Chapter 40. Battle of Lake Apitello (1)

To confuse the Brotan Kingdom's army, Viktor suggested several methods.

First, he started by deploying additional scouts and reconnaissance troops from the 1st Provisional Corps to interfere with the kingdom's reconnaissance, and sending messengers with intentions of a ceasefire to the advancing enemy.

"The empire desires a ceasefire!"

Messengers, mainly selected from elite scouts, secretly approached the advancing kingdom army carrying white flags and shouted for a ceasefire loudly.

"Go back! There will be no ceasefire unless the imperial army retreats across the Bildorne River!"

The kingdom's commanders, knowing they couldn't maintain such a large force for long, flatly refused and chased away the messengers, but…

"A ceasefire?"

"That can't be... Do we have to fight?"

"...I miss home."

The problem was that soldiers who heard the shout thought the empire was considering a ceasefire.

The kingdom's soldiers, who had hoped that a battle might not occur, had their morale lowered seeing their commanders reject the ceasefire.

"I'm scared, I'm scared... Mom..."

"Hey, pull yourself together!"

Especially soldiers recently conscripted were so affected that normal marching was difficult.

"It's false information. The empire, which recently dispatched reinforcements, has no reason to suddenly propose a ceasefire!"

"..."

The commanders tried to persuade the soldiers, but it was difficult to gather up the skepticism that had already spread.

Moreover, the current kingdom army had weak control as the number of officers remained almost the same despite the sudden increase in troop size.

"We'll stop here for today."

In the end, they chose to slow down the marching speed to maintain overall morale.

Although morale could recover over time, the kingdom army had to be satisfied with moving only about 15km per day.

"While chasing the enemy's messengers, we secured a letter they dropped!"

"Bring it here! 20,000 in Rochelle, 25,000 in Chenet? Did they deploy troops mainly in Rochelle and Chenet, which are difficult to defend?"

Additionally, Viktor deliberately leaked fake operation plans with distorted troop deployment information to induce misjudgment by the kingdom army.

"It's suspicious. A mistake in such an important situation."

Count Gaston Chartier, leading the troops that departed from Montfieu, doubted the authenticity of the operation plan, and other commanders felt the same, but…

"The enemy troops are carrying General Gerhart's corps flag!"

"Gerhart? Of all people..."

The news that Gerhart Weissilt was leading the reinforcements drove the final nail into Gaston's suspicion.

"There must be some scheme. Increase the scouts!"

Gaston tried to grasp additional information somehow, but the kingdom's scouts were often killed or chased away by scouts from the 1st Provisional Corps receiving Viktor's remote instructions.

In the end, Gaston received reports that they failed to properly grasp the situation, and,

"...Advance cautiously, watching out for traps or ambushes!"

Worried about the strategies of Gerhart, who had built a reputation in the empire for decades, he chose to further slow down the already slow marching speed and thoroughly prepare for enemy attacks instead of consuming more high-quality scouts.

As a result, Gaston's advance became noticeably slower compared to the initial pace.

The imperial army, having secured time, was able to take position at the planned location about two days after departure.

It was as Viktor intended.

"Prepare! We'll set up camp here!"

"Yes!"

The 10,000 soldiers of the 2nd Army led by Friedrich quickly finished preparations before the kingdom army arrived.

According to the plan, they actively deployed deception tactics to tie down Gaston Chartier's 25,000 troops for about two days.

Following Viktor's advice, Friedrich set up about twice as many tents as usual and also increased the number of temporary hearths for meal preparation to more than double.

Then, he planted the additional flags they had brought from the 10th Corps and 1st Provisional Corps, divided by area to disguise that reinforcements had joined, and had the same soldiers change their uniforms and continuously change positions.

Not stopping there, by continuously dispatching small numbers of cavalry in turns and moving as if ready to attack at any time.

"Count Chartier! We've discovered an enemy force of about 20,000 in the front!"

When Viktor judged that Friedrich's preparations were complete, he deliberately created gaps in the scout deployment, and the kingdom army's scouts, who had difficulty with detailed reconnaissance, fell for the deception.

"...Was the plan true? Was leaking the plan really a mistake?"

"And, Gerhart's general flag is planted in their camp! It seems Gerhart has personally come here!"

It's a known fact that the imperial army's troop quality was superior.

With news that even the enemy commander was the veteran Gerhart,

"Send messengers to Count Etoile and Count Lefebvre! We'll stop at this point!"

"Understood!"

"Take a thorough defensive posture! We don't know when the enemy forces might attack!"

Count Gaston Chartier chose to stop at a distance and set up camp instead of attacking the imperial army that seemed close to equal numbers.

The kingdom army roughly knew that the overall scale of the imperial army in the battlefield was about 50,000.

In a situation where the total forces differed by nearly double, Gaston thought it was advantageous just to tie down the qualitatively superior enemy forces and capable commander Gerhart with a similar number of soldiers.

If Gerhart was here, he would have difficulty exerting influence on other battlefields more than tens of kilometers away.

If he heard news that a main imperial force of 35,000 was deployed in Chenet, he could grasp the empire's deception, but it would take a few more days for Gaston, who couldn't immediately exchange information with the forces that departed towards Chenet, to know that fact.

"The enemy forces have stopped about 2km away and are setting up camp!"

"...We've succeeded."

"Even if we were in their position, we would have been deceived for about two days."

"I suppose so. Corps Commander Viktor is thorough, very thorough."

As Gaston's forces stopped according to Viktor's plan, the 8th Corps officers couldn't help but stare in admiration.

Although the imperial officers had learned individual cases of deceiving the enemy, they also knew that half-baked deception attempts could lead to greater dangers.

For deception to succeed, its preparation must properly match the enemy's situation, and Viktor's scheme, who had arrived in Rochelle not long ago, perfectly fit.

"Aren't we going to be written in textbooks?"

"...If we win the battle, we might."

Some officers were so excited that they speculated their battle might be recorded as an exemplary case in tactical manuals.

"Inform the 1st Army of the success of the deception tactics, and dispatch additional scouts."

"Yes!"

Friedrich calmly finished preparations to deal with unexpected situations, identified routes to retreat just in case, and waited for news from the 1st Army.

Meanwhile.

"They are blocking the Ardenne Gorge!"

"Ha. How annoying."

The forces of Count Auguste Etoile, who departed from Anyac, advanced about a day more than Gaston before encountering the imperial army from Triel, who had set up defensive positions in the Ardenne Gorge.

"How many?"

"About 10,000."

"...Well."

Although the difference in troop numbers was overwhelming, the Ardenne Gorge was narrow, making it impossible to push in troops all at once.

The imperial army, with high discipline and morale, forming defensive lines using fallen trees and such, looked threatening even to Auguste, who had brought 30,000 troops.

"A message from Count Gaston Chartier! He says they encountered an imperial force of about 20,000 led by Friedrich and Gerhart near Lake Apitello, stopped their advance, and are on standby!"

Moreover, as time passed, the fact that Gaston's forces marching towards Rochelle had encountered an interception force and stopped was also conveyed to Auguste.

"Gerhart?"

"Yes! They say they confirmed the flags of the 10th Corps he leads!"

"Hmm."

At the news that reinforcements led by Gerhart, famous enough to be known even in the enemy Brotan Kingdom, had joined, Auguste carefully checked the current situation with tension.

Because those who were careless against Gerhart couldn't avoid defeat.

"It's difficult to head towards Triel right away."

He was tasked with attacking Triel, but this seemed realistically difficult.

If they attacked the imperial army occupying a narrow area, the battle would flow in a wheel-like pattern, which wasn't favorable for the kingdom army with lower individual troop quality.

Moreover, as they were hastily scraped together forces mainly of conscripts, they could only show value as proper troops on battlefields where they were numerically superior and could overwhelmingly push forward.

Morale decline due to numerous casualties could lead to the disintegration of the army.

"...Defeat is not good."

He didn't want to take responsibility for any possible defeat.

"It's difficult for us to break through them, but it would be difficult for them to come out of the Ardenne Gorge as well. General Gaspar Ferring."

"Yes."

"I'll give you 10,000 troops, join with General Gaston Chartier."

Auguste thought that the numerically inferior imperial army in the gorge couldn't easily launch an attack either, so instead of recklessly attacking the imperial army, he chose to reinforce the Rochelle direction forces.

If Gaston could capture Rochelle, another path towards Triel would open, and then they could surround the enemy guarding the Ardenne Gorge from front and back.

"Where should we join?"

"Hmm."

At Gaspar's question, Auguste considered various possibilities.

Although they hadn't yet grasped where the empire's remaining 20,000 had headed, as long as the imperial army's goal was defending strongholds, their movements were unlikely to deviate from predictable ranges.

"They'll probably try to defend Chenet, but..."

They might have chosen to simply divide their forces into 10,000, 20,000, 20,000 for defense as Gaston's message said, but Gerhart's reputation weighed on his mind to conclude so definitively.

"If it's that Gerhart, he might be planning something. Move to the rear, join safely."

"Understood!"

Auguste instructed Gaspar's forces to move to join Gaston through a safe point in the rear.

It might delay the joining by a day or two, but he thought it would be better than losing troops to Gerhart's schemes.

"Send a messenger to Count Chartier! Tell him Gaspar's forces will join, so launch an offensive with those troops!"

"Yes!"

Although it's said to be led by Gerhart, if Gaspar's forces join, the kingdom army's forces will reach 35,000.

In Auguste's thinking, with that level of numerical advantage, they could defeat the imperial forces without any special strategies.

Although supplies were tight, dividing the forces also somewhat eased the burden.

"...Good."

If other commanders win by sending reinforcements, Auguste can also claim credit, and if they lose, he can shift responsibility by saying they lost despite sending reinforcements.

Auguste praised his own decision.

"We'll also build fortifications."

"Yes!"

To eliminate even the small variable of an imperial counterattack, he built defenses utilizing the gorge, just like the imperial army.

---

The entire army began marching.

Judging that Gerhart's authority and the soldiers' trust in him were more important than my detailed commands for the infantry's forced march, I left the march of the entire force to him.

"Deputy Commander. What's wrong?"

"The enemy is hiding over there. Let's go right away."

"Yes!"

Instead of the infantry, which inevitably had to be relatively slow, I started moving first with a small cavalry unit for detailed coordination.

As I could secure safety with the mini-map, I led the cavalry at the front wearing minimal armor as a demonstration of leading by example.

"How did you know?"

"Light was reflecting from that direction, probably from drawn weapons. They seem to have made a mistake out of fear of our approach."

"..."

Although we're moving as fast as possible to shorten response time, it's best to hide our army's scale as much as possible to sufficiently draw in the enemy forces that departed from Saint-Toire.

Continuously spreading false information and chasing away enemy scouts trying to confirm the facts is all for that purpose.

I mainly used the mini-map to drive out enemy scouts hidden here and there, and circled around the enemy forces threatening attacks to adjust their speed.

The later they arrive, the less burden from forced marches, but if the battle occurs too late, Friedrich, who is facing the enemy with few troops, could be in danger.

As always, perfect timing is important.

"It's about time to join up."

"Understood."

After operating with the cavalry for about a day, I joined the main force led by Gerhart at a time I deemed appropriate.

"...You personally went to check the scouts."

"Yes. According to our scouts' information, the enemy is marching about 18km to 13km per day. At this speed, they'll meet our army here."

"Hmm..."

After joining, I adjusted the marching speed considering the appropriate encounter location, our troops' condition, etc., to meet the enemy at the most suitable point.

About two days after the 1st Army started marching.

"Enemy!"

"...They've come."

The kingdom army of 35,000 led by Count Bevis Lefebvre and the imperial army of 35,000 led by Gerhart and Viktor.

Large forces totaling 70,000 met in the plains beside Lake Apitello.