Joseon Needs a Coup - Chapter 309
Only Noblemtl
#309. Glory of the North (1)
While the Russian army launched a decisive counterattack against the Japanese army at Bongcheon, I began the operation to recapture Wonsan.
The operation, dubbed “Glory of the Arctic” and led by the Navy, would likely be the first and last time the scrap metal ship, Yangmu, would be deployed on an operation.
And if this succeeded, it was certain that Yangmu would be remembered for its greatness in military history for centuries.
Of course, in order to leave a mark on history, various preparations were necessary, and the preparations took a considerable amount of time and effort.
Everything was kept strictly confidential.
In order to avoid Japanese surveillance of the Heungnam wharf area, the Records Investigation Office and the Marshal’s Office carried out deception operations in various places, so the intentions of our forces were not greatly exposed to the enemy.
Of course, the Japanese Navy did send a few ships to spy on what was going on here, but they were repelled thanks to the Russian-made 152mm coastal guns.
As time passed, the time of destiny finally arrived.
The Navy summoned me to the port for a final briefing, after which I would present a formal report to the Emperor at his palace in Hamheung.
And from the moment it ended, I knew that Hamheung would no longer remain.
“In order to support friendly forces during the landing operation, all four Yeonggilli-made 120mm single-barreled guns on the deck were removed. Instead, eight French-made 47mm rapid-fire guns and six Maxim guns were deployed for rapid fire support and effective killing of people and horses.”
“···Isn’t this too much armament?”
“Yes? Originally, the Yangmuho was equipped with eight 47mm rapid-fire guns. Also, six Maxim guns are scheduled to be removed and used for landing, so it shouldn’t be a big problem.”
Was Yangmuho originally that big? Well, it was a huge ship weighing nearly 4,000 tons, so it would be expected.
When I made a puzzled expression, Navy Admiral Lee Dong-hwi coughed in vain and continued speaking.
“Besides, in an amphibious battle environment, you never know what might happen, so having more weapons makes it easier to respond flexibly. Unlike land battles, sea battles have relatively fewer variables, but in an environment where they meet, you have to think about how to respond.”
“Well, since it’s Navy work, I think they’ll take care of it.”
Anyway, the Navy and fighting at sea were not my area of expertise.
After all, the Navy was a different organization from the Army, and was a special military organization that required specialized skills.
If I interfered with that military organization, there would be no good news, and I would end up ruining the organizational culture.
So I just let the experts do it, and I plan to continue to do so.
Of course, it is an open secret that the royalist faction that had established itself in the army was hardly seen in the navy.
“Who operates the Yangmuho during the landing operation?”
“I am Shin Sun-seong, the captain of the destroyer Baekdusan. I am the best that our navy can offer at the moment.”
“It’s okay.”
If he had been deployed to paralyze the Japanese naval telegraph facility on Ulleungdo, there would have been no problem.
At this point, it seemed like the preparations were almost complete.
It was said that the Navy’s technicians also took care of the engine of the cruiser Yangmu, which had been malfunctioning, so that it could run properly at least during the landing operation.
However, the slow speed of the sheep farm was inevitable. This was a problem that had existed since the first construction, so it was not a problem that the current engineers could solve.
If we had to solve the problem, we would have had to remove the engine that was suitable for a 600-ton ship and replace it with one that was suitable for a 3,000-4,000-ton ship, but that would not have been cost-effective.
Not only was there no dock within the Korean Empire that could do it, but the Yangmu itself had to be completely torn down and reopened.
There was even talk that it would be cheaper to build a new warship, so it couldn’t be helped.
In any case, due to these problems, Yangmu had difficulty mobilizing for subsequent landings and military support after the initial surprise landing was successful, and so he had to conscript a large number of official ships to meet the needs.
“Are there any naval or coastal guns in Wonsan that could threaten our ships?”
“First of all, there are no coastal artillery forces in Wonsan. However, there were naval ships. There were about four torpedo boats…”
Judging by the way he was smiling and extending the tail of his words, it seemed like the Navy had sorted things out a long time ago.
“Surprisingly, the fleet was recently attacked by our allies, destroying two ships and sinking one, so they are currently almost completely out of action.”
“That’s fortunate.”
“By the way, this guy Yangmu is a coal-eating hippopotamus… It’s a waste of space to transport coal.”
Well, it takes 43 tons of coal to operate a single sheep farm.
It was strange that it wasn’t said that if we just reduced the space for that much coal, we could carry one more soldier and one more piece of equipment.
Moreover, since the stock of anthracite coal, which is responsible for the mobility of the fleet, was now running low, this feeling was even more so.
The Navy said that on average, 40 percent of the Navy’s monthly anthracite coal used was allocated for this operation.
But there was another reason why this happened.
“It’s not like Yangmu is taking a direct route to Wonsan.”
As I said, Yangmu did not use the direct route from Heungnam to Wonsan.
Because it was so slow that it took more than 10 hours at sea to travel directly from Hamheung to Wonsan, there were concerns that it could easily be caught by the Japanese military’s surveillance system.
Accordingly, the Navy resolved this by slightly twisting the maneuver route of the Yangmu to achieve surprise and deception effects.
“Even if we try to run the shortest distance at a speed of less than 14 knots, there’s a high chance that we’ll be caught by the Japanese. There are no coastal guns or naval ships, but it’s not like there aren’t coastal watchtowers.”
“So you’re going to pretend to go to Vladivostok and then take the route back to Wonsan from the ocean?”
“That’s it. We can deceive the enemy. We will send a plaintext telegram. We will send anthracite coal to Vladivostok… Then the enemy will not be very suspicious of our ship’s departure.”
It would be easier to understand if we said that after leaving Heungnam Port, it briefly turned toward Vladivostok and then entered Wonsan.
In this way, even if the Japanese navy intercepted the radio transmission or discovered the departure of the Yangmu by other means, it could not be regarded as a direct threat to Wonsan.
“The second and third waves of landings will also occur. If Yangmu sets sail at 7 p.m. today when the weather is good as planned… then they will be able to attempt a landing at 2 a.m. the next day. If it’s as early as 1 a.m., it could be possible.”
“We can’t leave the landing battalion there alone for too long. Aren’t there troops from the Wonsan garrison swarming around there?”
“That is true, but for this reason, we will bring in official ships and set sail at 2:00 AM the next day.”
There were three 1,000-ton ships belonging to the Daehan First Company, as well as smaller ships of 300 to 500 tons, so it seemed that they would use them to transport the follow-up troops and their supplies.
“Of course, these guys are faster than sheep, and they don’t have to go around the outside, so it will take less time.”
Still, the landing force alone had to build a defensive line there and hold out for several hours. Of course, the main Japanese force was tied down in the highlands, and two battalions of the Wonsan garrison were also dragged there.
“The first wave will consist of a small number of Naval Port Management personnel and Naval Landing Force personnel dispatched to manage the 2nd Assault Infantry Battalion and the landing units, as well as a small number of Police Department personnel.”
And the second wave was selected from the coastal artillery battalion assigned to the navy and the 3rd Battalion of the 6th Guards Brigade, which had been stationed in Wonsan before the war, to directly support them.
From the third wave onwards, an administrative landing was planned, and the Guards Division, 1st Assault Battalion, and 8th Guards Brigade under the command of the Tongyeongyeong in the highlands were to attempt to connect after wiping out the enemy.
“But is there a reason why you are deploying the 2nd Battalion? You could have deployed the 3rd Battalion, which has many veteran soldiers.”
“They have their own work to do too.”
The assault infantry regiment had been reduced to two battalions due to damage sustained in the continuous fighting, but several measures were being taken to restore it to its original organization in conjunction with the general counterattack.
As a result, many of the veterans of the 2nd Battalion were transferred to the restored 3rd Battalion, and the vacant positions were filled with new recruits. It seemed that, except for one company, it was completely made up of rookies.
Well, actually, it couldn’t be helped since these were the only units that could be deployed.
“That’s the only assault infantry battalion we can mobilize right now.”
However, I had received proper training and the 2nd Battalion’s command staff was of a decent standard, so there was no reason to hesitate.
They had been waiting at Pier 3 of Heungnam Port for several days in advance to ensure security until just before the operation.
The remaining 1st and 3rd Battalions were planned to be deployed for the third phase of the operation, which would be to recapture Hansong and Pyongyang, immediately after the recapture of Wonsan.
“Of course, they should do the best.”
How the 2nd Battalion, Assault Infantry Regiment ended the battle would determine how the first step of this three-phase operation would be put into place.
This is the alpha and omega of this counterattack, so he won’t be upset later on that he and the 2nd Battalion weren’t called in for a bigger fight.
“What is happening in the Gowon-eup area?”
“Currently, our forces are continuing to strike the enemy’s defense line.”
And the first step was to focus the enemy’s attention on the Korean Garrison Command and the 1st Army Command by launching a deceptive attack on the Wonsan area, just like the current one.
This was intended to prevent the enemy from detecting our landing attempt, and accordingly, we concentrated our troops in Gowon-eup, the main route to Wonsan, and ordered a diversionary attack.
And as expected, the main force of the Japanese army gathered here and began to fiercely resist our army’s offensive.
“These fools gave up Palbongsan, which could have commanded the front line, and are only holding on to an all-out defense. Thanks to this, they say they were able to tie up the enemy’s main force and reserve forces with a deceptive attack.”
The name Palbongsan reminded me of a place in a fantasy world where trolls would run wild, so I smiled slightly, but soon stopped.
“They must have had their own reasons. They must have been anxious that if the defense line on the plateau were to be weakened and they were to be bypassed, they would be finished.
It seemed that they were withdrawing their defense forces to Wonsan and reinforcing the front line because they knew that if they gave up Gowon-eup, they would have no answer.
Of course, all of this was the development I wanted.
Before recapturing Wonsan, it was necessary to quickly bring the tempo of the offensive to the front line so that the enemy would not come to their senses.