.
As the whistle blew again, they began to pursue the fleeing enemies.
The enemies who had been gathering and gathering again collapsed as if their fanaticism was no longer of any use.
Although the enemies were large, they collapsed in an instant.
The friendly cavalry that had appeared here at some point also joined the front line.
Although they too were exhausted from the ensuing battle, they were not so exhausted that they could not crush the fleeing enemies.
Seeing them like that, the Allied forces took off their military hats and waved them at us, cheering, and I responded to their cheers after destroying the last group of resistance fighters.
“Thank you, thank you so much!”
They approached me, thinking that Captain Khmelev was the commander in chief, but he shook his head.
Then I made a gesture as if introducing a gentleman, and only then did the Allied officers look at me.
There were two main types of looks they gave me.
One was a surprise, the other was a disgust.
Well, I understand. Just a moment ago, the people who had rushed at them to kill them were Asians, and they had fought until they were about to burst, but it was Asians who had saved them from isolation, so they must have had mixed feelings.
Of course, this gaze also disappeared quickly.
“Greetings, gentlemen. This is the 1st Assault Infantry Battalion, dispatched by the Korean Empire to rescue you from this hellish place.”
“The Korean Empire? You said you declared an empire a while ago?”
The Allied officers who looked at us covered in blood were momentarily shaken by the name of a foreign country, but as soon as they learned that we were not hostile and that we were actually a relief force, they let go of their hostility. Perhaps it was also thanks to my relatively fluent English skills.
“Anyway, we should be grateful that you saved us.”
“Let’s do it later. I think we need to talk about whether we should withdraw from here or go further.”
As expected, the condition of the Allied forces did not look good at first glance. The commander, Admiral Seymour, was wounded and had bandages wrapped around him, and the other Allied forces were in a similar situation.
There appeared to be considerable casualties, from soldiers suffering from heatstroke to those killed or wounded in the battle earlier.
“Our army has cleared out Langfang, but the railway lines have been completely destroyed.”
“To the return railroad?”
“Yes. It looks like it will take quite some time to recover.”
Admiral Seymour had also expected this, but when it became reality, he just had a bitter expression on his face.
“May I ask, with all due respect, the extent of the damage and the amount of ammunition remaining?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. We’ve used up most of our ammunition, except for the US Marines. We’ve had a lot of casualties. Damn heatstroke…”
From what I heard, it seemed that 10% of the entire force suffered casualties.
In addition to combat casualties, non-combat casualties such as disease were also significant, and above all, ammunition consumption was severe.
Except for the U.S. Marine Corps, which greatly increased the ammunition carried by individual infantrymen as a result of the Spanish-American War, other countries’ armies were running low on ammunition, with less than 10 rounds per man.
There was another serious problem.
“Do you have any food left?”
In a situation where a nobleman like an admiral openly asked if there were any leftover food, we could see the current state of the expedition force.
I nodded silently and told the follow-up unit to send as much food and medicine from the camp as possible.
After all, the Allied Forces had no more power to hold out here.
I heard that they were planning to fight to the end without surrendering even if they ran out of ammunition.
It was true that even if he surrendered, there was no way the Boxers would spare him.
“It was my misjudgment and my greed. I never thought I would suffer such a humiliating defeat.”
“This is not a defeat. It was just an unexpected enemy.”
I consoled the self-reproaching Admiral Seymour.
Well, I would be upset if I were that person.
On June 10th, they had boasted that they would enter Beijing in one day and rescue the embassy, but a week later, they were surrounded and had barely made it 4km from Langfang.
In fact, I think you’ll feel more ashamed than that.
“Admiral, this place is isolated, so I recommend that you withdraw for a while and then head north to Beijing. We must reorganize our formation.”
“But there are still people in Beijing who are threatened by the mob. Are you saying we should leave them alone?”
Still, he seemed to be trying to cling to his last bit of pride.
“If we continue like this, we will all die. We have less than 2,000 cavalrymen. What are you going to do with a total of only 4,000 troops? On the way to Beijing, we will face more enemies than all the enemies we have encountered so far combined. We must bring more reinforcements.”
Continuing the offensive would have been a way to heal the wounds to my pride that I had suffered, but I rejected it outright.
Because now I had to put my effort into survival, not pride.
“Besides, there is still a long way to go before we can wipe out the remaining enemies. It is not too late to secure the supply route first and then attack again.”
I tried my best to calm him down and encouraged him to retreat.
Finally, after much deliberation, he agreed to gather his troops and withdraw to Langfang.
Until then, we had to continue to listen to their requests to support our troops, and of course we had to do so.