Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 455 Villarrica
"General, Major General Getulio sent a telegram saying that the Han army took Villarrica first. The Ninth Division is under-strength and the attack was frustrated. I request you to send reinforcements."

At the port of Puerto Duguaisu, an officer ran into the temporary command post and reported to Lieutenant General Rodriguez.

"Idiot! The Ninth Division has 10,000 people! How did they fall behind the Han army and allow the Han army to seize Villarrica in advance!"

Lieutenant General Rodriguez snatched the telegram and said angrily: "Is Major General Getulio a pig? Has he forgotten the death order I gave him! We must take Villarrica in advance. Even if the Han army enters there before the Ninth Division, he must lead his troops to take Villarrica back!"

"Major General Getulio explained in the telegram that he organized an attack as soon as he entered the frontier position of Villarrica, but was defeated by the Han defenders, and more than 500 of their men were killed or wounded."

"More than 500 casualties in one attack? How many soldiers did he send in total during the first attack?"

"More than three battalions, more than 1700 people in total."

"Asshole! He has 1700 men under his command, why did he only send to attack!"

Lieutenant General Rodriguez noticed something unusual in the telegram! His anger quickly rose: "I don't care how ridiculous the excuses General Getulio makes up to deceive me. Anyway, I have only one request to him. Villarrica must be taken before tomorrow morning. Otherwise, I will apply to Marshal Peixoto to immediately remove him from his position as the commander of the 9th Division!"

"General, what do you do with General Getulio's request for reinforcements?"

"3000 soldiers will be transferred from the remaining troops in Guaira to the port of Duguaisu. 1000 soldiers will be left behind in our current troops. All other troops will set out in two hours and rush to Villarrica overnight to support the th Division."

General Rodriguez vented his dissatisfaction with Major General Getulio, then quickly controlled his emotions and said rationally: "Also, send a telegram to Marshal Peixoto and His Excellency the President, inform them of the situation of the loss of the envoy in Villarrica, and remind them to pay attention to the changes in the combat effectiveness, weapons and equipment of the Han army compared with the previous ones. At the same time, request Marshal Peixoto to resume the normal supply of materials to the Paraná Basin Front and send at least 1 troops to reinforce our army in the battle."

"Yes! General!" The staff officer carefully wrote down the combat order dictated by Rodriguez, then quickly turned around and left the temporary command post. …………

"General, I have received a telegram from General Rodriguez, who ordered you to immediately resume the attack on the Han garrison and to occupy Villarrica before tomorrow morning."

In a spacious camp east of Villarrica, Major General Getulio was enjoying dinner with a group of officers. However, during the meal, he received an order that was very unfavorable to him.

"What? Didn't General Rodriguez see my explanation?"

"Several important factors that led to the failure of the offensive were included in the telegram, and General Rodriguez must have seen it."

"Since he has seen our explanation? Why did he give such a stupid order?"

"General Rodriguez did not explain in the telegram why he ordered the continuation of the attack. He only mentioned that if you do not obey his order, he will apply to Marshal Peixoto in the name of the supreme commander of the Paraná River Front to immediately remove you from your position as the commander of the 9th Division. At the same time, he will request the intervention of the military court to continue to hold you accountable for the failure of the attack."

"What an arrogant war madman! Why did he force the soldiers of the Ninth Division to die when he knew that the Han defenders had strong firepower?"

Major General Getulio said angrily: "I don't accept such a ridiculous combat order!"

"General, General Rodriguez is preparing to lead his troops to join us. If you do not obey his combat orders, when he leads his troops to the Villarrica front, I am afraid it will be disadvantageous to you."

Several close associates around him began to persuade him.

"General Rodriguez is the supreme commander of the Paraná River Front after all. Directly disobeying his combat orders will leave a bad impression in the eyes of Marshal Peixoto and His Excellency the President, which will be very disadvantageous to you."

"Humph, I'm not worried about my own future. I'm just angry at General Rodriguez's cold-blooded behavior. He didn't even consider the safety of the 10,000 soldiers of the Ninth Division. He only knew to send the soldiers to the enemy's guns to pave the way for his own promotion!"

Major General Getulio said dissatisfiedly: "That bastard Rodriguez will pay the price for his reckless order today sooner or later!"

"Colonel Gaspar, this time, follow General Rodriguez's combat order completely. Order the 4th Regiment, 6th Regiment, Artillery Regiment, Cavalry Company and other troops to finish their rest and launch a full-scale attack on Villarrica in one hour!"

Although Major General Getulio was still dissatisfied with Rodriguez's order, he finally made the decision to launch a full-scale attack after being persuaded by his officers.

The order to launch a full-scale offensive has not yet been issued to the grassroots combat units. The soldiers of the 7th Company, 4th Regiment, 9th Division of the Brazilian Army are still discussing their gains this afternoon with great anticipation.

"In my opinion, the guys in the logistics and transportation unit have not fully fulfilled their duties. Since we switched to the land route, they have not supplied us with a normal amount of food, which has made us worry about food problems while fighting. We have not even received a sausage or canned meat. The staple food every day is bread that is as hard as a rock. There are rifles everywhere in the barracks, but it's a pity that we can't eat them!"

A tall soldier complained.

Another young soldier with a big beard and a high nose also said with wide eyes: "But the guys in the logistics and transportation unit must be eating and drinking well!"

"Don't worry! Once you get into Asuncion, the situation will be better. There are gold, silver, treasures and delicious food everywhere." "There will be women too."

A soldier in his forties or fifties, with wrinkles and scars all over his face, who looks like he has no interest in life, but is still thinking about women.

"There shouldn't be many women. I heard that most of the young women in Paraguay have run away to those hateful Oriental countries. If you have the courage to run to the Oriental territory, you might be able to snatch a few beautiful women."

"That's such a pity."

When the middle-aged soldier heard about the Han State, his interest instantly dropped by half.

"Although there aren't many young women, there must be some valuables like gold and silver jewelry and antiques. If I can enter Asuncion, I will definitely bring more back home, then marry a beautiful wife, and we can run an antique shop together in Rio de Janeiro."

“When I entered Asuncion, the first thing I did was rush to the pastry shop!”

"Baird, what store are you going to?"

“I go to camera shops and watch shops.”

"Don't you have a watch, kid?"

“I’ve been collecting these things for fun lately.”

"I want a camera made in China. Get me one, too. I'll get you some snacks."

After imagining the bright prospects of occupying Asuncion, several soldiers, perhaps to kill time, shifted the focus of the conversation to the three Barsaloms.
"In our company, Barthalom, Bancroft, and Grit are veterans at this kind of thing. No matter what it is, as long as you ask them, you can almost get it. But, strangely enough, maybe because they eat too much sweet cakes and red bean porridge, they are the cowards when it comes to fighting."

"Every time a battle breaks out, the three of them find all kinds of excuses to stay behind and are useless. But once we arrive at the garrison, he comes in handy. When it comes to collecting supplies, he is the most useful of the three of them in the company."

"The three of them are mean and selfish, and really annoying, but these three bastards are really capable in this regard, so they are pretty good. Bud is even more hopeless. He has never been to the battlefield and is a warrior who has never heard the sound of bullets. It's really amazing. But he always makes excuses for everything he does. In fact, he is just a wildcat and a miser who is completely ineffective. If Asunción is occupied, he will definitely say that he took it. Then he will definitely return to the company. There is really nothing we can do about him."

"Oh, stop talking nonsense. You said that as long as we take Asuncion, we can return home in triumph and have everything we want to eat. Let's work harder. But is the Han army really that easy to defeat? This evening, the unlucky guys from the 6th Battalion of the 2nd Regiment attacked the frontier position of Villarrica, but more than half of them were killed or wounded."

"Yes, I heard that Lieutenant Badlov, who was directly in charge of the battle, died on the battlefield."

A soldier lowered his voice and said: "The commander of the 9th Company of the 2nd Regiment is really a lucky man. He broke his leg just after entering the battlefield."

"Major Barrows was luckier. He was at the front line commanding without any injuries."

"This is the most terrifying thing. Major Barrows is not trustworthy at all. When there is no war, he shows off in front of the soldiers all day long. Once on the battlefield, he returns all the responsibility of commanding the battle to his officers."

"Because he's just a 25-year-old kid who got in through connections." said a soldier contemptuously.

"But look at Lieutenant Badlov. Lieutenant Badlov is only 26 years old, but he is so brave!"

"But Lieutenant Badlov died, but Captain Prudente and Major Burrows survived."

It was still the middle-aged soldier with an aged face. As soon as he started talking, all the other soldiers stopped discussing. …………

"Bancroft, those bastards are talking bad about us to our faces again!"

Barsalom, who was sitting on the other side, said indignantly: "They are not much braver than us! Why do they always laugh at us? If I had known they were such bastards, I should not have shared the desserts I snatched at noon today with them!"

"Okay, Barsalom, let them talk. Saving our lives is the most important thing on the battlefield. As long as we are lucky enough to survive until the end of the war, there will be a better life waiting for us in the future. There is no need to argue with them over such a small matter."

Bancroft advised.

"You are right. We won't bother with them."…………

(End of this chapter)