Black Iron’s Glory

Chapter 228 Strategic Deployment

The heavens and the earth are dark, and the furry snowflakes fall from the sky, looking through the windows, and the distant houses and fields are covered with thick white bedding.

Alice's White House in Avenasburg is still lit with candles, in which military uniformed servants and officers keep coming and going. For a lot of people, it's very common, let alone snowfall, and even if the world knives, they'll be so busy, because this is where His Royal Highness Prince Hansburg's front command and logistics are located. Every command issued from here is executed by countless royal soldiers, even at the cost of life and blood.

On the second floor, in a lavishly decorated conference room, more than a dozen generals and the Grand Prince are holding a meeting on strategic discussions.

“… Although my father gave a victory speech at the Harvest Festival, the General should have counted, and the facts are not as inspiring as he says. At present, the armies of the Principality of Rimodra, the Principality of Eskirin and the Principality of Kanas adhere to a defensive strategy of layered resistance and refuse to fight us in the General Assembly, so that our strategic plan of the Principality of Rimodra becomes a shadow that we cannot decide to win or lose.

Last month my father wrote me a letter that revealed his concern about the prospects for war. The accumulation of our treasury for more than two decades has been largely empty since the outbreak of this war. In terms of force strength, twelve second-line regiments have been formed and put into the war. And the kingdom now needs eight new regiments, and the guard battalions everywhere have reached the front line, with a total of more than 1.2 million troops. This is a very heavy burden for our kingdom.

In his letter, my father asked me if I could put an end to the war as soon as possible and in a short time so that it would not affect the people and subsequent development of the Kingdom. What he meant, of course, was not that we should accept it, but that we should reach a breakthrough on the frozen battlefield, complete our pre-war strategic deployment, include the Principality of Rimodra and the Principality of Eskilin in the Kingdom's template and force the Kingdom of Nasser and the Principality of Kanas to surrender to us.

While we have accomplished our first small goal, annexing the Principality of Siddins, this victory has been a huge discount. The Kingdom does not yet know how much money will have to be invested to restore the lives of the people of a ruined territory, because we have few seizures. After our demise of the Principality of Siddins, the enemy sent their combined fleet to bomb two port cities already occupied by us, and even set fire to civilian homes, turning much of both port cities into ashes that would not serve as a new base for our Kingdom fleet.

On the continent of Nubian, the colony of the Kingdom of Hicks, whose field corps is stationed in the Kingdom of Nasri, refused to leave, so that we could not seize the territory of the Kingdom of Nasri. At the same time, there is a need to exercise restraint in the face of provocations by the army of the Kingdom of Hicks, which can only be monitored by setting up defensive positions on its own territorial borders. And the port of Vibato, the colony of the Kingdom of Nasri, has become a logistical supply base for pirates, and those pirate groups in the Nubian mainland, with adequate supply support in the port of Vibato, have posed a very great threat to the seven overseas territorial administrations of our Kingdom in the Nubian mainland.

And the dilemma we now face is that we cannot quickly break through enemy defensive positions, creating a deadly threat and forcing the enemy and us to fight in the General Assembly. Those defensive positions can only be gradually overcome on the front line, moving forward step by step. The problem is that we overcame a defensive position and the enemy was able to build two more at the back. The dilemma that this creates is to delay the time and consume the morale of our soldiers, while at the same time causing us a lot of casualties... "

Grand Prince Hansburg picked up two documents and dumped them on the table: “You see, this is, by contrast, the Guardian Corps as a front, and it takes an average of about four to five days to overcome a defensive position, at the cost of five or six hundred soldiers killed or injured. Today, they have been fighting for almost three consecutive months, with more than half of their casualties and subsequent fatigue, and are in dire need of rest. The report states that the soldiers have become war-torn and have a very low morale.

The other document, a tribute report from the first Battalion of Rangers, successfully overran Castle Blackmaple, killing and injuring only twenty-seven people in the sector. But it took them fifty-four days to force the Black Maple Castle's defensemen to surrender. I don't even know if I should reward them or punish them. They did do their job, but it took too long. If we attack our enemies like them, I doubt if my grandchildren are going to start a family. I am still here to plan how to wage this war... "

More than a dozen generals in this room laughed, and the warfare reports from the Ranger Battalion did shock most of the commanding officers, who thought that the Ranger Battalion had written a zero on casualty figures. However, it was repeatedly checked and a detailed operational report was read to confirm the credibility of the newspaper. For that reason, most officers of the Command were caught in a discussion as to whether this tactic of warfare by the first battalion of guerrillas should be emulated by the regiments on the front lines.

A number of officers did not consider the tactics of the first Battalion of Rangers desirable because they caught a loophole in the order that did not limit the date of Castle Blackmaple and drilled an empty hole to accomplish the task with such minor casualties. And now this war, all the troops are battling for seconds to attack the enemy's defensive positions, because they know that defeating the enemy in front of them at the earliest moment will deprive the enemy of sufficient time to prepare more fully for defense...

If the 1st Battalion of Rangers were not responsible for the remote Picklet Mountains on the side of the army, they would never have had enough time to capture a Black Maple castle guarding the entrance to the mountain path. Replacing them with the SS corps and allowing them to capture a defensive position for four or five days, like the SS corps, would surely cost them more in casualties than the SS. Because they are all made up of recruits, not like veterans of the SS, who have a wealth of combat experience and a great sense of honor.

Grand Prince Hansburg waved and stopped the generals from turning to him: "Although many did not believe in the success of the first battalion of the Rangers, they had accomplished their task and won with such minor casualties that they deserved a reward. But I decided to delay it for a while. Since it took them fifty-four days to defeat Castle Blackmaple, I will reward them for their success after fifty-four days..."

The generals laughed and complimented: “Your Highness is wise. ”

It was just an unharmed and elegant joke. It was just a delay, by the way, expressing dissatisfaction with the time it took the guerrilla battalion to accomplish its mission. Fortunately, it's in that remote corner of Picklet Hills, and it doesn't affect the big picture. Otherwise, the Guardianship Corps on the front line would have learned the same thing, and the Kingdom would have paid no price for it. The treasury is almost empty, with millions of troops on both lines spending an astronomical amount every day, and no one can stand the endless prolongation of the war.

“To be honest,” said Grand Prince Hansburg, "the Blue Feather Corps has now completed its reconstruction mission, as have the last two second-line corps. The Department of the Army has had a great deal of controversy over the deployment of the three regiments, and they have put forward two plans that will be handed over to our Front Line Command, allowing us to consider, as appropriate, which plan will win the war faster. ”

The two military attachés brought a large stack of documents and sent them to the generals present.

After everyone had read the documents in hand, Grand Prince Hansburg said: "It is clear that these senior staff members of the Army Department have not made any refreshing suggestions. As we said last time, the first is to continue the offensive in place of the Guard Regiment, let the Guard Regiment come down for rest and replenishment, and wait for the Guard Regiment to take over after the Blue Feather Regiment's weak offensive. Use this wheel method of warfare to crush the resistance of all enemies in front of you until you achieve a final victory.

This wheel method of warfare has no new ideas, and we all know that even if it wins, it will still cause a lot of casualties for us, and there will be time to delay until we reach the goal of deciding to win the battle. It also gives the enemy plenty of time to pack his belongings and leave us with a mess, just like the ruined Duchy of Siddins.

Another suggestion was to configure the Blue Feather Regiment and those two second-line regiments on the side of the Vulture Regiment, first forcing the Kingdom of Nasseri to admit defeat and surrender. And, of course, we know that this is just the delusion of the senior staff of the Army, that the Kingdom of Nasseri is no more powerful than the Principality of Rimodra and the Principality of Eskilin, the only countries that can compete with our kingdom on the eastern continent.

Although our kingdom invaded their kingdom on the western line and the southern border of the Principality of Siddins, it also destroyed three of their regiments, two of them standing regiments in their kingdom. But the current situation is that both lines are at an impasse, because the Kingdom of Nasri has stabilized their internal situation and is constantly recruiting to expand new regiments, so our Red Dragon Corps and the Lizard Corps, each carrying two second-line regiments, are ready for defensive combat, although they are still attacking.

We are all well aware that the situation in the Kingdom of Nasri cannot be determined by the addition of three regiments. My personal view is to stick to the original strategy, to take care of the Principality of Rimodra, the Principality of Eskirin and the Principality of Kanas, to remove the claw teeth of the Kingdom of Nasri, and finally to concentrate our forces, to inflict a deadly blow on the Kingdom of Nasri and even to destroy it as a dead enemy. ”

The generals here wanted to stand up and salute, but were stopped by Grand Prince Hansburg: "I want you all to think about where the Blue Feathers Corps and those two second-line corps can be thrown for the best operational effect, and I want to force the enemies who are building defensive installations ahead to get out of those tortoise shells and engage in an upright battle against our hall to determine the future fate of the eastern part of the continent. ”

Dumb, all frowned upon, a Major General rose to ask: "Your Highness, has there been any progress on the sea? ”

Obviously, his idea was to use sea transportation to land three regiments, including the Blue Feather Corps, in the enemy's heartland, escorted by the Navy's fearless fleet.

But the Grand Prince's answer disappointed him: “By sea, you don't have to count on it. The enemy's combined fleet is going crazy looking for a fearless fleet duel at sea, taking the opportunity to enter the waters of the kingdom and prepare to add a fire to our coastal zone. The Dauntless fleet is now perfectly self-preserving and the Kingdom has redeployed its newly formed storm fleet to support the eastern waters, thus also deliberately reducing the size of the convoy to the continent of Nubia…

It was ridiculous to think that the battle plan developed by the Navy at the time did not affect the situation at sea, that the enemy's combined fleet would not attack us on its own initiative, and that it had a dream of accepting the enemy fleet peacefully. Now that I think about it, it's a pig brain. How confused would it be to make such a strategic offensive plan? I really want to go back to Wang Du to see if the face of the Secretary of the Navy has been swollen. Huh. ”

Another skinny, morbid middle-aged general stood up and coughed twice in front of a large map hanging by the wall: "Your Highness, I have an idea that perhaps we could march out of here and pounce straight into the heart of the Principality of Eskirin, surrounding the enemy's backpath. ”

He refers to the location of the map, which bears the name of the Picklet Mountains: “It is well known that the Picklet Mountains are vast and connect the Kanas Prairie to the three counties in the southern part of the Principality of Eskilin. The Picklet Mountains, however, did not connect the two roads, and the three principalities, which had wanted to build a national highway together, abandoned that intention because of the seriousness and difficulty of the geographic environment. So after our invasion of the Principality of Rimodra, the enemy did not place heavy troops in this mountainous area, because they believed that the Picklet Mountains could not allow the legions to travel and that there was no need to defend them.

Upon learning that a Ranger Battalion had overrun Castle Black Maple, I reviewed the information on Castle Black Maple and found that it was set up to prevent smuggling to the Principality of Eskirin and the Principality of Kanas. Now that there is smuggling, there must be roads, and I have gathered some information to see that there are indeed trails leading to the two countries in the mountains. If we let the Bluefeather Regiment and three other regiments appear in the enemy's heartland through the Picklet Mountains, it will surely have an unexpected effect... ”