Seeing Irkutsk from the distance I'm blown away. Although the city itself is meager compared to the metropolises of modern cities, Irkutsk has its own beauty. Having spent my entire life living in the urban jungles, the view of snowy Irkutsk with the shimmering Lake Baikal in the background is truly magnificent.
If we weren't at war I'd probably blow my money on a summer lakeside vacation here. The scenery as I approach the city simply blew all my thoughts on survival, power, killing etc. I take a moment to fill my head with flower gardens before having to return to the grim reality.
***
Arriving at the Irkutsk station, I immediately ask a nearby Russian soldier to guide me towards headquarters. I know from history that fighting a guerilla war was essentially down to local cooperation, so I tried hard to learn Russian, although not fluent I'm capable of simple conversations.
Arriving at headquarters I see some Japanese soldiers saluting me and respond in kind, meanwhile I'm amused at the odd sight of Russian, French, British, and American troops mingling with each other.
While examining the unfamiliar surroundings I arrive at the office of the commander of the Japanese Expeditionary Forces, Ōtani Kikuzō.
Knock. Knock.
"Your Excellency, this is Captain Renya Mutaguchi, may I come in?"
"Come."
Having been granted permission, I nervously enter the General's office. I walk towards him and salute in accordance to strict military etiquette. Seeing my stiff appearance General Kikuzō bursts into a grin.
"Hehehe... to think the Tiger of Siberia would crouch to such an old man."
Baffled at the situation I hurriedly refute him.
"Absolutely not, I'm just showing the proper respect to His Excellency the Commander."
"Its alright sit down, no need to be so stiff."
I nervously sit down in front of the General. I was expecting something like a strict samurai persona, so the current actions of the commander is the opposite of what I was preparing myself for.
"Congratulations Major Mutaguchi, your achievements are considerable. In 3 battles with enemy in the span of 6 months you were able to inflict 262 enemy casualties while only suffering 38 casualties."
"Its overrated sir."
"No need to humble yourself, you were able to achieve an exchange rate of almost 1:7, if that's not a major I don't know what is."
"Hahahaha... I was simply lucky I didn't get a bullet sir."
"Well that's true, who charges head on with a sword in modern warfare. Hahahaha!!!"
"Anyways in accordance to your achievements, you've also been awarded the Order of the Golden Kite 5th Class."
At the blockbuster of getting a shiny medal I look at the General with my mouth agape.
Japan only has 2 military medals at this time, to get the Military Medal of Honor you have to have fought in a victorious campaign. The previous medal was for the Great War, and the next would be when the Mukden Incident happens. If my plans succeed in the future that won't be a medal either.
So the next alternative is the Order of the Golden Kite, the first three classes were basically similar to British Order of the Bath (basically a knighthood). While the 5th class medal I'm receiving would be equivalent to the British Distinguished Service Cross.
The biggest thing of course is the monthly stipend. I'm entitled to an additional ¥350/month, for reference my new salary as a Major is ¥200/month. This is an even bigger deal when you add the fact that my personal uniform, pistol, and sword are not supplied by the army, but purchased by yourself.
"Alright enough with your thoughts, its time to get to business."
Waking up from my money dreams, I immediately show an appearance of an exemplary soldier.
"I read the reports of your operations, your tactics and methods are very different from the established doctrine. Can you explain to me in detail."
"Yes sir."
"First of all the situation in the Khabarovsk Krai region is very tedious. Although nominally part of the White forces, it has strong Bolshevik activity. The fighting in the area is mainly guerilla warfare, we try to sweep insurgents while they constantly harass and place us in the quagmire of attrition."
"In my opinion the key to quelling a hostile guerilla force is not through forced subjugation of the area but by winning the hearts of the local residents. At the end of the day a guerilla force is entirely reliant on local cooperation, since they have to be away from friendly military and logistic resources."
"In that aspect my company and I proceeded to do good-will projects around our area of operation and succeeded in gaining the support of the locals. With this we were able to cut off the nearby partisans' supply point, and the locals assisted us in gathering information on rebel positions."
"Great! You're perfect for this job then."
"I'll be honest Major, the White Army's frontline around Omsk is in a precarious state, the superior Red Army is pushing our allies every day, meanwhile with our rear in an ambiguous position we can't launch any meaningful counteroffensives either for fear of getting hit in the back of the head."
"Major, you're job will be to be the vanguard in our sweepout operations. After hearing your words I believe you'll be a reliable person to carry such a heavy duty."
"Major Mutaguchi will be assigned 3 companies with a total of 540 men for this operation."
"Uhhh... uhm sir I've never led more than 50 troops so far. And I was expecting a company-level command. 3 companies... that's almost a battalion-level command sir."
"Hmmm... don't worry about it, I believe in your insights, and you'll be assisted by one of the Empire's brightest young officers, leave the little things to him."
"Yes sir!"
"Any additional requests?"
"If possible I'd like to bring my previous platoon with me sir. They're quite experienced in this type of thing and will be able to help the other soldiers adapt."
"Done. Now take orders Major."
"Yes sir!"