by Carlo Zen
“Shit, I knew it… Fighting on the eastern front is totally different from trench battles!”
Unlike on the western front, there are no trenches in the east. The supremely simple, clear reason for this is that the battle lines are too long. We don’t have enough troops to build trench works and man the whole front.
That means there’s no way to tell the first and second lines apart.
Even the soldiers in the rear may have to fight. In a lax moment, idiot soldiers can be turned into idiot corpses by knives, bayonets, or shovels.
I was right to require the bare minimum of training for the staff working at the command post.
“C-Colonel! We’re completely surrounded!”
“Calm down! Take a closer look! We’re just following our original plan of holing up at this position and defending! The enemy isn’t even sure how to attack us!” As she roars directions at the rear personnel, Tanya smiles.
Just because the enemy is clever doesn’t mean you have to go along with their plan. If you want to really scatter them…all you have to do is blow them up from their core.
“Now’s about time! Their main forces must all be here. We can assume they’re attacking with almost their full strength. Major Weiss, scatter them!”
“Understood! Battalion, move out! We need to intercept them immediately! Don’t mistake friendlies for the enemy!”
I’m sending out the pet reserve unit in my pocket, the unit I wanted to keep on hand even if I had to decrease the number of guards at the headquarters—the 203rd Aerial Mage Battalion.
Having gained experience in Dacia, Norden, and the Rhine, it continues to function as a perfect apparatus for violence in the vast lands of the east. I suppose you could say it works wonders.
The Federation infantry battalions probably intended to surround and grind us down, but we treat them to a volley of head-on explosion formulas, occupy the sky above them as they panic, then advise them to surrender.
Before long, things are shaping up to end in the Empire’s favor. A single mage battalion held in reserve can be quite a wildcard. Whether it’s a defense or counterattack, no one can casually settle into a leisurely shootout with a mage battalion coming out of the sky unless your position is honeycombed with anti–air guns.
There’s no way the infiltrators are hauling anti–air machine guns. After regrouping, the Imperial Army infantry conducts maneuvers to drive our point home, causing the attacking Federation forces to meekly start lowering their guns.
Honestly, I was worried they would resist to the very end, so surrender is good news for me.
“Phew, I’m glad this ended without having to fight them down to the last man.”
Oh. That’s when it occurs to Tanya that these enemies are wearing proper uniforms.
I’m not partial to their tendency to use even dawn attacks to distract us, but I truly appreciate that the whole organization surrenders in an orderly fashion.
That means… Ever scrupulous, Tanya repeats aloud the words that popped into a corner of her mind. “Make sure the prisoners are accommodated appropriately according to regulations. I sure hope I don’t have any subordinates dumb enough to be violent with captives.”
“Understood, Colonel. We can handle it, of course.”
The infantry officers nod, so they must understand how I do things. Since I was repeating myself, they may have felt the insistence.
Still, it’s critical for those in command to constantly reinforce policy. That’s why I have to say it even though I know they get it.
“It’s not as if I’m worried about you guys. What I want is for you to fill in everyone beneath you. I want even the privates at the bottom to understand what those at the top understand and what we’re focusing on.”
“Ngh! Yes, ma’am!” With the abrupt realization showing on their faces, the infantry officers all straighten up.
This was probably the first time they considered the possibility that their subordinates could cause trouble. The troops are used to mopping up irregulars, but if they thoughtlessly tormented uniformed soldiers, that could be a huge problem. Now would be the time to rein in the grunts where they need to be reined in.
I can’t say whether this is to be expected or what. The officers of the Salamander Kampfgruppe have excellent qualifications, but most of them still lack experience. They weren’t so green that they would conduct themselves improperly during the heat of battle, but expecting them to know how to appropriately settle things after the fighting was over was optimistic.
That said, they have good heads on their shoulders. They won’t make the same mistake twice. Tanya stood at attention with a click of her boots, then let the commanders know there was nothing to worry about and that she was counting on them.
“All right, we have a lot of work to do.”
The village we’re garrisoned in is a bit of a mess.
Most of it emerged unscathed from the fighting. In the ten days since we’ve been deployed here, I’ve been working my subordinates hard to set up warning and defensive lines, but maybe it would be better to have them focus on base maintenance so they can get some sleep.
But when Tanya thinks about how few hands she has, she can’t help but frown.
One option would be to put the prisoners to work. But without a proper camp, it would be impossible to supervise their labor.
The infantry of the Salamander Kampfgruppe is mostly combat units, and we have only the minimum complement of military police.
They’re for enforcing regulations within the Kampfgruppe, but maybe they could supervise the prisoners temporarily… Still, in a crisis, even the MPs are manpower. I don’t want to tie down any personnel to prisoner duty like that.
“Man, I don’t know what to do. There’s too much I want to have the MPs do. We’re totally understaffed.”
“If you like, we could have some infantry personnel handle it.”
“I appreciate the offer, but I don’t want to tire out our combat troops. Have those units mop up and secure the battlefield on the double.”
As the infantry unit COs acknowledge with a salute and leave the room, Tanya watches them go while thinking about how young they look. For some reason, she suddenly realizes, everyone is in their twenties.
…They may be outstanding, but I can’t believe such young officers ended up in my unit. Well, if we’re going to have that kind of talk, Visha is only in her teens, and that’s before getting into the issues posed by Tanya herself.
Rapid expansion, attrition on the Rhine, lack of key personnel, increasing use of the younger demographics.
The logistics network is still functioning. We get replacement troops. But how much longer will the Empire’s strength hold out?
“…There’s no point in thinking about it.”
The Empire is chipping away at its people, its human resources and capital.
And in such an unbelievably primitive conflict.
Even in the trenches on the Rhine, we were engaging at close quarters fairly often.
But over there, the times both sides would commit to hard hand-to-hand combat were mainly when operations were being launched; it wasn’t a daily occurrence. Certainly, it’s a different ordeal when compared to the depressingly gruesome skirmishes out in no-man’s-land between patrols and commandos.
Still, on the Rhine front, close-quarters combat indicated the battle was in its final phase. To speak to extremes, I’d say it’s what happened when charging trenches. In the east, even though we’re sleeping indoors, it’s become routine for the soldiers to get woken up by an attack and then fight for their lives.
If this is the barbarization of warfare, then…what a pity. Violence at close quarters on a regular basis. It’s an awful thing.
“Sheesh…this time was pretty bad.”
Tanya grumbles in disbelief about the attack on headquarters. I understand how great it feels to mount an attack on an enemy HQ, but I have zero interest in being on the receiving end.
“I get that we’re in enemy territory, but we really haven’t been able to rest at all. At this rate, we’ll collapse in exhaustion.”
On the eastern front, we’ve long since entered Federation soil, so everything around us is enemy territory. Whether we like it or not, we should be aware of this. I’d really like to invite the illustrious law experts who came up with the words noncombat zone and rear area to this charming locale.
Fatigue may not appear clearly in our reports or stats, but it still chips away at the troops’ ability to continue fighting.
A tired army is fragile. No, not just armies. Any organization made up of exhausted people will inevitably make mistakes. And in an exhausted organization, there isn’t any leeway to cover for the errors of individuals.
Once you reach that point, all that awaits is doom.
“Get back to resting as soon as possible. Everyone who isn’t on duty should hop to it.”
That’s why Tanya is especially passionate about urging her troops to take a break.
Humans aren’t machines. They require a proper amount of rest. She’s convinced that if the troops’ well-being isn’t taken care of, catastrophe will be unavoidable.
“But, Colonel, shouldn’t we post extra lookouts?”
“I’ve made sure we can respond quickly. Adding any more guards will just wear our people out.”
“It’s only been a few days…”
“Gentlemen, please be aware that even if it’s only been a few days, we’re still fighting a battle of attrition.”
Currently, the Kampfgruppe’s human attrition is minor, but according to several texts I’ve read, the research on war and mental health says that over three months of frontline service is bad news. Was it an American study? I forget. My knowledge of psychology doesn’t go very deep, but…who knows how things will turn out if this battle gets prolonged?
It’s because Tanya has this sense of crisis that she firmly reiterates her orders. “Taking a break is part of your job. Remember your pay grade and rest up.”
“Understood, Colonel.”
“Good answer.” She looks out across the troops in the area and makes sure the officers understand that their men should rest, too. Taking a break is part of a soldier’s job.
That being said…
Commanders—officers—are different. Of course, the minimum amount of rest is essential. A sleep-deprived officer making a careless mistake and sending a unit out to their deaths doesn’t make for a very amusing story.
But the luxury of sound sleep…is reserved for people whose work is done. After repelling an attack, officers have a mountain of reports to make.
Thus, the officers who drove off the enemy have gathered at HQ and are sorting out the situation despite the haggard looks on their faces.
A small room, a cramped table, and meager lighting.
Still, what’s important to a career soldier isn’t a comfortable war room. If it’s serviceable, then it’s fine.
Upon gathering up the concise reports from all the commanders from Major Weiss on down, Tanya makes a conclusion.
It was sloppy.
“This was a dawn attack conducted by a single regiment. As the crowning touch of their counterattack after thoroughly harassing us…it’s pretty weak.”
According to everyone’s reports, the enemy intended to mount a serious counterattack…but they weren’t very cohesive.
“The enemy forces seemed to have a hard time coordinating. I would speculate that it was a hastily assembled unit.” Tanya’s vice commander nods as he voices his agreement, and he’s probably right.
The lack of the proper coordination that’s vital for conducting an effective attack at dawn indirectly speaks to how underprepared the Federation Army is.
Normally that would be good news.
But Tanya can’t help but point something out in her youthful voice.
“It’s aggravating that we’re being tired out by these guys. They’re like crops raised out of season. We need to get some good sleep and soon. If this one salient is such a handful, we won’t be able to be too confident about what comes next.”
Major Weiss’s earlier observation may be correct, but…the enemy probably engineered that apparent weakness in coordination to trick us.
Using an impromptu force composed of two battalions to mount a distraction and sending the rest of their soldiers to attack our headquarters is a rather sketchy plan. To be frank, it’s the type of operation you can probably expect some results from without needing to fine-tune the details.
The enemy commander, who seems adept at considering what he can do with the limited resources he’s got on hand, accepted this imperfection from the planning stages and secured some redundancy.
I’d be lying if I said I couldn’t feel the Federation-style, coolheaded realism of the returns that can be won from targeting high-value enemies with low-value soldiers.
“We experienced this on the Rhine front as well, but we really need to come up with a fix for the unit’s fatigue.”
“Major Weiss, how often would we need to rotate out to get unit exhaustion under control?”
“If we can limit frontline stints to three months, I think we can maintain a minimum baseline of combat strength.”
“Makes sense.” Tanya nods, although in her head she’s anxious. “We have to add the caveat that it depends on whether we can secure replacements. Man, at this rate, the unit will only get weaker and weaker.”
It’s purely based on her experience…but while Tanya feels she can rely on the veterans who have spent a long time on front lines, as a unit, they could abruptly weaken.
Managing personnel on the battlefield is different from HR strategy in a corporation in many ways. Training up some experts and then keeping their unit on the front lines for too long will lead to a buildup of fatigue, leaving them at risk for serious injury.
Which is why we need replacement troops…
“…Gentlemen. To be honest, our prospects for receiving any reinforcements or replacements are poor. But we’re soldiers. If the home country hands us orders, we don’t get to have an opinion.”
If we don’t even have enough troops, then getting replacements is a dream within a dream.
If we have to operate under the extremely harsh premise that manpower is scarce, then I can understand why some of the General Staff are scrambling to reach a quick resolution.
Apparently back at the General Staff Office, the Operations folks are planning a major offensive to bring the war to an end, but…if we can’t guarantee the safety of the rear area, it will be hard to avoid this turning into a stalemate.
The most a single Kampfgruppe can do—even the Salamander Kampfgruppe that can respond at the drop of a hat—is hold a point.
As long as we can’t resolve this dilemma, we’ll be stuck.
Plus, the decision to throw us onto the front line for this convenient proof of concept can only be rooted in panic. For those of us forced to go along with it, it’s pure misfortune, but Tanya understands that it’s necessary and shakes her head to clear her mind.
“If we slightly overwork ourselves, it’s not impossible to control an area. But I guess it’s ultimately still a fool’s errand to wear down the unit simply to secure this patch of wasteland.”
If we split up the unit, it would probably be possible to hold a sizable area. But in exchange, we’d lose our mobility, quick response time, and the ability to hold forces in reserve. It’s not worth it at all.
But that said…
At this rate, the Empire won’t be able to avoid bleeding to death.
It’s fine that we dealt the enemy a heavy blow in the early battles and knocked them down. But that’s all it was. It was rumored that the Federation Army was collapsing, but they continue to mount counterattacks that, despite their reliance on numbers and repetitive in tactics, are still fierce.
Frankly, you could say that Federation forces are resisting with no regard for casualties. Unfortun
ately, that feat is impossible for the Empire. We’re already at general mobilization, but we’re putting in enormous effort to only just manage to make up for the fact that we’re hurting for more human resources.
Draining our limited manpower pool will eventually lead to the extinction of the Imperial Army. At the rate we’re going, it’s only a matter of time.
We need a plan to fix it.
“It’s true, but where am I going to find something like that?” Tanya grumbles quietly, but her voice lingers obnoxiously in her ears. I’ve got to find an answer, no matter what it takes. We’re doomed if I don’t.
Thus, Tanya struggles to find a way out of this mess. She won’t stop grasping for a solution until she exhausts both her intellect and the wisdom of all humanity.
SEPTEMBER 12, UNIFIED YEAR 1926, A SALIENT ON THE EASTERN FRONT, THE SALAMANDER KAMPFGRUPPE
Despite mulling it over and over, Tanya still hasn’t found a way out.
All she has found over these past days is an inexhaustible supply of enemies. She has to keep facing the obnoxious Federation forces day after day; it’s a kind of torture.
That explains my current demeanor, I suppose?
Tanya is incredibly eager in her search for an escape or a change to the current status quo.
She’s willing to do anything. But despite comprehensive efforts to acquire the necessary information, she still has no idea what to do.
Technically her unit has prisoners. And quite a few of them, at that.
Capturing enemy soldiers means holding people who know the inside details of the enemy forces. Tanya was anticipating that they would be able to get some idea of the enemy’s situation.
Of course, any single soldier will have only a tiny amount of intelligence. But she figured if she gave a number of them to the Feldgendarmerie, they would come up with something.
That was her naive fantasy.
The results were utterly atrocious.
The prisoners answered the officers’ questions all the same; the interrogators couldn’t get anything out of them besides the cookie-cutter responses of hard-core Communist sympathizers. Thanks to that, apparently now they’re looking to see if there is some sort of propaganda that would break down their will to fight and allow us to draw some intel out of them.
