Claude and the other two stayed in the academy with the garrison unit for around ten days before the main group finally arrived.
From the 23rd of the 1st month onwards, a large number of carriages from the royal capital arrived to deliver all sorts of supplies and a few soldiers who came to do some simple construction.
Three or four days later, many cadets and instructors arrived at the academy, but Claude didn't see Moriad or Dyavid anywhere.
Manrique, who had gotten to know Claude very well in the past few days, finally showed that he was favored by Prince Hansbach. No matter how complicated the affairs were, they would always be neatly organized and handled in no time at all.
Claude watched as the snow-covered academy transformed into something else in just a few short days. Tents, classrooms, cafeterias, bathhouses, etc., soon appeared on the wasteland.
Soon, a notice was posted on the entrance. He went to take a look and found that the training was split into two classes. There were a total of 16 classes. Ten of them were for sergeants, which was the rank of sergeants to sergeants. Their goal was to train qualified officers at the bottom.
Both Myjack and Big Gum were on the list.
Another level was the junior officer training. From second lieutenant to captain, there were six training courses. The purpose of the training was to strengthen the tactical level of the platoon and brigade combat units, as well as the methods of troop management and training the skills of the soldiers.
Claude saw Moriad, Dyavid and Berklin, who was assigned to 2nd Ranger Tribe, on the list. The other familiar names were junior officers from other tribes in 1st Ranger Tribe.
But the problem was that Claude didn't see his name on the list. Did he miss out on it?
Claude decided to look for the busy Lieutenant Colonel Manrique and ask him what was going on.
Manrik nodded and said, "I was just about to look for you. Wait for me to finish what I have to do."
So, Claude waited for the better part of a day until Manrique finished arranging the matters on hand and chased his subordinates off to carry out his orders. It wasn't long before the office finally quieted down.
"This is for you," said Manrik as he handed a document to Claude.
Claude took a look at the document. Advanced seminar?
Wait, that can't be right. How did I end up in this advanced class? There were 26 names. Apart from Claude, who had the rank of captain, the other 25 had the title of colonel. Eight of them were colonels.
Seeing Claude's doubtful expression, Manrique laughed heartily. "Surprised, right? I was just as shocked as you when I first received the document.
But after asking around, I found out that you're a candidate that General Michaelic K. Priest personally appointed.
General Michelic said that even he couldn't deal with more than five thousand enemies with less than a company of men. If you can defeat Squirrel Village, there's no need for you to go through some lieutenant officer training. You're more than qualified to join this advanced seminar. "
Claude said awkwardly, "It's a favor from the general. I'm just lucky.
By the way, Manrique, what's this advanced seminar for? "
However, Manrique didn't answer Claude's question. Instead, he changed the topic to Ranger. "Did you know? Originally, all the officers who participated in the training would be promoted a rank and transferred to Ranger.
It's a pity that there's no more Ranger. "
"What do you mean?" Claude was stunned. "There's no more Ranger?
Does that mean the royal family has compromised and doesn't want an independent military force? "
"No," Manrique replied, "Ranger Corps is gone, but Ranger still exists."
Ranger? What's that? There's never been a division in the kingdom before. Claude didn't understand.
Aueran's military system used battalions as individual combat units. Each battalion had around 1,100 men and could be augmented by two artillery companies for a total strength of around 1,200 men.
One regiment and four battalions, plus a garrison brigade and the personnel of the various departments under the regiment, the total strength was no more than 5,400 men. Above the regiment was a division. One division had four regiments, a garrison battalion and an artillery battalion, as well as the troops directly under the division headquarters, the total strength was nearly 24,000 to 25,000 men.
Above a division was a corps. A corps had two divisions, a cavalry division, a garrison brigade, two cannon brigades, and the various departments under it, totaling around 60,000 men.
However, Manrique's explanation soon allowed him to understand what a division was.
With a division as the main force, a cavalry regiment, an independent reinforced combat battalion, and an artillery battalion, the total force would be around 32,000 men.
Compared to a corps, a division was half the size of a division.
The biggest difference between a division and a corps was that it had five brigades as the main force.
It wasn't like a corps, where one division was used to attack or defend while the other division was used as backup.
As the formation of Ranger was met with unanimous opposition from the nobles and ministers of the kingdom, even the four ace corps of the kingdom coveted the 80,000 warhorses required for Ranger. So, both in the open and in the shadows, they didn't want another Ranger corps to increase the kingdom's military expenditure.
So, the biggest obstacle for the Stellin royal family to have an independent and reliable armed force was funding and equipment.
The finance minister expressed that the treasury was empty and they couldn't afford another corps' military expenditure.
The ministry of the army, on the other hand, requested for Bluefeather to be converted into a cavalry division to deal with Canas' light cavalry.
They were aiming for the 80,000 warhorses Canas would give them over the next three years. On the surface, it was said that the horses were a trade with Canas, but it was actually a compensation from Canas to Aueras.
They were paying 80,000 warhorses and Aueras would sort out the anti-Auerian armaments they seized from the battlefield and choose some of the old ones for the two corps of Canas. That way, they would be able to trade the warhorses for the weapons and armaments deal.
For Aueras, the weapons and armaments they seized couldn't compare to the standard equipment of the kingdom's army anyway, so they would be destroyed. Being able to trade them for warhorses was a good deal and they would still have to pay for the destruction.
The ministry of the army, on the other hand, believed that the defeat on the Great Plains of Canas proved that infantry couldn't stand up against light cavalry.
So, converting Bluefeather into a cavalry division would prevent them from suffering the same defeat in future wars.
Bluefeather would be stationed at the border of Canas and converted into a cavalry division. It would be able to effectively suppress the harassment and attacks of light cavalry on the kingdom's newly conquered lands.
Even though the two kingdoms had signed a peace treaty, the nomadic tribes of Canas had never stopped harassing the former Askilinian border. It was a custom of the nomadic tribes for thousands of years and not even Grand Duke Canas could restrain it, even though the two duchies were allies back then.
As for Ranger, putting aside whether the kingdom could afford it, the ministry of the army didn't have the budget for it.
Moreover, Ranger was to be a mobile force, not a cavalry, but an infantry unit on horseback.
In other words, they would use horses to get to their destination quickly before dismounting and fighting.
That way, there was no need for them to equip themselves with warhorses. They could just use horses of a better quality instead of riding. They wouldn't need to fight on horseback anyway.
Faced with the censure of the ministers and nobles, Prince Hansbach had no choice but to discuss with his father, Stellin X, and adopt General Michaelch's suggestion. They reduced the size of the corps and came up with a nondescript division.
Only then did they reach a compromise with the ministry of the army and receive a certain amount of equipment and supplies.
At the same time, Ranger was designated as the royal guard unit. The capital and military expenses would all be covered by the royal family.
The corps became a division and its size was reduced by half. General Michaelch believed that this would allow them to be more agile and responsive in battle.
On top of that, the division would all use the aubass triangular matchlock musket. The precision aiming musket had already displayed its might on the battlefield and was enough to change the kingdom's original tactic of marching in formation and firing at the same time.
Ranger wouldn't need to be like other corps, where one division would attack or defend and retreat after being crippled and replaced by another division.
In the war that had just engulfed the entire eastern part of the continent, the kingdom's army had adopted the old tactic. When the enemy had set up a defensive position and refused to fight in the field, the army had lined up and marched towards the enemy's defensive position, resulting in heavy casualties.
Manrik told Claude that the reason Michaelch organized the seminar was to discuss the new tactics of Ranger and conduct various drills to test the effectiveness of the new tactics.
So that's why. Even though he was only a captain, he was the first to figure out the tactic of getting down on the ground, loading gunpowder, and advancing on the ground to suppress the enemy's firepower. That was how the aubass triangular matchlock's ability to accurately aim and fire was fully utilized. That was why Michaelch took a liking to him. Coupled with his victory at Squirrel Village, it wasn't surprising that he was selected for the seminar.
"But there's one more problem. It's about you," Manrik said awkwardly.
"It's just that there's a problem with the allocation of our lodgings."
"Lodgings?
What's wrong? There's nothing wrong with my current lodgings. Isn't it nice to have a tent for one person? "
"It's like this …" Manrik explained for a long time before Claude finally understood the reason.
It was simple. With the arrival of a large number of trainees, the tents in the academy had to be arranged and distributed.
The trainees in the ten sergeant-class trainees didn't have any problems. They were arranged like soldiers in 12-man tents.
The trainees in the six junior officers' training classes, on the other hand, were treated better. A row of simple wooden huts had been built in the academy, with eight people to a hut.
As for the instructors of the academy and the field officers who had come to participate in this advanced seminar, they were all staying in the villas that had been built outside the academy.
That became a problem for Claude. He was a captain and logically speaking, he should be staying with the junior officers.
However, Claude was participating in the seminar and didn't need to go through any training. It wouldn't be appropriate for him to stay with the trainees.
Claude didn't really mind. He could stay anywhere.
However, Manrik said that the junior officers would have to go through another round of military training. In other words, they would have to go to the field every morning for training.
The class he was in would sometimes have a sand table simulation, so staying up late for a long time was a natural thing to happen.
That way, Claude wouldn't be able to stay in the wooden hut in the military academy since his schedule was completely different from the junior officers in training. Not only would they affect each other's rest, Manrique was also worried that Claude would become the target of the other junior officers' jealousy and envy.
Come to think of it, it made sense. They were trained like drowning dogs early in the morning, yet Claude yawned and returned to his room to sleep. Anyone who saw that would feel terrible. It was a huge blow to their morale.
The tent that Claude was currently living in was also going to be reclaimed by the academy. Due to the fact that the three of them had registered early, they were able to stay in the academy for more than ten days and stayed in the tents that Manrique had prepared for them.
Now that the academy was about to reopen, all the supplies had arrived and the necessary preparations were almost complete. The dormitories had already been allocated and they couldn't just leave Claude's tent standing alone in the field. So, reclaiming it wasn't up for discussion.
"Do I have to move to the villas outside the academy?" Claude asked.
"No, your rank isn't high enough."
Manrik was put in a spot. But rules were rules. Those who weren't majors weren't allowed to stay in the villas.
Additionally, the villas were packed to the brim with people. Three majors were squeezed into one of the wooden huts.
Firstly, the academy didn't have enough funds to build a wooden hut.
Secondly, he didn't think that Michelic would invite so many majors to participate in the meeting. There were only sixteen slots at first, but now there were nine more. Claude was also a captain.
"And you're not an instructor at the military academy …" Manrique added another stab in the wound.
The wooden huts in the villas had already been allocated to the instructors of the academy.
Some of the instructors had families to take care of, while others had servants or maids to take care of their daily needs. Claude wouldn't be welcomed to live with those instructors.
Claude's face darkened. It was no wonder Manrik said that his living arrangements were a problem. He had unknowingly become the isolated one.
"Then what do you think I should do?
Why don't you set up a tent for me and I'll find a place to camp in the village? "
"No need. I've already taken care of that problem," Manrik said confidently.
Lieutenant Colonel Manrique said confidently, "I've already appointed a family in the village to take care of your accommodation problem. During the period of your training at the military academy, you can stay at their house. The cost will be settled by the academy and them..."