Joseon Needs a Coup

Only Noblemtl

#1 Side Story Episode 2. – The Retrograde Struggle of the Dual Empire (4)

“I’m learning a lot in many ways.”

“If you put this into practice, it would be even better.”

At that moment, infantry units of the Guards Cavalry Division were seen breaking through the outer defense line of the positions defended by the Assault Infantry Brigade. The artillerymen assigned to both sides of the attack and defense were showing a greatly modified version of the mobile barrage fire doctrine that had been used in the previous war, so it was a scene reminiscent of actual combat.

“Besides, the power of these modern weapons systems is enough to change everything.” I said, holding the baton tightly. I was going to continue the explanation of the skirmish I had shown him earlier. The loud noise of machine guns, grenade launchers, and artillery fire were all caused by blank shells, but at least I could guess how powerful they were.

“The evolution of machine guns, rapid-fire guns, and gunpowder has made close infantry formations almost suicidal.” “Thanks to this, skirmishing has become the norm in Europe, rather than line fighting.” “But that alone is not enough. All infantry must become skirmishers, and only then can they minimize their losses from the enemy’s murderous fire.”

The number of troops per unit area had to be small in order to minimize damage. This was possible because, unlike in previous times, the minimum number of firearms that infantry could hold was changing to a rapid-fire rifle.

“But what if the future war shows that simply dispersing the infantry is not enough?” “Hmm? The fact that simply dispersing the infantry is not enough…” “As you would know if you observed the previous war, the Japanese army also fought us with skirmishes, and as I said earlier, dense infantry formations were often seen by the Russian army. However, the Japanese skirmishes were broken by our army’s infantry doctrine, and the Russian army also evolved into a form similar to ours, giving us many lessons to ponder.”

I took a deep breath and spoke as I watched the disorganized, non-linear movement of the infantry far below, advancing, seemingly disorganized but clearly following the orders of the company commander and platoon leader.

“Our army did not engage in skirmishes at the battalion or regiment level like the Japanese army or European armies. The larger the unit, the slower its movements become, and the longer it is exposed to enemy firepower, the greater the likelihood of unnecessary casualties.”

During the Second Sino-Japanese War, the reason why the Kuomintang Army suffered excessive losses in the Battle of Shanghai was because they pushed in too clumsily and with too much force. It was not for nothing that a battalion was hit and destroyed by a single Japanese naval gunshot.

Similarly, the North Korean 8th Division that crossed over to Goyang in 1951 lost one regiment to concentrated fire from Baltimore-class cruisers for the same reason. It was obvious that the density of troops and the bloated organization of units would not bring about particularly good results in a firepower battle.

Because firepower had already reached a level of murderous intensity that was beyond the capacity of bare-handed infantry to handle since the Napoleonic Wars.

“That’s why we focused on starting the operation of units not from the regiment or battalion level, but from the lower echelons. This is because dispersing the units further into smaller units to ensure flexibility is effective in the modern battlefield, which is increasingly turning into a firepower war.” “But wouldn’t that mean we would lack firepower and not be suitable for fighting large-scale enemies?” “Of course, that could be the case. But we looked at that from a slightly different perspective. We began placing powerful firearms that infantry could operate… that is, machine guns and grenade launchers, in the companies and platoons. What do you think, since the weapons that were previously used by divisions and regiments to control points, lines, and surfaces have been properly moved down?” At my smile, Lieutenant Colonel Burchani nodded as if he had realized something.

“In fact, General Kraus, the president of the War College, made the same point. He said that without fire support in an open battlefield, infantrymen are dead. By the way, there is no movement of infantrymen advancing as a group or anything like that.” “That is because everyone learned from the last war that it is suicidal.”

“The more I look at it, the more I see that our Habsburg army is so inadequate. Just think of our artillery…”

I witnessed everything from the flanking attack of the Guards Cavalry Division, the defensive offensive doctrine of the Assault Infantry Brigade, to the formidable firepower of the artillery.

And then, as if he had learned something quite important, he began to write diligently until the notebook and pen he had brought ran out of ink. He showed such enthusiasm that I wondered if he had brought me here for nothing, but I thought that we would not meet again in the future, so I taught him a few more things after that.

So, I committed one of the three things I would regret for the rest of my life here. Of course, it was eight years later that I realized this.

***

“Dear commanders, if we continue on this path, our Habsburg army will be defeated by the Russian army throughout Galicia!”

As time passed, a morning in 1911 dawned. However, unlike the quiet morning scenery, the Imperial and Royal War Office, which controlled the entire combined forces of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was very busy.

And in the innermost recesses of the Ministry of War, those who now commanded, or would command, the proud armies of the Habsburgs were having a long meeting. The officers who had been sitting on their chairs had a haggard look on their faces, and even those who stood up and raised their voices looked tired, but their eyes were still full of the convictions they held.

“But by the glory and grace of God, we Habsburgs still have a significant, if not sufficient, period of time left. We must learn from the past wars and the new war seen in the Far East!”

The main topic of the conference was how the combined armies, the Landwehr, and the Honved should reorganize in the future, and at the same time how to deal with their enemies. And the most senior among them was Konrad von Hötzendorf, who was in fact in command of the Austro-Hungarian army.

And his expression was darker than expected, because he was quite shocked by the bare faces of his own army, which was in a bad situation in many ways.

“Look at the wars that have been fought in the world in recent times. From 1899 to 1905, we have seen two great wars, and in them we have seen the glimmer of a future war, and yet we do nothing about it, even at this very moment when the real enemies of the Habsburgs are learning and growing stronger!”

Hötzendorf never doubted his own tactical ideas. He saw the infantry, well-trained and disciplined, with loyalty to the Habsburgs, as a weapon in itself, capable of dominating any battlefield, whether with machine guns or rapid-fire cannon fire.

This could be said to be a very deep-rooted idea, closely connected to his personal combat experiences. When he fought as a junior officer in the Bosnian field, he believed that the sturdy infantry would be able to overcome even artillery fire and dense fire.

“Infantry is no longer the master of the battlefield. This is a very clear answer that Russia and South Korea showed in Mukden and Pyongyang. Infantry advancing without cover and scattering is just prey to artillery with powerful firepower, and especially, forming a dense formation is no different from committing suicide.”

But as time went by, these were becoming outdated doctrines. Austria-Hungary was now faced not only with one enemy, the Russian Empire, but also with the Serbian kingdom, which could bite its neck in the Balkans, and the Italian kingdom, which was always despised, if there was a war, they would have to deal with all of them.

Until the 20th century, it would have been enough to deal with Russia alone. Of course, this alone would have been a headache for the imperial leadership, because they had to imagine a situation where they would have to cross the Carpathian Mountains and fight the Russian army in Galicia.

But it didn’t stop there. As the Kingdom of Serbia became independent, the defense strategy began to waver even more. The Russian Empire was openly supporting the Kingdom of Serbia and laying the groundwork for opening a new front, and as a result, the Austria-Hungary Empire had to prepare for the expansion of a new front again.

“Russia, Serbia, and even Italy, it’s just dazzling.”

The area that had to be covered was expanding from the Carpathian-Galicia area, which could be called the traditional anti-Russian front, to Vojvodina in the southern part of the empire, and in addition, the vigilance against Italy, which had been formed immediately after Venice was ceded to Italy following the Peace of Prague in 1866, could not be relaxed. At the same time, competition over interests in Asia Minor was also accelerating, so it was inevitable that a front against them would be considered.

Of course, if they were fighting one by one, it didn’t matter. The Serbian Kingdom was evaluated internally and externally as being easily trampled by the boots of the Austria-Hungarian Empire, and the Italian Kingdom was maintaining a stance of avoiding war with them as much as possible. In any case, even if the strategic value was low, a direct confrontation with the Habsburgs, who were still the hegemons of Central Europe, was something that required the preparation of considerable losses.

However, given the existence of the Russian Empire and the changing direction of European diplomacy and politics, it was also clear that the time was approaching when the Austria-Hungary Empire’s ideal strategy of ‘defeating each country individually’ would no longer work.

The world was already being reorganized, and the lines were clearly being drawn. The Habsburgs were still wavering between the lines that were being drawn. The task given to the Habsburg diplomats was to prevent this situation from happening in the first place, to defuse the danger of a two-front war through diplomacy, but not only was it broken, but the position of the empire was weakening overall, and Hötzendorf could not touch it.

Therefore, rather than making changes in the grand strategy, which would require debate and agreement with numerous members of the Dual Empire – especially the most powerful Kingdom of Hungary and Bohemia – as well as in politics, diplomacy, and economics, he decided to first find the best way he could.

It was precisely the organization and improvement of the types of troops loyal to the Habsburgs, and the change in tactics. That is why he called in Major General Maximilian Citzerich von Burtzani, who had maintained a critical stance on his tactics, and planned to gradually change them through coordination with traditionalists who were not particularly interested in tactical innovation.

At least Major General Burchany had been wildly popular and respected among the young Habsburg officer corps since he had observed the war in Manchuria in 1903 and published a military journal in 1906 that drew important lessons from the Korean army, and so Hötzendorf believed that he could offer a suitable solution to the current problems of the German army.

But this was much more difficult than expected, and the resistance from deep-rooted traditionalists within the military was formidable.

“Our true enemy, the Russian Empire, has learned many lessons through bloodshed in the last Far Eastern War. They suffered casualties of up to 30% of their total available army in the war with Japan, and we thought they would not recover until 1915, but their growth has far surpassed our expectations. They have not been shaken by war at all!”

Hötzendorff listened to the passionate and brilliant commander. Although he disagreed with Hötzendorff’s tactical views and was envied by many traditionalists, his influence on the young officer corps was enormous. In his pamphlets, he set out the direction in which the Habsburg army should advance, and many officers supported his line.

And in fact, it is true that the unit’s combat power was noticeably strengthened during his tenure as Chief of Staff of the 9th Army Corps from 1908 to 1911. It is also true that it is something that cannot be ignored because the results come out along with the theory.