Abyssus Abyssum Invocat

by Carlo Zen

  “That’s good. I approve. Please tell him I said it was a great decision.”

  “Yes, ma’am. I will.”

  “While you’re at it, make sure we’re ready for them to arrive. Let the commanders at every rank know to make sure their recruits don’t accidentally shoot the patrol units.”

  “Understood. I’ll do that right away.”

  “Oh, and Lieutenant Serebryakov, call all the officers. I intend to keep it short, but I want to drum our situation into their heads.”

  “Understood. I’ll begin preparing for the arrival of the patrol units immediately. Orders will be given to prevent accidental friendly fire. At the same time, I’ll summon the commanding officers from each branch of the Kampfgruppe.” Lieutenant Serebryakov repeats back the orders with aligned heels and a salute. The moment Tanya nods that there are no misunderstandings, she dashes off.

  Because she understands her job very well, Lieutenant Serebryakov is a trustworthy adjutant when it comes to her communication duties, too.

  She’ll be sure to take care of things.

  “Well, I guess we’re going to be busy. These guests have no manners. We’ve got to beat proper visit-paying procedure into them.”

  I’ve got to pay them back for obstructing my sound sleep.

  And so Tanya rushes to Kampfgruppe HQ, ready to fight.

  While she was gone, the work to update enemy movements on the map had continued without a hitch. Tanya smiles upon seeing that the data from Major Weiss and the others out on recon is properly reflected.

  Though it’s nighttime, Major Weiss, who even has experience with reconnaissance on the Rhine front’s no-man’s-land, makes reasonable decisions on the whole.

  Even if tonight’s duty officer is the relatively inexperienced First Lieutenant Wüstemann, we’re still lucky it’s not First Lieutenant Grantz—I still have some concerns about him. This is really a silver-lining situation.

  That said, Grantz is trustworthy if you give him clear instructions.

  And he did educate the newbies up to the bare standards an officer should meet. Even the least experienced officers are first lieutenants. We should be able to expect more from them than second lieutenants fresh out of the academy.

  So, having summoned the officers, Tanya is sure that things are going smoothly. Frankly, she doesn’t think there is any reason something would go wrong.

  Which is why when all the officers are woken up for the emergency summons and gathered, Tanya finds it strange to notice a familiar face is missing. It’s only natural that Weiss isn’t there, since he’s out engaged in a reconnaissance mission.

  The one glued to the enemy army sending them info about their movements doesn’t need to be at the briefing.

  But Tanya furrows her brow and asks Captain Thon’s subordinate, “Lieutenant Tospan, where’s Captain Thon?”

  “He’s working at infantry command. He said it’s something necessary for keeping the units in line.”

  Certainly, since he’s the commander of a mostly newbie-filled infantry, I can understand why Captain Thon might not be able to come.

  But really, if someone was going to be left behind, it should have been Tospan.

  It makes sense to be anxious about all the new recruits. But if he’s underestimating the risk of all the commanders not being on the same page, he’s not qualified to be a line commander.

  “I’m pretty sure I told him to come immediately. Tell him to get over here as soon as he’s done.”

  “Understood.”

  What a total headache, Tanya laments, but she realizes she can’t really blame Tospan for it and switches gears. “All right, Lieutenant Serebryakov, you can begin the briefing.”

  “Yes, ma’am! Then I’ll go ahead and explain our situation.”

  She’s good at explaining things efficiently.

  In this, my adjutant, Serebryakov, has a great understanding of my intentions. She gives such a capable explanation with the map—including how much power we can expect from the enemy, the route they are advancing along, and everything else we know about them so far—that I could even see recommending her for the staff officer track.

  Sadly, she hasn’t graduated the regular course at the academy.

  I feel like they should lower the hurdle so graduating from the academy isn’t a prerequisite. When I get a chance, I should talk to General von Zettour about it.

  That said, although it’s a contradiction, I would also feel like a fool for letting such a talented adjutant go.

  Ah yes, a manager encounters this fundamental conflict of interest when trying to both look at the big picture of human capital optimization from above and be considerate with human resources on the ground.

  It’s nice to have excellent personnel on the track that will allow them to become even more excellent. But it’s tricky, since they can’t build up the requisite experience when they’re taken out to study.

  Oh, Tanya realizes. I also have to consider whether the Imperial Army can afford to be leisurely training up frontline officers at the war college.

  “The enemies we’re seeing don’t appear to be the same Federation Army that we’re fighting on the main lines. They’re probably someone new. The ciphers we’ve intercepted aren’t the same code we usually see, either.”

  “I have a question. Does that mean we could end up clashing with units from the existing enemy plus these new forces?”

  “Yes, Captain Meybert. You are correct.”

  “…Will we have enough shells?”

  Weiss and I have been pointing this out to Captain Meybert forever, and here he is bringing it up as if he just remembered it.

  Even this guy tends to be viewed as a veteran compared to the other officers we’ve received. In other words, the front lines really can’t let go of officers who would make good staff officers.

  It’s a never-ending dilemma.

  We’re desperate for outstanding high-level staffers, but we need the lower-level officers—that is, the source to be cultivated into such positions—on the front lines with top priority. Which side to put weight on is an unsolvable conundrum.

  That said. Tanya switches gears.

  “That is all. The enemy vanguard will arrive in about two hours. Let’s get moving.”

  The moment my adjutant finishes the explanation, all the officers heave a huge sigh. They’d been dragged out of their sleep rotation and the first thing their groggy eyes see is the news that two brigades are headed their way to attack.

  That’s one way to wake up.

  And while Tanya’s still watching, they begin to say whatever is on their minds.

  “This makes me really glad we built that patrol line. But wow, two brigades?”

  “Right. That’s overwhelming compared to what we’ve got, Lieutenant Tospan.”

  They all grumble about how the coffee their orderlies brought them tastes like mud.

  Tanya nods at Tospan’s comments but pushes her lips out in amusement when he mentions the power gap. She’s beginning to accept that they will always be overwhelmed by the matériel power of the Federation Army.

  No, she just knows that she has to accept it.

  “Shit, again?”

  “It’s the same as always with these Federation guys, but they send such a huge number of troops to such a small fight! Is the rumor that their soldiers grow on trees true?!”

  Lieutenant Grantz and Captain Ahrens, who have experience with the eastern front, should both be all right. They may be griping, but bold smiles are on their faces.

  It’s hard to use aerial attacks in a night skirmish…but we have a fair amount of people who have fought at night before. The fact that there are experienced officers in both the mages and armored units with experience puts Tanya slightly more at ease.

  “But these guys aren’t impossible. We should be happy we don’t have to get into a fistfight with two brigades!”

  “You said it, Captain Ahrens. Well, they may not be sitting ducks, but if we h
aven’t confirmed any enemy aerial mages, we’ll take them out one way or another!”

  “Whoa, there, Lieutenant Grantz. Let’s see what the brave armored unit can do. An armored unit conducting a large-scale counterattack—a massacre—is a sight to behold. We’ll perform defensive support and then nail the counterattack.”

  Tanya is relieved to see that Captain Ahrens seems to understand his job very well. Fortunately, the leader of the armored unit knows what his mission is; she would expect nothing less from someone with experience in the east.

  Armored unit commanders frequently hate defense support because it invites attrition. It’s practically their instinct. They’re always hoping to concentrate and wait as reserves until the decisive point of the counterattack.

  But Ahrens doesn’t seem to actively despise defense support. Well, I appreciate the offer, thinks Tanya.

  At this point, it seems like there are only infantry approaching their lines.

  “Message from Major Weiss. He’d like to take a battalion and conduct a delaying attack on the enemy infantry.”

  “…I’ll allow it. Tell him to slow them down and thin them out. But also that limiting our losses is top priority. Make sure to tell him I can’t have him running the mage battalion into the ground for no reason.”

  “I’ll be sure to tell him, ma’am.”

  And her vice commander Weiss is another soldier who knows how to bully the enemy. In war, you’ve got to hit your enemy in their weak points first.

  Anti-surface attacks by mage units are usually markedly less effective at night, but…veterans know what they’re doing. The enemy infantry may not have many weak points, but Weiss will be able to hit them from the sky. His skills and achievements are worth believing in.

  I don’t think foot soldiers under attack by this dead-serious soldier will be able to break through our position’s perimeter.

  As long as our infantry holds out, I’m convinced we won’t need the armored unit. It’s important to save the shells for the moment we really need them.

  Just as she is about to settle on her proposal, planning to get it through Meybert’s head that they need to save shells, Tanya realizes something.

  “By the way, Lieutenant Tospan, what is Captain Thon doing?”

  It’s been a long time since the meeting started. Even an idiot would know that he should have shown up by now.

  “Ma’am, he’s, uh…advising the troops.”

  That’s what he said last time.

  But… Tanya points out the window at the muddle of foot soldiers and says, “And yet they’re still so sluggish. What is that? They look lost, like they don’t even know what they’re supposed to be doing.”

  They aren’t moving like infantry who need to get to their positions and prepare for an enemy attack.

  Perhaps they haven’t been given proper directions? As far as she can tell from the window, some have been assembled and are just standing there holding their gear.

  The sight must have been a shock even for Lieutenant Serebryakov and the others who walk over to the window with flashlights.

  The partially built defensive lines, the limited manpower. And the newbies with hopelessly little experience.

  If this is the state they’re in, I can understand why infantry commander Captain Thon didn’t show up at the commander’s meeting, but…something is weird.

  There should have at least been some word. And even before that… Tanya can’t hide her irritation and turns a sharp glare on Tospan.

  If this is how they turn out when Thon is in command, he should be discharged.

  “You laid the phone lines, right, Lieutenant Tospan? Call up Captain Thon’s command. I want a report on their status.”

  “About that…”

  “Lieutenant Tospan, that wasn’t a request. It was an order. Call up Captain Thon’s command. I’m pretty sure I had you set up the phone lines, yes?”

  “A-actually, Colonel…”

  “What is it? I’m running out of patience!” Tanya urges him with her eyes to continue—and then doubts her ears when she hears what he has to say.

  “…Captain Thon is out scouting.”

  “Huh?” The question is out of her mouth before she realizes; the news is so unexpected. The infantry commander is out—during an enemy attack, of all times—scouting?

  Away from his unit?!

  “Now?! Why did he leave his post?!”

  “It was an independent decision. He said officers should be up on the front lines patrolling like Major Weiss…”

  If we were going to do elastic defense, sure, that’s another measure we could take. Getting a handle on the enemy’s situation and then driving them back with mobile warfare would be one option.

  “But,” Tanya must add, “with their force so much larger than ours, we can’t be entertaining plans like that. Does he not realize that?!”

  “H-he went on officer reconnaissance to confirm how much larger! There’s nothing wrong with corroborating Major Weiss’s report with observations from different sources! Won’t acquiring relevant intel allow us to deal with them more effectively?”

  “That’s enough—shut up!” Tanya spits, at the mercy of her seething emotions. “Tospan, you numbskull, do you really believe what Captain Thon said was the best course of action? It’s incredibly inept!” This nonsense is more than enough to warrant her rage.

  If she can’t send a few bullets into whatever numbskull passed this guy in the officer aptitude eval, she won’t be able to stand it.

  No, acknowledging his command authority was a mistake. I should have attached a blocking unit so any inept workers could have been executed immediately. But it’s too late for regrets now.

  In that case… Tanya makes up her mind. Now is the time to pour all her energy into damage control.

  “Lieutenant Grantz!”

  “Yes, ma’am!”

  Luckily, Grantz, who has relatively extensive defensive line experience, happens to be free.

  It’s not as if she envisioned this day would come, but she drummed him full of trench-war and defensive-combat experience on the Rhine front.

  He won’t crack from a few shells and an infantry attack by night.

  “I’m lending you Wüstemann’s company. Take Lieutenant Tospan with you. Then take over that bottomless idiot Thon’s command! You can do the infantry fight like we did on the Rhine! Defend, don’t fall back, repel them!”

  “Yes, ma’am!”

  Grantz, who responds with a prompt salute, has the minimum knowledge a soldier needs. Orders, acknowledgment, and resolute action with no complaints.

  Meanwhile… Tanya turns back to Lieutenant Tospan with a warped expression.

  “…Is Captain Thon going to be suspended?!”

  “Of course he is!”

  “Please wait! Captain Thon is a good commander! Even if you’re a lieutenant colonel, do you have the right to do that…?”

  This numbskull is spouting nonsense during the precious and very busy time we’re prepping for combat. How come he doesn’t understand the glaring fact that this benefits the enemy?

  “Lieutenant Tospan! I did not give Captain Thon permission to leave his post! Why is an officer leaving his post before construction on the perimeter is even finished?! That one huge problem itself warrants him being stripped of his command!”

  “He was only acting on his own discretion! Captain Thon has that authority!”

  This idiot.

  “I ordered him to defend this position! Actions that don’t align with the intention of the one giving the orders don’t count as acting on your discretion! That’s just defying orders! And I’m here at the same position as him in the first place!”

  “Don’t you think he must have judged that there wasn’t a moment to spare to ask you? It’s essentially the same thing as when Major Weiss had the forward patrol line retreat.”

  “Lieutenant Tospan, are you serious?!”

  “If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t say this
sort of thing to you, Colonel!”

  This bastard.

  “You’re telling me to treat withdrawing the forward patrol line as the enemy approaches like nonchalantly strolling away from your position?! You expect those situations to stress me out equally?! If you can convince a court-martial of that, then let’s hear you try!”

  “Wha—? Now you’re just being unreasonable!”

  I’ve about had it with this piece of shit. As Tanya’s hand reaches unconsciously for her pistol, she threatens him, unable to suppress the murderous intent in her voice. “I don’t want any more crap from you while you’re commanding in combat. I don’t have time for this. If you insist on continuing…”

  She didn’t even have to say, You had better prepare yourself for what comes next.

  Tospan turns white as a sheet, and there’s even fear in his eyes as he looks at her. Well, the moment the numbskull goes silent, she announces it as a done deal. “Consider Captain Thon missing in action! We can’t acknowledge the command of an officer who is MIA! When he gets back, tell him to present himself at the Kampfgruppe command!”

  Who’s going to go there while we’re in combat? Even if he does, I won’t let him bother us until the fight is over. I’ll just say I was busy and had technical difficulties.

  On top of that, Tanya realizes she needs to explain and give them the full rundown.

  Setting aside Captain Ahrens, it seems like a good idea to not give the rest of the newbies any excuses.

  “It seems like there are still some dummies out there who don’t get it. I guess I have no choice but to explain.”

  “Huh?”

  “Officers, here’s what’s going on. Listen, it’s a simple matter. We’re going to be surrounded, but the enemy is only capable of surrounding us by spreading themselves very thin.”

  The advantage of a defensive perimeter is that it doesn’t have to stand up to all the enemy forces head-on. And the most wonderful part about it is that officers and noncommissioned officers can keep tabs on their subordinates in close coordination.

  When keeping newbies disciplined, it’s important to have the person leading them right nearby. And during a night battle, that importance jumps.