Chapter 123 Man-who?

The Lieutenant Colonel from the War Office seemed to have other duties this time, so he didn’t exhibit his conversational talent as he had last time.

He asked everyone to briefly introduce themselves, then tactfully excused himself, leaving the space to the command staff of the new unit.

Since he had only briefly introduced their responsibilities and focused only on the Executive Officer, Kleist, Morin suggested everyone get properly acquainted.

“Richard von Eltztal! Previously served as…”

“Florian von Schwarzenberg! Previously served as…”

“Sebastian von Meissen! Previously served as…”

“Erich von Manstein! Previously served as Junior Staff Officer, Operations Department, Army General Staff!”

They were all from the ‘von’ families (Junker nobility).

Upon hearing the last name, Morin felt a moment of disorientation.

“Manstein?”

“Yes, sir!”

The young Operations Staff Officer answered loudly, then noticed Morin was still staring at him.

“Sir, do you know me?”

“Uh, no, not really. I just think you look quite sharp.”

Morin naturally didn’t reveal that he knew him very well. ‘Man-the-Great’—who wouldn’t know him?

After giving a casual answer, he turned to his Executive Officer.

Ewald von Kleist…

He suddenly realized that this name was also slightly familiar, and in another timeline, he seemed to have had a ‘minor collaboration’ with Manstein.

And now, they had all ended up in his unit. Destiny truly works in mysterious ways.

When these five officers first received their transfer orders, leaving their original Guard units for a newly formed unit, they were initially quite resistant and conflicted.

After all, no one willingly leaves their comfort zone for a unit with an uncertain future.

Manstein, who came from the General Staff, even initially thought he had made a mistake and was being prematurely demoted…

However, when they discovered that this new unit was also under the Guard Corps structure, and the Battalion Commander was the famous ‘rising star,’ Captain Friedrich Morin, who had just earned the First Class Iron Cross on the Aragon front.

Their initial reluctance completely evaporated.

Now, seeing the First Class Iron Cross on Morin’s chest with their own eyes, all doubts transformed into sincere admiration and trust.

In this nation that valued military achievement and honor, a First Class Iron Cross was the most effective and direct tool of persuasion for these junior officers.

It represented supreme courage, outstanding combat merit, and… the absolute endorsement of the Supreme Command.

Serving under such a promising and capable young commander was not a disadvantage but potentially a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for them.

The atmosphere in the room quickly grew cordial as they got acquainted.

Everyone looked at Morin with eyes full of anticipation.

They were all eager to see how the young Assault Battalion Commander would forge this brand-new unit.

Noticing the excitement in the officers’ eyes, Morin felt a surge of heroic passion.

This was the future command staff of the Assault Battalion.

A brand-new unit with limitless possibilities was about to be born under his command.

Morin calmed his emotions, cleared his throat, and began:

“Gentlemen, from today, we are comrades-in-arms…”

“I have only one goal: to forge this unit into the most elite and sharpest dagger in the entire Imperial Army!”

“Yes, sir! We shall be the Emperor’s Blade!” Kleist roared loudly.

“The Emperor’s Blade!” The other four officers, including Manstein, repeated enthusiastically.

“Ah, yes.”

Morin opened his mouth to say something but ultimately nodded.

He had to admit that the ‘chuunibyou’ tendency of these Saxon soldiers was just like that of the German Empire officers in the other timeline.

Assault battalions at the time were also fond of giving themselves various nicknames, such as ‘Hunter Killers’ and ‘Assault Daggers.’

Since he managed to rally everyone’s enthusiasm easily, Morin quickly moved on to the main topic.

Their first task was to complete the preliminary organizational structure of the Teaching Assault Battalion before Morin reported to the Saxon War College.

On this matter, Morin did not immediately embark on radical reforms.

He knew very well that any overly hasty reform would likely be counterproductive in a unit composed of old-era officers.

The best approach was to first adhere to tradition.

Only after the unit’s training level and cohesion were established would he make gradual adjustments based on the actual situation.

Thus, he had prepared three staged organizational structures.

The one he presented now was the most basic, Version 1.0—a continuation of the Saxon Army’s traditional ‘four-company’ infantry battalion structure.

One Battalion Headquarters, leading four Infantry Companies, plus a Battalion-level Quartermaster Unit.

This plan came as no surprise to anyone, and everyone nodded in approval.

Next was the most critical factor: the source of the personnel.

“My plan is to directly transfer the 1st Company of the 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, which I commanded in the Kingdom of Aragon, to serve as the core of our Assault Battalion.”

Morin stated his idea first.

“The remaining three Infantry Companies and the reserve replacements, I hope to draw from various Jäger (Light Infantry) units across the Imperial Army.”

Jäger!

Hearing the word, the officers present looked surprised.

In the Saxon Empire, the Jäger were a very specialized force.

They were usually composed of foresters, hunters, and mountain people, excelling in skirmishing tactics, wilderness survival, and accurate shooting.

Compared to the Line Infantry who were accustomed to goose-stepping on parade grounds, the Jägers’ tactical thinking was more flexible.

In Morin’s eyes, however, the Jägers’ individual combat capability was clearly superior to other units, and perfectly suited the Assault Battalion’s operational style.

Furthermore, in mobile warfare, Jägers could also perform special operations like infiltration, reconnaissance, and sabotage… They were the ideal candidates.

However, Executive Officer Kleist voiced his objection.

“Sir, I understand your idea, but I must remind you that His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince’s expectation for this unit is not just to be a ‘specialized Jäger unit.’”

“His Highness hopes it can become the ‘Teaching Unit’ and ‘Model’ for the entire Guard Corps, and even the Imperial Army, in the future.”

“Therefore, for the composition of the personnel, perhaps we should draw at least one company from the Guard Corps… After all, the designation of our unit is ‘Royal Guard.’”

Kleist’s point made Morin frown.

To be honest, he had initially intended not to draw anyone from the Guard Corps.

It wasn’t because the Guard Corps’ training was poor.

On the contrary, it was because the Guard Corps’ training was too good.

Guard Corps soldiers, who were generally over six feet tall, physically robust, and marched in perfect unison, were the kind of troops who could charge in tight formation under a hail of machine gun fire without flinching.

They were the most determined and disciplined soldiers.

But precisely because of this, the dense formation tactic had become ingrained as their instinct.

In Morin’s view, the difficulty of retraining these ‘finished products’ into assault troopers suitable for future warfare might be greater than training fresh recruits.

However, he felt Kleist had a point. Since this was the Crown Prince’s directive, Morin couldn’t outright reject it.

He looked at Kleist. The Executive Officer clearly had a better grasp of the internal situation of the Guard Corps.

“Alright, Captain Kleist, you are right. We will draw one company from the Guard Corps.”

Morin compromised.

“However, I have one requirement.”

“What is your requirement, sir?”

“Help me select a company from the Guard Corps that has a lower training saturation. Preferably one from the reserve battalions.”

Morin’s request gave the officers present strange looks.

This was the first time they had ever heard a commander proactively request a unit with ‘low training saturation.’

Kleist paused, then immediately understood Morin’s intention.

He nodded.

“Understood, sir! I will handle the coordination.”

The personnel source issue was thus tentatively settled.

One company would be Morin’s old unit, serving as the tactical core and backbone.

One company would be drawn from the Guard Corps.

The remaining two companies would be selected from various Jäger units.

Although this personnel composition was somewhat complex, it managed to accommodate the needs of all parties involved.

Next was the more important issue of training.

Morin was well-prepared for this. He pulled out a prepared training syllabus from his briefcase.

“Gentlemen, this is a completely new infantry training system I have summarized based on my combat experience in the Kingdom of Aragon.”

He distributed the syllabus to everyone.

“I have summarized it into ‘Five Core Infantry Skills.’”

“Namely—shooting, grenade throwing, bayonet fighting, demolition, and earthwork.”

These five skills were familiar to the Saxon officers present.

But when they flipped open the syllabus and saw the specific content inside, they were still somewhat surprised.

The training requirements for each skill were meticulously detailed.

Especially demolition and earthwork, which they considered the purview of specialized units, had become basic training requirements under Morin’s plan.

Before the officers could comment, Morin continued:

“I have already received orders that our garrison will also be located on the outskirts of Dresden.”

As he spoke, he opened a topographic map.

“That area has hills and water, making it perfect for high-intensity field training.”

“And I have one more idea.”

Morin looked up at everyone.

“I want us to construct a dedicated ‘400-Meter Obstacle Course’ within our battalion training ground.”

(End of this Chapter)