Joseon Needs a Coup - Chapter 261
Only Noblemtl
#261. Hidden Victory (2)
“Do you know how many enemies counterattacked?”
“It’s still a bit confusing, but it looks like at least a brigade-sized unit has launched a counterattack. In reality, there may be more···.”
I don’t know where they had so many troops concentrated, but judging by the fact that the assault infantry and even the cavalry had rushed out, they seemed determined.
“Drop out the reserves from the 2nd and 12th Divisions and crush the enemies coming from the front line!”
Since it was still night, Kuroki had rationally concluded that the survivors’ reports were likely greatly exaggerated, but the subsequent reports seemed to completely shake up any judgment he had held onto.
“That’s because the Roske are currently switching to a full-scale offensive on the Songnim front, which is under the 2nd Division’s command. That’s why it’s difficult to deploy troops.”
The Roske, who had been on the defensive for a while, coincidentally jumped out at around the same time as the Joseon guys.
“The Roskeids are also attempting to break through our front lines with artillery fire and cavalry. The 2nd Division, 3rd Brigade is holding its ground, but if we continue to withdraw troops, this will not be a situation where reinforcements will be sent to Hwangju, but rather a situation where the units will be routed!”
Lieutenant General Kuroki, whose mind was blank, looked as if he had lost his mind for a moment.
Too many enemy choices came to mind.
What if it wasn’t just them who were waging a war of attrition, but their enemies were doing it in return?
What if the enemies knew this would happen from the beginning and coordinated their attacks?
What if the enemy had brought additional reinforcements and advanced south?
Because of the numerous possibilities, he couldn’t even do the math.
However, what was certain was that the simultaneous attacks and subsequent enemy counterattacks from Hwangju were not ordinary.
“It may have been our mistake. The enemy was trying to use us to their advantage by wearing us down.”
“How far did that young North Korean commander read the numbers?”
“Okay, staff members. We’ll figure out where we went wrong later, but for now, we need to gather our troops. There are still some reserve troops from the Parking Corps left, so let’s redeploy them.”
It was when the 12th Division Commander was hurriedly taking out his long-term plans and trying to place them on the Hwangju map, which was clearly a mess.
“That, that’s the division commander’s left. Commander of the 2nd Reserve Infantry Division, Lieutenant General Hasegawa, and Commander of the 2nd Reserve Infantry Division, Lieutenant General Hidenori, have notified us to withdraw all of the 2nd Reserve Infantry Division troops that have advanced into South Pyongan Province…”
As if bad things could all come at once, news of counterattacks poured in from all directions, along with a request from the garrison headquarters to withdraw troops.
“No, why on earth are you parking the car…?”
“It seems that the supply line in the rear is under attack right now. All 21 supply depots from Busan to Chungju and Gyeongseong are said to be exposed to attacks by rebels who call themselves volunteers. So···.”
Lieutenant General Kuroki, filled with rage, let out a roar that was almost like a scream, scattering all the markers and markers on the map to the ground.
“So you want us to withdraw our troops?! That can’t be possible! Even if they’re the reserve force under the Parking Army, they’re the ones forming the front line. If we withdraw them, we’re finished!”
“The headquarters of the garrison suggested that we retreat to reorganize our troops and then reorganize our supply line from Gaeseong. If we continue like this, we could be surrounded from the front and rear with additional attacks and all our supply lines blown away!”
“Commander, below. If the parking forces are withdrawn, the entire front will collapse. Let’s withdraw the front for now. And next year is coming soon, so with the five divisions that will be reinforced at that time, you should plan for Pyongyang…”
“That can’t be! We have to break through Pyongyang to advance towards Lushun and Fengtian!”
As befitting his nickname, the Blind General, his roar resonated, but unlike before, there was no response from the commanders and staff.
Even in their view, the losses were enormous, but the results were slow.
It was absurd to shed the blood of one’s own troops in a battlefield where there were no more results, and even if they were to win the war, it was obvious that they would be criticized.
“We must retreat immediately! This is hopeless!”
“Are you guys crazy?! If we withdraw from Pyongyang now, the Roske will come chasing us and slaughter our troops, and we have to deal with that?!”
“That would be better than grinding up our troops endlessly in this slaughterhouse!”
Rather, the staff and commanders, ignoring the commander’s anger, began to fight each other, swearing at each other and fighting over whether to retreat or maintain the position.
“That’s why there’s talk that Satsuma, who only played at sea, is now commanding the army!”
“What are you doing, you hard-headed Choshu guys?! Weren’t you the one who underestimated those elite Joseon guys and suggested an all-out offensive?!”
“Are you done talking?! So the Imperial Guards Division commanded by Satsuma was completely destroyed by that bastard commander?”
Knock! Knock!
“Stop, stop! What are you all doing in front of the Commander!? Is there any way to solve this problem if we start fighting amongst ourselves right now!?”
When Lieutenant General Hikari Inoue of the 12th Division hit the table hard with his baton, the noisy command barracks finally became quiet.
It had become so quiet that the gunfire and cannon fire outside could only now be heard clearly.
“···Your Excellency Commander, if things continue as they are, the 1st Army will not be able to avoid destruction. In order to occupy Hwangju, the 1st Army lost a whopping 7,000 men and suffered casualties and missing persons that numbered more than that. You should give up on occupying Hwangju and withdraw to Gaeseong.”
“Commander! Are you crazy?!”
“Before you accuse the main force of being crazy, look at reality! If we don’t withdraw from here, the Roskeids in Songnim, the North Korean army in Hwangju, and the enemy brigade lurking in Jinnampo will cross the river and try to surround our forces.”
He calmed his trembling hands and voice and placed the long pieces in a nice way. Anyone could see that if time was delayed any longer, the hemp would die.
“Then this time, we will suffer much greater damage than the Guards Division. The 1st Army itself may even be destroyed. So, we must withdraw immediately. For a greater victory, let’s retreat one step. Let’s give them a moment’s respite.”
Everyone knew it, but when Inoue brought up the words that they had been unable to say because they felt hurt by the Koreans who they considered inferior, there was a slight backlash, but they were soon overwhelmed by the atmosphere and kept their mouths shut.
“We must withdraw while we still have the battle lines. Once the units on the front are exhausted, things will get really out of control.”
“···Kim Si-hyeok, was it Kim Si-hyeok? The commander of the North Korean army before us.”
Kuroki, his anger subsiding, spoke with a resigned tone.
“If the Foreign Ministry’s intelligence report is correct, then yes.”
“···We are playing on the checkerboard he created. Let’s first repel the counterattack. Then, gather the remaining troops and withdraw from Hwangju. After that, let’s catch our breath in Gaeseong and then attack again.”
For a little while, I had no choice but to give the Joseon guys a reprieve.
The Joseon people were clever and cunning.
Even the veterans of the Foreign Ministry said that the North Koreans understood their position very well, and it seemed that the military was no different.
It must have been obvious that Japan’s main enemy was Russia, not itself, and that this was why they were blocking its path to Manchuria by holding it back.
“I don’t know how long they can hold out, but let’s see if they can hold out this long.”
Kuroki, who had come to his senses again, prepared the map again one by one and cleared his complicated mind.
It has been said that an orderly withdrawal is much more difficult than an offensive.
He ordered the remaining 12th Division troops to take up the rearguard, and instead of immediately sending the 2nd Division, which had requested a withdrawal, to reinforce them and block a counterattack in the direction of Hwangju.
At that sight, the staff breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time, an inexplicable sense of awe and hatred seemed to creep up on them toward the Koreans who stood on equal footing with them.
***
“···Can you count this as a win too?”
“For now.”
By dawn, the Japanese had given up on further attacks and were retreating from Hwangju.
The counterattack at night was extremely effective, and with the artillery’s storm-like concentrated bombardment and the cavalry’s charge, the Japanese gave up on further attacks and retreated south of Hwangju.
Of course, the battlefield that was left behind was seriously disastrous.
“Brigadier General, are you okay?”
“I am very embarrassed in front of the dead, but I am still in good spirits. However, my subordinates, who were as good as alive, came to this place… like this.”
Corpses of friendly and enemy soldiers that had not yet been recovered were strewn throughout the city and along the defensive lines.
The price paid for the tenacious resistance of the 7th Brigade over the past few weeks was in the blood and sacrifice of countless men.
Since Brigade Commander Shin Tae-hyu was injured, there is nothing more to say.
I had him rushed to a field hospital and appointed the second-in-command as temporary brigade commander so that the 7th Brigade could be reorganized.
Of course, it is uncertain whether the reorganization will be done properly.
“The casualties of the 7th Brigade alone in yesterday’s battle exceeded 2,000.”
“The brigade was completely torn in half.”
“The reinforcements we sent so far have all melted away. There is nothing left.”
At least 6,000 friendly troops melted away here.
They say there were over 2,000 casualties in last night’s battle alone, and over 6,000 casualties in the past two weeks.
The 7th Brigade probably suffered enough damage that it would not have been able to focus on reorganizing until the end of the Pyongyang campaign.
At that time, Shin Pal-gyun frowned and spoke to me.
“The enemy’s damage is considerable, but… Commander, I have some bad news.”
Perhaps the nauseating smell from the battlefield was something he was not used to.
Although I was an ordinary person, I pretended not to care because it was disrespectful to the commander and staff of the 7th Brigade nearby, as well as to the survivors.
“There must be good news and bad news, right? For the sake of the main building’s mental health, let me start with the good news.”
“Hmm, I don’t know if this is good news, but the enemy’s casualties have exceeded 20,000. This is the result of a large-scale attack to attack Hwangju’s front.”
“That’s right. Those guys who cause an average of over 1,000 casualties per day.”
It must have been a battle where the odds were just not right.
While friendly casualties were 6,000, Japanese casualties were well over 20,000.
The Japanese 1st Army, which suffered losses at least three times and at most four times more, had to retreat with its pride in being the best severely damaged.
If we add the damage suffered by the Guards Division and the 2nd Division to that, the loss of life would be enough to replace the entire 1st Army that had first landed at Jemulpo just over a month ago.
For reference, the entire 1st Army had 50,000 troops, so the number of casualties corresponding to that number was in just one month.