Joseon Needs a Coup - Chapter 391



Only Noblemtl

#2 Part 1. Butterfly’s Wings (1)

“This can’t be happening.”

Pavel Plebe, who was in charge of one axis of the Galician Front, was witnessing the hell unfolding before his eyes. The Russian army, which had been called the Steamroller of the East and had been highly anticipated by the Entente before the war, was no more.

He was looking flustered as he sorted out the information coming in from the telegrams and messengers, oblivious to the fact that the Korean prince himself was there to inspect the front line, and that the military attachés were right next to him.

The fighting at Komarov (now a city in central Poland called Tomaszwmazowiecki) that had already begun the day before had resulted in heavy casualties on both sides, and bloody fighting was taking place all over Galicia.

However, it was not the Russian army that gradually gained the upper hand on the battlefield. Rather, it was the Habsburg army, which was judged to be generally inferior and as worn-out as the history of the old royal family, that was overwhelming the Tsar’s army.

“What is the 25th Army Corps doing that has advanced to Zamosc? If they had arrived properly, the Habsburgs would not have taken the bait and come out like this. It’s strange.”

“The 25th Army Corps was also caught up in the onslaught of two enemy corps. They reported their intention to withdraw to Krasnystav, but contact has now been lost.”

Plebe had been planning a rather bold maneuver, which had been approved by headquarters only yesterday. He was going to throw one corps at Zamosc, the XXV Corps mentioned above, and then concentrate the main force of the Fifth Army, including the XVII Corps under his personal command, at Komaro, and strike at the eastern flank of the Fourth Army, which had been carelessly exposed by the Habsburgs’ deep penetration.

In the process, the Russian 4th Army was defeated at Krasnik, unable to cope with its inferiority in strength, but Plebe judged that the enemy would be greatly let down their guard. Instead, he wanted to further draw in the Habsburgs, who were preparing to dig deep into the front.

As the front grew, it was clear that the troops would be dispersed, and with a force of 200,000 men organized into five cavalry divisions and ten infantry divisions, it was believed that the weakened Habsburg corps could be defeated piecemeal. If that could be done, the pig-like Austrians could be kicked in the buttocks with a combat boot and sent back across the Carpathians.

But things did not go as planned. The misfortune began when four divisions under the 14th Army Corps, commanded directly by Archduke Joseph Ferdinand, appeared on the enemy’s flank, which was thought to be weakened, and blocked the Russian 17th Army Corps’s surprise attack.

Temporarily losing his offensive momentum and facing a 2:1 disadvantage, Plebe hesitated and began to reorganize his front. First, he recalled the two corps he had sent to turn his attention to the southwest and decided to strike at the Habsburg front, but the fox was half a beat faster than the bear.

“What are the 5th and 19th Corps doing as they advance to the southwest?”

“They say that the enemy 6th Corps is delaying the battle and we are stuck. They say that we will have to wait until tomorrow morning at the earliest before we can send an advance party here… … .”

“Damn! We got screwed by the Habsburgs, huh?”

The 25th Corps, which Plebe had sent to attract attention, was defeated by two enemy corps, and the 5th and 19th Corps, which had been sent to the southwest, were blocked by a delaying action by one enemy corps and were unable to make a proper advance. Having succeeded in an effective delaying action with a relatively small force, the Habsburg army now began to target the 17th Corps, which was left alone.

The 17th Army Corps of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, reinforced by four divisions of the 14th Army Corps led by Archduke Ferdinand, was beating Plebe’s Army Corps mercilessly based on its numerical superiority. Although they had been able to overcome their disadvantage so far thanks to their powerful artillery, they were gradually running out of ammunition and supplies, and were being driven into a corner.

“The artillery is said to be running low on ammunition. In fact, the Habsburg cavalry is blocking our supply lines.”

“Those fucking sons of bitches.”

Plebe looked back at the front map, cursing. He didn’t want to admit it, but he had to face the fact that his 17th Army Corps was now being defeated. It was an even more shocking defeat for the Habsburg army, which was still using bronze cannons, had a poor range, and had a weak overall artillery.

“Our infantry lines are collapsing. Enemy elite infantry and small formations are breaking through our hastily organized defenses.”

“… This is a day when I really miss Captain Gripenberg. Order the unit to retreat. And tell all the high-ranking officials from Korea to retreat to Lublin.”

“Yes? Are you really planning to withdraw the 5th Army to Lublin? If we continue like this, the enemy may advance through Lviv to Kiev and Minsk!”

“We have the 8th Army under Voroshilov, so we can block them from advancing any deeper. We must go to Lublin, at least to reorganize the 5th Army. Perhaps we can make a full-scale retreat across the Bug River. In any case… Order all units to retreat. The game is already decided.”

Plebe, gritting his teeth, ordered a retreat. Seeing the concentrated use of elite infantry and the use of small units that had appeared in the Far East War, he judged that the Habsburg infantry had learned something, seeing this.

And this was a disaster for the Russian army, which was far from learning the lessons of the previous war, especially after General Gripenberg died after the war and Sukhomlinov took over as Minister of War.

Moreover, the Habsburg army that Plebe faced was not a ragtag, poorly educated, South Slavic rabble that one might have expected to feel affinity with the Russians and avoid battle. It was also unfortunate that it was a German and Hungarian force, well-trained, highly morale, and commanded by officers who had at least a high level of understanding of modern warfare.

They began to disperse their infantry relatively skillfully, and with that they began to slowly penetrate the front lines, overcoming the Russian army’s vaunted artillery firepower. Both sides were formed with 200,000 troops, showing no difference in the number of troops, but the Habsburgs used their troops much more organically and showed an advantage in some fronts.

“The third line has collapsed. Enemy company and battalion-sized infantry units are infiltrating the front line uncontrollably. Our units trapped between the defense lines are in full flight.”

“… … .”

As the staff said, small units, one by one, broke through the Russian lines and infiltrated, and the resulting holes expanded into impregnable bridgeheads. The Habsburg troops, clad in blue uniforms, struck the Russians with fatal blows and then mercilessly beat them as they fell back. The broken Russian infantry began to retreat, and this soon began to snowball.

Plebe turned his head towards the strange-looking people who were still looking at the front lines.

***

“Your Majesty! The second and third lines of the North Korean army are collapsing uncontrollably! What the heck is going on?!”

“Aren’t you watching with me? The Russian army was defeated by the Austrian army. And it was a defeat that defied everyone’s expectations.”

Lee Eung-jun, who seemed to have just put on his rank, said he would go and check out what was going on, and soon after, his face turned pale as snow, he came running. The other Russian officers frowned at his appearance for a moment.

“Damn, I thought I’d never see a battlefield like this again… … .”

Lee Eung-jun, the prime minister, muttered. He had been newly appointed as the royal attaché under the strong recommendation of his hometown senior, No Baek-rin, and had thought that he would have a much more comfortable life than his peers and juniors who had been fighting on the border, but as soon as he arrived here, he had to face difficult problems.

Actually, I had no reason to come here in the first place. I was just thinking about taking a prince who was both the Minister of the Army and the Princess of Sadong who was dispatched to inspect the six European countries that were in the midst of a war crisis, and looking around the splendid streets.

But with his unpredictable behavior, he suddenly came here to Galicia, saying that he was tired of the alcohol and women of Europe and wanted to inspect the front line with other military officers. However, the prince, who was wearing a splendid formal attire, seemed to ignore his complaints and said to Kim In-su, who was standing next to him, with his arms folded.

“General Nosoa’s luck is really bad. If he had stayed one more day, the two corps that went to the southwest would have come up and overwhelmed him.”

“The battlefield is a place where misfortune and unexpected good fortune come together. This time, misfortune has befallen the Russian army.”

And then, someone spoke next to Deputy Chief Kim In-su. He seemed to be aware of the situation at the front line to some extent, and he clicked his tongue and spoke in a low voice so that the Russian commanders could not hear him.

“The cunning Habsburg army must have waited for the 17th Army Corps to be left alone. Otherwise, four divisions under their Archduke would not have suddenly appeared here. Perhaps they were waiting for this.”

“… Then aren’t they now dead?”

“That could be the case.”

Kim In-su was astonished at how Pavel Pleve and his 5th Army, which the Russian command had brought in as the best, if not the best, choice in charge of the Russian Southwestern Front, were being trampled to such an extent. Out of the 200,000 troops, the 17th Army Corps alone had already suffered over 10,000 casualties. This was a pretty fatal wound.

While they were thinking like that for a moment, a faint gunshot sound from far away brushed past their ears. They could hear the sound of shells tearing through the air, and they could intuitively feel that it was not passing over their heads.

“Everyone get down!”

Kim In-soo, who had a wealth of combat experience, shouted to those around him in a hurry. Usually, shells flying like this would land in the vicinity nine times out of ten, enough to take away a single life. Lee Eung-jun desperately threw himself on the ground, covering the superior he had to protect, and Kim In-soo covered him with his body.

It was an action that could have been taken because if the prince were to die or get injured here, it would certainly cause serious trouble back home. Immediately after, the shell exploded with a flash of light, scattering heat in all directions between the fragments of the high-explosive shell and the pressure.

Fortunately, the shells landed slightly to the south, so they were safe, but the Russian soldiers who were preparing to retreat were unfortunately killed. Pieces of flesh from soldiers torn apart by the oppression were thrown everywhere, and the sight of those who were hit by shrapnel screaming was difficult to endure even for the most squeamish of men.

“Your Majesty, are you okay?!”

“Ugh, don’t make a fuss about something like this. Didn’t His Majesty the Emperor and His Highness the Crown Prince defend the palace in Hamheung without wavering even under the heavy artillery fire from the Japanese?”

“… If it had fallen just 1m further south, His Majesty might have been in big trouble. Besides, the palace in Hamheung had never been bombed to this extent before.”

“Haha, so among the royal family, I’m the one who’s been bombed the closest?”

He stood up again, supported by the other officers, and spoke. The prince, who seemed to resemble the Grand Prince, whom he had once seen from afar, more than his father, the Emperor, simply smiled and brushed off the dirt from his clothes as if it was nothing.

Meanwhile, Plebe, who had finished a meeting with his subordinates, was surprised by the artillery fire and ran over to us. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw that the prince was safe. He then immediately told us to retreat.

“Viktor, it’s dangerous here too. Go north from here to Lublin. Our soldiers will escort you.”

“…Is the situation that bad?”

“Our front line here has collapsed. We will mobilize the reserves to somehow prevent a full-scale retreat, so hurry up and go. The bullets will not discriminate between the spectators and the enemy.”

Lieutenant General Pavel Plebe, commander of the Russian 5th Army, who seemed to be very flustered by the unexpected situation, but still had not lost his composure, approached and spoke. In a great battle with 200,000 troops on both sides, the outcome was decided in just two days.