Iron Powder and Spellcasters - Chapter 442

   Chapter 442 The great alliance moves forward (fourteen)

   Colonel Bod Gates frowned and surveyed the battlefield.

The smoke screen released by the enemy before the battle had long been blown away by the wind. Overlooking from the top of the church bell tower, bridges, villages, roads, fields, spewing gunpowder, flickering firelight, spears hung with pieces of meat and blood, dragging Frightened warhorses galloping with corpses of riders… Every detail of the battlefield is exposed nakedly.

  The sound of guns and cannons was incessant, and the messengers on standby in the stairwell couldn’t bear their curiosity, stood on tiptoe and looked out the window.

  Through the gunpowder smoke, he saw thousands of human beings put into a fold in the vastness of the earth, fighting for their lives, spectacular, bizarre, amazing—but nothing more.

   In the eyes of Bod Gates, the battlefield is an open book.

By identifying flags, observing clothing colors, and even distinguishing the difference between cavalry caps and feathers, he traced lines along the spear tips and hoof tracks to separate the two intertwined armies, and abstracted the **** battle of tens of thousands of soldiers as Offensive and defensive between a few phalanxes.

Colonel    carefully assessed the strength and morale of each phalanx, and calmly deduced the trend of the battle and the enemy’s strategy.

   Standing on the top floor of the bell tower and looking north, five light brown squares were spread out on the golden field, advancing aggressively.

  The left flank of the coalition forces, which had retreated to avoid the artillery, now took the initiative to fight. The five phalanxes of Leiqun County and Bianjiang County were also arranged in a single line, and they moved forward quickly under the guidance of the silver-sided military flag of Skull Meckron.

   In the northern division where the two armies confront each other, the battle unfolds in the traditional way:

  The hedgehog-like phalanx kept approaching each other, and while the distance between the two sides shortened, a stream of white smoke emerged from the inside of the spikes—the musketeers who retreated into the phalanx were shooting;

  The two armies of cavalry in similar costumes circled around the “hedgehog” like snakes to fight. Both sides spared no effort to drive the opponent away from the battlefield, and at the same time tried their best to lure the opponent to their “hedgehog” side.

   Either wounded, driven away, or in a panic, cavalrymen kept falling into the slowly narrowing gap between the “hedgehogs” and the “hedgehogs” and were shot to death by men and horses.

  Colonel Bode turned his sight to the hills on the opposite side of the North Division battlefield, where the cannons had been turned to the left flank of the coalition forces.

  Among the bare-chested gunners, Colonel Bird easily found the commander of the enemy artillery. The artillery officer in the colonel’s uniform seemed to sense the colonel’s gaze, turned to look at the church tower, and took off his hat in greeting.

   Colonel Bode quickly screened all the artillery officers with the rank of major and above in the old Palatu Army system, but still could not identify the identity of the other party.

Combining with the enemy report sent by Winters Montagne this morning, the colonel has already made a judgment – if the other party is not a captain who was promoted after the Battle of the Great Wasteland, then he must also be from the 18 provinces that are “friends at heart” United Republic.

  Bode felt a tingling pain, no matter how much sophistry or excuses he made, from the moment the Union Province soldiers appeared on the battlefield, this civil war was no longer confined to the interior of Palatu, but essentially became a civil war of the Union.

Colonel    saw a centurion flag with six horses flying in front of the artillery position, which meant that the commander of the enemy’s right flank had an infantry brigade that had not yet been engaged in combat.

   But even with the addition of the six centenarians guarding the artillery positions, there was always one infantry brigade in the “Reorganized New Reclamation Corps” that was not exposed.

   Colonel Bode stared at the hills where the enemy artillery positions were located, as if to penetrate the grass-covered soil to find out the truth on the other side of the ridgeline.

  If he guessed correctly, the backslope of the low hill also concealed a full infantry brigade.

   In this way, the eight infantry battalions dispatched by the “Reorganization of the New Reclamation Corps” all appeared on the enemy’s right flank.

   So what about the center and the left wing of the enemy?

   Colonel Bode’s gaze went all the way down the hillside and set his sights on the center of the battlefield:

   On the embankment on the other side of the village, the army flags of the battalion with diagonal cross patterns on a white background were hunting;

   The carriage went straight to the front line along the provincial road. The auxiliary soldiers and civilians unloaded the small-caliber rotary guns and the whole box of ammunition from the carriage, and then loaded the wounded into the carriage and sent them back to the rear;

   The two infantry brigades that had been repelled earlier were being regrouped, and the two following in place looked ready to launch a new attack.

   Sanel Carroy’s New Reclamation Army—the four most powerful battalions of the Grand Council Army—appeared in front of the village and in the center of the battlefield.

  Sarnell’s personal flag was erected on a low hill behind the front, at the end of the wheat field, facing Colonel Bode’s flag in the distance.

   For the chips exchanged for his wreckage, Colonel Bode thought it was a good deal.

  Although the enemy did not send heavy troops to besiege Hegu Village, as long as he can temporarily contain the most elite troops of the opponent, his plan may be realized.

  However, the battlefield that Colonel Bode is most concerned about is not the front, and the enemy he is most concerned about is not the New Reclamation Army.

Colonel    turned to look south, and half of the “Sixth Legion” appeared in his field of vision.

  Different from the River Valley Village and the North Battlefield, which were already in close quarters, the South Battlefield was unusually calm.

   On the east bank of the nameless river, the five infantry battalions with the flag of the “Seven Kings” did not try to occupy the width of the battlefield as much as possible, but instead formed a bizarre double-line formation:

  Two brigades are in the front, controlling the river bank; three brigades are in the back, ready to fight;

   The three cavalry squadrons were combined into a large column, which was positioned further back than the infantry. There was no one in the saddle, and the riders were all dismounted and resting.

The formation of the    “Sixth Army” indicated that they had no intention of attacking, and the Baishan County troops in front of them were already on the defensive.

  The musketeers on both sides used the embankment as a cover to shoot, and the water surface was filled with gunpowder. However, both the right wing of the coalition army and the left wing of the Great Parliamentary Army stopped at the river bank, and neither of them took the initiative to cross the river.

   When the fierce battle broke out between Hegu Village and the northern sub-field, the southern sub-field quickly consumed the gunpowder, lead and patience of the two armies in the stalemate.

   Colonel Bird took a deep breath. Sanel’s deployment, he has seen clearly.

  Overview of the overall situation, the enemy’s right flank is dominated by the “reorganization of the new reclaimed land army”, with three cavalry squadrons and all heavy artillery;

   Five infantry battalions of the enemy “Sixth Army” were sent to the left flank, with the remaining three cavalry squadrons;

   In the end, Sanel placed the four direct infantry battalions of the “New Reclaimed Army” in the center of the battlefield—the most valuable trophy, which he kept for himself.

The    big battlefield can thus be divided into three parts: south, north and village.

   The northern battlefield is fighting fiercely at the moment, and the outcome is undecided;

The river valley village in the middle section of    is full of corpses, and a new round of competition is about to break out;

  Only the southern part of the battlefield is still in the confrontation stage. Both sides occupy one side of the river bank, and no one takes the initiative to attack.

   However, the battlefields are by no means isolated islands, Colonel Bode’s eyes pulled back closer:

  When the “hedgehogs” were crushing each other on the wheat field to the north, a brigade from the enemy’s right flank took the opportunity to break into the connection between the northern sub-field and Hegu Village in an attempt to divide the coalition’s left flank and the central army.

The only bridge over the    river had been blown up and burned by the defenders, causing a lot of trouble for this enemy unit.

  The brown-clothed soldiers had to wade across the river, climbing the steep bank with their bare hands, and the speed of crossing the river was severely slowed down.

  It took the lead to board the two centenarians on the west bank, and boldly launched a charge towards Hegu Village.

   However, the hasty attack was repelled by the 2nd Leiqun County Infantry Battalion who retreated to Hegu Village, leaving more than twenty bodies on the road and in the farmhouse.

  Colonel Bode watched the Leiqun County soldiers who were repelling the enemy hid behind the fence and fired guns at each other with the brown-clothed soldiers who were hiding under the embankment on the other side of the road. An indescribable sadness filled his heart.

   Any captain of the former Praetorian standing army—even the most mediocre one—would not have been so passively defensive. They will surely seize the opportunity when the enemy’s offensive is frustrated, take the initiative to attack, and drive the reckless enemy off the riverbank.

“Ask Lieutenant Zoboyao!” Colonel Bode grabbed the messenger and pointed the end of his severed arm to the provincial avenue outside the village, suppressing his anger: “Ask him! Ask him what the **** is he waiting for? Wait until the enemy arrives?!”

The    messenger did not dare to neglect, turned around and squeezed past the other messenger in the stairwell, and ran down the tower with a bang.

“Go to Captain Losson!” Colonel Bode took another messenger and waved his broken arm between the cavalry on standby in the west of the village and the enemy troops to the north: “If the enemy troops outside the village are repelled, Let him send the cavalry of Bianjiang County to support him, but he must not cross the river to pursue it!”

   The second messenger raised his hand and saluted, and disappeared at the end of the stairs in the blink of an eye.

   There was another sound of rapid footsteps, and a soldier with a face covered in soot and blood appeared at the opening of the floor: “Sir, Lieutenant… Lieutenant, please evacuate immediately.”

  Bode turned his head, his eyes stopped briefly on the soldiers, and soon returned to focus on the fighting northern battlefield: “The wounded have been evacuated?”

  The soldier thought for a while before he understood what the colonel was asking, and hurriedly replied: “They were all taken away. Before the cannon blew us up, they were all loaded into the car and taken away.”

   “Let Lieutenant Woods stick to his post.” Colonel Bird’s eyes never left the field to the north, and he replied indifferently: “I will stick to my post too. Just tell him that, go.”

The    soldier nodded heavily and ran down the stairs while muttering what the colonel said.

  Bod stood by the window and watched the soldiers leave the church and run to the river bank. In a blink of an eye, he heard a series of hooves coming from outside the village.

   Immediately afterwards, the muffled sound of “dong dong dong dong” sounded again at the Colonel’s feet.

  It was not a messenger who climbed the bell tower this time, but a lieutenant. The lieutenant’s clothes were clean and tidy compared to the messengers who were running between the river valley village and the northern sub-field.

The lieutenant    panted and raised his hand in salute. He anxiously asked for instructions: “Sir! Colonel Geisa has requested a sortie.”

  Bold propped up the window frame and stared at the battlefield south of the village without speaking.

The lieutenant didn’t dare to make a sound, or even to take a deep breath. He stood on the stairs, waiting for the colonel’s decision.

   “Attack.” Colonel Broad silently chewed on the word, weighing the pros and cons repeatedly.

  Sanell clenched his fists, exposing his fragile chest.

   For such a formation with heavy flanks and a thin center, all cavalry should be concentrated and attacked from the heights of River Valley Village, which protruded from the front. First defeat the new reclaimed army in the middle of the battlefield, and then split the enemy’s left and right flanks. As long as you find an opportunity to annihilate one wing, the other wing will be destroyed without attacking.

   But the battle will never go according to plan, much less develop according to the wishes of the participants. It was like a mad bull, not only struggling all the time to knock the rider off his back, but also crushing the rider’s knees and thighs.

   “Cannon, cannon, cannon…” Colonel Bode turned to look at the artillery position in the northeast direction.

The advent of the    artillery shifted the balance of power so that the tactical advantage of the Three Counties as a defender ceased to exist—it literally changed everything.

  Sannell set up the cannon on the mound on the opposite bank, the second highest point of the battlefield, overlooking the fields to the east and north of the village.

  If the coalition cavalry set out from the village of River Valley and attacked the troops of the New Reclamation Army, their flanks would be swept by a hail of cannonballs;

  If coalition cavalry appeared in the northern division, they would also have to bear the rain of death from the highlands on the other side of the river.

   It is no exaggeration to say that before the enemy can push the artillery into the battlefield, the first task of the three-county coalition is to win victory;

  After the enemy pushed the artillery onto the battlefield, the immediate need of the three-county coalition became to destroy the artillery—before it was defeated by the artillery fire itself.

The plight of    tormented every commander in history is also tormenting Bode Gates’ heart at this moment.

   When Sanel threw heavy troops on the enemy’s right flank, the “left hook” plan formulated before the war had gone bankrupt.

   Even if Skull could repel the enemy in front of them, it would be difficult for them to attack the artillery positions when the enemy had reserves on the right flank.

   Contrary to pre-war expectations, the enemy’s left flank with only half of the “Sixth Army” was the weakest link in the enemy’s front line, and was the only sub-battlefield where the coalition might have an advantage in strength.

   “Is my strategy wrong?” Bird thought over and over in his mind: “Should we change ‘left hook’ to ‘right hook’?”

But he remembered the smile in the corner of Sanel’s eyes, and the various deceitful and dangerous actions of the other party in the past, and he couldn’t help but wonder: “Is there anything I overlooked? Sanel’s strategy is really as I saw it. like that? Am I stepping into his trap?”

  No one can give him the answer.

   Because holding the lives of the soldiers of the three armies in their hands, and leading them into an uncertain future, this is the mission of the military commander.

No one can take this responsibility for Bode Gates, and Bode Gates must be responsible for the life and death of everyone, for the victory or defeat of the battle here, and even for the earthquake and tsunami that will be caused by the result of the battle. Responsible.

   Take the wrong step and shatter your bones.

   There was a loud bang from the church bell, and the lieutenant of Baishan County, who was waiting for the order, was shocked.

  Colonel Bode turned around, clutching the end of his severed arm, his eyes burning with fire.

   “I have made my decision,” said the colonel.

   The lieutenant’s boots were subconsciously close together, and he stood up straight.

“Order—Colonel Geisa Adonis, use three battalions to attack the enemy on the east coast.” Colonel Bode paused for a while, then turned to stare at the eight heavy artillery entrenched on the mound on the opposite bank: “Order— Captain Lozon, prepare to storm the enemy artillery positions.”

   [Sorry for the update after a few days]

   [Recently, it’s been raining really hard… I’m speechless (covering my face). Every time like this, things at work will become very much]

   [Originally full of energy, I was going to take a weekend break to write a big one, but I ended up with an extra day of work on Saturday, and I only wrote so much today…]

   [I didn’t ask for leave because I was also squeezed in time to write a few days ago, and I always felt that “I should be able to squeeze out an article today”, but finally found that it was dawn…]

   [The passage transcribed in the book is “gathering the three armies and throwing them into danger, this is called a general’s business”. There is no literal translation, and the free translation may not be accurate, please forgive me]

   [Thanks to book lovers for their collection, reading, subscription, recommendation tickets, monthly tickets, rewards and comments, thank you all]

   (end of this chapter)