Chapter 673 07.672: “A Navy Captain Who Adapts to Local Customs”

“Sir, I suggest you change your equipment. The uniforms of the Imperial Navy are probably not suitable for this smoke-filled land battlefield.”

After arriving at the military station, the staff officer looked at the three men who came down from the ship, still wearing the uniforms and equipment of the Imperial Navy, and said earnestly: “After all, you are here on behalf of the Imperial Navy to study the experience of troop organization and management here at the Astra Militarum. We should be responsible for your life and health.”

“You’re absolutely right, Staff Officer. Even though I’m inside the car with the help of the internal circulation system, I still feel like my lungs are burning on fire.” Horatio frowned and raised his hand to rub his chest, his eyes revealing a hint of fatigue and helplessness after riding in the car for too long.

As they gradually approached the front line shrouded in poisonous fog and smoke, it was necessary to change their clothes to adapt to the needs of the battlefield.

Horatio took Farida and Louise into the Krieg’s armory and began to select replacement equipment.

Although I am only temporarily here in the Astra Militarum to exchange experiences and learn, and to complete the test of the Krieg people, it is still necessary to adapt to the local customs.

Horatio searched carefully in the Death Troopers’ equipment room and finally selected a sturdy ceramic steel cavalry breastplate that was just enough to protect his chest and back.

He picked up a Minerva cavalry helmet. It felt heavy in his hand and looked very solid and reliable.

He originally wanted to wear the Hell Sniper’s power armor, but after research by the inventor Lati, the half-ton armor was too heavy in the mud-filled trenches and no-man’s land, and the mortar around it might block the heat dissipation ports of the power backpack, causing poor heat dissipation and making it a burden.

After all, the design and equipment of the Hell Sniper power armor were all considered from the perspective of facilitating close combat in naval cabins and indoors. The expected combat environment did not include the trench warfare and muddy bomb craters that the Astra Militarum was responsible for.

After all, no commander would use such elite troops to fill trenches. Horatio hoped to continue to use the Hell’s Vanguard as an amphibious special tactical force in the future.

He might consider establishing an air-to-air rapid reaction force, but it would be a dedicated air assault brigade, not the precious Hellraiser.

After selecting his equipment, he turned to the quartermaster and said, “Spray this armor in matte black paint.”

The quartermaster quickly arranged for someone to deal with it.

Then, Horatio picked up a brand new grenadier skull respirator, which had an additional piece of armor to protect the face compared to ordinary soldiers.

Although it was uncertain whether his face could be protected from being shot through, at least he could block the flying shrapnel and avoid being disfigured.

Then his eyes fell on the large golden shoulder plate that symbolized the rank of colonel. He hesitated for a moment, but finally shook his head and gave up wearing it.

He simply asked the quartermaster to carefully paint three lines representing an Imperial Navy captain on the back of his helmet, with the lines in a triangle dotted with three white stars.

Because it is a simulation of building the Imperial Navy’s land forces, he will not adopt the ranks and sequences of the Astra Militarum, but will continue to use the ranks of the Imperial Navy.

After all, he was now the acting commander, which was equivalent to the Astra Militarum “borrowing” two regiments for him and Farida to conduct real-life simulations.

Thus, after changing his clothes, when viewed from the front, he looked like an ordinary Death Trooper—except that he was not riding a horse.

He thought that this way he could avoid the enemy snipers’ attention when leading the charge, and the soldiers behind him would also know that their colonel commander was charging alongside them.

As for the leg equipment, Horatio was in a dilemma: should he continue to wear the boots or change to gaiters and low-top leather shoes?
He thought for a long time and finally decided to put on his boots first.

[At least it can protect against water. It might be useful in this muddy battlefield.] He thought.

After changing his equipment, Horatio strode towards the pre-assembly area.

The transport plane slowly landed, the hatch opened, and fully armed Krieg Death Corps reserve troops filed out.

They marched in step, their equipment gleaming coldly in the dim light.

These soldiers did not have specific numbers, or rather, they had them before, but at this moment, they were about to be merged into the regiment on the front line and become part of the new regiment, so the previous numbers were no longer important.

“You look really grim wearing a gas mask.” A dull female voice came from behind. “To be honest, I was able to recognize you thanks to the gauntlets and arm armor you are wearing now.”

Horatio turned around and looked at Farida, who was only wearing a gas mask. The corners of his mouth behind the mask slightly raised, and he teased: “You still haven’t taken off your military supervisor uniform.”

“This uniform is a symbol of my standard as the God-Emperor. I will never take it off.” Even though no one can see it, Farida still has a serious expression. Her clenched right fist presses heavily on the Sky Eagle symbol on the breastplate. The look behind the eyepiece is firm, revealing her unquestionable determination.

“If you accidentally fall into the mud, you won’t be able to wash your platinum uniform,” Horatio said half-jokingly.

“Don’t worry about such things. We are the commanders, and the commander should stay in the command post, just like the captain should sit on the command throne.” Farida held her head high and responded confidently.

“That may be true for other star groups, but this is the Death Corps of Krieg. I’m not sure if things will be as good as you imagined.” Horatio put away his smile, his expression became serious, and his eyes looked towards the battlefield shrouded in smoke in the distance.

“No rush, let’s go to the command post first to check out the situation. After all, we still don’t know what the situation is on the front line.” Farida nodded slightly, her expression becoming serious.

Horatio turned his gaze to Louise, a young woman who had served in the Cadian Blitzkrieg Army and was now dressed in particularly simple attire.

She had not chosen the equipment of a Death Trooper like Horatio had, but instead wore a set of standard Astra Militarum grenadier carapace armor.

Although this set of armor has fewer protective parts, it is lighter and more flexible, making it very suitable for fast movement on the battlefield.

The chest and back of the breastplate were clearly painted with the rank insignia of a naval captain. It is worth mentioning that she had replaced her naval officer boots with her treasured Cadia combat boots.

This is a short boot that only reaches the ankle, somewhat similar to modern combat boots, and is tied with a leggings to below the knee.

The knees are covered separately with knee pads and thigh armor, achieving an excellent balance between lightness and protection.

She didn’t even carry a power sword like him and Farida, perhaps because she felt it would not be useful in trench warfare. She only carried a Cadian trench knife and a bolt pistol on her waist.

“You look really professional, Louise. It seems that your service in Cadian has indeed left a deep mark on your soul.” Horatio praised her as he looked at her professional outfit.

“I miss those days, Captain. There’s a special kind of familiarity when I step on land. It’s completely different from the slightly weightless environment in the void. This feeling of being grounded is very reassuring.”

Louise looked down at the two men’s feet through her gas mask and said with concern, “Also, Captain, Commissioner Hood, I suggest you change your boots.”

“Why?” Horatio frowned slightly. He always believed in Louise’s professional judgment. After all, she was the only one among them who had actually squatted in the trenches.

“Wellies are not suitable for long walks, especially through muddy terrain in no-man’s land.

If you just want to be waterproof, Cadian combat boots with leggings are enough.

I have two more pairs. If you and the military supervisor need them, I’ll get them right away.” Louise explained patiently, her eyes full of sincerity.

After hearing this, Horatio felt that it made sense. Just as he was hesitating whether to trouble Louise to make a trip, Staff Officer Clausewitz hurried over with a group of people.

“Report, Colonel, you and Inspector Hood’s staff are ready.” Staff Officer Clausewitz stood straight and saluted Horatio with a standard Sky Eagle salute.

Horatio returned the salute, and then said to Louise, “You can get it later when you have time. The military situation is urgent right now, so I won’t bother you to make this trip.”

The staff officer carefully assembled two staff teams for Horatio and Farida, including personnel officers, logistics officers and tactical officers.

They will be responsible for handling and formulating most of the logistics and replenishment matters. It is these trivial and necessary tasks that maintain the combat effectiveness of the entire regiment.

Horatio only needed to sign his agreement to the military order. At the same time, he also needed to carefully observe how the Astra Militarum staff properly handled the affairs of an entire regiment, and record it in a log, which he would later bring back to the Imperial Navy’s Marine Corps as a reference for reorganization.

Through quick questioning and consultation with this professional team, Horatio gained a preliminary and clear understanding of the Kriegs’ tactics and organization.

The organization of the Krieg Death Corps is different from that of the British. The British commander is mainly responsible for logistics in the rear. After all, their battalion is large in scale, and the specific command affairs on the front line are the responsibility of the battalion commander, lieutenant colonel.

The Kriegs, on the other hand, tended to use their regiments as if they were a battalion, deploying them all in one theater of operations, unlike the British who split up their battalions and deployed them separately.

Captain Krieger’s own work focuses primarily on developing strategy and offensive and defensive plans.

From this point of view, although his title is regimental commander, the tactical positioning of Colonel Krieger is actually like managing an extremely large army battalion.

This also fully reflects one thing: different legions of the Astra Militarum have their own characteristics from combat style to specific deployment, and are not all the same. Behind them often lies the unique war culture of the planets and troops to which they belong.

“Your Excellency, the Passchendaele-Ypres area was attacked by the enemy’s main force this morning. Our contact with the front line has been cut off, and the specific situation in the area is currently unclear.”

A Krieg officer quickly walked up to Staff Officer Clausewitz and reported in a mechanical and cold tone.

Horatio studied the officer, and judging by the marks left on the cuffs of his uniform, he had just removed the insignia of a Staff Sergeant and sewn on that of an Astra Militarum Major.

“God Emperor, do everything you can to get in touch with the frontline immediately!”

Staff Officer Clausewitz frowned and looked serious. After giving orders to the Astra Militarum major who had been promoted less than 12 hours ago, he quickly turned back to Horatio and said, “Colonel, we have lost contact with the front-line units. I’m afraid your arrival will be delayed for a while before we can determine the current battle situation.”

“You mean… the regiment that Farida and I are in charge of may have been destroyed by the enemy before we even arrived?” Horatio asked in surprise, his eyes wide open, in disbelief.

“It’s still too early to be sure, Colonel. But it’s a foregone conclusion that they’ve suffered heavy losses. They were already in a bad condition. We’ve sent out the Death Troopers to investigate the situation.”

After the staff officer finished speaking, he looked at the Krieg reinforcements that were gathering on the parade grounds and ordered the personnel officer, “All of this batch of reinforcements should follow Colonel Horatio Cochrane and Military Supervisor Farida Hood.”

“Yes, sir. A total of 30000 troops have arrived today. This batch of reinforcements is the last one today, about 8000 people.

Another 25000 people will arrive at this military assembly point tomorrow, and about 31000 people will arrive the day after tomorrow. The reinforcements will stabilize at this scale within the next days.” The personnel officer responded quickly.

“For the subsequent daily reinforcements, priority should be given to filling up the regiments of Colonel Cochrane and Military Inspector Hood, and the reinforcement requests for other regiments should be pushed to the back. The Passchendaele-Ypres encirclement line must not be broken!” said Staff Officer Clausewitz in a decisive tone.

“Yes, Staff Officer.” The personnel officer stood at attention and saluted, then took the order and left.

“Colonel, Military Inspector, it is 25 kilometers from here to the Passchendaele-Ypres front. We will board the troop transport trucks here, get off 3 kilometers from the front line, and then walk to the front line.” Staff Officer Clausewitz turned to Horatio and Farida and explained the marching arrangements in detail.

(End of this chapter)