The defeat of the two main field regiments that went to clear the war zone and infiltrate the troops gave the Hicks a big shock. Of more than 10,000 troops, only more than 1,000 fled back. Coupled with the reports of those deserters, the commander-in-chief of the Hicks people concluded that it was probably the Thunder Legion, which was famous for its offensive in the territorial theater, sent a The division's troops detoured back to their rear, posing a great threat to their logistics supply channels.
Now that the territorial war zone has taken action, the Hicks will inevitably respond. They first reduced their forces, abandoned unimportant mountainous areas, and no longer sent out reconnaissance teams to patrol and die. The next step is to strengthen the protection of the logistics supply channels, and use the defensive positions abandoned after the defeat of the Nikancha camp to form an important node of the logistics supply channels. At the same time, it also increases the number of troops guarding the logistics material transport convoys.
So Claude found that he had to face a supply protection line like an iron wall. If he really had a division of troops, then he might be able to use his strength advantage to directly attack those logistics transport convoys and temporarily paralyze Hicks. This logistical supply channel for people. Of course, you can also storm those important defensive positions, but this will only have a destructive effect. The Hicks will soon be able to restore the defensive positions.
But the problem is that he currently commands only one Thunder 131st Battalion. As for Diavid's Thunder 1303rd Battalion, it still remains on General Beach Kerin's second defensive front. The Rock Legion is replacing new rifles. Before the regiment comes back, they need to use the ultra-long range of the new rifles to suppress the Hicks' iron pumpkin throwing attack on the defensive position.
In addition, even if Diavid's Thunder 1303 Regiment arrives, Claude will not take the initiative to attack those defensive positions with difficult terrain. In his opinion, it was an act that outweighed the gains. Even if he captured these defensive positions with heavy losses, he could not defend them and had to give up. So the Hicks can occupy these defensive positions again. Will they launch an attack on these defensive positions then? I'm not sick, so why do I have to fight against these defensive positions
A night attack and an ambush battle have almost consumed the 100 rifle bullets carried by the officers and soldiers of the 131st Battalion of Thunder. Most of the soldiers only have three magazines filled with bullets left and need to go back. supply. At the same time, counting the time, the subsequent large forces led by General Albert should also have arrived at the front line. Claude decided to go back and discuss with the two generals again the changes in the strategic plan and how to deal with the colonial war initiated by the Hicks.
"The Hicks used the defensive positions after the defeat of the Nikan police camp to form the defensive nodes of this hundreds of miles long mountainous logistics supply channel. The mountains and commanding heights along the way also had their warning posts and defenses. facilities. In addition, their logistics material transport convoy is guarded by a regiment of troops. When attacked, they can quickly gather behind the vehicle to resist and wait for rescue.
If it's a plain area, with the Thunder Legion's light cavalry assault capabilities, we can quickly defeat them and eliminate this transport convoy. But this is a mountainous area with rugged terrain, and we cannot devote so many troops to annihilate them all at once. If we want to storm and remove the defensive positions on this logistics supply channel, we will also face the problem of not being able to invest large forces. There is only a small path up the mountain, and it is already the limit to deploy a battalion of troops to storm.
And even if we capture these defensive positions, we can't send people to garrison them, because once the Hicks reinforcements arrive, they will be surrounded at the foot of the mountain and there is no need to attack at all. The troops staying in the defensive positions on the mountain can only wait to die. Today's situation is completely different from when Bik arranged for the Nikancha battalion to be stationed. At that time, the entire frontier mountainous area was our territory, and the Hicks had to capture the hilltop defensive positions one by one before they could continue to advance.
But now the entire frontier mountainous area is under the control of the Hicks. Even if we capture these hilltop defensive positions, we still have to give up and evacuate. So the Hicks could send troops to garrison again. As a result, next time we want to attack this logistics supply channel, we still have to solve this defensive position again first. This will lead to us and the Hicks being entangled in the defensive positions on these hills, and the Hicks will be happy to waste our troops like this.
I suspect that the Hicks should have invested a standing corps of troops on this logistics supply channel for defense, otherwise they would not have been able to guard it so carefully and perfectly that we would not be able to find an opportunity to take advantage of it. Bicker, have the Hicks' attacks on our defensive front been getting stronger or weaker during this time? "Claude put down the slender wooden stick in his hand and asked General Beach Green.
General Bichlin stroked the beard stubble on his chin, thoughtfully, "When you say this, I really feel that the current attack and impact of the Hicks on the defensive front has been greatly weakened, and it is becoming more and more like A very common probing attack, rather than the wave-like wave after wave of attacks that started at the beginning.
I always thought that it was the arrival of your follow-up reinforcements that suppressed the Hicks' attack, and I didn't think about the enemy at all. It turns out that the Hicks are now riding a tiger, unable to sustain the ferocious offensive they did before. No wonder the Nikanchas on the defensive front can withstand the attack of the Hicks and repel them easily."
"I think the Hicks are a little out of strength." Claude's words made General Beach Green and General Albert Unbelievable.
"Impossible, they have three standing legions, with a total of 180,000 troops. And there are two standing legions staying in the northern coastal mountainous area and the border of Rodex Bay Colony to rest. How could they be short of Troops?" General Beachlin retorted.
Claude laughed, "Let's ignore the two standing armies at the northern mountainous border. Let's talk about the three standing armies of the Hicks Kingdom that launched the attack in the eastern mountainous area. From the first step they captured us From the defensive front’s attack on our second defensive front so far, how many casualties do you think they have suffered?”
General Bichklin became a little excited. "When our first defensive line fell, our army lost a regiment of troops, and the Nikanchas also suffered more than 20,000 casualties. I estimated the Hicks' casualties to be less." Point, they should have lost three regiments of troops.
Next, the Hicks attacked our second defensive line. We had already been prepared for their throwers and the iron pumpkin, and then they suffered a big loss. Our defenders have always had the advantage. Just to clean up the epaulettes of the Hicks veterans who were killed by us before the position, we got more than 6,000. There were also many corpses because they were closer to their own troops. Didn't get it.
I believe that the casualties of the Hicks since the beginning of the war have exceeded one division. The strength of the five regiments is more than 30,000, which should be a more accurate estimate. The attacks they launched in the next ten days were all small and small. I always thought that the Hicks were testing the weaknesses of our defensive front and preparing to launch a major attack."
"No, they are just short of troops." Claude shook his head and then picked up a small wooden stick and pointed at the eastern frontier mountainous area occupied by the Hicks on the sand table. "They only have three standing legions to maintain this rear line. The supply channel only used the strength of a standing corps. And you estimate that they lost five regiments of troops in the attack on the defensive front. I also killed two of their regiments with more than 10,000 people in a night attack and ambush in the mountainous area ahead. .
The main combat force of the Hicks Kingdom's standing legions is only about 50,000 people in nine regiments. The remaining two to three thousand are logistics and civilian officials. In total, their three standing legions have lost more than 40,000 people. It can be said that they One of the standing legions has been crippled and has lost its combat capability. In addition to the standing corps that maintains logistics supply channels, I think the Hicks who want to confront us in front of the defensive front can only have the strength of a standing corps at most."
"Wait a minute, I still can't figure it out," General Albert said. "If what you said is correct, then the Hicks will have more than a standing army in front of our second defensive line. Obviously this small number of troops cannot conquer our defensive front, and they even have to prevent us from turning defensive into offensive. But why do the Hicks still launch futile and useless attacks on our defensive front every day? Although the scale is small and the casualties are small, Isn’t it also a huge loss to their soldiers and morale?”
Claude laughed, "This is the sophistication of the commander-in-chief of the Hicks. He wants to maintain the stability of the current battle situation. To be honest, I don't think he wants to capture our defensive front now. He doesn't want to give up the forward mountainous area already occupied by them. He just wants to drag us here and wait until their follow-up reinforcements arrive.
Now he launches tentative attacks on our defensive front every day, and retreats after dozens of casualties. The main purpose is to make us misunderstand that they are looking for weaknesses in our defensive front, so as to maintain a high degree of vigilance and not draw large numbers from the front line. troops to disrupt his rear. In fact, in my opinion, the three standing legions of the Hicks in the eastern mountainous area have become a dead snake, trapped in the current battle situation and unable to move.
One standing corps defends the first defensive line in the eastern mountainous area to prevent our counterattack. One standing corps maintains the security of the logistics supply channels in the rear mountainous areas. There is also a standing corps that has been crippled by us and has lost its combat effectiveness. Therefore, they have to launch small-scale exploratory attacks against our second line of defense every day. The main reason is to confuse us, and to seize the initiative on the battlefield so that we dare not easily launch a counterattack.
For the Hicks, the biggest key to getting out of this predicament lies in the arrival of follow-up reinforcements. Don't forget that the Hicks still have five standing legions that have not been transported to Rodex Bay Colony. As long as they survive for more than a month, the third batch of Hicks standing legions will be transported by their fleet. At that time, the Hicks only need to let the newly arrived troops replace the two standing legions stationed on the northern mountainous border. Their eastern front will once again have hundreds of thousands of fully rested fresh troops, and they will be able to attack us again. An attack was carried out. "
General Beachlin suddenly realized, "Then what are we waiting for? I will immediately organize troops to prepare for a counterattack against the Hicks. We will drive them back no matter how they came."
"Oh, no!" It was General Albert who said this.
"No, we can't launch a counterattack," Claude said almost at the same time.
General Buechlin was a little confused, "Why, why can't we launch a counterattack?"
Claude looked at General Albert "You speak first."
General Albert immediately pointed to the sand table and said, "Now the Hicks have tied their own hands and feet. Just like Claude said, they have become a dead snake, entrenched in the frontier mountains to our side." The second defensive line was immobilized until now.
If you command the troops to carry out counterattack, you are helping the enemy out of trouble. The farther we drive them away, the more they can regain their combat effectiveness and mobility. On the contrary, the farther we chase, the longer the battle line will be. In the end, we will be entangled with them in the forward mountainous area, consuming each other's forces.
For the Hicks, this is a battle they are looking forward to. Don't forget, we only have two legions in the war zone, with a main combat force of 130,000 people. But the enemy still had five standing legions that had not reached the colony at Rodex Bay. Even if their three standing legions die together with one of our legions, it will still be a great victory for them."
"But if we don't carry out a counterattack, wouldn't it also allow the Hicks' plan to succeed? As long as we wait for more than a month, when their follow-up standing army arrives at the colony of Rodex Bay, they can attack us again An attack has been launched. If you say you won't counterattack, what should we do?" General Beachlin asked.
General Albert scratched his head. "I haven't thought of this yet. I just have an intuition in my heart that we shouldn't counterattack. The enemy's current situation will definitely allow us to find a good opportunity to defeat them."
Claude could only shake his head. This may be the biggest difference between offensive generals and defensive generals. After listening to his analysis, the defensive General Beachlin's first reaction was to launch a counterattack in a regular manner, drive the enemy back to their starting point, recover all the eastern frontier mountainous areas that had fallen into the hands of the Hicks, and put the end of the war to the end. The situation returned to the pre-war situation.
However, General Albert, who has an offensive consciousness, can intuitively feel that it is of great benefit to his side to keep the battle situation as it is. The enemy can't move, and he can calmly look for good opportunities to defeat the enemy. As long as our side finds an opportunity, we may be able to directly defeat the enemy, which is more beneficial to our side than launching a counterattack to drive the enemy back.
Claude coughed slightly, attracting the attention of General Buechlin and General Albert "We will not launch a counterattack, but we can attack here instead."
General Beach Green was stunned, "Attack the two standing armies of the Hicks Kingdom on the northern mountainous border?"
General Albert's eyes lit up, "Yes! Why didn't I expect that? The two standing armies of the Kingdom of Hicks are resting and recuperating. They think that our military strength is tied up by the three standing armies on the eastern front. They didn't expect it at all. We will attack them."
"Catch them by surprise and attack them unprepared." Claude nodded and said, "The Hicks want to boil this pot of water on the eastern mountain front, so they are strictly guarded and will not let us touch the pot and water. Since we can't touch the pot and water, water, then we can lift the firewood under the pot and see how he can boil water. In our opinion, the two standing legions of Hicks on the northern mountainous border are firewood prepared by the enemy, ready to be used to increase the Their firepower.
In fact, the three standing armies of the Hicks on the eastern mountainous front are unable to move if they want to maintain the current battle situation. The two standing armies on the northern mountainous border that are resting are already in an isolated and helpless situation. According to the reports of the spies who sneaked into Rodex Bay Colony, the strength of the two standing armies in the northern mountainous area is not complete, because they still have a division of troops stationed in the base camp near Rodex Bay City. The general logistics base of the Xians.
I want the Hicks to learn this lesson. Using a standing army to defend the logistics supply channels does not mean that they will not encounter our surprise attacks, and the logistics supply transportation can rest easy. We don't attack his logistics material transport convoy, but we can directly attack his general logistics base. After we burn through their reserves of grain, grass and military supplies, I really want to know what else they can use the transport fleet to transport."
"You mean we directly attack the two Hicks standing armies on the northern mountainous border, and take the opportunity to destroy the enemy's general logistics base camp?" General Albert finally understood why Marshal Michelchi praised Cloro before. Germany's offensive awareness is unparalleled. When he only relies on his own intuition to find opportunities to defeat the enemy, Claude has clearly pointed out where the enemy's weaknesses are.
"Let's not attack the two standing armies on the northern mountainous border first." Claude pointed on the sand table with a small wooden stick. "The troops of the Rock Army led by Piccolo continued to involve the three Hicks on the eastern front on the second line of defense. A standing corps. I asked the 131st Thunder Battalion, led by Lieutenant Colonel Michael Jack, to continue to sneak into the eastern frontier mountainous area and use mines to ambush the enemy's logistics transportation lines, making the enemy think that we have no other way but to use this method. Harass them with little fights.
I led a division of the Thunder Legion, from the 1301st to 1304th Thunder Regiment, to lurk across the defense lines of the two Hicks standing corps on the northern mountainous border, and first attack Hicks near Rodex Bay City. The main camp of the Sri Lankan General Logistics Base. There was only one enemy division stationed there, which could not stop our attack. Of course, they did not expect us to attack there. After we start setting fire to the grass and military supplies, the two standing corps deployed on the northern mountainous border will definitely divide their forces to come to the rescue.
At that time, I will ambush these reinforcements on their way to rescue, and after defeating them, I will lead my troops to attack the two standing army camps on the northern mountainous border. I'll attack from behind, and Allen, you lead another division of the Thunder Legion to attack from the front. Under attack from both sides, we should be able to capture the enemy's camp quickly. At that time, we will join forces again, go back to the eastern mountainous border, and lock the three Hicks standing armies in the eastern frontier mountainous area. Without logistical supplies, I believe they will collapse and surrender soon."