Joseon Needs a Coup - Chapter 228



Only Noblemtl

#228. Sedan and Austerlitz (5)

“Regimental Commander, enemy artillery activity is still not confirmed.”

“Hmm, is the enemy’s reserve force deployed in front of the front line? There’s strangely little response.”

Colonel Michiharu Umezawa, who was commanding the 4th Guards Regiment, said as if he found it strange.

This was because there was a fairly detailed reconnaissance report that the enemy in Pyongyang had sent a large force of two brigades here, one of which was a reserve force at the level of a militia.

The problem was that the village ahead was not large enough to accommodate two entire brigades.

The scouts confirmed that there were some defensive positions and garrisoned troops at two locations along the road leading into the village, which appeared to be forward lines, but they were only as large as two companies.

So the question then was where the rest of the troops were.

“Then where is the one regular brigade?”

“There is a mountain range between Heukgyo and Junghwa, so I wonder if it was left out to defend that side.”

“It’s not something that can be discussed so simply. The enemy’s regular forces and reserve forces are completely different.”

Lieutenant Michiharu Umezawa was deep in thought with his lips pursed.

The friendly forces’ slow artillery barrage continued, and about 2km away from the enemy lines, infantry companies were advancing one by one to form a dense skirmish line along the designated attack preparation line.

And on that side, platoon-sized advance units were ready to advance, and when they began to advance, it was safe to say that the normal attack formation of a Japanese infantry battalion had been established.

Even though preparations were complete, Umezawa continued to worry.

This was because the regular brigade, which could easily be seen as the enemy’s main force, might pop out from an unexpected place.

“The division commander is furious and asking why the attack is being delayed.”

“In case of emergency, request reinforcements from Yoshijiro’s 3rd Regiment. I don’t know what the enemy’s intentions are right now, but…”

I felt a very impure intention. It was very irritating to give Hwangju in the first place, but the more they bombarded that small village now called Heukgyo, the more irritating things became.

“The enemy artillery is too quiet. Just like that Kikoshi author said.”

Umezawa said slightly annoyed. Compared to the danger that our artillery would be hidden in the middle of an open battlefield, in a forest with jagged edges that made it seem like they could be easily guessed, the enemy artillery had too many places to hide.

It was a situation where we had to be on guard everywhere, from the mountains on the right wing of the front line to the mountains behind Heukgyo Station.

“I think it’s because the 12th Division retreated. If they don’t come out even after being beaten to this extent···.”

“Anyway, there’s no reason to take lightly the words of someone who has fought the enemy’s regular units before us. Give the order to advance to the vanguard battalion, and have the artillery cover our infantry.”

“All right.”

He ordered the other battalions to prepare to follow up, then looked towards Heukyo Bridge with a tense expression.

Because it was an open plain with no cover, we were spaced further apart than usual.

While the mountain paths were usually spaced closely together at about 60cm, this time they were spaced 120cm apart, which is twice as long.

“I wonder if the spacing between the mountain sickle lines is too wide.”

“No, it’s the best form to deal with any unforeseen situation. By concentrating the firepower of the Seon-Hyeon-Jin as much as possible, we can deliver a powerful shock to the enemy’s defense line.”

I also did some research on Umezawa Daiza in my own way.

I shamelessly obtained some information from officers of the 12th Division, who had been hit at Juansan, and found that the enemy’s defense line was protected by barbed wire and trench lines, and they were inflicting damage from a distance using objects such as grenades and grenade launchers.

However, because it was a mountainous terrain, the Japanese infantry tactics were not very effective, and in a plain battle like now, the firepower and shock from the dense mountain lines, which were the Japanese army’s strength, were expected to be able to destroy the enemy’s defense line in one blow.

Especially since the enemy’s forward line was wide, shock power was absolutely necessary.

The task assigned to the 4th Guards Regiment was to capture Heukgyo Station and open the way to Junghwa, so this time it was necessary to break through the front line rather than bypass it.

“A breakthrough requires shock, and shock requires the firepower of many···.”

That was the surefire tactic of the Imperial Army. The firepower of each infantryman coming out of the firing line and their attacking spirit could have a great impact on the enemy’s battle lines.

While he was mumbling these words to himself, he heard other staff members talking.

“The leading units on the flanks are still on the move.”

The vanguard units continued to lead the companies in the main offensive direction, and began constructing makeshift trenches in a prone position at key points.

This was also an action worthy of the well-trained infantry of the Guards Division.

This was because there was a need to protect the secured mobility route from enemy firepower.

Because this did not work out well, the Korean Army lost a battalion in a night attack, and the 12th Division also had to hand over all the advantages it had gained during the offensive to the Korean Army.

There was a difference in such a small detail, and it made a difference in the outcome.

In that respect, the 12th Division could not help but be judged as being one level lower than the Guards Division.

That is why I was confident that the Imperial Guard Division, the face of the Imperial Japanese Army, would be able to teach them a lesson in today’s battle.

“Our infantry lines have approached within 1km of the enemy positions!”

“Now the enemies will start to react.”

Lieutenant Umezawa nodded and said.

Getting closer to the enemy meant that the enemy had also drawn them into a distance where they could aim at you and pull the trigger.

Of course, he had no intention of giving up the lives of his own soldiers for a cheap price.

Even if their deaths and injuries were unavoidable, they were determined to allow them only if they made their enemies pay a heavy price.

So he immediately called the staff member next to him and said.

“Were we supposed to bombard them at 10 o’clock?”

“Of course, Colonel. The artillery battalion commander reported ten minutes ago that the plan will proceed without a hitch.”

“okay.”

In times like these, artillery should assist the infantry’s main attack.

If the infantry and artillery fired very precisely and timed their fire and advanced in parallel, they could shatter even the strongest defense line like a fortress.

The Joseon people were obsessed with Napoleon’s mistaken idea that artillery could change the outcome of a battle, and accordingly gave the artillery a great deal of autonomy.

Didn’t they say that most of the ground firepower operation plans come from the artillery command and artillery battalions within the brigade, not the infantry? It was a point they had difficulty understanding.

“I’m really looking forward to learning from France. I wonder how miserable they must have been learning from France, which was destroyed by Germany.”

“The difference between our Imperial Army, which uses German tactics, and the Joseon soldiers, who use the old French methods, is much greater than the difference between heaven and earth. I really wonder when they will fall.”

As the staff members clicking their tongues next to them said, the Napoleon they worshipped was defeated at Leipzig and Waterloo, and again in 1871.

No, to begin with, Prussian artillery had won a spectacular victory despite being far inferior to Austrian artillery during the war with the Austrian Empire.

The days of relying solely on a specific branch of military to achieve victory are long gone.

In the end, the outcome of a war was determined by the infantry and the cavalry and artillery wings that supported them.

And most Japanese officers had no doubt that those Joseon soldiers who forgot this would be duly punished.

Boom! Kookook! Kookookook!

“Our artillery began to pour down artillery fire as scheduled.”

At exactly 10 o’clock, the batteries stationed in the forest took aim again and resumed their fire.

Looking at the artillery barrage that was sweeping through the enemy’s outposts, Colonel Umezawa thought that the attack had been going quite smoothly so far.

But I tried hard to shake off the strange feeling I had.

“Haha, the enemies can’t even raise their heads because of the artillery fire.”

“Now it is time for the infantry to finish them off with concentrated fire and bayonets.”

Most of the staff who had been observing the attack took up their binoculars again, thinking that the natural course of events was now to follow.

Soon the densely packed skirmish lines and the deadly firepower pouring from their ranks would sweep away the entire enemy outpost like a storm.

And with the artillery fire and the infantry firepower, the enemy would not even be able to come to their senses, and the bayonet charge would completely decide the outcome.

“It seems like a good decision not to carry a cannon since we had to move quickly across the plains, Regimental Commander.”

“No matter how strong Joseon’s infantry has become, it is still ten years before they can catch up with our army. Hahaha!”

The staff already seemed to be celebrating their victory.

At that moment, Captain Umezawa once again felt a strange feeling running down his spine.

Something was wrong here.

Our infantry companies are properly maintaining the skirmish line, and our artillery is also doing its job, so where did it go wrong?

He desperately focused his telescope, trying to resolve the questions that were on his mind.

But he couldn’t figure out what was wrong on his own.

***

The commander of the 1st Platoon, 1st Battalion, 7th Brigade, who had been under artillery fire for a long time, was secretly anxious about how long this outpost exposed on the plain would hold out.

Unlike the panicked soldiers, he still managed to keep his wits about him, but he was limited in what he could do among the terrified soldiers.

All we can do is encourage them not to panic and pray that the enemy’s bombardment will end quickly.

At that moment, a messenger from the brigade came running and said:

“Orders from the Brigade Commander’s left! He says to defend the forward line here no matter what happens!”

“What about reinforcements?”

“You didn’t tell me anything about it!”

The company commander who was defending the forward line spat on the floor and was quite annoyed by the messenger’s words.

As the horse was heavily shelled, there were many casualties as the enemy continued to fire intensively.

The higher-ups may have viewed it as a slow fire, but for the infantrymen who had to face it directly at the firing line, it didn’t matter whether it was slow or rapid fire.

The only difference was whether you died from a slow-moving barrage or from a rapid-fire barrage.

“Damn it, you could have just suppressed the enemy battery right away when I sent a messenger to request it!”

The company commander spoke with annoyance. The 3rd platoon on the right wing of the front line had lost its leader’s arm and was evacuated, and the 2nd platoon in the center had an entire squad completely destroyed by an unlucky shell that flew in.

Of course, since he was also a commander, he had no intention of questioning the judgment of the artillery or his superiors.

Compared to the frontline units that had to protect the ‘line’ right in front of them, they were looking at something bigger, encompassing everything beyond the line, including the planes and points.

I wonder if it would be correct to say that we are looking across the battlefield from beyond the front lines.

At least, if that’s what I remember from the tactics I learned at the military academy, this would be correct.

Because of this, the perspective of the command center was bound to be completely different from that of the frontline personnel.

However, I couldn’t help but feel regretful that if only the response had been a little faster, we could have saved at least one more life of our reckless subordinates.

At that moment, a huge explosion was heard and the enemy artillery fire that had been continuing like a dog suddenly stopped. Perhaps the silent friendly artillerymen had finally gotten their due.