Chapter 137
Eastern
Border War ① - Ironclad Formation
Translator : PolterGlast
From the Royal
Capital, Kylar, to the Eastern Frontier, a journey by horseback alone takes
four to five days. This is likely around 200 km. Even so, it is the closest of
the four borders to the Royal Capital in Kyle Kingdom.
During the march, in
several towns and villages that served as meal stops or encampments, Commander
Weiss and I often spent time with Alexis von Bauer. Our purpose was to gather
detailed local information and intelligence on the Istoria Imperial Kingdom's
army from him, as he had served in the previous Eastern Border war.
As a result,
previously unknown battlefield details and enemy movements became quite clear.
Apparently, unlike the arid Southern Border, the Eastern Border is characterized
by lush forests stretching before the mountain range that forms the border,
with roads leading through these forests to the border.
"Over a hundred
years ago, the Kingdom was in a friendly relationship with the Eastern
neighboring country, and even royal marriages were arranged. However, about a
century ago, when a domestic religious faction came to dominate that country,
the situation changed. And in the reign of the current Imperial King, they
claimed ownership of the Demon Realm stretching along the Kingdom's border, and
there has been conflict for about 10 years. It seems they are seeking the
blessings of the Demon Realm, the catalysts used for Mage aptitude
confirmation."
"What?! So, that
means there are Mages in the Imperial Kingdom?"
Indeed, the cores
(catalysts) obtained from specific monsters are essential for Mage aptitude
confirmation, but for other uses, they are relatively expensive and practically
useless.
"Yes, though
their numbers are overwhelmingly smaller than in the Kingdom, they seem to be
actively striving to unearth Mages nationwide even now. However, the Imperial
Kingdom has no Demon Realm. Therefore, it is said that they secretly obtain
catalysts from the Kingdom, at enormous expense and effort."
"Commander, this
is not good. If Wind Mages are added to their longbows, it will be quite a
threat."
"Indeed... I
don't think they have enough Wind Mages to outnumber our archers, but it's
better to be cautious. Alexis, what is the effective range of their
longbows?"
"Their effective
range is about 300 m, but they can fire arrows up to 500 m away. We were
helpless against those attacks."
"Regarding the
circumstances of the previous battle, forgive my rudeness, but what was the
course of your defeat?" I was very concerned about how the enemy army was
employing longbows, so I deliberately asked a probing question.
"They first
ambushed our fort on the border with a force of 10,000. Although we were
overconfident in our defense, we were overwhelmed by an arrow rain from an
overwhelmingly numerous longbow force, and outnumbered, we couldn't defend the
fort. After the fort fell, the noble army of the Eastern Frontier led by
Margrave Hamish arrived and attempted to retake it, but... They drew a
formation in front of the fort, utilizing the terrain, and our cavalry were
blocked by their impregnable defenses and further stalled by obstacles in
front, becoming easy prey for the longbowmen, one after another..."
Saying that, Alexis
used a stick to draw a formation on the ground.
＜Istoria Imperial
Kingdom Army Formation＞
◇◇◇◇◇ ◇◇◇◇◇
▼ ▼◇◇◇◇◇◇▼ ▼
柵▼ ▼柵 柵柵柵柵 柵▼ ▼柵
柵▼ ▼柵 柵▼ ▼柵
柵▼ ▼柵 柵▼ ▼柵
柵▼柵 柵▼柵
柵 柵
▼ Longbowmen
◇ Heavy Infantry
柵 Fence
↑↑ Enemy Army (Kyle
Kingdom Army) ↑↑
"The enemy
advanced partway down the main road, then utilized the forests spreading to
their left and right to form this kind of formation and waited for us. Our
cavalry couldn't even bypass them. Their charge was blocked by defensive
fences, and while they were stalled by obstacles in front, they became easy
prey for the longbowmen, one after another..."
"What?!"
No, this is... The
Dublin tactic!
I, who loved military
history, recalled old memories and realized that the current situation was
extremely bad for us.
In European history,
the English army used this impregnable defensive formation at the Battle of
Dupplin Moor, and it was also used in the subsequent Hundred Years' War.
Historically, even at the Battle of Crécy, the French army, which was
overwhelmingly superior in numbers, was utterly decimated.
At that time, the
French army's crossbow units were inferior to the English army's longbow units
in both range and rate of fire, suffering a severe defeat in their first
battle. Next, the charging French cavalry suffered heavy damage from the
longbowmen's long-range fire, and were further stalled by defensive barriers
like stakes and pitfalls constructed in front of the enemy lines, being
annihilated under a crossfire of arrows...
The current formation,
the Kyle Kingdom army, equipped with crossbows and dispatching cavalry as
reinforcements from the Royal Capital, felt uncannily similar to the French
army in historical accounts.
No... this is
incredibly bad. At this rate, we're definitely checkmated... I felt an
unpleasant sweat trickle down my back, and my heart pounded.
"Hmm... so the
forests are used as a shield on both flanks. This makes it impossible to
utilize the cavalry's superiority. And they protect the archers, who are weak
in defense, from cavalry with obstacles... Is that it?" Commander Weiss's
face was also grim as he glared at the formation.
"Precisely. In
this battle within the forest-flanked road, we suffered a devastating blow. And
after winning the battle, they brought in reserve troops to solidify their
defenses within that formation, then halted their advance. It was just after
that when the war with the Empire broke out in the South, and the enemy seemed
to be watching its progression. And when news of the great victory achieved by
the Barons reached them, they withdrew their troops to the fort and
strengthened their border defenses. This is how our previous defeat
unfolded."
So, just as the Empire
had tried to use the Imperial Kingdom, the Imperial Kingdom had also tried to
use the Empire's offensive. Depending on the situation in the South, the
Kingdom would have been forced to undertake a worst-case two-front war...
Things were truly on a tightrope walk back then.
Now, the weakness of
this Dublin tactic is, if I recall correctly...
"Deliberately not
attacking the enemy lines, and instead constructing our own defensive
formation... that's probably not good, is it?"
"That's right.
The enemy has built their fort on our border as a safe rear base, and beyond
that, they've set up their defensive formation. This defensive formation allows
the enemy to freely enter and exit the Demon Realm. This time too, the enemy
has built fortifications blocking the main road and is slowly advancing them.
We are already being encroached upon, and if we don't go on the offensive, the
Demon Realm will fall completely under their control."
At Alexis's words, I
understood the enemy's intention.
The Istoria Imperial
Kingdom's objective is to control the Demon Realm. If they can freely enter and
exit the Demon Realm as their own territory and obtain catalysts, their basic
objective will be achieved. Therefore, in this campaign, they aim to cut off
the Demon Realm from Kyle Kingdom, build a strong defensive line, and make it
untouchable. That's probably the idea. And then, after increasing their number
of Mages overwhelmingly in a few years, they plan to launch a full-scale
invasion towards the Royal Capital.
If that's the case, in
this battle, we would need to push the enemy back to the border. In response,
the Imperial Kingdom would defend with their impregnable formation, and
conveniently, wear down our forces for later.
"In such a
situation, we need to break through the Imperial Kingdom's defensive formation,
push them back to the border, and even retake the border fort. We won't meet
the Kingdom's victory conditions if we don't do all that, will we?" I
asked, sighing deeply.
"Precisely. Even
now, the Eastern Frontier is being encroached upon, and the power of the nobles
defending the frontier is gradually waning. We are in a situation where we must
repel the enemy, staking our very right to exist. At the Eastern Border, there
is a period of long rain at the transition between spring and summer. During
this time, the roads turn to mud, and cavalry cannot move effectively. I
believe the enemy will target this period to advance their positions
significantly."
"Commander, given
this, I think we need to formulate a strategy with extraordinary resolve.
Before the rainy season. And then, we can only pray that we have the numerical
advantage in Mages."
"Do you have a
plan, Takuhir-sama? It seems that you are familiar with this formation. I look
forward to seeing what you come up with."
Ugh, don't look at me
with such a smiling face and high expectations...
"The only problem
is..."
"The deployable
forces under your command...? My apologies. I wish I could have brought
more."
"No, no, I'm
extremely grateful that you've already brought more than I predicted. Besides,
it's the defense of another border that we're not originally involved in, so
there are various constraints and limits."
"However,
although their numbers are small, they are probably the finest elite in the
Kingdom. They should perform quite well."
Commander Weiss and I
could only move 1,000 individuals freely. This unit would probably follow
Commander Weiss's and my instructions without a hitch. The Royal Capital
Knights' Third Army, they are also being instructed by Gold and others as
instructors. While it's dangerous to have naive expectations, I think they can
probably follow our tactics.
"The Royal
Capital Knights' Second Army might be a bit of a problem. We've seen them
before as reinforcements, and they seem to place importance on traditional
cavalry charges..."
Alexis seemed
quick-witted. He clearly understood what Commander Weiss and I were thinking.
"Alexis, what
about Hamish Margrave's capabilities and character?"
He gave a slight wry
smile at the Commander's question.
"I haven't had
many opportunities to speak with him directly, so I'm not very familiar with
him, but... his capabilities are not problematic; in fact, I think he's
excellent. Enough to be entrusted with a Margraviate. And his territory, though
not as prosperous as the southern border I heard about, is quite wealthy for an
Eastern Frontier territory within the Kingdom. And it was Margrave Hamish who
made the entire eastern region one of the Kingdom's leading horse-breeding
areas. However... I heard that he's quite concerned about Margrave Hastburg,
who is active on the southern border, and is investigating him. My father told
me it's as if they're rivals, competing with each other."
So that's it. It's
understandable that two Margraves might compete in military achievements.
However, in that case, there would be no reason for him to be friendly towards
us, the Hastburg Margraviate's faction.
From there, the three
of us discussed re-evaluating our available forces and battle plans for the
battlefield. We kept in mind how to maximize the use of our limited forces.
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