With a "boom", another grenade landed not far away and exploded. Black smoke and fire flashed, and a few small sparks hung on the surrounding bushes...
"Colonel, let's move back a little. It's too dangerous here." The adjutant, Lieutenant Wedalek, took a few steps forward on his horse, blocked Colonel Derivick, and turned around to persuade him.
Colonel Derivic remained unmoved and continued to use the monocular to carefully check the enemy fire points on the hill in front: "Has the new infantry field artillery I wanted arrived?"
"I've already applied, and they said they'll be here within half an hour." Lieutenant Wedalek replied.
"Let the attacking Group 11 continue to maintain pressure on the enemy's position, pay attention to concealment, and don't let the enemy throw grenades over their heads. Wait for the artillery to arrive for cooperative operations, and conquer this hill in one fell swoop." Colonel Derivick pointed. The enemy was still throwing grenades everywhere in the hilltop position in front.
After a while, three new infantry field artillery were dragged over by six pack horses. After the artillery squadron leader reported to Colonel Drivick, he directed his soldiers to quickly arrange the artillery positions, and gave loud orders to move the guns. The mouth was aimed at the Nasseri's hilltop position.
The battle to capture the hilltop position was very simple. The three new artillery pieces only fired three shells each, overturning the seven grenade throwers deployed on the hilltop position. The enemies guarding the hilltop turned around and fled in panic. After the soldiers of the 11th Battalion rushed to the hilltop position, they could only shoot at the backs of the fleeing enemies. This is another garrison force from the local county of the Nasseri Kingdom that overestimates its capabilities. There are about 800 people in a small battalion. They left more than a hundred corpses and wounded people on the position...
"Colonel, we found this on the battlefield..." Captain Wesley, the captain of the 11th Brigade, came to Colonel Derivick and handed over a black leather briefcase.
This black leather briefcase should have been left behind by the commander of the garrison battalion defending the hilltop position. It was important to escape, so he didn't care about taking these external belongings. It was filled with official documents, announcements and daily administrative documents of the garrison camp in that place, but Colonel Derivic focused his eyes on one of the official documents.
"Lieutenant Wedalek, go find a few wounded people to interrogate whether this situation is true," Colonel Derivick ordered.
Soon, the black briefcase and the prisoner interrogation report were delivered to Claude.
"Prince Vedario has gathered his forces in the city of Tula Weili, preparing to counterattack the royal city of Polivisia and rescue his father and relatives..." Claude scratched his head: "This prince is What is the situation of the 18th Standing Corps in whose official document?"
Major Mason Hughes, who was standing next to Claude, was well prepared. He quickly found the information Claude needed from a stack of folders on the table: "General, Prince Vedario is Nasseri VII. His seventh son is 23 years old this year. His biological mother is Princess Permanna. Nasseri VII had two concubines. Princess Permanna was the most favored by Nasseri VII, so her His son, Prince Vedario, was also the most favored of all the children of Nasseri VII.
It is said that Prince Vedario has been very smart since he was a child. It is a pity that he was born too late, otherwise he would probably be established as the first heir to the throne. This time he was appointed to serve as the supervisor of the 18th Standing Army of the Kingdom of Nasseri and went on an expedition against our kingdom, so he was not in the Royal City of Polyvisia. Fortunately, he fell into the hands of General Belklin. As for the 18th Standing Legion, it is a new legion just formed by the Nasseri Kingdom, which is equivalent to the second-line legion of our kingdom... "
Claude understood that this 18th Standing Legion should be the new legion that was preparing to go to the kingdom for reinforcements. Now that the Royal City of Polyvisia in the Kingdom of Nasseri was raided and occupied by the Thunder Division, Prince Vedario immediately stopped going to the kingdom. The action of local reinforcements was to prepare to gather forces to counterattack the Royal City of Polyvisia. As a result, his summons order went to that local garrison camp, and that local garrison camp happened to be hit by Colonel Drivick's 7th Regiment...
"Tula Weili City..." Claude looked up and searched on the map of the Kingdom of Nasseri.
Tulaweili City, the capital of Tuculasim County, is three local counties away from the Royal City of Polyvisia. It is a plain area and only one local county away from where Claude is now.
"Order General Diavid to lead the Sixth Regiment of the Fifth Regiment to march towards Tuculasim County, and the Eighth Regiment of the Seventh Regiment to move closer to me. The independent reinforced battalions will be on guard on both sides. We will first defeat the 18th Standing Regiment. Let’s talk about it.” Claude gave the order and decided to change his itinerary and not go to the Royal City of Polyvisia to join Belklin’s First Division.
At this time, when you are in an enemy country, you must not allow the enemy to gather their troops to stay warm. Even if they are just a mob, they will be huge when gathered together. More people will make you bolder, so it is better to attack when the enemy is gathering, defeat them early, and finish the matter early, so as not to have the Royal City of Polyvisia be surrounded by the local armed forces of these kings.
Sometimes the plans are good, but the reality is unexpected. Claude also wanted to have a big battle with the 18th Standing Legion led by Prince Vedario in Tuculasum County. However, when Claude arrived at Tula Veili City, he found the Thunder Legion flying over the city. With the lightning flag, Diavid led his troops to welcome his arrival.
"It was too rough. We only fired two rounds of artillery, and then launched a light cavalry assault. The enemy all collapsed, turned around and fled, leaving us with their backs..." Diavid complained.
He himself did not expect that the enemy's standing army and the local garrison armed forces of about 100,000 people would face his two regiments with more than 10,000 troops. He just wanted to launch a tentative feint attack first to see what other cards the enemy had. As a result, the enemy suffered two rounds of artillery bombardment, and when they saw the overwhelming number of light cavalry rushing towards them, they all turned and fled. So naturally, the feint attack commanded by Diaverde turned into a decisive charge...
"We killed thousands of people and captured more than 50,000 prisoners. The 18th standing army can be abolished. The only pity is that the bullshit prince escaped the fastest and we didn't catch him." Diaverde said proudly. Yangyang said: "The problem now is what should we do with so many prisoners. We can't cut them off, but it feels inappropriate to release them all. As long as they have weapons, they will become our enemies if they are recruited... . ... "
"I want to be quiet." Claude felt that he should reflect on himself first. The more battles he fought, the less courage he got. It would be better for a stupid young guy like Diavid to act recklessly first. . Even ten thousand people dare to charge against an enemy ten times their size. I also wanted to have a big battle, but Diavid's two regiments defeated the enemy's more than 100,000 troops and collapsed.
Claude felt that he had overestimated the enemy and underestimated his own combat power. Think about it, the Thunder Legion, equipped with new rifles and new artillery, is already many times ahead of the enemies with matchlock guns in this era in terms of combat power.
Two regiments of two hundred new artillery pieces fired two rounds rapidly, which was equivalent to 4,800 shells exploding in the enemy group. Then more than 10,000 light cavalry launched a charge. Those local garrison armed forces and second-line regiments had only withstood three months of training. Who among the enemy soldiers had seen this and didn't want to flee and wait for death? It was normal for one person to escape and lead a group of people to escape. In the end, the whole army collapsed and they all turned around and ran away.
"Is the city cleaned up?" Claude asked.
"Not yet. We only controlled the city gate and were busy capturing and guarding the prisoners." Diaverde answered honestly.
Claude nodded: "The old rule is that the homes of nobles and officials will be ransacked, and those who resist will be killed without mercy. As for the prisoners, all junior officers and above will be selected from them, a prisoner camp will be set up, and they will be handed over to the baggage transport directly under the division's logistics department. Under the supervision of the battalion and the garrison brigade, these prisoners were responsible for carrying supplies and escorting food and fodder. The company system was implemented. If one escapes, the whole team will be shot.
The remaining soldiers all had their left thighs cut. We treated their wounds and bandaged them, and then gave them some dry food and sent them home. Remember to tell them that if they are caught by us next time and find a scar on their left thigh, then we will chop off their right thumb, unless they do not shoot at us or become our enemy... . ..”
"Boss, I don't understand why it has to be so complicated." Diavid scratched his head in confusion: "I understand how to cut the captives' thighs to prevent them from becoming our enemies again, but why? Treat their wounds and bandage them. Just cut off their thumbs as I say, so they can no longer hold muskets."
Claude slapped Diaverde on the back of the head: "Do as I say. Are you stupid? Just cut off the right thumbs of so many prisoners. How many families will hate us for killing them?" Have your family members become disabled? Help them treat and bandage their wounds, so that they will be willing to cut you, without the need for us to send troops to catch them and forcefully cut them. We can even let these prisoners do the treatment and bandaging. Without any effort on our part.
With such a cut, they can recover for three months, and they don't need to worry about being forcibly drafted again when they return home. In this way, they will thank us. Tell them that they will have their thumbs chopped off next time they are caught by us, unless they don't shoot at us, and not becoming our enemies means that even if they go to the battlefield to fight us again, they will only think about escaping. Think about the consequences if they run away in the battle formation. Just like you charging into the battle formation this time, one person leads a group, and a group leads all the enemies. All the enemies will turn around and run away, and we will be relaxed... ..”
The purpose of being cut and recuperating for three months was to prevent these prisoners who had undergone short-term training from becoming soldiers again. The ammunition from our side should be delivered in three months. At that time, no matter how many enemies there are, they will just become cannon fodder and will not be a concern. Of course, this is just an insurance policy. The other insurance policy is the prisoner camp. Soldiers can be released home, but junior officers cannot be released. Without the grassroots officers, no one can organize and suppress the grassroots soldiers from escaping during the battle. No matter how many people are gathered, they will only become a rabble in the end...
"Let's go do the work. We can only stay here for two days, and we will set off immediately after two days." Claude said: "Next, we will divide our troops into two groups. Your second division will have two regiments in each group. We will sweep from here to The fourteen local counties surrounding the royal capital have defeated all resistance forces, and all captured prisoners will be dealt with according to my instructions, do you understand?"
"Hey, I understand, boss, I'm going to do something right now." Diaverde fled.
Claude just remembered something, that is, the Nasseri Kingdom has long been seriously damaged. Since the beginning of the Debt War, it has been rubbed against the ground by the Kingdom of Ovelas. Four standing legions invaded the kingdom's mainland. As a result, they were attacked head-on by two divisions of the Red Dragon Legion and the Praetorian Guards. Only one and a half legions were returned, with losses. There were 150,000 to 60,000 horses. It was even counterattacked by the Guards into the territory, which gave the Eastern Region National Alliance an excuse to jointly invade the Kingdom of Orvelas.
In a battle in the border county, the Nasseri Kingdom once again suffered heavy losses, with more than 100,000 casualties. Later, in the blocking battle of Ibiniste Plains and the offensive and defensive battles of the first line of defense, more than 100,000 troops were lost. After the Rock Legion's great victory in Ambriz County, the army of the Kingdom of Nasseri abandoned their armor, and the total number of troops who fled back was less than one and a half legions. In total, the Nasseri Kingdom has lost at least more than 400,000 troops since the war began.
After five years of war in the eastern region, the Kingdom of Ovilas suffered more than a million casualties and was already severely damaged. The total population of the Nasseri Kingdom is only about 16 million. Within two years of the war, it lost more than 400,000 troops and at least seven legions. This can be said to have seriously damaged the strength of the Nasseri Kingdom. Of course, this also has a lot to do with the large-scale application of grenades on the battlefield. Especially in position offensive and defensive battles, where grenades were thrown at each other, the casualties were particularly heavy.
If it weren't for the imminent demise of the Kingdom of Ovilas, the Kingdom of Nasseri would not persist like this. It would continue to forcefully recruit troops in the country and rely on the military support of the Kingdom of Hicks to send newly formed legions one after another. front. Now that Diavid has led two main field regiments to defeat the newly formed 18th Standing Corps, what is left in the Kingdom of Nasseri are two newly formed legions that are said to be waiting for Hicks' military reinforcements... ...
Calculated in this way, the seven legions lost by the Kingdom of Nasseri in the invasion of the Kingdom of Ovelas, plus the current loss of the 18th Standing Legion, and the Nasseri annihilated by Belklin's raid on the Royal City of Polyvisia It can be said that the Kingdom of Nasseri has lost nine legions of the Royal Guards. There are now only three standing legions in the Kingdom of Overas and two new legions waiting for King Hicks' reinforcements. It is impossible for the three standing legions in the Kingdom of Overas to come back within half a month, or I don’t know if they can come back...
As for the two newly built legions, if they had not waited for the arrival of King Hicks' reinforcements, they would not have been a threat to Claude's Thunder Legion with their bare hands. Therefore, Claude can divide his troops generously to clear out the garrison forces in the local counties of the Nasseri Kingdom and reduce the war potential of the entire Nasseri Kingdom. There is no need to tremble and gather troops to cautiously go to the Royal City of Polyvisia.
Although the Kingdom of Nasseri has always been the sworn enemy of the Kingdom of Overas, a vicious dog with its teeth removed cannot pose any threat. What Claude has to do is to remove all the remaining teeth of the vicious dog from the Kingdom of Nasseri. Pull out the light.
Two days later, the four main field regiments of light cavalry of the Second Division attacked in all directions and swept through various local counties in the Kingdom of Nasseri. Just as Claude expected, no local defense force could withstand the surprise attack by the Thunder Legion soldiers, and all the towns were captured. It's just that the Second Division did not occupy any town. They followed Claude's order, captured the officers, cut their left thighs with a knife, and then released the soldiers. The nobles and officials in the towns had their homes confiscated and their belongings were confiscated. After completing these things, they Just move on to the next place...
It's just that the team at Claude's division headquarters is getting bigger and bigger, and more and more carriages carrying captured supplies and prisoners are joining the team, so much so that this team carrying a large amount of property and escorting prisoners has attracted... The attention of many caring people.
"Bah, bah, bah", the sound of matchlock gunfire came from the distance, followed by the fierce gunshots of new rifles. Not long after, a messenger came from the front and reported the situation to Claude: "Report to General, the scout team was ambushed by the enemy. One person was killed and three were injured. The enemy left more than 20 corpses during our counterattack and fled. , according to the inspection, it is estimated that it should be a self-organized resistance force in those places. The scale of this ambush should be about a hundred people... "
This is not the first time we have encountered such a situation, because the raids on the homes of noble officials in the captured towns have led to the emergence of an endless stream of self-organized resistance forces in the local counties of the Nasseri Kingdom. Just like encountering a nationwide resistance war, these resistance forces did not dare to target the four main light cavalry field regiments of the Second Division. Instead, they took aim at Claude's huge logistics and transportation force. This is not only a persimmon pick, but at the same time, you may also want to make a fortune from it.
It's a pity that these resistance armed forces don't understand the essence of guerrilla warfare. Claude sighed and decided to release a big weapon. After all, these resistance armed forces are too disgusting. They are like mosquitoes circling around you every day. They will attack you when you are not paying attention. Suck blood. Claude decided to directly shoot these resistance fighters to death so as not to be an eyesore in front of him.
"Mason Hughes, go tell Blovik that his Wolf Fang Brigade can be dispatched. I don't want to hear any more information about the resistance armed forces attacking our team. He can do whatever he wants, as long as it's the resistance armed forces." Just don't let it go..." Claude ordered.
Then the rest of the journey was a very unforgettable journey for this transport force and the prisoners being escorted. Because on both sides of the road, rows of corpses hanging on the big trees appeared from time to time, with the words "Death to the resisters" written in blood on their bodies. Obviously, this is all the work of the Wolf Fang Brigade. So until the Royal City of Polyvisia, Claude never heard any news about the resistance forces.
Using the Wolf Fang Brigade to deal with these self-organized resistance forces by the private sector really feels like killing a chicken with a butcher's knife. However, it was quieter this way. The only thing that worried Claude was his younger brother Blovik, because Adele's death made him extremely bloodthirsty, and he became even crazier on the battlefield, regardless of life and death. Maybe after this war is over, letting him return to the overseas dominions, go to his sister Anna's ranch, and spend some time with his two twins, twins and daughters, can reduce the hostility in his heart...
Belklin held a welcoming ceremony in the Royal City of Polyvisia to welcome the arrival of Claude and the Second Division. He even ordered each unit of the First Division to detach a battalion and hold a small military parade to invite Claude. review. This is a naked show off of military exploits and humiliation of the Nasseri Kingdom, because in his opinion, the Eastern Region National Alliance troops held a military parade after occupying the royal capital, so he would also do the same...
On May 6, the first year of the Holy Light Calendar, 600, Claude led the second division to sweep across sixteen local counties of the Kingdom of Nasseri, and finally arrived at the Royal City of Polyvisia to join the first division.