Joseon Needs a Coup - Chapter 368



Only Noblemtl

#2-24. The Thin Red Line (2)

“What’s going on over there…?”

Lieutenant Kim Jwa-jin, who had been blocking the enemy company while operating a machine gun for a while, suddenly felt that the enemy’s attacks had become significantly duller than before.

Along with him, the smell of death was slowly rising, coming not from the friendly defense line, but from far behind, or even more strongly.

“The enemy is retreating! They are retreating the way they came!”

“what?”

“You bastards, back off! You fucking dogs of Jangjakrim, you’re a piece of cake!”

Now, as we were running low on machine gun ammunition, by a stroke of luck the enemy retreated.

The soldiers cheered and raised their fists, but the enemy, whether they heard it or not, retreated back as if they were dying.

Kim Jo-jin felt like an idiot for seriously contemplating for a moment whether he should fight the enemy with grenades and bayonets, saying that it would have been close if he had fought just a little longer, but it didn’t matter.

It was a miracle that a platoon made up of non-combatants managed to repel the attack with no casualties and only about eight wounded.

And just then, a messenger sent by the battalion commander was rushing towards us.

“This is a message from the commander! The enemy is in a sudden retreat, so he wants you to return quickly!”

“I get it.”

It certainly seemed like something was happening behind the enemy’s backs. After gathering machine gun barrels, tripods, ammunition, and supplies, we withdrew, leaving behind only a small number of guard troops. After walking for a while, we were able to reach the original defensive line.

As if the battle had just ended on this side, the soldiers were dragging the corpses of the enemies left scattered around the defensive line to reinforce their trenches, or were gathering captured firearms and reporting the numbers to their officers.

I heard that in times of emergency, they reinforce the defensive line with the corpses of fallen enemies. It seems that the Marshal’s Office also said that it was an effective defensive measure. They said that it would definitely block bullets and shrapnel.

Of course, it would be hard work in the perishable summer, but it would be better than death.

While the weak-stomached soldiers were vomiting, on the other side, captured enemy soldiers were being disarmed and transported to the rear.

Some soldiers were busy preparing for the next battle, eating their combat rations or stuffing freshly opened shells into their magazines whenever they had time.

The battalion commander was having a serious conversation with his company commanders at that time. The conversation went something like this:

Suddenly, the enemy’s movements became slow and the friendly artillery support was not continuing, so it seemed that the friendly assault infantry brigade had infiltrated the enemy’s rear and was conducting an operation.

And the battalion commander was seriously considering whether to rally his remaining troops and advance in response to their offensive without the fire support of the mobile barrage, or to hold off while the assault infantry counter-punched the enemy.

“It looks like the friendly fire hasn’t fallen yet. If we make a mistake and the fire rains down on our heads, wouldn’t that be a real disaster?”

“Even so, we cannot leave the assault infantrymen alone while they are desperately attacking the enemy. We must work together with the 2nd Battalion to drive the enemy into the reservoir.”

“No, if we do that and a friendly fire breaks out due to miscommunication between friendly forces, who will take responsibility?”

The battalion commander and company commanders were having a hard time making a decision. The casualties of our troops were relatively light compared to the scale of the enemy’s attack, but it was still an ambiguous situation in many ways to launch a counterattack right away.

“···Then how about sending out only some troops to respond?”

“what?”

Lieutenant Kim Jwa-jin shrugged his shoulders as he spoke, and the company commanders around him looked at him with displeased expressions.

“You can’t do anything with such an ambiguous method.”

“What can you do with just a company-sized unit···”

“If the enemy is under attack by the assault infantry, they will be greatly shaken. Moreover, they may lose this precious opportunity. Even if the assault infantry fights well, they are exhausted after recapturing Andong and advancing here. We must help them. Otherwise, the enemy who has worked hard to keep them on our side may sense the situation and flee.”

The 1st Platoon Commander, who was the most senior company commander and the most senior officer in the battalion, shook his head as he looked at Kim Jwa-jin. However, judging from the way he was lighting a cigarette with trembling hands, it seemed that much of his pre-battle confidence had disappeared.

“That kid is doing pretty well. He’s starting to look like a military officer now. But there aren’t many men left in the battalion. From the 1st to the 4th companies, everyone is exhausted right now.”

Looking closely, I could see that he had a bandage wrapped around his head, so it seemed like he had been in a pretty intense battle earlier.

When I came here and saw the first aid station, I saw that there were quite a few soldiers who had been stabbed by bayonets or injured by shrapnel from enemy grenades, and it seemed that this place was no different.

“If you could just select one platoon from each company, I’ll break through the enemy lines.”

“You’re crazy. If you’re crazy, you’re crazy as hell.”

The battalion commander raised his hand to block what the other officers were trying to say, and then opened his mouth. Lieutenant Kim Jwa-jin waited for the battalion commander’s characteristic barrage of shrapnel-like curses to follow, but what he received was an unexpected answer.

“···But that’s the kind of thing that only someone who graduated second in the military academy can do. I really like that kind of proactive attitude. Our army needs a lot of guys like you. And a lot of them.”

Then, looking at the company commanders behind him, the battalion commander spoke in a rather excited voice.

“Each company commander, send a fresh platoon to this guy. And Lieutenant Kim, respond to our forces and push them back as much as possible. They’ve been fighting all night and are probably exhausted. If you make a breakthrough, we’ll work with the battalion and 2nd Battalion troops to launch a follow-up attack, so don’t worry and just wipe them out.”

“···All right!”

Lieutenant Kim Jwa-jin saluted politely, and the battalion commander nodded in acceptance. And a moment later, he began to advance toward the front line with platoons drawn from each company.

***

“You want us to stop shelling?”

“Yes. The Assault Infantry Brigade sent a messenger saying that they will drive the enemy into the reservoir.”

“crazy···”

Rather than being angry, I was impressed by my brother’s bold, almost mad moves.

The original operational plan was for the friendly artillery to pour down a barrage of mobile barrage fire, and then the assault infantry brigade to advance as planned and ‘annihilate’ the remaining enemies, but my fiery younger brother seemed dissatisfied with that.

As soon as they realized that they had arrived at Andong much faster than they had expected, they roughly calculated the distance and figured out how long it would take for the artillery to move and regroup, which created the current situation.

Of course, this situation was also created because I was a bit naive in my estimates of the speed of the bicycle-riding infantry.

…I wondered if perhaps they were dissatisfied with the artillery-centered doctrine and were openly demonstrating force to show what they could do.

Of course, artillery will be the main characters on the battlefield in the future, but that doesn’t mean they are less important or anything. I wish they had realized that a little earlier, but things won’t go as people think.

Anyway, after hearing about the situation, it seemed that he was leaving behind only a small number of troops in the recaptured Andong, and was sending out the troops that could move quickly with him as an advance party, followed by the main force.

Considering the time the messenger arrived, my brother would already be pounding the enemy’s flank and rear with the advance party, and the main force of the assault infantry brigade would also have arrived at the outskirts of the front line.

The enemies, who were probably trapped in front and behind and making desperate counterattacks, would be collapsing under the assault of infantry that they could not possibly respond to.

“I really plan on making this place into a paradise···”

I spoke to myself, muttering to myself. It was because I was reminded of the final moments of the battle in which the 6th Division commanded by General Jang Do-yeong had crushed three Chinese divisions and one army at Yongmunsan, then encircled the 63rd Army at Jiam-ri and ultimately rendered it paralyzed for nearly a year at Hwacheon Paroho.

At this time, the Chinese army was in a position where two corps and 100,000 to 200,000 troops were surrounded and annihilated south of the Hwachon Reservoir after the May Offensive had effectively ended in a great failure. Peng Dehuai managed to use the 20th Army, which he had barely managed to pull out, to turn the tide and barely open an escape route, but Jang Zuolin was unable to do so.

While Peng Dehuai was a commander who was praised as a great general of the Korean War along with Li Zhiwei, Zhang Zuolin and his subordinates… were quite far from that.

If that happened, after annihilating the enemy’s vanguard of 30,000 men, and then intercepting Jang Jag-rim’s main force with additional troops and beating them to the point of no return, the entire southern Manchuria region would be fairly quiet for the next few years.

Moreover, with World War I just around the corner, Russia could not afford to pay much attention to the Far East, so it might have been possible to consider it a preventive measure and expand the front to pursue Russia, driving it to the point of no return.

This will also be sufficient warning to Yuan Shikai, who is greedy and wants to use us to become the emperor.

“Director’s left?”

“Oh, sorry. I was a little lost in thought. What about the artillery unit?”

As my thoughts went that far, the surrounding commanders and staff members looked at me with worried expressions. Perhaps they thought I was angry because the assault infantry unit was acting out of control, and their faces were tense.

“The entire battery has now been sparred and can immediately begin mobile barrage fire if the command center issues an order.”

The officer with the stylish Kaiser beard who had been searching for a contact for a long time reported to me. Looking at the name tag, it was the person I had been thinking of. I smiled faintly to change the mood for a moment and asked him a question.

“Did you say your name was Lieutenant Kim Seok-won?”

“Yes? Oh, yes, that’s right, Your Excellency the Director. I am honored that Your Excellency, the embodiment of Admiral Yi Sun-sin, has called my name, which is now a newly-minted lieutenant.”

“It’s not that bad. If everyone here wants to, and if they have outstanding ability and talent, they can come up to this position at any time. Anyway, let me ask you a question. What would you do in this situation? Would you pour out artillery fire as planned?”

I lifted the teacup in front of me while waiting for his answer. The coffee was cold, but it still had a decent flavor.

Perhaps it was a similar type of liquor imported from France that the royal family drank. Anyway, after taking a sip of it and putting the glass down, he answered as if he had been waiting.

“I don’t think so. Since the messenger has already arrived here, the assault infantry brigade must have caught the enemy by surprise. So rather than following the existing plan, it would be a bit more complicated, but I think it would be right to estimate the speed of our unit’s attack and change the coordinates, or if that’s difficult, boldly stop providing fire support and wait until the frontline unit requests artillery fire.”

That was exactly the answer I wanted. I stood up, applauded, and put my hand on his shoulder.

“Excellent. We don’t want field officers or staff officers who are only engrossed in fixed operational plans. Let’s postpone the artillery fire for a moment and send in the 5th Division Cavalry Squadron to support the assault infantry brigade’s operations.”

At this point, the enemy would have already been defeated. Of course, simply defeating them would not be enough. At the very least, the vanguard itself would have to be destroyed to achieve the bare minimum.

“What should we do next?”

“We continue to advance. If the enemy breaks down here, they will probably ask us to negotiate. Before the negotiations are over, we must attack as hard as we can to completely destroy the enemy’s offensive capabilities.”

Only then could they organize the situation more favorably for the future events, or, if they were lucky, they could prevent Jang Jag-rim, who had lost the main force of the army, from ever recovering. Of course, this was unlikely.

It would be a good tactic for Yuan Shikai, the leader of the Beiyang warlords, the Russian Empire, which was trying to dominate the Far East, and the Japanese Empire, which was trying to make a comeback but failed to suppress its ambitions to advance into the Korean Peninsula and the continent.

If they beat up their enemies beyond a certain level, they would most likely urgently request a ceasefire and demand that they return to the ‘original border’.

“I didn’t say I’d end things in two weeks for nothing. I have to make sure they don’t come back to health.”

“···I know what you mean.”

South Manchuria was a mysterious entity that was both ours and not ours. If there was any way to overcome this strange state of affairs, the only way at the moment would be to defeat as many of our enemies as possible.