In the afternoon of the next day, Claude received a carrier pigeon message from the battalion headquarters. Major Lieutenant, commander of the 1st Ranger Battalion, did not make any decision on the situation reported by Claude. He just reported Squirrel Village to
Claude is responsible for the enemy situation encountered here. Whether it is retreat or defense, Claude will handle it. At the same time, in his letter, he told Claude some of the situation in the three southern counties and the current difficulties faced by the 1st Ranger Battalion.
, Claude could easily come to the conclusion that what Major Leedfunk hoped was that he could hold on to Squirrel Village, an important frontline checkpoint, and prevent the private soldiers of the territorial nobles from entering the three southern counties and causing chaos.
Before the arrival of March, the army of the Kingdom of Overas raced against time to build a temporary mountain road in the Picklet Mountains that could pass heavy artillery and transport logistical supplies. As planned, the Blue Feather Army and the two second-line armies were deployed in Eski.
The three southern counties of the Principality of Lin passed the rainy season safely. When April arrived, the Blue Feather Army, with a second-line army, set up a defense line at the border between the three southern counties and the Principality of Rimodra, blocking the troops deployed in the Principality of Rimo.
The retreat route for hundreds of thousands of anti-Austrian coalition forces in the Principality of Dara.
The other second-line army was deployed in the area bordering the eastern part of the Eskiline Principality to prepare for the counterattack of the remaining troops of the Eskiline Principality on the three southern counties. Originally, according to the plan of the frontline headquarters, more than ten locations would be deployed after the rainy season.
The security battalion entered the three southern counties through the temporary mountain road in the Picklate Mountains, and was responsible for guarding, maintaining public order, and raising supplies. But unfortunately, the heavy rains in the rainy season washed away the temporary pass in the Picklate Mountains, and both personnel
Materials are still unable to enter the three southern counties. It is estimated that it will take one and a half months to repair and restore the traffic of this temporary mountain road.
Therefore, all the troops of the Kingdom of Overas currently deployed in the three southern counties have become de facto lone troops. The rear cannot provide them with supplies and reserve troops unless they can persist for two months.
time, or the destruction of all the anti-Austrian coalition forces in the Principality of Rimodra. But the current situation is that the anti-Austrian coalition forces in the Principality of Rimodra are ready to move. In recent times, they have been conducting fire reconnaissance on the front line, targeting Blue
The defensive front of the Feather Corps conducted a tentative attack.
The Principality of Eskiline in the east did not sit still and wait for death. They knew very well that once the hundreds of thousands of coalition troops deployed in the Principality of Rimodra were surrounded on both sides by the army of the Kingdom of Ovelas and the entire army was annihilated, the Principality of Eskiline would be destroyed.
It was imminent. So they also gathered all the local garrison troops, vigorously recruited new soldiers, formed two temporary legions, and prepared to counterattack the three southern counties. The second-line legion deployed in the east was already unable to fight against the rushing enemies.
Kaijiao, the current battle situation is that the defensive front can still be maintained...
Since the Blue Feather Army and the two second-line armies are deployed on the front line, the internal defense forces in the three southern counties are insufficient, and there is a lack of armed forces to suppress and maintain public order. Before the rainy season in March, young men from the three southern counties were vigorously recruited to build Picklate.
The temporary mountain road in the mountainous area caused some casualties, and the people of the three southern counties were extremely dissatisfied with the occupying forces of the Kingdom of Ovelas.
After the arrival of April, the Principality of Esquiline sent a large number of spies to sneak into the three southern counties, inciting and organizing many people to secretly resist the occupation and material collection operations of the Kingdom of Ovelas army. This resulted in the current situation of public security chaos in the three southern counties, and frequent local riots.
happened, the garrison forces in several large towns were exhausted, and the suppression was still unable to quell the resistance incidents in various places.
The same is true for the 1st Ranger Battalion stationed in Rosa Town. Thanks to the elimination of some unimportant outposts by Major Leedfunk in advance, the battalion headquarters still has three squadrons of reserve troops to deal with the endless resistance and local riots.
In the letter, Major Leedfunk told Claude that the current force of less than one squadron simply cannot go out to suppress local resistance. To put it simply, the three southern counties are currently like a volcano that is accumulating explosive power.
I just don’t know when it will erupt...
Although Major Lederfunk left it up to Claude to decide on the enemy situation in Squirrel Village, the words in the letter still showed that he did not want Claude to retreat and adopted Sergeant Major Markey's suggestion to concentrate his troops to guard the entrance to the mountain road.
The strategy is to set up defensive positions there and hold on until the enemy's logistical supplies are no longer available and the enemy has no choice but to retreat.
Major Leedfunk pointed out the fact in his letter that the 1st Ranger Battalion deployed a total of three squadrons to guard this mountain road. The one at the front was Claude, followed by the one stationed at Blackstone Village by Muriel.
The squadron, finally, is the squadron deployed at the entrance of the mountain road. If Claude decides to retreat, then there will be no need to defend this mountain road.
If Claude decides to retreat, the squadron of Murray Ed in Blackstone Village will not be able to defend, because the terrain there is not suitable for defense and is not as dangerous as that of Squirrel Village. Attacking enemies can easily go around the hillside to launch
To attack, you must know that the squadron of Murray Ed is mainly responsible for supporting Blackstone Village. After Claude is attacked by the enemy, he cuts off the mountain road to prevent the enemy from quickly passing through the mountain road in front of Squirrel Village and outflanks Claude from the rear.
The German army became a lone army.
As for the entrance to the mountain road in the three southern counties, although a squadron has been deployed to guard it, the terrain at the mountain road entrance is not suitable for setting up defensive positions. Because the terrain at the mountain road entrance is also not dangerous, even if it blocks the enemy's attack from the front
If we attack, the enemy can completely open a new road from the side to bypass the defensive positions and enter the three southern counties. The entrance to the mountain road is full of sparse woods and small mounds. Even if Claude concentrated the strength of three squadrons, he would not be able to defend it.
Long defensive front.
If you want to block the entrance to the mountain pass, you need a battalion of troops to distribute it. However, the first battalion of Rangers is currently divided and is divided into various important checkpoints to be responsible for defense. Major Leedfunk is powerless. He himself has
There are not many men and horses, and they still need to be responsible for the defense of Rosa Town.
Therefore, Major Leedfunk hoped that Claude could resist the incoming private soldiers of the territorial nobles in Squirrel Village. Of course, he also did not want Claude's troops to die in vain. He let Claude make his own decision.
Fight or withdraw. It would be best if he could hold on. He could squeeze out a squadron of troops and deliver a batch of ammunition, food and other logistical supplies to Claude. The only regret was that the battalion headquarters could only send more
Claude provided a light infantry artillery piece, but it was impossible to make two.
The carrier pigeon message sent by the battalion headquarters was placed on the table. Claude knocked on the table and said: "I have decided to conduct a defensive battle here to block the enemy's invasion. The signal corps immediately sent the carrier pigeon to the battalion headquarters to inform me of my decision and request
The battalion headquarters will dispatch support as soon as possible. Sergeant Major Markchi, you are in charge of the first team and send personnel to conduct reconnaissance to find out the strength and equipment of the two enemies and determine the date of their attack.
The second team and the third team are responsible for the construction and reinforcement of defensive positions. I ask you to dig out the mountain road in front and temporarily lay wooden rafts to facilitate passage. In this way, even if the enemy comes to attack, they can still be delayed. Even if they can fill in the
The big holes buried in these mountain roads are also within the range of our firepower. I want to see how much the enemy can pay in casualties to build roads.
The fourth team is responsible for building wooden barriers and digging trenches between the camp and Squirrel Village to prevent the enemy from going up the mountain to attack us from behind Squirrel Village. The artillery team is responsible for arranging gun positions and doing a good job in artillery defense and
Hidden. Michael, you go to Blackstone Village in the afternoon and ask Master Sergeant Murray to come over immediately. I need to discuss with him the issue of support and garrisoning. If we really can't withstand the enemy's attack, then I need him.
The squadron provides security for our retreat route..."
Markchi stayed at the end, looking at Claude desperately: "Sir, do you really not decide to retreat?"
After all, there are more than 2,000 enemies, and even if the squadron supported by the battalion headquarters is included on his side, there are less than 120 people. This is almost a 20-to-1 strength comparison. With Markchi, a veteran,
It seems that Claude's decision to insist on defending here is setting himself up for death, and the countdown to everyone's lives has begun...
Claude smiled and patted him on the shoulder: "Even if we retreat, is there any place with more dangerous terrain than here on the mountain road until the entrance of the mountain road? No. Since a battle is unavoidable, let's stay here, at least.
We also took advantage of the terrain. Although there are many enemies, they are all private soldiers of the territorial nobles and their combat effectiveness is not strong. I think there is a high possibility that we can withstand the enemy's attack. Maybe after the victory, your epaulettes will be with me.
It’s the same.”
A veteran like Mark Qi was simply frightened by the enemy's strength. According to his experience, a side with ten to one man would definitely win. But now the ratio between us and the enemy has reached twenty to one, so he
He thought that this would definitely be a life-or-death outcome. He wanted to retreat just to survive a little longer and earn more money. In fact, even if he retreated, he would not be able to avoid the outcome of a defensive battle. Claude made up his mind to fight in Squirrel Village.
The defensive battle is based on the terrain here. Even if you retreat in the end, you must give the enemy a hard blow first and kill as many enemies as possible.
Markchi gritted his teeth: "Forget it, I'll just go crazy with you. If I really die here, it's my destiny to meet a fool like you, the second lieutenant, as my immediate boss..."
Markchi took the horse and led the first team on a reconnaissance mission.
Claude smiled, shook his head and said to the big man Gemie: "Let's go to Squirrel Village and meet the village elder."
The war was coming, and Claude would not let the villagers of Squirrel Village stay in the village anymore. He decided to let the village elder take the villagers to move to Blackstone Village first, and then come back after the battle was over. The village elder was reasonable, and he agreed
Claude requested to relocate, but also offered to use the village's labor to help Claude build defensive positions. Claude was very happy and decided to provide these villagers with a batch of food and material reserves as compensation.
Everything was going on in a tense, hectic and orderly manner, but as time passed, no sign of the invasion of the so-called private soldiers of the territorial nobles was found. The angry Markchi went to the cave that served as a temporary prison for another interrogation.
The spy beat him up severely. The spy swore that what he said was true. Before he set off, the lord said that he would send troops as soon as he came back. If there was no movement now, something might have happened.
Four days later, the squadron supported by the battalion headquarters arrived at Squirrel Village. What surprised Claude was that the squadron leader was Diavid. Diavid said that after receiving the news from the battalion headquarters,
He volunteered to lead his squadron to support.
Now Claude has two squadrons with nearly a hundred people. The squadron brought by Diaverde is not fully staffed, only 45 people. His squadron is suppressing local riots in the three southern counties.
Nine soldiers were killed or wounded in the attack, and there are still six who are currently staying in the treatment center at the battalion headquarters. Markchi's squadron is full of fifty-four people, plus three artillery groups of fifteen people, Claude, McJack,
The big man Germi and a signal soldier assigned to the battalion headquarters totaled 118 people. This gave Claude more confidence in resisting the enemy's attack.
However, after all the defense preparations were completed, it was discovered that the enemy was still not coming. After Markchi gave up the idea of retreating, he was no longer afraid of death and took the initiative to sneak into the place called Count Loycade Barclaus.
He went to the territory to spy on the enemy, but was almost discovered. When he came back, he brought two pieces of news to Claude, one good and one bad.
The good news is that the private soldiers assembled by Count Leucade Barclaus are indeed a ragtag group. Except for the two squadrons, the armed configuration is about the same as that of the local garrison and their combat effectiveness is similar. The rest are mostly farmers.
The troops formed by herdsmen and herdsmen have different weapons. The good ones have shotguns, old-fashioned firecrackers, etc., while the bad ones just hold broadswords and spears, and some even use dung forks to prepare for battle...
The bad news is that Count Loikades's men are not just a battalion, but nearly a regiment of about 4,000 people. This is mainly because some other territorial nobles of the Principality of Karnars heard that Count Loikades is going to send troops.
The three southern counties of the Eskiline Principality went to make a fortune, and they all came to join in the fun and make some extra money for themselves. Therefore, the reason why the enemy did not attack for a long time was that some of the nobles in the territory had not yet arrived.
, it is estimated that it will take some time to wait.
As for the Eskiline Principality, the territorial nobles were arguing with the principal military department, which delayed the attack. It is said that the Grand Duke and the military headquarters of the Eskiline Principality asked the territorial nobles to hand over all their private soldiers.
Dedicated to the Eastern Front, striving to counterattack and retake the three southern counties as soon as possible. However, the territorial nobles were unwilling to devote their private armed forces to the battlefield on the Eastern Front and be wasted in vain, so they requested to organize their own troops to invade the three southern counties from the mountain road.
Achieve the purpose of involving the army of the Kingdom of Ovelas...
Well, the enemies on both sides have delayed the original attack date, and Claude and the others can only continue to wait anxiously for their arrival...