"Sir, I'm back," Claude said with a salute.
Liedefonk stood up. "What's going on with 3rd Battalion? Why are there so many casualties? Did you find out what happened when you went to check on them?"
Claude took off his hat and hung it on the coat rack in the corner of the room. He then placed the black briefcase on the desk. "Even though the commander of 3rd Battalion and the other officers said that it was the enemy's stubborn defense that caused the soldiers to suffer heavy casualties during the attack, according to my investigations in 3rd Battalion, they don't have the strength to attack anymore. Due to the heavy casualties, the morale of the soldiers is extremely low. It's already not bad that they're able to defend Billy Town."
"Is that why 3rd Battalion has been urging us to take over as soon as possible so that they can rest and reorganize?"
Liedefonk furrowed his brow. "I'm a little worried. 1st Ranger Tribe is different from the other three Battalions. They're made up of veterans from Ranger Camp and good marksmen from other units. They have more combat experience.
Apart from you guys who have recovered, the rest of 1st Battalion are new recruits sent over from the rear. Even though they've gone through recruit training, they haven't even completed the three-month training you asked for. I don't want to go to the frontlines in such a hurry. I don't want to make the same mistake as 3rd Battalion. "
Claude shook his head. "But the higher-ups want us to arrive at Billy Town before the 5th of October to take over from 3rd Battalion. That date is less than ten days away and the march will take three days. We only have five to six days to prepare.
When I went to Billy Town this time, I went to the frontlines to observe. 3rd Battalion was going to attack Blackmaple Castle, located at the entrance of Pikleit Mountains. The garrison there was stationed by Rimodra.
There were three main reasons for 3rd Battalion's failure. First, they were arrogant and looked down on the enemy, thinking that they would surrender the moment they arrived. They didn't expect to run into a snag like that.
They knew themselves but didn't know the enemy. They knew nothing about the enemy's military deployment, weapons, and equipment. It was only after they suffered a loss that they captured a few captives and obtained rough information from them.
Secondly, the terrain of the attack was disadvantageous. When I went to the front line to observe, I discovered that although Black Maple Castle was located at the entrance to the Piklete Mountains, it was surrounded by several small streams. Furthermore, the enemy had cut down all the trees within a radius of two hundred meters, creating an open field of vision for the cannons and muskets.
No matter which direction we attacked from, we would be bombarded by the enemy's cannons and could not get close to the castle.
The third reason was the lack of training. The soldiers of 3rd Ranger Battalion were all transferred from other units. Many of them maintained their original habits when attacking and didn't like to hide. They would just load their guns and become easy targets for the enemy.
Especially now that the enemy is also equipped with a large number of accurate aiming firearms. Although they are inferior to our aubass mark 3 standard firearms, under the cover of the castle, they can still kill a large number of our soldiers.
Also, our bright red military uniform is more convenient for them to aim and shoot … "
Liedefonk shook his head with a bitter smile. Claude really had a deep grudge against the color of the royal uniform.
He had to admit that it was as Claude said. The red uniform was indeed the best color for target practice on the battlefield. However, it was a tradition of the kingdom. In the past, the main reason for wearing red uniforms was to shock the enemy.
The second reason was to reduce the fear of casualties. Blood was also red. Even if the soldiers around them died, they wouldn't panic due to the red uniform they wore.
However, the reason was clear enough. None of the officers would say it out loud. They would only tell the soldiers that red represented bravery and heroism, as well as the hot-bloodedness of the warriors who sacrificed their lives for the kingdom.
Even if Liedefonk accepted Claude's suggestion, he didn't have the authority or ability to change the color of the uniform.
"You're saying that the defenders of Black Maple Castle are equipped with accurate aiming firearms?" Liedefonk asked.
"Yes, I saw the real thing at 3rd Battalion's headquarters.
It's said to be produced by Askilin and the model is Falheston Type 185. It's about three kilograms heavier than the ones we have. It has an accurate aiming range of 70 to 80 metres. It's a huge improvement over the ones produced by Sidins.
I wanted to ask 3rd Battalion to bring one back, but they only had a few of them. They've already reported it to their superiors, so they rejected my request. "
Liedefonk sighed. "Actually, we're still figuring out how to use the aubass mark 3 standard firearms. We're still experimenting on how to maximize its effectiveness on the battlefield.
I didn't expect the enemy to discover its use too. Not only are they trying to replicate it, they're also equipping their troops in large numbers for defensive battles. This will have a huge negative impact on our current war. "
Claude sighed. "There's an old saying that war is the best teacher for a soldier. Now, I finally understand that.
As long as it's useful, even if it's the enemy's good points, we have to learn from it. Otherwise, we'll be the ones to suffer. "
Liedefonk poured a cup of tea for Claude. "Let's not lament about this for now. Our words carry little weight and we can't make the decisions.
Let's think about how we're going to complete the mission our superiors gave us.
In the next few days, go to the four clans and see how their training is going.
Not only do we have to take over the defense of 3rd Battalion, our superiors also ordered us to take over Black Maple Castle and control the entrance to Pikleit Mountain.
I'm a logistician and I don't know much about offense and defense. I can only leave this mission to you. You'll be the one to decide how to deploy our troops and when to attack.
Now that you're a staff officer and you've gone to the frontlines to investigate, this is your job. It's best if you come up with a plan in the next few days.
All I can do is give you as much logistical support as possible. I hope we can achieve victory with the least casualties. "
"Yes, Sir. I'll do my best."
Claude saluted again. Unlike Rosler, Major Ledefonk trusted Claude a lot after he became the battalion commander. He appointed Claude as the combat adviser of the battalion headquarters and had the greatest right to review and decide the training and combat of the whole battalion.
Of course, that had a lot to do with his background as a logistician. Liedefonk knew that since he was an amateur, he had to find someone in the know to help him.
Claude's accomplishments in the Ranger Camp convinced him that he was the person he needed. So, he trusted Claude and gave him his full trust.
On the 4th of the 10th month, 1st Ranger Tribe arrived at Billy Town in Pichlinxi Prefecture of Rimodra and swapped with 3rd Ranger Tribe.
The battalion quickly called for a strategy meeting. As the person who planned the attack on Black Maple Castle, Claude explained the various battle steps to the officers of 1st Ranger Tribe and received the unanimous support of Liedefonk and most of the officers present.
The officers in the meeting knew that while Claude's plan was complicated, it would greatly reduce casualties.
The only downside was that it would take a long time. But since the upper echelons only asked them to take Black Maple Castle, they didn't set a time limit, so it wasn't a big deal.
In fact, when 3rd Ranger Tribe attacked Black Maple Castle, they used the traditional Aueran method of attack.
After setting up camp in Billy Town, they rested for a day before gathering most of their men for Black Maple Castle and sending messengers to request the garrison to surrender.
However, the garrison refused, so 3rd Ranger Tribe began to surround the castle.
As they were all equipped with aubass mark 3 muskets, 3rd Ranger Tribe didn't use the traditional method of firing in unison. Instead, they used cannons to surround the castle from three sides while the last one stood guard.
In the eyes of the commanders of 3rd Ranger Tribe, as long as their men got close enough to the castle, they could use accurate fire to suppress the enemy's firepower and blast open the castle gates.
However, surrounding Black Maple Castle was a stream that was around 60 meters wide. The water wasn't deep and only reached knee height, but it was a huge hindrance to the soldiers and prevented them from getting close to the castle quickly.
On the other hand, the enemy defenders could use the cover of the castle walls and windows to shoot at the attackers who were moving slowly and arduously in the stream. The blood almost dyed the entire stream red …
At the same time, the cannons stationed at the top of the castle exchanged fire with 3rd Ranger Tribe's cannons. Due to the advantage of having a higher vantage point, 3rd Ranger Tribe suffered a huge loss and lost four light infantry cannons and two and a half cannoneer crews.
That was the true reason for 3rd Ranger Tribe's heavy losses. Only 400 of their 1,000 men remained and 300 more were sent to the infirmary.
To them, this was a crushing defeat with more than half of their men dead.
Now that 1st Ranger Tribe had taken over the defensive line and taken over Black Maple Castle, it was clear to the officers that using the same strategy as 3rd Ranger Tribe wouldn't work. Since they had no other choice, they might as well try out Claude's plan.
Claude's plan of attack was split into three parts. First, they would surround Blackmaple Castle and cut off all communication with the outside world. Then, they would have the various squads of 1st Clan ambush the defenders within 200 metres of the castle. That way, no one from the outside would be able to enter and no one from the inside would be able to leave.
The second step was to recruit laborers from Billy Town. They had to go to the upper reaches of the mountain streams and divert the stream water. This would dry up the stream 50 to 60 meters in front of Black Maple Castle so that it would no longer be a hindrance to the attackers. This was the main mission of the second battalion. They were responsible for recruiting laborers and diverting the stream water.
The third step was to dig a trench about a hundred meters away from Black Maple Castle and let the soldiers enter the trench to snipe the castle guards. They would then use the excellent performance of the Aubass Mark III matchlock to accurately aim and fire.
That distance was just right. It wasn't that the enemy couldn't hit them, but that they couldn't aim accurately. Whether they hit or not depended on luck.
That dangerous mission was left to 3rd Band. After all, they had to dig right under the enemy's noses.
However, the 100-meter distance from the castle was just outside the cannon's firing range. That would prevent the soldiers from suffering heavy casualties.
If the enemy used solid shells, they would welcome it. Who knew how much gunpowder and shells they would have to spend to destroy a trench?
Not to mention, the trenches were easy to build but hard to destroy. At worst, they could just retreat and wait for the enemy to finish firing before sending people to repair it.
Claude also suggested digging a trench 200 meters away to the target before digging horizontally. That way, the enemy wouldn't be able to attack the digging soldiers.
"Lastly, the key to taking Black Maple Castle lies here."
Claude pointed at the mountainous region behind Black Maple Castle with a wooden stick. "Cutting off the mountain path behind Black Maple Castle from getting reinforcements and supplies is the key to our victory.
According to our scouts, there are small paths on both sides of the mountainous region that lead to the mountain path behind Black Maple Castle.
Of course, these paths were made by the herbalists and hunters when they went up the mountain. Horses and carriages couldn't pass through them. I needed the Fourth Battalion to send two squadrons to take a detour through these two paths. They had to choose a strategic location behind the mountain path to defend.
One platoon will set up a formation while the other will dig the mountain path to make it impassable.
We will defend until Black Maple Castle is taken or until the defenders surrender. "