Black Corporation: Joseon

Episode 1083 Tosagupin (13)

The operation to intercept the Habsburg army attempting to enter Constantiniye could be evaluated as successful. The greatest cause was the fighting of the Venetian regiment. The Venetian regiment rushed like crazy to the point where the word ‘madness’ is appropriate. The French troops deployed together were also infected with the madness and, coupled with a sense of competition, attacked the Habsburg army fiercely.

“Aren’t they crazy enough to rush through artillery fire!”

The Habsburg commanders clicked their tongues as they watched the Venetian regiment and French army rushing through the barrage of artillery shells. In the end, the Habsburg army, overwhelmed by momentum, had no choice but to give up entering Constantine and retreat.

“I won!”

“Wow!”

The soldiers and officers of the Venetian regiment shouted as they watched the retreating Habsburg army. However, the high-ranking commanders of the Italian and French troops who rushed to hear the news burst into lamentation.

“Even if you win this, it’s still not a win!”

The battlefield was covered with dead or seriously injured soldiers of the Venetian regiment and French soldiers. In the end, the French army units deployed together with the Venetian regiment, which was evaluated as ‘ruined’, withdrew and new units took their place. The surviving officers and commanders of the Venetian regiment were severely reprimanded by the Italian commander.

“You officers have not come to seek revenge, but to wage war! “Isn’t it so difficult to discern between right and wrong?”

“Still, we drove out the Habsburg army!”

“What will you do if I kick you out? “I pushed my way back in and took my place!”

“……..”

“You can’t believe you’re charging into a place where artillery shells are pouring down! What did you learn at the military academy? If you were going to fight like that, why did you bring a gun? Just like the Roman soldiers of old, I will go out with a gladius and a shield! no! Roman soldiers also used proper formations and tactics! “What the hell!”

“…………”

“I already don’t have enough troops, so I’m suffering more losses than necessary! “I’m going back to the garrison and reflecting!”

At the command of the commander, the officers and commanders of the Venetian regiment gave a military salute and left the tent.

“Whoa~.”

The Italian commander let out a long sigh as he watched the commander and officers returning to the regiment’s tent.

“I understand why the imperial army shook its head when it saw the Italian army…”

* * *

The commander of the Italian army dispatched to the Ottomans was a Florentine with deep experience in the previous unification war. When you ask the people of the empire who went through hardships together at the time about the Italian army, their answers are almost the same.

“Troublesome.”

“There is no average. “The average is…”

-It’s out of control.

-If the fire is properly ignited, the term ‘hot-tempered’ fits the bill and fights like crazy, but in the opposite case, it shows what the term ‘rag-tag’ means.

-The problem is that this trait is not limited to a specific unit or a specific origin, but most Italians are like this.

– Because of this, the average cannot be estimated. In other words, its value as power is very low.

“Isn’t this an overly harsh assessment?”

Every time I heard the imperial people’s evaluation, some people refuted it like this, but the imperial people’s answer was the same.

“This is also a generous evaluation.”

And as time passed, he too had no choice but to agree with the imperialists’ assessment. After unification, the Italian military had to make painstaking efforts to fix this problem. The Italian army was evaluated by the imperial army as having changed close to a ‘complete transformation’ after successive efforts over the generations. However, this battle showed the ‘past Italian army’.

“Whoa~. It’s a good thing the people of the empire didn’t see today’s incident. No, should I say that it is fortunate that we managed to capture the Habsburgs even though we fought so foolishly?”

It was the Italian military commander who gave an assessment of mixed embarrassment and relief. On the other hand, the French military commander was giving a positive evaluation, unlike when he first saw the battlefield.

“We suffered some losses, but the goal of stopping the Habsburg army was achieved. This is a success. It was a command that was very faithful to doctrine. great job.”

The commanders who led the battle under the French commander bowed their heads lightly.

“thank you.”

“Good job. “Go back and get some rest.”

“yes!”

The French commander looked at the retreating commander with a satisfied expression.

“After all, we win according to the doctrine, right? This is a wrong doctrine? You idiots. So, we went through such hardships in Lorraine….”

The French military commander firmly believed in the traditional doctrine of the French Grande Armee, ‘offensive spirit (offensive à outrance)’.

* * *

This spirit of attack was a doctrine that was born while watching the last war between Habsburg and Hungary.

-Victory It is will. (La victoire c’est la volonté.)

The doctrine that emphasized the spirit of attack and the tactics that matched it had to suffer bitterly in the war of Italian unification. After experiencing bitter experiences in Italy, the prevailing opinion was that the French military should establish a new doctrine, and eventually the doctrine of ‘firepower first’ was established.

However, in the vicious war of attrition waged against the Habsburgs in Lorraine – the Second Lorraine Conflict – the new doctrine came under heavy criticism.

“Despite spending a huge amount of military funds, supplies, and soldiers, support is sluggish! “This is wrong doctrine!”

Soon, a doctrinal debate arose once again in the French Army. Meanwhile, the evaluation of the Imperial Army officer who participated in the ‘Second Lorraine Conflict’ as a military officer was slightly different.

-Lack of artillery firepower.

-The artillery was poorly prepared and operated very poorly.

“The Empire would have mobilized artillery at least twice the size. “That’s the basics.”

“Why is there an adage that says, ‘If things are going sluggish, first check to see if you have a shortage of artillery?’”

* * *

As the Habsburg army failed to enter Constantine, the Ottoman civil war reached a stalemate. In Bolu, the three rivals’ bases were facing each other and unable to move, and in Constantiniye, France and Italy were facing off against the Habsburgs and Janissaries and were unable to move.

“If we reach a stalemate like this, it will become a war of attrition.”

Although all commanders participating in the civil war were worried about a war of attrition, no large-scale war of attrition occurred. This was because the commanders refrained from a war of attrition. Even French military commanders who believed in the ‘offensive spirit’ did their best to avoid a war of attrition.

The reason the situation was like this was because the sea had become a mess.

* * *

Thanks to the ‘Gentlemen’s Agreement on the Sea’ in the early stages of the civil war, none of the forces that entered the civil war experienced much difficulty in supplying supplies. However, as the war situation reached a stalemate, the commanders in charge of the ground war began to criticize the navies in charge of supply.

“Shouldn’t we block other people’s supply lines?”

“We are here, shedding blood and fighting to the death, but you go around saying hello when you encounter enemy ships!”

In response to protests from the command in charge of ground warfare, naval commanders presented orders.

“It’s an order.”

“Damn it!”

Eventually, the commanders of the ground forces, so feverish, began to write letters of protest and send them to their home countries.

“This is definitely a problem.”

High-ranking people in the world powers who received letters of protest from ground combat commanders agonized over finding a solution.

-As ground army commanders say, victory is only achieved when the enemy’s supply is blocked.

-But fighting against the opposing navy is not easy.

-The battleships currently deployed to the front are all state-of-the-art iron-clad steamships. The quantity is not yet sufficient. If you lose even one ship by mistake, the human and material losses are enormous.

While struggling to find solutions to problems that were difficult to reconcile, the solution the powers found was ‘blocking shipping routes’.

-Unlike riding a horse, a boat is difficult to change direction and stop sharply. The bigger it is, the more so it is.

-In that case, let’s use our ships to block the enemy ship’s path. In that case, enemy ships would have to detour long distances and supply would become difficult.

-If done properly, you can cut off the enemy’s supply without having to fight.

-What if the enemy launches artillery fire to break through?

-Consider it as a declaration of war and deploy all of your power.

-The enemy knows this, so they won’t be able to fire bombs carelessly.

The great powers involved in the civil war all reached similar conclusions and relayed orders to their respective fleets. And the sea became a mess. When they discovered a fleet headed towards a rival of the candidate they supported, their respective fleets did their best to block it.

The fleet whose route was blocked had to make a detour while shouting all sorts of insults using the light-emitting communication device. But even this detour maneuver was not an easy task. When the French, Italian, and Portuguese fleets moved, the fleets of the Habsburgs and England worked together to block them, and when the Habsburg fleets moved, the fleets of the other four countries worked together to block them. The same was true in England.

It was a coincidence that this chaos arose. In the end, as they bit each other, the Aegean Sea, the Sea of Marmara and the Bosphorus Strait became a mess. And the captains who were responsible for this mess were all thinking the same thing.

‘Now it’s a battle of patience! ‘The moment you pull the trigger, catastrophe begins!’

* * *

As the sea became a mess, the stalemate on land became even more difficult. As the inventory of ammunition and shells became critical, all commanders changed their tactics from offensive to defensive. As the situation unfolded, all three competitors stood at a crossroads.

-There are two ways. Do you risk everything in one go and attack, or do you wait for the attack to come and then respond?

-Both are dangerous. In the former case, the rear is dangerous, and in the latter case, you may die while waiting.

“Hmm… aren’t both of my cases now hopeless?”

“……..”

At Ahmad’s question, not only Ahmad’s advisors and advisors, but also the English military’s advisors remained silent. As Ahmad himself said, it was Ahmad who faced the worst situation among the three competitors.

As the sea became a mess and supplies were not properly supplied, everything became scarce. In addition, unlike other competitors, they were unable to even set foot in Konstantinye. Those engaged in street fighting in Konstantiniye were all carrying the flags of Selim or Korkud. In terms of results, Ahmad was in last place in the competition.

“Hmm… Anyway, should I just get over this and move on? In the East, in this case, is it called ‘Oksae (玉碎)’?”

In response to Ahmad’s words, the English military staff cautiously made a suggestion.

“Why not make an offer to Korkud?”

“proposal? “What offer?”

“Instead of handing over Konstantinye to Selim, we will establish ourselves in the south.”

“huh?”

“Ahmad, it would be impossible if you were alone, but if Korkud is with you, even Selim will not be able to move recklessly.”

Ahmad was troubled by the suggestion of the English military staff. After thinking for a while, Ahmad asked the English military staff.

“Will Korkud respond?”

“I will comply. Objectively speaking, it is clear that Selim has the strongest power. Selim will definitely go on the attack, and he knows very well that if Ahmad falls, he will be next.”