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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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“Let me be blunt. Are you prepared for this?”
“I survived the Pry Free Democratic Republic’s mountain division training. My spirit won’t break that easily.”
I stated the cold hard fact to Chief of Staff Joseph.
“The 8th Assault Magic Infantry Battalion is a mess.”
“….”
Joseph’s confident expression hardened. He looked like he might vomit blood again. But I wouldn’t stop.
Major Josef Lewandowski was the most progressive and competent field-grade officer I had ever met. Foreign experience wasn’t just a saying.
In reality, there was a clear difference in the thinking and capabilities between officers who had been deployed abroad and those who hadn’t. But he was still a frog in a well.
By Ukrainian standards, he had established a relatively novel and aggressive strategy and organizational structure, but compared to future battlefields, it was still woefully inadequate. That’s why I had to be blunt.
Chief of Staff Joseph would understand what I was saying and would be able to make drastic strategic revisions.
“To be precise, the Ukrainian army itself is a mess. The rank system is not properly established, and the chain of command is in disarray.”
“May I ask why you think so?”
“Feel free to ask. Although I am the deputy battalion commander, you are my senior by far, and of a higher rank.”
“Hmm, yes… that’s right. I almost forgot.”
Joseph nodded and added, “I agree that the Ukrainian army is a mess, but I don’t think our battalion, which performed relatively well at the Lymansk Armory, is that bad…”
“It’s only better than the rest of the Ukrainian army. It’s still lacking. Didn’t you see the Pry Free Democratic Republic’s mountain division firsthand?”
As far as I knew, the Pry Free Democratic Republic’s mountain division was an elite unit that could operate at 100% capacity even in the early stages of a war.
That was one of the reasons why the Pry Free Democratic Republic was highly recommended to newbies in Hearts of Iron.
If you were stationed in that mountain division before the Great War, you would rack up achievements as soon as the war broke out and quickly rise through the ranks.
The reason why the mountain division was so effective wasn’t just due to its rigorous and well-designed training. The biggest reason was its organization.
“The Pry Free Democratic Republic’s mountain division consists of 12 battalions under 3 mountain regiments. Each battalion has an average of 300 personnel and is divided into 3 combat companies, 2 reserve companies, and 1 support company.”
I recited the mountain division’s organization, which I had studied in advance. Joseph, having spent nearly a year there, also seemed to be aware of it.
“Didn’t you get the idea from there when you first designed the 8th Assault Magic Infantry Battalion?”
“That’s right. I decided to focus on training the combat companies first, leaving the less important two reserve companies for later.”
“That’s where the problem is. Reserve companies play a crucial role. And the support company’s organization is also strange. A support company isn’t just a staff office.”
The word ‘reserve’ might seem unimportant. Reserve numbers, reservists, reserve manpower, and so on. It sounded like something you kept on standby just in case.
But not on the battlefield. On the battlefield, a reserve company was one of the most effective organizations for minimizing casualties and a crucial factor in winning battles.
Did wars ever go according to plan? Historically and from my own experience, there had never been a war in history where a unit designated as a reserve was not deployed in actual combat.
“If we had a reserve company at Lymansk, we wouldn’t have had to bring in the 3rd Battalion.”
“That’s… true.”
“And we’re in a situation where we’re conducting a special operation called ‘assault.’ We’re performing a different mission from the Pry Free Democratic Republic’s mountain division, and this is a unit for a type of operation that has never existed before.”
I pressed on. As I spoke, Major Joseph’s hand began to move rapidly. His gaze was fixed on me, and his hand moved frantically… It was a bizarre scene that would have terrified anyone who didn’t know the situation.
“The 8th Assault Magic Infantry Battalion should be reorganized into the 8th Assault Magic Infantry Combat Team.”
Joseph’s frantically writing hand stopped.
“Combat team…?”
“It’s a concept that doesn’t exist yet in Ukraine or any other country’s military, but since we’re already operating the world’s first assault unit, it wouldn’t be strange.”
When I was still in the intelligence agency, I had a conversation about organization with an American military officer who was on deployment.
Since the US military was deployed all over the world, instead of deploying large forces, they used the ‘Brigade Combat Team (BCT),’ which was maximized for mobility and versatility, as their basic framework.
It was a compact result of being able to manage division-level operations at the brigade level. A US military organization designed to respond flexibly to any situation by organizing 3 combat battalions and 1 reconnaissance, artillery, engineer, and support battalion each in a single brigade.
I was planning to bring that in now.
‘Considering the game’s setting is the late 19th and early 20th centuries… this is a formation that’s at least a century ahead.’
We would probably have a lot of fun with it until the all-out war and total war broke out in five years. A unit with both mobility and versatility was a cheat key.
“Explain this combat team.”
Major Joseph’s eyes sparkled. I had cast the bait, and the Major had taken it.
My discussion with Chief of Staff Joseph continued after that. The sun had been high in the sky when we started, but by the time I finally left the staff office, the unit was shrouded in darkness.
Even after talking so much, there was still a lot to do. Since Sony Zeppelin had been promised maximum autonomy from Duke Orlando Luce III, I was going to use this authority to its fullest and completely overhaul the 8th Assault Magic Infantry Battalion.
The opportunity came sooner than I expected. But I couldn’t afford to be complacent. I took a cigarette out of my pocket, lit it, and looked up at the Milky Way-filled night sky. It was beautiful.
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“Did you all sleep well?”
A few days after my discussion with Major Joseph about the ‘Battalion Combat Team,’ I received a letter from the Petrovna Palace in the capital, Kyiv.
[His Highness Duke Orlando Luce grants Captain Enoch Levandal, Acting Commander of the 8th Assault Magic Infantry Battalion, full authority over personnel administration, training, and unit organization.]
[However, formal organization is not permitted. On-site commissioning is to be carried out, but it is not to be reported to the personnel command. This must be strictly observed.]
In short.
‘Okay, do whatever you want. I approve. But you know it’s a headache to make it official, right? Figure it out amongst yourselves, and we’ll think about making it official later.’
Honestly, this was more than enough. In fact, with the internal factions of the Ukrainian army being a much bigger threat than the Soviet Empire at the moment, there was no need to advertise the Battalion Combat Team or on-site commissioning.
Anyway, having received permission from the supreme ruler of the Duchy, who was like heaven itself, I immediately assembled the entire battalion.
“Unit, attention—!”
Thud, thud.
“To the acting battalion commander~ Salute!”
“Glory to the Motherland!!”
The hundred or so soldiers lined up on the parade ground saluted in unison. Their resounding voices echoed throughout the battalion grounds.
“Glory to the Motherland. Unit, at ease.”
“Unit, at ease!”
Ah, yes… this is what it’s like to be a commander.
Even if it was just acting. Seeing the entire unit with their eyes shining, waiting for my next words, brought back memories of my unfulfilled goals in my previous life.
‘I’m playing the role of a battalion commander here, something I couldn’t achieve no matter how hard I tried.’
After a moment of being overwhelmed with emotion, I cleared my throat and unfolded the speech I had prepared.
“Did you all sleep well? Before we begin, let’s honor our comrades who sacrificed their lives in the last battle.”
A solemn silence fell over the parade ground. Some of the soldiers, who had been close to the fallen comrades after having gone through thick and thin with them for over a month, sobbed. The number of fallen had increased from six to eight.
Soldiers Randel and Schmidt, who had been attacked by the Mutant. Despite the efforts of Bell Meyer and the military doctors, the two had not been able to cross the threshold of life.
As more soldiers became agitated, and the number of tear stains on the dirt ground increased, I spoke.
“But one thing is certain: our 8th Assault Magic Infantry Battalion has achieved a clear victory against the vicious Soviet Empire. We carried out the first raid on the imperial mainland in Ukrainian history.”
The soldiers slowly raised their heads and looked at me.
“Who did it? You did. Not only did we successfully complete the operation, but we also discovered the empire’s horrific secret, which has become a weapon to hold them by the throat. Your courage in charging head-on against the enemy, your pride in taking responsibility for your comrades until the end. Those noble and honorable actions have reached the distant capital. The personnel I am about to call out, please step forward to the podium.”
I called out the names one by one.
“Tchaikovsky, Rick Hanson, David Song, Brian Taylor, Robert Hailey…”
They were all soldiers. They seemed to have no idea why they were being called. I stepped down from the podium and approached the bewildered soldiers. I took the hand of Sergeant Tchaikovsky, who was standing at the front, and shook it.
“Congratulations, Sergeant Tchaikovsky.”
Not only did I call him Sergeant, but I also pinned the epaulets I had taken out of my pocket onto his shoulders.
The soldiers’ faces slowly turned to astonishment. The first step in reorganizing the 8th Assault Magic Infantry Battalion into a combat team.
Today, a total of thirty soldiers were unofficially promoted to non-commissioned officers. A much larger number of personnel received unofficial promotions.
And Ukraine’s first ‘officer candidates’ were also born.
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