Morin, a True Tactical Wish-Granting Machine

Inside the temporary battalion headquarters, chaos erupted.

"What? A counterattack?"

"Didn't they just get beaten back? How did they recover so fast?"

"How many reinforcements are there?"

The officers chattered noisily, and an uneasy mood spread rapidly.

"Quiet!"

Major Thomas let out a low roar, suppressing the commotion of the crowd. He took a deep breath and continued speaking:

"Hold Seville?"

As soon as this order came out, the command headquarters fell silent instantly.

Many officers looked at this one and that one, not knowing how to hold the line.

For these Saxon officers who were accustomed to fighting in open terrain, defensive combat in a city was actually a somewhat unfamiliar proposition.

Or rather, for the armies of this era, all battles ended outside cities.

Moreover, the main battles and conflicts between the various empires occurred in overseas colonies, and those places obviously would not have many large cities, let alone fighting within cities.

Major Thomas looked at the reactions of his subordinate officers, feeling a sense of helplessness in his heart.

How was he any different himself?

In the past, whether in the military or at military academy, what they were taught was how to command troops to fight in the field, but they were never taught how to fight in a city.

At this moment, due to the Saxon Army's habit of mission-type tactics, Brigade Headquarters had not given any specific tactical instructions to the regiments or battalions, only stating that they must hold Seville.

As for how to hold it?

Well, that depended on everyone's own abilities, but anyway, they had to complete the order for him.

Of course, there was one person in the battalion headquarters whose reaction was different from the others, and that was Morin.

If the others were somewhat dazed and at a loss upon hearing this order, then he felt like he was falling apart upon hearing it.

Wasn't this fucking getting ready for urban combat?

Line charges, bayonet charges... and now followed closely by urban warfare.

He was running into several of the most brutal forms of warfare all at once in a short period of time, wasn't he?

It was also in this suffocating silence that someone was the first to cast their gaze toward Morin, who stood in the corner.

Immediately after, a second, a third...

More and more people unconsciously looked at this young second lieutenant who had created miracles on the battlefield.

Captain Hauser, several other company commanders, and even Battalion Commander Major Thomas finally focused their sights on Morin.

Those gazes were filled with anticipation, reliance, and a trace of... nearly blind trust that even they themselves had not noticed.

"No..."

The moment Morin noticed the gazes of the others, he almost went black in the eyes right then and there.

What kind of situation was this?

Why were they all looking at him one by one?

May I ask if I am some sort of tactical vending machine? Shake me and ideas pop out?

At this moment, Morin could clearly feel that after experiencing the previous series of battles, the officers of the 1st Battalion had subconsciously developed a kind of path dependency on him.

The calmness and tactical ability he displayed, which surpassed others, made him the first person they thought of when encountering difficult problems.

"Second Lieutenant Morin."

In the end, Major Thomas broke the silence.

"You just graduated from military academy and have learned the newest military theories. Regarding... regarding this urban combat, do you have any thoughts?"

Everyone's gazes stared fixedly at Morin, expecting him to utter some heaven-shaking tactics once again.

At this point, Morin knew he could not escape.

He also knew in his heart that now was not the time to hide his abilities; this concerned the lives and safety of hundreds of people in the entire 1st Battalion, including himself.

If he didn't say something, the Saxon officers would likely lead the troops into a meat grinder in the most primitive way.

He took a deep breath, rapidly running through all his knowledge regarding urban combat—learned from military academy before his time-travel and understood from various military histories and battle cases—in his mind.

Then he reorganized it using language that the people of this world could understand.

"Major Thomas, fellow officers... since everyone trusts me, then I will simply state some personal humble opinions."

Morin took a step forward, took the pencil handed over by the battalion staff officer, and stood before the map.

"What we are about to face next is urban combat."

"Urban combat?"

"That's right, it's combat within the maze-like streets and alleys of the city... Then we must first understand one thing: traditional combat thinking must be completely discarded."

Morin's first sentence immediately attracted the attention of everyone.

"A city is not the field; there are no open battle lines here, nor is there a solid rear... Every building, every street, could become an independent battlefield."

Morin picked up a pencil and drew a circle on the map over the urban area for which the 1st Battalion was responsible.

"Therefore, my first suggestion is to disperse into small units."

"Disperse into small units?"

Major Thomas frowned. He could understand the term, but he didn't understand the specific meaning.

"Yes, disperse into small units."

Morin nodded, quickly drawing several diagram symbols representing defensive positions on the map.

"We can no longer use companies as units to rigidly construct a single defense line. We must break the troops down and disperse them into every key building in the form of platoons and squads."

He looked toward the crowd and explained:

"Our goal is not to hold a line, but to control an area."

"Each building we occupy is an independent support point. These support points support each other, using crossfire to form a large net."

"If the enemy blindly charges, they will only suffer heavy losses. If they want to advance, they must uproot our nails one by one... In this way, we can consume their manpower to the maximum extent and delay their offensive."

"Disperse the troops into the buildings?"

Captain Hauser touched his chin, then voiced the doubt that had arisen in everyone else as well.

"Then what about command? The troops are all scattered, how do we give orders? In case a certain point is surrounded by the enemy, we won't even know."

"This is my second point: changing our method of movement."

Morin drew a line between two adjacent buildings on the map.

"Resolutely avoid walking on the streets whenever possible! Streets are fire-kill zones for both sides! Our personnel transfers and supply transport must all be conducted through the interiors of buildings."

"I've observed that there are many connected rows of buildings on the streets of Seville, and they are all brick-and-tile structures that can be quickly demolished even without explosives! Therefore, we will punch holes in the walls of adjacent buildings, connecting the entire interior of the block as much as possible!"

"Punch holes in the walls?" a platoon leader exclaimed, "Can... can this work?"

"Why wouldn't it?" Morin retorted, "We have entrenching tools, pickaxes, and the baggage train even transported some explosives!"

The officers looked at one another in dismay. The ideas Morin put forward completely subverted their understanding. This wasn't even fighting a war; it was simply tearing down houses.

Yet upon careful thought, they felt what Morin said made a great deal of sense.

The most dangerous thing in a city was the open streets. If they could avoid the streets and move freely inside the buildings, their safety and mobility would undoubtedly be greatly enhanced.

However, other officers still raised new doubts.

"Second Lieutenant Morin, what if the enemy storms into a building? Wouldn't they be able to proceed to other buildings as well?"

Hearing this question, Morin asked in return:

"Are the fire sticks in our soldiers' hands? Could it be that they won't fire once the enemy enters the building?"

"Wouldn't that mean fighting indoors?"

"Is there any problem? The enemy's forces will also be dispersed as a result and bogged down inside the buildings..."

Morin paused, looking at every single officer around him with a very solemn expression.

"Gentlemen, I hope you can temporarily forget those past experiences of yours. Urban warfare is an extremely brutal form of combat, and not a single place in the entire city will be safe!"

"If we want to achieve final victory, it can only be forged through blood and willpower!"