Chapter 6: Lessons of strategy

The following morning, the wakeup was not very pleasant.

I remember it very well because, unlike my still-sleeping comrades (particularly Rommel, who was snoring loudly and annoyingly), I was already awake. My sleep was so light that I always woke up before everyone else. Call it a habit from my time at the orphanage. I doubted cadets would behave like the pranksters typical of my childhood, but early morning alertness was a habit so deeply rooted in me that I could not disobey it.

I was looking enviously at my comrades when suddenly a terrible thought occurred to me. We were in a military academy. And in military academies, just like in normal barracks, it was likely that the wakeup would be performed by loudspeakers and screaming sergeants who would come to wake us in a "violent" way.

And then, another though: I was already awake. If I could get ready and dressed in my uniform before the Major arrived, I would gain more points in his eyes.

For a few seconds, I wondered if it was a good thing to wake up my comrades and persuade them to do like me. However, in the end I decided not to do it. Apart from the fact that I would have wasted time explaining my idea to them, I would have risked getting some insult or worse. We were not friendly enough for me to want to risk it.

Then I got out of my cot, being careful not to produce any noise that could wake them up. I put my bare feet on the floor of the dormitory and moved, guided by the little light that illuminated the room, towards my uniform.

I do not deny that it was difficult to dress in silence and with very little light, moreover with the fear of producing a noise that would alarm my dormant comrades, but in the end, I succeeded in my intent. I would have liked to have a mirror with which to check if the uniform was crumpled and was instead in good order, but the only mirror that we had available was located in the public bathroom, and to reach it I would have to go through the whole dormitory.

Fortunately, I still had two hands and a sense of touch, so I checked the uniform carefully, hoping that if there was something wrong, I could notice it before the Major.

I was just finishing up checking myself when I heard a noise coming from outside. I croaked my ears, trying to figure out what it could be. Then I understood:

It was a military trumpet, the alarm clock for the academy cadets.

Nothing happened for several minutes. Then, suddenly, I heard footsteps coming from outside and several lights in the entrance hall to our dormitory came on.

I knew what was going to happen. Immediately, I stood in a position near the edge of my bed, beating my boots against each other. I know I made noise because I heard Rommel stop snoring. Nevertheless, it was too late.

Three seconds, and then the door of our chamber opened, filling the room with light and making my companions moan in protest. I looked at the door. There was a sergeant, accompanied by two men of the military police. He did not seem too happy.

I was hidden from his sight by a bed, so he could not see that I was already awake and in uniform. For the moment, at least.

"Get up! Get up!" thundered the sergeant with full lungs, clapping hands to produce noise "Rise and shine, sweethearts! Stop sleeping and put on your uniforms!"

Hearing the noise, and seeing the sergeant, my comrades understood the situation and suddenly lost any trace of drowsiness. In a few moments, they went out of their beds (except Rommel, who fell out of it) and started desperately trying to dress in their uniforms back.

The sergeant took a few steps forward, continuing to bombard us with words.

"Move move move, maggots! You have an entire day in front of you: you better get dress before…"

Suddenly, he stopped. The sergeant was now looking at me, motionless.

"Cadet Frederick König, are you dressed already?" The sergeant shouted at me

"Yes, sergeant!" I said and saluted.

The sergeant kept looking at me for a few seconds. For an instant, I worried if I did something wrong: maybe it was against the regulation to dress up before the Reveille?

He grunted, but he did not say anything. Apparently, dressing yourself before being ordered to do so was not against the regulation.

"Very well" he finally said, nodding to me "I like to see a soldier eager like you!"

Then he proceeded with his inspection, leaving myself grinning internally, and my comrades to look at me with envy…

​

After using the first hour to cleaning, grooming and dressing ourselves, we had basic drill and physical exercises. The exercises were hard, and their heaviness was exacerbated by the weariness we almost all had.

However in the end, after five hours of suffering, we went to the cafeteria to enjoy a quick breakfast. When we arrived, we noticed with pleasure that some tables were still half-empty, a sign that there were still some cadets who were being scolded by their respective sergeants.

First, I went to take my morning ration of calories. I took a tray and lined up with other cadets waiting for my turn to arrive. Meanwhile I looked around, trying to spot Tanya.

Looking carefully at the hall, I saw that she was already seated at one of the tables furthest from where I was. She was drinking a cup of something which I assumed was hot chocolate, and she was reading a small booklet. I do not know why, but I could not help thinking about that day when we met at the station, the day our old life ended.

Fortunately, it was not too long before my turn came. Quickly, I passed in front of the employees of the cafeteria, which provided to supply me with a sufficient quantity of calories to survive the entire morning. The only drawback? The inevitable hot chocolate, a thin substitute for a coffee.

Once I took my food, I went as fast as possible to the table where, until then, Tanya was alone.

"Can I afford to keep you company, princess?" I said looking at her.

Tanya did not raised her eyes to look at me, and neither did she turned her head. She just stopped drinking her chocolate and nodded in silence.

"So," I said sitting right in front of her "What's the plan?"

"Do you remember what we studied yesterday?" she asked to me in a neutral tone

"And how!" I answered doing a little check-up at the same time "If I want to, ask me anything about On War of von Clausewitz!"

She smirked "Well. In the first lesson of the morning, they will probably interrogate us about what we have learned yesterday. We absolutely must impress the Major so I hope for your sake that you remember everything!"

I nodded "Ok, received! By the way, do you happen to know what the schedule for the day is?"

She took another sip of her chocolate "If I heard correctly, after lessons we have an hour of physical exercise. I shouldn't have to point out how even in this it is of vital importance that we do our best. Then, after lunch, we have more lessons and physical exercise…"

I groaned, preparing myself to return to my cot dead for the fatigue.

"Look" she said suddenly, looking at me "I know this task is daunting, but we must not give up! If we let our guard down and send the wrong message to the Major, our careers are already over. And so our chances of finding a place in the rear!"

"I know…" I said, trying to keep up my confidence.

Trying not to think about these things, I turned to my breakfast, trying to swallow as much as possible.

The food was not bad. Indeed, after so many years spent on bread and soup, go back to eating something solid (and similar to my native food) was something beautiful. In a few minutes, I had devoured my entire portion, leaving the bowl before me empty.

Looking up, I noticed that Tanya was not proceeding with the same appetite.

"You're not hungry?" I asked her.

"Not much" she said without looking up from her little book.

"Can I?" I asked hopeful.

"Go ahead…"

I was about to accept Tanya's invitation and proceed to eat as much as she had left her breakfast, when we suddenly heard a very loud whistle come from the entrance of the cafeteria

It was a sign that breakfast was over, and we had to reach the class.

In a few minutes, we got up and headed towards the class, leaving behind us all the leftovers…

​

"In the following situation, what is the best combat strategy?" Major Vetter asked to the class.

Tanya and I remained silent, concentrating on the drawings on the blackboard before us. The Major had just exposed us to a situation in which one of our army was forced to face an enemy army superior in number, and he wanted to know if, in our opinion, there were ways to defeat the enemy army.

I looked back without turning. It was evident that many of my classmates had not studied enough to be able to hypothesize a satisfactory answer, and so nobody dared to speak.

I smirked. This would have been even easier than expected.

I raised my hand.

"Yes, cadet König?" the Major focused on me.

"Sir" I said standing up "In the following situation, the victory is hard, but not impossible. And it can be achieved through three easy steps."

The Major walked to me. It was apparent that my answer had lit his curiosity.

"And tell me: what are these steps?"

"First, I would force the enemy to divide his forces into smaller groups. Then, I would create a superior force of attack to the individual corps of the Enemy's Army. And finally, I would try to destroy the individual enemy corps individually, exploiting a superior ability to move through the battlefield"

The Major continued to look at me for a few seconds, before turning back to the map drawn by him.

"What do you think of the plan proposed by your comrade?" The Major asked to the class "Do you think he's right?"

Nobody in the class answered. It was clear that they were all too afraid to say their opinions.

"Well, no one?" the Major said, looking at the cadets "Well, it looks like we will have to do it the old way. You!" he suddenly said, pointing to a random cadet

The cadet, taken by surprise, seemed to shrink a few millimeters "Yes sir?"

"What do you think of the reasoning of Cadet König?"

"Well, sir" he said prevaricating a little "I believe… I believe he is right!"

"Oh, he is right? Would you care to tell me why?"

"B-because… because this way it's possible to destroy the enemy force little by little, thus enabling our forces to gain the upper hand, sir!"

The Major moved towards him, a menacing glare on his face.

"So, you are saying that you support his idea? Too bad…."

I saw the cadet shiver. And I with him.

"…because it's right. And if you knew that, you should have been the first to answer!" said the Major.

The cadet and I looked each other, sharing a complicit smile.

"Let's change battlefield" the Major said erasing the blackboard and starting to draw a new strategic map "Let's suppose the following situation: you are in charge of a garrison along the border. You receive information of an imminent attack from the enemy, with which you are still technically at peace. You also know that the best defense strategy you have is to carry out a pre-emptive attack aimed at destroying as many of the enemy's units as possible. What would you do?"

The Major turned to the class. Many of the other students they were studying the map carefully, trying to find an answer to the difficult question. Personally, I was also analyzing the difficult question, trying to find a presentable solution.

However, I did not see any of them.

Attacking was the best option, but attacking without proof an enemy who whom you were still technically in peace would have been a real diplomatic disaster, and safe way for a demotion or the firing squad.

I was so busy thinking of a possible solution that I almost did not notice Tanya getting up next to me.

"Cadet Degurechaff!" the Major shouted, making me and the other cadets in the class look at her "Do you think you can answer my question?"

"Yes sir! However, to get a complete picture of the situation, I need to ask: are high ranking officers present in our side?"

The Major thought for a moment "No. Let's suppose there are not."

"In this case, sir, obviously attacking the enemy without a state of war subsisting between the two sides would be seen as a serious violation of international law and would lead to a diplomatic fallout and public relations. However, knowing the intentions of the enemy, one could without any difficulty prepare the troops to implement a mobile defense, which may initially contain the impetus of the enemy attack and then allow a counterattack aimed at destroying the way of retreat of the enemy. In this way, once you have forced the enemy to open fire first, you can proceed to its elimination without any problems."

The Major looked at Tanya for another instant "Very well" he said grinning at us "That's an idea. I was hoping for something more brilliant, but at least you think! You others" he said looking angrily at the class "try to bang your heads on the books until you learn!"

The looks we received were numerous, and of all shapes. Many, including those of Rommel and my other comrades, were impressed and excited, a sign that we were able to surprise them in the right way. An excellent prerequisite for starting up future high-potential relations of friendship.

Other, were not so friendly.

Apparently, the idea that an eight-year-old boy could know better the military doctrine had made more than one cadet angry. I still remember the weird glares they gave to us. Many were of pure envy, and would have been without consequences, but others?

It was then that the class bell rang.

"Very well!" the Major said "Since apparently you are still far from planning a strategy, in the afternoon I will ask you about the strategies of von Clausewitz and the guidelines to follow in battle. Try to learn them well, because this time I will choose who must answer the question!"