Chapter 539: A Necessary Evil

Nearly a week had passed since the start of the conflict between the Lombardic Rebels and the Austrian Occupiers. Several hundred attacks had been committed during this brief insurgency. Austrian supplies were dwindling quickly, and many of the officers within the brigade were "assassinated" during this time frame.

Currently, Heimerich stood within the confines of his stronghold, which existed in the form of a small castle in the largest of the Mountainous settlements. The young man gazed at the map with a bitter expression as he tossed it to the side in rage. These rebels had wiped half of his unit out, either via "attrition" caused by their sabotage efforts or outright "deaths" in combat. Just how did Berengar expect him to defeat the Jagdkommandos and their band of rebels when they blended into the local population seamlessly?

With the villagers protecting the rebels, and their identities, it was almost impossible to locate and eliminate these guerillas. It was at this moment that the Austrian Field Marshal Candidate suddenly realized something of significant importance. Austrian rules of engagement dictated that harming unarmed civilians was a criminal offense, but there were exemptions to this rule.

For example, under certain circumstances, such as attacking an enemy position built around civilians, it was permissible to shell the target even if it resulted in civilian casualties. The rules were deliberately vague regarding exemptions, but the guiding principle was whether the excessive use of force was necessary to prevent needless casualties of allied soldiers.

Under such a rule, a new opportunity for putting down this rebellion within his occupied territory came to mind. Luckily for him, this was a mock battle, or else the blood of thousands of innocents would be on his hands. However, for the glory of Austria, and absolute victory, such a bloody price was well worth it.

With a new plan of action in mind, Heimerich summoned his remaining officers. After all of them were present, he updated them on the current situation.

"Gentlemen, things are looking bleak... I won't lie to you with our current supplies. It is only a matter of time before our entire brigade will succumb to attrition. The insurgents have bested us in every encounter and remain hidden from our scouts. Now, I don't know about all of you, but I refuse to concede defeat to the Jagdkommandos and their band of rebels."

One officer scoffed at this last remark, in the eyes of all the men gathered in this room, this conflict was unwinnable, they were simply counting down the days until they were defeated and could return from this military exercise and get some much needed rest.

When Heimerich heard this, he glared at the man before scolding him.

"Oh? Do you have a thought on this matter? Well, go ahead, enlighten us!"

The officer looked from his commander to his comrades with a pleading expression. However, he had dug a hole for himself, and nobody else was willing to jump into it with him. Thus, he was forced to speak his thoughts on the matter.

"Sir... There is no way to win this. I believe that the King has designed this operation so you would fail. Just how are we supposed to identify and eliminate the rebels when they have the support of the people?"

Now it was Heimerich's turn to scoff. He gazed at the officer with contempt as a cruel smile etched itself upon his lips.

"It is simple. If there is nobody left to fight against us, then we have achieved victory, have we not?"

All the officers gazed up at their commander with a look of horror as they realized what they were about to be ordered to do. This may be a military exercise, but they would still have to act out a slaughter if the command was given.

However, before they could protest this decision, Heimerich made his orders clear to everyone within the room.

"Gather your remaining soldiers, I want you to go from village to village, and drag every last man, woman, and child out of their homes, and "execute them" as far as I am concerned they are all guilty of treason at this point. By harboring the rebels, they have shown who they support, and thus they shall share the same fate."

The various officers looked around at each other, expecting someone else to refuse this command, yet not a single one of them voiced their discontent. Silence prevailed for a while before Heimerich screamed at them all.

"Now!"

Having received their commander's fury, the young men who had just graduated from the academy rushed towards their units and relayed their commands. Meanwhile, Heimerich pulled out his flask and drank from its contents as he gazed up at the hill above where he knew Berengar was located.

"You think you are smart, cousin? Giving me an impossible task to fulfill? Well, let me show you how I handle this little task of yours!"

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Within the hour, the Austrian Soldiers were kicking down doors and dragging the villagers out into the streets against their will. While they had refrained from burning down the homes, after all, this was only an exercise, the soldiers fulfilled their duty to the letter.

In one village, Andreas Jaeger was hiding inside a small hovel when he heard a commotion from the other room. The family that had taken kindness on him, and hidden him from the "authorities" were screaming as they fought against the Austrian Soldiers. The special forces Captain grabbed hold of his revolver and burst through the door into the room where the conflict was ongoing.

However, before he could fire a shot, he was wrestled to the ground by an Austrian soldier, who pinned his gun to the floor, as for the other members of the squad, they bound up Andreas, and the family before dragging them into the center of the city. To his shock, Andreas witnessed the entire town, including the rebellious youths, and his jagdkommandos all gathered before a battalion of soldiers who brandished their weapons towards them.

The officer in charge of this battalion spoke towards the villagers as he sentenced them to their "deaths".

"By the authority of the crown's personal representative, Field Marshal Candidate Heimerich von Graz, you are all found guilty of harboring rebels, and are hereby sentenced to death for the crimes of treason."

Andreas gazed in horror as the Austrian soldiers loaded their weapons with wax bullets, and aimed down their bores at the gathered villagers. He could not believe that such a senseless slaughter, even if it was all an act, was about to occur under the orders of the man who would lead the Royal Guard.

He immediately stood up to protest this injustice, but was quickly gunned down by one of the rifleman, a wax bullet splattered against his chest, and caused a significant welt to form, Andreas fell to the ground as he watched the rest of the battalion unleash their volley of non-lethal bullets onto the unarmed villagers.

Though this was all an act, the fact that the Austrian soldiers were willing to engage in such a wicked act to ensure that the insurgents were eliminated proved to all the villagers who had been so ruthlessly pelted with non-lethal bullets just what lengths Austria would go to, in order to ensure their victory. Until now, this entire exercise had been a minor inconvenience, but now it was a horrific reminder of the brutality of King Berengar von Kufstein towards those he deemed to be his enemies.

Across all the other villages in the mountains of Lombardy, a similar scene unfolded. In the end, the villagers were released, and allowed to return to their homes, though a deep-seated fear and hatred towards the Austrians formed in their minds. As for Berengar, he and Bruno witnessed at least one of the massacres unfold, and were stunned into silence.

After several moments of gawking at the scene, the Lombardic King finally collected his thoughts before voicing them.

"Can he do that?" If those were real bullets, thousands of my people would be dead right now! Surely they all suffer some form of emotional turmoil after being ripped from their homes and pelted with wax bullets? You never told me this was permitted!"

Berengar shook his head in disbelief as he gazed at the scene. Perhaps even he wouldn't be willing to engage in such cruelty. Even for a military exercise with non-lethal weapons, this was going a bit too far. However, he could not deny the fact of the matter was, Heimerich and his Brigade of Recruits had just achieved victory.

As he reflected on this brief insurgency, and how in the end only a massacre could ensure the victory of the Austrian Army, a demonic smirk etched itself upon Berengar's lips as he unknowingly said the words on his mind.

"Well played, Heimerich..."

When Bruno heard this, he could no longer hold back his fury, and scolded Berengar for his choice of words.

"Well played? Had this been an actual battle, your General would have committed an act of pure evil! You realize that, right?"

Berengar simply smirked in response to this statement before correcting the Puppet King by his side.

"A necessary evil... In the end, Heimerich's orders allowed his soldiers to achieve victory against overwhelming odds. Besides, it is not as if the villagers are blameless. Throughout the entire campaign, your people aided and abetted the rebels. By doing this, they are just as guilty of treason.

Honestly, it is difficult to fight an insurgency of the people, few men have ever achieved success against such an enemy. Though this may be simply an exercise, Heimerich can hold his head high as one of the proud few to have successfully defeated a guerilla force.

I must say that my cousin's actions have given me much to think about, and he has proven himself capable enough to lead my Royal Guard. After all, he has many years to improve upon his flaws as a military commander. Since neither of us won the wager, I suppose you should use the coin to compensate your people for the difficulties they have suffered throughout these past few weeks."

After saying this, Berengar departed from the scene. Now that Heimerich had proven himself befitting of the position, there were plenty of other things to prepare for. As for Bruno, he gazed in awe at Berengar's lack of concern about his officer's sense of morality. Was victory really the only thing that mattered? In the end, Heimerich's orders acted as a permanent reminder of loyalty to the Lombardic King.

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