Chapter 41
Following Viktor's request, Gerhart dispersed his forces and moved with utmost attention to concealment.
Coupled with Viktor's thorough scout interception and checks, the scale of the imperial army reported to the kingdom army heading towards Chenet, led by Bevis Lefebvre, was just over 20,000.
As a result, Bevis's forces, confident in their numerical superiority, continued to advance, but,
-Bang!
"This can't be!"
Contrary to the report, what the kingdom army encountered near Lake Apitello was the imperial main force of over 30,000.
"It's clearly over 30,000 just by looking! What was all that about being around 20,000! And Gerhart himself has come here!"
"The enemy's attacks were severe, making it difficult for our scouts to operate. So..."
Viscount Mathieu Delong, who was in charge of reconnaissance missions, hastily made excuses with a half-dazed appearance.
He felt as if he had been possessed by ghosts.
It started with less than 5% of the scouts he dispatched as usual returning.
Mathieu gave separate instructions to vary their routes and reconnaissance timing, and to prioritize survival, but the results didn't change.
He even tried sending small raiding parties to attack those ambushing the scouts, but the imperial army, as if knowing everything, never chased deep into their territory.
This was due to Viktor identifying the scouts' positions with the mini-map and ambushing them, but there was no way for the kingdom army to know this fact.
For the kingdom army with a small regular army size, scouts were as valuable an asset as officers, so Mathieu almost gave up on gathering information through reconnaissance.
He barely managed to roughly estimate the enemy's scale with a dwarven telescope he had obtained with difficulty, but it was impossible to grasp all the enemies with just one telescope.
"Nonsense! When did the enemy just stand by and watch!"
"...I'm sorry."
Mathieu bowed his head and apologized to Bevis's rebuke.
Although it was frustrating that the empire's scouting level suddenly increased dramatically, he had indeed failed to fulfill his responsibilities.
"...The plan was false. Send messengers to Count Etoile and Count Chartier! Tell them the plan was fake, and over 30,000 troops are deployed here!"
"Yes!"
"Hah..."
Bevis sent messengers to his allies with information about the enemy, and seriously considered retreating for a moment.
The kingdom army, inferior in troop quality, had suffered major defeats whenever engaging with equal numbers of imperial troops, and the commander was even the famous Gerhart.
Moreover, the terrain where they encountered the imperial army was a wide plain suitable for cavalry use.
For the kingdom army with only a small number of light cavalry, it was a nightmare battlefield.
However, the kingdom army's marching speed was originally slow, and retreating after encountering the enemy is more difficult than normal marching.
Now, the distance between the imperial army and the kingdom army is just about 3km.
Even perfectly trained regular troops would find it difficult to retreat in this situation, and Bevis knew that for an army mainly composed of conscripts, the moment they choose to retreat, their cohesion would greatly weaken and they would likely collapse.
"How is the enemy's deployment?"
Instead of ordering a retreat, Bevis prepared for battle with the imperial army they had just encountered.
"It appears they've deployed about 7,000 on the left wing, 15,000 in the center, and 10,000 on the right wing. Cavalry forces are mainly deployed on the right wing."
"Hmm."
The imperial army seemed to have chosen a standard troop deployment focused on the right wing, and the kingdom army officers pondered their response.
"Let's deploy our main force on the left wing for defense!"
"No. Rather, we should deploy troops to the enemy's weaker right wing and aim for their weak points!"
The kingdom army, unable to make detailed movements of small-scale troop units due to lack of officers, mainly discussed initial troop deployment, and,
"The enemy center and right wing are carrying Gerhart's and Friedrich's flags respectively, while the left wing is carrying a flag of a form we've never seen before. Their armament state is also relatively weak, so how about concentrating our attack on the enemy's left wing?"
"A flag we've never seen... Yes. That sounds good."
As information about the 1st Provisional Corps in charge of the imperial army's left wing came in, opinions converged on targeting the left wing, which seemed to have relatively more vulnerabilities, as the main attack objective.
Since conscripts can only maintain morale when given a clear numerical advantage, having the main force face the enemy's left wing with the fewest troops and quickly defeating them was also the only strategy the kingdom army could choose.
"There are several small forests around the enemy's left wing, making it easy to hide troops. There's a high possibility that the enemy is using their left wing as bait to aim for an ambush."
"An ambush..."
An officer mentioned the possibility of an imperial ambush, but Bevis thought this method seemed closest to victory even considering that.
The imperial army was in a situation where they had to defend Rochelle, Chenet, and Triel with about 50,000 troops.
"The imperial army that has revealed itself now is already over 30,000. They might be aiming for an ambush, but they also need to deploy troops to Rochelle and Triel, and the forests aren't large, so their numbers can't be many. If we use our cavalry, we can prevent the enemy's left wing from retreating and even annihilate the ambushing forces."
Bevis ruled out a large-scale ambush, thinking that even 32,000 was likely the limit of troops they could gather, and if the scale of the ambush was enormous, it would be a battle they would lose anyway even if they weren't ambushed.
Also, he doubted whether the soldiers would properly follow orders to attack the center of 15,000 led by Gerhart and the right wing mainly composed of heavy cavalry.
"Viscount Mathieu Delong, dispatch scouts to check if there are enemy troops ambushing in the forest. If they discover enemies, signal immediately."
"Yes."
Bevis ordered Mathieu to prepare a response, and,
"We'll deploy 12,000 including reserves on the right wing, 10,000 in the center, and 9,000 on the left wing. 2,000 cavalry will support the right wing, and 2,000 will support the left wing and center."
He made a decisive move by deploying about 14,000 including reserves and cavalry to the right wing to prepare for ambushes.
Usually, reserves are deployed in the center like the empire's deployment to support faltering battle lines, but he thought that for the soldiers' morale, the right wing's forces must at least overwhelm the empire's left wing.
"..."
The kingdom army officers momentarily exchanged glances at that instruction, but,
"I'll personally command the right wing. Baron Daniel Renault can take the center, and Baron Georges Artaud can take the left wing."
Bevis made a strong move by personally taking on the most dangerous role of the right wing.
For him, it was a decision filled with the will to somehow inflict great damage on the imperial army since retreat was impossible.
"Yes."
"Understood."
As Bevis, the highest-ranking person present, stepped forward to take the risk himself with an intense gaze, the officers couldn't easily refute and followed his instructions.
"Baron Jean Paradot will take charge of the light cavalry on the right wing to assist my right wing and aim for the enemy left wing's flank. Baron Charles Becker will take charge of the remaining cavalry to support our center and left wing."
"Yes!"
"I receive the order."
"Baron Daniel Renault, please do your best to hinder the enemy center's support of their left wing."
"Understood!"
"Baron Georges Artaud. Your role is also important. The enemy has concentrated their forces on the right wing, so you need to withstand their attack."
"Defense is more advantageous than offense! I'll show you how I stop them!"
"...Right."
Bevis suppressed his bitter emotions and gave detailed instructions to the officers.
He saw that the moment they encountered the enemy without properly grasping their scale, the kingdom army's chances of victory were already small.
Although Georges said he could defend, it's impossible for the kingdom army infantry who can barely hold spears to block the empire's elite heavy cavalry.
It won't be easy to hold down the enemy center of 15,000 with 10,000 soldiers who are also lacking in individual skills.
However, as the messengers from Gaston and Auguste containing news that they had stopped their armies hadn't arrived yet, Bevis held hope that they would easily achieve victory against a small number of imperial troops.
If they could win and reclaim the Bildorne riverbank, Bevis was willing to become a sacrificial lamb.
"Let's go. Let's show those imperial bastards the power of the Brotan Kingdom!"
"Yes!"
Bevis, determined to inflict as much damage as possible on the imperial forces, encouraged the officers and moved to command the right wing.
---
"I'll explain the situation."
As always, I confidently began while unfolding a map with the surrounding terrain simply marked.
"The Brotan Kingdom army has also divided their forces into three. The enemy commander is Count Bevis Lefebvre, commanding 14,000 on the right wing. Under him, Baron Daniel Renault and Baron Georges Artaud command 10,000 in the center and 9,000 on the left wing respectively. About 2,000 cavalry seem to be assisting the center and left wing."
Referencing the information displayed on the tactical map, I placed pieces representing enemy forces and our forces on the map.
"Their intention is blatant."
As Gerhart said, the kingdom army, lacking officers and weak in control, unlike us, finds it difficult to flexibly operate troops, so their intentions are inevitably revealed in their troop deployment.
"That's right. As we intended, the enemy will focus on attacking our left wing where the 1st Provisional Corps and the 8th Corps 7th Infantry Regiment are positioned."
"Hmm."
Having mainly utilized conscripts while leading troops in the Rus Kingdom, I could easily predict the response of the Brotan Kingdom army, which was also mostly composed of conscripts.
"As you said. Did you say they intend to maintain morale by maximizing their numerical advantage even in part?"
"Yes."
Conscripts quickly collapse without the promise of rewards and guaranteed force superiority, and this is even more pronounced during attacks.
To prevent this, the kingdom army will try to maintain local numerical superiority as much as possible, and placing the least recognized 1st Provisional Corps on the left wing was to induce the enemy to concentrate their forces there.
"We should move according to plan then."
"That's right. After the battle begins, the left wing will feign defeat and retreat to lure the enemy's right wing. Then, when the deeply entered enemies are surrounded and attacked by reinforcements from the center, the turned-around left wing forces, and the 10th Corps Cavalry Regiment hidden behind the left wing, the kingdom army will collapse instantly."
"..."
"Can the 1st Provisional Corps do it?"
It's difficult for ordinary soldiers to safely retreat after facing the enemy's main force and then counterattack.
Although some 8th Corps officers doubted whether the 1st Provisional Corps could do it,
"There's no one who could do it better than the 1st Provisional Corps."
"...? Understood."
With 10th Corps officers who had seen the 1st Provisional Corps' training adding comments, the voices of doubt subsided.
"Then our right wing will attack the enemy's left wing, and our left wing will advance to attack the enemy center's flank."
"That's right. They've deployed numerous cavalry on their right wing. The 8th Corps' 2nd and 3rd Cavalry Regiments should be able to sufficiently break their right wing. Isn't that so?"
"Of course!"
Franz Oliver, commander of the 8th Corps 2nd Cavalry Regiment, answered confidently.
"Good. We don't need to delay any further."
Gerhart stood up and drew out his rough and old sword instead of a baton.
"Begin the battle. Move to your positions!"
"Yes!"
"Yes, Commander!"
At his order, the officers answered vigorously and dispersed, and I waited a moment before standing up last.
"Deputy Commander Viktor. I'm counting on you to finish this thoroughly."
Gerhart spoke in a low voice towards me as I was leaving the tent.
"I'll show you why we were called invincible."
"Haha."
I had no intention of commanding halfheartedly in a battle where everyone's life and death was at stake, so I showed confidence without humility.