Though he had yielded the honor of first entry into the city of Pavia to the Florentine army, Lee Si-ae did not rest.
“Move the observation balloons further to the outskirts! How much more time will it take?”
“It won’t take long if we move the reserve balloons that are on standby.”
“Then move them immediately to the left and right flanks of Pavia. And are you keeping a tight rein on the Florentine cavalry?”
“Yes, sir!”
“Then we will divide the Florentine and Imperial cavalry into two and move them to the left and right of the city of Pavia.”
“On which side would it be best to place the Florentine cavalry?”
“Combine them first, then divide them into two. To operate with only the Florentine cavalry or to entrust them with command is too dangerous. I may have come from the cavalry myself, but cavalrymen are the type to act before they think. And with the Florentines, no, with Europeans, it’s even worse.”
All the staff officers nodded at Lee Si-ae’s complaint.
Ever since the time they were bickering with the Jurchens, the cavalry had a strong character as an independent unit that moved on its own. In a major battle, it was always the cavalry’s role to push into the enemy lines, accepting the losses. Because of this, cavalry commanders had a very independent and belligerent disposition. After completely absorbing the Jurchens, the cavalry’s belligerent tendencies had become even stronger.
Fortunately, as Joseon grew into an Empire and shared a border with the formidable opponent that was Ming, the commanders of the Imperial cavalry had become much more prudent. It was thanks to the realization that even their slightest mistake could immediately lead to a major war.
After arriving in Italy and seeing the Florentine and European cavalry, Lee Si-ae had shaken his head. “What a bunch of Jurchens!” For this reason, Lee Si-ae had no intention of giving the Florentine cavalry independent operational authority.
“They need to be properly bridled!”
The staff officers, having confirmed Lee Si-ae’s intentions, diligently organized the cavalry formations and then drafted the orders.
“Messenger!”
The combined Imperial and Florentine cavalry, having received their orders via messenger, split into two and circled around to the left and right of the Pavia fortress.
“The observation balloons are ready! We will launch them as soon as the cavalry reaches its destination.”
“Good! The main artillery force and the waiting reserve will also depart immediately! We will drive the wedge hammered in by the cavalry home! As soon as the main artillery force and the reserve depart, the unit deployed on the trench line will change its mission to reserve!”
“Yes, sir!”
“Are you going to leave the Assault Troops as they are?”
At his staff officer’s question, Lee Si-ae raised his telescope, surveyed the Pavia fortress, and replied, “They will remain on standby at their current location, prepared to enter the city of Pavia. It’s certain that a Florentine messenger will come whining any minute now. They seem to have been well-trained for pitched battles, but they’ve had almost no training for trench or urban warfare. And since they’re wearing the same black uniforms, there will be less chance of friendly fire.”
“Understood.”
At Lee Si-ae’s words, the staff officers drafted the orders without another word.
***
The main training the Assault Troops received was to decisively break through enemy defense lines and trench lines. The meaning of ‘decisively break through’ was to make it possible for the follow-up units to safely surpass them and continue their advance. To do this, the Assault Troops had to thoroughly clear the trench lines or defense lines they had breached.
Thanks to this, the Assault Troops’ equipment was specialized for close-quarters combat from the very beginning. A large number of gapsik light hwachas and gapsik small hwachas were deployed, and each soldier carried a large number of grenades. And this specialization in equipment gave them a decisive advantage in urban warfare as well.
The assault vehicles also played a part. The armor of the assault vehicles was a sturdy shield in urban warfare. And the cannon mounted on the Type A assault vehicle was a ‘siege-use’ weapon.
***
About one shichen (approx. 2 hours) later, a flood of reports began to pour in once again.
“Report from the cavalry that advanced to the left flank. ‘Reached the target point! Preparing for dismounted combat!’”
“Urgent message from the cavalry that advanced to the right flank! ‘Under enemy artillery fire! Preparing for an artillery duel!’”
Lee Si-ae, confirming the reports from the cavalry, issued orders one after another.
“An order to the cavalry that advanced to the left flank! ‘Prepare for enemy artillery fire!’”
“Yes, sir!”
“Relay the same order to the unit following the left flank! Tell them to move outside the enemy’s artillery range, even if it means a slight detour! Getting hit while on the move hurts the most!”
“Yes, sir!”
“An order to the right flank cavalry! ‘Make maximum use of the strengths of our own artillery! Tie down the enemy’s feet while minimizing losses! That is the most important thing! I repeat! Tying down the enemy’s feet is the most important thing!’”
“Yes, sir!”
“An order to the right flank follow-up unit! ‘Join the right flank cavalry while being cautious of enemy artillery fire!’”
“Yes, sir!”
While the staff officers, having received Lee Si-ae’s orders, were busy drafting the orders and handing them to the messengers, Lee Si-ae studied the map and muttered, “So they were planning to escape after all.”
***
Looking at the geographical environment of the city of Pavia, the Ticino River flowed along its southern side. Looking at the political environment, the city of Pavia was within the sphere of Milan. As the first fortress to defend Milan from France and Genoa, the walls of the city of Pavia had a peculiar structure. The side facing Milan had only a single layer of walls, but the southern side facing the Ticino River had a double layer.
The reason Lee Si-ae was certain the French army was trying to escape was that the cavalry that had advanced to the right flank had come under attack. From the Empire’s perspective, the right flank, that is, the northwestern side of the Pavia fortress—was where the bridges and ferry crossings over the Ticino River were concentrated. In other words, from the perspective of the French army, which had decided to retreat, these bridges and ferry crossings were precious facilities that had to be protected at all costs.
That was why the surviving French cannons had opened fire the moment the cavalry of the allied Imperial-Florentine army approached.
***
“I don’t like letting them move according to their own plan… hmm…”
Lee Si-ae, who was pondering something as he studied the map, raised his telescope and looked at the collapsed walls of Pavia.
“If I push the Assault Troops in right now and it creates confusion, that would be a headache too…”
The Assault Troops had the mindset that ‘wherever the assault vehicle goes, that is the road.’ If the Florentine army and the Assault Troops, who differed greatly in their combat methods and speed, were to mix, it was certain they would become completely entangled and a mess would be made of everything.
“But just waiting around doesn’t sit well with me either… In that case, I’ll have to create a pretext, won’t I?”
Muttering these meaningful words, Lee Si-ae issued an order to his staff.
“A message to the Florentine army that has entered the city of Pavia! ‘Secure the southeastern area, with the Visconti Castle¹ as the boundary! The Assault Troops will charge into the northwestern area!’”
The staff officers, who were studying the map at Lee Si-ae’s order, soon smiled meaningfully and answered, “Yes! We will deliver it as quickly as possible!”
“A message to the Assault Troops as well! ‘Penetrate the city of Pavia as quickly as possible and capture the bridges and ferry crossings!’”
“Yes, sir!”
A moment later, messengers with Lee Si-ae’s orders tucked into their clothes spurred their horses toward the city of Pavia at full speed.
***
The gate of the city of Pavia.
The Florentine army command post, set up inside the wide-open gate.
“…An order from the Commander-in-Chief.”
“Let me see it. Hmm…”
The commander of the Florentine army, Giuseppe, stroked his mustache and nodded as he confirmed the order. “Hmm… this reduces our burden as well, which is good. Report back to the Commander-in-Chief that we will carry it out as ordered.”
“A document…”
At the messenger’s words, Giuseppe turned his head and looked at a staff officer. After signing the document the staff officer had drafted, Giuseppe handed it to the messenger.
“Here you are.”
“Yes, sir!”
The messenger, having received the document, gave a military salute and left the Florentine command post.
“Gather ‘round.”
Giuseppe gathered his staff officers and told them about the order Lee Si-ae had issued. “…And so, the order is for us to secure the southeastern part of Pavia. It was a headache, but this turned out well.”
All the staff officers nodded at Giuseppe’s words.
The Florentine army had entered the Pavia fortress right around noon. Contrary to their expectation that its fall would be a matter of time, as it was a much smaller city compared to Florence or Milan, they had not yet secured more than a third of the area, even as the sun was slowly setting in the west. It was, as Lee Si-ae had expected, because the Florentine army was not accustomed to urban warfare. Because of this, the Florentines were unable to use their weapons properly.
Their core combat power, the byeongsik hwacha, was a very inconvenient weapon in urban warfare, where one had to constantly shoot and move. On top of that, having to search through the complex, winding alleyways one by one was no easy task. Thanks to this, even though they had committed nearly 10,000 infantry, including the first and second echelons, the situation was at a stalemate.
Giuseppe tapped the map here and there with his command baton and continued, “The Empire’s thinking is simple. They want to capture these bridges and ferry crossings as quickly as possible. If that happens, the French army will either rout in a disarray or be crushed while resisting. One of the two. All we have to do is watch.”
Giuseppe, who had figured out Lee Si-ae’s thinking, smiled brightly. Seeing him, a staff officer pointed out a problem. “Are we not handing over too much military glory to the Empire?”
“We’ve already taken a moderate amount of what there is to take. And there are still many battles left. We cannot ignore the loss of troops.”
“But according to the rumors we’re hearing, volunteers are overflowing.”
“What do you think will happen when coffins start passing by those guys who are rushing to volunteer, full of courage?”
The staff officers’ mouths snapped shut at Giuseppe’s question. A combination of fighting spirit, adventurousness, and the characteristic bravado of Italians was causing volunteers to flock to them. But bravado was bravado, and reality was reality. It was certain that as more men died on the battlefield, the number of volunteers would plummet.
“If we think about the battles to come and the situation after unification, we cannot afford to foolishly lose our troops. It’s a shame, but for now, we must be content with taking what we can, as we are doing. The soldiers will be disappointed that they have fewer stories to boast about in front of the ladies, I suppose.”
The staff officers nodded silently at Giuseppe’s cynical words.
“Then let’s draft the orders and circulate them.”
“Understood.”
PEEEEP!
Just then, the whistles of the assault vehicles echoed loudly through the sky. At the sound of the whistles, Giuseppe shook his head lightly and grumbled. “My, they’re in a hurry… We Italians are famous for being hasty, but it’s amusing to see people even more hasty than us.”
A moment later, the Assault Troops, led by the Type A assault vehicles, began to enter through the city gate. The faces of the Assault Troops, riding in or moving alongside their vehicles, were full of confidence.
- —Penetrate the northwestern area of the city of Pavia via the ‘shortest route’ and capture the bridges and ferry crossings.
It was the type of mission they were most confident in. The Assault Troops were particularly pleased with the words ‘shortest route’ written in the order.
“The assault vehicles will make a very nice road.”
“I hope there are a lot of expensive houses.”
There was a saying passed down among the soldiers since the urban battle for Liaodong Castle.
- —If you destroy a thatched house, you get cursed at for ‘even if they are the people of an enemy country, blah blah blah,’ but if you destroy a tiled-roof house, you don’t get cursed at.