The main camp of the Canas light cavalry was around five thousand metres away from the camp occupied by Thundercrash. However, Thundercrash's soldiers and nearly seven thousand captives had dug seven to eight trenches within two hundred metres of the camp, connecting it to the walls of the camp to form a defensive perimeter. The light cavalry's first probing attack was fruitless, and seven to eight hundred of their men were killed instead.
However, the Canas light cavalry commanders weren't incompetent. When they realized that their first attack was futile and that Thundercrash had set up an effective defensive line, they didn't continue to attack. Instead, they decisively retreated back to camp and ended the first battle with a weak finish.
From this, it could be seen that the enemy commanders had a wealth of battlefield experience and military command skills. They were very difficult to deal with.
So, when Claude saw the enemy come out of their camp and start digging trenches 1,500 meters away from the camp, he smirked.
The fish had taken the bait. Everything was going according to plan.
Did they really think he had nothing better to do when he had the captives dig trenches for the past two days? He just wanted the enemy to abandon their horses and start on foot.
Digging trenches in the plains was a piece of cake. In just five days, four long trenches covered a distance of more than a thousand meters and gradually approached the defensive perimeter of the camp.
In the eyes of the commanders of the Canas light cavalry, the enemy didn't expect such a turn of events. While the cannons and muskets did cause some casualties to the light cavalry, it was negligible compared to the rest of the light cavalry force. No one cared about a hundred or so casualties.
However, the closer the trenches got to the enemy's perimeter, the more intense the firepower they received. That was a huge problem for the soldiers digging the trenches.
Trenches were just trenches, after all. They didn't have a ceiling and the enemy had already started building high platforms in the direction of the trenches to attack the light cavalry in the trenches from above.
Faced with such a situation, the commanders of the volunteer light cavalry corps came up with a countermeasure that could blossom in all directions.
They didn't limit themselves to just four trenches. Instead, they sent more men to dig trenches and turned four into 40 or even a hundred. That way, the enemy would have nowhere to defend themselves.
As long as there was a trench connected to the enemy's trench defense circle, the soldiers could rush into the enemy's trench through the interconnected trenches, causing the enemy's defense to be unable to focus on one area and lose focus on the other, rendering it ineffective …
As a result, in the following ten days, the area within seven to eight hundred meters of the camp was completely turned into a maze of trenches. The volunteer light cavalry's follow-up force invested four main force field combat regiments, a force of close to 24,000 soldiers. After paying the price of close to two thousand casualties, they finally connected the trenches to the camp's trenches, and then began to fight fiercely against Thunderclap Division's soldiers in the trench maze.
However, as the two sides clashed in the trenches, the Canasian light cavalry suddenly found themselves at a disadvantage. Thundercrash had already built a three to four meter tall platform by the side of the trenches. Not only were there light infantry cannons, but there were also observers using triangular flags of all colors to mobilize reinforcements and annihilate the enemy.
A single platform was able to grasp the situation in a hundred metres around it. The Canasian soldiers felt like they were outnumbered. The more they fought, the fewer they had, while the more the enemy's numbers increased.
In the three days after the trenches were connected, the four main battle lines of the light cavalry corps saw their casualties multiply. They lost more than a battalion in a day.
Although the enemy's Thunderclap Division had also suffered casualties, their casualty ratio was only three to one when compared to the volunteer light cavalry.
In other words, if the four main battle lines of the light cavalry corps all died on the battlefield, Thundercrash would only lose a line of soldiers.
The light cavalry commanders had no choice but to stop the attack and discuss a new strategy.
According to the reports from the frontlines, the enemy was extremely cunning.
They often used a small number of troops to lure the officers and soldiers of the Volunteer Light Cavalry Corps to pursue them, luring the officers and soldiers into the area covered by the fire of the earthen turrets, and using the light infantry cannons on the earthen turrets to launch a counterattack and recapture the lost trench positions …
In addition, Thundercrash's soldiers would often set up a light infantry cannon at the end of a trench. Once the volunteer light cavalry entered the trench, they would suddenly fire the cannonball. There was simply no place to hide, and if they died, the entire trench would be filled with casualties.
The light cavalry commanders felt like they had been tricked and gave up on the light cavalry assault they were good at. Instead, they started fighting in the trenches with Thundercrash, turning all the soldiers into mud monkeys.
The enemy, on the other hand, had unwittingly changed their defensive positions to a maze of trenches to defend against infantry attacks. The light cavalry corps suffered six thousand casualties in a short five days.
However, it was too late for regrets now. Their positions had become a crisscrossing maze of trenches. There was nowhere for light cavalry to run anymore.
The only benefit was that they discovered that the scimitars of the light cavalry were much more useful than the daggers used by the Thundercrash Division in close combat, with greater destructive power and power.
The other dozen or so captive Thundercrash Division soldiers confessed that there were close to seven thousand volunteer light cavalry captives in the camp, while the Thundercrash Division only had two unorganized field regiments and three combat guard battalions directly under the division's command. Their total strength didn't even reach sixteen thousand.
It was precisely because of the confessions of these captives that the commanders of the volunteer light cavalry corps did not have the intention to retreat because of the anxiety of the battle and the heavy casualties. Even though they had already lost more than 6,000 soldiers, there were still about 30,000 left.
That was double the number of Thundercrash's men and gave them an overwhelming advantage.
The commanders believed that as long as they kept fighting, victory would come. Perhaps they could even wipe out Thundercrash.
As a result, after some discussion, the commanders of the light cavalry corps decided to send in more troops. The corps would send in an artillery regiment and two reinforced battalions to attack.
They planned to use cannons to destroy the earthen platforms that Thundercrash had set up. At the same time, they would use cannons against cannons to exchange fire in the trenches …
In the eyes of the commanders of the volunteer light cavalry corps, this countermeasure could be said to be the right medicine for the problem. In just three days, they had destroyed most of the earthen platforms and successfully captured the two outermost trenches of the encampment trench defense circle. They were already within a hundred meters of the encampment.
Even though they had suffered heavy casualties, Thundercrash's casualties were not small either. The ratio of casualties on both sides was now two to one.
Even though Thundercrash's resistance was growing fiercer and fiercer, in the eyes of the light cavalry corps' commanders, this was a final struggle.
Seeing that the destruction of the Thunderclap Regiment was imminent, the volunteer light cavalry sent in two more guard battalions to join the attack, hoping to capture the camp even faster and destroy the Thunderclap Regiment. This battle was a success.
"Initially, the enemy sent in four main combat regiments. Later on, they added in an artillery regiment and two reinforced battalions. Now, they've sent in two garrison battalions. I reckon that the enemy has already sent all their combat forces into the attack.
Our plan is working. We just need to hold on for another two days before we leave this camp and hand it over to the enemy. I'm sure they'll be pleasantly surprised. "
Claude pointed at the enemy camp on the map. "According to our scouts' estimates, there are only around three thousand men left in the camp.
Apart from a logistical camp, the rest were all labourers such as grooms and servants.
Because previously, these two Garrison Battalions had been leading the enemy's nearly 40,000 warhorses to graze on the grassland. But these two days, after these two Garrison Battalions entered the battle, the warhorses in the enemy's rear camp no longer went out to graze.
It's not hard to imagine what the enemy lacked the most right now.
Lieutenant Colonel Berklin's Thunder Regiment 301 had already infiltrated the side of the enemy's camp and were waiting for our signal to attack.
Major Myjack, you'll be in command of this attack. Remember, our first priority is to seize the enemy's warhorses, then their rations, and finally their camp.
If the enemy counterattacks too strongly and you can't hold them off, you can abandon the camp and burn the enemy's rations.
But the enemy's forty thousand warhorses must be brought back, understood? "
"Yes, don't worry, General. Line 131 will definitely complete the mission and bring the warhorses back," Myjack saluted and replied firmly.
Claude nodded. "Set off at ten at night. Bring the remaining grenades there. It'll be helpful in taking over the enemy camp."
Myjack was taken aback. "General, then …"
Claude smiled. "We'll be fine here. We can stop the enemy without the grenades. Don't worry."
"Lieutenant Colonel Dyavid, after Major Myjack's Guerilla Tribe 131 departs, Thunderbolt 1303 will be responsible for escorting the 7,000 captives and escorting the logistics, supplies, and wounded out of the camp. Wait for our notice when you reach your destination before deciding on your next course of action.
If the captives don't behave, you can execute them on the spot, "Claude ordered.
"Yes, General. Line 1303 will do as you say." Dyavid stood up and saluted.
"Colonel Siegfeld, is the logistics department ready to depart?"
"General, the logistics department is ready to depart. All the logistics and armaments that we need to bring have been packed in the carriages.
They've been checked thrice to make sure nothing is missing, "Siegfeld replied.
Claude nodded in satisfaction. "Then, I wish you all the best.
Lieutenant Colonel Moriad, I'll leave the trenches outside the camp to you for the next two days. I'll support you with the cannons on the walls.
Are you confident you can hold out for two days? "
Moriad laughed heartily. "General, forget two days, even a week would be fine.
Canas is famous for their light cavalry. They're like crabs once they dismount. Apart from digging holes and trenches, they're only good at melee combat.
Don't be fooled by the fact that they're only a hundred meters away from the camp walls, they're just going to die before our cannons. "
That was quite an apt comparison. The Canas retired soldiers attacking from the trenches were indeed like crabs. They were often topless and swung their scimitars without any regard for their lives.
They would fall to the ground one by one under the accurate fire of Thundercrash's men or fall into the trenches covered in blood from the light infantry cannons.
"It's good that you're confident. Go get ready," Claude said with a smile as he had the high-ranking officers leave his tent.
After they left, he ordered Anders, who was waiting outside the tent, to call his younger brother, Bloweyk, over.
Bloweyk was now a sergeant major, serving under Myjack's guerrilla unit 131 as the leader of a small reconnaissance squad.
With Claude and Myjack looking after him, as well as his own military skills, he was able to rise through the ranks at a rapid pace.
Soon, Bloweyk appeared before Claude.
Claude looked at his younger brother and felt a little emotional. The chubby kid who needed his parents to carry him up and down the stairs had now grown into a valiant soldier.
He patted Bloweyk's shoulder and said, "This time, you have to infiltrate the enemy's camp and eliminate their hidden and open sentries. You have to expand your forces and enter the camp. The mission is very important and dangerous, so you have to be careful."
Bloweyk harrumphed and replied impatiently, "Alright, second brother, I know what I'm doing. Don't worry. Besides, I'm not a regular soldier. I'm a magus and I have plenty of ways to deal with enemy soldiers.
I'll be leaving first. My comrades are waiting for me. "
The attack on the enemy camp was to take place during the day instead of at night.
Therefore, they needed a small group of men to disguise themselves as the enemy's light cavalry scouts and infiltrate the enemy's rear camp in advance to eliminate the enemy's hidden and overt sentries. This would allow Berklin's Thunderbolt Regiment 1301 and Myjack's Guerilla Battalion 131 to approach the enemy's camp and achieve the effect of a surprise attack.
The mission to infiltrate the enemy camp was passed by Bloweyk.
Two days later, around three in the afternoon, the Canasian light cavalry commander and officers saw their flag planted on the walls of the enemy camp and it quickly fell.
Another flag was planted, only to be plucked out by the enemy.
But all of this could not stop the enemy's fate of defeat. Another battle flag was planted, and it did not fall again. Then, more and more volunteer light cavalry battle flags began to wave on the wall, raised and waved by the soldiers, and there were faint cheers coming from the frontline …
We've won!
The officers around the commander cheered. The commander smiled politely in response to the compliments from his subordinates.
He raised his whip and pointed at the camp a thousand metres away. "Let's go take a look."
No one objected. Under the escort of the guards, the few hundred riders advanced carefully on the flat ground at the edge of the trench, accepting the cheers of the soldiers along the way.
But when they were 400 metres away from the camp, the commander heard some noise behind him. He thought it was the soldiers celebrating and didn't think much of it.
That was until one of the officers grabbed his reins and pointed behind him in a flabbergasted manner that displeased him.
He turned around and his face paled in an instant. He saw the flag of Aueran Thundercrash fluttering above his camp.
That's right, it was the flag of Thundercrash stuck on the walls of the camp that he'd been looking at for the past month.
Apart from the flags of the Thundercrash Regiment, there was a group of soldiers who had thrown away their helmets and armor about five or six hundred meters in front of the camp. They were running in this direction, and it was obvious that they had escaped from the camp …
Dizzy, the commander swayed on his horse and fell to the ground.
Fortunately, the adjutant beside him reacted quickly and held onto his body, preventing him from falling to the ground with his head broken and bleeding.
It was a laughable victory. Almost at the same time that the light cavalry took over Thundercrash's camp, Thundercrash also took over the light cavalry's camp.
At this time, most of the volunteer soldiers of the Light Cavalry Corps flocked to the camp, wanting to join in the celebration of the victory as soon as possible, so much so that the senior officers of the corps wanted to immediately organize people to counterattack the camp, but they could not find the troops …