Chapter 126 How to Command a Unit in Combat?

Although everyone was surprised by Morin’s appearance, they were all future field-grade officers attending advanced studies.

Whether it was due to adherence to the War College’s discipline or their inherent composure, they suppressed their curiosity, though hushed discussions occasionally arose.

However, as the instructor entered, the faint murmurs in the large lecture hall instantly ceased. All students straightened their backs and sat at attention.

Morin also collected his thoughts and focused his attention on the podium.

The person walking onto the podium was an elderly man in a General’s uniform, his hair gray but his spirit vigorous.

He was General Horndorff, the Vice-President of the Saxon War College, and he was in charge of teaching the course ‘Imperial Military Tradition.’

General Horndorff’s gaze swept over every student present. His deep-set eyes held the imprint of time and war.

“Gentlemen, today we will continue to review the glorious victories of the Empire over the past few decades, those victories worthy of being inscribed in history…”

Morin noted that when General Horndorff uttered the words ‘glorious victories,’ many of the students’ faces displayed a genuine sense of pride and aspiration.

The lecture quickly began.

General Horndorff started by recounting the Austro-Saxon War, where the Empire vied with the Austrian Empire for continental supremacy, and continued up to the recently concluded Saxo-Gaulish War, which decisively established the Saxon Empire as the foremost land power in Europa.

His teaching style was steady and passionate. Especially when describing the decisive Battle of Sedan during the Saxo-Gaulish War, his entire demeanor became animated.

“Gentlemen, remember the essence of the Battle of Sedan!”

General Horndorff sharply tapped the map with his pointer, right on the large arrow representing the main Saxon forces.

“A perfect flanking maneuver! And the decisive charge launched by our fearless infantry, using their bayonets!”

“This is the eternal creed by which our Saxon Army defeats the enemy! It is the art of war that every single one of you must ingrain into your very bones!”

Below the podium, the students were fired up, as if they themselves were present in that monumental campaign, charging toward the enemy position, following in the footsteps of their predecessors.

However, Morin, sitting in the corner, subconsciously frowned.

He conceded that flanking maneuvers and bayonet charges were indeed effective tactics in specific historical periods.

But elevating them to an ‘eternal classic’ dogma was problematic.

He recalled his first battle outside Seville.

Facing the Vickers heavy machine guns equipped by the Kingdom Army, any form of dense formation charge was tantamount to collective suicide.

The ‘bayonet charge,’ in the vast majority of cases, wouldn’t even get close to the enemy’s machine gun nests.

However, one student did raise a question about new weapons during the lecture.

“General, what is your view on the role of heavy machine guns and hydro-pneumatic recoil rapid-fire artillery in future warfare?”

A student stood up to ask.

General Horndorff nodded approvingly, seemingly pleased that someone had raised such a question.

“An excellent question.”

He put down his pointer and began to explain.

“The heavy machine gun is, without a doubt, a powerful defensive weapon… Its concentrated fire can effectively suppress enemy infantry, creating better charging conditions for our own infantry waves.”

“And the emergence of rapid-fire artillery has greatly increased the sustainability of our artillery fire.”

General Horndorff continued.

“It can destroy enemy fortifications more quickly, clearing the final obstacles for our bayonet charge.”

Listening to this, Morin understood the core issue.

Both the instructor and the students viewed these epoch-making new weapons only through the lens of how they could better ‘escort’ the traditional infantry charge.

They had not realized that the emergence of these new weapons would completely revolutionize the entire form of warfare.

The battlefield of the future would indeed remain the domain of the infantry for a short time, but that domain would be indistinguishable from a meat grinder.

Adhering to outdated tactics would only make that ‘meat grinder’ spin faster.

Morin’s mood was heavy after the lecture.

He clearly realized that the military doctrine of the Saxon War College was lagging behind the times.

Of course, he also understood the difficulty involved.

For a vast military system to undergo a complete overhaul, the difficulty was no less than launching a revolution.

This process would inevitably be accompanied by countless conflicts between old and new ideas, and obstruction from entrenched vested interests.

And that would be anything but easy.

In the days that followed, Morin’s life became remarkably routine and busy.

He had to get up before dawn every day to rush to the War College for his day of ‘auditing’ courses.

After the morning classes, he would rush back to the Teaching Assault Battalion garrison on the outskirts of Dresden.

Here, he not only dealt with the major and minor affairs of the battalion but also led by example, participating in the high-intensity physical training sessions with all the soldiers in the afternoon.

If the War College had scheduled makeup classes for him in the evening, he would have to return to the College after dinner.

If not, he would gain a brief respite, either staying at the garrison or returning to the manor to rest.

The War Office provided him with great convenience in this regard, granting him special permission not to be required to stay in the College barracks like other students.

And every night, when his body fell into deep sleep, his mind did not rest, instead continuing his spell studies with the aid of the system.

Every moment of his day was meticulously scheduled, with virtually no downtime to waste.

This reminded Morin of a TV show he had watched before his transmigration, called Severance.

He had wondered what it felt like for the ‘Company Persona’ in the show to seamlessly switch between work and life.

Now, he was getting a similar experience…

After the Teaching Assault Battalion underwent a period of basic adaptation training, the four completed 400-meter obstacle courses in the camp finally hosted their first official ‘test run.’

The entire battalion organized a comprehensive baseline test, conducted platoon by platoon.

Before the test began, Morin stood by the starting line. Watching the soldiers, who were a mixture of excitement and nervousness, he didn’t hold high hopes.

After all, this training subject was completely new to them.

The test results were exactly as he had expected.

The bad news was that not a single platoon among the thousand-plus soldiers managed an average score that even approached his own ‘not-in-good-shape’ time.

Let alone reach the challenging 2 minutes 30 seconds passing standard he had set, which was quite demanding for the soldiers in their current state.

However, there was also good news.

The old 1st Company he had commanded, along with the companies composed of elite soldiers drawn from various Jäger units, had average scores that were not too far behind his own. With a little more training, they could improve further.

These veterans, who had endured fire and blood, and the Jägers, who were accustomed to running in the mountains, truly possessed a natural advantage in physical fitness and willpower.

Unsurprisingly, the worst performance in the test came from the company composed of former Guard Corps soldiers.

Their average score was almost 10 seconds slower than the other companies.

This result was a massive embarrassment for all the Guard Corps soldiers, including their Company Commander.

They were the Royal Guard Corps! The face of the Imperial Army!

How could they lose a basic physical fitness test to those mud-caked countrymen from Zwickau and the wild men from the Bavarian mountains?

Their strong sense of unit pride made it impossible for them to accept such a defeat.

On the very afternoon the test concluded, Morin saw the Guard Corps company, led by its Company Commander, forgo their rest period and proactively begin extra training.

On the training ground, they charged the obstacles again and again, their uniforms soaked with sweat, letting out primal roars of exertion.

Morin naturally welcomed this type of positive competition in the unit.

However, he did point out a few detailed issues to Kleist.

The most obvious problem was that many soldiers were cheating during the return run, where they had to climb out of the trench. They were jumping down and simultaneously using their momentum to climb out the other side.

Morin was familiar with this behavior; he used to do the same thing.

So, he offered a very effective solution.

“Lay wooden planks at the bottom of the trench, then pour some water down there. Inspect everyone who finishes the run to see if their shoes are wet.”

Kleist and Manstein listened with ‘profound reverence.’

At the same time, they wondered inwardly: The Battalion Commander is not old, so why is his mind so utterly ruthless?

On the other side, while studying at the War College, Morin was worried about the Imperial Army High Command’s lack of focus on grassroots tactics.

But he had to admit that, putting that aside, the material taught at the College was genuinely substantial.

Especially the core courses like ‘Operational Art,’ ‘Tactics,’ and ‘Military Logistics.’

Morin had largely mastered company and platoon-level command through practical combat.

But at the War College, he was learning more than just battalion command.

He was also learning about higher-level operational command and tactical application at the division, corps, and even army group scales.

This was not only to prepare the War College students for their future promotion to field-grade officers and the opening of higher-level doors.

More importantly, only by deeply understanding the operational intent and overall deployment of the higher commander.

Could these commanders more effectively organize and utilize the battalion-sized units under their command in future battles, ensuring they operated at maximum efficiency?

Among these courses, the one Morin found most beneficial was ‘Military Logistics,’ a subject he had previously lacked knowledge in.

In this course, he systematically learned the entire flow of supplies for a battalion-sized unit.

How to accurately calculate the consumption of ammunition, food, water, and medicine for a unit fighting at different intensities?

How to efficiently manage and command the battalion’s quartermaster unit?

How to effectively coordinate and communicate with the logistics units at the regimental and division levels to ensure the unit’s supply line remains open at all times?

Learning this entire body of logistics knowledge made Morin acutely aware that he still had many areas where he needed to catch up.

Especially in the fields of military communication and logistics support, there was a world of difference between the system he was learning and the modern system he had studied at the military academy before his transmigration.

He had to forget the convenience of modern radios and satellite phones…

And relearn how to properly utilize messengers, wired field telegraphs, carrier pigeons, and even flares in this era to transmit messages of different classifications to various targets.

He also had to forget the large-scale supply units composed of trucks and trains and relearn how to command a ‘horse-drawn’ logistics unit to ensure the various supplies for front-line soldiers.

In summary, a simple statement on a map by a superior commander, such as “Order the XX Infantry Division to attack the XX area.”

Required the unit commander to consider many complex factors in its practical execution.

How many kilometers can a fully staffed infantry division advance in a day during a forced march?

What is the daily consumption of supplies for the men and horses along the route?

Based on the predetermined attack distance, how many tons of food, feed, and ammunition does the Division Quartermaster need to stockpile in advance?

After completing this long journey, how many soldiers in the entire Division will be immediately combat-ready?

Is the rate of non-combat loss within an acceptable range?

How long will it take to resupply the entire Division with ammunition and provisions? Could the enemy seize the opportunity to launch a surprise attack during that time?

How far ahead should the Division’s cavalry reconnaissance unit advance to effectively secure the flanks and rear of the main force?

How should communication and appropriate distance be maintained with allied units on the flanks during the march?

Within a twenty-kilometer radius of the operational area, which terrain is most suitable for the entire Division to deploy into combat formation or establish a defensive position?

Can the observation posts and signalmen of the Division’s Artillery Brigade keep up with the advance of the main infantry force?

What critical bridges, crossings, and passes along the line of advance must be secured at all costs in advance?

If blocked by a river, how should they contact the Army Corps Fortification Engineers, and how long would it take them to erect a pontoon bridge capable of supporting field artillery and fully loaded quartermaster wagons?

And when these grand operational issues were broken down and refined into the battalion-level unit commanded by Morin.

They would multiply into even more trivial and specific detail issues.

Morin displayed an astonishing speed in learning this new body of knowledge.

This was not only because his intelligence and memory had been significantly enhanced after awakening as a spellcaster.

More importantly, his more modern way of thinking allowed him to quickly grasp the essence of these seemingly complex problems and apply lateral thinking to find optimal solutions.

During this initial period of study, Morin remained extremely low-profile.

He listened carefully in every class, took meticulous notes, and humbly asked questions of the instructors or his classmates when he encountered something he didn’t understand.

His performance made him seem no different from an ordinary, diligent student.

He never made any shocking pronouncements in class, nor did he display anything that set him apart.

Gradually, the surrounding students and instructors paid less attention to the young man with the ‘War Hero’ aura who was constantly auditing classes.

Until the arrival of a wargaming exercise.

(End of this Chapter)