Chapter 318 Preparations before the decisive battle
It was just past noon, the battlefield had been cleaned, and Richard also received accurate casualty figures from the staff officers.
In this battle, more than 1,400 enemy troops were killed and more than 3,200 were captured. About 500 enemies fled the battlefield and were reduced to a rout.
Our total casualties were less than 400, with the First Battalion suffering the heaviest casualties. Sixty-seven people were killed in the battle, 136 were lightly or seriously injured, and the casualties exceeded 200. The two newly formed brigades, the 13th and 14th, did not bear the heavy task of attacking the fortress, and suffered a total of 160 casualties. The remaining casualties mainly came from the chasing and annihilating cavalry.
"Set up the prisoners and interrogate the enemy officers as soon as possible to find out the enemy's intelligence. Only with the intelligence can we take the next step."
Richard turned his head and said to the staff officer in charge of the interrogation. The staff of Harland's headquarters is already very complete, including staff responsible for operations, staff responsible for intelligence, and staff responsible for logistics. With enough staff, Richard didn't need to worry about many things. Compared with more than ten years ago, Richard found that it was easier to lead troops now.
Among the staff responsible for intelligence, there are people who are proficient in the language of the United Kingdom on the East Coast and can communicate without any barriers.
Looking at the casualty figures sent up, Richard thought to himself: "Although the casualty figures are less than ten to one, the enemy is not a weak force. Surprise is also an important reason for achieving such great results. We must carefully observe the soldiers in the next few days. emotions, suppressing the thought of underestimating the enemy. Judging from the performance on the battlefield, the quality of this enemy army is slightly better than that of the Earl of the South." Richard knew in his heart that
Harland led the first brigade, which was the first in the Grant Kingdom. A first-class strong soldier whose weapons, equipment and quality of soldiers far exceed those of the enemy. Even the infantry brigade of the Northern Army, which has excellent soldiers, is far from being a match for Haaland's first brigade.
Winning this battle was originally in Richard's estimation.
After wiping out the enemy's forward, Richard expanded the scope of the reconnaissance cavalry. With aerial reconnaissance providing intelligence, Harland's reconnaissance cavalry was used far more efficiently than the enemy.
Moreover, Richard also dispersed 300 Warcraft cavalry to cooperate with the reconnaissance cavalry activities.
The powerful reconnaissance cavalry obscured the nearby battlefield for more than 100 kilometers, immediately rendering the Sixth Army of the United Kingdom on the East Coast deaf and blind.
Because the scouts' actions were almost transparent, more than a hundred people were killed and missing in just half a day.
The unclear intelligence immediately made the main force of the Sixth Army on the East Coast afraid to move.
The main camp of the Sixth Army on the East Coast has just entered the Duchy of Hubble and is located in Latte Castle on the eastern border of the Duchy of Hubble. Listening to the discussion among the officers at the Officers Headquarters, the Sixth Legion of the United Kingdom on the East Coast frowned at Caesarton and looked sad.
Caesar came from a ducal family of the United Kingdom of the East Coast and had a very good background. He had received many years of aristocratic military education. He was experienced and young in the United Kingdom of the East Coast, so he was able to command this elite infantry with a relatively high number.
However, compared to the officers of the Grant Kingdom, Caesar had less actual combat experience. On the actual battlefield, he was not as decisive as Richard. Once the situation on the front line became complicated, he suddenly fell into hesitation.
"Commander of Caesar's Army, we cannot continue to move forward. In just one day, we lost a squadron of scouts. The forward troops have lost news. From the gathered broken troops, we learned that the forward troops have been completely wiped out. The enemy. They must have laid a trap for us in the front. I am opposed to extending the front and continuing to advance."
The officer who spoke was the captain of the reconnaissance brigade, Palone. At this time, he had a sad look on his face and kept trying to persuade Caesar to stop advancing. Build a defense line on the spot and request reinforcements from the rear.
"The most troublesome thing now is that the intelligence is unclear. The reconnaissance troops are suppressed by the enemy, and we have become deaf and blind. I think we should strengthen the reconnaissance force and disperse the Warcraft Cavalry among the reconnaissance cavalry so that the reconnaissance troops do not fear sacrifice. Only detailed intelligence of the enemy can be detected , we can formulate the next step. I agree with Captain Pallone's opinion, first build a defense line and strengthen the strength of the reconnaissance force."
Warcraft Cavalry Captain Bullwin is also a cautious person, and he agrees with Pallone's opinion. After the loss of the three forward infantry brigades, the two men's status in the Sixth Army of the United Kingdom on the east coast became more prominent. Their opinions must be carefully considered by the commander of Caesar's Army.
Caesar pointed to the simple map on the table and said: "Since most opinions are stable, I decided to build a defense line on the spot, but everyone should not have too much hope for reinforcements. According to the gossip from Kanas Castle . The Noble Council does not want a full-scale war to break out with the Grant Kingdom. The Grant Kingdom dispatched seven legions, and we also dispatched seven legions to participate in the war. If a civil war breaks out
with the Grant Kingdom, the one who will get the advantage will only be the Orc Empire. The Grant Kingdom is facing It is a good shield for us. If this shield breaks, we will be the ones to resist the orcs."
Caesar and others had just made a decision and strengthened their reconnaissance force. On the battlefield a hundred kilometers away from the two armies, , a tragic reconnaissance war broke out.
After annihilating the enemy's forward, Richard ordered the aristocratic coalition forces from the four provinces to assemble while sending reconnaissance cavalry to suppress the enemy.
As the enemy Warcraft cavalry began to participate in reconnaissance operations, the scouts led by Harland also suffered a small amount of losses, and some battlefield intelligence was gradually detected by the enemy.
It's just that the reconnaissance cavalry led by Harland had telescopes in their hands, as well as gryphon cavalry and magic hot air balloons observing every move of the enemy at high altitude.
Once you have the advantage of intelligence, you can of course easily mobilize your forces to surround and annihilate the scouts who ambush the enemy.
In more than ten days of reconnaissance operations, Harland led the reconnaissance cavalry and lost no more than a hundred troops, annihilating more than 600 enemy scouts.
Under the personal command of Soros, the cavalry led by Harland successfully ambushed enemy reconnaissance troops six times, killed and wounded more than 200 enemy Warcraft cavalry, captured hundreds of flaming horses, and achieved brilliant achievements in reconnaissance operations. win.
The Warcraft Cavalry mounts of the Grant Kingdom are mainly iron-horned horses. The iron-horned horses are common monsters in the Eagle Mountains. The Grant Kingdom has a mountain to rely on, so it is natural to choose the iron-horned horses as the Warcraft Cavalry. However, the number of iron wildebeests in the United Kingdom on the east coast is scarce. If you want to breed Warcraft cavalry, you can only tame the more flame horses in the territory.
There is a large grassland on the border of the Holy Glory Empire. There are many flame horses living on this vast grassland. The nearby countries have trained Warcraft cavalry with flame horses.
Compared with the Iron Horned Horse, the Flame Horse has a very explosive temper and is more stupid in IQ. Not only is it difficult to domesticate, but once the male flame horse is castrated and the male flame horse is castrated, this beast will spit fire and bite people like crazy, making it impossible to ride a gelding. Training a Flame Horse Warcraft Cavalry is 50-60% more difficult than training a Iron Horned Horse Warcraft Cavalry.
The first six legions of the United Kingdom on the East Coast only have 400 Warcraft cavalry trained internally. The legions with lower numbers only have two to three hundred Warcraft cavalry trained. There are twenty-three legions in the entire East Coast United Kingdom, and the number of Warcraft cavalry does not exceed 6,000. More than 75% of the flaming horses ridden by the East Coast United Kingdom's Warcraft Cavalry are mares. Although the flaming horses can spit fire and have greater combat power than the Iron Horned Horses, the overall number is relatively small. The East Coast United Kingdom's Warcraft Cavalry actually It is not as powerful as the Grant Kingdom.
After all, the total number of Warcraft Cavalry in Grant Kingdom exceeds 20,000 including nobles of all sizes. Jonathan, Edward and other great nobles in northern Xinjiang often trained two to three thousand Warcraft cavalry.
The Harland family has a relatively shallow background and occupies a favorable terrain in northern Xinjiang. It has now organized 700 Warcraft Cavalry.
The loss of two hundred Warcraft cavalry made the commander of Caesar's army even more afraid to act rashly. After several battles, they finally noticed the aerial reconnaissance of Harland's territory and discovered the traces of the Griffin Cavalry.
Faced with this kind of aerial reconnaissance force, Caesar and others had no choice but to write letters to the rear, hoping to mobilize high-level magicians to accompany the army and find ways to deal with the enemy's aerial reconnaissance forces.
After losing a large number of Warcraft cavalry, the Sixth Army of the United Kingdom on the East Coast shrank again. During this period, Richard had completed the gathering of troops and was preparing to encircle and annihilate this enemy in one fell swoop.
After winning the battle, Richard immediately sent the battle report to Steven, the commander-in-chief of the intervention army, and reported his next thoughts to Steven, asking for Steven's approval to annihilate this enemy force.
Steven can also be regarded as a veteran of the Grant Kingdom. His most famous battle was to put down the rebellion of the Venus family, cooperate with the Roger Kingdom to annihilate the coalition of three southern earls in one fell swoop, and win three southern provinces for the Grant family.
The Grant royal family cultivated outstanding officers, which basically followed the same line. After reaching a certain level, they were transferred to the four provinces of northern Xinjiang and entered several main army regiments to serve as squadron commanders and deputy captains. If you are strong, you will rise further; if you are weak, you will be eliminated in the cruel war.
Both Roger and Steven had this experience. Steven served in the Mad Lion Legion for twenty-three years, serving successively as squadron commander, deputy captain, battalion, and deputy commander. Finally, he was transferred to the commander of the Royal Guards Corps and became An important general of the Grant family.
When Richard first joined the Mad Lion Legion, Steven had just been promoted to the deputy commander of the Mad Lion Legion. However, there was a huge difference in status between the two more than ten years ago. Although they served in the same legion, they actually had no friendship.
Although this southern expedition is easier than resisting the orc invasion, it is a large-scale war after all. Since it is a war, people are bound to die. As a commander, he must be shrewd, capable and brave.
If the coach makes poor choices, victory or defeat will be difficult to determine.
If Steven is not capable enough and has low influence, he will not even be able to pass the meeting of nobles. Duke families such as Haaland, Guise, and Duran will not engage in a war with a gloomy future.
It is precisely because Steven has proven himself in the war that he is a qualified general, and he is also a ninth-level epic knight with very strong fighting ability, so the Dukes such as Richard, Duran, and Guise are willing to be green leaves and are willing to listen to him. The command.
After receiving the information from Richard, Steven felt a little heavy. Although Richard had won the battle and brought good news, the situation had changed unfavorably for the Grant Kingdom, which made Steven worried.
Although the Delong Kingdom is in a state of decay, it is after all a country with an area of 1.6 million square kilometers and a population of more than 50 million.
In terms of overall national strength, it is a few points higher than the Grant Kingdom.
Although this southern expedition went very smoothly, in just over a month, they annihilated the enemy's 100,000-strong army and occupied one and a half duchies and three and a half border provinces of the Delong Kingdom. However, the Southern Expedition Intervention Army has reached its end. Now it is confronting the 400,000 troops of the Delong Kingdom on the front line. It is difficult to mobilize reinforcements from the front line.
Although the Grant Kingdom was good at fighting, it was in a land of four wars. Once the war with the Kingdom of Delon drags on for too long, it will inevitably fall into a two-front battle when the orcs invade, and it will become strategically passive.
Moreover, now that the United Kingdom on the East Coast has joined the war, the Grant Kingdom is caught in a three-pronged war. If they are not careful, the country may be destroyed.
After realizing this, Steven secretly felt a little regretful.
In recent years, the Grant family has expanded smoothly, taking over four central provinces from south to north, and branch members have also been divided into an earldom. The army also expanded a central legion, equipped it with alchemy bombs, and trained gryphon cavalry.
Not only the royal family, but also the Jonathan family and the Haaland family have grown rapidly in recent years. Because the wars continued to be victorious, the nobles of the Grant Kingdom became more and more warlike. Like the Harland family, they took advantage of every opportunity to provoke various wars.
After provoking the war, he immediately fell into trouble of fighting on three sides.
The United Kingdom on the East Coast sent legions to cut off the Southern Expeditionary Army's retreat. This situation immediately aroused Steven's alert.
The strength of the United Kingdom on the East Coast is not weak. If it invests several legions in the direction of the Dukedom of Hubble, it will be difficult to rely on the coalition of nobles from the four northern Xinjiang provinces to support it. In order to ensure his own retreat, Steven decided to immediately write a letter to King Roger, requesting the mobilization of a noble regiment to station in the province of Ilia, so that he could easily reinforce Richard's troops at any time and prevent his retreat from being cut off and the situation from collapsing.
Steven's letter for help was rushed eight hundred miles to King Roger. King Roger looked at this letter and fell into deep thought.
Before joining the war, the people in the Grant Kingdom were very excited, thinking that they could easily subdue the Delon Kingdom and obtain a large area of land. Unexpectedly, after the war broke out, the Delong Kingdom did not surrender easily, and even involved the East Coast United Kingdom in the war.
Now that the Grant Kingdom is in trouble, King Roger decided to communicate in detail with the great nobles in the country after careful consideration to see if everyone is willing to give up part of the occupied territory, shorten the front line, and sign an armistice agreement with the Delon Kingdom.
If the great nobles do not agree to a ceasefire, they will need to continue to invest their strength to defeat the 500,000-strong army of the Delong Kingdom. The royal family has already invested three main legions in this battle. If they are unwilling to give up the meat in their mouths, the nobles will need to bear greater responsibilities.
(End of chapter)