Encountering an acquaintance on the battlefield is naturally an extremely comforting experience, especially when that acquaintance is a former commander with whom he had built a good relationship back when his rank was low.
This fully illustrates that, no matter the field, interpersonal relationships are a very important component.
After all, friendly forces with whom you have a good relationship can truly lend a hand at critical moments.
Ending their embrace, Major General Paul looked Morin up and down. Despite still being in the midst of combat, a smile squeezed onto his face.
“His Highness the Crown Prince and His Excellency the Army Group Chief of Staff specifically and repeatedly instructed me that my division must fully cooperate with your instruction unit’s operations.” Major General Paul reached out and patted Morin’s shoulder heavily, then continued:
“You’re really something now, Friedrich. With just a single regiment, you actually managed to get me to bring a division to support you~”
“The last time we fought in the Kingdom of Aragon, you were just a greenhorn who had just graduated from the military academy with the rank of Second Lieutenant…”
“And now, after such a short time, the rank on your shoulders is only one grade lower than mine.”
Morin scratched the back of his head, revealing an “honest” smile.
“This is all thanks to the cultivation of the Imperial Army… General, I am a young junior after all. When we launch the offensive later, I will definitely need to consult with you often.”
Hearing Morin’s words, Major General Paul immediately waved his hand.
“Hey! Friedrich, spare me the empty pleasantries. I’m not your General grandfather.”
“Besides, I know you inside out. I saw your capabilities back in Aragon!”
“So I’m perfectly willing to cooperate with you this time, and it’s not just because of His Highness the Crown Prince’s orders.”
Major General Paul leaned closer, lowering his voice:
“Right now, who in the entire Army system doesn’t know that your instruction unit is an absolute machine for generating military merit… Moreover, not only can you fight well yourselves, but you often manage to lead cooperating friendly forces to reap massive battle results as well.”
Morin didn’t say anything in response, merely smiling and turning slightly to make a “please” gesture.
“Since the General says so, let’s go discuss the upcoming arrangements in detail.”
The two walked side by side toward the temporary regimental headquarters, with the key officers of both units following about ten paces behind them.
On the way, Morin turned to look at Major General Paul and asked somewhat curiously:
“Speaking of which, General, you’re already the commander of a Guard Infantry Division now, how come your rank is still Major General?”
Morin remembered clearly that back when the Saxons intervened in the Aragonese Civil War and the other party served as the commander of the 16th Infantry Brigade, he was already a Major General.
Hearing this question, Major General Paul sighed helplessly, but still answered Morin’s question.
“Isn’t it because I don’t have enough seniority… I’m only forty-five this year, which is already considered among the youngest batch of Major Generals in the Imperial Army.”
“Think about the current Lieutenant Generals in the army, Friedrich. The youngest one among them only got promoted after grinding until he was forty-nine. So no matter how much I toss and turn, I still have to honestly grind out a few more years of service seniority…”
At this point, Major General Paul stopped walking, turned around, and stared burningly at Morin.
“Unless, I can achieve some earth-shattering, massive military merit in this Great War, forcing those old men in the Ministry of War to make an exceptional promotion.”
After Major General Paul spoke, Morin couldn’t help but feel that when he said the last sentence, an ambiguous smile hung on his lips.
He even suspected if the other party truly considered him some kind of “military merit wishing machine”…
The two quickly arrived next to the instruction unit’s command truck.
Since the truck trailer couldn’t squeeze in so many people for a combat meeting, the regimental clerks had hung up a relatively large combat map on the outside of the trailer.
When Morin and Major General Paul arrived in front of the map, the staff officers of the 4th Guard Reserve Infantry Division and several core officers of the instruction unit also hurried up.
Major General Paul walked directly in front of the map, pointed at the area representing the Serbian First Army, and got straight to the point without any dilly-dallying.
“Currently, the main force of our division has completed the penetration. Several key transportation nodes and bridges are under our control, completely severing the retreat route of the Serbian First Army.”
“It can be said that the tactical objective of this massive encirclement has been preliminarily achieved. Next is to coordinate with the other units of the Army Group to rapidly consume this surrounded corps.”
Morin nodded upon hearing this. This was also the combat objective he, Crown Prince Georg, and the Fifth Army Group Chief of Staff had established from the beginning.
Yes, although the three of them wanted to “make dumplings” (encircle) the Serbians from the start, their appetite wasn’t big enough to encircle an entire army group right off the bat.
The first stage’s combat objective was very clear: to rapidly consume the enemy’s First Army, while utilizing elite forces to entangle and harass the enemy’s Second Army to prevent them from reinforcing.
As for the remaining Third Army, it was left to the Austro-Hungarian Sixth Army to deal with.
In the Crown Prince’s view, no matter how pathetic the Austro-Hungarian army was, a fully staffed army group shouldn’t completely collapse when dealing with a single enemy corps.
And when Morin formulated this penetration tactic more suited to the “Saxon constitution,” he had actually synthesized aspects of deep battle theory and early Blitzkrieg characteristics.
So the key to the entire battle plan lay in concentrating forces to first punch a hole in the enemy’s front line.
Then, highly mobile elite troops would continue to thrust deep into the enemy’s rear, conducting harassment operations and attacking critical nodes, disrupting their command chain, and severing their retreat route.
While the main force followed up to complete the encirclement, the elite assault forces would continue penetrating, methodically wrapping up one “dumpling” after another along the front line.
The instruction unit was the first wave of penetration forces, responsible for harassment, reconnaissance, and destroying key nodes.
The 4th Guard Reserve Infantry Division was the second wave of penetration, and also the main force of the entire penetration effort, responsible for sealing the “dumpling wrapper.”
Once the main force of the Fifth Army Group completed the encirclement, the instruction unit would continue assaulting while clearing the path for the 4th Guard Reserve Infantry Division to complete the making of the second “dumpling.”
With the battle at its current stage, Morin was preparing to lead his troops in a new round of penetration towards the Serbian Second Army according to plan.
However, this second round of penetration didn’t need to be as rushed as the first.
Because as long as the commander of the Serbian Second Army’s brain wasn’t broken, it was impossible for them to watch friendly forces get surrounded and remain indifferent.
They would definitely react. The latency in order transmission and the time required for troop movement gave Morin the space to maneuver and kite his forces.
Morin quickly explained the combat objectives for the next phase to everyone, and Major General Paul readily agreed after listening.
The two had actually communicated fully during the previous combat meeting; the current simulation was just to finalize details.
“According to the original combat plan, I will detach one infantry regiment and one cavalry regiment from the division and place them directly under your command, Friedrich, to form the temporary ‘Morin Kampfgruppe’.”
Major General Paul turned to look at Morin.
“This Kampfgruppe will serve as the vanguard for the upcoming penetration mission.”
Morin nodded. This was also arranged in the combat plan, and he had even proactively requested more forces under his direct command…
Because the first wave of penetration relied on surprise and information asymmetry, catching the Serbians completely off guard.
But for the second wave, the instruction unit would be facing prepared enemies. It would essentially amount to the “forced penetration” Morin mentioned earlier.
If the force was too small, it might not be able to rapidly pierce the defense line, so there had to be enough troops to fill the line and maneuver.
Although including the entire instruction unit, the total strength of the “Morin Kampfgruppe” was only two infantry regiments plus one cavalry regiment, in the tradition of the Saxon Army, a Kampfgruppe didn’t have specific strength requirements anyway.
At least in Morin’s memory, the “Second Germany” in that other world even had situations where a Kampfgruppe consisted of just three infantry battalions. So it was entirely an early “combined arms unit” formed temporarily based on combat requirements.
This ad-hoc frontline combat meeting was extremely efficient. In less than twenty minutes, the subsequent march route and attack targets were finalized.
Meanwhile, the various battalions of the instruction unit also successively concluded their mopping-up operations and began driving their trucks to converge on the area where the regimental headquarters was located.
The massive logistics convoy of the 4th Guard Reserve Infantry Division also completed its concealment near the instruction unit’s regimental headquarters. The roar of engines sounded on the outskirts of the woods, as mud-splattered radiant crystal trucks drove one after another into the area specially reserved for them.
This time, this division-level supply convoy not only brought the 4th Guard Reserve Infantry Division’s own supplies but also specially requisitioned a batch of trucks from other units to help transport a massive amount of fuel and ammunition for the instruction unit.
Standing by the roadside, watching the soldiers unload heavy crates of bullets and barrels of radiant crystal fuel from the trucks, Major General Paul couldn’t help but turn to Morin and sigh.
“This kind of fully motorized unit with such fierce individual automatic firepower is indeed stronger than many people imagine… but this logistical consumption is too terrifying, isn’t it? It’s simply a bottomless pit…”
Morin nodded in full agreement.
“This is indeed our biggest shortcoming at present. Relying solely on my regiment’s own supply unit is fundamentally insufficient to meet the resupply needs of prolonged, high-intensity combat…”
“And foreseeably, until there is a breakthrough in energy technology, this problem simply cannot be resolved in the short term.”
Just as the two were discussing logistics, Kleist walked up to Morin, snapped to attention, and opened the folder in his hands.
“Commander, the combat summaries and casualty statistics from the battalions have been compiled.”
Morin nodded slightly, signaling him to read it directly.
Major General Paul also leaned in curiously, wanting to hear exactly what kind of battle results this miraculous instruction unit had achieved in their first round of penetration.
“In the raid operation that just concluded, our unit successfully destroyed the command posts of two infantry divisions subordinate to the enemy’s First Army, and completely paralyzed their corps-level supply distribution point.”
Kleist’s voice was steady and clear.
“Killed thirty-seven enemy officers, over two hundred soldiers. Captured approximately four hundred and seventy personnel. Seized over one hundred and twenty intact heavy horse-drawn wagons… The battalions have already taken the supplies they could carry. The supplies and prisoners that couldn’t be taken are waiting to be handed over to friendly units.”
“Additionally, the 2nd Battalion destroyed two enemy Armored Knights during their attack on the enemy 2nd Division headquarters.”
Hearing this, Major General Paul had to admit that the instruction unit’s reputation wasn’t just blown out of proportion. Achieving such battle results for any conventional infantry regiment could be considered an “astronomical merit”…
Not to mention the instruction unit achieved this while deep behind enemy lines.
“And what about your casualties?”
After hearing the battle results, Major General Paul couldn’t help but ask.
In his view, achieving such massive results, and even taking down two Armored Knights the hard way, the instruction unit must have paid the price of over a hundred casualties.
Kleist flipped a page of the report and glanced at the numbers on it.
“Among the three infantry battalions that participated in the attack, the 1st and 2nd Battalions incurred a total of thirty-one casualties during their assaults on the enemy division headquarters.”
“Of those, five are severely wounded, and twenty-six are lightly wounded.”
“The 3rd Battalion, during their attack on the supply distribution point and the ambush of the enemy reinforcement unit… sustained zero casualties.”
“However, all battalions report that ammunition consumption exceeded expectations and require a wave of resupply in advance to better execute subsequent combat missions.”
Major General Paul’s mouth opened bit by bit, his whole person freezing in place. He even wondered if there was something wrong with his ears.
“Thirty-one casualties… No KIA? How is that possible! How can a battle be fought without people dying?”
“You guys took out three important targets of theirs, and even fought an ambush battle!”
Noticing Major General Paul’s “seen a ghost” expression, Morin proactively took the casualty report from Kleist and handed it directly to Major General Paul.
“General, don’t get agitated yet. Look at the detailed report and you’ll understand.”
Major General Paul grabbed the report, his eyes wide as he read it word by word.
Morin stood by and patiently explained this unbelievable kill-death ratio.
“The first round of attacks were entirely sneak attacks and ambushes where we held the initiative.”
“The nodes we selected were all the weakest in the enemy’s rear defense. They hadn’t constructed any decent defensive works at all…”
“Furthermore, in terms of tactical execution, even during close-quarters combat in villages and towns, the instruction unit prefers using hand grenades and flamethrowers to attack the enemy, rather than engaging in firefights with the Serbians.”
Hearing Morin’s explanation, Major General Paul’s brows gradually unfurrowed. Morin pointed to the soldiers resupplying ammunition not far away and continued:
“Moreover, the soldiers of the instruction unit possess an absolute generational advantage in technical and tactical levels and firepower projection.”
“In complex close-quarters combat environments like villages and towns, our soldiers prefer clearing the path with hand grenades. If they encounter stubborn strongpoints, they just burn them out with flamethrowers…”
“Under these circumstances of absolute superiority, if we still couldn’t achieve an extremely high kill-death ratio, how could we be called the instruction unit?”
Looking at the densely packed ammunition consumption list in the report, Major General Paul finally began to understand.
“In other words, problems that can be solved with firepower should never be filled with human lives…”
Morin: “Correct.”
While the two were conversing, a staff officer from the 4th Guard Reserve Infantry Division ran up quickly.
Behind him followed two impeccably dressed colonels.
“Reporting to the Division Commander, the Commander of the 12th Guard Reserve Infantry Regiment and the Commander of the 5th Guard Reserve Cavalry Regiment have arrived!”
The staff officer reported loudly.
The two colonels immediately took a step forward and saluted Major General Paul.
Major General Paul returned the salute, then stepped aside, letting Morin to the front.
“This is Colonel Morin of the instruction unit.”
Major General Paul’s expression became very serious.
“From this moment on, your two regiments are officially incorporated into the ‘Morin Kampfgruppe’ and are under the full command of Colonel Morin.”
“His orders are my orders. If either of you dares to slack off on the battlefield, you will be court-martialed!”
The two regimental commanders immediately turned to Morin and saluted in unison. Their gazes towards Morin carried obvious awe.
They had long heard the thunderous reputation of the instruction unit. Being able to see this legendary commander with their own eyes today and operating under his command, both felt somewhat excited.
Morin returned a military salute, not saying much, but looked at Major General Paul.
“General, since the troops are assembled and supplies are mostly replenished, I will prepare to lead the men out…”
Major General Paul nodded solemnly. He extended his right hand and tightly grasped Morin’s hand.
“May you be ever victorious!”
Morin squeezed back firmly.
“May you be ever victorious!”
A while later, the instruction unit switched back from “combat mode” to “maneuver mode.” The roar of truck engines once again echoed across the alluvial plain.
The trucks of the two infantry regiments divided into multiple convoys and began to continue penetrating forward.
The 5th Guard Reserve Cavalry Regiment dispersed to the flanks and front of the formation, taking on outer security and reconnaissance missions. At critical moments, they were also an important mobile force used to plug gaps.
Morin sat in the passenger seat of the command truck and rolled down the window.
On the distant horizon, a setting sun was slowly sinking behind the mountains. The clouds in the sky, influenced by the massive amounts of gunsmoke that had risen during the day, were dyed a piercing blood-red.
The temperature began to drop rapidly. The wind carried the metallic scent of gunsmoke and earth.
Morin leaned back in his seat and stretched his stiff neck, his bones making a few crisp cracking sounds.
He looked at the road ahead, gradually being swallowed by shadows, and murmured softly to himself.
“Finally, it’s night…”
For the instruction unit trained single-handedly by Morin, night combat was never a disadvantage. Plus, with ample food supplies, the soldiers of the entire regiment didn’t suffer from the “night blindness” common in this era.
Simultaneously, under Morin’s rigorous training, the drivers of the battalions had long adapted to driving in nighttime environments. Not to mention, this time they had cavalry scouting ahead.
So compared to marching brazenly during the day, the darkness of night actually became their best cover.
At the same time, inside the headquarters of the Serbian First Army, located dozens of kilometers behind the front lines, the atmosphere was far from as relaxed as the Saxon army’s.
The First Army’s headquarters was set up in a stone manor whose owner had long fled. Oil lamps hung all over the walls, brightly illuminating the hall.
Lieutenant General Živojin Mišić stood before a large combat map, resting his hands on the edge of the table, his brows furrowed tightly together.
This Serbian general, who had made a name for himself in the Battle of Kolubara in 1914, was currently facing the most severe test of his military career.
Due to health reasons, Mišić had left the front lines at the end of last year and had been receiving treatment in a sanatorium.
It wasn’t until the Balkan nations planned this massive counter-offensive recently that the Serbian Army General Staff urgently reactivated him, letting him take command of the First Army once again.
And before the counter-offensive was launched, Mišić was the only senior officer in the entire First Army Group who questioned the Saxon army’s proactive retreat.
He repeatedly issued warnings of “suspicious enemy retreat” to the First Army Group’s staff, believing this was highly likely an enemy ruse to draw them in deep.
But amidst the situation where the Saxons and Austro-Hungarians “routed” all the way, the other generals, blinded by victory, completely ignored the old general’s sincere advice.
They stubbornly believed the Saxons had been routed and only cared about urging the frontline troops to pursue madly.
Until today, the Saxons’ counterattack dealt them a resounding slap in the face.
Due to limited communication capabilities, it wasn’t until 6:00 PM that accurate intelligence from the front lines intermittently reached the First Army headquarters.
Looking at the blue arrows representing enemy movements on the combat map, Mišić felt his heart gripped tightly by an invisible hand.
“General…”
The First Army Chief of Staff, holding a newly decoded telegram, walked briskly to Mišić’s side, his voice carrying unconcealable trembling.
“The headquarters of the 1st and 2nd Divisions appear to have completely lost contact. We haven’t received any response from them until now, and none of the messengers sent out have returned…”
“According to reports from soldiers of these two divisions who retreated from the front lines on their own, the Saxons employed extremely fierce artillery fire and massive amounts of automatic weapons. Our defense lines were comprehensively breached within half an hour.”
“Worse still, cross-verification of multiple sources indicates that a Saxon unit has appeared in our rear… It is highly likely they are the ones who destroyed the two division headquarters and the supply distribution point.”
Major General Mišić abruptly raised his head, snatched the telegram, and scanned it.
“A Saxon unit has already appeared in our rear?”
Mišić walked quickly to the full theater map hanging on the wall. Looking at the unit cards lined up at the front, he said with a hint of anger: “How did they bypass us? Are the frontline troops blind?!”
The Chief of Staff wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
“General, we don’t know either. This unit is as if it appeared out of thin air.”
“Right now, the enemy might have a division pouring in through the breach. If that’s the case, then our First Army’s retreat route… has already been completely severed.”
A deathly silence fell over the operations room.
All the staff officers stopped their work, looking somewhat lost at Mišić standing in front of the map.
They were encircled.
This cruel fact weighed like a boulder on everyone’s heart.
If it were another general, they would probably have panicked by now, either ordering units to break out on their own or directly requesting reinforcements from the General Staff.
But Mišić didn’t. He was, after all, a battle-hardened veteran.
He forced himself to calm down. His gaze swept rapidly over the map, his brain working at high speed.
“Since the enemy dared to insert an elite unit deep into our rear, it means they have absolute confidence in their mobility and firepower.”
Mišić tapped the map with his pencil.
“They took out the division headquarters and supply points to disrupt our command system and turn us into a disorganized mess…”
The Chief of Staff swallowed hard and asked cautiously:
“General, what should we do now? We can’t just sit and wait for death, can we?”
Mišić sneered coldly, a hint of ruthlessness flashing in his eyes.
“Sit and wait for death? That phrase doesn’t exist in Živojin Mišić’s dictionary.”
He turned around and looked at his Chief of Staff.
“Send a telegram to the Second Army, report our situation, and ask if they can provide assistance!”
The Chief of Staff nodded and was about to leave when he suddenly stopped.
“General, after nightfall, the offensive of the Saxon main forces has slowed down. Should we order all units we can contact to prepare to break out?”
Hearing this, Mišić sneered and casually tossed the pencil in his hand onto the table.
“It’s too late… The Saxons’ advance speed has far exceeded our imagination. If we order a general breakout now, the troops will only be unilaterally slaughtered by the enemy in the chaos.”
He stared fixedly at the arrows representing the enemy’s movements. These arrows had already pierced deeply into the heart of the First Army.
Especially that small unit wreaking havoc in the rear—it was simply a sword hanging over everyone’s heads.
“Order all units we can contact to immediately abandon their frontline positions…”
Mišić made his decision.
“Tell them to use the cover of night to contract towards the core area where the corps headquarters is located, establish a perimeter defense relying on the terrain, and prepare to face the Saxons’ night attack.”
The staff officer was stunned and spoke with some hesitation:
“General, will the Saxons really attack at night? Under these visibility conditions, it’s very difficult for them to organize effective coordination, isn’t it?”
In traditional military doctrine, large-scale night attacks carried extremely high risks and easily led to friendly fire and troop confusion.
Mišić abruptly turned his head and stared at the staff officer.
“Do you think we are still fighting the Austrians? Did you not understand the tactics they used during the day? They don’t play by the rules at all!”
“That unit that took out our division headquarters is clearly their elite! If the opponent has this capability… they will not pass up the opportunity to attack at night.”
Soon, the Serbian First Army headquarters began attempting to contact all reachable units and gather the routed soldiers in the vicinity.
The Second Army also sent back a telegram stating they would attempt to open a breach from the juncture of the two armies to provide support to the First Army.
However, the Second Army also stated in the telegram that they had actually suffered setbacks in the daytime fighting, and their frontline positions were basically entirely lost. They were currently regrouping, and even if they were to provide support, it couldn’t be launched until daybreak tomorrow.
After receiving the reply from the Second Army, under the orders of the First Army headquarters, the massive number of Serbian troops who were gathered or came to rendezvous began frantically digging trenches.
However, fear and exhaustion were already spreading through the ranks. Current morale had sunk to a dangerous level, and this wasn’t merely due to the daytime battlefield losses…
It was even more because, after losing the crucial supply distribution point, the entire corps’ supply reserves had dropped directly into the red zone.
It must be noted that during their previous advance, the Serbians hadn’t been able to procure any supplies along the way.
The Austro-Hungarian Empire’s scorched-earth tactic, like a dull knife, finally revealed its lethality at this moment.
Much of the ammunition in many soldiers’ hands had already been largely consumed after the daytime fighting. And now, they couldn’t even get a hot meal, forced to gnaw on dry, hard bread after finishing digging trenches.
Meanwhile, on a pitch-black plain less than ten kilometers away from the First Army’s core positions, the convoy of the Morin Kampfgruppe was still speeding down the road.
However, from a bird’s-eye view, one would notice that the direction this unit was heading didn’t seem to be the location of the First Army’s corps command post.
In the bumpy trailer of the command truck, Morin and the regimental officers were studying the combat map by the light of an oil lamp. The pencil in his hand was drawing a completely new route on the map.
“The First Army is already a turtle in a jar, and after the daytime fighting, it’s highly probable they will contract their defenses…”
“So if we attack now, it becomes a forced assault.”
“I personally dislike forced assaults the most. The casualties are too high; it’s not cost-effective.”
Manstein: “Then what is our next target?”
Morin: “Utilize the night for rapid maneuver, and stab right into the heart of the enemy’s Second Army!”