Chapter 937

Episode 937: The Imperial March 2 – Assault return, running on the ground. (25)

“Then let’s move right away.”

“That would be better. “Will that trench ship be nothing more than a deserted place now?”

“I agree.”

Once the generals made their decision, action followed quickly.

Ppuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu~ Flap! Flap!

A trumpet sounded loudly from the tower above the castle gate, and a signal flag fluttered. The noise made the eyes of the soldiers and executives in the trench turn back.

“It’s a retreat signal!”

“Retreat!”

“Retreat!”

“I survived!”

As soon as they heard the word ‘retreat’, the faces of the soldiers staying inside the trench line brightened.

This was because they ignored the attacks from cannons and freight cars and expected death as they watched the approaching enemies.

The soldiers hurriedly climbed up the trench wall with their rifles slung over their shoulders.

“stop!”

“Keep order!”

“We are retreating, not running away!”

“Protect the pride of the French Army!”

The executives who commanded the soldiers at the trench line desperately tried to calm them down and lead an orderly retreat.

‘If we rout like this, leadership of the soldiers will become impossible!’

‘If we don’t keep morale up here, it will be difficult to raise morale again!’

‘Even when retreating, you must maintain discipline and morale!’

After making that judgment, the executives attempted an orderly retreat, even hitting the soldiers in the face with their fists. And the attempt seemed to have worked, as the soldiers came to their senses and began to retreat while maintaining order.

* * *

“Hoo~. “That’s surprising.”

Lee Si-ae, who was observing the situation on the watchtower at the front line, was truly impressed.

“Maintaining order even in a rout. Something substantial?”

The staff members who were nodding their heads at Lee Si-ae’s favorable evaluation added their words.

“It may be possible because there was no fighting other than the artillery battle.”

“you’re right. They themselves say, ‘We are retreating because the situation is unfavorable, not because we are defeated.’ “You may be thinking that.”

Lee Si-ae nodded at the words of her advisors. Even in the Book of War, retreat and rout were clearly distinguished.

-A rout is when you quickly and accurately judge the terrain of the battlefield and the pros and cons of the situation in battle and retreat, but when you make a mistake in your judgment of retreat and are pushed back with heavy losses, it is a rout.

-In retreat, you can look for the next opportunity, but in defeat, it is difficult to seize the next opportunity.

Going further than this, there was even a book of military law that differentiated between ‘retreat (後退)’ and ‘backward progress (後進)’.

In any case, it was certain that the soldiers who retreated in such an orderly manner would be difficult opponents in the next battle.

Lee Si-ae put the telescope to her eyes and looked at the situation, continuing to exclaim in exclamation.

“Hoo! This battle is definitely a series of surprises. Aren’t people who are busy chasing after women suddenly stepping forward to take the lead? European commanders, who are still said to be commanders by virtue of their powerful families, are surprisingly quick to assess the situation and make appropriate decisions. under!”

The staff members nodded at Lee Si-ae’s words, unable to tell whether they were sincere admiration or sarcasm.

* * *

The actions of the Florentine army in the Battle of Milan, which took place before the Battle of Pavia Castle, were truly pathetic.

With the Imperial artillery in charge of the battle from start to finish, the infantry had little to do.

Nevertheless, the behavior of the Florentine army when it entered the city of Milan, where the imperial Allied forces had surrendered, was spectacular.

He marched through the city with great swagger, his shoulders full of strength, and flirted with every woman he saw, regardless of age or age.

The Imperial and Swiss troops could not hide their pitiful expressions when they saw the Florentine army like that.

“If anyone sees him, they’ll think he’s a hero who has turned the tables...”

The funny thing is, even though he boasted like that, the results were not very pleasant. The citizens of Milan – mainly women – were well aware of who the real protagonists of this war were. Thanks to this, even the barkeepers treated the imperial and Swiss troops better than the Florentine troops.

Because such experiences continued, the Florentine army ‘volunteered first’ and ‘volunteered’ to take the lead in this battle.

“yes!”

After a while, flags were waving and flashing signals were flashing from the signal towers erected on all sides of the command assault vehicle’s luggage compartment.

The officers who were next to the signalman to check whether the order was received correctly gave orders to the signalman.

“I didn’t receive a reply confirming it. Send it back.”

“yes.”

The officers shook their heads and grumbled as they looked at the soldiers waving the flag and operating the flash signal again.

“It’s more comfortable than Messenger or Pabal Jeonseo-gu, but it’s still uncomfortable. “Isn’t there some more reliable method?”

These were officers who would calmly say things that soldiers from other countries would swear at by saying, ‘I’m so full that I’m going to explode’, and the soldiers next to me would nod their heads as if it was natural.

* * *

The assault force that occupied the French army’s trench line stopped and went on the defensive.

Assault car type A, which stopped on the imperial side of the French army’s trench line, raised its guns in unison and aimed at the walls of Pavia Castle. Assault vehicle type B, loaded with assault troops, crossed the trench line and stopped.

While the military wagons attached to type B luggage compartment were aiming at the walls of Pavia Castle, the back doors on both sides of the luggage compartment were opened.

“Get in the trenches!”

“Disembark!”

“Disembark!”

The soldiers of the assault force who came down the stairs connected to the back door ran like crazy and jumped into the trench.

“oh my! Medic!”

Of course, in the meantime, soldiers with sprained ankles came out looking for medics. And those soldiers received criticism from their colleagues.

“That’s a really good thing~.”

In such a small skit, the assault troops who entered the trenches aimed their guns at the collapsed walls of Pavia Castle.

The soldiers of the assault force muttered involuntarily when they saw that only the castle gate and the pavilion above the gate were intact, even though all the walls except the one facing the Tachino River had collapsed and were reduced to rubble.

“They say that the most fearsome people in the imperial army are the artillery units...”

“Hey, look at how they left only the castle gate.”

“But why did you leave the gate behind?”

“It’s easier to enter through the castle gate than to climb over the castle wall.”

“How do you open the gate?”

“Are the guns on the assault car decorative?”

“Ah...”

While they were chatting, loud trumpets and drums were heard from behind.

Bah bah bah bam! Floating!

As they watched the Florentine army band blowing trumpets and beating on large and small drums, the soldiers of the assault unit all muttered the same thing.

“Aren’t those Cheads even out of breath?”

After a while, the Florentine army, led by a military band, surpassed the assault force and charged into Pavia Castle.

While the military band stopped in front of the castle wall played military music even harder, the Florentine soldiers began to climb over the collapsed wall.

Soon after the Florentine soldiers crossed the castle walls, soft gunfire began to erupt from inside the castle.

As gunfire began to be heard, the assault troops who had been relaxed until just now began to become nervous again.

Among the soldiers looking at the castle with nervous faces, a middle-aged Jinmu muttered quietly.

“Those lechers... why would they choose street fighting even if they had to choose?”

“yes? “Is street fighting that difficult?”

“it’s hard.”

Jinmu answered firmly to the question of the new recruit, who was still full of youth.

“Why?”

Jinmu continued speaking after seeing not only the new recruits who continued to ask questions, but also the soldiers around them pricking up their ears.

“In the past, when I had just attained the rank of five commanders, I participated in the battle to conquer Shinji. “At that time, I went through a battle to attack the city of Messika, and it felt like hell.”

Jinmu, recalling that time, shuddered slightly.

“What a struggle it was to fight against those armed only with stone knives and stone spears... The scariest thing in street fighting is not the enemy’s weapons. “It’s the buildings and roads that make up the city.”

“ah....”