Trenches, Guns, and Magic

After the engineer company commander took his orders and left, Morin took two more laps around the pass.

The work of dismantling explosives at the three detonation points was proceeding methodically. The engineers were very careful when moving the explosive boxes; no one dared to be careless with this kind of thing.

Morin watched for a while, then returned to the temporary command post.

After Crown Prince Georg and Major General Knobelsdorff supplemented the Kampfgruppe with a batch of professional officers, Morin indeed had a much easier time than before.

Whether it was the detailed aspects of commanding this Kampfgruppe or coordinating the airship's supply transport with Lieutenant Colonel Andreas, he left these matters to the professionals. In most cases, he only needed to make decisions on the general direction.

This also gave him more time to focus on the battle situation of the forward units heading toward the river valley.

At this moment on the system map, several unit cards representing the 2nd Battalion of the instruction unit had already advanced a certain distance along the river valley.

In this operation, the 2nd Battalion also served the role of the "Forward Assault Group." (The previous mention of Rommel's unit was incorrect and has been corrected.)

Battalion Commander Jonathan, among the three major battalion commanders of the instruction unit, was considered relatively "balanced" in all stats.

He combined the aggressiveness of 1st Battalion Commander Wolf with the steadiness of 3rd Battalion Commander Steiner.

Moreover, Morin had noticed very early on that the 2nd Battalion's scores in infantry tactical subjects during daily training had consistently been the best among the three battalions. Jonathan himself had also demonstrated a very solid command style in tactical simulations many times.

Therefore, after the 1st Battalion breached the pass, when it came to choosing between the 2nd and 3rd Battalions for the "Forward Assault Group" in the subsequent raid, Morin hardly hesitated.

However, to ensure the 2nd Battalion could chew through any hard bones they might encounter in the river valley, Morin also provided substantial firepower reinforcements.

Two 170mm heavy mortars—this was currently the largest caliber indirect fire asset the Kampfgruppe possessed, and in mountain combat, it was considered quite formidable heavy firepower.

In addition to that, extra MG08 heavy machine gun squads, combat engineer detachments, and more light mortars were all attached to the 2nd Battalion.

Thus, although the 2nd Battalion organizationally consisted of only three infantry companies plus one heavy weapons company, the actual density of firepower they could call upon vastly exceeded that of an ordinary infantry regiment falling under the average standard of national armies.

After monitoring their movements on the system map for almost another hour, Morin found Kleist.

"Any news from the Forward Assault Group?"

"Yes!"

Kleist nodded and dug out a telegram from nearby, handing it over.

"Major Jonathan just sent this. They encountered resistance at the third Romanian position below the pass, but they've already taken it."

Morin took the telegram and read it. The content was concise; the 2nd Battalion hadn't encountered much fierce resistance during the breakthrough.

He wasn't surprised by this result.

From the battle at the pass, he could already tell that the home defense troops deployed by the Kingdom of Romania in this area suffered from a common ailment of Balkan armies: the training and organization levels of different units within the same brigade varied greatly.

The most elite recruits would be concentrated in the vanguard battalions and companies; those units were the true main combat force.

The remaining companies, to put it bluntly, were more like auxiliary forces making up the numbers.

The regiment at the pass could fight a tough battle because they received the best recruits and equipment in the entire brigade.

But the units responsible for depth defense in the river valley behind the pass were of much poorer quality.

"Still, Jonathan and the others can't underestimate the enemy..." This thought flashed through Morin's mind.

Prahova River Valley, roughly five kilometers straight-line distance from the pass.

Jonathan knelt on one knee behind a rock, holding his binoculars with both hands, observing a mountain slope about five hundred meters ahead.

There was a clearly constructed position there, much larger than the several small blocking positions they had encountered previously.

The trench snaked for at least two hundred meters, and machine gun bunkers made of stacked sandbags were clearly visible.

He lowered his binoculars and turned to the operations staff officer beside him.

"How many positions did the forward reconnaissance detachment report?"

"Three confirmed so far."

The staff officer unrolled a map, pointing to several marked points with a pencil.

"The closest is the one you're looking at, temporarily designated 'Number One'... About six hundred meters ahead, there's another one halfway up the mountain, temporarily designated 'Number Two'... Further ahead, about one to two kilometers where the river valley narrows, based on previous aerial reconnaissance, there's suspected to be another position... The three positions have a certain degree of overlapping fields of vision with each other."

Jonathan stared at the map for a while.

The three positions were arranged in a tiered depth configuration, the distance between them not too far.

If they followed traditional tactics, pushing forward one position at a time, every time they attacked a position, the ones behind could organize counterattacks or reinforcements. This battle would drag on.

But Jonathan didn't plan to fight that way.

In his mind surfaced an infantry assault tactic Morin had once taught in the instruction unit's internal officer classes—"Continuous Alternating Search-and-Destroy Attack."

The core concept was simple:

Divide the available forces into two assault echelons and one reserve force.

The first echelon is responsible for attacking the first position. Once they break through, the second echelon immediately leaps over the first echelon to attack the second position.

Alternating like this, linking together like a chain, giving the enemy no time to breathe. This tactic targeted the enemy's defensive characteristics, achieving the effect of completely annihilating the enemy without letting any slip the net.

The prerequisite was that fire support had to keep up, and the coordination between the two echelons had to be seamless.

Jonathan felt his 2nd Battalion fully met these conditions, so he quickly summoned the company commanders and issued operational orders.

"1st Company, plus one combat engineer squad, acts as the first echelon. 2nd Company and the remaining combat engineers, act as the second echelon. 3rd Company acts as the reserve... Dismantle the heavy weapons company and attach them to the various companies!"

The operations staff officer and company commanders quickly recorded this.

"What about the 170mm heavy mortars?"

"Bring them up."

Jonathan stood up and surveyed the nearby terrain.

"Have the trucks towing the mortars drive to the curve back there. There's just enough open ground to deploy the artillery positions. Straight-line distance to 'Target One' is less than a kilometer, well within range."

"Yes, sir!"

Before long, two radiant crystal trucks towing 170mm heavy mortars drove up along the potholed dirt road.

The trucks stopped at the curve, and artillerymen jumped down with entrenching tools and empty sandbags, quickly beginning preparations to set up temporary firing positions.

Simultaneously, the other light mortars also successively deployed at their designated positions.

Some time later, after both the assault and support units had completed their preparations and signaled readiness, Jonathan ordered the attack to commence.

"Begin."

"Boom!"

The first 170mm high-explosive shell tore through the air, howling dully as it smashed into the Romanians' "Number One" position.

The moment the shell landed, a massive pillar of smoke erupted from the center-rear of "Number One" position.

Although it was the first ranging shot, and the accuracy of the 170mm heavy mortar indeed wasn't great, hitting within a position over 100 meters wide and roughly 200 meters deep wasn't very difficult.

The explosive yield of a 170mm high-explosive shell was far beyond compare to the previous light mortars. The derivative damage caused in this mountainous terrain was extremely considerable.

Immediately following, the second mortar fired.

This shot was slightly off, but still accurately landed near a machine gun bunker on the right flank of the position.

The Romanian soldiers on the position were completely dumbfounded because none of them had ever experienced this kind of firepower strike.

After all, in this mountainous terrain, the largest caliber artillery typically used was mountain guns below 65mm, and even those had to be painstakingly hauled up by mules.

Who could have guessed that the enemy across from them could actually bring 170mm mortars to a forsaken place like this?

But the instruction unit didn't give them time to figure out these questions. After completing a few ranging shots, the two heavy mortars began firing alternately just like that.

Simultaneously, the light mortars distributed everywhere also began volley firing.

"Thump thump thump—"

A dense barrage covered the entire front and flanks of "Number One" position. High-explosive shells detonated one after another inside and outside the trenches; shrapnel flew horizontally, and scree splashed everywhere.

The fortifications built of timber and sandbags on the position were as fragile as paper before the 170mm heavy mortars.

The third heavy shell directly hit a semi-concealed bunker. The entire structure was blown to pieces, thick logs scattered like firewood.

Jonathan watched all this from an observation post in the rear, very satisfied.

The fire preparation lasted for about fifteen minutes, primarily because the rate of fire of the 170mm heavy mortars, which required a simple loading mechanism, was too slow.

But these fifteen minutes were already long enough for the Romanians on the position.

"Extend artillery fire to Number Two position! First and second echelons begin assault!"

At Jonathan's command, the firing parameters of the two heavy mortars were immediately corrected, and shells began falling on the retreat route behind "Number One" position.

The light mortars continued suppressing the flanks of the position.

Simultaneously, the first echelon commanded by Rommel had moved.

The soldiers of the 1st Company rushed out of cover. Just like when they attacked other Romanian positions previously, they dispersed by squad. MG14 light machine guns were set up on favorable terrain for short bursts of fire.

Submachine gunners and marksmen led the way, grenadiers followed, and the entire assault formation deployed quickly and steadily.

The Romanians on the position attempted to organize a counterattack. Several veteran sergeants lay behind scattered sandbags, shouting loudly for other soldiers to prepare to counterattack while working the bolts of their rifles to fire.

But the moment they poked their heads above the trench edge, suppressive fire from an MG14 swept over.

Bullets struck the sandbags and dirt, kicking up rows of debris, pressing these Romanians down so hard they couldn't even raise their bodies.

The veteran sergeants found it hard to imagine that the enemy they faced could utilize such ferocious automatic firepower for suppression during an assault.

The assault speed of the first echelon was incredibly fast.

From the woodland to the forward edge of the position, a distance of over four hundred meters, the soldiers of the 1st Company covered it in less than two minutes.

This speed would be considered astounding in any army of this era.

But for the instruction unit, whose 400-meter obstacle course and armed cross-country scores were mercilessly drilled by Morin during daily training, this was just normal performance.

After all, over these 400 meters right now, there weren't nearly as many different obstacles as there were on the training ground.

And Rommel didn't lead the entire company in charging the position together.

When they were less than two hundred meters from the position, he had his company executive officer Schulz continue leading the main force in the attack. He himself patted the shoulder of a platoon leader beside him, made a gesture for a leftward flanking maneuver, and then led half a platoon out of the formation.

Lieutenant Schulz glanced back at the direction Rommel left, well aware of the latter's intentions.

"Keep charging! Grenades ready!"

Under his lead, the main force of the 1st Company put on a final burst of speed and charged to the front of the position.

Tall grenadiers unscrewed the safety caps of their grenades, pulled the cords, and threw—

A row of stick grenades drew arcs and fell into the trenches.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

A chain of explosions kicked up thick smoke, and immediately following, the assault infantry jumped into the trenches.

The power of the MP14 submachine gun in close-quarters combat had already been witnessed by countless enemies. The sound of short bursts echoed continuously in the trenches.

Close behind, the combat engineers rushed in. Carrying flamethrowers, they sprayed directly at the bunkers still offering stubborn resistance.

In fast-paced combat, instruction unit soldiers basically wouldn't get bogged down at a single stubbornly resisting bunker.

Encountering this situation, they would just let the combat engineers burn it out...

The combat in the trenches quickly turned into a one-sided mop-up.

Meanwhile, at the side-rear of the Romanian position, Rommel had successfully led his men around to the designated location.

It was a small earthen mound that barely overlooked the rear of the entire position, as well as its only retreat route.

"Quick! Machine gun teams! Set up right here!" Rommel pointed to the top of the mound, calmly issuing orders.

Two teams of MG14 light machine gunners moved swiftly, setting up their guns in seconds. The dark muzzles pointed down at the mountain path leading to the rear.

"Others spread out, fire at will! Remember, prioritize officers!" Rommel raised his binoculars, observing the battle below.

He could clearly see that under the intense frontal pressure from Schulz and the others, the Romanians' defense line had begun to waver.

Some soldiers began abandoning the trenches in twos and threes, fleeing towards the rear in a rout.

"Company Commander, the front is almost breaking through," a veteran nearby reported softly.

"I know." Rommel's eyes didn't waver. "Wait for them to get a bit closer... tie the sack tight before pulling it shut."

More and more Romanian soldiers fled from the position, but their rout was quickly halted because an officer and many veteran NCOs had chased them down, regrouping the troops and even preparing to launch a counter-charge.

Only, they completely failed to notice that on the hillside to their side-rear, two deadly machine guns were waiting for them.

"Da-da-da-da-da!"

When the Romanian soldiers had regrouped and gathered together, Rommel finally ordered to open fire. The two MG14 light machine guns roared simultaneously.

The bullets, like the scythes of the Grim Reaper, instantly swept across the group of unprepared, routed Romanian soldiers. The outermost soldiers fell in swathes, blood quickly staining the yellow dirt path.

The other Romanian soldiers were terrified out of their wits by this sudden strike. Screaming, they instinctively tried to find cover.

But on the open mountain path, coupled with the enemy firing from a commanding height, they had nowhere to hide.

"My God! Behind us! There are enemies behind us too!"

"We're surrounded!"

Cries of despair blended together.

Rommel watched all this calmly, continuing to issue commands: "Don't stop! Keep firing! Press them back!"

In those video games before Morin's transmigration, suppressive weapons like machine guns, for the sake of game balance, were often represented as clunky, inaccurate, and hard to control.

But now, these weapons, set up in suitable positions, displayed their terrifying reaping capabilities.

The crossing lines of fire formed an insurmountable net of death. The Romanian soldiers never understood, even until they died, why deadly machine gun bullets were firing from their rear.

A few veteran NCOs and soldiers attempting to counterattack had barely raised their rifles before they were picked off by marksmen on the hillside.

The routed troops were forcefully driven back by the ambush from the rear. Turning around in panic, they crashed head-on into Schulz's main force charging up from the front.

Under these circumstances, dropping their weapons and surrendering became the most sensible choice.

"Ne predăm! Ne predăm!" (We surrender! We surrender!)

For Schulz, who had rushed up close, he couldn't quite understand the Romanian spoken by the soldiers raising their hands before him, but he had heard this phrase too many times in the past few hours. Coupled with their actions, it wasn't hard to understand.

While Rommel and Schulz were clearing the first position, the 2nd Company and the attached combat engineer platoon, acting as the second echelon, had already bypassed this smoke-filled battlefield via another small path, charging toward another depth position about six hundred meters away straight-line distance.

2nd Company Commander Model knew very well that the essence of the "Continuous Alternating Search-and-Destroy Attack" tactic lay in rapid, brief penetrating attacks.

Therefore, they couldn't give the enemy any chance to catch their breath or reorganize their defense.

The soldiers of the 2nd Company kept their heads down, sprinting forward silently. As fellow elites of the instruction unit, they didn't want to be casually outdone by the 1st Company.

The attached combat engineers carried heavy flamethrowers and explosive satchels, yet showed no signs of falling behind, because their physical training standards were even higher than ordinary infantry...

At this moment, on the second position, a middle-aged Romanian captain was nervously observing the battle ahead through his binoculars.

When he saw the first position covered by artillery fire and then attacked within a mere dozen minutes, a chill rose from his spine.

"What... what kind of unit is this? The Saxons' elite? Their attack is too fast!" the captain muttered to himself, cold sweat seeping from his forehead.

His soldiers also saw the tragic state of friendly forces ahead. The atmosphere on the position became exceptionally oppressive and tense.

"Commander, what... what should we do?" The young adjutant leaned in, his voice trembling slightly.

"What else can we do? Prepare for battle!" the captain reprimanded, feigning calmness. "Once they finish up front, their next target will definitely be us!"

He knew very well in his heart that given the combat power the opponent displayed, his company probably wouldn't last long, but he still subconsciously wanted to do something.

"Should I detach a portion of troops to support the position ahead?"

This thought flashed through the captain's mind.

This was his instinctual reaction as a traditional infantry officer—friendly forces are in trouble, must reinforce.

However, before his order could be relayed, the situation changed again.

He watched in shock through his binoculars as a fresh Saxon force actually bypassed the first position, which was still smoking, and charged directly toward his side without stopping!

"Are they... are they crazy?!" The captain's eyes almost popped out of his head. "They're not clearing the battlefield? Aren't they afraid we and the remnants from the front will pincer them?"

This tactic completely exceeded the scope of his understanding.

In his military career, after capturing a position, one must go through clearing, consolidation, and reorganization before continuing to the next step of the attack.

He had never heard of a fighting style like this, not even casting a second glance, directly leaving a battered position behind and continuing to charge wildly forward.

"Commander, they're coming!" the second lieutenant beside him shrieked.

The captain abruptly lowered his binoculars; he no longer needed that thing.

Down the mountain slope, those field-gray figures were getting closer and closer, like a pack of tireless wolves, their target clear, murderously intent.

Simultaneously, a messenger stumbled into the command post.

"Commander! The checkpoint in the river valley below has also been breached!"

The messenger was gasping for breath.

"A very large convoy... is passing rapidly along the river valley road!"

"A convoy?" The captain was stunned.

"Yes! Countless trucks are driving toward the river valley exit!"

The captain's expression completely changed.

It wasn't that he hadn't fought battles; during the Balkan Wars, he was already a company commander and had seen all sorts of tactics.

But he had never seen a fighting style like this... using one force to gnaw hard at positions on the mountain to draw attention, while another force simultaneously penetrated rapidly along the road below, heading straight for the depth.

The coordination rhythm between these two forces was perfect. The attack on the mountain pinned down all the energy of the position defenders; absolutely no one had the time to care about the road below the mountain.

By the time they discovered a convoy passing through the river valley, it was already too late.

"An unseen tactic..."

The captain felt a sliver of despair in his heart, but simultaneously, as an infantry officer, he couldn't help but feel a bizarre sense of envy and regret.

"This kind of impact... this kind of coordination... the demands on soldier quality are too high."

He thought bitterly: If only I had a unit like this under my command, how wonderful would that be?

Who wouldn't want to fight such an exhilarating battle?

But all this was too late.

"Boom!!"

Before he could recover from his complex thoughts, the sharp screech sounded again. The supporting mortar shells from the rear had already fallen from the sky, exploding on his position.

"Take cover!!"

In the last second before the captain was tackled by his guard and hid in the bunker, he saw those Saxon soldiers had already charged to less than two hundred meters from the position.

The suppression from artillery fire forced most Romanian soldiers to lie flat in the trenches, not daring to show their heads.

When the artillery fire eased slightly, the short, sharp assault whistles of the Saxons, along with suppressive fire, could be clearly heard right outside the position.

"It's over." These were the only two words left in the captain's mind.

He knew it was only a matter of time before his position was breached.

But he couldn't just give up like this.

"Communications soldier! Where is the communications soldier?!" he roared in the bunker. "Is the telephone line from the command post still working?!"

"Report, Commander! Connection to the rear positions is still open!"

A soot-faced communications soldier crawled to his side and answered loudly.

He was referring to the field telephone lines buried underground in advance when constructing these continuous positions, to guarantee communication.

"Good! Excellent!" A look of absolute resolve flashed in the Romanian captain's eyes.

He knew his position couldn't be held, but if he could transmit the enemy's true tactical intentions and let the units in the rear prepare, then their sacrifice wouldn't be worthless.

"Immediately! Use telephone and telegraph to warn all friendly forces in the rear!"

The captain grabbed the communications soldier by the collar, almost screaming:

"Tell them! There's more than one enemy force! A massive motorized convoy is rapidly penetrating and advancing along the river valley! Our attack here is just a feint!"

He caught his breath, continuing in an urgent tone:

"Tell them to stop that convoy in the river valley at all costs! Wait until our requested reinforcing troops block the river valley exit!"

"Otherwise, once this motorized force breaks out of the narrow river valley and enters the open hills and plains, we will never be able to stop them!"

"Yes, sir!" The communications soldier, intimidated by the madness and resolve in the captain's eyes, immediately began operating frantically.

Meanwhile, outside the bunker, the "da-da-da" of fully automatic weapons firing was getting closer and closer.

A few stray bullets even hit the entrance of the command bunker, kicking up plumes of dust.

"Guards! Follow me! Hold the door! Buy time for the communications soldier!"

The Romanian captain abruptly drew his Mannlicher M1905 pistol from his waist, casting a fierce look at the door, then led a few of his guards and rushed over without hesitation.