Joseon Needs a Coup - Chapter 245



Only Noblemtl

#245. Beyond the Line (7)

Lieutenant Colonel Masatake succeeded in penetrating the defensive line between Yonggang and Jinnampo with his Guards Cavalry Regiment.

The problems started after that.

Whether they could maintain their position after the breakthrough was a completely different matter, and at some point the enemy began to try to surround them, cornering them.

The first to start were the Roske cavalry. They were not bad at trying to engage in a mobile war against them, who, like them, were engaging in a fierce firefight from a dismounted position.

This was because it was not difficult to gain the upper hand against the Cossack cavalry, which had high morale but little training.

In the end, in a battle that lasted all week, the Japanese Guards Cavalry Regiment succeeded in repelling the Russian cavalry squadrons.

The Russian cavalry, unable to hold out any longer, began to give up the battle and withdraw, and it was fine to pursue them.

But at some point, the enemy infantry units whose defensive line had been cut off began to push their troops back into key locations as if they had made a promise.

And as time went on, the range of movement of the Royal Guards Cavalry Regiment began to shrink significantly.

Moreover, things quickly took a turn for the worse when the enemy began to bring in artillery while attempting to surround them.

Enemy artillery fire, although light in density, posed a formidable threat as it struck very quickly and widely.

Furthermore, even the Roske cavalrymen who had retreated during the daytime battle reorganized their ranks and began to charge again, so the Japanese Guards Cavalry Regiment could no longer maintain the front line.

Eventually, Colonel Masatake decided that further fighting was impossible and began to withdraw his troops toward the main force.

“Commander, both the horses and the riders are extremely tired. How about we rest here for a while?”

As one battalion commander said, after moving and fighting all day and night, both the riders and horses were extremely exhausted.

If we advance just a little further, we can join up with the main force, so that’s fortunate, if anything.

“Damn, but it’s okay since it bought me some meaningful time.”

“There were more enemies in the north than I thought.”

“Maybe I’ve fallen into a trap.”

The situation in the Guards Cavalry Regiment was so bad that it was faster to count the wounded than the healthy.

Since they had only sent one company to the Black Trade area, they were left with only about 3/4 of their total strength, so the blood loss from the battle was bound to be even greater.

“Are the scouts still being sent out?”

“Of course.”

In preparation for a possible pursuit by enemies, Lieutenant Colonel Masatake had selected those still in good condition and sent out scouts in all directions.

Even if you’re in the middle of a retreat, it’s good to have as much information as possible.

Fortunately, the Russian cavalry and other enemies no longer pursued them.

Perhaps they too need to regroup after a full day of fighting and the damage it has caused.

Feeling the need to give his troops a brief rest at this time, he halted the ranks and ordered the horses to be fed water and hay.

“Damn it, what a disgrace to be forced to retreat by the enemy.”

“Wasn’t our mission to repel the enemy in the first place, but to buy time until the brigade could capture Jinnampo? Don’t worry too much. Just join up with the main force and push those cunning guys back.”

“Besides, didn’t we fight the Roske cavalry and win with flying colors? The Joseon bastards attacked us with cowardly infantry and artillery, so we had no choice but to retreat.”

“Thank you for even just saying that.”

He forced a smile as he listened to the gunfire coming from afar.

It seemed that Jinnampo had not yet fallen.

After fighting the enemies for a long time and retreating without any rest, I was finally getting thirsty and hungry.

“hmm?”

As I was about to open the lid of the water bottle, I could hear the ground shaking from afar, as if horses were running hooves. The water bottle in my hand was shaking so much that it was rippling.

Everyone looked in the direction where the sound was coming from.

Soon, from afar, the scouts who had been sent out a few dozen minutes earlier could be seen approaching as fast as they could, coaxing and comforting their horses who were almost ready to collapse from exhaustion.

And the scout opened his mouth with a thoughtful expression.

“Commander! The enemy cavalry is approaching!”

“what?”

“Even if we can’t do it, there are enemies the size of a regiment! They’re coming this way!”

Bam.

Lieutenant Masatake dropped the water bottle he was holding onto the floor.

Everyone was in a state of confusion and agitation at the news that the enemy cavalry was charging forward before they could even pick it up again.

Even though I no longer had the strength to fight, the enemy began to release their reserves as if they had been waiting for it.

“Hey, are you sure it’s coming this way?!”

“That’s right! The enemies are coming straight this way!”

“Commander, respond quickly-”

If it was true that we had come this far, it was certain that the friendly forces on the flanks would have been completely annihilated.

Otherwise, the enemy cavalry would not have approached this deep.

It was obvious that if we ran away like this, we would be annihilated before we could get very far.

If we couldn’t avoid total annihilation, it would be better to at least fight the enemy.

“All regiments, prepare for battle.”

“Everyone is tired! The horses and the riders are all tired, so how can we···.”

“The Imperial Army cannot carelessly turn its back on the enemy. It would be more honorable to die than to surrender.”

The regimental commander dismounted, seeming to have given up halfway, and said:

The company commanders and staff members could sense that his end was approaching when they saw him like that.

“We too will charge the enemy.”

“Huh? That’s suicidal! If the enemy decides to fire artillery fire, we’ll all be wiped out!”

“If we had artillery, they would have already been shooting at us. Haven’t you ever been bombarded by the enemy during the day?”

Indeed, the enemy’s artillery was tenacious and capable.

If given the chance, they would not only attempt to block both the expected route and the retreat route with firepower, along with diversionary fire, but they would also rain down extremely accurate mobile artillery fire in time with the infantry’s offensive.

If they had been a regular infantry unit rather than cavalry, they would have been trapped and could have died.

The enemy’s cavalry had already arrived near our troops, but there was no artillery fire, so it seemed that the enemy was unable to bring in artillery or did not think it was necessary to do so.

“Besides, we’re also short on ammunition. Even if we wanted to form a phalanx… it would be difficult without ammunition. In that case, it would be better to charge the enemy and somehow find an escape route.”

He looked at his men, who were carrying cavalry rifles, much shorter than regular rifles, and said:

The remaining ammunition was now running low, so we had to shoot sparingly. Each person could only have about 20 rounds at most.

“If we can stop the enemy’s charge just once, just once, we might have a chance of winning…”

“···All right.”

“Guardian Cavalry Regiment! All charge into formation! Form your ranks! We will charge the enemy!”

About 600 Japanese cavalrymen gathered the wounded behind them and began to slowly advance forward, comforting their horses that could no longer run at full speed.

Instead of the familiar rifle in his hand, he was holding the awkward Type 32 sword tightly.

***

“The enemy is preparing a cavalry charge!”

“It seems like they thought we were going to charge at any moment. That’s why they’re trying to charge first.”

“Well, it wouldn’t be so bad to just charge and crash into the enemy lines like this···.”

The 3rd Battalion of the Cavalry Regiment was also forming up on Yatmahan Hill after spotting the Japanese cavalry.

I was told that if I went along the mobile path, there was a high chance of encountering enemies, but it seemed that I had bitten the tails of those who were much more appetizing than I had expected.

It was definitely the enemy cavalry regiment that Sunmuyeong had been so annoyed by since the beginning of the war.

“Huh, but he still has the airs of a cavalryman.”

“We too must face it accordingly.”

After receiving the scout’s report, Spirit Kim Seok-joong briefly discussed with Advisor Harcourt how to deal with the enemy.

Harcourt suggested that the enemy’s cavalry be severely exhausted, so they should charge in a wedge formation and finish them off with horseback combat, but his regimental commander had a slightly different opinion.

“I agree with the opinion that we should charge forward, but I want to eliminate as many variables as possible.”

“Hmm? What do you mean by excluding? And what do you mean by excluding?”

“We need to break down the enemy’s lines to some extent before we can face them. We’ll have to deploy the Maxim cannons and light machine gun teams.”

Harcourt smacked his lips as if he couldn’t help but feel regretful.

I was eager to engage in a heated cavalry battle like in Tianjin, but it seemed like even palms had to clap to make a sound.

“That’s not romantic···.”

“It wouldn’t be romantic to have advantageous machines and not use them, Advisor. Place the Madsen in the direction of the assault line, and the Maximo Group along the enemy’s expected retreat route.”

“Are they both deployed in the same direction? Or maybe the grenade launchers too?”

Kim Seok-joong shook his head again. The range was quite short, so there was only one chance to properly fire at the enemy cavalry.

There was no reason to risk missing the timing of the shots and shooting over the heads of friendly forces.

“No, there’s no reason to do that. They’re going to be transported on war horses anyway. Madsen, focus on breaking the enemy’s ranks until just before they engage them, and Maximo’s men are going to ambush and blow away all the retreating enemies with their firepower.”

Although Harcourt grumbled, the spirit of Kim Seok-joong seemed to have already made up his mind and called over the squad leader controlling the machine guns and gave an order.

They nodded and immediately mounted their horses and headed towards their respective directions, while the rest checked the seams of their breastplates once more.

“Gentlemen! The enemy is charging at us in a last desperate bid to protect the last bit of their honor! Of course, it is an embarrassing level to call it a charge!”

Laughter erupted among the tense soldiers as they heard the regimental commander’s words.

“Soon the brave men of the machine-gun squad will pour down a hail of smoke shells on their heads to scatter the enemy’s assault force! And then it will be our time, to show these so-called cavalrymen what real cavalry is! All hands on deck! At last, hell will open its gates wide against them!”

Everyone drew a long cavalry sword with their right hand.

These weren’t the swords I usually used. These were really long swords, so long that they were called long skewers.

As everyone drew their swords and slung them over their right shoulders, the regimental commander motioned to the adviser.

This meant that the assault preparations were now complete.