Chapter 10 Don’t Worry, the Enemy Will Scatter with One Charge!

As a former military cadet, Morin had taken military history classes before he transmigrated.

When discussing the evolution of infantry offensive operations, his teachers had emphasized the battles of the early World War I period. It was an awkward and brutal time for infantry. During this period, infantry operations in various countries still adhered to the tradition of dense formations. Although soldiers were spaced out to 1–2 meters, unlike the earlier linear warfare era, Morin still viewed it as a form of firing-squad-style combat. This situation only began to change after the machine gun entered the historical stage and brutally harvested masses of soldiers.

The infantry of this world, after Morin’s transmigration, was clearly stuck in this ‘awkward phase.’ Not to mention the existence of so-called ‘magic’ and ‘Magitek’ in this world, which posed an equally significant threat to foot soldiers entering the battlefield.

Morin was genuinely starting to panic. He knew very well that machine gun bullets on the battlefield were the ‘great equalizer’—they would cut down officers and enlisted men like wheat. Forcing himself to maintain a look of Saxon military ‘bravery,’ Morin tentatively asked:

“Company Commander, do we have any intelligence on the general disposition of enemy forces in this village we’re attacking?”

Hearing Morin’s question, Captain Hauser’s face showed an expression that said, ‘Good, I knew you’d ask that.’

“The Battalion Command already sent scouts to circle the village perimeter.” Captain Hauser drew a circle around the village on the map with his pencil tip. “It’s confirmed that Aragon’s ‘Royal Army’ is garrisoned inside, but to avoid alerting them, the scouts didn’t get too close, so the specific numbers are unknown.”

The other, quiet Lieutenant Platoon Leader interjected: “Sir, will there be an artillery preparation?”

“Of course.” Company Commander Hauser nodded, a trace of obvious confidence in his tone. “One battalion from the Brigade Artillery Regiment will conduct three rounds of rapid fire on the village before the attack starts. That will be enough to scare the wits out of those ‘Royal Army’ soldiers.”

At this point, Captain Hauser pulled a pocket watch from his coat and told the three Platoon Leaders: “It is now 04:37. The attack will commence precisely at 05:07. Return and prepare your troops.”

The temporary operations meeting ended, and the other two Platoon Leaders turned and left. Before Morin could go, Hauser specifically walked up to him and patted him firmly on the shoulder.

“I know you just graduated from the military academy and are heading straight to the front line. It’s normal to be nervous for your first time in combat.” Hauser’s voice dropped slightly, carrying the concern of a senior officer for a junior. “It looks like you don’t have a watch or pocket watch? That won’t do. As an officer, you must have a timepiece to confirm the hour.”

Hearing the Company Commander’s words, Morin finally realized why he felt something was missing. Yes, the original body’s pocket watch had been taken when he was captured. There hadn’t been time to look for it after the rescue, so Morin genuinely lacked any tool for telling time, apart from his ‘system interface.’

While talking, Captain Hauser summoned his orderly and had him retrieve a cloth bag from his baggage. “This is the pocket watch I used before, but my wife gave me a new one before I left, so this one is temporarily unused. Here, you take it for now.”

“Ah? Company Commander, isn’t this too valuable?” Morin was surprised as he looked at the cloth bag, knowing that a pocket watch was still a luxury item for people of this era.

“Just take it! I don’t want you messing things up because you can’t keep track of time!” Captain Hauser insisted, firmly pressing the cloth bag into Morin’s hand, then continued: “Morin, relax. Those ‘Royal Army’ troops in the village are mostly conscripted farmers. Their fighting spirit and discipline are far below ours! It’s highly likely that the 1st and 2nd Companies will finish the fight with a single charge, and we reserves won’t even need to be committed.”

“Then I hope your prediction comes true, Company Commander.”

“Mmm-hmm, go back and get your troops ready!”

“Yes, sir!”

Morin saluted Hauser, turned, and walked back to his platoon’s rest area. He knew very well that Captain Hauser’s final words were half reassurance and half underestimation of the enemy.

However, this kind of attitude seemed common in the Saxon Army; they held a near-blind confidence in their own combat power while utterly despising the enemy before them. This mindset translates to high morale when things go well, but it could easily turn into a disastrous rout if the battle sours.

Morin quickly returned to his unit’s rest area and found Platoon Sergeant Klaus, who was checking the soldiers’ equipment.

“Sergeant Klaus, the attack order is down. We launch the assault in about half an hour.”

Klaus’s stern face showed no ripple of emotion, though his hands paused momentarily. “Yes, sir,” he replied in a deep voice. “I will have the squad leaders conduct their final checks to ensure the men are in optimal condition.” The experienced veteran understood that this unit was about to face its first bloody battle in a foreign land. “Please rest assured, I will assist you in commanding the platoon!” Klaus added, which slightly settled Morin’s nerves.

After speaking with Klaus, Morin found a relatively dry slope and sat down, leaning against a thick tree trunk. The surrounding soldiers had stopped talking; the woods were filled only with the faint sounds of equipment scraping and suppressed breathing.

He closed his eyes, and the darkness was instantly replaced by the familiar system interface. The huge map unfolded again. Morin zoomed in, quickly locating the blue unit markers representing the three battalions of the 33rd Infantry Regiment, with the 1st Battalion marker positioned at the front of the formation.

As he concentrated, the map zoomed further. The 1st Battalion marker broke down into three smaller icons representing the infantry companies, as well as the Battalion Command and Baggage Train icons. He could even clearly see the small icons for the 1st Company’s two baggage wagons safely in the rear with the Battalion Baggage Train. This kind of global, God’s-eye view calmed his chaotic thoughts considerably.

Next, he slowly moved his view to the target of the attack: the village of San Isidro. The village area was covered by a translucent shadow, which must be the ‘fog of war.’ Unlike the real-time dynamic markers of friendly units, enemy markers only seemed to appear after being scouted by friendly units.

Currently, there was only a lone gray rhombus icon at the center of the village, labeled: [Kingdom of Aragon Army Unit (Size Unknown) (Armament Unknown)]. This confirmed Captain Hauser’s statement: the scouts had indeed only observed from a distance and had failed to obtain any valuable intelligence. Morin mentally tried to click the rhombus icon, and the system popped up a prompt: [Insufficient Information, unable to analyze].

His attention was drawn to another detail on the map. Three kilometers behind their attack assembly area, an artillery position icon was lit up. He zoomed in and saw it was the icon for an artillery battalion of the Brigade Artillery Regiment. When Morin focused his mind on the artillery battalion icon, a series of information quickly displayed:

[28th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Field Artillery Battalion] [FK.96n/A 77mm Field Gun x 12]

When Morin saw that the maximum range of this 77mm field gun was 5,500 meters, he understood why the artillery position was so far forward. This was not a howitzer that fired high-trajectory shells, but a close-support gun. While its range and power were completely inferior to the former, it had better mobility and was more flexible. A few faint parabolic lines extended from the icon, their final point of impact covering most of the area southeast of San Isidro village.

But the coverage area… seemed far too large. This was not the precise fire support Morin was used to; it looked more like an area bombardment. Its main purpose was likely exactly what Captain Hauser had said: to provide suppressive fire.

“Alright, let’s hope it really is as Captain Hauser said, and the enemy runs away the moment the guns start firing.”

(End of Chapter 10)