When later generations of military historians commented on the battle, which was named the Battle of Afinasburg, they unanimously believed that the biggest mistake of the anti-Austrian Five-Nation Alliance was to ignore the strategic position of the city of Amis. If the two legions of the Kingdom of Nasseri occupy the city of Amis first, they will be able to close the door and beat the dogs. The Blue Feather Legion and the two second-line legions of the Kingdom of Overas will be trapped in the love of the Principality of Sidings. In Miria Plain, the end of the entire army being annihilated is inevitable.
However, both sides of the war in this era focused on annihilating the enemy's effective forces, and occupying the city was not so urgent. For the military commanders of the anti-Austrian Five-Nation Alliance, as long as the Blue Feather Army and the two second-line armies are surrounded and annihilated, the occupied towns will soon fall into their hands like ripe fruits. Therefore, they believed that there was no need to allocate a legion to attack Amys City and disperse their own strength in vain.
The mistake of the Blue Feather Army was that they knew what they already knew and didn't know where they were going. They didn't expect that the enemies they faced were not 200,000 or so, but more than 400,000 enemies that were about to surround them from three sides. In addition to the Blue Feather Legion and the two second-tier legions that are about to face a bloody battle on the front line, the Kingdom of Overas also has a second-tier legion in the Principality of Sidings, but this second-tier legion has been dismantled to pieces. However, the five countries of the Anti-Austria Alliance have always believed that this second-line army is stationed in Ames City.
This second-line army from Chaniyalal County is composed of local garrison battalions and garrison recruits recruited and expanded. It is also composed of four divisions. But after entering the Principality of Sidings, two divisions were first sent to the two seaport cities newly occupied by the Blue Feather Legion to take over defense tasks, and then another division was sent to escort the 70,000 to 80,000 prisoners back to the country. The remaining There is only one division of troops stationed in Amys City.
But this division was dismantled by Prince Wedelek, and organized into regiments and battalions. Under the leadership of the honorary officers who followed the prince to Ames City, they went to towns across the Principality of Sidings to collect war taxes. As carriage after carriage of property was transported to Ames City, Prince Wedelek sent more and more men and horses, and the distances became farther and farther. In the end, only this second-line army was left to guard Ames City. of a battalion.
If the Eleventh Field Battalion of the Blue Feather Legion and the combat battalion of the Royal Guards were only responsible for protecting the personal safety of Prince Wedelek and were not at his disposal, they might have been asked by the prince to collect war taxes. The command.
The military commanders of the anti-Austrian Five-Nation Alliance did not understand this situation. They believed that Ames City should be stationed with two divisions of the Chaniyalar Corps, so at least one legion was needed to conquer Ames City first. What they were most worried about was that attacking Ames City would alert the enemy and attract the attention of the Blue Feather Legion on the front line. If the Blue Feather Legion finds itself in a tight siege and immediately leads the two second-line legions to break out, then there is really no guarantee that the two standing legions of the Nasseri Kingdom in the rear can withstand it. If the enemy rushes out, they will fall short. .
In fact, the anti-Austrian Five-Nation Alliance did not know that there were only three battalions left in Ames City. Otherwise, if they randomly sent out a division of troops, they could capture Ames City and completely close the door for the Blue Feather Army to retreat. .
The spies of the Principality of Sidings who were lurking in Amys City wanted to send out the inside information of Amys City, but on the way they met a squadron returning from tax collection. Because the horse he was riding was so handsome, the soldiers became greedy and robbed him in the name of inspection. Because the spy resisted, he was beaten again. Not only was he seriously injured, but his clothes were stripped off and he was left in the fields to die. Fortunately, the spy was rescued by a peasant woman. By the time he recovered from his injuries at the peasant woman's house, the Battle of Afinasburg was already over.
The first day of the battle was the morning of October 3rd. The Blue Feather Army withstood a fierce attack by the coalition forces of the four principalities, and then took advantage of their defeat to launch a counterattack, driving the enemy back for nearly twenty miles in one breath. , once again advancing under the Castle of Afena. The battle report sent to Prince Wedelek that night stated that the enemy was unexpectedly cowardly, lacked training and had no combat effectiveness. The one-day fierce battle was estimated to have resulted in more than 10,000 casualties, while the Blue Feather Army only suffered more than 2,000 casualties. . The casualty rate of one to five made the Blue Feather Legion's senior officials confident that they would be able to eliminate the enemy and capture Fort Afena in less than ten days.
Because of this battle report sent from the front line, Prince Wedelek specially held a grand celebration ball in Ames City, inviting all officers above the rank of lieutenant in Ames City to participate. Prince Wedelek raised his wine glass at the ball, cheering for the great victory of the Blue Feather Army, and wished for the early capture of Afena Castle and the destruction of the Principality of Siddings. The guests and hosts were all enjoying themselves, and most of them were very drunk.
In fact, Prince Wedelek is not just a playful and carefree person. On the contrary, he has an extremely keen intuition of good and bad luck. When a battalion of the Chaniyalar Army that ran farthest to collect taxes encountered two standing armies of the Nasseri Kingdom that were marching to outflank the Blue Feather Army, only a few people on horseback ran back. officer.
It was the afternoon of October 4th. The lucky few officers who had escaped breathlessly reported their encounters to Prince Wedelek, who had just woken up. The prince only looked at the map of the Principality of Sidings. He made a decision in less than ten minutes, ordered his attendants to pack their luggage immediately and notified the combat battalion of the Guards Corps to escort him out of Ames City immediately.
So the officers and soldiers of the 11th Field Battalion of the Blue Feather Corps looked inexplicably at Prince Widelek's men and the battle camp of the Guards Corps, as if their butts were on fire. They dropped a lot of logistical baggage and took it with them. Nearly fifty carriages loaded with property hurriedly left the city of Amys and sped towards the Odin Mountains.
Major Jacobson, the commander of the 11th Field Battalion, received the news and rushed to the city gate to stop Prince Widrick's carriage and asked if his battalion also wanted to follow. As a result, Prince Wedluck ordered Major Jacobson to preside over and defend the city of Amys, and entrusted him with all the affairs of the city of Amys, while he had to escort the property collected in the name of war tax back to the country and pay it to the national treasury.
Fortunately, Major Jacobson is an excellent soldier. Although he was puzzled by Prince Widrick's hurried departure, he clearly felt that something was wrong. He immediately rode on horseback to inspect the four gates of Ames City. After getting to the east, Report from the gate guard After knowing that several officers returned to the city in a panic at one o'clock in the afternoon, he quickly returned to the city lord's mansion and found the few Chani who were at a loss because of the departure of Prince Wedelek. Officer of the Aral Legion.
After learning what happened to them from the officers who escaped, Major Jacobson immediately understood the reason for Prince Wedelek's departure as soon as he looked at the map. He couldn't help but curse loudly, not that the prince had escaped before the battle, but that the prince had just escaped, packed up his belongings and luggage, and forcibly confiscated the carriage and packhorse, wasting an entire afternoon, but he didn't expect to send a messenger to notify the Blue Feather Army. The three legions on the front line now do not know that the imminent crisis has arrived, and they will soon be surrounded by the enemy.
Major Gibson immediately sent three teams of messengers to the front line, asking them to report the situation to the Blue Feather Army no matter how hard they fought, and the side was also mobilized, with the 11th Field Battalion as the main force, to defend Ames City. Arrangements were made, and several small teams of reconnaissance cavalry were dispatched to detect the enemy's movements on the one hand, and on the other hand, they were notified to the troops collecting war taxes scattered in various towns, asking them to ignore the situation and immediately return to Amys City to assist in the defense.
After issuing a series of orders, Major Jacobson finally breathed a sigh of relief. Thinking of the departed Prince Wedelek, he had the urge to curse again. At this moment, a question flashed through his mind, and he hurriedly called his guard, asking him to immediately ride on horseback and take two people to the entrance of the Odin Mountains to see if Prince Widelek's carriage was about to go up the mountain.
The Eleventh Field Battalion was suddenly very busy. The four brigades took over the defense work of the four city gates and the four walls respectively, giving the city of Ames an initial defensive capability and preventing it from being overwhelmed by the enemy. Major Jacobson ordered the remaining garrison battalion of the Chaniyalar Corps to maintain order in the city, and at the same time deployed experienced officers to rectify the tax troops that had returned as the reserve team of the 11th Field Battalion
In the midst of the chaos, Claude suddenly found that the security squadron of his treatment center had not received any tasks and seemed to be doing nothing. The main reason for this is that most of the officers in the battalion know the details of this guard squadron, and they did not take Claude and the others into consideration when arranging the defensive operation plan.
So Claude decided to go to the battalion headquarters and ask Second Lieutenant Most how he should arrange his security squadron. In Claude's mind, all members of his security squadron are equipped with Obas III standard matchlock guns that focus on precision shooting. The soldiers also receive live ammunition training for precision shooting, and they should be able to perform better in defensive battles. important role.
However, when Claude went to the battalion headquarters, he found that his arrival was a bit unlucky. The battalion commander and several officers were furious. The person who made them so angry was the unreliable Prince Wedelek. Because when their group of people and horses were going up the mountain road, because the carriages carrying property were too many and too heavy to go up the mountain, and lacked manpower to take care of them, the prince actually ordered all the soldiers of a battalion of Chania Lal who guarded the mountain road in the Odin Mountains. He used to take care of these carriages and help them cross the mountain road, but gave up his duty of guarding the mountain road.
Fortunately, Major Gibson thought of this and sent his guards over to take a look at the situation. As a result, the guards came back and reported that there was not even a guard at the entrance of the mountain pass. Everyone knew that Prince Wedelek was giving his own people again. He was dragging his feet, he was just a pig teammate! The officers in the battalion headquarters couldn't help but cursed when they heard the news.
Although the city of Amis is only four or five miles away from the entrance to the Odin Mountains, controlling the city of Amis also controls the entrance to the Odin Mountains. But after all, there is still some distance, and Prince Wedelek took away a battalion stationed there, so there is no longer a guard on the two defensive fronts set up by the Principality of Sidings from the entrance of the mountain road to the mountain. Soldier.
If the enemy sends a small group of troops to bypass the city of Amys, first occupy the entrance to the mountain pass of the Odin Mountains, and then take over the two empty defensive lines, it will be equivalent to cutting off all Ovi forces in the Principality of Sidings. The retreat route of the army of the Kingdom of Ras. At that time, it was really impossible to respond to the sky and the earth. Even if the enemy had very few troops guarding the defensive line on the mountain, for the Kingdom's army who was pursuing them, it was the last straw that overwhelmed the balance. , the possibility of the entire army being annihilated is not small.
The scout cavalry has come back to report that the Nasseri Kingdom's legions encountered by the Chaniyalar Corps officers who escaped back have separated a division of troops and are heading towards the city of Amis. Now the remaining troops in the city and the tax collection teams that have gathered and returned are less than one regiment. The main force of the defense still relies on the 11th Field Battalion of the Blue Feather Army. As for the second-line army of Chania Lal Army, Of the troops, no officer believed that their combat effectiveness was very strong.
What made Major Gibson and other battalion officers embarrassed was that they were unable to deploy troops from the 10th Field Battalion to defend the entrance to the Odin Mountains, not even a squadron. As for letting the troops of Chania Lal Corps go forward, no one can rest assured. They are afraid that if a battle starts here, the guards at the entrance of the mountain road will escape first, or they will not be able to withstand the attack of the enemy's small team. , no one believes they have reliable combat effectiveness
At this moment, Claude arrived at the battalion headquarters and happened upon this incident. Seeing him arrive, Second Lieutenant Most's eyes lit up. He pointed at Claude and shouted: "It's you."
Many officers in the battalion had witnessed the on-the-ground confrontation drill at Fukebishanqiu Military Camp. They suddenly discovered that Claude's garrison squadron was simply the most suitable candidate. However, they did not consider this during the defensive operations. The security squadron of the treatment center was included, and they were sent to defend the entrance to the Odin Mountains.
In this way, Claude received the first formal combat order and led the security squadron to cooperate with a squadron of the Chanialar Army under the command of Second Lieutenant Most to defend the entrance to the Odin Mountains.