"Forward!" A squadron leader of the White Lion Legion drew his sword and roared, commanding his soldiers to push the shield cart and rush forward with sandbags full of mud on their shoulders.
The Second Highness commanded the White Lion Army to attack the defense line of Freeward Province for six days and five nights. Unfortunately, the White Lion Army has injured nearly 10,000 people and still has not broken a single point on this defense line. mouth. This is not to say that the command of the Second Highness is not good, but that the three existing duchies in the central region realize that this defensive front is related to their survival, even though the casualties they paid in the three days and four nights of the defensive battle have exceeded the cost of the attack. The Lions have doubled or tripled, but they still persevere...
The sound of rumbling war drums echoed on the battlefield for several miles around. The soldiers of the White Lion Army pushed the huge shield car and moved to the front ditch with difficulty, blocking the crossbow arrows from the defensive line, and carrying sandbags. The soldiers threw sandbags into the ditch under the cover of the shield car and turned around and ran back. Soon the ditch in front was filled up, and several white lion soldiers dragging boards rushed to the front of the shield car and put the boards on the ground, and the ditch was considered breached.
During this process, only four soldiers were hit by cold arrows. One died and three were injured. As for the brain, the only thing that can be thankful is that he died without pain, almost on the spot.
After filling up a section of the trench, none of the soldiers showed a happy smile on their faces, only endless exhaustion and numbness. Because in front of this filled trench, there are still countless trenches to break through. Looking into the distance, they are all densely packed trenches. Commanding the White Lion Army to attack for six days and five nights, it only advanced three or four miles.
"I suspect that trenches were still being dug behind this defensive position when we attacked." Duke Kenmes, who was watching the battle, said to Lorist.
This is a result that no one expected. After capturing the Principality of Sabaji, Lorist let the armed forces of the four northern alliances and the two legions of the Feisabrun family rest for nearly a month in Chikses Province, waiting for the arrival of the Second Highness. But I didn't expect that in just over a month, the Principality of Forendo would arrange the front line of defense in such a way, digging countless trenches and connecting them into an endless net, so that the Second Highness could not attack after launching the attack. I found that it would be so difficult to break through a hole in this defensive front.
It is obvious that it is easier to break the line than to break the net. Lorist heard a saying in his previous life that war is the best way to learn. The defensive position in front of him is a good proof of this point. Never before in the history of the Galintian Wars did such a defensive position and method of defense exist. Basically all defensive battles are carried out using castle fortresses. When the troops are weak, even setting up a defensive position is nothing more than digging one or two trenches, building a wall of earth, and reasonably using long-range shooting weapons to kill the attacking enemy.
But when the Norton family's catapults and chariot steel crossbows were born, not only the castle fortress became a target, but the generally set up defensive positions could not resist the attack of the catapults at all. This was illustrated when the Flying Tiger Legion swept the Antinac Kingdom and helped the Second Highness regain the throne.
During the offensive and defensive battle of the Southern Province three years ago, Lorist used the combination of trenches and arrow towers to perfectly restrain the light cavalry tactics of the Feisabrun family, and used catapults in the field to crush the 70,000 elite infantry of the four central principalities. The attack achieved a great victory and suppressed the Feisabrun family back to the Eastern Wilderness Province.
But I didn't expect that the offensive and defensive battle would bring such a big change to the four principalities in the central part. The Second Highness originally thought that with the powerful fighting power of the White Lions and the fifty catapults knocked from Lorist's hands, it would be easy There was a hole in the defense line formed by the trenches and earthen walls in front, but what he didn't expect was that there were still endless trenches and low earthen walls behind these trenches and earthen walls. After this result, they almost collapsed. What kind of battle is this fighting...
On the first day of the attack, only a thousand garrison troops were blocking the front. They collapsed when fifty boulders the size of a human head hit the position, and only fired dozens of crossbow arrows before running away without a trace. The White Lions filled fourteen trenches a day and broke through twenty-one earthen walls. The front was flat. Of course, the result is zero, because the enemy has fled.
The next day we continued to attack forward, but after advancing two hundred meters, we found that there was another piece of trenches and earthen walls in front of us. The troops defending this time were much braver. They resisted for a long time under the bombardment of catapults. With the help of trenches and earthen walls, they used crossbow arrows to cause dozens of casualties to the White Lion Army. They also paid more than two hundred people themselves. casualties.
It took the White Lions two days to fill in a few passages in this trench area, and continued to attack forward. After another two to three hundred meters of flat ground, there were dozens of trenches and earthen walls in front of them. Everyone is furious. What does this mean? There are only a few thousand people on defense, and the resistance is not too fierce. It is just that the attacker keeps filling the ditch, and the defender keeps digging the ditch. What kind of battle is this?
The Second Highness finally lost his composure, and gave an order that he regretted so much that the soldiers of the White Lion Army stop pushing the shield carts to fill the ditch, and just take the wooden boards to bridge the ditch and pass. It is reasonable to occupy this trench area as soon as possible. So the White Lions sent out a sword and shield corps to attack forward. Facing the trench area guarded by thousands of people, they quickly wiped out the enemy and continued to move forward.
It's just that this trench area is very large. When the back of the Sword and Shield Corps soldier disappeared in front of everyone's eyes, there were suddenly shouts and fighting sounds from far away. The Second Highness was anxious like ants in an iron pot, because there were trenches everywhere, the cavalry could not step forward to support. The Second Highness had no choice but to send people to investigate, but to his surprise, the few people he sent were quickly killed by cold arrows shot from the trench. Although many people can be sent to support, but except for the louder killing sound from a distance, no one can come back to report the news.
Everyone present was shrewd, and the current situation was obviously a trick. But the problem is that in addition to the remaining three regiments of the White Lions, there are also two heavy armored regiments of the Kenmes family and two light infantry regiments under the command of Earl Shaheen, with a strength of nearly 90,000. Although the total force of the attack on the four central duchies was as high as 300,000, most of them were cavalry. Facing this battlefield full of ditches and earthen walls, Lorist and the others looked at each other in blank dismay. They couldn't let the cavalry dismount and go for reinforcements as infantry.
The problem is that the Sword and Shield Corps of the White Lion Legion in front attacked too fast and fiercely, and ran directly to a distance that was invisible to the naked eye. His Highness the Second Highness did not expect such a situation to happen, not being able to grasp the situation on the battlefield can be said to have lost half of the battle. Now the decision he has to make is whether to give full support and put all the infantry in his hands into the battlefield.
This decision is very difficult to make. The Duke of Forondo has been attacking here for several days. He already knew that His Royal Highness would break through here. This defense line is guarded by five legions with nearly 200,000 troops. They are all according to the situation a few days ago. The Duke of London can fully mobilize his troops to stand in front of him. The attacking sword and shield corps is likely to hit a trap and be surrounded, and then use the surrounded sword and shield corps to lure the Second Highness into reinforcements, and use more or less to annihilate the 100,000 infantry under the Second Highness's command, and then stay behind. The cavalry can only look at this line of defense in a daze.
The Second Highness discussed with Lorist for a long time, and finally decided to send all the heavy armored corps to reinforce. The most important thing is to find out the situation ahead and what happened. As a result, just as they were about to send troops, the Sword and Shield Corps withdrew. Their situation was a bit miserable. Ten thousand people went up and less than three thousand came back, and their regiment leader and four captains all died in battle. Among the more than 2,000 soldiers, the two squadron leaders had the highest positions. One was seriously injured and the other was slightly injured. Almost all the soldiers were injured.
The attack was too smooth. After smashing the resistance of the thousand-man defense team, in the next attack, the Sword and Shield Corps encountered mostly thousands of defense forces. They couldn't resist the assault of the Sword and Shield Corps. Teams of defensive forces were wiped out, and the sword and shield corps on the attack were full of spirit and courageously moving forward. Unknowingly, they rushed forward for more than two miles, and then found that three well-equipped elite infantry corps from the Three Principalities were waiting for them in front of them. 's arrival
This time, the Sword and Shield Corps realized that it was at the end of its battle. Under the attack of the three elite infantry regiments of the Three Principalities in the Central Region, it was almost hit hard and suffered heavy losses. Fortunately, at this time, the trenches and earthen walls everywhere became The barrier they resisted retreated while resisting under the command of the regiment commander.
But what they didn't expect was that the trenches and earthen walls everywhere were not just for defense. Another infantry regiment of the Principality of Forondo quickly moved to their rear along these trenches and blocked them under the cover of the earthen walls. their retreat. The Sword and Shield Corps, which insisted on resisting, collapsed when they saw that the back road was surrounded. The head of the regiment and several captains fought hard and finally broke a bloody path, allowing the soldiers to flee back quickly, but they were trapped by the swarming enemies. It didn't take long before the cheers of the enemy came, and then several heads were lifted high by the enemy, and the remaining soldiers gave up the rescue plan and withdrew back...
This defeat was like a big slap on the face of the second highness. The second highness, who thought it would be easy to overcome this line of defense, came to his senses and asked everyone for advice, but no one could do anything about it. Whether it was the battle-hardened Grand Duke Fessabrun or the flexible Lorist, they had no idea at this moment, and no one could tell how to attack.
In fact, Lorist was even more shocked. No one is a fool. The defense line of the four central duchies is almost trench warfare. The secret report sent by the family intelligence investigator hiding in the city of Pedro in the Principality of Volendo said that the Duke of Volendo mobilized almost all the citizens of the Principality to move the defense line of Freeward Province to Pero In the city of Pedro in Lina Province, countless trenches were dug and countless earthen walls were built within a distance of nearly a hundred miles. Even three intelligence investigators were conscripted to dig trenches for more than 20 days, so that the report was delivered so late...
This is hell, isn't it? Lorist cursed angrily. It is obvious that the defensive positions formed by these trenches and earthen walls are to deal with the Norton family's armored chariots, steel crossbows and catapults. These two long-range attack weapons are abolished. It has no effect, there is no defense facility protruding from the ground, so that the long-range weapon loses its target, the steel crossbow of the chariot has no target to launch, and if the catapult wants to smash it, it can just smash those earth walls and trenches. The garrison has become gophers scurrying around in the trenches. If the attacker is impatient to fill up the trenches one by one and flatten the earth wall, it will be easy to rush in lightly. The result waiting for you is like the Sword and Shield Corps of the White Lion Army. Same end.
The Second Highness is also very aware of this, and in the next three days, he can only fill up the trenches step by step and open a channel for attack. But what I didn't expect was that the trenches filled during the day were dug again by the enemy's garrison at night. The next day, the soldiers of the White Lion Army saw that they had to refill the trenches again, and their morale plummeted. At this time, the enemy's garrison also became active, firing crossbow arrows from time to time in the trench, causing many casualties to the White Lions.
Now the attacking Antinac kingdom is caught in a dilemma. It is buried during the day and dug up at night, and it is sent to garrison at night, but it is endlessly harassed and attacked at night. As a result, it suffers more damage overnight than during the day. . Sending troops to hunt but falling into traps, turning around in the trenches, it is easy to get lost or be lured into an ambush, resulting in heavy casualties. They attacked like this for five days and four nights, and only advanced less than two miles. Everyone was desperate.
"What kind of battle is this? I would rather fight a decisive battle with all the armed forces of the three principalities in the middle of the country, even if the enemy has ten times more troops than us. But what is it like to deal with ditches and earth walls every day? The soldiers are all cursing, and their morale is dropping very quickly." His Highness complained to Lorist.
Lorist gave the Second Highness the final blow, he took out the spy report from Pedro City and handed it to the Second Highness. His Highness the Second Highness took it suspiciously, and when he saw that the secret report said that the distance of a hundred miles had been dug full of trenches and built earthen walls, he was completely dumbfounded. His Highness jumped up after being stunned for a long time, with an excited expression on his face: "Is the Duke of Volunteer crazy? He actually dug trenches all over the principality. Does he still want to farm to harvest food..."
However, His Royal Highness immediately understood that if he did not do this, the Duke of Volund would not be able to stop the cavalry assault on his side. He dug half of the principality's ground and covered the ground with ditches and earthen walls to at least hold back the attacking force on his side. , He still has half of the principality's land to farm, and if the grain harvest is not enough, he can go to the Principality of Handra to buy and borrow on credit. If the front line can't stop him, he still doesn't need to consider the food issue without the Principality of Forendo. He might not even be able to save his life if he fell into the hands of the Second Highness. Everyone knew that the Second Highness hated them the most now, the four Grand Dukes.
"Blow the trumpet, withdraw the troops and return to the camp." His Highness the Second Highness dejectedly ordered the guards around him, now there is no need to do anything useless. He shuddered at the thought that there were still hundreds of miles of ditches and earthen walls waiting for him to fill and bulldoze. It seemed that if he wanted to attack these three duchies, he would have to think of other ways.
Post-war statistics show that in order to resist the advance of the Antinac Kingdom, the Grand Duke of Volunteer mobilized nearly one million citizens of the entire Principality and spent more than three months in the provinces of Freeward and Perorina. Four hundred and thirty-one trenches were dug within the distance of 83 miles from the capital, with a depth of two to three meters, and the trenches were connected. And with the excavated soil, more than 1,000 earth walls no more than one meter to one meter high were built, and a natural moat that was easy to attack but difficult to defend was built on the flat ground. Known as a miracle in the history of war, it was included in the war spectacle of the war history of the Galintia continent.
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