Joseon Needs a Coup - Chapter 227



Only Noblemtl

#227. Sedan and Austerlitz (4)

“I am the commander of the 5th Brigade. I have deployed my troops according to your will. I will personally command the troops in the city of Nampo and face the enemy!”

Battle preparations were also well underway in the city of Nampo.

Lieutenant General Lee Kang-nyeon, commanding the 5th Brigade, grabbed the receiver and reported directly to the commissioned officer that he had deployed all of his troops.

-There is no need for the brigade commander to stay behind. He can go to Yonggang and command the unit.

“I appreciate your consideration, but I will be here to fight the enemy directly! I can’t just send my men here to their deaths! Besides, many of them are conscripted artillerymen, civilians, and even peddlers from Jinnampo. I can’t help but feel bad about having only people with high morale but poor training.”

-···The brigade commander must not be killed.

The sergeant had repeatedly said that a commander should not die carelessly, but Lee Kang-nyeon shook his head.

I thought that it was necessary for generals to step forward themselves to lead their subordinates who were terrified on the battlefield that was inevitably collapsing.

That was the duty of a long-lived man, and at the same time, it was also the virtue of a subject serving his monarch.

“It doesn’t matter. If I am unable to stop the enemy forces and open the way to Your Majesty, wouldn’t it be the duty of a subject to sacrifice his life and die on the battlefield?”

So he had come to Nampo himself, and he had no intention of retreating no matter who came. Even if His Majesty the Emperor himself ordered him to retreat, he was determined not to listen unless the appointed time had passed.

Of course, there was another reason. In order to communicate with the artillery, the brigade commander decided that it would be effective to be in a city where there was a good telephone network.

In particular, two batteries were directly deployed to defend the city of Jinnampo, and they were also positioned to fire direct artillery fire as originally intended.

I personally judged that if the commanders directly controlled these things on the ground, they would be able to fight much more efficiently.

“And even if the main force is killed, it will be okay because I have capable subordinates left.”

The magistrate sighed as if he had read his determination, and reluctantly agreed.

-If the Brigade Commander is prepared for that… I wish you good luck. Oh, the enemy has taken control of Songnim Port this week and is coming across using a pontoon bridge and rafts. They will advance to Jinnampo as early as tomorrow morning. Please keep that in mind.

“Then tell them all to come. This will be their grave.”

He frowned and handed the receiver to his subordinate.

As I had hoped, the enemies were really advancing towards Jinnampo. No, not even Jinnampo.

The name itself was Jinnampo, meaning “the Japanese suppressed the Qing army here,” and the character “jin” (鎭) was added to indicate that the Japanese suppressed the Qing army. I didn’t like the name for many reasons.

“All the batteries sent from Sunmuyeong have been deployed as you instructed.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

He ordered that batteries be placed on hillsides that could control the main roads leading into Nampo.

Although it is a small mountain, only 100m high at best and 40-60m on average, in this area where there are mostly plains, even high mountains of that height are quite useful.

He went so far as to say that if fighting broke out in the city as soon as he arrived here, control of this place would determine the direction of the fighting.

“But… would the enemy come straight to Nampo without occupying the alternative?”

“Have you ever let someone who has been starving for days smell freshly cooked rice?”

“Um… I’ve seen it a few times. It’s like it’s half-animal.”

“Yes, the enemy will do that. And they won’t bother to come back. Nampo, where military supplies are abundant, is just a few mountains away, so there’s no reason for them to come back all the way to Daean. Besides, the enemy’s goal is to occupy Nampo and cut off our supplies here.”

“okay.”

“And if it’s the Japanese… it’s even more so.”

If it was the Japanese army that Lieutenant Lee Kang-nyeon personally experienced, it would be like that and more.

In particular, when we confronted the Japanese army in Andong, we had experienced their bold tactical maneuvers and their determination to sacrifice troops for strategic goals, and we experienced several defeats as a result.

They were a mixture of reason and madness, appropriately but most bizarrely.

If they rationally judged that they could gain some benefit, they did not care how many lives were lost.

After all, I think of the soldiers who died as a valuable ‘investment’ paid for the glory of the Empire of Japan.

“So, prepare well. The enemy will enter the outskirts of Nampo city by tomorrow morning.”

“Understood, Brigadier General.”

Residents were mobilized to build emergency forts and barricades were placed everywhere.

Lee Kang-nyeon vowed again and again that he would never act like the Japanese.

Each and every one of them was a son or daughter of Korea who deserved to live their lives.

I did not want to think of the lives of such people as something ‘worth paying’ for, sacrificing them in the name of the prosperity of the empire.

The sun was slowly setting in the west.

Now, as day began to dawn, the enemies would begin to attack without delay.

***

The anxious night passed, and morning finally came.

The sunlight filtering through the fallen snow began to shine much warmer than before, as if to signal that a brutal battle would soon take place here.

“Brigadier General, down! The enemies are finally starting to appear in front!”

“in the end.”

Shin Tae-hyu, who heard the report from the messenger sent from the forward position, could clearly see that the enemies that his 7th Brigade would soon face were approaching.

Enemies that had seemed far away were now within arm’s reach if you put your mind to it.

“The companies on the front lines reported that the enemy’s numbers were at least one battalion strong. However, judging by their strength, it would be more accurate to assume that they were more than that.”

“If Sunmuyeong’s information is correct, there is a high possibility that they are the 2nd Brigade under the Guards Division. Tell the messenger not to withdraw without the brigade commander’s orders, and to maintain contact with the enemy as much as possible.”

“Understood, Brigadier General.”

It seemed that the enemies who had occupied China were quickly gaining momentum and were advancing towards the Black Trade as well.

However, unlike the easily given China, I had to witness a different sight in this small town.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Flashes of light, the thunderous roar of gunfire, and the vibrations felt after impact began to fill the plains leading into Heukgyo-yeok.

It seemed like a full-scale offensive would follow soon.

It was quite grotesque, as the shells fell in the snowfield that had turned white over several days, leaving dark marks behind.

He doubted whether the messenger would be able to dodge through the thick artillery fire and properly convey his orders to the companies at the outpost.

The artillery fire seemed so lethal that it seemed as if the artillery was intent on completely obliterating our defensive lines before the infantry could prepare for a full-scale attack.

The only silver lining, however, was that the enemy’s artillery fire was quite slow.

Any artilleryman who served in the Joseon military knew this.

It seemed to be similar to the firing speed of the old-fashioned Deokguk Geuknobaek field artillery that Zuo Zongtang used to suppress the Hui rebels in Xinjiang.

“The enemy’s artillery fire is a bit slow.”

“Those guys, they don’t have a recoil pedal like the French field guns we use. They’re stupid.”

The artillery battalion commander said, grumbling.

“I saw them firing cannons during the last big exercise in Tokyo, but they don’t have recoil, so they have to reload after each shot. That’s why their firing must be very slow.”

“Is it like the Geuknobaek-gwasanpo (Korean name for the 6cm Krupp Kolonial und Bergkanone Modell 1870, which was called Gwasanpo because it could fire over mountains) that we used in the past?”

“That’s right, Brigade Commander. If you just give the order, we will suppress the enemy artillery.”

He said it with a confident look on his face.

“The enemy’s artillery can fire at most two rounds per minute, while our artillery can fire at most fifteen rounds per minute. You can also quickly identify enemy positions.”

The artillery battalion commander had already surveyed this terrain several times before the war and had even given it some context along with his staff.

And of course, the measures taken included defending the black market here.

In this case, since he had already anticipated all the possible enemy battery locations, it was only a matter of time before he could confirm the expected enemy positions, as he had said.

Shin Tae-hyu smiled as he looked at his confident expression.

Certainly, the officers from the northwest had this kind of boldness. And, this is exactly the kind of people we need now.

However, what came out of his mouth was a little different from what the artillery battalion commander had hoped for.

“That sounds good, but don’t start bombing the enemies right away.”

“Yes? But you can reduce friendly casualties early and suppress enemy artillery.”

He asked with a puzzled look, but Shin Tae-hyu answered with a big smile.

“Then the enemy infantry will not advance. The enemy’s troop deployment is very different from ours.”

Unlike their artillery, which independently planned its firepower projection, the Japanese army was infantry-centered, with artillery and cavalry being completely subordinate to it.

In such an army, if one wing supporting the infantry was destroyed, it was clear that the offensive would be halted and new methods would be sought.

“As you know, the enemy’s artillery is very deeply subordinated to the infantry. Even if we can inflict some heavy damage on the enemy’s artillery, it will be difficult to wage a war of attrition against the infantry.”

“Are you prepared to lure the enemies into the vanguard and fight a decisive battle?”

“As a commander, I believe it is necessary to actively reduce the enemy’s strength.”

Shin Tae-hyu spoke as if he had found a hidden part in Sun Mu-yeong’s order.

“If necessary, we must capture the enemies here and not let them go.”

He noticed that the Sunmuyeong, or rather the Sunmu Commander in charge of them, had the intention of preventing the Japanese Guards Division from concentrating at one point.

If that wasn’t the case, there would be no reason to give up Hwangju.

“Sunmuyeong is trying to block the enemies coming from Junghwa and Nampo. If we take a passive approach here, the enemy’s power could end up being concentrated in one direction.”

If that happens, it will be a complete mess.

Because the enemy did not know the exact number of our troops, such a bold plan could be made.

However, this was only a deception, and in reality, if one division’s power was completely concentrated in each direction, it would have been difficult to handle.

It is also true that it is extremely difficult to repel a division with a brigade’s strength.

“So you’re trying to provoke the enemy’s attack?”

“That’s right. The enemy has come here to Heukgyo without stopping via Hwangju, so they will try to overwhelm the defense line without delay. Let’s take advantage of that enemy’s nature.”

The enemies were too hasty. As soon as they saw that the friendly forces had emptied Hwangju, they rushed in excitedly, thinking that a battlefield favorable to them had opened up before they could even confirm the intention.

“Excellent. Then, I will have the battery stand by until further orders are given.”

He answered by nodding his head to the artillery battalion commander’s words.

Anyway, on the right wing of Heukgyo, there was a mountain that commanded the entire plain, and if the artillery battalion was deployed there, it would be able to control not only the enemy’s artillery but also the approaching infantry with its firepower.

“Brigadier General, below, the enemy infantry ranks are approaching.”

“Let’s see… I need to see with my own eyes how many enemies are approaching this place.”

He focused the binoculars he had around his neck and looked out over the plains to the south.

Amidst the white snowfield, men in dark military uniforms were marching north in formation.

How many of them will die in the fields outside the black market?

Shin Tae-hyu felt as if he was shivering without realizing it.

This land, which had been stained with the blood of our compatriots for decades, was now about to be filled with the flesh and blood of the Japanese.