Joseon Needs a Coup - Chapter 118
Only Noblemtl
#118. The earth collapses, the mountains are cut down (2)
“This is a disaster.”
I made this assessment of the news from the Allied Forces fighting fiercely at Nammun:
The only word that came to my mind was disaster. Up until a moment ago, I had been confident that I would be the first to reach the wall, but I was thinking that it might be difficult if the other Allied forces avoided doing stupid things.
But my expectations were wrong. The Allied command was more stupid than I had thought, or perhaps it was their obsession that they should be the first ones to invade the streets of Tianjin and plant their flags, but they were repeating the same mistakes they had made earlier that day.
They underestimated the Qing army under the vague belief that they would definitely be superior.
The overly optimistic notion that the great powers’ armies, clad in fancy uniforms and carrying machine guns, would advance in triumph and crush themselves was dashed within ten minutes of the start of the attack.
They started firing Mauser rifles, Mannlicher rifles, Krupp field guns, and even a Nordenfeld machine gun that may have been taken from some warehouse.
British, French, American, and Japanese troops advancing toward the vast farmlands and swamps of the south gate of Tianjin were caught in a situation where they could not move due to concentrated fire and artillery fire from the Qing army.
Colonel Emerson Liscombe, commander of the 9th US Infantry Regiment that had taken part in the attack, was killed by sniper fire from the Qing army lying in ambush on the castle walls, and the British and Japanese forces were in no better situation.
The death of the American commander in particular was quite shocking.
The battle took an even stranger turn when even Colonel Liscombe, a veteran of the American Civil War, the Indian Wars, and even the more recent Spanish-American War, was killed by a sniper.
The introduction of the offensive forces instantly turned into a battlefield of chaos, and as the armies of each country, unable to exercise unified command, haphazardly brought in relief forces, a catastrophe began to unfold in the southern gate of Tianjin in an instant.
The situation was dire for the British troops, who were stuck in the swamp and unable to move, and the American troops, who were advancing in the open field wearing dark blue uniforms and became targets. The Japanese and French troops, who were in a better situation than the two previous armies but were still surprisingly inferior in firefights, were in a desperate situation.
“Are you guys crazy?! Stop firing immediately!”
“······? Our artillery is currently engaged in combat with the Qing army at Dongmun.”
“Then you guys aren’t the ones firing at our unit right now?”
“What on earth are you talking about?”
This kind of ridiculous situation also occurred.
Those idiots sent messengers to the Russian and German troops to protest that the artillery fire that was hitting them so precisely could not have been done by the Qing artillery.
As expected, this was the result of accurate shelling by the Krupps of the Qing army’s artillery.
Originally, this was their land, so they would have calculated in advance where the enemy would enter from.
The conclusion that came out of approaching the Qing army so optimistically that it was impossible to even think of such an obvious idea was like this.
“Aren’t they stupid authors?”
I shook my head.
“It is the result of underestimating our enemies.”
The Nammun area was not just swamps and plains.
The South Gate itself was a strong fortress to begin with, and the Qing troops firing from behind the well-protected walls on high ground were psychologically quite stable.
Just as a soldier fighting while relying on proper cover is in a different state than a soldier exposed to firepower in an open field.
Fortunately, although the Qing army’s artillery fire was accurate, it did not cause much damage due to technical limitations.
This was because the Qing army’s characteristic of preferring direct fire over indirect fire was unique, but the failure rate of shells produced domestically in the Qing Dynasty was beyond imagination.
“Are you really going to do a night raid?”
“There is no other way. If we charge into the open walls like they did, we will meet the same result.”
I stood beside Major General Alexiyev, my sword resting on the ground, looking out at the Dongmun Gate of Tianjin, which lay in the distance along the railroad.
There, the military flag of the Seopsa Seong Muui Army was fluttering, and Qing soldiers were lined up on the castle walls.
As we showed no intention to attack, only exchanging occasional artillery fire, they appeared to be concentrating their forces on the urgent South Gate.
“This is a complete departure from standard operations, Colonel. Would you like to reconsider?”
“well.”
Lieutenant Colonel Posch looked at me with concern, but there was nothing to change my mind about.
“This is an unprecedented use of force. Of course, I don’t know about special cases such as light infantry units like the Shasser-Alpini or the Russian Cossack irregular cavalry, but I have rarely seen anything like this in regular units.”
“I intend to set that precedent today.”
“Excessive confidence is poisonous.”
“I want to open a new··· chapter in war.”
I put on a confident expression. And what I was going to show them was that the lower limit of troop command and control that regimental or battalion commanders could decide on was lowered to the company and platoon.
It was a truly simple shift in thinking.
Even without the introduction of new weapons or genius commanders, it was possible to open up a new phase of warfare through unprecedented methods.
In other words, it also meant that we could expand the range of infantry tactics and options that have been developing since World War I.
Of course, there is also the aspect that it was an inevitable choice to make the most of the firepower of each infantryman within the meager firepower of the Korean Empire’s army.
“Inevitably, war will become more sophisticated and detailed.”
Just as in modern warfare, an environment has arrived where individual soldiers can be commanded and controlled, rather than at the platoon or squad level.
“But it is unprecedented to give such autonomy to a platoon. How can we properly command them when we cannot know their troop control or combat situation?”
Since it was a time when communication devices and command and control systems were not precise, this level of risk was unavoidable.
It’s not like I didn’t know that.
However, entrusting the control of the unit’s forces to commanders rather than commanders and allowing them to move actively is what can create tremendous synergy effects.
If this system were properly established, if today’s battle would leave a clear precedent, there would be nothing to worry about. When setting a standard for anything, the most difficult thing is deciding what that standard is.
And once that ‘standard’ is set, things go smoothly. Following, applying, and finding new methods through that standard is what humans do best.
“So, Lieutenant Colonel Posh, wasn’t it you who insisted on forming a corps of junior officers with a strong attack spirit? If you can achieve your goal with that attack spirit, nothing is impossible.”
“It was intended to support the capabilities of commanders of battalion-level units or higher. There is no doctrine that says to operate in this way. If you say it well, it is radical, but if you say it badly, it is close to heresy. If it fails, there is no excuse.”
“That’s how doctrines are created anew, either by visionaries before the war or by veterans who have tasted a lot of blood during the war.”
Well, actually, this too was from the future, and it also showed a faint afterimage of the war that Foch would experience after 1914.
It was practically a stormtrooper tactic, except that they were not equipped with machine guns or submachine guns.
“So I will implant a new method in the army of this country. It is the best method that can be chosen in a country with a severe shortage of artillery.”
“I hope it’s not gambling.”
Oh, of course, I thought we could make up for it by mixing in the tactics that the Chinese army had brought in late 1950, along with the lack of equipment like machine guns and mortars.
By the way, it seemed like the Russian command post next door was still arguing.
The idea arose that we should cancel the night attack now, bombard the city until daybreak, and then advance with the infantry to capture it.
Admiral Alekseev, whose opinion was wavering, approached me and asked me once again whether it would be better to change the operation.
These gentlemen were good at fearlessly expanding their sphere of influence, but they were cautious only at times like this.
“It’s summer now, so the sun sets late. There’s no guarantee that they’ll let their guard down in the middle of the night. In that case, we should bombard them at night to tire them out, and then attack during the day—”
“No, this is a matter of speed.”
I flatly rejected it. It was clear that the Japanese would launch a surprise attack on the Nammun area tonight.
How do you know? Of course, with the British and American forces suffering a lot of damage and being in a state of financial stalemate, the only one who can monopolize the achievements is the Japanese. They will attack tonight, even if it means going all out.
“Do you intend, Admiral, to give all the credit to the Japanese?”
With just this one word, they will be quiet in an instant. So, are you going to hand over all your achievements to the Japanese military and just sit there? It is a subtle warning.
At those words, Admiral Alexeev and his staff fell silent. Their arrogance and pride were very easy targets for those who knew them well.
“Well, anyway, there is definitely the problem that the Admiral mentioned. But for that time, your country’s artillery corps is going to bombard the Dongmen area of Tianjin. Of course, our field artillery company is also going to ‘bombard’ the Dongmen area of Tianjin to attract attention.”
Well, even if we call it a field artillery company, it only has about 15 Maxim machine guns, but we could often find examples of the indirect fire of heavy machine guns being used in World War I and the Korean War.
This was a method of firing that focused on suppressive fire over a wide area, scattering fire from 2,000 meters away.
It wasn’t easy to convince the Russians.
Because the infantry and artillery despised each other, they were quite unfamiliar with the artillery fire support plan at the theater level.
They also preferred direct fire to indirect fire like the Qing artillerymen, but the quality of the artillery officers was not all that good.
So, even when I was firing distracting shots, I was barely able to make Major General Alexiyev and his staff ‘understand’ with the help of Colonel Puchata, who had begun to understand me while working with me.
Of course, how it was understood was a separate issue.
“Well, no matter what, the risk is too great.”
“Isn’t that the original purpose of infantry? If you aim your gun at the enemy’s chest, you should realize that the enemy is also aiming at your chest. Even if you have to endure damage from artillery fire, if you can just reach the castle walls, that’s enough.”
The main objective was to disperse the Qing army through nighttime distraction fire, while the assault infantry battalion, divided into platoons, would break through the castle walls under the cover of darkness at the scheduled time.
In an environment where it was difficult to mobilize siege artillery, it was the time when the formation of a breakthrough point for infantry was most necessary in the battlefield environment of a fortress assault.
If the assault infantry battalion succeeded in breaking through the Dongmun Gate, the infantry battalions reinforced by the demonstration brigades and the guard brigades would then expand the breakthrough, and through this expanded breakthrough the Russian and German forces would break through the front line.
Although this seemed like a simple operation at first glance, and was also a classic siege method that could be used to attack pre-modern fortresses, everyone seemed to be dissatisfied with the fact that from the beginning, it ignored all current tactical doctrines and strengthened the authority of the smallest unit.
“Everyone, there will definitely come a day when you will remember what happened today.”
I left a meaningful comment.
Of course, it was clear that they would leave today’s events in the swamp of oblivion even after this battle was over.
And when the day truly comes when they pay the price in blood, only then will they begin to resent their own forgetfulness.
I opened my pocket watch and checked the time. There were still three hours left until dusk.
I once again ordered the assault infantry battalion, which had been prepared as an attack force, to move to the attack line after dinner.
The tough infantrymen finally imagine what kind of history they will make in the future.
***
Twilight was approaching, and the hot, blazing Tianjin sun was disappearing.
And along with that, the ground, which had been soaking up the scorching sunlight for a while, began to feel a little cooler as it began to spit out the heat.
It was fortunate that it was not a time when tropical nights were rampant like they are today.
If that were the case, it would have been even more of a headache, as it would have inevitably led to non-combat casualties due to heat problems at night and morale problems among troops.
“Commander, we have deployed our troops to the planned attack line.”
“good.”
I looked at the map in the barracks by the light of the kerosene lamp.
I tried to go out to the battlefield and encourage the troops like last time, but Colonel Puchata and Lieutenant Colonel Foch scolded me and told me to act like a regimental commander, and when Major General Alexiyev saw that the commander of the US 9th Infantry Regiment was killed by a sniper shot in today’s battle, he forbade me to do so even more.
In the end, instead of going out to the front lines and commanding troops, he was forced to remain in the command post and look out toward Tianjin.
“We will launch the operation at the scheduled time. At 00:00, the Russian Field Artillery and the friendly Field Artillery Company will pour out a barrage of harassing fire on the Dongmun area.”
The batteries were blasting away, and the 76mm field guns were aiming their guns at the east gate.
The cavalry left their lines to check the Qing cavalry that was trying to get the ammunition and supplies coming through the battery of the cavalry, but I left one squadron of cavalry under the command of the advisor Harcourt under my direct command. It was always necessary to keep a reserve at hand.
“It’s about 2km from the starting point to the east gate. It’s a vast plain, as the railroad runs through it, but since the moonlight is faint today, if you make proper use of the night and distraction fire, you should be able to approach the castle without any major problems.”
“The biggest challenge is the two moats inside the outer wall.”
Lieutenant Park Seung-hwan and Deputy Lieutenant Kim Seok-joong each reported to me based on the results of their reconnaissance.
I was secretly very pleased. Not because of tactical insight or anything like that, but because we had finally moved away from the metric system and settled on the SI system, that is, the metric system, at least in the military.
It was two years ago that when the Russians used the unit called arsine while making the Mosin-Nagant, and when at the Military Academy, Dyer and Nienstedt used the yard-pound, the French officers who had been appointed as the Emperor’s personal military advisors were shocked and loudly called for the adoption of the metric system at least in the military.
In the meantime, I can’t help but feel very happy that I’ve managed to find a place for myself.
If the yard-pound system had become so deeply ingrained in the military, they would have been hanged long ago.