"... We can't get help from defensive positions here." Colonel Derivic said with a wry smile to his adjutant, Lieutenant Wedalek: "Although our weapons and soldiers have higher combat effectiveness than the Nasseri It is several times higher, but here in Durmel County, the terrain cannot help us. The enemy's strength advantage is too obvious. Let the 28th Battalion on the front line withdraw and let the 7th Battalion in reserve step forward to respond. ... ..."
The 7th Regiment of the 2nd Thunder Division has been besieged by a legion of the Nasseri Kingdom since the morning of October 17. If the enemy only has one division, the 7th Regiment should be able to defend itself even on flat ground. position. But as soon as the enemy came up, they mobilized the strength of a legion, and outflanked them from the front and the left and right wings. Like a rising tide, they launched attacks one after another, putting great pressure on the defensive positions of the 7th Regiment. .
The so-called defensive front was nothing more than a few trenches dug on flat ground and built against a small river half a meter deep. Judging from the terrain, such a defensive position did not bring much defensive bonus to the 7th Regiment. It only reduced the casualties of the soldiers and provided a place to take shelter before the enemy's grenades and artillery bombardments. But in the face of the enemy's endless wave of attacks, the soldiers defending the position still suffered a lot of casualties.
I have to admit that Prince Darklind is more courageous and understands military command better than Prince Vedario who fought against the Thunder Legion. The Nasseri kings who launched the attack no longer used the traditional marching pattern, but formed a skirmish line to attack the defensive positions row by row, and began to lie down and crawl on the ground as close as two hundred meters away from the position. Advance, only climb to within 70 or 80 meters before starting to shoot at the officers and soldiers of the Thunder Legion guarding the position.
The Nasseri Corps, which launched the attack at the same time, abandoned those wooden platoon vehicles and shield vehicles. Instead, it arranged the throwers and those light muzzle-loading artillery behind the charging infantry, approached the defensive position, and began to fire or fire as soon as it reached the firing range. Throwing grenades to attack defensive positions was also the biggest cause of casualties among defenders.
War can make fools smarter, and the offensive plan proposed by the Alliance army, which suffered losses from the Rock Legion, has also been greatly improved. Although the new rifles and new artillery equipped by the Thunder Legion are indeed very powerful, the current offensive method adopted by the Nasseri Kingdom also makes the Seventh Regiment guarding the defensive position lose sight of one thing.
The skirmish line attack caused the bombing of new artillery to lose greater lethality. One shell explosion could only kill single-digit enemies, and the enemy's strength could now afford such casualties. The crawling attack two hundred meters away from the defensive position made it much more difficult for the soldiers in the trenches to aim and shoot. Some soldiers of the Nasseri Kingdom even piled the corpses of their comrades in front of them as cover. Shooting from a distance of 70 to 80 meters, even with matchlocks, still posed a fatal threat to the officers and soldiers of the Thunder Legion guarding the defensive position.
There are also throwers and muzzle-mounted light artillery arranged behind the charging infantry. They are spread out very far, which brings great difficulties to the aiming and firing of the artillery. It takes several rounds to hit a target, and at the same time, guard against the enemy throwing it. projectiles and solid iron projectiles fired from artillery. Even though the legion of the Nasseri Kingdom had already paid several times more casualties than the Seventh Regiment during the attack, the losses were still negligible for its huge force...
The 7th Regiment of the 2nd Thunder Division commanded by Colonel Derivick could only retreat while fighting, slowly eroding the offensive vigor of the Nasseri Corps. Anyway, Claude's order did not ask them to defend, but to lure the enemy to the Royal City of Polyvisia...
From morning to evening, the 7th Regiment finally broke away from contact with the enemy. According to calculations, the enemy should have suffered casualties of two regiments today, and the casualties of the 7th Regiment were close to one battalion, which was almost a quarter of the strength. Colonel Derivic was very distressed. He didn't know how much of the 7th Regiment's complete combat strength would be preserved after completing the five-day mission assigned by Claude.
Today, the mission of the Second Division of the Thunder Legion is to block the enemy's attack. All four main field regiments, like the Seventh Regiment, open a frontal line of defense to block the enemy's attack. The task of the 7th Regiment is to defend the left wing of the entire line of defense. It faces the attack of an enemy legion alone and experiences greater pressure than the 5th and 6th Regiments that defend frontally. However, Colonel Derivick still completed the task successfully, in line with the gradual retreat of the entire defense line.
In the evening, the 1st Thunder Division commanded by General Belklin attacked, causing some trouble for the enemy who had captured the defense line. At the very least, it could not allow the enemy to rest in peace and recharge their batteries. Just like Claude said, even though they are our enemies, we must also care about their physical and mental health. We should fire a few cannons at night to remind them so that they remember to pee...
While the Second Thunder Division was carrying out blocking operations during the day, the First Thunder Division continued to dig trenches in the rear as a defensive position for the Second Thunder Division to continue blocking the enemy the next day. At the same time, it is also necessary to dispatch a main light cavalry regiment to monitor the enemy's movements and prevent the three light cavalry divisions from the Principality of Karrnath in the alliance army from outflanking and sneak attacks from the rear.
However, at the division headquarters in the evening, Claude praised Colonel Derivic very much, because his seventh regiment suffered the fewest casualties in today's battle, and the other three regiments also faced the attack of an enemy regiment each. They were enthusiastic on the battlefield and even launched several counterattacks. Although he inflicted heavy damage on the enemy in front of him, his own casualties were also greater. The Sixth Regiment suffered more than 2,000 casualties and was almost in a semi-disabled state.
Claude was very angry because of this: "This is the territory of the Kingdom of Nasseri. No matter how heavy the enemy's casualties are, they can still be supplemented. And our soldiers will lose one casualty every time. Every soldier is a valuable combat force." Forget what we said when we set off from the Dominion, try to bring our soldiers back alive and kicking, not cold urns."
After setting off the fire, Claude began to discuss and summarize the experience and lessons learned from today's blocking battle with the senior officers of the Second Division present.
"We lack weapons to deal with enemy skirmishers." Colonel Derivic was the first to speak: "Although the new artillery is good, it cannot fire shot shells, and it is even useless against the enemy infantry that rushes within a hundred meters in front of the position. In addition, we Although the soldiers were equipped with steel helmets, which effectively reduced casualties during the shooting, this did not make us unscathed. In addition, the enemy also learned to take cover. They used the corpses of their companions and earth bags to pile up in front to block the gunfire. We need to use thrown grenades to attack. But the trenches are too small and not suitable for placing throwers... "
Speaking of which, the Thunder Legion was indeed too careless, because no one expected that the enemy would adopt such an attack method. Originally, everyone thought that they could lie down in the trenches and easily shoot the enemy as a target, preventing the enemy from getting closer to the defense line than a hundred meters away. But I didn't expect that the enemy would also learn from the experience on the battlefield. They used this offensive method to make it clear that they were using their superiority in strength to consume the Thunder Legion's combat power and ammunition, and at the same time reduce the casualties of some attacking troops.
"We should deploy old-fashioned muzzle-loading light artillery on the front line to deal with enemy skirmisher attacks. In addition, we also need to set up light throwers in the trenches to bombard the prostrate enemy infantry. And new artillery should be the first to do so. Counter enemy throwers and muzzle-loading artillery and eliminate threats to our defensive positions,” another regimental commander spoke, gaining approval from senior officers present.
Claude nodded: "We have made some improvements to these. Currently, the field regiment directly under the legion is guarding more than 30,000 prisoners overnight to improve the positions you will defend tomorrow. I believe that the enemy will regret using an attack like today again tomorrow. Yes, my request is that your defense tomorrow will cause a lot of damage to the enemy while also reducing your own casualties.
By around three o'clock tomorrow afternoon, you can retreat and we will reset our defensive positions thirty miles away. Remember, fight and retreat at the same time. The battlefield for the final decisive battle is under the royal city. And the enemies we really have to deal with are the five standing Hicks legions at the end, not the cannon fodder legions of the Nasseri Kingdom now... "
If the first contact battle and night attack had not wiped out the 30,000 to 40,000 leading troops of the Alliance army, the Thunder Legion would have gained more than 30,000 prisoners. So facing the approaching alliance army, Claude might actually lead the Thunder Legion to the best option and look for opportunities to annihilate the enemy in motion. However, after adding more than 30,000 prisoners, Claude thought that he might as well use these prisoners as labor to fight a few blocking battles with the alliance army.
One is to use the powerful power of new weapons to kill and reduce the enemy's strength, and at the same time test the alliance's determination to fight decisively. As he expected, the Kingdom of Hicks placed the five legions of the Kingdom of Nasseri in front to be used as cannon fodder. As the winner of the battle between the two princes for the right to inherit the throne, Prince Darklind naturally worked very hard and spent a day occupying the defensive positions hastily set up by the Thunder Legion.
After a day of offensive and defensive battles, the only thing that dissatisfied Claude was that the Thunder's Second Division suffered a lot of casualties. In total, there were nearly 5,000 casualties, which was almost a regiment less strength. Although there were many casualties, the impact on the combat effectiveness of the Second Division was still somewhat large. As for the five standing armies of Nasseri who launched the attack, the casualties should be nearly 70,000, a casualty rate of one-fifth. I believe that their attack will be less vigorous tomorrow.
Thunderous artillery sounds were heard in the distance, and hundreds of long-barreled rockets with flaming tails flew through the air. Claude knew that the 1st Thunder Division, led by Belklin, was launching a night attack on the Nasiri Kingdom's army that had taken up a defensive position. But what surprised Claude was that the sound of the cannons quickly stopped, and the long-barreled rockets were no longer fired. Instead, fierce gunshots rang out...
Not long after, Claude was broken into the tent by his adjutant, Lieutenant Colonel Mason Hughes, who reported bad news. That was that the 1st Thunder Division, which attacked the enemy's position at night, was suddenly attacked by three light cavalry divisions from the Principality of Karnas. , now in a fierce battle.
To make matters worse, the enemy had already planned and used the darkness as a cover to ambush the Karrnath light cavalry on one side early. When General Belklin led the 1st Thunder Division to attack, he divided his troops into battalions. Therefore, when encountering a surprise attack by the enemy's light cavalry, he was unable to assemble his troops and suffered great damage...
Claude hit his head with his fist, and he was careless again. He attacked the enemy every day and at night. No matter how stupid the enemy was, he would react and be prepared. The soldiers of the Thunder Legion were accustomed to thinking that the enemy would just stay in the camp and be beaten passively. They never expected that the enemy would set up traps to fight back. This time they really suffered a big loss.
After the Second Thunder Division was dispatched urgently to meet the First Thunder Division, it was discovered that the First Thunder Division had suffered casualties of nearly 12,000 people, almost two main field regiments, and even Belklin's left shoulder was damaged. One knife, covered in blood.
Fortunately, his life was not in danger. Dr. Perrente who came over said that he was lucky. If the knife was slightly downward, slanted, and forceful, General Belklin would become a one-armed general from now on. Fortunately, the guards around Belklin came to the rescue early. With one knife, they cut off the Karrnath light cavalry that rushed in front of General Belklin's horse, saving General Belklin's arm.
After the bandage was completed, Dr. Perrent said that in order to save the arm, General Belklin needed to rest for half a year without exerting force, so that the wound on his left arm could heal. This meant that Belklin had to be sent to the rear and could no longer stay at the front. Claude was very depressed. He was ambushed in a night attack and his right-hand man was injured. It was really a terrible experience.
The only thing that made Claude happy was the timely rescue of the Second Thunder Division, which used ferocious firepower to kill a large number of the Karnas Principality's light cavalry. The number of enemy casualties is currently being counted, and it is estimated that the loss is no less than one division. There are also two not-so-good news. Because the three light cavalry regiments from the Principality of Karnas arrived unexpectedly and suddenly, the unsuspecting Thunder First Division suffered a big loss from the beginning, and two of them were directly annihilated. The battalion lost many new rifles and several new artillery...
Claude could only wave his hands. It was impossible for the new rifles and artillery not to suffer losses on the battlefield, but the losses tonight were unexpected. However, there is nothing you can do about the new rifles and artillery even if they are copied by the enemy. The key is to see whether the enemy can prevent the explosive powder invented by Mrs. Sonia. There is not much chemical and physical research in this world, but more about the experiments and self-exploration of rune magicians in the alchemical magic array. Therefore, if you don't know the details of some secret materials, it is difficult to imitate them exactly the same.
This may be the weirdness and selfishness of this Faslan world. Unlike the modern history of the previous world, science and exploration discoveries wanted to be known to the whole world. It is precisely because of this that there is a table of chemical elements, various physical and mathematical theorems and formulas, and later scientists will stand on the shoulders of these scientific giants and lead the development of civilization and technology...
But here, every rune magician hides his discoveries and inventions in his own mind. The law is not passed down lightly. In addition, the upper class of each country has a monopoly on knowledge. There is very little knowledge like physics and chemistry. It will be taught to a large number of students in schools. Just like the Kingdom of Ovilas, even though it advertises universal education, what it actually implements is a strategy to fool the people. No wonder countries in mainland China were still playing with matchlocks for more than six hundred years, and scientific research seemed to be stuck in time and space.
After coming back to his senses, Claude began to ask about the attack on the First Thunder Division that night. In fact, it was very simple. Belklin habitually ordered his four light cavalry field regiments to be divided into four directions, and then used one battalion as a combat unit to bombard the enemy's positions and camps with artillery, and fired long-barreled rockets to harass the enemy camps. No one expected that the three light cavalry regiments of the Principality of Karnas had already been ambushing aside. They divided into three arrows and attacked the left and middle of the Thunder Legion.
The night made the soldiers of the Thunder Legion ignore the whereabouts of the light cavalry of the Principality of Karnas. When they discovered the enemy's surprise attack, the distance between the two sides was already very close. The soldiers of the Thunder First Division, which was a battalion unit, simply could not resist the enemy. A sweeping attack by a large group of light cavalry. After the bullets in the rifle magazine were fired, there was no time to reload. Most of them just drew their sabers and started killing each other.
General Bercolin was so involved in the battlefield that he did not even have time to signal the two regiments on the right to gather their forces. The light cavalry of the Principality of Karnas took advantage of the darkness to engage in a melee with the officers and soldiers of the Thunder Legion. Without the scruples of being a target, the fight was extremely fierce. The first division of the Thunder suffered the heaviest casualties at this moment. Fortunately, the Thunder 2nd Division came to the rescue quickly and used rifle volleys to cut off the follow-up reinforcements of the Karnas light cavalry, allowing the enemy to retreat.
Perhaps it was the victory of Karrnath's light cavalry in the ambush raid last night that boosted their morale, or perhaps it was the reward promised by the alliance's top brass that was particularly generous. The attack launched by the Nasseri infantry the next day was even more frenzied. It's just that the Thunder 2nd Division was well prepared and deliberately lured the enemy to attack. Whenever the enemy couldn't hold on and wanted to retreat, it would abandon a line of defense. This always made the enemy mistakenly believe that they could capture all defensive positions if they worked harder, thus ignoring it. own casualties.
After the Thunder Legion finally gave up its entire defensive position and strode away, the senior officers of the Nasseri Kingdom discovered that more than half of their four legions had suffered casualties and were unable to fight anymore. More than 200,000 troops were invested in the crazy attack and fought fiercely all day long. After occupying the enemy's defensive positions, they found that there were only about 100,000 remaining troops. The battlefield was littered with the corpses and wounded of Nasseri soldiers, but the enemy brought Take away all their wounded and the remains of fallen soldiers...
After this blocking battle, the Nasseri Kingdom was no longer able to fight anymore, and their remaining troops could only be formed into two dissatisfied legions. Now it was only the turn of the five standing legions of the Kingdom of Hicks to go into battle in person, but they were surprised to find that the Thunder Legion did not set up defensive positions to block the advancement of the Alliance army, but quickly evacuated to the Royal City of Polyvisia. Even the more than 30,000 prisoners were abandoned. However, these more than 30,000 prisoners were also cut on the thighs. Not only could they not be a help to the Alliance army, they also put a burden on the Alliance army.
The commander of the Hicks Kingdom and the senior officers of the Alliance Army agreed that the Thunder Legion must have consumed too much ammunition and suffered heavy casualties, so they could only give up the plan of blocking and evacuate to the royal city as soon as possible. This is the best fighter opportunity for the alliance army, and they must catch up as soon as possible to avoid being forced to pack up their belongings and evacuate the royal city by the Thunder Legion...