Academy Genius Commander

5 – Rhineland Cadet Platoon Leader Selection Test (1)

The day of selection of cadet platoon commanders and platoon members going to the Rhineland front.

Twenty academy students, including me, who applied for the Rhineland front line, stood in the center of the field wearing armor.

Is it because several officers, academy professors, and first-year to fourth-year students are sitting around us?

I even felt like I became a representative of the athletic meet.

It’s just that the guys who came here to watch were just there to enjoy the spectacle of kids in the middle and lower grades leading the rookie soldiers they trained for a month to face off in the form of mock battles on weekdays when they had nothing to do.

After seeing Jaeger Platoon’s performance, they would not simply enjoy it, but would cringe with admiration.

The thought of getting a chance to prove my worth to those who discriminate against people based on their status makes me very thrilled.

“At 12:00 on May 15, 220 in the Imperial Era, we will start selecting platoon commanders from cadets who applied for the Rhineland Frontline! I will inform you about the test method, so everyone listen carefully!”

At that, even the distracted students and staff stopped talking in pairs and focused on the professor announcing the test method.

“First of all, of the 20 cadets who participated in this mock battle, only 10 cadets could go to the Rhineland front. Therefore, two students each take the platoon members they have trained for one mock battle, and the winner will be eligible to apply for the Rhineland Front.”

The professor said that it was to qualify for application, but among the students who came this far, not a single one would refuse to go to the front.

Because all 20 people, including me, have ambiguous grades, so they want to quickly build a career at the forefront and get promoted.

If you don’t apply at all, if you don’t go to the front after applying and being selected, you will be stigmatized as a coward, and your future military life will be greatly twisted.

Who would take such a risk as crazy?

“Then, I will explain the elements, rules, and test methods evaluated in mock battles. First of all, in this mock battle, only the commanding ability of each cadet as a platoon leader is evaluated. And when evaluating him, the best way to judge him is a mock battle, so whether he wins or not and the entire process of the battle will be evaluated by four officers under Lieutenant Colonel Webber. The rules are the same as regular mock battles, and hand-to-hand combat takes place in the central playground.”

It is a game method and evaluation method that seem too simple, but it would be hard to find a better way to evaluate the command ability to command a platoon.

Because in this age of military knowledge, weapons, and tactics from the Middle Ages to the Early Modern Age, almost all battles that can be fought in platoon units are close combat.

If a commander with a keen eye is evaluating, you can check things like the training status of each unit, trust in the commander, and the commander’s ability to operate the platoon just by looking at the two units facing each other in hand-to-hand combat.

In addition, if the match is played in hand-to-hand combat, there is an advantage that all 15 groups of matches can be digested within one day because the battle ends quickly.

“Before the final mock battle begins, do you swear to a fair match in the eyes of the Empire and His Majesty the Emperor?”

Twenty students, including me, agreed to that statement and recited lines that had been taught in advance.

“From the moment I entered the academy, I lived honorably and noblely for the sake of Your Majesty, for the sake of the motherland.

I swore to go! May the judgment of Deus be upon those who break that oath!”

“Okay, then all the students will move to the seats prepared for the contestants from now on. The names and order of the people you will be facing are written there, so you can rest there before the match or make friends with your opponents. more!”

When the order was given, the students and I sat down on chairs near the playground.

According to the match order guide attached to the desk in front of the chair, my turn was last, and my opponent was…

As I was about to check the other person’s name, I heard a rather familiar voice from behind me.

“I didn’t expect to compete with my seniors, but what a joke of fate it is to face them like this.”

I turned my head in the direction of the voice and checked his face, and it was him.

A month ago, I asked, ‘Do common people eat bread made from wheat, barley, and sawdust?’ The rotten bastard who mocked me by asking questions.

The look in his eyes at me was a mixture of contempt and ridicule toward me, still an orphan, and a little relief.

He seems to think that as long as he competes in a mock battle with a commoner Naburang, he, as a noble aristocrat, cannot lose.

That dog-like prejudice continues until today.

“I also didn’t know that I would face off against you, a junior, like this. It might be Deus’ prank. So, did you train your troops well?”

When I asked leisurely, he suddenly got angry for no reason and said,

“Over the course of a month, I trained them to the point where they couldn’t be compared to the senior’s unit. I’m sure the match will be won within 10 minutes once the mock battle starts. So before you worry about Johann von Hausenburg, the second son of the Baron Hausenburg, worry about how to defeat him with less shame.”

For a moment, in my head, ‘Is that bastard idiot?’ I thought, but.

After thinking about it again, I came to the conclusion that no matter how noble he was, he couldn’t be a sane person who insulted me by talking about bread mixed with sawdust.

Still, wouldn’t it be much better to be an idiot who only shouts forward than to have a smart and intelligent human being in a mock battle?

However, even if the enemy is an idiot, the commander is not vigilant.

“Then can you tell me how you trained the unit? According to my juniors, am I not the type to lose anyway in the next match? Then just tell me how the unit that defeated Peter Yeager trained.”

Hearing that, John couldn’t help but laugh.

“hahahaha, good. The game starts in an hour anyway, and it’s not like we’re not telling our attack strategy.”

“Thank you.”

I don’t know if it’s another time, but now I’m serious.

Because even if you know roughly how he trained, it becomes clear how to attack his troops.

And John stretched out his chest and boasted of his unit as if he were boasting to me, no, openly.

“For the first 10 days, the soldiers were trained in the basics of holding a polearm, swinging a polearm, and thrusting it. For the next 10 days, learn how to move in formation and how to attack in groups. On the last 10 days, we divided the platoon in half and held mock battles, or reviewed what we had learned so far.”

It seems that the training method from the Imperial Military Science textbook was applied well and trained.

Just listening to the contents, roughly, John’s soldiers marched in formation, and 30 people must have succeeded in learning how to move as a group.

At least one platoon will function well enough.

As a mediocre cadet at the academy, he showed such results, so he should be confident enough.

They will not be able to compete with the Jaeger platoon, which has learned how to move as a group of 30 people from the beginning through rituals and physical training.

Because if you compare your unit and our unit as a single unit, we are a steel-like platoon that matches every movement of each individual member of the group.

John’s unit, according to what he said, must be a platoon of lumps of mud that barely learned how to move together.

So I was 99% sure of victory, but I’ll have to wait a while before he pays back the insult he gave me.

“You trained very faithfully according to the rules. I don’t know if it’s anything else, but in the military, it’s best to do it thoroughly according to the textbook.”

John reacted very coldly to those words.

“Is that so? Then, why don’t you give up right now, senior? If you do that, the disgrace of abstaining will remain, but there will be no record of you losing to Johann von Hausenburg without the use of your hands or feet.”

As I was about to reply, a guy from the academy’s student council came up to us and said,

“Peter Jaeger, cadet Johann von Hausenburg! Prepare for battle, both of you! Each platoon is waiting on the east and west sides of the playground. The mock battle begins in 15 minutes.”

And Yohan and I hurriedly ran to where our respective platoons were.

When I went to the place where my platoon members were waiting on the east side of the playground, the faces of the soldiers were clearly nervous.

Seeing them like that, I said with confidence.

“If we do as we train, we will definitely win. No, even a small hand would not be able to use it. So listen carefully to my instructions and follow them.”

Johann von Hausenburg, try hitting a commoner who eats bread mixed with sawdust once.

Then you won’t be able to show your face at social gatherings for a year or two.