Joseon Needs a Coup - Chapter 269
Only Noblemtl
#269. The opening of the second front (3)
“The Peninsula War Theory?”
“The enemy is waging a simple but threatening war. They call it guerrilla warfare, and while the front lines are occupied by regular troops, they have prepared guerrilla forces in the rear.”
I don’t know what’s going on in that guy Kim Si-hyeok’s head, but judging from the beginning of the book, which says, “A standing army loses if it can’t win, but a guerrilla army wins if it doesn’t lose,” he doesn’t seem like an ordinary person.
“The enemy is preparing for a long war of attrition. Look at the table of contents. All the means of strategic defense, strategic confrontation, and strategic offensive are consistent with the situation we are currently experiencing.”
“Hey, why are you showing me this now?!”
“I have reported to the headquarters several times, but you have ignored me! This is not the time to ignore the Land of the Calm Dawn. Not only have they mastered the art of war, but they are also proposing new strategies and are thoroughly exhausting our military!”
Hasegawa quickly turned the pages of the book.
It was written in quite a bit of detail that could be interpreted as: attack the enemy and retreat, attack when the enemy retreats, shake and confuse the enemy if he does not move, pretend to attack the east and attack the west.
“So, what stage are we at now?”
“The strategic defensive phase has passed in the evening. During the first two months of the war, the enemy has been on the defensive, avoiding battles, and while we were not paying attention, they have been gathering weapons and mustering soldiers from all over the country, disrupting our supply lines.”
And now, Lieutenant General Hidenori’s argument was that it was closer to a strategic standoff.
The problem of the Japanese military, which possessed superior fighting power but was unable to properly control the rear front, was now extending to the strategic vision of the cabinet and the Imperial General Headquarters.
Meanwhile, the North Korean army in the north was gaining momentum by defeating friendly forces one after another, and in the rear, guerrilla forces were preparing large-scale operations, disrupting the Japanese army’s assessment of the situation and forcing them to disperse their combat units.
The incompetent and irresponsible new government of Joseon only kept chanting for help, but was unable to do anything.
“The Koreans are already one with the guerrillas. They are helping each other like fish and water, eliminating allies and collaborators.”
“These worms dare to do this to our military?”
“As time goes by, it will naturally change to a strategic offensive. The 1st Army has already failed to break through to Pyongyang, and is retreating to Gyeongseong, having given up on Gaeseong. Now is their chance. Since our army has been weakened, the initiative in the battle that we have been holding will be transferred to the enemy. You must respond quickly. If we are not careful, fear will spread not only to the rear but also to our frontline troops.”
Fear had already settled in everyone.
I thought I only had to keep in mind the Roske, but the Joseon guys were much worse.
The navy that surrounded Port Arthur had still not been able to subdue Roske’s fleet, and the enemy fleet was running wild in the East Sea, threatening the archipelago.
“···Is there anything we can do?”
“The heart of the guerrilla force lies within the local people, Commander.”
He took a piece of paper next to the map and drew a large circle and a smaller circle inside it and said:
“If this large circle is made up of Koreans, the small circle is made up of guerrillas. No matter how hard we try to subdue them, if they hide inside the large circle, there is no way for us to catch them.”
“Then wouldn’t it be okay if we just blocked each other?”
“Of course. But in this process, we must never arouse the resentment of the Korean people. In the past, we left most of the rear support work to the new government of Korea, but now the military command must step in and take charge. If we can appease the public sentiment while preventing the Koreans from being treated arbitrarily, the so-called guerrillas who call themselves guerrillas will have no place to go.”
Hasegawa grabbed a piece of paper with a circle drawn on it, crumpled it, and spoke.
“Aiding the mob should be classified as a rioter and severely punished so that no one will do it again.”
It was as if he was openly opposing Lieutenant General Hidenori’s conciliatory policy of separating them, and that he would eliminate anyone who tried to attack him.
“This is not the kind of Itki we often see, Commander. Strictly speaking, it is like dynamite precisely prepared by the command of the Joseon bastards. The fuse was lit from the moment the war started. If we suppress them violently, we may suppress them for a while, but it will not be a fundamental solution.”
“No, then how about we have a conversation and tell them to please stop attacking us? Even if we just suppress them with guns and swords, it won’t be enough.”
“Even that must be done if necessary. So, Commander, please send me. If you send me and the 2nd Reserve Infantry Division, we can stabilize the three southern provinces of Joseon within a month.”
Of course, it would seem that they would also have to take control of the local Joseon government military and officials, but at least they could prevent a mess like the one they had now.
But the atmosphere that seemed like it would readily allow it soon cooled down.
Someone came into the parking lot command center and took Hasegawa’s place.
“Lieutenant General Hidenori, I’m afraid that the commander of the garrison forces won’t be able to do that.”
“yes?”
It was Lieutenant General Kuroki with a scar on his face and the command staff of the 1st Army, who could be considered ragpickers.
“We will go. We will punish all the rebels and collaborators who arbitrarily reject our rule in the three southern provinces of Joseon.”
“Commander! No, that is exactly what the enemy wants! It will only cause discontent and further chaos in the rear!”
“It doesn’t matter. The 1st Army will move all its troops from Gyeonggi-do to Chungcheong-do, then send the 12th Division to Jeolla-do and the 2nd Division to Gyeongsang-do to suppress the rioters. Before we go, we’ll tell the new government guys to gather all the local male manpower that can be drafted in the area and send them to the front lines.”
“Commander! No! If we continue like this, the people’s hearts will turn against us in an uncontrollable manner. We must distinguish between civilians and rioters…”
“Four divisions will arrive shortly. When they arrive and break through Pyeongan Province and face the Roske, the enemy rabble won’t be able to move even if they want to. Hasegawa, we’ll go, so leave Gyeongseong and Jemulpo to us.”
“Oh, well then···.”
Hasegawa moved as if he was stepping back slightly.
Deep down, I didn’t feel like the Satsuma guys needed someone to vent their anger on since they had lost the war.
Kuroki, with a look of anger on his face, muttered something about blowing away the resisting Joseon things, and Hidenori, looking at him like that, thought that something bad was going to happen and made another plea to Hasegawa, who was sitting comfortably in his chair.
“Commander, the 1st Army should not be sent down. They have lost the battle and are likely to vent their anger unnecessarily. If that happens, only the garrison headquarters will be in trouble. Please send the main headquarters down instead of them. One reserve infantry division can completely pacify the situation.”
“Leave it alone.”
“commander!”
Lieutenant General Hidenori Tojo glared at him with both eyes wide open, but Hasegawa waved his hand.
“The Satsuma guys will take care of it. We will just protect Gyeongseong and Jemulpo.”
“···There will definitely be something you will regret.”
“If we just subdue Roske, it’ll be over. Stop arguing and go divide up your soldiers and deploy them to Jemulpo and the outskirts of Gyeongseong.”
Even though Hidenori’s face was swollen and swollen, he could not disobey the commander’s orders.
He left the commanding officer’s office, slamming the door shut without even saluting.
“···On the topic of the shogunate’s guard dog.”
Hasegawa looked at Lieutenant General Hidenori and laughed.
When the Satsuma-Chō Alliance overthrew the shogunate, Hidenori’s birthplace, Morioka, tried to protect the shogunate but was destroyed, right?
My bastards wouldn’t do anything good for me.
In any case, war comes from the total power of a nation, and even if the Joseon bastards were waging war now, it was clear that their momentum would eventually be broken by the power of the Japanese Empire.
***
“The Korean Navy has done it again. Admiral, it is time for our fleet to deploy again.”
“I never expected that, but it’s really great.”
Bezobrazov, who had been promoted to admiral of the cruiser squadron stationed in Vladivostok for his exploits in the previous naval battle, looked out at the sea with a broad smile on his face.
That tiny navy accomplished what their own fleet with its huge guns could not.
“The Japanese Navy’s telegraph station and watchtower at Menelai (the Russian naval survey map name for Ulleungdo) have been completely disabled, and it is expected to take more than a month to restore it.”
“Well, but wouldn’t the Japanese fleet stationed at Jukbyeon on the east coast be a problem?”
“Hahaha! Admiral, you can ignore them now. With the collapse of the telegraph line between Menelae and Olibucha (the Russian naval map of Dokdo) and Sasebo, they too have all withdrawn to the straits near Tsushima to avoid the threat of isolation.”
“Hahahaha! Very good, very good!”
Those who were a thorn in the east coast have retreated.
Every time the 3rd Fleet of Jukbyeon intercepted, the Russian cruisers had to avoid combat as much as possible and consume more coal than usual, which caused them to experience many difficult situations.
Fortunately, the Korean Navy provided some support with some of the low-carbon storage stock, which helped to recover to some extent.
“Let’s put the fleet out to sea again. Our comrades in the navy trapped in Port Arthur are desperately waiting for rescue. We can’t break through the enemy’s blockade alone, but we can at least disrupt the enemy’s war effort. Request the Korean navy to join in the attack. From now on, we’ll play a little ‘prank’ on the Japanese.”
“Understood, Admiral.”
Bezobrazzoff also received reports that the fleet was fully stocked with ammunition that had just arrived.
Admiral Alekseev, the Governor-General of the Far East, was also demanding that the Vladivostok Cruiser Fleet engage in active naval operations, so he planned to go ahead and throw the detestable Japanese into the deep sea.
The second front at sea, which the Japanese Navy had not anticipated, was also intensifying.
***
The coldest New Year ever was approaching, and the news coming in was even colder than the frozen Taedong River.
In proportion to that, my patience was slowly cooling down.
The number of days when I had a headache was increasing significantly more than the number of days when I didn’t have a headache.
“Sergeant, a large enemy transport fleet is heading north across the West Sea.”
“Where is your goal?”
“Fortunately or fortunately, it is not Jinnampo. It is Lushun and Dalian. That is certain.”
Eventually, it appeared that the Japanese 2nd Army would attempt to land on the Liaodong Peninsula.
According to the original history, the Japanese military attempted to secure the Pyongyang-Uiju line and organically connect the maritime transport route from Gunsan-Jemulpo-Jinnampo to ensure stable supply and troop replenishment, but they were unable to do so here.
Instead, the impatient Imperial General Headquarters sent a large-scale landing force to Liaodong to defeat the Russian army, even though the front on the Korean Peninsula was still not in order.
It was clear that the Navy would have started to harass them here as well.
If the Army came forward and attacked Port Arthur directly, it might have been thought that it would be possible to draw out the Russian fleet, which was sticking to its existing fleet strategy and occasionally attempting a surprise breakthrough.
If there’s one silver lining, it’s that some units at Jinnampo are reluctant to land.
But it was only a matter of time. If the enemy had sufficient transport troops and supplies, it would certainly be possible to send some troops south toward Uiju in an attempt to isolate Pyongyang.
“What was our combined fleet doing in the East Sea?”
“They are actively trying to destroy the trade route, but they say they narrowly missed that transport ship.”
“shit.”
I slammed my fist on the table. If I had damaged even a little bit, even just a few ships, I might have given the Russians at Lushun a little more time.
That’s why I hoped the war would break out later.
Time was no longer on our side.