On the 20th of May, Year 583 of the Sacred Light Calendar, Claude was promoted to a lieutenant-colonel of the Aueran army in front of all the teachers and students at the graduation ceremony of the royal military academy. He was also made the commander of Ranger's Reinforced Battalion.
He was only 26 that year and had been in the army for less than eight years.
On the same day, more than two hundred other officers who performed well during their training and ranked among the top in the academy examinations were also promoted.
Myjack, Moriad, Berklin and Dyavid were among those promoted. Myjack was promoted to second lieutenant while the other three were promoted to captain.
The next ten days were for the cadets to go on holiday and wait for their assignments.
After the close to a thousand officers and soldiers who had received training for this period had graduated, the Royal Army Military Academy of Calleben would become a youth military academy, just like the other royal military academies in the capital.
The students were all underage children of the civilian officers who had sacrificed themselves in the Eastern Regional War five years ago. From then on, the Caleben Royal Army Military Academy had a different name — the Orphan Military Academy.
While Michierc had given Claude the freedom to choose 20 outstanding officers, they were only a fifth of a regular battalion. Not to mention, Claude's Reinforced Battalion was an oversized unit. He needed at least 160 officers to effectively control the entire battalion.
Myjack, Gum, Moriad, Dyavid and Berklin insisted on following Claude. In their eyes, following Claude would give them more peace of mind and a better future. Berklin had the most to say about that.
Back when he was assigned to the newly formed 2nd Ranger Battalion, it was rather impressive at first, but the ones who became the battalion commander were all old-fashioned, traditional soldiers.
Even though they used the new tactics suggested by the first prince and used the aubass mark 3 muskets to attack and suppress the enemy, they didn't really care about the lives of their soldiers and focused on completing their mission as quickly as possible. As a result, the 2nd Ranger Battalion suffered heavy casualties.
Berklin no longer had any thoughts of making a name for himself. His priority in battle was to preserve his life.
Fortunately, he was smart enough to read the situation and managed to escape back from the Great Plains of Canas.
Myjack didn't want to leave the army and preferred to stay by Claude's side. He was a second lieutenant now and was the perfect fit to be Claude's adjutant. Claude didn't want him to leave either. With him by his side, he wouldn't have to worry about the trivial matters of life.
Big Gum was scolded by Claude for being a good-for-nothing. He was only able to muddle along during his training in the military academy and was only promoted a rank last year, from staff sergeant to sergeant.
Given his rank, he could only be a vice-jarl in the unit.
However, he was loyal to Claude and was one of his trusted subordinates. After some thought, Claude appointed Gum as the captain of his guard squad and put him under Myjack's command.
Moriad, Dyavid and Berklin were all captains and could serve as the jarls of the brigade directly under the battalion. The last brigade jarl would be appointed by the higher-ups.
Apart from the brigade jarl who was a captain, four second lieutenants were required to serve as platoon jarls and 16 sergeants were required to serve as brigade jarls.
To put it simply, a brigade would need 22 to 23 basic officers. The 20 basic officers Claude chose weren't even enough to fill up a brigade.
Claude's solution was simple. He appointed Moriad, Dyavid and Berklin as brigade jarls and had them recommend the trainees they got along well with during their training. The four second lieutenants would become their platoon jarls and Myjack would recommend three more. That way, the fighting power of the three brigades would be guaranteed.
It only took Claude two days to gather the 20 basic officers and submit them to Michelic for approval.
As for the light cavalry brigade and the artillery brigade, they were considered specialized units and the officers they needed had to be assigned to them by the higher-ups.
Apart from that, Claude requested Michelic to deal with the logistics of the battalion as soon as possible. That way, Claude would be able to form the battalion in the shortest amount of time possible.
Michelic quickly sent two majors to Claude. One of them was called Schneck and the other was Siegfeld.
Schnake was 34 years old and could be considered a young soldier in the army. But compared to Claude, he felt as if his age had been gnawed on by a dog.
After all, Claude was eight years younger than him but had a higher rank than him. Not to mention, Claude wasn't born into a noble family but a commoner just like him. The only reason he was able to get to where he was was because of his military exploits.
Major Schnake was appointed as the second in command of the battalion, Claude's aide.
According to the files, his characteristics were that he was very meticulous, diligent, dedicated, and obedient.
Michelic felt that he could be Claude's assistant and cooperate with him in the formation of the battalion. At the same time, he could help Claude make up for his mistakes.
Claude had a bad habit of not paying much attention to the finer details when the big picture was already set and he would just leave it at that.
That was what the strict general was most dissatisfied with about Claude. He hoped that as a soldier, Claude would see things through to the end.
He shouldn't leave out the finer details when the outcome of the battle was already set in stone.
For example, he hoped that Claude's combat report would include the number of guns and gunpowder seized, as well as the number of enemies killed and wounded after the battle. All of that needed to be reported clearly so that he could evaluate and summarize the results after the battle.
He didn't want Claude to write in the report that he had seized countless firearms and wiped out most of the enemies.
However, Claude never changed. Regardless of whether it was a sand table simulation or a battle drill, he would only write a rough report after a victory and leave the rest behind.
He felt that it was pointless to waste time on such things. It wasn't a real battle, anyway. It was just a sand table simulation and a battle drill.
Michelic could only blame it on Claude's lack of proper military education and training, which made it impossible for him to develop a strict and rigid personality.
However, Michaelch loved Claude's unconstrained thinking and unconstrained style of battle. Since he couldn't get Claude to develop good military habits, he felt that it would be a good idea to give Claude a simple and meticulous assistant.
Major Siegfried was different from Major Schnake. Major Schnake was ordered by his superiors and only needed to obey orders and report to his superiors.
Siegfeld, on the other hand, had a choice. He could go to another mobile division of Ranger to take up the position of a logistics officer.
The colonel of that mobile division was also a friend of his and they had a good relationship.
With the colonel's help, the logistical work he was in charge of would be smooth and no one would give him any trouble.
But Major Siegfried had received another appointment, which was to serve as the logistics officer of the Independent Reinforced Combat Battalion.
Like Lieutenant-Colonels Ledefonk and Skri, he was a logistical officer and was skilled in statistics, auditing, and management.
The only difference between him and the others was that he didn't have a strong ambition to climb up the ranks. He was rather satisfied with his rank and treatment and was diligent and responsible in his work.
One was an invitation from a friend and the other was an appointment from his superiors. Siegfeld found it rather difficult to accept.
He wanted to accept the goodwill of the colonel's friend, but he was also worried that people would gossip behind his back that he only became the logistics officer of the mobile division because of his connections.
The appointment from his superiors, on the other hand, made him feel uneasy. He was unfamiliar with the place and didn't know if he would be criticized for taking up the post.
Especially a boss who was younger than him. He must be proud and arrogant. Thinking about it, he felt that he would not be easy to get along with …
As a precaution, Siegfeld went to look into Claude's background and was surprised to find that his good friend from the academy, Lieutenant Colonel Screed, used to be Claude's superior.
So, Siegfeld went to Skri and asked if he should accept his friend's invitation or his superior's appointment.
Skri told him resolutely not to think about anything else and to report to the reinforced battalion. He guaranteed that not only would Major Siegfeld not face any trouble, but he would also be able to quickly gain merits under Claude's command and advance further up the ranks.
Skri told him that Claude wasn't difficult to get along with. On the contrary, he respected capable people. As long as a logistician like Siegfelde did his job well, he would be able to gain Claude's trust and support in no time.
Back when he took up his post in 1st Ranger Tribe, he treated himself as Claude's logistics officer and got along well with him.
"It's a pity that I'm already the logistics officer of the division. If I didn't have a post, I would rather switch places with you and work with Claude in the battalion," Skri said with a sigh.
At the same time, he wrote a letter of recommendation for Claude and stuffed it into Siegfeld's robes.
Lieutenant Colonel Skri was very clear about his good friend's character. He was decisive and straightforward when it came to his responsibilities, but when it came to his own future, he was very indecisive.
That was how Siegfeld came to report and even brought the recommendation letter Skri had written for him.
Claude was delighted. The arrival of Major Schneck and Major Siegfeld had solved his urgent problem. From their files and Skri's recommendation letter to Major Siegfeld, it could be seen that the two were honest and diligent people. They didn't have the ambition to fight for power and profit, so they could be of great help to him.
"I'm glad that the two of you can join the big family of the battalion."
Claude stood up and shook hands with the two majors to welcome them. "Let's do this. Let's divide our responsibilities today. Time is of the essence. We'll be setting up camp in Chateau Christophe in a few days to officially form a combat battalion, so it's best if we can settle the matters of the battalion."
"Major Schneck, as the deputy battalion commander of the combat battalion, you will be responsible for the establishment of the various departments of the battalion headquarters. You will be responsible for the establishment of the garrison, military law, personnel, communications, staff, and archives. You will be in charge of the garrison squadron and the military police squadron.
Also, the communications and medical teams will have to request for personnel from the higher-ups to establish communications between the battalion and the division. Also, you'll have to perform physical examinations on all soldiers who join the battalion. "
Schnake's eyes widened in surprise. He didn't think that Claude would delegate so much power to him. The garrison, military law, personnel, and communications were known as the four most important departments of the battalion and were the key to the battalion commander's control over the battalion. He didn't think that Claude would entrust them to him so easily. It made him feel like a soldier who was willing to die for someone who knew him well.
The garrison was under the control of the garrison platoon, which was in charge of guarding the battalion headquarters. At the same time, the officers' orderlies, guards, and aides were all under the management of the garrison.
The security platoon that protected the high-ranking officers, such as Claude's personal guard squad, was also under the management of the garrison.
However, Claude didn't hand over the security platoon to Schnake. Instead, he appointed Myjack as the platoon jarl of the platoon and his aide.
Apart from Claude, who had his own squad of guards, the other high-ranking officers could only have a squad of three to four guards when they went out. They were assigned by the platoon jarl or dispatched on a temporary basis.
The military law office was in charge of regulating military discipline. There was a military police squad in charge of enforcing the law. Not only were they in charge of military punishment, they were also in charge of checking military mail, guarding confinement rooms, and monitoring and managing those who broke the law.
The Human Resource Department was responsible for checking the identity of the individual, managing the promotion and rewards of the officers and soldiers of the battalion, as well as the list of salaries, benefits and allowances, as well as the compensation for the deceased officers and soldiers.
The communications office was in charge of issuing orders from the higher-ups and contacting the subordinate units. The main means of communication was through messenger pigeons and horsemen.
The staff room and archives room weren't that important. They could be set up later.
After discussing Schnake's responsibilities, it was time for Siegfeld to be in charge of logistics. That went without saying. Siegfeld was far more experienced than Claude.
The deployment of logisticians, the allocation of funds, the collection of equipment, and the storage of supplies were all handled by Major Siegfeld. Claude's order to him was that no one was to treat the craftsmen of the support company as free labor and use it for their own personal gain.
Apart from that, Claude gave it some thought and handed the supply brigade under the jurisdiction of the logistics department to Schnake and Siegfried to take command together.
This logistics and supply brigade wasn't a team of handymen or coachmen. Strictly speaking, they were armed escorts and warehouse guards. They were similarly soldiers in military uniform.
Claude felt that the logistics brigade's structure was a little unreasonable. Normally, a battalion would have a company in charge of guarding the warehouse and escorting the supplies.
But he didn't know what the higher-ups were thinking and gave the battalion a brigade. That meant that the logistics department had more manpower than the battalion guards. It was as if the roles were reversed.
But since it had already been decided, Claude had no choice but to do as he was told.
However, he had already decided to take back control of the logistics brigade from the logistics department. Fortunately, Siegfeld didn't care too much about his military power and easily agreed to Claude's request.