Joseon Needs a Coup - Chapter 293
Only Noblemtl
#293. No problem on the Gwanbuk front (1)
The clerk handed the men a piece of paper that the mayor had given to the employees earlier.
“What is this?”
“A recruiting center will soon be set up in the county office. It will be set up not only here, but also in Hongseong County and even throughout the province.”
“Huh, it looks like the situation is urgent.”
The men stared blankly at the paper the secretary handed them.
They smoked for a while and then opened their mouths again after a while.
“What time is it?”
“···Three days later. The village chief personally gathered the young men in the market and gave a speech in support of conscription or something.”
“Um, then do you know how many soldiers are stationed in this area?”
“Um… Let’s see where….”
He spoke for a moment, thinking about the village structure. It was a lot for the size of the village, but the overall number was very small.
“There are about five or six Korean police officers appointed by the Japanese at the police station, and about 20 Iljinhoe members.”
“About thirty. Very good, Your Excellency. This is very good information. Please continue to work tirelessly day and night for our struggle and final victory.”
“Please promise me one thing. Please don’t harm our employees. They are all sick and tired of the Japanese and the mayor.”
“···They also had time to choose.”
The man who had a kind expression on his face spoke with a changed tone of voice, although he still kept his smile.
“But they were silent, and only the clerk expressed his willingness to cooperate with us.”
“They just lacked the courage. So please, please do not harm the staff. Shouldn’t we think about it even after we recover this place?”
“···Hmm, if the village clerk ‘persuades’ his employees to make it easier to catch the village head, then that might be another matter.”
The man who had secretly given what he wanted looked at the worried clerk and sent him away without confirming or denying anything.
“It’s a bit of a problem that there are only about thirty enemy troops, but seeing him waver, I think he’ll give in.”
“Just in case, prepare to deploy the kids. Be sure to report this information to the branch manager as well.”
“All right.”
They spoke as they extinguished their cigarette ash in an ashtray.
“Those damn weightlifters. They go to extreme lengths to find cannon fodder.”
“Things are going to get a little more interesting. If we start inciting conscription riots here and there… how can these bastards stand it?”
Even without this, the traitors of the new government were splitting up one by one in search of a way to survive, and some of them were cooperating to repent for their crimes or in exchange for amnesty.
Discontent had already built up to the point where it had turned into anger, and anger could easily turn into hatred toward the enemy with just a small spark.
“···It’s like throwing a small match into a dry field.”
If that happens, the Japanese troops scattered throughout the region for the purpose of maintaining public order and the rebel forces deployed to assist them will be swept away by a veritable ‘wave of the people.’
The Wonsoo Department, the Sunmu Young Department, and the Records Investigation Office would all want just that.
“Let’s prepare the weapons at Anga.”
“All right.”
They folded the paper the clerk had handed them, put it in a bookmark, and then started heading back somewhere in the mountains.
The second front in the rear, which had seemed distant and painful, was about to begin again.
***
“No matter what happens, do not let those dirty Japanese and traitors enter Hamheung where His Majesty the Emperor resides!”
“Keep shooting! You go get the cartridges!”
The loud sound of machine guns firing and shells exploding everywhere rang strongly in my ears.
The summer of 1904 was more suffocating than ever.
Throughout the Far East, battlefields were unfolding where everyone involved in the war was clashing, dreaming of a quick and decisive battle.
Even here, a bloody battle was taking place between the two sides over the road leading into Hamheung.
While the Japanese army was attempting to destroy the Manchurian Army Headquarters by destroying the Russian army south of Fengtian, they also began to launch persistent attacks toward Hamheung to prevent us from helping them.
So, 60,000 Japanese soldiers and traitors began to advance north from Wonsan, and I also sent a large number of troops to fight back, and much blood was shed throughout the summer campaign.
Even the ground I stood on was soaked with blood, with Pia’s corpse mixed in.
Even the dead and the living had to hold their ground, unable to leave this front line.
“You damn Japanese bastards, where the hell are you crawling in from!”
“Let’s kill all the traitors and Japanese! Come to your senses and start by killing those who raise their heads!”
The heat and sunlight were so intense that it seemed as if the barrels of the machine guns firing hard there would explode, but the soldiers paid no attention to it and kept pressing the fire button, continuously firing bullets at the enemy.
Below the high-altitude army, there were enemy soldiers who had fallen like beehives after being hit by machine guns while crossing from Geumya-eup, and those who were screaming with their limbs blown off by artillery fire.
Down below, in the Ipseok River where clear water once flowed, it was no longer strange to see blood and pieces of corpses flowing in a reddish tinge.
“Do not show mercy to the Japanese and their traitors who have become their dogs! Shoot!”
There have already been eight attacks on this area.
The corpses of the enemies that had not yet been recovered were rotting away, but judging by the fact that they poured in troops and ammunition as if they did not care, it seemed that they were in a hurry.
Thud! Kukukukung!
“Sergeant, it is too dangerous to be here. Please step back.”
“I came to see how the battle was going, and I have no intention of retreating because of this kind of artillery fire.”
I felt the vibrations all over the tunnel with a relaxed expression.
The fort was built so solidly that even the 75mm guns fired by the Japanese army couldn’t make a dent in it.
Although they may not know, a tunnel fortress of this size could easily withstand two or three concentrated barrages of 155mm high-explosive shells, or even a direct hit from a 1,000-pound aerial bomb.
“Besides, if you want to kill me, such a small shell is no match for it. Maybe bring me the 280mm siege gun that captured Lushun.”
“···If that hit anyone, they would die···.”
At my joke, the 8th Brigade commander, Lieutenant General Hyun Heung-taek, shrugged his shoulders and shook his head.
“Even so, the enemy’s artillery fire is quite rough and… persistent.”
“It seems like they copied our concentrated fire method to some extent.”
I also heard that the enemy has a pretty good commander leading their unit.
Lieutenant General Hidenori Tojo, who commanded the Reserve Infantry Division, and Major General Umezawa, who commanded the 1st Brigade of the Guards Division, were some decent people who had arrived to pave the way for Hamheung.
Maybe they found a way to attack us.
“Well, maybe so, and maybe not. The concept of concentrated firepower has been around for a very long time.”
To be exact, it seemed as if the reserve infantry division was attempting the Japanese-style firepower warfare doctrine advocated by Lieutenant General Hidenori of the Japanese army.
It was clear that the method would be to concentrate artillery on one part of the front line and pound it, then deploy a large force of infantry to the weakened front line and suppress it with the firepower of the skirmish line.
“But that won’t work for us anymore. It’s too late to use it.”
Lieutenant Eodam, who had been transferred to Sunmuyeong as the new artillery officer, spoke from behind him as if he was killing me.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that during Sunmuyeong’s operations, all of the firepower plans came from him, which was a very important position, but he carried out his duties well in his own way.
“Is the supporting fire ready?”
“Of course. If the sergeant gives the order, we can rain down smoke bombs on the heads of our enemies within five minutes!”
Looking at his confident face, I smiled faintly.
‘Yes, we have such an elite artillery unit in our hands, but they are already very late. If we were going to use the tactics we have just learned, we should have used them when the 1st Army was still alive.’
I looked down at the battlefield through my telescope, laughing at my enemies.
Well, it seemed like they had learned something from us.
The infantry was not being used at the heavy regiment or battalion level as before, but was being used primarily at the company level, which was the next level.
In addition, enemy artillery, which previously attempted to strike friendly defense lines primarily through direct bombardment, also began to change.
After being caught in the crossfire by friendly artillery fire during direct bombardment, or having been swept away by infantry and cavalry assaults during the night while standing too close to the front lines, they were now attempting indirect fire using the maximum range from the rear of the front lines.
“But those guys probably don’t even have proper indirect fire observation equipment. They shoot better than I thought.”
“The enemy shells that are falling now are all shot by feel. At first, they were ridiculously off target, but now they are gathering their own group of bullets.”
“Some of the recently captured field guns were equipped with indirect sights. Of course, I don’t think all of them were like that.”
···Well, it’s not like the other person always gets fooled.
The records investigation office said that they had already detected evidence that something new was being produced at the Tokyo Artillery Depot.
Later, upon capturing and closely examining one of the destroyed enemy guns, it was discovered that one was a makeshift indirect observation device for artillery, and the other was a makeshift gun shield.
Unlike the field guns we use, there was no separate gun shield, so there were frequent instances where the operators were hit by shrapnel or bullets and became incapacitated.
“It seems that the enemy will soon deploy a large number of troops.”
“Where should I look···”
Anyway, today’s battle was ending similarly to the previous ones.
Although several friendly troops were killed by the enemy’s concentrated artillery fire and the enemy’s machine gun barrage coming from somewhere in between, that alone was not enough to break through the defensive line.
To overturn the defensive line, infantry, and large quantities of infantry, were needed, and the enemy began pouring them toward the bridgehead.
“It’s just the beginning.”
As expected, it seemed that customs were not easily abandoned. Or, even if they wanted to change tactics, they were in a situation where they had no choice but to maintain old customs because all the experienced soldiers were being torn apart.
The enemy was seen running towards the high ground defended by our troops, with their skirmish lines stretched out like before.
“Report from the left wing of the front! A company of enemy infantry is charging!”
“Send the reserves and tell them to fight back! We can’t give them the upper hand!”