Joseon Needs a Coup - Chapter 252



Only Noblemtl

#252. Under the Frozen Mountains (2)

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The elite infantry of the Korean Army have been largely unknown due to the veil of the Far East and racial prejudice, but they are the ultimate war machine and an army that can change the course of war.

To make a leap, it could even be evaluated as the most lethal weapon on Earth.

Unfortunately, I have not seen it in action alongside Korean artillery, but if used alongside French 75mm rapid-fire guns, even elite European units will be no match for it.

It can be said that only the Prussian war machine could stop them.

In any case, the Japanese army must have been embarrassed by the unexpected defeat.

For a while, the Japanese army will nurse its wounds and prepare to attack Pyongyang again, and after receiving additional reinforcements, it is expected that they will apply pressure from all sides.

Meanwhile, these elite infantry formations will be very useful not only in defensive offensive operations, but also in full-scale offensive operations.

Of course, there are also concerns. The use of automatic weapons such as machine guns and large quantities of explosives deep into the small unit always entails a huge consumption of ammunition.

It is currently unknown whether the Korean Empire, a poor agricultural nation in Asia, can fully afford this.

But on the other hand, it is a fact that even poor Asian countries have acquired the capacity to wage this new war in the short term, which is a fact that should be noted not only by the headquarters on the ground but also by the War Department in Washington, D.C.

We are seeing a new way of warfare in the Far East, and these types of tactics and doctrines will take hold in the future.

We need to thoroughly examine and check what and how we are preparing accordingly.

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The report that flew into the War Department in Washington, known as the “Pershing Report,” was talked about quite a bit among the generals, if only for a short time.

“Umm, everyone. Is this report that just came up… really believable?”

Secretary of War Elihu Root read the report in its entirety.

Even to him, a lawyer by profession and a layman in the military, the report sent by Captain Pershing contained some quite provocative content, but it also contained things that could not be ignored.

“Well, there may be some truth to it.”

Chief of Staff Samuel Baldwin spoke with a sheepish expression right next to him.

As the first Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, he was one of those who thought Pershing’s report was quite exaggerated.

“But we need to focus on the fact that this is a war in Asia, not a war in Europe.”

“Hmm, hasn’t the president been in Asia for quite some time?”

“That’s what I’m saying. The war environment in Asia is completely different from ours. It’s just that…”

The Chief of Staff continued speaking, frowning and placing the report on the table.

“It is just the path chosen by poor Asian countries with no money. Therefore, it is no exaggeration to say that there is little for us to learn.”

“But if you look at Captain Pershing’s report, it’s not like that at all. Do poor countries consume huge amounts of ammunition?”

The Secretary of War said, waving another piece of paper.

It contained the amount of various ammunition consumed by the Korean army in this single battle.

“1.8 million rounds of 7.62mm infantry rifle bullets and 1 million rounds of machine gun ammunition were expended in a single battle to capture a single division. Can we immediately dismiss this as the path chosen by a poor country?”

“That’s why I said that. Since we lack industrial capacity and money, we are stockpiling as much as possible and then pouring it out in one battle. But how long will that last?”

The Chief of Staff shrugged and instead questioned the Secretary of War.

If you had money and sufficient military industrial capacity, there would have been no reason to purchase supplies in that way in the first place and only increase storage costs excessively.

It would be much more economical to just print them out whenever necessary.

“Besides, it’s impossible for our federal forces, which are always short on budget, to do something like that. In the first place, we don’t even have the luxury of stockpiling that much ammunition.”

As recently as 1898, just five years earlier, at the time of the war with Spain, the army had seven artillery regiments, ten cavalry regiments, and twenty-five infantry regiments, but most of these units were undermanned.

The actual number of troops was only 28,000, less than 30,000.

Although there were about 120,000 soldiers, including the unorganized National Guard and miscellaneous militias, it was an army that was far from sufficient to be called a great power.

It was absurd to think that such an army would stockpile such a huge amount of supplies.

“Of course, honestly, the Army finds the Korean military’s resistance itself quite interesting, but it doesn’t leave much of an impression because the battlefield environment and the national environment itself are different.”

He found Pershing’s report to be extremely microscopic and emotional.

If it was a report looking at it from a macro perspective, then it would be different, but trying to persuade the Ministry of War and the Army with something like this?

“The Korean Empire and its military will probably collapse to the Japanese within a year. The Japanese Empire has the industrial capacity and administrative preparation to mobilize more than 600,000 people immediately, while the Korean Empire is inferior to the Japanese Empire in terms of population, national budget, and industrial capacity.”

“But the Japanese Empire would also-”

“Japan’s territory is still intact. It is an island nation that is not threatened by anyone. However, the Korean Empire is different. The entire central and southern part of the country is under the Japanese military’s boots. How long can it endure? It will be neither more nor less than the resistance of a colony.”

“Well, that may be a bit harsh, but… didn’t the Japanese army ultimately lose one division in Nampo?”

“That would be the greatest achievement they could make. Over time, the Korean army would be completely exhausted and pushed back. Sadly, this is the reality, Minister. The era of winning a war with special tactics and doctrines is over. Now, only industrial capacity and the overall power of the nation determine the outcome of a war. And the Korean Empire, um… will not be able to overcome the overall disadvantage in that regard.”

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff spoke as if he had no particular interest in the Korean military.

“That’s the point. Captain Pershing’s report is…”

“It’s too microscopic. It’s just a tactic that could have been used by a colonial garrison, but it worked once on an unsuspecting Japanese soldier, and he was surprised and wrote it down. I think we should also look at the report of the military attaché sent to the Japanese and Russian armies.”

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who seemed to have reached a conclusion, stood up and spoke.

“I don’t think there is any reason to consider a single captain’s report significant enough to be discussed here.”

“Hmm, it’s a bit disappointing, but if that’s what the president said, then let’s go back to another topic···.”

The Secretary of War had no choice but to back down in the face of the stubborn Army Chief of Staff’s words.

If that were not the case, experts would have thought, then it was inevitable, and above all, their cooperation was extremely important in the reorganization of the US Federal Forces General Staff, so there was no reason to blush over such a problem.

In the end, Pershing’s report ended up in a filing cabinet somewhere after being discussed for far less time than scheduled.

And it was destined to lie dormant without ever seeing the light of day for 30 years, the statute of limitations for document preservation in the U.S. Federal Archives.

However, it was only a few years later that it was to appear in the world once again, just before the war that would end everything.

***

At the Japanese Imperial Headquarters, everyone was speechless for a while after hearing the shocking news of defeat.

The grim reports continued that the once-thin Guards Division had completely melted down and retreated to Gyeongseong, and that it would take more than a month just to reorganize.

Outside, reporters were sniffing around and criticizing the incompetent Guards Division, the 1st Army, and even the General Headquarters for their failures, while the bereaved families of the fallen soldiers were venting their anger at the loss of 10,000 men in Pyongyang and those who had drowned in the waters off Busan, demanding that the generals immediately commit seppuku.

However, no one took responsibility for the dead.

“If this continues, we’ll end up spending 100 days trying to occupy Pyongyang, let alone Lushun…”

“In reality, the 1st Army… I guess I should say it failed. Oh, really.”

“We suffered 20,000 casualties in just one month of war. How can this be possible?! We can’t go around and say that we prepared diligently for war.”

“Well, to be exact, it’s not 20,000, it’s 17,000···.”

“That’s not it! Don’t nitpick!”

Nogido, who had insisted on the offensive, and Marshal Owama, who had supported him, both sat there, mute, having eaten honey.

Judging from the fact that they didn’t say anything even when someone made a sarcastic remark toward them, it seemed that they were seriously injured.

“The German Imperial Navy, under the leadership of Kyoju, has begun transporting supplies to Jinnampo. How on earth is this going to work?”

“They say they transported medicine and food on humanitarian grounds under the orders of the German Emperor. Isn’t this just feeding us?”

Someone’s words made my complaints burst out like a flood.

Germany, which was expected to remain neutral, was betraying the country by using the Hanseong Agreement as an excuse, and Russia was continuing to gather troops in Port Arthur and strengthen its defenses.

Pyongyang, if only we had properly penetrated Pyongyang, they wouldn’t have had time to do anything.

The Navy continued to grumble about when the Army would arrive in Port Arthur, while the 2nd and 3rd Armies were waiting for the 1st Army to break through the Yalu River, but this was far from happening.

In addition, the enemy’s destruction of trade was going on without a trace.

With the Russian fleet in Port Arthur not destroyed, the 2nd Fleet had no fleet power that could actually be withdrawn, and as a result, the 3rd Fleet continued to be in an unreasonable situation where it had to block all operations of the combined Korean and Russian fleets on its own.

Insurance premiums for ships entering the coastal waters of Japan had doubled, and the continued destruction of trade was inevitably destroying the Japanese shipping industry.

Although the damage was reduced thanks to the simultaneous dispatch of small fleets of 2 to 4 ships instead of large transport ships as before… there was a reason why there was a Joseon proverb that said, “Your clothes get wet in a drizzle.”

The losses of ships belonging to Japan’s leading shipping companies, such as Nippon Yusen Co., Ltd. and Osaka Shosen, were rapidly increasing overnight, so special measures were needed.

It seemed that every day, the bosses would come running and deliver letters of protest to the Navy Department, or in extreme cases, they would even sit down and foam at the mouth.