Chapter 143: Counter To Surprise (2)
When confronting armies from other empires or duchies, it was common for our troops morale to surge and the enemys morale to dip whenever a General, such as a Division Commander, personally led the front line.
This was because the majority of soldiers in empires or duchies, just like South Korean soldiers, wanted to quickly finish their military service and go home to be with their wives or fiances and live a peaceful life.
Soldiers on the opposing side, whether consciously or unconsciously, tended to shy away from fighting against troops whose morale was boosted by the presence of a high-ranking officer leading them.
This made sense, as most of the regular soldiers serving in an empire or a republic were either serfs or, at best, middle-class citizens.
For these people, the fall of their country would merely mean a change in whom they paid taxes to, with little change in their way of life
Thus, dying in defense of their country would only result in a tragic loss for themselves and their families.
However, in a country like Switzerland, where there was no serfdom, the citizens had a strong sense of loyalty and pride towards their nation.
Even ordinary peasants had such high morale that it rivaled that of elite troops.
Even though our troops were disoriented by the ambush, their morale rose since I, the Division Commander, had taken the lead.
Despite this situation, the enemy, far from being intimidated, taunted us and did not hesitate to aim their weapons at me and my knights.
Hey, theres no one among us who would be scared just because the enemys Division Commander has shown up, right?
If we lose this war, well end up as serfs, constantly ridiculed. Thats scarier than death.
If we retreat here, our families lives will become unbearably miserable! Fight to the death!
And the important thing now is that these guys are our enemies.
Die, you damned invaders!
I dodged the attack of a man trying to strike my head with a halberd, a weapon symbolic of Switzerland.
Then, I stabbed the gap between the helmet and neck of a soldier who attacked me with a halberd, killing him instantly.
At this time, it seemed the infantry in the rear had managed to reform their formation, as the spearmen were approaching slowly in proper battle order.
While we were dazed from the ambush, the Division Commander bought us time! Now its our turn to step in!
Long live the Reich Empire! Long live the 7th Division! Long live the Division Commander!
Kill all those Swiss bastards! Its time to wipe them all out. Leave none behind!
Leading the few knights at the front and buying time wasnt easy; I was considering gradually falling back
Timely support like this felt both gratifying and welcome.
If we could successfully fend off this ambush today, I would need to commend the officers.
Moreover, from the rear, arrows whistled through the air, aimed in the direction of the Swiss soldiers ambushed in the forest.
Damn, damn! Arrows! The arrows are coming!
Damn it, its bad enough being dragged out in my final years, but to march in full armor!
Lets kill all those bastards who ruined our Sergeant Ottos last years!
Thus, as our pursuing infantry killed a considerable number of Swiss soldiers, the situation turned into us completely pushing back the enemy.
Naturally, as a commander, I wanted to use this situation to diminish the enemys morale and forces as much as possible.
Considering that most deaths in war occur not during organized fighting but during pursuits after the formation breaks, it was right to pursue without hesitation at this moment.
However, I chose to issue a more conservative and safe command, even though it felt like a missed opportunity.
I order the entire army, cease the pursuit and return. Anyone who continues to pursue will be disciplined under military law.
We were not the ambushers, but the ambushed ones, so it was impossible to predict the size of the enemy or any hidden strategies they might have.
If we recklessly pursue them without knowing the terrain, as well as the Swiss, we could likely fall into an ambush.
Rather than risking and investing in such a choice, it was better to be content with successfully repelling the enemys operation.
Cease all arrow fire, and all soldiers maintain your positions firmly. Do not move until further orders from the Division Commander, even if the enemy shows any gap.
Upon my order, the standard-bearers and trumpeters signaled to all soldiers in the division to hold their formation.
Infantry who were pursuing the enemy close to the forest also turned around and began returning to their units.
Ah, we should have killed all those bastards.
Even so, more of them must have died than us.
Those damned bastards must have been grinning when they came for the ambush. Now they must be tasting death.
Even after all the units had returned, we maintained a state of alert for about an hour, while also sending scouts to comb the forests where Swiss soldiers might be hiding.
Since we didnt find any enemy soldiers hiding at that time, I ordered our division to stand down from alert.
After keeping guards on watch for half a day more, with no sign of the enemy appearing,
I now order all forces to retrieve the bodies of both our troops and the enemy. For the enemys corpses, only identify those that look like commanders and casually throw the rest into a pit. For our dead, conduct a proper funeral. After that, we shall rest for today.
This was how I ordered the aftermath to be handled.
The outcome of todays ambush was
Our casualties were 60 dead and 90 injured.
The enemy casualties were 140 dead; the number of injured could not be determined.
Upon receiving this report, I muttered while reading it,
If we had pursued them, we would have suffered terribly more deaths. Those damned bandits.
