Black Iron’s Glory

Chapter 331: Long Distance Pull

Dr. Lempert was very surprised and pleased to see Claude. He had no idea that, just a few years later, Claude had become a lieutenant colonel officer in the kingdom and was now a sole battalion. When he first met Claude, he was a primary pharmacist at the Eleventh Field Battalion of the Blue Feather Corps, and Claude had just been enlisted for officer training. He can only exclaim how quickly time passes. The two of us have different encounters. Claude now looks like he has an infinite future...

Dr Lempert simply responded to Claude's request to go to the Range One Three One Battalion and wrapped up the redeployment of three primary pharmacists and medics to ensure his arrival at the Range One Three One Battalion cantonment camp within three days.

While Claude was busy forming the base officer structure for the Ranger One, Three One Battalion, he finally received the first official order from General Michelch to the Ranger Corps of all troops stationed at Castle Christo, demanding that all officers go to the former combat unit, carry out force integration and announce that soldiers joining the Ranger Corps would receive a one-time welfare subsidy equal to twice their salary.

For the soldiers deployed to the various forces stationed at Castle Christo, the formation of the Cavalier Regiment, which has been waiting for two years, has finally come to an end. Without questioning the veracity of the order, they returned to the barracks and cooperated with the officers in carrying out their orders to collect all kinds of old weapons and equipment. It is common sense that new weapons equipment should also be used for integration into the new forces, and that old weapons and equipment should be recycled.

None of these soldiers thought that when weapons and equipment were surrendered, they would be waiting for a month-and-a-half of military discipline. General Michelchi immediately announced a closure and martial law order, and then began disciplining a military barracks, where numerous soldiers and groups who violated military discipline were pulled out.

Late in July, military discipline was declared over, and one hundred and twenty-seven serious officers and soldiers were ordered by General Michelchi to hang directly on the side of the avenue of Castle Christo. Three thousand four hundred and eighty-six lighter officers and soldiers formed six labour camps and were sentenced to 10 years' hard labour. One hundred and ninety-four grass-roots officers were ordered out of service for malfeasance and incompetence. Moreover, the number of soldiers sentenced to confinement and flogging is even greater, and the only thing they are fortunate enough to be able to do is continue to serve in the army and acquire national identity until the end of their service.

No one expected General Michelchi to have such an iron-blooded side that he was sentenced to punish so many disciplined officers and soldiers at once. Grand Prince Hansburg rushed from King to Castle Christo at night to talk to General Michel all night. It is said that the Grand Prince's opinion is that it would be better not to sentence these undisciplined officers and soldiers to death and to serve hard labour, and that they were also the elites of the kingdom in the war.

But General Michelch refused the Grand Prince's request, saying that two years of lack of regulation and scattered camp life had deprived the soldiers of their vigour, and that failure to strictly enforce military law would have deprived them of fear. It is now only by making them aware of the harshness of military justice that they can be reassured of the true nature of a soldier and that the next integration will proceed smoothly.

Ultimately, Prince Hansburg decided to support the sentencing of General Michel, and it is now a time of peace in which everything is focused on stabilizing the situation in the country. It is enough that the harsh punishment of these undisciplined soldiers should be hailed and delighted by the inhabitants and businessmen of Castle Christo, who have been victimized by these soldiers for two years. If during the war, it is better to decide that these undisciplined soldiers will form a death camp and break out on the front lines of the battlefield...

Future generations called the incident "The Bloody July of Castle Christo”, after all, the Royal Army had never sentenced so many people to death once in its history. Over a thousand bodies hang by the avenues of Castle Christo, creating a frightening landscape. It was not until a week later that the bodies were collected and cremated and reported to the Army Department for death on the battlefield, which was a good ending for the disciplined soldiers.

On 10 August, the formation of the 131th Battalion was completed. Claude returned to Division Command and submitted his own application report, which was summoned by General Michel.

“Are you going to take three months for a long pull training session?” General Michelch looked at the application report submitted by Claude and asked.

“Yes, General.” Claude replied: "The soldiers in our battalion are veterans and do not need any more recruit training. What is needed most now is new tactics, especially mobility and emergency response capabilities. After discussing it, our battalion thought it would be most appropriate to train the soldiers by pulling them, which is why we decided to conduct a long-distance pull march and field drills along the way in order to develop combat strength as soon as possible. ”

“Why then are the three southwestern counties instead of the twenty-nine new counties newly occupied by the Kingdom, where there is still a lot of insurgent resistance, you can practise in action...” General Michelchi frowned.

The twenty-nine newly occupied counties of the so-called Kingdom are in fact the territories of the former Principality of Siddins, the Principality of Rimodra and the Principality of Eskilin, three of which were annexed after the demise of the Kingdom and divided into twenty-nine new counties.

“Yes, General. Considering that these twenty-nine new counties already have three newly formed standing legions stationed, we fear that we will venture into a dispute with them. At the same time, our battalion finds itself in a dilemma by failing to respond to logistical heavy shipments of armaments. For reasons that have just been assembled, we believe that we should not go to the new occupied territories of the Kingdom for long distance exercises without guaranteeing that our battalions will have some fighting power," Claude explained.

“Then why go to the three southwestern counties, where you can practise in several counties around the Ibnister Plains.” General Michelchi seems reluctant to let the Trinity Battalion run too far or worry about anything.

“General, like this, several counties around the Ibnister Plains are densely populated and busy areas. The geographic environment here is relatively smooth and does not allow us to conduct field exercises in Battalion 131, while having a significant impact on the confidential nature of our combat training and tactical exercises. The three southwestern counties are relatively remote and have many hills, making them ideal for us to practice live ammunition, while also being more convenient in terms of supplies. In addition, our battalion 131 is prepared to train soldiers in wild extreme survival combat, where pristine forests and mountains are well suited for such extreme survival combat training…"

“Wait, Claude, what's with this wild extreme survival combat training?” General Michel interrupted Claude's answer.

“This is one of my tactical ideas, which is to designate a combat target, have a team of soldiers carry three days of supplies, and conduct up to seven days of combat training in wild forests and mountainous areas, with the aim of removing all operational targets from survival. The operational effect was to infiltrate the enemy's defensive front in the form of squad infiltration during the war, to attack the enemy's rear logistics cantonment site, to carry out a surprise attack on the command centre, to disrupt the enemy's defensive front's command traffic links and material supply system…" Claude said, in fact, was a special battle of previous generations.

“I see…” General Michelch nodded, recalling the process of winning by sneaking small squadrons against the cadet commands during several field exercises at the Royal Calebon Army School.

“All right, I'll issue orders and paperwork to allow the 131th Battalion to travel to the three southwest counties for a three-month long stretch. However, I will have Division Command organize a staff team to observe your battalion and document the results of this long stretch of training. Rest assured, this staff team will not interfere with your battalion's training and exercises, all I need is for them to record everything they see and hear and hand it over to Division Command.” General Michel said.

“Yes, General.” Claude withdrew from the office immediately after saluting.

Yay! Claude cheered with excitement out of Division Command, so-called Range One, Battalion, traveling to three counties in the Southwest for long-distance drills and exercises, purely out of Claude's own selfishness. At first glance, he and Kaifani were almost two years old and had never met his father. Claude would have liked to take a family visit, but the Range One, Three One Battalion had just been formed and would have required a short training session and rehearsal tactics. Claude feared that if he went on leave, he would be relieved of his position as battalion commander by General Michelch.

At the end of July, more than a thousand bodies hung on the side of Castle Christo Boulevard had just been taken down for cremation, and General Michelchi, the leader of a ruthless division from a elegant academy to iron, had become the great demon king in the minds of countless soldiers, and no one dared to disobey his orders. Even Claude had to think about his future, and he didn't want to be labeled unusable for something like family visit leave that left a bad impression on General Michel.

Good thing Lieutenant Colonel Skerry was kind enough to give Claude an idea. Why not go to the three counties in the southwest because the newly formed Range One, Three, One Battalion needs long distance pull training anyway? Claude is perfectly capable of taking both public and private flights, while still being able to take time to go home and see his children and family...

Claude went to great lengths to finally develop a complete training plan for long-distance marching and field exercises, which was submitted to the Division Command for approval, and immediately mobilized the entire battalion to three counties in the southwest, with the goal of White Deer City.

When Claude got Major Siegfried's travel plans, he figured out why the superiors had assigned a logistics team to his battalion. Simply put, there are a total of 120 four-wheeled wagons configured for the 131th Battalion, so that the wagons can enhance the mobility of the 131th Battalion and take the logistical reserves of the entire battalion to the disposal in case of an emergency. Even with a large logistical unit, when assigned to a wagon, only one four-wheeled wagon was equipped with two soldiers at most.

“No, Major Siegfried, we cannot entrust all carriages to the Department of Logistics, which will only increase the Department's services and workload, while at the same time depriving this heavy logistics unit of its mobility protection capability.” Claude rejected the report submitted by the Department of Logistics on the transport preparation of the wagon convoy.

“This team, which is assigned five carriages directly, is headed by Dr. Lempert, and we do not need to assign them carriers, who would have driven them. This logistics squadron needs thirteen carriages, equipped with fifteen carriages, all craftsmen, more precious than our soldiers, and two more carriages to make them feel more comfortable on their long journey, so they can rest directly in the carriage.

The artillery battalion asked 22 carriages to deliver supplies such as ammunition, and gave them 20 carriages, which would not need to be retrieved in the future, even if they were configured. The wagon man was also filled by their artillery, don't tell me they can't drive a wagon. Light cavalry brigade, need eight carriages to carry horse grass, why so many carriages? According to a squadron carriage, the brigade site is equipped with another carriage to give them, a total of five carriages is enough. The excess grass horse material separates them, and you can put a bag in the back of each horse.

Four direct battle brigades, also forming a brigade according to the light cavalry brigade, give them five carriages, which is a standard configuration, and do not require our battalion headquarters to provide them with carriers and guard soldiers to handle themselves. In that way, our battalion only needs 55 wagons to pull out two heavily logistical squadrons for manoeuvre protection, and I think, Major Siegfried, should our battalion's Logistics Department have enough supplies to transport? ”

“Reporting sir, that's enough so we can get over a dozen more carriages.” Major Sigfitt took a breath and Claude took five out of two, giving Logistics most of the transport problems instantly and two squadrons more power. Otherwise, all subordinate operational units would require the Department to send carriage and valet soldiers, which would add a significant workload to the Department and make it difficult for adults to cope.

“The extra carriage will march with the battalion, and this time our logistical heavy supplies will be supplied from somewhere along the way, and we will be able to stockpile some more.” Claude said.

“Yes, sir, I know what to do.” Major Siegfried replied.

On 21 September, after an 18-day long march, Mount 131 Battalion arrived at the entrance to three southwestern counties, White Deer City, stationed at a stone outpost. Claude decided to stay here for a month and a half, to train his troops on the problems that had arisen along the road and, after that, to conduct a one-month field extreme survival combat training in Bai Luzhou.

The arrival of the 131th Battalion shook up White Deer City, not only because the Rangers were close guards of the newly formed Sterling Royal Family, but more importantly, the battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel Claude, was a native of White Deer City. Eight years in the Army, he became an official lieutenant colonel officer of the kingdom from the birth of a civilian son, the highest rank that his three county enlisted for service in Southwest China in 50 years, and Claude has become the most legendary hero in White Deer City.

Viscount Felidos, the head of White Deer City, came to the quartering camp of the Stone Sentry Battalion to meet Claude himself, and hosted a banquet at the White Deer City Grand Tavern for senior officers of those battalions. He promised Major Zigfitt the full range of logistical supplies he needed, and for a moment the host was happy.

Only at the end of the dinner did Claude have time to bring Mike and Big Gummy, lightly dressed Jane from the three horses, rushed home to visit her family, and the biological son she had never seen before...