"What did you say?
The first prince is going to the frontlines himself and even brought his guards? "Claude's face drained of color.
As soon as he returned to the camp, Claude heard an unbelievable piece of news from the logistics department's captain.
"He's the first prince!
How can you let him go to the frontlines?
If something happens to him, none of us will be able to escape responsibility … "Claude felt that the officers had gone mad. How could they let Hansbach go to the frontlines?
If he were to run into a stray bullet, it would be a humiliating defeat for Aueras even if they won the battle and destroyed Sidins.
Not only was the first prince in line to the throne, he was also the commander-in-chief of the battle. Him going to the frontlines to supervise the battle didn't mean that he had to face the enemy's artillery.
"None of us could stop it. The eldest prince is furious. Three of Nasri's corps were surrounded, and under the attack of our seven corps, they formed a division and launched an assault on us.
The ragtag battalions couldn't stop them at all. The first prince had no choice but to go to the frontlines to carry out a kill order. Only then did he manage to stabilize the frontlines.
"But this morning, Nasri sent out a cavalry line. They ignored the casualties and penetrated the second line of defense and took over Wilf Hill.
"The local guard battalion guarding Wilf Hill died in battle. Now, the first prince is mobilizing his troops to attack Wilf Hill.
"If we can't take Wilf Hill back, the troops at the four hills won't be able to get any reinforcements or supplies. They won't be able to hold out for long against the enemy."
Captain Ledefonk pointed at the map and explained to Claude.
On the map, a thick black line led to Emilia Plains. That was the national highway from Emis to Evanasburg, the capital of Sidins.
Wars in this era were mostly fought along the national highway. That was the only way to ensure the safety of supplies and transportation.
If the three Nasri corps wanted to break out of the encirclement, that national highway would be the most convenient route. It was also the main focus of the defensive line.
From the map, the first few hills had been marked with a red cross, which meant that the highlands surrounding the first few hills around the national highway had been lost.
While the four highlands on both sides of the national highway were still in the hands of the Aueran army, there was an irregular oval at the back with a red cross. It was marked with the words Wilffort.
There was also a red diagonal line drawn on the map. This was the route the Nasri cavalry had taken to attack Wilf Hill.
Clearly, the Nasrian commanders weren't idiots. They understood the importance of striking where it hurt. They weren't willing to fight the Aueran defenders one by one. Not only would they suffer heavy casualties, but it would also delay them. They had two flanks behind them that were being attacked by seven corps from Aueras. Destruction was imminent.
So he took the risk of putting all his eggs in one basket, putting together a cavalry regiment to launch a surprise attack and capture Wilf Hill, cutting off the supply routes of the defending troops on the four hills in front of Wilf Hill.
As long as the cavalry regiment could hold Wilf Hill, the troops behind it would be able to take down the four hills. That way, the national highway would be unobstructed.
"Why didn't His Highness order the troops to retreat to Emis? The defensive line there is still intact. Even if the Nasri troops managed to break through to Emis, they wouldn't be able to escape the fate of being wiped out," Claude asked.
"No, the northern front of Emis is still empty," said Ledefonk.
"The northern front? That's the sea. Where would they go?"
Ledefonk shook his head with a bitter smile. "You forgot about the Alliance's fleet. That sea is still their territory.
If they managed to break through to Emis, they could definitely board a boat and leave.
Even if the bulk of the troops couldn't escape, the corps commanders would definitely do so.
That's why the first prince insisted on setting up a defensive line in the hills. He wants to make sure that not a single high-ranking officer from Nasri can escape. "
"Then, what should I do now?"
"Do what?
Go to the frontlines. This is a good chance for you to perform.
Captain Liedefonk said, "I've heard people talk about the field attack and defence exercise of Bluefeather's 11th Field Battalion. You used a small team to break through a company's defensive position.
Since morning, the first prince has launched four attacks and suffered heavy casualties. However, Wilf Hill is still in the hands of the Nasri cavalry regiment.
Go there now and see if you can use your methods to retake Wilf Hill. "
Claude handed over the captives and wounded to Ledefonk and restocked their ammunition before bringing the company to the frontlines.
The closer they got to Wilf Hill, the more they felt the impending battle.
When they were less than half a kilometer away from the frontlines, Claude saw a hill littered with the corpses of dead soldiers. Only a small portion of the corpses were covered in white cloth. The rest were laid out on the hill, giving off a rather shocking feeling.
There were probably two to three thousand corpses on the hill.
When they finally found the camp's rendezvous point, Claude found that the morale of the soldiers was rather low.
After interrogating a sergeant he was familiar with, he learned that the elder prince had led the troops to launch five attacks on Wilf Hill from morning until noon, but they had all failed. More than half of the troops had died, and even the Ranger Battalion had been dragged into battle twice. There were less than three hundred soldiers left.
"How did you attack?"
Claude was shocked. Even though the rangers weren't at full strength, there were at least 700 of them. Now, there were less than 300 left. Why were the casualties so high?
The chief sergeant spat on the ground. "That damned Lieutenant Colonel Rossler volunteered to fight the prince. He asked us to line up and march forward. He wanted to charge to the front of the enemy and open fire, but we were blasted back by the four cannons on top. Almost none of the first few rows made it back alive …"
What's funny is that we were the ones who set up those four cannons. After the formation was occupied, the enemy turned around and fired at us with those four cannons. We couldn't get within a hundred meters of them at all. Their canister fire had already enveloped the entire formation.
That damned Lieutenant-Colonel Rosler was basically forcing us to our deaths. He wanted us to brace the cannons until we were fifty meters away from the enemy before firing and charging with our bayonets. "
If the enemy only had guns and no cannons, Rosler's strategy would have been the correct one. Enduring the casualties, they would have to wait until they were fifty meters in front of the enemy before firing and charging with their blades. That might have been enough to strike fear into the enemy's heart.
But the problem was that there were still four cannons on the formation. A single shot from the cannons would be able to cover the entire formation within a hundred meters. Having the soldiers charge forward now was no different from suicide.
Claude turned to look at Wilf Hill. It wasn't very tall, only about fifty meters tall. The slope facing them was rather flat and there were stone cliffs on both sides, preventing any possibility of an attack from those two sides.
The middle and upper parts of the slope were still littered with the corpses of Aueran soldiers that hadn't been cleaned up. The bottom of the slope was mostly cleaned up, but there were still a few cannons lying on the ground.
"What's with those cannons?" asked Claude.
"The eldest prince sent someone to transport them over. But they weren't high enough to hit the formation and had to be moved forward. But the enemy had four cannons and a master cannoneer. They had a high vantage point and were able to destroy the cannons in no time," replied the sergeant.
"How many enemies are left up there?"
"I'm not too sure. Probably around four to five hundred.
The sergeant shook his head. "I heard that there were more than a thousand of them in the morning, but we attacked five times, and the eldest prince's guard battalion fired more than twenty rounds of fire from behind. I guess they'll lose at least half of their men."
The cannons wouldn't be of any use. The enemy could see clearly from above and could only attack from one side of the hill. Perhaps he could sneak over with his platoon.
As long as they crippled the four cannons, the threat of the cannons would be gone and their men would be able to charge up and take over the formation.
Claude looked at Wilfgang and thought to himself.
A sharp whistle interrupted Claude's thoughts. He looked up and saw Rosler walking over with his whistle. When he got close, he put down the whistle and roared, "Ranger Battalion, assemble!"
"Damn it, they're going to attack again. I wonder if I'll be able to make it back alive this time," said the sergeant dejectedly.
Claude stopped him. "Our battalion only has so few men left. Are we still going to attack?"
"Damn it, that damned Rosler won't give up until we're all dead. That old bastard came back in one piece the last two times. I curse him to die at the forefront this time."
The sergeant, who didn't know if he could survive the attack, no longer cared about his rank. He didn't even mention Rosler's rank and only called him old bastard.
At that moment, Rosler saw Claude and strode over. "Claude, you're finally back. Get your men into formation. We're going to attack!"
Claude stood at attention. "Sir, can I lead my men in a probing attack? I might have a way to take down the enemy's formation."
Rosler roared, "Claude, get into formation!
You're at the front!
Don't try to fool me with your tricks! What probing attack? Are you trying to fool us like before?
The war is imminent, and I have no time to waste on you. The enemy has taken over another position at the frontline. If we don't quickly take over Wilf Hill to support the frontline, the besieged enemy will break out from here!
Do you understand the urgency of the situation?
We don't have much time left!
Don't try to play any tricks. Get your men into formation. You're in the middle!
If you don't obey, I'll have the law enforcers execute you on the spot as a deserter!
Now!
Now!
Get into formation! "
Claude really wanted to curse out loud, but when he saw Rosler's bloodshot eyes, he forcefully suppressed his anger.
There was no way he could reason with that blockhead. All he knew was to line up his men and send them to their deaths.
If Claude continued to argue with him, he would definitely get the law enforcers to execute him on the spot for disobeying orders, refusing to go to the battlefield, and being a deserter. That would serve as a warning to the other soldiers.
Claude had no choice but to get into formation and have his men line up on both sides of him. There were more than 50 of them in a row.
The surviving soldiers of Ranger Camp lined up behind Claude, forming a total of five rows.
Behind Ranger Camp were other units, most of them lined up in combat battalions. However, a new formation soon appeared on Claude's left. It was a row of 40 men.
The gentle slope of Wilfhound could accommodate no more than these two lines.
Half an hour later, all the attacking troops were lined up neatly. The anxious Prince Hansbach held a metal loudspeaker and told all the soldiers that the fate of the kingdom depended on whether they could take Wilfgang and destroy the enemy. In short, he said a lot of morale-boosting words and even offered generous rewards.
However, the morale of the soldiers was still low. None of them believed that they would be able to take Wilfgang.
Claude estimated the formation behind him and saw that there were more than 2,000 soldiers participating in the attack. The prince's guard battalion was at the back. They didn't participate in the attack and were only there to supervise the battle. Any soldiers that tried to escape would be killed by them.
After the eldest prince finished speaking, Lieutenant Colonel Rosler stood at the upper left corner of the formation, about three meters away from the formation. He blew the copper whistle in his mouth, raised the saber in his right hand forward, and took down the copper whistle with his left hand. He shouted, "Attack!
Take big steps forward! "