Trench Bolts and Magic

Chapter 16 Battlefield Meals
As the main force established itself in the village, the battalion's supply convoy carefully drove into a concealed area on the outskirts of the village.

Smoke quickly rose from the Hf.11 field kitchen vehicles in each company.

Since yesterday, Morin, who has only eaten a few pieces of dry bread, is already starving.

So after parting ways with Captain Hauser, he eagerly followed the first batch of soldiers who were rotating out for lunch to the kitchen truck of the 3rd Company, like a hungry wolf.

The staple food of the Saxon army was black bread, which was served with thick soup or stew, and canned meat was also available every now and then.

So on the folding tables next to the field mess truck, there were piles of army-supplied black bread called 'Kommissbrot', and the fresh aroma emanating from the bread told Morin that it must have been freshly baked.

However, Morin was not surprised by this, because he already knew that the 16th Infantry Brigade was equipped with a 'field bread company' that was only available to division-level units. Most of the bread was baked by them and then delivered to the field kitchens of each company.

Yes, the main job of the 'Field Bread Company', which consisted of more than 100 bread makers, was to supply black bread to the entire division under normal circumstances.

Among these 100-plus bakers, there are also more than a dozen technical sergeants—who were already professional bakers with many years of experience before joining the army.

So supplying bread to an infantry brigade is now a piece of cake for a field bread company that produces more than 20000 loaves of bread a day.

Morin swallowed hard as he looked at the bread, then saw a chubby cook next to the kitchen cart, seemingly cutting something that looked like sausage into a pot.

"Great, there are sausages too!"

Morin's eyes lit up. He knew that the 'German Second Army'—no, the Saxon Army's rations—had several dishes with various sausages, which actually tasted quite good!
"Lieutenant, I could have just brought you some food; you didn't need to come in person."

The orderly standing next to Morin couldn't help but speak up when he saw his platoon leader looking like a starving ghost.

"No, no, no, I want to eat as soon as possible!"

Morin shook his head, then took his picnic lunchbox from the orderly and, without cutting in line, joined the queue full of anticipation.

However, when he saw the cook scoop a spoonful of slightly viscous, grayish-white soup from a large pot, along with two pieces of black bread that could be used as bulletproof inserts, Morin completely despaired of the field rations in this world.

When he saw the sausage wrapper lying on the ground, he immediately understood.

"Urbi sausage, oh, never mind then."

Not all 'sausages' are true sausages, or rather, Saxons call most foods packaged in long strips 'sausages'.

The 'Urbi Sausage', famous in both worlds, is one of them.

This mixture, made from bacon, onions, peas, and dehydrated vegetables, has nothing to do with the sausage that Maureen knows.

The correct way to eat it is to cut it into thick slices and then dissolve it in hot water to make a thick soup.

Incidentally, in the world before Morin's time travel, the inventor of 'Urbi Sausage' eventually sold the patent to a company called 'Knorr'.

The company's most famous product is concentrated soup stock.
However, for a hungry person, the taste of food is not important.

A warm, thick soup can at least offer some comfort.

Moreover, Morin had actually wanted to try the 'Urbi Sausage' before she traveled through time, but unfortunately, Knorr discontinued this century-old product in 2018.

So this can be considered as making up for this regret after traveling through time.

After receiving their soup and bread, Morin and his orderly sat down on the ground next to a tree.

Then, imitating the other soldiers, he forcefully broke the hard black bread into small pieces and soaked them in the thick soup. After the bread had absorbed the soup and softened, he wolfed it into his mouth.

Saxon-style paomo (pita bread soaked in mutton soup), delicious!
A hot meal finally dispelled the hunger in Morin's stomach.

After a pleasant lunch break, Morin and the orderly returned to the 3rd Platoon's position.

After the soldiers in the platoon had finished eating one after another, Morin summoned Sergeant Klaus, four corporals, and eight squad leaders.

As these people surrounded him, they all wore expressions of confusion, wondering if some new combat mission was about to be assigned.

Then, Morin cleared his throat and told everyone that there was no emergency, so they could take the opportunity to hold a battle debriefing meeting. Upon hearing this, the veterans and officers present were stunned, exchanging bewildered glances, not understanding what he meant.

In their experience, fighting is about obeying orders, winning or losing, and then waiting for the next order. They've never heard of sitting down for a meeting after a battle is over.

Morin was not surprised by their reaction. He didn't offer much explanation and went straight to the point, asking everyone if they had any thoughts on the morning's battle or what they felt could have done better.

Now everyone was even more confused, and the atmosphere became somewhat awkward.

This was the first time they had experienced such a scene, and Morin was the newly appointed commander, so no one dared to speak first.

Finally, it was a young squad leader who had been at the forefront of the raid on the farmhouse, following Morin, who hesitated before speaking up.

"Second Lieutenant, I feel that the physical exertion is much greater than I expected."

The young class monitor scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly.

"Especially the section where we sprinted through the riverbed for several hundred meters in complex terrain. By the time we reached the farmhouse wall, several of my men were panting heavily."

Morin nodded approvingly.

"You're absolutely right, the foundation of all tactics is physical fitness."

Maureen was pleased that someone had responded to her and asked a meaningful question.

"Judging from the current training syllabus and food of the troops, physical fitness is indeed a weakness. I will keep this in mind and will try to take everyone's physical exertion into account when assigning tasks in the future."

With the first person to try it out, the others became less reserved and started discussing it amongst themselves.

"Lieutenant, your order for us to advance in squads is indeed a good way to avoid enemy attacks and prevent us from being wiped out in one fell swoop! But on the battlefield, once the gunfire starts, it's hard to manage the troops once they're scattered, and sometimes we can't even hear the orders clearly."

A corporal then voiced his confusion.

Another squad leader chimed in, "Yeah, especially when we're separated from the main group and can't see you, we feel a bit uncertain and don't know what to do next."

Molin attributed all these problems to one thing—too little relevant training.

"These are all new tactics, and it's normal for everyone to be unaccustomed to them. After a few more tries, as we develop a better understanding, things will get much better."

He patiently explained, while secretly marveling at the Saxon Empire's 'mission-based command' system, which suited him perfectly.

The higher-ups only need to issue the mission objectives; as long as the subordinate units do not violate military law, no one will interfere with how they complete the tasks.

The renowned 'Storm Commando' of the previous life was a tactic developed by frontline officers under this background.

This model gave Morin a great deal of command freedom, which was the fundamental reason why Captain Hauser finally agreed to let him take a platoon to operate independently that morning.

The battle debriefing meeting lasted for about half an hour, and the atmosphere became increasingly heated.

Finally, Morin specifically instructed the eight squad leaders to take some time when they returned to talk to the soldiers in their squads and listen to their thoughts and difficulties.

After everyone had left, Sergeant Klaus stayed behind.

The experienced veteran looked at Morin with genuine admiration on his face.

"Lieutenant, I've really had an eye-opening day," Klaus said sincerely. "From last night until now, I've learned so much from you that I could never have encountered before!"

"Sergeant Klaus, you flatter me. I was just sharing some of my experience in the hope of reducing casualties in battle."

Being able to get closer to this highly respected sergeant in the platoon was also a good thing for Morin, as it meant that his control over the unit had taken another step forward.

As the two were chatting, a messenger from the battalion headquarters came running up to them.

"Lieutenant Morin! Major Thomas requests your presence!"

(End of this chapter)