"What are you talking about? The eldest prince himself went to the front to supervise the battle and brought his guard battalion with him." Claude was shocked.
As soon as he returned to the Ranger Camp, Claude heard some unbelievable news from Captain Leedfunk of the Logistics Department.
"He is the eldest prince! How can you let him go to the front line? If something happens to him, no one can escape this responsibility." Claude felt that the attendant officers were crazy. How dare you let the eldest prince Hansback go to the front line? Go to the front.
If a stray bullet with no eyes is encountered, even if the battle is won and the Principality of Sidings is destroyed, it will be a very humiliating defeat for the Kingdom of Ovelas. You must know that the eldest prince is not only the first heir to the throne, but also the commander-in-chief of this battle. Just because he goes to the front line to supervise the battle does not mean that he has to stand on the front line and face the enemy's artillery fire.
"No one can stop us. The eldest prince is very angry. Under the attack of seven of our legions, the three legions of the surrounded Nasseri Kingdom formed a division and forcibly attacked our side. Those miscellaneous battalions simply did not Unable to withstand their attack, the eldest prince had no choice but to go to the front line and execute the killing order, thus stabilizing the front line.
But this morning, the Nasseri Kingdom dispatched a cavalry regiment. Regardless of casualties, they penetrated the second line of defense from here and captured Wilf Hill. All members of a local security battalion guarding Wilf's Hill were killed in the battle, and now the eldest prince is mobilizing troops from the front to command the troops to attack Wilf's Hill. If Wilf Hill cannot be recaptured, the defense forces on the four hills ahead will not be able to receive reinforcements and supplies, and they will not be able to hold out for too long under the enemy's attack."
Captain Lederfonk pointed at the map and explained to Claude. On the map, a curved thick black line leads to the Emilia Plains, which is the national road from Amys City to Afinasburg, the capital of the Principality of Sidings. Most of the wars in this era were fought around waterways and national highways, so as to ensure the safety of the transportation and passage of large forces' logistical supplies. If the three trapped legions of the Nasseri Kingdom want to break out towards Ames City, it is most convenient to attack from this national road. This is also the focus of the defense line.
From the map, the first few hills are marked with red crosses, which means that the first few hills surrounding the national highway have been lost. Although the four highlands on both sides of the middle national highway are still in the hands of the Overas Kingdom army, an irregular oval at the end is also marked with a red cross. This irregular oval is marked with "Vir". The word Fu Gang.
There is also a red diagonal line drawn on the map, which is the route used by the cavalry regiment of the Kingdom of Nasseri to raid Wilf Hill. Obviously, the army commanders of the Kingdom of Nasseri are not idiots. They understand the point of hitting the snake seven inches away, and are not willing to engage in offensive and defensive battles on hilltops with the defense forces of the Kingdom of Ovilas, which will not only cause casualties. It was huge and delayed. Behind them, there were two sides that were being attacked by the seven legions of the Kingdom of Overas. Their destruction was imminent.
Therefore, in a desperate move, a cavalry regiment was put together to raid and capture Wilf Hill, cutting off the supply and reinforcement lines for the defense forces on the four hills in front of Wilf Hill. As long as the cavalry regiment can hold Wilf Hill and the troops behind it can successfully conquer the four hills, then the national highway will be smooth and smooth to the foot of Amys City.
"Why didn't His Highness the Prince order the troops to retreat to Amys City, where the defense line is complete? Even if the troops of the Nasseri Kingdom break through to Amys City, they still cannot escape the fate of being annihilated." Claude asked.
"No, there is still a blank space on the northern line of Ames City." Captain Leedfunk said.
"Northern route, that's the seaside, where are they going?" Claude was puzzled.
Captain Leedfunk smiled bitterly and shook his head: "You forgot about their combined fleet. The sea area over there is still the territory of the combined fleet. If they are allowed to break through to the city of Amys, then they can run to the seaside and take a boat to leave. Even so. The large army couldn't escape, but the legion commanders would definitely escape first. That's why the eldest prince insisted on setting up a defensive line in the hilly areas, striving to close the door and beat the dogs to prevent a senior officer from the Nasseri Kingdom from escaping. "
Claude understood: "Then what should I do now?"
"Whatever you do, go to the front line. This is a good opportunity for you to show off." Captain Leedfunk said: "I heard someone talk about the field offensive and defensive drill of the 11th Field Battalion of the Blue Feather Army. You use a small team He broke through the defensive position of a squadron. So far in the morning, the eldest prince has commanded the troops to launch four attacks, resulting in heavy casualties, but Wilf Hill is still in the hands of the cavalry regiment of the Kingdom of Nasseri. Go over now and take a look Can you use your method to attack and retake Wilf's Hill?"
Claude and Captain Leedfunk handed over the prisoners and wounded, replenished ammunition, and rushed to the front line with the squadron. The closer we get to Wilf Hill, the more we feel that a battle is imminent.
Less than half a mile away from the front line assembly point, Claude saw a hillside. The hillside was filled with the corpses of soldiers who died in battle. Only a small half of the corpses were covered with white cloth, and the rest were just placed on the hillside. It's a very shocking feeling. There are probably two to three thousand corpses of soldiers on this hillside.
After finally finding the gathering place of the ranger camp, Claude found that the morale of the soldiers was very low. After grabbing a familiar sergeant and asking about it, I found out that from morning to noon, the eldest prince commanded the mobilized troops to launch five attacks on Wilf Hill, but all five attacks failed, with more than half of the casualties. , even the ranger camp has been mobilized twice, and now there are less than 300 surviving soldiers.
"How did you attack?" Claude was surprised. Although the ranger camp was not full, there were always more than 700 people. Now it is less than 300. Why is the casualty rate so high
The sergeant major spat on the ground: "That damn Lieutenant Colonel Rosler volunteered to ask the prince to fight, and asked our ranger battalion to attack as well. He lined up and strode forward. He wanted to rush to the enemy's position and then open fire, but Every time we were shot back by the four artillery pieces above, almost no one in the front rows could get back.
The funny thing is that we deployed those four artillery pieces. After the position was occupied, the enemy turned around and bombarded us with these four artillery pieces. We couldn't get close within a hundred meters. The shotgun shells they fired had already enveloped the entire front line. position. That damn Lieutenant Colonel Roessler is simply forcing us to die, asking us to brave artillery fire and get fifty meters in front of the enemy before firing, then mount our bayonets and charge."
If the enemy only has muskets and no artillery, then perhaps Lieutenant Colonel Roessler's offensive strategy is correct. If he endures the casualties of soldiers and approaches fifty meters in front of the enemy before firing, and then launches a hand-to-hand attack, the enemy may be frightened and lose courage. To resist. But the problem now is that there are four artillery pieces on the position. As long as they fire shotgun shells, they can cover the entire frontline position within a distance of one hundred meters. At this time, letting the soldiers stride forward is really asking for death.
Claude turned and looked at Wilf's Hill. The Wilf's Hill in the distance was not high, probably only about forty or fifty meters. The hillside facing here was still very gentle, and there were still stone cliffs on the left and right, which prevented launching from these two sides. Possibility of attack. There are still a large number of corpses of soldiers from the Overas Kingdom lying there in the middle and upper parts of the hillside. The corpses of soldiers from the Kingdom of Ovelas are still lying there. The bottom of the hillside has been almost cleared up, but there are still a few cannons leaning on the ground.
"What's going on with the artillery?" Claude asked.
"The eldest prince sent people to transport it, but it was not high enough to hit the position. We had to move forward. But the enemy had four artillery pieces and a master gunner. They were condescending and quickly destroyed these artillery pieces. It blew up." The Master Chief replied.
"How many more enemies are there up there?"
"I'm not sure, I guess it's more than four or five hundred." The sergeant chief shook his head: "I heard there were more than a thousand in the morning, but we attacked five times, and the prince's guard battalion launched more than twenty attacks from behind. After rounds of firing, I guess they will lose half of their men no matter what."
The artillery was of no use. The enemy could see clearly from above and shoot far away. There was only one hillside to launch an attack on, so maybe he could lead his squadron to lurk there. As long as the four artillery batteries are disabled first, there is no threat from the artillery, and the people behind them rush forward, then capturing the position will become a reality. Claude looked at Wilfgang and thought in his mind.
A sharp copper whistle interrupted Claude's thoughts. When he looked up, he saw Lieutenant Colonel Rosler coming with a copper whistle. When he got closer, he put down the copper whistle in his mouth and shouted in a hoarse voice. : "Gathering at the Ranger Camp"
"Damn it, he's going to attack again. I don't know if I can come back alive this time," the sergeant next to him said dejectedly.
Claude grabbed him: "We only have so few people left in the ranger camp and we still need to continue attacking."
"He's paralyzed. This damn Rosler will never give up until he is dead. This old boy came back intact the first two times. I curse him to die at the front this time." The battle is approaching, and I don't know if I can The sergeant major who survived this attack no longer cared about the rank in the army. He didn't even want to mention the rank of Lieutenant Colonel Roessler and just called him an old boy.
At this time, Lieutenant Colonel Rosler also saw Claude, and he strode over: "Claude, you are finally back. Get your soldiers to line up immediately, we are going to launch an attack."
Claude stood at attention: "Sir, can you let me lead the brothers in the Ranger Battalion to launch a tentative attack? Maybe I can conquer the enemy's position?"
Lieutenant Colonel Rosler was furious: "Claude, line up immediately. This time you are in the first row. Don't try to deceive me with your tricks. What kind of exploratory attack? Do you want to fool us like before? The battle is coming. I don't have time." To contend with you, the enemy has captured another position on the front line. If we don't capture Wilf Hill as soon as possible to support the front line, the besieged enemy will break out from here.
Do you understand how tense the situation is? We don’t have much time. Don’t try to play your tricks. Immediately ask your squadron soldiers to line up for me. If you disobey orders in the middle, I will immediately authorize the law enforcement team to arrest you. He will be executed on the spot in the name of a deserter. Now come to my queue immediately."
Claude wanted to yell, but he forced himself to hold back the breath when he looked at Lieutenant Colonel Rosler's red eyes. This wooden head couldn't explain the reason at all. He only knew to use his accustomed method to make the soldiers line up to die. If Claude really continues to argue with him, he will definitely call in the law enforcement team to execute Claude on the spot for disobeying orders, refusing to go to the battlefield, and being a deserter, as a warning to other soldiers.
Claude had no choice but to step forward and stand up, letting the soldiers from his squadron line up on both sides of him, with more than fifty people in a line. The remaining surviving soldiers of the Ranger Battalion lined up behind Claude, and there were only five lines in total.
Behind the ranger battalion were other troops, most of which were arranged in the form of combat battalions. However, there was a queue on Claude's left soon, which was a queue of more than forty people. The gentle hillside of Wilf Hill can only accommodate these two queues, and no more queues can be accommodated.
It took half an hour for all the attacking teams to line up in order. The anxious Prince Hansback took a tin trumpet and told all the soldiers that the fate of the kingdom depended on whether this attack could capture Wilf Hill and eliminate the enemy. In short He said a lot of words to encourage morale and even offered a heavy reward. But the morale of the soldiers listening to the speech was still low. No one could believe that this attack could reach Wilf Hill.
Claude estimated the queue behind him. It seemed that there were nearly two thousand soldiers participating in the attack this time. His Royal Highness's guard battalion was at the end. They did not participate in the attack, but held the formation and supervised the battle. Anyone who went to Any soldiers who escape later will be killed by them.
After the eldest prince finished speaking, Lieutenant Colonel Rosler stood at the upper left corner of the queue, about three meters away from the queue. He blew the copper whistle in his mouth hard, raised the saber in his right hand forward, and raised the saber in his left hand. He took down the bronze whistle and shouted loudly: "Let's move forward in a big way to attack"