Joseon Needs a Coup - Chapter 258
Only Noblemtl
#258. The Brave Answer (4)
“It seems that we were pushed back by the enemy’s large force.”
“No matter how many casualties there are, we’re going to push on. Do you have the strength to hold out? The 1st Battalion of the Assault Infantry, the 3rd Battalion of the Cavalry, and the Posiette Regiment, which have already been mobilized, have moved south to cover the rearguard, so they should be there soon.”
There was a bit of a misunderstanding in the staff’s words.
To be exact, the Russian Poseidon Regiment did not go down together, but was sent separately by Major General Mischenko to disrupt the Japanese rearguard.
However, it was not possible to know where they were or what they were doing at the moment.
I heard that they were attacking Japanese soldiers procuring food locally, intercepting messengers, and things like that.
“Find the messenger immediately. And tell Major General Misenko that Sun Mu-yeong is formally requesting reinforcements from the 2nd Siberian Army Corps.”
“But the Norse Legion will also be busy blocking the enemy’s tribute from advancing north from the Songnim area.”
“If Hwangju is breached, that place will be finished too. If Major General Misenko refuses, bring the reserve cavalry regiment of Lieutenant General Kim In-su, who is officially assigned there, or any available troops and request that they be sent to the rear of Hwangju to block the enemy’s breakthrough.”
It’s not like we didn’t have any reinforcements at all.
This is because the Russian troops belonging to the 2nd Siberian Army Corps, as Kuropatkin had promised, moved south en masse toward Pyeongan Province.
Although my morale temporarily rose, I couldn’t just enjoy it, knowing what kind of unit they were.
These will be the first and virtually last Russian reinforcements to be deployed across the Korean Peninsula.
“Sergeant, how about mobilizing the 4th Brigade? Since the last Battle of Jinnampo, only the 4th Brigade from Pyeongan Province has not been deployed to battle. The 5th Brigade is working hard to recover from the damage it suffered in the last battle, so it would be a good idea to withdraw the 4th Brigade, which is still in good shape.”
“Absolutely not, Commander-in-Chief.”
I interrupted Min Yeong-chan. The 4th Brigade could never be deployed. They were the core of Pyongyang’s defense and had to remain for everyone until the end of the withdrawal plan. They had to be spared and spared again.
“I have no intention of putting the 4th Brigade into that slaughterhouse.”
“Then what do you mean, Commander? Do you think that you can stop the enemy’s offensive with just one assault infantry battalion and one cavalry battalion?”
“So far, only the fortified positions have collapsed, but the second line of defense near the city center and the station under construction in Hwangju is holding on.”
Of course, that’s only a matter of time.
With the western and eastern fortification lines already collapsing, the fall of the second line, which was mainly comprised of trench positions, and the city of Hwangju was a foregone conclusion.
If so, then if they had made a strong attack on the Japanese army’s ranks, which had already suffered heavy casualties, they might have had a chance to reorganize their ranks for a short while so that they could fight in Pyongyang.
The Japanese army was also continuously launching large-scale offensives, so their troops were greatly exhausted and their organization was no longer as strong as before.
Moreover, armies that focused on the offensive often had their battle lines collapse uncontrollably when caught in an unexpected counterattack.
If you launch just one proper counterattack, no more, no less, on a front that is being pulled very taut, you may get an unexpected opportunity.
“The Japanese will be barely holding on to the offensive with all their might. At that time, you just need to counterattack and make them give up just once, just once. The saying that the best defense is offense applies now.”
At that moment, Min Yeong-hwan opened his mouth.
“Sergeant, what the Commander of the Office of the Inspector General said was, can we do it with just two battalions? If we simply send in a cavalry battalion and an assault infantry battalion from Hwangju, it will only result in a war of attrition, just as the Japanese want.”
I stood back for a moment and watched what he had to say, wondering what alternatives he would come up with.
“I completely agree with you that the best defense is offense. How about not withdrawing the Russian and Western forces from Songnim, but instead instructing them to take an offensive stance in that area?”
“But simultaneous attacks are impossible at present. There are no landlines or telegraph facilities in the Songnim area, so we have to rely solely on messengers.”
“That’s why we have to tell them to attack even harder. The enemy will not know this either, so they will not expect the North Sea army to move. If we just match the timing of the two sides’ attacks… the enemy will get scared and retreat. They will still remember the experience of the last time the Guards Division was destroyed.”
Well then, it might get a little complicated.
So I was going to get reinforcements from the Russian army and decide when to deploy them myself.
However, if it were as Min Yeong-hwan said, it would pose a much greater threat to the enemies.
“No matter how much the Russian-Soviet forces are lacking in firepower, manpower, and quality, if they move to a counterattack posture at the right time, the Japanese will be flustered.”
He picked up the Russian military sign as if it were a game of chess. He slowly pushed it south of the pine forest and continued speaking.
“They must have judged that our and the Russian army had prepared a joint attack. If they could take advantage of that moment to gather the 7th Brigade troops that had been pushed back from the defensive line and push the front line together with the assault infantry and cavalry, they would definitely have a chance of winning.”
Min Yeong-hwan’s proposal was quite good. Instead of withdrawing the Russian troops, he would have them take the offensive in that area and disrupt the Japanese offensive tempo.
At the same time, if we change our stance with a sudden counterattack in Hwangju and beat up the Japanese army, which is already exhausted from the offensive…
It was a story worth telling.
“That’s very good.”
“I hope my strategy helped.”
In the late 1980s, despite being only in his 20s, he was highly respected by many soldiers and officers, according to the French ambassador.
I thanked him and immediately sent a messenger to the 2nd Russian Siberian Army Corps in the Songnim area.
And after explaining the situation in detail, he immediately asked us to respond.
After some time, a reply came.
“What did they say?”
“We sent a message saying, ‘We will do our duty.’ They will actively cooperate with our operations.”
That would be enough.
After receiving that reply, I breathed a sigh of relief and immediately sent messengers down to Hwangju.
One to the assault infantry battalion and the cavalry battalion, and the other to the 7th Brigade headquarters in Hwangju.
***
“Are you alright, Brigadier General?”
“Thanks to your concern, I’m fine. However, it seems like it’ll be very difficult to write for a while. Anyway, you arrived just in time.”
The 7th Brigade, which had retreated to the second line about 2.3 km behind the Hwangju fortified positions, had long since been reduced to rubble.
Brigade Commander Shin Tae-hyu was also caught up in the battle, and he was standing with his head wrapped tightly in bandages, his left arm tied tightly with a triangular bandage, and his sword resting on the ground with his other hand.
With the brigade commander in this state, the troops barely able to recover from the defensive line did not look in good condition.
Lieutenant Colonel Kim Si-jin, commander of the 1st Assault Infantry Battalion, who came down here to support, was speechless at the sight of the disastrous situation of his unit when he arrived with the 3rd Cavalry Battalion.
The sight of those with lifeless eyes and those without a single sanctity supporting each other as they moved to the rear of the front line was truly miserable.
“···Two thousand.”
“yes?”
“We lost almost 2,000 men. To the damn Japanese attack. Half of the brigade is missing, dead, or captured. Maybe somewhere out there, our brigade soldiers who couldn’t retreat are making a last stand.”
There was a hail of gunfire, indicating that there were still fortresses that had refused to admit defeat and were resisting to the end.
By the way, I couldn’t see the machine gun teams assigned to the brigade.
They too seemed to have been unable to withdraw in time, or had barely managed to escape with their bodies destroyed.
“So, you must have a reason for coming. What are Sunmuyeong’s orders?”
“I, the chief of police···”
Captain Kim Si-jin tried to continue speaking, but his throat seemed to get choked up.
With the battle exhausting and the fallen everywhere, I couldn’t readily hand over the orders I had received from the messenger.
“You’re stopping mid-sentence. What on earth does the magistrate want?”
“That’s the order to counterattack with the 7th Brigade.”
“Show it here.”
He snatched the order from his hand as if he was snatching it away. Then he read the text carefully and let out a deep sigh.
“···Yes. If the country wants our lives, we can only hope that they are used properly.”
“The current situation of the 7th Brigade is not easy.”
“I will gather the remaining units and reorganize the brigade into two battalions.”
He waved his hand as he spoke. He could see the brigade staff directly stepping forward to collect and reorganize the soldiers who were retreating from the other side.
It was harsh for them to reorganize into a unit that could fight regardless of their original unit or affiliated units, but they had no choice.
“Since it will be difficult to maintain the defense line if we are attacked again in this state anyway, it might be better to buy time by launching an offensive.”
Then the brigade commander handed over the orders again and sat down on his chair. He too seemed very tired.
“If Hwangju is opened, Pyongyang will be within reach. I wonder what the governor is thinking.”
“Perhaps they are trying to strike back at the enemy here in order to stop them directly in Pyongyang.”
“Yes, so you said to counterattack here and take down the enemies. Whatever it is, I will follow.”
To be exact, the 2nd Siberian Army Corps in the Songnim area was scheduled to launch a counterattack starting at dawn today, and the counterattack in the Hwangju area was also scheduled to follow suit.
Lieutenant Kim Si-jin, who was looking around, saw that the 17th Artillery Battalion was maintaining its field artillery position.
“I know you’re all exhausted, but let’s quickly dissipate the heat! The infantry is being pushed back, so it’s time for our artillery to step in!”
He swallowed hard and turned his gaze toward the battery for a moment as he saw the batteries lined up near the defensive line and the remaining ammunition being taken out of the cart and loaded onto it.
Then he approached the brigade commander, who was carefully closing his eyes, and opened his mouth.
“Brigade Commander, to your left, or, could you please meet the artillery battalion commander over there?”
***
“Commander, a secret cable has arrived from the Korean military headquarters in Hamheung. It is a warning to prepare for a Japanese landing in the Liaodong area.”
The contents of the telegram were full of quite sensitive content.
From Hiroshima to Yokohama and Nagasaki, Japanese reserve forces and troops from the 2nd and 3rd Armies began to swarm the ports, and it was a warning that they were preparing for a large-scale landing by mobilizing each priority company and shipping company against the transport convoys that had suffered heavy losses.
It is said that the Japanese army will soon land somewhere, and the intelligence department of the Korean Empire currently suspects that the first target will be Port Arthur and Dalian.
Commander Kuropatkin, who was briefly elated by the news of victory, had to return to reality.
“The defense of Lushun… Ha, I guess I should stop talking.”
Kuropatkin was stroking his beard, holding his head in his hands.
Because the war broke out much earlier than expected, the Russian military defense system in the Far East, including Port Arthur, was less than 50% complete.