Joseon Needs a Coup - Chapter 277
Only Noblemtl
#277. Matryoshka (3)
At that time, we were able to bring in a fairly good amount of artillery power.
By combining the two artillery battalions directly under the Artillery Command assigned to the Guards Division with the artillery battalion belonging to the 6th Brigade, I now have firepower equivalent to that of a typical division artillery battery.
The Japanese divisional artillery had roughly 36 guns in two battalions, so they had 1.5 times more firepower than them and could kindly pour down ammunition over their heads as long as it allowed.
Then the staff looked at me as if they found me strange.
“What are you talking about, Commissioner? The Commissioner says that in situations like this, the area should be fortified and defended by direct linkage between infantry and artillery···.”
“You can’t apply all situations to infantry battles. And for now, you can think of this as a supplementary lesson for you. Then let me ask you a question. Have you ever heard of a mat?”
“I know that it is a bad custom practiced by noblemen in rural areas, but why on earth does it come up?”
When Chief Park Seung-hwan tilted his head and answered, I smiled and struck Sachang-ri with my baton as I spoke.
“That’s because Sachang-ri will be a dungeon for the Japanese. Leave only the 6th Brigade’s subordinate units and artillery here, and deploy the rest of the units in Sachang-ri and the mountains that could be the enemy’s retreat route. Once the enemy takes Sachang-ri, they will know they’ve fallen into a trap.”
“Then are you intentionally giving away your private property?”
“It is better to fire artillery at a group of enemies than at scattered enemies to inflict fatal wounds. Deploy the battalions of the 6th Brigade on the road from Sachang-ri to Hamheung, and place batteries in good positions. We will trap them here with firepower.”
There was only one way to get from Sachang-ri to Hamheung.
They will struggle to get out of there, but what awaits them will be the artillery’s devastating barrage, the 6th Brigade’s dug-in trenches, machine guns and grenade launchers.
“And if that happens, they will try to retreat. The 6th Brigade will be defending the front, and the climate and terrain here will not be easy for them to return to the north, so they will go back along the familiar path they have taken. They will think that if they fight more, they will be surrounded, and the memory of Jinnampo will come to mind.”
There was no other way out of Sachang-ri. You could either go back the way you came, or go straight ahead and take the two-way road that led to Hamheung, or turn north and go through another 200km, then march another 100km via Hoecheon toward Anju.
No matter where you choose, the moment your enemies think of retreat, it will become a three-pronged decision of death.
“But the moment you think it’s too early, it’s probably too late. While the 6th Brigade is blocking the enemies at Sachang-ri, the 1st and 2nd Guard Brigades will retreat and cut off the enemy’s retreat route and supply line on both wings. In particular, if we hit this intersection leading to Sachang-ri first, the enemy will be happy.”
“So the Guards Division will attack the moment the enemy enters the retreat route?”
“that’s right.”
The Japanese army had a choice of retreat, and the surrounding area was mountainous, making it difficult for the enemy to pay attention to any of them.
And even the Guards Division, in a well-constructed, laboratory-like environment like this, could be expected to be able to display about 70% of the combat power and mobility that the assault infantry units displayed.
“···So that’s why the quartermaster corps supplied dried food and charcoal in large quantities.”
“Yes. You’ll have to stay there for at least a day or two.”
While the brigade commanders who understood the operation nodded and discussed in detail how to deploy their troops, the scouts returned.
The operations staff, who heard their story, summarized the content and said that the Japanese army was approaching within a day or so.
“Did you all hear that? Deploy your units as designated.”
“All right.”
“Just do as I teach you. Now is the time for bold infantry maneuvers.”
I said, hiding my intentions behind a smile.
It was now time to beat down the enemies who had fallen into the trap of Sachang-ri without mercy.
***
“Let’s start the attack! Let’s destroy this place and go to Hamheung to fill our bellies with delicious rice and meat soup!”
“Don’t be afraid and advance! Those Joseon guys are nothing!”
The 15th Brigade of the 2nd Division of the Japanese Army, which arrived near Sachang-ri after a night-time forced march, was given the ‘honor’ of being able to attack first.
To be exact, that honor is only for officers, especially brigade commanders and regimental commanders.
Japanese soldiers and junior officers, exhausted from the night march and the cold, were complaining, but they were trying hard to overcome the fear that was surging within them by shouting with all their might, because an order was an order.
However, everyone was disheartened by the news that the artillery had not yet arrived on the battlefield and could not provide support.
They were overcome with anxiety because there was a saying that if they went in bare-handed without any artillery fire, they would be caught by the devilish Joseon bastards and not even be able to pick up their bones.
At least for the surviving veterans, it was even more so.
“What? Why the artillery?”
“They say they haven’t arrived yet. It’ll take half a day to dissipate the heat and provide proper support···.”
“Damn it, we can’t help it. We’re advancing without artillery support. Commander, advance quickly!”
The soldiers hesitated and hesitated to advance.
“Are you really going without artillery support?”
“Go forward as proud citizens of the Japanese Empire! Remember that those who are afraid have no right to be in His Majesty the Emperor’s army!”
Due to the officers’ urging and chilling threats, I reluctantly and very slowly entered the village, my rifle aimed with trembling hands.
What was far more frightening than death was dishonor, and that dishonor was not something that was bestowed only on oneself.
In order to keep their families and relatives alive in their hometown, they had no choice but to suppress their fear. And as expected, they encountered enemies right from the entrance of the village.
“It’s Joseon soldiers! Joseon soldiers remain!”
“Shoot! Shoot it!”
“You damn devils!”
A shout louder than a gunshot rang out, and people pulled the trigger indiscriminately toward where they shouted that there was an enemy.
Ta-da-da-da!
He fired bullets without thinking, and when he heard the empty bullets ringing, he roughly unbuttoned the locked magazine and took out the bullet clips to reload.
It was because they instinctively pulled the trigger before fear consumed them.
However, what they faced were only small groups of enemies.
After a fierce firefight lasting about ten minutes, the enemy fled to the rear, abandoning Sachang-ri due to their numerical inferiority.
For enemies who fought to the death, it was a somewhat sloppy ending.
The astonished Japanese soldiers entered the village very cautiously and carefully, dividing it into sections in case of an ambush, but what they feared did not happen.
However, because both sides were too cautious, a minor ‘Jjinppa’ incident occurred in which a miscommunication occurred and casualties occurred.
Other than that there were no major issues.
Soon, the Japanese flag was fluttering in the center of the village, and the staff of the 2nd Division, who saw it, could not hide their joy, saying that the enemy really did not understand their intentions.
If things continued this way, the enemy would be in a difficult situation, facing the 1st Army from both the flanks and front of Hamheung.
At last, for the first time in a long while, the division commander’s heart was momentarily relieved at the thought of achieving a refreshing victory over those cunning men.
“How about sending the division troops into the village and letting them rest for a while?”
“Okay, let’s do that. Call the 2nd Cavalry Regiment and have them wipe out the fleeing Korean soldiers. Oh, and we also need to assess the situation, so have them bring in a few prisoners.”
“All right.”
Things seemed to be going too easily.
Although he wondered if something was wrong somewhere, the 2nd Division Commander tried to act relaxed and think positively.
***
“Retreat quickly! Their cavalry is in pursuit!”
“You little shits, you’re freaking fast.”
The 2nd Platoon of the 3rd Battalion of the 6th Brigade, which had been ordered to engage the enemy moderately at Sachang-ri and then retreat, hastily headed towards the friendly defense line and hurriedly walked even faster than before.
They thought that if they withdrew to the mountainous terrain, the enemy cavalry would not be able to pursue them, but they pursued them persistently, as if they had some purpose.
“Can’t we just take up a firing position and shoot right now?! With the cavalry really following us, I don’t think we’ll be able to shake them off!”
“No! If you do that, I’ll get in trouble! Then, while you’re making a fuss, get out of here quickly, quickly!”
The company commander, recalling the chilling reprimand of Lieutenant Noh Baek-rin, immediately shouted at one of the exhausted-looking officers and told him to run again.
They were famous for being a unit that ran around like a rooster wearing feathers in Italy, right after they were taken over by Lieutenant Colonel No Baek-rin, who had distinguished himself in the border conflict.
I heard that the battalion commander is infatuated with a cult of Italian soldiers called the Bersaglieri.
In any case, thanks to that, they were praised for being as fast as cavalry, even though they were infantry, and for being as fast and mobile as the assault infantry regiments.
Since it was such a unit, the commander would have personally entrusted it with the extremely dangerous mission of making brief contact with the enemy at Sachang-ri and then retreating, and if the enemy pursued them, luring them away as much as possible.
“Eww! It’s getting closer! Shit, shit!”
“Get your head down! Those bastards are shooting!”
Of course, they felt like they were going to die when they faced the enemy directly on the scene.
The enemy cavalry was chasing them through the rugged mountainous terrain, firing their guns like mad.
When the enemy was pursuing us, we were ordered not to fight back and to retreat to the defensive line where our troops were deployed, so we were on the verge of death without even being able to properly fire a shot.
“Just a little bit, just a little bit more!”
“Those bastards are trying to climb the mountain ridge to cut off our escape route!”
A platoon leader’s shout was heard. The enemy cavalry was seen making a large detour to cut off the company’s retreat route.
They were demonstrating the well-trained cavalry maneuvers that I had learned while studying the cavalry curriculum one day—under the directive of the former Director of Military Affairs, the current Commissioner General, that infantry should know cavalry, cavalry should know infantry, and artillery should definitely know both.
And infantry that get caught in such maneuvers usually end up dead.
That’s why cavalry was so scary.
We still had some distance to go before we reached our defensive line, but I was about to order my company to take up arms and suppress the enemy cavalry as much as possible, thinking that it was the end.
bang!
A heavy, sharp, gunshot noise was heard.
It wasn’t the light, faint sound of Japanese rifles.
And just as the gunshot rang out, one of the enemy cavalrymen, who had just climbed the ridge to surround the infantry, fell from his horse with a scream and a spray of blood.
“It’s the Japanese cavalry! Shoot them all!”
“We are allies! We are allies!”
While the soldiers of the 2nd Platoon cheered, Battalion Commander Noh Baek-rin pulled out his revolver and pulled the trigger into the air with his upper body exposed.
And with him, the Maximovans, who may have been lying in ambush at any moment, appeared and poured out bullets like crazy, breaking the relatively calm peace of the battlefield.
It was a noise so loud that even the rider’s screams and the words he spat out as he fell down helplessly were drowned out.
“Stop standing there like an idiot and shoot! Show these bastards a taste of heat!”
The company commander also quickly turned his gun towards the enemy and shouted.
The Japanese cavalry, surprised by the sudden attack and fire, turned their horses and began to retreat.
Without even having time to collect the bodies of their comrades, they started running towards Sachang-ri at a rapid pace, like frightened animals hiding in their caves.