Napoleon's Grain Requisition Officer

In reality, Andre seriously underestimated the "recklessness" of these young people. ✊💚 ඏ☆

Of the 30 large Carriage carried by the more than 1,200 Police Academy students, 22 were used to serve the Artillery, including towing cannons and transporting Ammunition.

As for Logistics and Baggage, we've cut corners on almost everything we could!

Each soldier's backpack contained 11 pounds of dry bread, 3 and a half pounds of dried meat, 4 pounds of Oats for the warhorses, and two bags of Wine. That was all their Provisions.

Meanwhile, the Moulins Legion finally completed its preparations to transition from encampment to marching mode around noon, and the army began to move slowly.

This was only because Andre had listened to his brother's "intelligence" yesterday and ordered the officers to leave behind all the bulky luggage, such as wardrobes and dining tables.

Actually, for a traditional army, their speed was already quite fast.

But everything is subject to comparison.

By this time, the Police Academy Student Corps had already traveled nearly 10 kilometers.

At 6 p. m., Moulins Army began setting up camp and preparing dinner.

An hour later, the Police Academy students stopped by a stream 16 kilometers away. After setting up a perimeter, they lit a campfire and heated up the dry rations they had brought with them.

At 8:15 p. m., the Police Academy students gathered around the campfire, spread Blankets on the grass, and fell into a deep sleep under the starlight.

The next morning, after a quick breakfast, they practically set off.

Meanwhile, the Moulins Army was still frantically packing up tents and loading trucks. Every now and then, officers who hadn't slept well because they hadn't brought mattresses would grumble quietly.

Andre could no longer see his opponent, but judging from the marks on the ground, the Police Academy students had already passed through this area.

Around 3 PM, two scouts, sporting dark circles under their eyes, rode back to the Moulins Legion. Andre was so curious about how the Police Academy students solved their Provisions problem that he sent men to chase after them and investigate overnight.

"So, they were carrying more than 15 pounds of food?" Andre looked at the scout in surprise. "Add Weapons and Ammunition, and bedding, and that's nearly 35 pounds of weight?"

"That seems to be the case, sir."

"They're monsters..." Andre clicked his tongue, amazed that they could run so fast with so much luggage!

He immediately thought of another question, "Wait a minute, even if the soldiers brought rations, what will their horses eat?"

People usually think that the army's Provisions are mainly food for humans, but in reality, the bulk of the Logistics and Baggage is horse feed.

Military horses expend a great deal of energy during wartime, and unlike farm horses, they cannot be allowed to spend a lot of time eating pasture—grass has a very low nutritional content, and horses would have to eat continuously for several hours to be full, which is a time that the army cannot afford to waste.

Moreover, it's difficult to guarantee that there will be grass to eat everywhere during a march.

Therefore, the army's warhorses were mainly fed with hay and concentrated feed such as Oats transported by logistics, which consumed far more grain than people eat.

A person can barely manage carrying a dozen or so pounds of dry rations, but you can't expect a horse to carry hundreds of pounds of hay, can you?

The two scouts exchanged a glance and replied, "Sir, they brought some fine feed, but they mainly used it to feed the horses at nearby farms."

"Even half of the firewood for starting the fire came from farmers. Oh, and we also got some Wine."

Andre's eyes widened immediately, and he shouted, "They're cheating!"

He immediately summoned Orderly Officer to catch up with the Police Academy student and to lodge the strongest protest on his behalf.

Another day later, the Orderly Officer returned, bringing with him a Police Academy Instructor.

Upon meeting Andre, the Instructor explained very politely, "Your Excellency Lieutenant Colonel, we were operating according to the standard supply regulations; it was absolutely not cheating."

Andre almost laughed out of anger, "You mean, robbing farmers is standard supply rations?"

"No, you've misunderstood," the Instructor quickly said. "Our Grain Requisition Officer are all paid, even slightly above market price."

What he didn't say was that if it weren't for the current food shortages in various places, the supply regulations would require that soldiers' rations could be requisitioned locally.

Andre waved his hand and said, "That's cheating. If a war breaks out, your troops won't carry Provisions wagons and will rely entirely on buying grain from farmers?"

The Instructor nodded earnestly. "That's correct. However, we sometimes hunt some wild game as a supplement..."

"That's ridiculous! How can such supplies be reliable? What if there aren't any farmers nearby?"

"What you're describing is probably not the case. Looking across Europe, where can't we find villages where we can requisition food? Besides, the soldiers are carrying emergency rations."

"This..." Andre was stunned.

Yes, even in impoverished places like Switzerland and the South Hungary, finding villages capable of supporting tens of thousands of troops wouldn't be difficult.

Wouldn't this allow them to ditch a large number of cumbersome and vulnerable logistical vehicles, making the army lighter and faster? No wonder the Police Academy personnel could set off and march so quickly!

In fact, this was the "Forage System" logistics model that Joseph copied from Napoleon.

Napoleon's later dominance across Europe was partly due to this unique logistical system.

As we all know, in war, especially between major powers, one of the most crucial factors determining victory or defeat is logistics. There are even extreme views that war is all about logistics.

Napoleon creatively abandoned the large number of supply wagons favored by Europe Nobility armies, forbade officers to carry cumbersome luxuries [Note 1], and even discarded tents, which were time-consuming to use and troublesome to carry. Food and drink were provided by villages along the way, and if the rain or snow was too heavy to rest in the open, the soldiers could also borrow houses in the villages.

The farmers can be paid for the goods they consume. This would cost far less than transporting Provisions from afar, while the farmers would receive more compensation.

As for fighting wars abroad, the military's expenses are likely to be even lower.

Of course, this model sounds simple, but it still requires a complete set of scientific operating procedures to implement.

For example, Grain Requisition Officer need to have considerable professional skills, knowing where to find Provisions and how to communicate with farmers.

As the troops advance, they must send people in advance to notify the villages they will pass through to prepare Provisions. This requires a very scientific calculation of the amount of Provisions to be consumed.

How to quickly distribute the collected Provisions and fodder to the company?

And how villages whose grain has been requisitioned should allocate grain through local administration to prevent farmers from running out of food.

Joseph only knew the general principles of these things from documentaries he had seen in his previous life; the specific supply regulations still needed to be improved by the officers through continuous practice.

However, this logistical system also has great limitations. For example, Napoleon suffered greatly in barren and hostile Russia because he relied on local supplies [Note 2]. However, Joseph, as a successor, would naturally take the initiative to avoid similar situations.

Andre had no choice but to see off the Police Academy Instructor. He then gathered his officers and began to consider whether his army should also adopt this on-site resupply logistics model.

This was also one of the reasons Joseph sent the Moulins Legion to conduct exercises with the Police Academy students. As a military force he could trust, he also hoped that Andre could learn some advanced concepts from the Police Academy students, thereby improving the combat effectiveness of the troops.

Five days after leaving Tuxi Town, the Police Academy Student Corps successfully arrived in Paris, preemptively "occupied" the high ground designated for the exercise, and then conducted a detailed topographical survey of the surrounding area.

Andre, on the other hand, traveled for another four days before arriving, panting heavily, only to find himself facing a fortified defensive position that had been set up by the "enemy."

However, Andre was a seasoned veteran who had been tempered on the battlefield. Faced with an extremely unfavorable situation, he calmly summoned his officers to discuss and deploy tactics against the enemy.

At dawn the next day, the Moulins Legion assembled in front of the Police Academy students' positions, forming a three-tiered Infantry Line.

Berthier, who was watching from a distance, put away his Telescope and sighed regretfully to Diboa beside him, "The trainees missed their best chance to attack."

The latter nodded. "Yes, the Moulins Army just completed Forced March yesterday afternoon and is at its most exhausted. If we had launched a strong attack on them then, we could have won in one fell swoop."

Berthier said, "They're still reluctant to give up the advantageous terrain they've gained. These young men are full of enthusiasm, but they still lack practical experience."

Soon, Andre ordered the Infantry on the front to launch a strong attack, while the three Six-Pound Cannon of the Moulins Army roared from the slightly higher mounds on the west side, covering the Infantry's charge.

However, the Police Academy students were prepared and immediately returned fire with their artillery. Because the Police Academy's artillery was positioned higher and included an Eight-Pound Cannon, it had a longer range and quickly suppressed the enemy's Artillery.

The Infantry on both sides gradually closed the distance to within 100 paces. The Police Academy students' line formation fired the first volley—they occupied the high ground, and their Percussion Cap Gun had a longer range, so firing first was not a problem.

Both sides used Pine Bullet, which would shatter instantly upon impact with Gunpowder and cause no harm. However, the ear-piercing explosions and the billowing Powder Smoke still sent the soldiers' adrenaline soaring, making them feel as if they were on the battlefield.

After advancing a short distance, the Moulins Legion began to return fire. The gunfire intensified, and soldiers were constantly being declared "killed" and removed from the battlefield.

To Andre's great surprise, the young Police Academy cadets were no less skilled in shooting than his veterans, and with the help of their Percussion Cap Gun, their firing rate was consistently two beats faster than his.

As the Moulins Army continued to suffer losses, the commanding officers at the front finally could not hold out any longer and issued an order to retreat.

Blue flags bearing the insignia of the Crown Prince immediately rose from the Police Academy students' positions, and then the drummers and Flag Bearer of each company took three steps forward, and the rapid beat of the attack drums began.

The Police Academy cadets on Infantry immediately advanced.

The Moulins Army, under attack, collapsed even faster, and soon their second line of fire was exposed to the enemy.

The Police Academy students immediately changed formation, with the first line formation becoming a column, and the second column taking on the task of firing directly at the front.

As several Infantry units charged in columns to within twenty paces of the Moulins Army, the latter could no longer resist and began to flee in disarray.

Meanwhile, the drumbeats on the Police Academy students' side quickened, and the second rank of Infantry Line shouted and charged towards the enemy with bayonets raised.

The last Infantry Line of the Moulins Army had already begun its retreat and had now retreated to the flat area below the high ground. Just over ten minutes later, seven companies of the Police Academy students arrived in front of them.

Somewhat strangely, the Moulins Army showed no signs of panic. Instead, officers led the fleeing soldiers to disperse to both sides, while the last Infantry Line unleashed a fierce barrage of fire.

At the same time, three cannons appeared on the flank of the Moulins Army and began bombarding the approaching Police Academy students.

Clearly, these cannons had only pretended to be unable to withstand the enemy's firepower before secretly moving here.

Andre smiled and winked at the Orderly Officer.

The latter immediately ran to the Flag Bearer bearer and loudly relayed the order.

A few minutes later, the Moulins Army's cavalry squadron emerged from behind the mounds on the east side of the battlefield and plunged behind the Police Academy Infantry Line that had been pursuing the enemy too far.

The two Infantry Line of the previously defeated Moulins Army were quickly reorganized and surrounded them from both sides.

The Police Academy Instructor then realized that the enemy had lured them in. Seeing that the large Infantry was about to be surrounded, they immediately committed all the reserves and cavalry to the battlefield, preparing to rescue the Infantry through close combat.

Once a chaotic battle breaks out, it becomes very difficult for the exercise reviewers to make an effective assessment of casualties.

Ultimately, Berthier, fearing an accident during close combat, ended the fight after half an hour.

At this point, the Moulins Legion had already "lost" more than 200 men, while the Police Academy students, although they had fallen into the trap, had gained a great advantage in the previous exchange of fire, and were no less brave than their opponents in the hand-to-hand combat, so their "casualties" were actually slightly less.

After a day of rest, Berthier Legion also arrived and joined the exercise. The three-way live-fire exercise is in full swing and will continue until the end of the month.

In the office of the Industrial Planning Bureau.

Joseph looked at the combat exercise report submitted by Berthier and others, smiled and nodded, "These trainees have good military skills, but they still need more combat experience."

He then looked at Friant and said, "For trainees who perform exceptionally well in the exercises, they can graduate early and join the Berthier Legion as junior officers."

"Yes, Your Highness. Lieutenant Colonel Berthier and I also believe that some of them are in no way inferior to Nobility officers."

As they were talking, Eman knocked on the door and entered, bowing to Joseph and saying, "Your Highness, a message just arrived from Marseille saying that His King of Spain has sent you three ships of Grain, which arrived at the port ten days ago."

[Note 1] In fact, in Napoleon's army, officers' personal belongings were always a nightmare for the Supply Depot and could never be completely prohibited. Even Napoleon himself would bring a bathtub to the battlefield. However, compared to other old-style armies, Napoleon's officers were relatively restrained.

[Note 2] Napoleon had anticipated the difficulty of resupplying in Russia and had prepared much more Logistics and Baggage than before. However, he still placed some hope on obtaining supplies from Russia itself. In reality, the French Army could only collect very limited Provisions in Russia, which worsened the French Army's situation.

(End of this chapter)