Joseon Needs a Coup - Chapter 366



Only Noblemtl

#2-22. The root of the new War (5)

“Is it really enough to just pour all your troops into the enemy’s front, Advisor? Even now, turn north and withdraw completely…”

“No, it’s not enough. How many times have I told you that if we don’t break the enemy’s advance now, we’re really finished?! Their mobility and shock power are not something your troops can handle! And even if we run north, it’s all forests in a forested area, so all of our troops will be scattered with their morale down. Then we’ll just be annihilated, annihilated!”

The Japanese torturer spoke to the commander, who had a frightened expression on his face, unlike before. The atmosphere was completely reversed from the beginning. Even on the front lines, and even in the positions between the commander and the torturer.

As soon as the commander saw that Andong had collapsed from a surprise attack by the enemy infantry, he turned some of his troops around and tried to recapture the place.

But that didn’t work. No, it only caused serious confusion on the battlefield.

Far from blocking the railroad from Sinuiju by controlling Andong Station, there was no way to overcome the current defensive situation.

If this had happened, the Korean army would have started to rush deep into South Manchuria, pumping troops and supplies like crazy into the Gyeongui Line and Andong Station, which had been connected in 1911.

“That’s why I said there was no need to mobilize 10,000 people back then! Their diversionary maneuver was a deception, and getting sucked into it was a shortcut to defeat!”

They needed to take control of Andong at all costs before Jang Jag-rim’s main force arrived, and despite the opposition of their advisors, they were determined to recapture the city, and were willing to withdraw 10 battalions and 10,000 men to do so.

And all the things that happened earlier started from this. In fact, even if it hadn’t been that, it would have collapsed at some point, but at least it wouldn’t have been this chaotic and disorganized. When they tried to withdraw ten battalions to the rear at once, the troops on the front line began to waver greatly.

“The soldiers were already disoriented due to the artillery fire, so what would they have thought when they suddenly sent 10,000 troops to the rear? This was simply a large-scale retreat, a retreat!”

As he said, the front-line troops who had barely managed to keep their feet on the defensive line after being bombarded all day long could not have seen any other reason for the sudden movement of 10,000 troops from 10 battalions, and that too to the rear.

I guess I just thought he was running away to the rear because he couldn’t overcome his fear.

Accordingly, the entire front began to shake. The advisor warned that if a large number of troops were withdrawn to the rear at once, not only would the enemy be aware of our forces’ intentions to move, but our forces could also retreat in an unorderly manner because they would not be able to properly grasp the situation.

Accordingly, instead of deploying 10,000 troops at once, he proposed that one regiment of 3,000 cavalrymen, who had been uselessly tied up as guard troops for the command, be first deployed toward Andong, and after assessing the situation to some extent, the troops be reorganized, the defensive line be reduced, and an attempt be made to recapture the area.

But he said he couldn’t send the precious command guards, so he didn’t send the cavalry, and instead withdrew the infantry from the front line, which eventually led to the situation being developed like this. Perhaps that’s why, instead of being overbearing like before when responding to the advisor’s words, he simply spoke in an excessively calm or gloomy voice.

“···I didn’t know it would turn out like this.”

“That’s why I warned you several times! So, if you want to survive, you have to bring out all your remaining troops and break through the enemy’s defense line! Otherwise, we’ll all be killed by the enemy!”

And at that moment, the enemy artillery, which had been landing on a large scale, began to rain down the most lethal rain on earth, so it was virtually a matter of time before the chaos on the battlefield led to a large-scale rout. Or perhaps even this was what the enemy commander, Kim Si-hyeok, had in mind.

It was he who was known to know the Japanese military better than the Japanese themselves, and the Chinese military better than the Chinese themselves.

It might have been possible because he was revered and called the god of war and the god of thunder even within the headquarters. To the point where it seemed like everything that had brought them here was done in the palm of his hand.

Well, to that extent, he would have been the object of love and hate for the Chief of Staff and the high-ranking generals within the Japanese military.

They said that while they wanted to have a simple chat over a cup of tea, he was the person they wanted to kill first.

The commanders drew their pistols and sabers and tried to stop the retreating soldiers and send them back to the front lines, but even they fell into battlefield panic and either joined the fleeing procession or were trampled to death.

It was surprising how the grenade launcher, which didn’t even hit properly when they shot it, formed a proper group when they shot it.

“And there is no retreat behind us. We must repel the enemy here and now, regroup, and then retreat towards Yeonggwang.”

In the dim moonlight of the night battle, and in the confusion caused by the daytime battle, the soldiers failed to find a retreat route towards Yeonggu, located in the northwestern part of the front line, and were stuck in a situation where they could not move. Only after the enemy’s artillery fire stopped for a moment did this damned commander begin to send the cavalry regiment assigned to guard the command post towards the retreat route.

But those who returned were few, and even those who did brought terrible news.

The content was that the enemy was already sending troops to key junctions that had to be passed during the retreat, and that even if they were to seize the withdrawal route now, it would be too late.

The torturer’s expression grew darker as time passed. Even if he were to escape north bypassing the reservoir, the forest was so dense that it would be difficult to escape properly, so he couldn’t choose that route.

It was a situation that could only be described as a case of a drain.

“Damn it, the truth of Baesu···.”

In front of them was the enemy, behind them was a reservoir. You could feel deep in your bones what it meant to be a battle of attrition, but unfortunately, they did not have the legendary general Han Shin.

Only those who felt fear remained in the current situation, which was clearly different from the previous morning when they had only advanced by destroying easy opponents.

“Rather, as I said earlier, we have no choice but to face the enemy by forming a defensive formation. The enemy’s troop deployment is very disadvantageous to us, but at least we have many more troops, and since the battle is on the plains, we have the opportunity to overwhelm the enemy with large-scale rifle firepower and grenade launchers.”

···He said that, but the advisor was not confident either. It was because the control and fighting will of the subordinate units were noticeably low, making it difficult to show off their strengths on the plains. Above all, he did not know that the firepower of the regular infantry was this strong, unless it was the assault infantry, which was the elite unit.

Although he had fought in the previous war, he had never experienced the firepower of the Korean army (the Japanese term for the Korean army) to be that strong.

However, I only heard the self-deprecating account of the General Staff that even the formidable artillery fire of the Roske Artillery Brigade was nothing more than a drizzle compared to the artillery fire of the Korean soldiers.

And he could clearly see why he was saying such things here.

As if precision machine tools were working in perfect synchronicity, enemy infantry, artillery, and even aircraft began to cover our lines in unison.

The sight of the artillery fire striking the most vulnerable points of the defensive line with such precision, and the enemy infantry advancing non-linearly through the flashes of artillery fire and smoke, sweeping through the front line that had become a battlefield, was terrifying to say the least.

This was close to a one-sided slaughter. Even though they were subordinates of Jang Jag-rim, whose mental strength and discipline were a mess compared to the imperial army, they were at least evaluated as people who would not be easily defeated in a fight between warlords.

“Now that the overwhelming enemy artillery has stopped its activities, it is the only way for us to find a way to survive! If we fail to hold the occupied area along the Yalu River before the main force arrives, it will be a disaster!”

But it was clear that if not now, it would be difficult to even properly counterattack.

Perhaps it was because the enemy’s artillery range was ambiguous, but the enemy’s infantry had stopped advancing and were temporarily establishing a defensive line, so they had no choice but to take advantage of the moment when the overwhelming firepower disadvantage was lifted.

Unlike the Japanese army, where infantry was the main character on the battlefield, and the Chinese who modeled themselves after them, the Korean army put artillery as the main character.

Unlike the Japanese army, whose artillery role followed the average of armies around the world, where the infantry moved and the artillery provided cover, the Korean army took on a completely different appearance.

This was because it was reborn as the core of a battle in which ‘artillery destroys and infantry takes control.’

This was because while the artillery was destroying the front line, the infantry and cavalry were using mobile warfare to penetrate the enemy’s vulnerable areas, and by expanding the breakthrough, they were ultimately able to break through to the depth of the front line.

In order to deal with them, the General Staff also came up with its own countermeasures.

The Japanese military’s method was to emphasize the mobility of the infantry as much as possible, to stockpile sufficient reserves, and to build up a thick layer of defense in order to gradually increase the density of firepower.

It was also considered important to leave much decision-making authority to the ‘commander’s discretion’, as in the Korean military.

But here they made a big mistake. They got caught up in the blind purpose of ‘having to protect somewhere’ and lost the best tool they had, and the overall aspect of the battle was bound to roll passively.

···Besides, the level of Jangjakrim’s subordinates was far worse than expected, considering that he could have a lot of decision-making power at the ‘commander’s discretion’.

“Passive men will be defeated by active enemies. We must pour all our remaining forces into the front lines to break through the enemy’s defenses and find a way out.”

“but···”

“If the enemy artillery resumes its activities, we will all die! There is enemy infantry in front, a reservoir behind, and the enemy artillery shrapnel pouring down in the middle, and there is nothing we can do about it! Kim Si-hyeok, we must win before that bastard completely destroys our will to fight!”

In fact, the advisor pressured Jang Jag-rim’s subordinates who were panicking and ordered them to continuously pour troops into the front line. Fortunately, the enemy’s defense lines were separated by a considerable distance, and it was clear that the offensive would gain momentum as some troops infiltrated through the gaps.

Of course, it wasn’t long before the Equatorial Reserve was brought in to immediately close the breach.

In addition, the enemies in front were responding with machine guns and grenade launchers, but this side was also holding them back with a large force of riflemen and grenade launchers, so it was possible to do something about it.

Of course, this was only a temporary advantage, and the battle had to be won before the enemy’s artillery could become fully operational.

“If you want to survive, you have no choice but to fight now. I want you to quickly gather the remaining troops and send them.”

“···Okay, okay.”

He looked reluctant, but in fact he had no choice. He could not hide his impatience as he ordered his men to lead the remaining troops and overturn the enemy’s fiercely resisting defensive line.

And along with that, in the distance, several flashes of light were shooting up into the sky.

Everyone seemed to be momentarily blinded by the sight, but soon they realized what it meant and stopped advancing for a moment, staring into space.

They looked anxiously at the battlefield as several flares floated brightly above their heads, and soon they were forced to face the reality they most wanted to face.