With that, the curtains fell on the battle that the five anti-Aueran nations called the Elfinasburg Victory and Aueras called the Amelia Plains Breakout.
To be honest, there weren't any true victors on either side. Although the anti-Aueran alliance claimed to have achieved a great victory, no one could deny that it was a pyrrhic victory. This could be seen from the number of casualties on both sides after the battle.
Just as the Grand Duke of the Sidins Duchy, Duke Frilance, had said, if this happened twice more, then the Sidins Duchy would fall by itself.
After all, the battle took place within Sidins' borders and it was the duchy that suffered the most.
In order to win this battle, the Siddings Duchy had already spent most of its wealth and military reserves. Not to mention, the daily food consumption of the 300,000 allied troops was astronomical …
Later generations of military historians named this battle as the "Battle of Efenasburg". The data they gathered from various sources was more fair.
Aueras lost close to 160,000 soldiers in that battle. The casualty ratio was 1: 1.3, with the number of casualties outnumbering the number of casualties.
That showed the bravery and fearlessness of the Aueran army. It wasn't an exaggeration to say that they were invincible in the eastern continent.
Of the 140,000 soldiers, more than 50,000 were taken captive. What was worth noting was that most of the captives were from the three second-rate corps. Bluefeather only had 4,000 of them, and most of them were captured due to their injuries. It was no wonder that Bluefeather was one of Aueras's trump card corps. Their combat prowess was incredible.
However, as the main fighting force in the battle, Bluefeather suffered the most casualties. Less than 10,000 of them made it back to Emis.
For the Anti-Austrian Alliance, although their plan to surround Bluefeather and the other two second-line corps had been completed and they had even wiped out most of the Chanaral Corps, they hadn't achieved their goal.
Bluefeather was indeed crippled, but they weren't annihilated. Instead, they broke out of the encirclement.
At the same time, due to their stubborn resistance and desperate assaults, the five-nation alliance fought a bloody battle that lasted for more than ten days and resulted in heavy casualties. In the end, they were unable to recover Emis and could only face off against the reinforcements from Aueras in that area.
The ones who suffered the most casualties were naturally Sidins' army. They were the main force of the Aueran army that followed.
The armies of the other three duchies were only there to help. They didn't want to fight the cornered Bluefeather with their lives on the line.
But after the initial assault was met with stubborn resistance and they realized that they had suffered heavy casualties, they didn't do much else.
They hoped that Nasri would be able to hold off Bluefeather's assault and trap the enemy in Emilia Plains until they ran out of supplies. That would be the most ideal outcome.
That was why the Sidins army was the main force in the latter half of the assault. Unfortunately, they couldn't compare to the well-trained Aueran army in terms of military construction and training, especially after Bluefeather forced their eighty thousand elite soldiers to surrender at Odin Mountain Range. Most of the Sidins army was made up of farmers and craftsmen. Even though they had the numerical advantage, they couldn't compare to the enemy in terms of quality. As a result, they suffered close to a hundred thousand casualties and morale was at an all-time low.
The other side that suffered heavy casualties were the two standing corps of Nasri. While they sent a folk to pin down the defenders of Emis, there were still seven others that could be deployed to stop the retreat of the three corps.
However, they didn't expect Bluefeather to break out so quickly and decisively.
After enduring wave after wave of Bluefeather Legion's relentless attacks, the first line of defense could no longer withstand the Bluefeather Legion's desperate assault. A gap was torn open, and the reinforcements marched in.
Nasri's standing corps was the only armed force that could stand shoulder to shoulder with the Aueran army, but they paled in comparison to Bluefeather.
Their commander was an experienced veteran. Faced with the Aueran army's all-out assault, he ordered his troops to retreat step by step and set up a defensive line.
He wanted the enemy to realize that there was another defensive line ahead of them. He planned to use time and space to nullify the enemy's momentum and stall them until they couldn't hold on any longer.
It was a beautiful plan, but his teammates weren't up to par.
If the armies of the four dukedoms at the back and flanks attacked without regard for their casualties, Bluefeather and the other two corps might not be able to hold out until the moment they broke out.
However, the armies of the three duchies were scared out of their wits by the heavy casualties they suffered in the first encounter. They began to stand aside and let the army of Siddings do the attacking, cheering them on from the sidelines.
However, the Sidins Duchy's army was powerless and had suffered heavy casualties. Not to mention the Bluefeather Legion, any of the second-tier legions could easily repel their attacks.
That outcome made the commanders of the three dukedoms think of self-preservation. They weren't willing to expend too much of their own forces.
There was no real fighting during the siege, so the encircled Aueran army was able to catch a breather and focus all their efforts on breaking out of the encirclement.
The Nasrian army suffered greatly with those four useless comrades. They gave it their all but couldn't stop the Aueran army led by Bluefeather even if they tried their best.
When the battle ended, the Nasrians were on the verge of tears when they saw the casualty figures. The two corps had 120,000 men, but they suffered around 80,000 casualties. More than 30,000 of them died in battle, and that was when the Aueran army was in a hurry to break out of the encirclement and gave up the right to clean up the battlefield.
So, when the Aueran army broke out of the encirclement and the five anti-Aueran armies arrived at Emis, the commanders of the dukedoms discussed and suggested that it was best to attack the city immediately. They wanted to take back Emis while the Auerans were at a disadvantage with only two second-rate corps. Perhaps they could even take back the Odin Mountain Range while the Auerans were chasing them away.
It was a good suggestion, but the highest commander of the Nasrian army rejected it flatly.
The forces of the alliance gathered at the foot of Emis. When they saw that the duchies' two corps were unscathed, Nasri's side was enraged.
F * ck, I'm risking my life every day to besiege Bluefeather, but you guys are slacking off on the sidelines. You're even saying that we've suffered heavy casualties. If losing one or two battalions is considered heavy casualties, then aren't our two standing corps completely annihilated?
They could attack Emis, but the Nasrians had already decided to watch from the sidelines. They believed that they couldn't launch another attack after suffering so many casualties, so they left the main attack to the three dukedoms.
The six corps from the three dukedoms should be able to deal with the two second-rate corps from Aueran stationed at the sides of Emis without breaking a sweat.
While there were close to 50,000 soldiers defending Emis, most of them were injured soldiers who had broken out of the encirclement. They wouldn't be able to gain any advantage over the three dukedoms.
It was easy for them to say, but the commanders of the three dukedoms began to feel vexed when they received a more complete report of Emis's defensive line.
The two second-line corps of Aueras that had just arrived at Amis had turned it into an impregnable fortress. There were as many as 18 cannons in the city and it wouldn't be easy for the attackers to take them down. It wasn't hard to imagine how heavy the casualties would be if they launched an attack.
The military commanders of the three duchies turned their attention to the Sidins Duchy. However, the Grand Duke of the Sidins Duchy, Duke Fryrance, expressed his helplessness. Although he wanted to recover his lost territory immediately, he could not do so with the two new regiments in his hands. He needed time to train the soldiers of the three new regiments in Fort Efenasburg into qualified soldiers. He also needed the support of the three duchies with a large amount of weapons and equipment …
Since the Sidins and Nasrians believed that they didn't have the strength to launch an attack on Emis, the three dukedoms who came as guests naturally wouldn't overpower them.
Thus, the suggestion to attack Emis quickly disappeared.
The 400,000-strong anti-Aueran alliance stood in a standoff with the 160-strong Aueran army at the frontlines of Emis.
Back in Aueras, news of Bluefeather and two second-rate corps being surrounded by the 400,000-strong army of the five anti-Aueras alliance in Sidins Duchy's Amelia Plains had long since reached the royal capital.
The war ministry was thrown into chaos. It was an unexpected incident. Some tried to come up with countermeasures, some tried to push the blame onto others, and some tried to find scapegoats.
Had it not been for Stellin X's presence, the war ministry would have been in a state of chaos for quite some time.
After listening to the analysis of a few high-ranking strategists, Stellin X set his sights on Emis. He immediately ordered the two second-rate corps to head to Botarnia to assist Reddragon and Gryphon to Kafreizit and head for Sidins.
Their mission was to defend Emis and await the arrival of reinforcements.
As for the surrounded Bluefeather and the two second-rate corps, they could only rely on themselves to break free.
The kingdom couldn't send enough reinforcements at the moment.
It wasn't that the kingdom didn't have enough troops, but that they didn't have the time to rush over.
All Stellin X could do was defend Emis for now and leave a bridgehead for the kingdom's future counterattack.
Three days before Bluefeather and the other two corps broke out of the encirclement, the other two corps arrived at Amis as reinforcements. They didn't go to help their besieged allies, but set up camps on the left and right sides of Amis as per Stellin X's orders. They began to construct defensive structures and set up defensive positions, forming a tripartite formation with Amis to support and defend each other.
A month after the Battle of Efenasburg ended, another two second-rate corps arrived. The Aueran army in Emis had reached 300,000 men and they didn't have to worry about the enemy's army of 500,000.
At that time, Bluefeather's battle in Sidins was reported to the royal capital and it didn't take long for the royal capital to respond.
Prince Wedrick was harshly reprimanded by Stellin X and ordered to reflect on his mistakes for three months.
Bluefeather suffered heavy losses and was ordered to return to Kafreizit to recuperate. Jarl Philips retired due to his injuries and retired with his rank of general. Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Edpack, temporarily took over as jarl to rebuild Bluefeather.
The remaining soldiers of the two second-line armies that had broken out of the encirclement with the Blue Feather Army were all recruited into the Blue Feather Army.
As for Chanialar, due to their incompetence in battle, the jarl and regimental officers were all removed from their positions. They were to be investigated and interrogated to see if they had broken any laws or malfeasance during the battle. Those who were innocent would be reappointed.
The surviving soldiers were all demoted by a rank and sent to Bluefeather for reorganization.
Stellin X then announced that Prince Hansbach, who was overseeing the western front, would take over the eastern front. The royal guard would also be transferred to Sidins.
It was obvious that the kingdom had decided to have a major battle with the armed forces of the Five Nations Alliance in front of Emis to decide the victor and wash away the humiliation of being surrounded by the kingdom's army.
The changes in the situation didn't affect Claude at all. Sometimes, he felt that he was lucky to not have followed the main force to the frontlines. Instead, he stayed in the rear for a few months without firing a single shot and was completely fine.
But he suddenly realized that he had been forgotten. After Bluefeather retreated to Kafreizit, he was still guarding the entrance to Odin Mountain Range with the guards and didn't receive any orders to return to camp.
In the end, Claude learned from Perunt, one of the last batch of Bluefeather soldiers to leave Emis that he had been transferred to the Emis garrison at some point.