At this time, Sean was still stationed at the foot of Otter Mountain, heading to the empty manor alone.
This manor used to belong to a wealthy baron. Sean didn't know what happened to the baron in the end. He used the bloodstained houses here and the nearby villages where the same people went to empty houses to place the Civil Defense Force here.
His men have about 20 companies, which is not much, but the daily consumption is not a small amount. He cannot obtain supplies on the spot and completely relies on the support from the rear across the Otter Mountain, which obviously adds an extra expense.
The once prosperous countryside between him and Minsk was now a large no-man's land, and there were so many bandits and unknown armed forces. He originally wanted to lead his army to Minsk, so that he could get supplies from the crown prince openly without having to rely on
Long-distance transportation from the rear, although he had stored a large amount of supplies at Fort Putnam in advance.
Shortly after Lieutenant Frank sent the courier, the courier brought back an autographed letter from the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince appreciated the victory of the Genoese Civil Defense Force and praised Sean personally. However, he did not let him go to Minsk, but stationed him on the spot.
, eliminate surrounding armed forces, and if possible, relieve the people as much as possible.
This means asking the Genoese people to contribute not only their efforts but also their money.
It is late autumn, and we have just crossed a mountain range. Compared with Genoa, the climate here is a world away. Many Genoese people have never seen snow in their lives, but it snows in the winter in San Nuevo, and the autumn here has already
It's a cool breeze.
Sean guessed that the crown prince was gathering strength and preparing to use winter to launch an offensive. Winter would be a difficult season for the rebels who had a weak foundation.
But this was not a good idea for the Genoese. Sean used this time to actively prepare supplies for the winter, especially cold-proof blankets, military uniforms and warm military boots.
Fortunately, the Civil Defense Force has money. It is said that in order to seize the order for this mere 15 companies, Poitou businessmen suddenly discovered that they could make a small fortune by fighting, while their northern counterparts had already
Just understand this.
At this time, Sean's opinion became even more important, because he held the final purchasing power, even though the textile company under his name also participated in the bidding.
But the appearance should not be too ugly. Kang's Textile received an order to provide warm sweaters and trousers for the Civil Defense Force. This is a garment made of a blend of cashmere and wool produced locally in Northern Genoa. It is not bulky to wear and is easy to move. Although it is light and thin, it is
It is relatively warm. If combined with a coat, it is enough to cope with the winter here.
This kind of clothing is more common in the cold northern regions. No one wears it in Genoa in winter, so Kang Textile has no rivals. Of course, some people regard this as the reservation of Sean, a nobleman and commander, and no one tries to stop it.
In addition, Sean did not just wait around in the military. When fighting in unfamiliar areas, he first needed to familiarize himself with the mountains and rivers geography. While arranging his subordinates to take turns to eliminate unknown armed forces in the surrounding areas, he also sent people to reconnoiter the terrain and draw detailed military maps.
map.
But the rebels did not give their opponents much time. It is estimated that the rebels also realized that the coming winter would be very difficult. They launched an offensive in the neighboring province of Guinepoli with the goal of obtaining winter supplies.
The Guinepoli Civil Defense Force was beaten back and forth and lost three cities in a row. The situation worsened even more than in the summer. The Guinepoli people had to come to the rescue from all directions, especially Minsk's Crown Prince Jean-
Sauron.
The strength of the rebels has greatly increased. According to reliable information, the main force of the rebels has expanded to 20,000 people. These 20,000 people are relatively capable of fighting. We have not yet counted the stragglers who followed the orders of the rebels.
The worst news is that the rebels have obtained an arsenal belonging to the Guineapolis Civil Defense Force.
Therefore, the crown prince had to launch an offensive in advance, and Sean was ordered to outflank and respond along the northern edge of the Otter Mountains. The time was October 20, 1831.
The Genoa Civil Defense Force was obviously not regarded as a trustworthy and reliable force by the crown prince. However, if the Civil Defense Force was later added to 2,200 people, it was equipped with a cavalry artillery company and a cavalry company.
The army can be called luxurious.
The Crown Prince's order certainly did not arouse Sean's resentment. He was eager to stay away from the main battlefield. Small-scale battles could be used as training without causing heavy casualties. The annihilation of the werewolves did not make Sean feel invincible.
It was already early winter in the north. Although it was not too cold, it obviously had some impact on the Genoese's actions. The winter military supplies order he placed had just started production, which caught him a little off guard.
Sean's requirement for his subordinates is that no matter how difficult it is, every soldier can drink a portion of hot broth for breakfast and dinner every day. Sufficient calories and enough nutrition can keep morale high.
It's just that this order troubled the logistics officers. Even Lieutenant Frank, who has a picky taste, thought it was too luxurious, but he forgot about this when he drank the broth.
Sean had no choice but to place another purchase order with the Genoese merchants. They only needed to send the cured dried meat to Fort Putnam. If they originally wanted to cross the Otter Mountains, the Civil Defense Force was willing to double the price.
Under a heavy reward, there must be a brave man. Some businessmen hired their own horsemen and guards, risking their lives to escort meat across mountains and ridges to the army, and also provided other commodities, such as the most popular cigarettes.
If the Civil Defense Force occasionally seizes it, it will be handed over to merchants to exchange for supplies or money. However, there are very few such opportunities at present. The earliest merchants who did this kind of business made a lot of money.
The temporary headquarters was set up in a field tent, and Sean was listening to reports from the staff officers. There was a huge sand table in front of him and the officers, with mountains, rivers, and villages and towns clearly visible.
"The town in front of us is called Morillo. It is built on the mountain. In front of the town is the mouth of a three-forked river. The water flow is relatively deep. The bridge has been destroyed. The terrain is not good for us. But the rebels in this town are not
Duo, the leader was a nearby bandit leader named Graham, and he had about two hundred men. Most of them were equipped with muskets and even some old-fashioned matchlocks."
"Can we cross the river?" Sean asked.
"One kilometer upstream is fine. I have tried it myself." Perosa replied, "It is not difficult for the infantry to attack forward. We can completely bypass it from upstream. However, due to the shooting boundary and terrain, our artillery cannot be deployed.
It comes in handy because the bridge is damaged and the cannon cannot be transported across it. Attacking across the river will have little effect."
"The opponent doesn't know our existence yet, and we must take advantage of this." Wells added, "I suggest going around from upstream at dawn and launching a sudden attack at dawn."
"Then let's do it. I'm not worried that we won't win, but this is our first battle in Guineapolis. We have to treat every battle as a life and death battle." Sean stared at the sand table.
, and said, "I need the cavalry to move in advance to cut off the retreat of this group of rebels. Once the infantry launches an attack, you will keep an eye on every enemy for me."
At an intersection, don't let a rebel escape, so that we can buy more time. I don't want to attract a large number of opponents to chase and intercept us. Although our army has a certain strength and a certain degree of mobility,
Supplies are our weak point, and once we get into a fierce battle, we will soon face difficulties."
"Commander, can we get supplies from General Schmidt?" Wells asked.
Schmidt is the most relied-upon general under the crown prince. He has a division of troops under his command. He is the main general in this winter offensive. There are also various local militia groups as auxiliary forces. Most of the leaders of these militia groups are local nobles.
, officials, landowners or businessmen, everyone has various titles that they proclaim themselves or are appointed by the crown prince.
Sean and General Schmidt exchanged a letter. In the letter, Sean very humbly expressed his respect for General Schmidt's command, but the latter only dismissed him with a very brief letter and did not send the Genoa Civil Defense Force to justice.
Take it seriously.
Perhaps it was those local armed forces that "hurt" General Schmidt's heart, because these militia groups often succeeded more than failed. They could only be responsible for transporting grain and grass to maintain local security, and they had to prevent them from enriching their own pockets.
Besides, Sean was far away from General Schmidt's troops, so he couldn't be counted on at all.
The small town of Morillo is an excellent place. It is located just a few miles deep into Nepolis, outside the rebels' main activity range. If you capture it, you can use it as your forward base. Then
Relying on this base, we advance to the depth of several miles.
This is why Sean targeted Morillo.
Once the commander determined the target of the operation, the next step was the details. The officers had a lively discussion, with someone speaking and adding from time to time.
For example, ammunition supply issues, how to march at night without falling behind, how to cross the river quickly and safely, how to launch an attack, which company will be the main attacker, and who will support the attack.
There is also whether the artillery will move with the infantry, and if they choose to cross the river directly when the battle begins, how will the heavy artillery carriage be transported across the river.
Franco-Frank was used to the atmosphere of open discussion in the Genoese Civil Defense Forces. At least in other armies, non-commissioned officers were not qualified to appear in such military meetings.
Different from the Civil Defense Force, Sean has always attached great importance to the role of non-commissioned officers, believing that they are the bridge between officers and soldiers, the actual executors of orders, and the mainstay of military cohesion.
Past war experiences in northern Xinjiang taught Sean that when an officer is killed or lost in battle, it is the noncommissioned officers who shoulder the heavy responsibility.
Because of the need for horizontal formation tactics, a company is the basic unit, which is exactly two horizontal formations of 50 to 60 people. The company commander is a captain, and his deputy is a lieutenant. There are also two second lieutenants, each responsible for a horizontal formation, and each second lieutenant is followed by
There are 2 sergeants, 4 sergeants and 8 corporals. Starting from the captain, the lieutenant is not counted, and the non-commissioned officers below the second lieutenant are double the number.
Due to the lack of firepower in the era of front-loaded flintlock muskets, there were no formal establishments of "squads" and "platoons" in the regular army at this time, and establishments of this size were rarely used in tactics. Only some hunters would use this small establishment.
Implement skirmishing tactics. If you follow the three-three system that Sean knew in his previous life, with such weapons and equipment, there will be no strong firepower at all.
In the Civil Defense Force, one second lieutenant actually commands 50 to 60 people (equivalent to 2 platoons), two sergeants are each responsible for 25 to 30 people (equivalent to 1 platoon), and four sergeants are each responsible for 12
~15 people (equivalent to 1 intensive class), and every two corporals will assist a sergeant in managing these 12~15 people.
Obviously, the ratio of non-commissioned officers in the Civil Defense Force is much higher than that in the regular army. A full company of 120 people has 14 non-commissioned officers. Plus 4 lieutenants, this allows a company to implement the highest standards well.
Commander's tactical requirements and orders.
The Civil Defense Force has 13 infantry companies, 1 model company, 1 cavalry and artillery company, 1 cavalry company, 1 reconnaissance company, and 2 supply companies (including engineers, transport troops, buglers, and medical corps).
) and 1 cooking company, a total of 20 companies.
The number of these companies varies, ranging from 100 to 120 men. The full strength of the infantry company and the model company is 120 men, and the full strength of the artillery company is 130 men. The baggage company and the cooking company have fewer soldiers, and are only less than 80 men in size.
The entire Genoa Civil Defense Force has about 330 officers and non-commissioned officers out of 2,200 people.
So Sean has to thank the Three-level Council and Governor Byrne. Without enough military spending, Sean can't do this.
At such a military meeting, Sean asked about 90 sergeants to attend the meeting. The huge marching tent could not accommodate so many people, so it was open all around except for the support poles.
The officers discussed the details of the military operation for two hours, and were finally summarized by Chief of Staff Perosa. Then the officers took the sergeants back to their teams to implement each individual's specific responsibilities again.
Of course, such enlarged meetings are not common, and this young army is still learning.
2,200 people are equivalent to two regiments, or equivalent to a smaller brigade. At present, Sean thinks that he is just right to command. If one day the size of the Civil Defense Force is doubled, Sean will not be able to do it.
Directly commanding each company without detailed instructions, he must also learn to decentralize power and delegate authority.
Sean sat on the camp chair and rubbed his temples. Frank took out a cigar and handed one to Sean.
"Duff?" Sean put the cigar in front of his nose and sniffed, "Did you know that the first Duff cigar I smoked was given to me by my uncle."
"Oh?" Frank was a little surprised, "I haven't heard him talk about it. It seems that you have the same hobbies, including me."
"I suspect that your Frank family has supply channels in the Omaha Islands, otherwise why would you all like this brand?" Sean said.
Frank smiled and said: "Our family has a tobacco plantation there, and we have to pay a large amount of tax every year."
"But I also make a lot of money." Sean smiled.
"But I think your tea garden is more profitable, it's just a money grab." Frank said angrily, "Commander, you have to be careful, one day the tax collectors will come to your door. They are as greedy as vultures."
"Haha, I operate my business honestly and pay taxes according to the law. If everyone doesn't pay taxes, the empire will go bankrupt sooner or later." Sean said.
Frank wanted to see something from Sean's face, so he stared at him for a long time before saying:
"You are so honest in paying taxes, you should be the minister of finance. I can guarantee that as long as you dare to say in front of the emperor that you can get 700 million gold louis a year, you will sit in that position immediately. Believe me, the empire 10 years ago
The total income is also higher than this amount.”
"I can't get 700 million. But I won't deliberately evade taxes." Sean said sternly, "We Genoese people are not here because they are loyal to the emperor and patriotic. You see, the reason why those rebels were able to do this
, in the final analysis, isn’t it because of the heavy taxes? The commentators in the newspapers also deliberately avoided this point.”
Sean continued: "We Genoese have levied a security tax on the rich, which is actually the 1/20 tax. From the bottom of my heart, I support this tax. Everyone is equal before paying taxes. At least this is enough
It supports our Civil Defense Force for more than a year. However, the existing tax collection system places a heavy burden on those civilians. When they cannot bear it, they have no choice but to resist."
"Commander, I admit that your idea is very correct. But what I want to say is that this argument is also very dangerous." Frank said seriously.
"But if we don't change this inequality, we will always be either counterinsurgency or on the road to counterinsurgency, right?" Sean said, "Just like the weeds outside, you can never set them on fire.