"I will take the 131st Thunder Battalion and the 1303rd Thunder Regiment, as well as the local garrison stationed at Monknade Castle to set off first, and rush to the front line now. You wait a few days for the Rock Legion regiment to change its equipment. After a short period of training with the new rifles, they will lead a large force over. Remember to let Belklin's regiment carry all the mines made by the Blackstone Gun Manufacturing Workshop. The actual effect of this weapon still needs to be tested on the battlefield."
Claude ordered General Albert, and then sent a falcon message to General Beachlin, asking him to find a way to persist for seven days, and he would definitely be able to reach the front line within ten days. However, General Albert had some objections to Claude's intention to bring the local garrison. He believed that bringing these veterans into battle would be better than bringing more Thunder Legion troops.
Claude could only explain to him hastily that the officers and soldiers of the local garrison stationed at Monkenard Castle were all transferred from veterans of the Rock Legion in the late military service. They were brought to the front mainly because they were good at position defense. In combat, they are General Beach Kerin's old subordinates. Returning to the front line is equivalent to returning to the old troops of the Rock Legion. I believe they will play a greater role in position defense and are more trustworthy than the new recruits recruited.
Traveling day and night, it took only nine days for Claude to lead his troops to the front line, and then met the somewhat anxious General Beach Kerin. Thus I learned two pieces of news, one good and one bad. The bad news was that of the three defensive lines, the first was lost after just two days under heavy attack by the Hicks. The good news is that after four consecutive days of fierce fighting, the battle situation was finally stabilized at the second defensive front, but the casualties on both sides were quite high.
"Our Rock Army defeated nearly one regiment, and the Nikancha casualties were close to 20,000." General Beach Kerin said with great regret, "We were fooled. The enemy's commander-in-chief is named Norburyton Pompeilon." Di's general is a cunning and scheming fox. His main attack direction is the eastern mountainous area, not the northern coastal mountainous area as we think. What attacks us are three standing armies, using rotation tactics, one wave after another. The attacks were coming in waves, and when we first came into contact we had no way of resisting this wave of attacks.”
"Did he also invest the two standing legions he just transported into the attack?" Claude asked. If the main force of the attack launched by the Hicks in the eastern mountainous area is the two standing legions that have just arrived, then it is obvious that the troops that have not gone through a period of rest cannot maintain a strong offensive momentum, and the combat effectiveness cannot be sustained. Perhaps this is a A good opportunity to defeat the enemy.
"No," General Beach Green shook his head and said, "These three standing armies are the first three standing armies to arrive at Rodex Bay Colony. They have been resting for three months. We thought that the Hicks took one of them Two standing corps are deployed on the border of the northern coastal mountainous area, and there is only one standing corps on the eastern mountainous border.
But I didn't expect that the Hicks would secretly replace these two legions with the two standing legions that had just arrived, and secretly dispatched these two standing legions to the eastern mountainous area, catching us by surprise as soon as the war started.
We thought that the standing corps deployed by the Hicks on the eastern mountainous border was responsible for feigning attacks and involving our defensive forces. However, we did not expect that as soon as Hicks launched the attack, the standing corps on the eastern mountainous border marched straight in and deployed in the forward mountainous area. The Nikancha camps were vulnerable and collapsed one after another.
At that time, I thought that the Hicks only had one standing army in the eastern mountainous area, and even if they hit the defensive front, we would be able to withstand it. Unexpectedly, the staff officer who retreated in front reported that the enemy was three standing corps, and I realized that I had been deceived! "
"Then why is the Nikancha battalion deployed in the mountainous area so vulnerable, and has not even completed a decent defense?" This is what Claude feels most confused about, even if the Nikancha people's combat effectiveness is really Damn it, but the defensive positions set up in the frontier mountainous areas are very complete and standard. Occupying a strategic position and taking advantage of the terrain, it was easy to defend but difficult to attack, but they were unable to mount a successful resistance before the Hicks attack.
As a result, the three standing legions of the Hicks arrived at the defensive front in only fifteen or six days, and quickly captured the first defensive line within two days. How on earth did the enemy do this? Didn’t the staff officers of the Rock Corps who were sent to serve as officers in charge of the Nikancha battalion teach the Nikanchas how to hide in trenches and shoot concealed? This should be impossible to happen
General Beachlin smiled bitterly, "Claude, I can only blame you for this. The main reason for the loss of those defensive positions in the forward mountainous area was that the Hicks were equipped with the grenade you invented. In addition, they also improved the throwing device, which can Throw it at a distance of 130 to 40 meters. This is beyond the precise range of our muskets and we can only stay on the position and get bombed in vain. These Nikancha people have not been trained in anti-throwing grenades. If it gets bombed, everything will be in chaos.”
No wonder the Hicks were invincible all the way. The reason was still because of the emergence of grenades. Claude is now starting to regret that he gave the production license of the grenade to the military industry of the old noble families in the kingdom. The grenades they produced helped the second prince Widluck defeat the eldest prince Hansback and regain the royal capital. But at the same time, all countries in the Farea continent began to imitate the grenades, and the Kingdom of Hicks was no exception.
"Are the grenades they produce the same as those we equip in the theater?" Claude asked.
"It's different. It's similar to what we found on the Nasseri Kingdom's smuggling ship last time. It looks like a pumpkin. It's also ignited by a match rope, not like the one we are equipped with that relies on internal friction to pull the string. They can't use it on rainy days, but ours can, but it's been sunny for half a month." General Beach Green introduced to Claude, "I'll let someone bring you a Hicks thrower. , which we just seized in the past two days."
Soon, four tall soldiers carried a slinger that was as tall as one person with difficulty. Claude understood at a glance that this was a simplified structure of an ancient trebuchet, except that spring steel sheets were used instead of wood. sling rod. Sisters Anna and Mrs. Sonia once conducted experiments and were able to throw grenades two hundred meters away. It’s just that Claude felt that this thing was too bulky and could not be flexibly maneuvered. It required many people to carry it and it could easily become the target of artillery fire on the battlefield, so he gave up this throwing mode.
Then another soldier came over with a captured grenade produced by the Hicks. However, the Hicks did not call it a grenade, but called it an iron pumpkin, because the grenade was clearly engraved with The words Iron Pumpkin. This kind of iron pumpkin is three times heavier than the projectile bombs equipped in the war zone, but because it is loaded with more gunpowder and iron pieces, the power of the explosion is also greater. It seems that there is no way for the Hicks to choose this trebuchet-like thrower. A thrower like Claude that can be operated by two people cannot throw this iron pumpkin more than a hundred meters away.
"This trebuchet-like thrower should be easy to deal with," Claude said. Even if it is beyond the 100-meter range of the accurately aimed shooting of the Obas III standard matchlock gun, a large group of people gather together to operate this thrower. There is no need for artillery to focus fire, and a squadron of soldiers can be directly summoned to move towards where they are. Area focus fire shooting.
Not to mention the 380-meter total range of the Obas III standard matchlock gun, even the Hicks Kingdom muskets equipped by the Nikancha people also have a total range of 320 meters. Shooting at these Hicks does not require precise aiming, and the bullet cannot be too far from the target no matter how far it floats. With so many muskets, there will always be a time when a blind cat encounters a dead mouse. As long as a few people around him fall down, the remaining people will either panic or lie down to avoid the guns.
Or several light infantry field artillery aim and directly fire solid projectiles. For example, if a large number of people gather together within a distance of two hundred meters, the gunners of the two legions' light infantry field artillery can basically hit the target nine times out of ten. Ten shells can basically hit it. Hit five or six shots. As long as two or three light infantry field artillery were aimed at a target and fired, these Hicks grenade groups could only end in tragedy.
Another way is for the outstanding shooters of the two legions to take the initiative, jump out of the trenches and crawl forward to within the 100-meter range of the accurately aimed shooting of the Obas III standard matchlock gun, and kill the enemies operating the throwers by name. It can eliminate the threat of enemy grenades to defensive positions. These are the anti-throw grenade solutions trained by the Thunder Legion and the Rock Legion. With the new rifle, its two-hundred-meter precision aiming range is enough to suppress the impact of the enemy's grenade on the attacking or defensive troops. threaten.
General Beachlin smiled helplessly, "Do you think I haven't used these methods? Do you know how the first defensive line was lost? I can only say that these Hicks veterans are crazy, they are not afraid of death, We are even willing to die. It is our tragedy to encounter such enemies. They hate us very much and would rather die than be our prisoners again.
So far we have not caught an enemy who surrendered voluntarily, but we have caught some injured and unconscious soldiers. But after we rescued them, their request was that we give them a good time. Anyway, we don't want them to do hard labor after they recover.
I don’t know how much they suffered when they were taken away by the emerging business aristocrats in the kingdom and used as laborers, but they blame all of this on us. It was we who captured them and transferred them to the emerging business aristocrats in the kingdom. Business aristocracy.
Before you set off, you sent me a falcon letter. According to what you said in your letter, I carried out the punishment of killing one out of ten Nikancha people who had retreated from the frontier mountainous area. I executed nearly two people in public at one go. Thousands of Nikanchas finally shocked the armies of the Nikanchas who were training with our soldiers.
I told them that they could not escape death. Even if they escaped back to the settlement, the Hicks army would soon kill them. Their parents and children would be killed by the Hicks, and their brothers and sisters would be captured. live as a slave
Among them, there was a Nikancha man named Duowu who made me sigh and felt that it was a pity that he died. Although he also retreated from the forward mountainous area, he was brave and acted as the rearguard to rescue the staff officer who was seriously injured by the Hicks' grenade.
At the same time, he also organized a manpower to ambush a small group of Hicks scouts, and fought in close combat with several Hicks veterans. He received two bayonets, but he annihilated the small group of Hicks veterans. epaulets as evidence. It's just that they are also retreating from the front, so they have to accept the penalty of killing one out of ten.
As a result, Duowu got the sure-kill lottery, and the Nikancha people in his team cried bitterly, thinking that he was so brave and should not receive such a punishment. He was not a deserter, but a warrior who killed the enemy. And his story spread to the ears of the Nikancha people, and almost all the Nikancha people came to request to die on his behalf.
I sent someone to investigate and found that this Nikancha man was indeed different from his cowardly compatriots. Moreover, he also led a team to eliminate a small group of Hicks scouts. He was also wounded, so I was ready to pardon him. Him, exempt him from the death penalty.
But I didn't expect that the pardon order I issued was rejected by Duowu. He was willing to accept the punishment and die. Otherwise, it would be unfair to the other Nikancha people who were drawn to be killed if only he was pardoned. No matter how brave he was on the way back, there was no denying the fact that he was indeed a deserter.
Because his position was originally in the forward mountainous area, not the defensive front where he is now. All those with status and reputation in the Nikancha armed forces who got the news tried to persuade him, but he rejected them all and wanted to die.
I felt very strange, so I went to see him and invited him to have a drink. This Duowu asked me that he and the other Nikancha people who were drawn must be executed in public on the same day. Only in this way can all the Nikancha people be shocked and let them understand that the Nikancha people have indeed reached the point of life and death. the most critical gateway.
I feel sorry for his knowledge, but I can only follow his wishes. He was the first to be executed that day, and I went to toast him with a large bowl of wine. After the Duowu finished drinking, he said a few words. He told the Nikancha people who were watching the execution that this time the Hicks came, and our war zone was there to help them resist the Hicks invasion.
But next time if the descendants of the Kramer pirates from the United Kingdom of Fox Islands come to burn, kill and loot, then who can the Nikancha people rely on to protect them? Only when the Nikancha people cheer up themselves, learn all advanced military knowledge from the war zone, and train their own armed forces, can they have the self-defense capability to protect the Nikancha people's country in the future.
He hoped that the execution punishment of himself and the nearly two thousand deserters would wake up all the Nikancha people and would rather die on the battlefield than turn around and become a shameful runaway. You may be able to survive, but the price you pay may be that your relatives are killed and your settlement is destroyed by the enemy.
Now that you have picked up the musket, it means that you have to become a glorious Nikancha warrior, and you must do your part to protect your settlement and the Nikancha country, even if you pay for it with your life. Without hesitation, after saying these words, he took the initiative to go to the execution platform and was the first to be hanged."
Claude never expected that the punishment measure he gave to General Bichklin to kill one out of ten deserters would involve such a bloody thing. In this way, this Duowu became the representative of all Nikans. A national hero in people's hearts. After all, with the lazy habits of the Nikancha people, confinement in the army can be regarded as a rare rest benefit by them. Failure to implement the policy of killing one out of ten is not enough to deter them. Not punishing deserters means that all Nikancha people can escape in the face of battle. This Duowu is willing to die because he knows this very well.
"The execution of Duowu and the nearly two thousand Nikancha deserters really shocked the Nikancha armed forces. So two days later, when the Hicks appeared in front of the first defensive line, almost all the Nikancha deserters were The Kamchat armed forces showed an unusually strong desire to fight.
They were not afraid of the Hicks' attacks. Under the command of our Rock Legion officers and soldiers, they methodically resisted the attacks launched by the Hicks. Even when the Hicks attacked one after another, they were not afraid. Even in night attacks, I can use hand-to-hand combat to drive the enemy away."
General Beachlin sighed, "It's just that I didn't expect those Hicks veterans to be so crazy and desperate. During the day, their grenade-throwing group was suppressed by us and suffered heavy casualties, so they chose Night attack.
First, the artillery bombardment advanced in front of the position with infantry field artillery attracted counterattacks from the artillery deployed on the defensive position. Then a large number of soldiers swarmed forward and directly launched a hand-to-hand battle. Our defense troops and Nikancha armed forces also loaded their bayonets after firing their muskets, and fought with them.
But we didn't know that the Hicks had secretly pushed their grenade groups in front of the defensive position and threw this iron pumpkin directly onto the position. You must know that there were still those Hicks veterans on the battlefield who were engaged in hand-to-hand combat. They even bombed their own people.
We were all stunned at the time. No one expected that the Hicks would be so heartless. A battalion of the Rock Corps and more than 2,000 Kancha troops that had just been reinforced were immediately blown to pieces, and subsequent Hicks veterans continued to charge. With the throwing of grenades, the first The defensive line was simply captured by them."
Claude finally knew the reason why the first defensive line fell.
"Two days ago, the Hicks wanted to repeat their old tricks, but they didn't expect that I would deploy our grenade group at the forward position and directly conduct block bombing against their charge. I would also equip the division headquarters with new muskets. The directly affiliated reinforcement battalion was assigned to the members of the grenade-throwing team who were dispatched to the position to shoot Hicks.
Because their iron pumpkins needed to be ignited with match ropes before throwing them, the bright firelight at night became their fatal flaw. They did not throw a few iron pumpkins at all, and more than a hundred grenade groups were quickly destroyed by our shooters. Half of them were shot and killed, and the rest fled back. "
General Beachlin pointed to the trebuchet-like slinger on the ground with some pride and said, "This and the iron pumpkin next to it were both captured two nights ago. There are a total of 86 slingers, 376 Iron Pumpkin. Now I have placed them on the defensive front and have become our defensive weapon."