132 – Battle of Waine Plains (5)

Sure enough, after hearing that, the commanders except for me started to cheer, forgetting about dignity.

“Normally, even if one out of 10 people marched out, not a small number deserted, so I worry that morale will be low… 20%… Duke Architel is going to be chewing on dog foam right now!”

“Uh-huh, Baron Balt… What is a dog bubble? Just grab the back of your neck and fall down.”

“This war has already been won before it started. Sir, why don’t we celebrate the victory in advance by pouring wine and meat on the soldiers?”

No wonder the commanders said that.

It is common for one out of 10 people to desert from the army, so Duke Akitel, as well as the nobles and soldiers under his command, do not think much of it.

However, when the ratio doubled, the thoughts of soldiers and nobles came to mind.

As many as 20% of our soldiers escaped because our commander was incompetent and made the wrong choice. Should we trust such a commander and continue the war?

When such thoughts begin to arise, the soldiers increasingly feel skeptical about the war itself, in which they have to risk their lives to fight…

Soldiers with such a heart tremble in fear at the sight of an enemy brandishing a spear or at the sight of an arrow flying out of range.

But there’s no way that Duke Architel wouldn’t even think of this.

So I quieted the commanders and hit the makeshift table with my fist to make them nervous again.

“quiet! Duke Architel is a knight of reversal. There’s no way he couldn’t handle even such a trivial thing. certainly… I will write some numbers. If it’s me… .”

At that, the commanders began to look at me expecting what I would say.

Let’s see, if I were in a situation similar to Duke Architel’s…

First of all, let’s send out those who have relatively high morale and are good at fighting, and show the enemy soldiers that we can’t lose.

Enemy conscripts who saw it will think this way.

‘Ah, even though our soldiers are missing two out of ten… It’s worth a try. The Duke’s Highness must have had an idea!’

And then I will use a single unit to advance the soldiers, so that they can fight tight…

“If it were me, I would send an elite unit to the front to fight our infantry, and then use a single unit to announce that we are fighting well. Then, the conscripts of Architel will think this battle is worth fighting… ”

One of the captains objected to that.

“However, there are only the most elite knights in Akitel, but there are no strong infantry units, right? On the other hand, our infantry units are voted among the best in Europe. So you don’t have to worry about that?”

That friend was probably Baron Biermann’s son, right? It’s been about 3 years since I was appointed…

Still, his vision is so narrow, he should be admitted to the military academy once it is established and thoroughly reeducated…

I said, looking at him with pitiful eyes as I was dumbfounded by his friend’s words.

“Certainly Duke Architel’s army is famous for its weak infantry compared to its powerful knights. However, in order to fight against us, Duke Akitel received a huge amount of money from the French emperor and nobles in exchange for war reparations. If it were me, I would hire a mercenary corps with that money to fill the hole in the infantry. Lieutenant Short, do you have any information about the enemy’s troop formation?”

I haven’t heard of the enemy’s organization or number yet, but I’m sure they’ve organized infantry mercenaries at a level that can fight us.

Because if not, a situation could arise where the enemy’s knights and the enemy’s knights stick together, and the infantry is broken and the main base is threatened.

Shortly after, Short received the report from the soldier outside the tent and began to read it.

“Not sure, but… Enemy forces are now estimated to be around 30,000. Among them, about 6,000 knights are expected.”

No matter how economically wealthy Duke Architel is… The number of knights belonging to that nobleman’s territory must be less than 4,000…

So, he must have prepared armor and weapons with the money he borrowed from Emperor Francis and the nobles, and then increased the number of knights by supporting those with abilities among the poor servants.

Shit, we only have 3,000 heavy armored troopers brought in, even including the Man at Arms.

If we don’t use the matchlock properly, there’s a good chance we’ll lose.

“Also, the Black Eagle Mercenary Corps is serving under the command of Duke Akitel. They number about 3,000.”

The Black Eagle Mercenary Corps, famous for having the most elite infantry, has 3,000…

If they take the lead in a battle between infantry, it will be difficult for our infantry to gain an overwhelming advantage.

In that situation, if the enemy knights defeat the friendly knights first and then use that momentum to attack the infantry…

Allied soldiers dealing with both infantry and knights at the same time could surely suffer enormous damage and be defeated.

But that’s a story when I didn’t prepare a matchlock, and I already have a strategy to completely annihilate them.

The commanders who have been with me for a long time seem to believe that there is a strategy I have in mind, even though they do not know the true power of the matchlock…

He just looked at me with eyes that said that if he was the count, he would give an answer by any means.

And I said with an exaggerated banter to meet their expectations.

“As expected, it is a tactic worthy of a hero in a reversal. Even though you’re dealing with a kid like me, you’re doing your best to deal with me… Being treated with such honor as a knight and count of Creutel will remain the honor of the family. However, if we have been treated so generously, shouldn’t we give back more to our enemies?”

The commanders heard me and got up and said:

“Right!”

“We need to give back to Duke Architel more generously!”

After a while, one of the ensigns came in with a board the size of a chalkboard with white paper hanging for me to write on.

Here, I wrote a picture of the strategy I envisioned in an easy-to-understand manner.

“First of all, we will put the matchlock regiment, commanded by Colonel Samuel, at the forefront of the infantry. Then, as the enemy’s infantry approached, they fired a series of volleys with their matchlocks to break the momentum of the enemy’s vanguard.”

Then, I continued my explanation by drawing a line in the direction the infantry was advancing.

“When the enemy’s momentum is broken, the matchlock regiment moves backward along the gaps in the squares made by the spearmen, and the spearmen together strike the enemy infantry. then… ”

I drew a triangle representing the enemy knights on the left side, some distance from the infantry, and drew the same shape symmetrically on the opposite side.

“Since our knights do not come forward, the enemy will try to strike the side of our infantry who are fighting hard against the enemy infantry to save them first. To prevent this, you and I lead 3,000 knights and man-at-arms and charge at the enemy’s 6,000 knights.”

At those words, the knights’ expressions hardened, and Baron Frost, who was sitting right next to me, stood up and shouted.

“dismissal! Our knights are good enough, but their knights are the best! In particular, Duke Akitel… A monster with the power to defeat 3,000 enemy knights with 1,000 knights! In a situation where we are running out of numbers for such a maneuver… ”

He couldn’t say any more, but everyone here knew what would follow.

Yeah, that means we’re losing.

I tapped him on the shoulder and said.

“Yes, our knights will be defeated and a lot of blue blood will flow on the ground. However, what we need is an overwhelming victory like when fighting the Duke of Maxburg. For his sake, whether it be red blood or blue blood, he must be prepared to die.”

“That… That’s right… ”

“I will continue the description of the operation. We will first lose some in lance charging, then we will break ranks and skim through our infantry squares. Then, the enemy will undoubtedly come after us, thinking that if we annihilate our knights here, it is possible to win a come-from-behind victory for them who are losing in infantry battles.”

Then, I hit the chalkboard with my baton and said with a ‘bang’ sound from my mouth.

“And when the enemy passed the infantry square, the matchlock regiment, who predicted that the enemy would pass in advance… . We fire all at once, aiming at their flanks and shooting.”

Then, the horses targeted by the volley will be immobilized by the sound of the matchlock, the smoke, and the miserable deaths of many horses around them.

No, most horses will drop their owners on top of them and go on a rampage, and hopefully you might see a fight between a knight and a horse who is frightened and attacks its owner.

So if you take advantage of the chaos, you can treat them with tons of bullets.

“Then, soon, the matchlock regiment will send a signal that shooting has become difficult, and in line with that signal, we cover the enemy from the front to the rear with a line of fire and charge. Perhaps, if we make it this far… Enemy knights will suffer close to annihilation damage. All right, do you have any other opinions?”

The commanders listened to me and offered no further comments.

“Also, there is a very high possibility that Duke Architel will be wary of the new equipment called the matchlock… In order to lower his guard, the original commanding officer, Colonel Samuel, is relieved of his post as of the present time. Instead, I will temporarily promote Major Frost to lieutenant colonel as its commander.”

At that, Colonel Samuel said as if he was dumbfounded.

“Your Excellency, no matter what… ”

“Do you know how to shoot a matchlock?”

“I know how to shoot, but rather than Major Frost… ”

“Now you are a lieutenant colonel. Well, so I’ll give you a separate mission. Pretend to be dissatisfied with me, and use your non-soldier vassals to send letters to the nobles in the enemy’s rear base. pretend to flirt with them. Except for the secret about the matchlock, it’s okay to reveal all the secrets about the war, so do your best.”

Then, I said as I left the camp.

“This concludes the military meeting. In the next seven days, we will be traveling on foot to the plains of Waine, so everyone can rest in peace.”