Joseon Needs a Coup - Chapter 215



Only Noblemtl

#215. Glorious Days of the Navy (8)

The bombardment that lasted about 10 minutes ended with a loud crash.

The lead ship, hit by shells of various calibers, disappeared deep into the sea along with the captain and 120 crew members, leaving only about 10 survivors.

The plains, which were adrift with their engines completely stopped, met a similar fate.

Despite the cruiser fleet’s offer to surrender, they resisted fiercely, returning fire with their remaining guns.

Eventually, these people, who were hit by two torpedoes fired by the cruiser Rurik, slowly sank along with most of the crew.

The torpedo boats that met the end of the two friendly cruisers also met an end not much different from the others.

Perhaps the most vain of endings. Unlike the cruisers, they were unable to put up a proper fight and were destroyed by concentrated fire, leaving behind only floating debris.

The cruiser crew, who thought they had taken proper revenge, even though it was so one-sided, cheered in unison and recited the patron saints of the Orthodox Church they worshipped.

It was the best revenge they could take right after the cowardly surprise attack at Jemulpo.

Watching the final moments of the slowly sinking cruisers, Bezobrazzoff ordered the bows to turn around.

If I had my way, I would have bombarded Busan Port and even dropped mines as a gift, but unfortunately, the current cruiser fleet did not have anything like that.

“Tch, I should have brought some mines with me when I came from Lushun.”

“If that were the case, Admiral Stark would be furious.”

Well, the guys who took all the mines to defend Lushun would never give them up for something that didn’t even seem important on the outside.

He smacked his lips with a regretful expression, but there was nothing he could do about it right away.

He ordered the fleet to turn around and head toward the Japanese transport fleet, which was still being confronted by a small Korean fleet.

There was plenty of change left for them to collect.

***

“W-What is this?! Our transport fleet is destroyed!”

“···Two protected cruisers from the 7th Squadron were also sunk. Four torpedo boats from the 10th Squadron were also sunk. This news just came from Sasebo, so it should be accurate.”

“Oh, this is fucking bullshit!”

At the headquarters, everyone, including the Army and Navy, was speechless at the shocking news that came from Busan.

The enemy fleet leisurely came all the way to Busan, which could be called the tip of Japan’s chin, and swept away not only the 18 transport ships, but also the two cruisers and four torpedo boats of the 7th Squadron that had rushed out of Busan to escort them.

“Has the damage status been calculated?”

“Yes. Eight of the eighteen transport ships were sunk, and the remaining ships barely made it to Busan, but most of them were severely damaged. The casualties are still being counted, but I can only say that the damage was enormous.”

Fortunately, the remaining ships of the 3rd Fleet near Sasebo and Tsushima rushed forward, and when they realized the seriousness of the situation and urgently reinforced a destroyer squadron under the 2nd Fleet in Gunsan, the enemy fleet suddenly disappeared upon detecting this, so it was possible to end it like this.

It was such a fatal attack that if it had been even a little later, the entire transport fleet might have been annihilated.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that the damage suffered so far is light.

The 2nd Division 3rd Brigade troops, reserve infantry, and various ammunition, food, and other supplies that were loaded onto eight ships sank to the bottom of the sea.

The damage is still being tallied, so that speaks volumes.

The Army estimated that it had lost approximately 1,000 troops from the 3rd Brigade, 2,000 reserve infantrymen, and over 20 artillery pieces, while the Navy estimated that, in the worst case scenario, it had lost approximately 6,000 troops, half of the transport force.

Of the 36 transport ships assigned to support the 1st Army across the Korean Peninsula, eight were sunk and ten were damaged. Half of the assigned transport force was lost.

This caused the captain’s face to turn pale.

It was understandable that the latest high-speed passenger ships and merchant ships that were supposed to be used for military support were lost, given that there was a shortage of civilian ships that could be used for domestic demand.

The problem of how we will cope later if we start using the main beam already while sacrificing civilians to support the military as much as the transport ships that have disappeared so meaninglessly has been continuously pointed out.

Well, since the Prussian method of sacrificing civilians for military purposes is the worst reproduction of the tradition of the modern Japanese Empire, the Imperial Headquarters may have ignored it, saying, “What do you mean, civilians?” but it was clear that the relationship between the civilians and the military would become awkward in the future.

The anger of all social classes at the fact that the enemy’s strategy of destroying trade was already known but was not properly responded to must have been considerable.

The anxiety of foreign ship owners and the surge in insurance premiums due to insurance companies’ concerns about entering the coastal waters of Japan were also sufficient risk factors.

Blocking the sea route is a problem that is directly connected to suffocating the Japanese Empire.

“Mr. Navy, this is a serious problem. Hasn’t the 3rd Fleet shown that it is difficult to patrol the waters adjacent to the Korean Peninsula, let alone the Korean Peninsula, by itself?”

Yamagata barely suppressed his anger and spoke to Admiral Yamamoto, the Minister of the Navy.

With a look in his eyes as if to say, ‘The current situation has occurred because you did not pay proper attention.’

“What on earth did Admiral Teragaki, who was in charge of the 3rd Fleet, do? If the media starts sniffing around about this, the problem will get worse. Our young people, who were like rags, were killed before they even reached the Korean Peninsula. Someone must be held accountable!”

The Admiral seemed about to say something in protest, but soon closed his mouth.

It was not that there was nothing to say. With 18 protected cruisers in 3 squadrons, old-fashioned guns, and 12 torpedo boats, it was not enough to patrol the waters near the Japanese archipelago, and on top of that, they had to guard the waters near Joseon, which was tantamount to murderous work.

And these fucking army guys.

I couldn’t understand why anyone was swearing at anyone after having slaughtered four battalions since the beginning.

He wanted to protest, but he had to keep his mouth shut because it seemed like he could lose his balls if he said one wrong word.

Because that flying ball might be between your shoulders.

“It is not good for them to move so openly in the waters off Busan. They attacked once, so why can’t they attack twice? As soon as the transport ships are exposed, such attacks will occur. Why would the enemy hesitate to attack a transport ship without an escort ship?”

Everyone nodded to Yamagata’s words. The Hiroshima-Busan route, which could be said to be the shortest distance, was exposed to the enemy and suffered such a great blow.

And these problems were likely to have a negative impact on the reinforcements for the 2nd and 3rd Armies, which were soon to leave to attack Lushun and Dalian.

There was no guarantee that the transport ships carrying the 2nd and 3rd Armies, which were supposed to land in Dalian, capture the fortress of Lushun, and launch a full-scale invasion of Manchuria, would not be attacked while sailing like this.

“We need immediate action. The Minister of the Navy will have to find a way.”

“···We will reinforce the 2nd Fleet to assist the 3rd Fleet in its mission. Realistically, that is the only way we can do it now.”

In the end, the Minister of the Navy had no choice but to take a desperate measure. The 1st Fleet, which had already been struggling to surround Lushun, had no choice but to withdraw some of the 2nd Fleet’s forces to support the 3rd Fleet.

It was obvious that Admiral Heiachi Togo, the Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet, would be upset, but I had no choice but to convince myself that if I explained the situation, he would reluctantly understand.

“By the way, this is too fatal. The enemy is blatantly targeting the transport fleet.”

“That’s because the Roske are cunning. The Vladivostok cruiser fleet that launched this attack was created with this kind of trade destruction in mind.”

The fact that these ships had fast speeds and powerful punching power for a cruiser was enough to explain their intentions.

“It’s also a problem that the Joseon Navy, which had no presence there, came forward. Their momentum will rise significantly. The ones who inflicted the greatest damage on our transport fleet were not the Roske’s cruisers, but the Joseon Navy’s destroyers’ torpedoes.”

“···You are putting to good use what you learned in France.”

Everyone let out a deep sigh. The result of this attack was a problem that would inevitably have a direct impact on the movements of the entire Korean peninsula.

The thought that something was wrong was growing in my head, but I couldn’t easily say it out loud.

“There will be chaos in Gyeongseong’s first army as well.”

“It’s going to be chaos. Not only the 2nd Division 3rd Brigade, but also the reserve infantry that was supposed to reinforce the damage suffered by the 23rd Brigade and the Parking Corps have melted away.”

Yamagata imagined for a moment what the expression on the face of the commander of the Kuroki 1st Army would be like, and then stopped. If he himself at the headquarters was having such a headache, he wondered how the frontline commanders must be feeling.

At a time when everyone was now deeply contemplating not ‘How to win the war?’ but ‘How to resolve the tangled issues of the Korean Peninsula?’, someone spoke up.

“Gentlemen, in this situation, we must have the 1st Army currently in Gyeongseong launch an attack on Pyongyang immediately. If we leave things as they are, our army will end up alone.”

Everyone looked toward where the voice came from.

There stood Lieutenant General Nogi, the new commander of the Third Army. I thought he was busy organizing his troops, but when I saw Marshal Oyama waving his hand behind him, it seemed like he had called him urgently.

In any case, it was true that the headquarters was the most reliable problem solver in times of crisis.

“Lt. Gen. Nogi, it’s been a while.”

Nogi paid no attention to Army Minister Terauchi’s greeting. He raised his voice toward everyone.

“Gentlemen, I won’t speak at length. We must order the 1st Army to attack Pyongyang immediately. If we are not careful, we may be completely caught up in the enemy’s strategy.”

He was appointed commander of the newly established 3rd Army at the suggestion of his friend Gentaro Kodama, and was soon scheduled to be deployed to conquer Port Arthur and Dalian as a follow-up to the 2nd Army.

“Fifty percent of Russia’s ground forces are trapped in Port Arthur. A garrison of 50,000 men is fortifying itself and waiting for us to arrive. The Pacific Fleet in Port Arthur is blockaded, but its power is still intact.”

He pointed to the map and said, Lushun was very kindly highlighted. And the transport plan for the 2nd and 3rd armies to that place was also written in small letters.

“If our transport fleet is destroyed in this attack and the 1st Army is forced to retreat without receiving the follow-up troops and supplies it needs for its offensive, the enemies in the northern part of the Korean Peninsula will form even more solid defensive lines.”

According to information already extracted by continental intelligence sources, at least three brigades of local troops had rushed to defend Pyeongan Province.

“But the 1st Army reported that it would begin its mobilization on the 13th of next month. If we were to change the offensive schedule now, it would cause great confusion for our troops on the front lines.”

He heard the words of a certain staff member. However, Nogi responded to his words very simply.

“If we don’t move immediately, the 1st Army will be surrounded and killed. Even before the 2nd and 3rd Armies reach Lushun. Even if it’s a bit difficult, we must launch an offensive while we still have supplies and troops to spare.”

“but···.”

“War is all about seizing the right moment, and not letting the enemy take it easy. And now is that moment.”

He spoke firmly to his staff, who were trying to drag out their words. He could not give the enemy any more time.

“Furthermore, if we hesitate, the Russians may abandon their defensive stance and set the front line not in Lushun and Dalian, but in the northern part of the Korean Peninsula. Wouldn’t that be extremely unpleasant?”

“Um, that’s true···.”

It was the worst thing anyone in the Imperial Headquarters could think of. As Nogi had said, it was beyond unpleasantness, it was declaring the war a failure.

Some intelligence reports had already indicated that thousands of Russian cavalry were crossing the border and moving south, and that reserve forces had also been called up to significantly strengthen the defense forces in the Pyeongan Province area, so action had to be swift.

“The Koreans are cunning. They are used to buying time in exchange for giving up their important cities at any time.”

Nogi himself remembered the story of a Korean general who had observed a Japanese army maneuver exercise in 1901.

They spoke with great confidence.

Instead of giving up space, they were trying to buy time and ultimately lead the enemy’s offensive to its final destination, which was similar to the ‘internal strategy’ used against the Black Ships in the past, but in a more modern form.

“However, this also has its weak points. Except for some troops, they will show an extremely defensive and passive attitude. In some areas, they will probably give up areas easily without fighting and try to buy time by making the friendly forces let their guard down. However, if the 1st Army takes action right now, they can make the enemy’s efforts go to waste.”

“But the 1st Army suffered considerable damage in the early campaign. If we deploy them to attack Pyongyang, something unfortunate could happen. So, according to Commander Kuroki’s judgment, we set the attack date as November 13th.”

To Yamagata’s question, he answered straight away. In a situation where things have changed, past strategies are unlikely to be effective.

“As you all know, time is never on our side. Rather, it is closer to the enemy’s side. The destruction of our transport fleet is certainly a great disaster. It may be difficult to repair the damage to the 1st Army, but if we miss this moment, we… will not be able to avoid defeat.”

He believed that only a powerful offensive could save the allies in crisis. He believed that bold maneuvers and the overwhelming will to fight of commanders and soldiers could change the fate of the battle.

“Isn’t that an exaggeration?”

“Don’t forget that the Baltic Fleet and reinforcements from mainland Russia will arrive soon.”