"… You've brought two divisions of the Monolith Army this time. Your objective is to defend, not attack."
Claude pointed at a small red circle on the map of the kingdom hanging on the wall. "Protecting Ambrize means that Whitestag will be safe.
But defending doesn't mean you can't take the initiative to attack. You can choose a suitable opportunity to wipe out a portion of the enemy's forces, disrupt their formation and draw them to your front. "
Two months later, the region finally received a reply and a request for reinforcements from the kingdom.
The royal seal of the Sterling Family and the Royal Edict of Ratification had been delivered by Lady Maria to the Dominion Parliament and the military.
Monolith's troops, who were in the midst of mobilizing for war, hastened their steps. Monolith's troops boarded trains in batches and arrived at Port Cobicus to await their orders.
Monolith's 1st and 2nd folk were the first to set off. The newly formed 3rd folk remained in the region to continue their training.
Apart from that, two local garrison lines were deployed to accompany Monolith.
Their mission was to watch over the supplies the region sent to Whitestag and escort ammunition and other supplies back to the frontlines.
Bolonik was the one leading Monolith. He would be in charge of dealing with the royal court.
Birkin would be in charge of commanding the frontlines.
"We're fighting independently this time and don't need to follow the orders of the ministry of the army.
As for what they say, we'll just pretend they're bullsh * tting and ignore them. "
Claude tapped the map on the mast again. "If we follow the orders of the ministry of the army, we'll be ordered to attack the enemy's camps and reclaim the prefectures one by one until we're exhausted and can no longer carry out our mission.
"When that happens, we'll have to endure the ridicule and mockery of those bastards standing behind us who are under our protection. They'll think that we're just so-so soldiers of the region.
"They'll even ask us to give them our new rifles and cannons so that they can form their own units to fight the enemy.
"As for the difficulties we face, they'll turn a deaf ear to us and ignore any of our requests.
This is not my nonsense, but you must be mentally prepared for this.
Not only do you have to deal with enemies who rely on superior forces to attack you head-on, you also have to guard against open spears and hidden arrows coming from behind.
Therefore, we, who have the right to fight and command independently, ignore any orders from the Ministry of the Army, even if it is from His Majesty the King.
Your only mission is to carry out our own battle plan and defend Ambrize County.
Ambrize County was backed by the southwestern mountains. Although it was a hilly terrain, it had a vast area of primeval black forest and small hills all over the county.
You will use the terrain here to rebuild a defensive line. Defend, attack, and defeat the enemy's offensive.
Draw the enemy's superior forces to your perimeter and buy us half a year's time. Let's attack the enemy's hinterland and turn their frontline army into a lone army … "
Claude's plan was actually very simple. Monolith's two folk would head to Ambrize County after reaching the kingdom's mainland to build a defensive line and attract the enemy's attention.
Thundercrash's three folk would then launch a surprise attack on Port Flork in Rimodra and sweep through the kingdom's newly conquered lands. They would then invade Nasri from Sidins's border and try to destroy the core of the eastern alliance first.
The plan was called Crescent Hook. It was based on the fact that Nasri was Aueras's mortal enemy and ranked second among the five nations in the eastern alliance. They were the second most powerful nation after Shiks and the one who wanted to destroy Aueras the most. Nasri had done their best in both the debt war and the invasion of Aueras.
During the War of Debts, Nasri had lost four corps of soldiers.
But after that, the entire nation mobilized to rebuild their standing corps and joined forces with the other four nations in the eastern alliance to invade Aueras again.
More than half of them died in those battles, but seeing that the destruction of Aueras was just around the corner, they held on.
According to intelligence, Nasri still had six corps. Two new corps were being trained in their kingdom, one was being reorganized in the royal capital and the other three were at the frontlines.
It was said that they were asking Shiks for military funds and resources in preparation to build two or three new corps.
As for the newly restored Sidins Principality and Rimodra Principality, none of the high-ranking officers who made the Crescent Hook Plan paid any attention to these two countries. These two countries were just there to make up the numbers in the Eastern Regional Alliance, and their people were poor and exhausted.
It wasn't easy for them to get their own corps to join the invasion of Aueras, but the battle at the border resulted in half of them suffering casualties. Left with no choice, they could only form a single corps, but they each sent a new corps to the frontlines soon after.
However, it was said that the two duchies were conscripting soldiers to form another corps to be sent to the frontlines.
Given the population and power of the two duchies, being able to form three corps to be sent to the frontlines was already a huge drain on their resources.
However, the corps of the two duchies were of the lowest status at the frontlines. They were either used as cannon fodder or servants to do odd jobs for the other three nations.
So, they had no will to fight and were the weakest in combat.
Based on the situation of the eastern alliance's armies against the three major corps, the strongest were Shiks' standing corps and Canas's light-cavalry corps.
The Shiksan army relied on their long-range grenades to deal the greatest damage to the three ace corps of the kingdom.
Only the cannons and throwing devices manufactured by the overseas autonomous military zone could compete with them …
Canas, on the other hand, made use of their light-cavalry's mobility to break through the weak points of the frontlines and posed a huge threat.
However, Canas' light-cavalry corps suffered heavy casualties as a result. Of the three light-cavalry corps they sent to the frontlines, only one and a half corps remained and they were waiting for reinforcements from the rear.
Due to Nasri's heavy losses, the newly formed corps was about the same as Aueras's second-line corps. They had already withdrawn from their position as the main fighting force and could only hold back the Aueras' second-line corps from the flanks after the attack.
As for the legions of Sidins and Rimodra, they served as cannon fodder at the frontlines, used to monitor the deployment of firepower in the defensive positions, or used to maintain the supply routes in the rear, transport armaments, and rob the cattle and sheep of the citizens of the kingdom, as well as to collect food and other supplies.
If the two corps of the region landed in Whitestag, they would have to face an enemy with superior numbers in order to chase the eastern alliance's armies out of the kingdom's borders.
The recovery of the prefectures meant fierce battles. Even if all the high-ranking officers of the autonomous region believed that their troops were invincible, humans weren't machines. When the difference in military strength was too great, no matter how elite or invincible they were, they would still be worn down by the enemy, especially when they didn't have any reliable allies …
That was why the high-ranking officers of the region came up with the Crescent Hook plan under Claude's guidance. They wanted to use Monolith's defensive capabilities to defend Ambrize and draw the enemy's troops to the frontlines.
Claude knew very well that as long as the eastern alliance occupied the second defensive line, they would only have to face Monolith, which was defending Ambrize.
If Monolith was defeated as well, Whitestag wouldn't have much left to defend and Aueras would fall.
Under such circumstances, Ambrize would be like a juicy piece of meat that attracted the attention of the five wolves of the eastern alliance.
Monolith's display of combat prowess at the right time would cause the eastern nations to deploy all their troops to the frontlines, hoping to defeat Monolith with their overwhelming numbers and annihilate Aueras in one fell swoop.
By then, as long as Thundercrash landed at the Florida port of Rimodra, they would be able to travel from Rimodra to Amelia Plains in Sidins, then to the hinterlands of Nasri and the royal city of Polivisia.
Given the speed of Thundercrash's light cavalry, they would be able to reach Nasri's capital within 20 days. Wiping out the royal family in one fell swoop was no joke.
If they were to attack Nasri from the kingdom's mainland, even the two corps of the region would need at least two to three months to reach Nasri's capital.
The reason for that was simple. As Aueras's mortal enemy, Nasri had built countless defensive structures in that direction.
Even if Thundercrash and Monolith were invincible, they would still have to conquer those structures one by one.
That was also why Claude wasn't willing to attack Nasri on the mainland. There was no way to end the battle quickly.
Conquering all the defensive structures in Nasri's mainland would take time. Perhaps by the time the army reached the city, the royal family would have packed up all their wealth and fled to Shiks.
It would be just like Sidins and Rimodra during the great eastern war five years ago. They fled as fast as they could and left their lands in ruins for the victors.
That wouldn't do. He had to give the soldiers of the two corps sufficient rewards and spoils of war.
There was no hope for Aueras' treasury anymore. Even the royal treasury of Stellin was empty.
Now, he could only hope to get something out of the Sidins, Rimodra, and Nasri royal treasuries and the estates of the nobles.
From Rimodra's Floric Harbor to Sidins' Amelia Plains, then into Nasri's hinterland, the journey was shaped like a crescent moon.
That would be more than enough for Thundercrash to wipe out the three nations along the way.
Furthermore, it was much easier to attack Canas from Nasri than from the three eastern prefectures. They would have to travel through half of the Canas Plains in order to get there.
They would first take care of Nasri, then Sidins and Rimodra would be wiped out along the way.
With Thundercrash's lightning-fast attack, Claude believed that none of the two duchies would be able to escape. Canas would be easy to deal with then.
When the news reached the frontlines, the armies of the three nations would collapse immediately. The remaining Shiksan and Canas forces wouldn't be able to escape. It would all depend on Monolith's decision then.
Claude tapped the map on the wall again and said to the high-ranking officers in the meeting room, "You're all aware of the Crescent Hook plan. Whether or not it can be carried out smoothly will depend on whether the two of you can withstand the pressure from His Majesty, the ministry of the army, as well as the nobles of the royal court.
This isn't a joke.
His Majesty has just ascended to the throne, so it's understandable that he's eager for quick success.
The ministry of the army has misjudged the enemy's movements time and time again and has lost many battles. They need a great victory to boost the morale of the people.
So, as long as Monolith does well on the frontlines, they might join forces to force you to go on the offensive. You have to withstand that pressure.
Currently, the second line of defence set up by the kingdom in Cooklia, Chaniaral, Cremes, Birmoro and Bajashantana hasn't been lost yet, but the pressure is great.
The eastern nations also suffered heavy casualties when they took over the first line of defence. They're probably resting and waiting for reinforcements.
According to the intelligence report, our kingdom has deployed four corps of more than 200,000 soldiers on the second line of defense, while the eastern alliance has around six to seven corps of soldiers.
I really don't understand why the Kingdom's Ministry of War still hasn't given up on Cooklia Prefecture, Chaniaral Prefecture, Crimes Prefecture, Birmoro Prefecture, and Bajashantana Prefecture, these five prefectures are almost in ruins. Why is the Kingdom's Ministry of War still holding on to the second line of defense?
Where did all the high-ranking generals of the kingdom who were used to war go?
I hope you can find out where Marshal Michelic is when you return to the kingdom. I'm curious as to why he suddenly disappeared without a trace. I didn't hear anything about him during the civil war. "
Claude said those words to Bolonik and Birkin. The two of them led Monolith back to the kingdom to join the war. They would have to bear more pressure from the king, the royal family, the court and the ministry of the army.
"I understand," Bolonik replied, "I'll stay at the royal court and deal with them.
I'll reject Monolith's request to reinforce the second line of defence. Instead, I'll set up a new line of defence in Ambrize to defend against all the armies of the eastern nations.
This is the only way for those who harbor ill intentions against us to allow us to fight on our own. They want to see us make a fool of ourselves and watch us fail.
Our persistence will not only ensure the smooth implementation of Operation Crescent Hook, it will also buy time for the kingdom's troops to regroup and regroup. "
Claude nodded in satisfaction. "You've equipped 568 new cannons, all of you with the new rifles and a thousand sniper rifles.
As long as you can keep up with the ammunition, I believe no enemy will dare to act arrogantly before you.
No matter how many corps attack you, they'll only suffer a crushing defeat.
"I'd like to remind you of three things. First, ensure the supply of ammunition. That's the most important thing and you can't let your guard down.
Second, ensure that we suffer the least casualties and focus on defending Ambrize. Don't launch a pointless attack just because the enemy is weak.
"That's because we won't be able to get any reinforcements from the kingdom.
"That's not my personal guess. Those bastards at the back are hoping for you to suffer a crushing defeat. It'd be best if you die together with the enemy. That way, they'll have an excuse to strip us of our rights to fight and command.
"If you suffer heavy casualties on the frontlines and can't get reinforcements from the rear, we'll have no choice but to get reinforcements from the region.
"When that happens, we'll be using the blood of our youths to fight against the invading enemies. It'll be a waste of our resources.
"Those bastards at the back who make things difficult for us can just sit back and enjoy the fruits of our labor.
"Lastly, on your trip to Whitestag, you'll be bringing along the last few hundred thousand aubass mark 3 muskets, as well as a large amount of military supplies, rations and other agricultural products.
"They're all old equipment that we've replaced. That's a bargaining chip in your hands and you can't just hand it over to the ministry of the army.
I think you can use this batch of resources to find allies in the kingdom, such as the Gryphon Legion. It's hard for them to replenish their losses, because the supplies and weapons we sent to the kingdom last time were all used by the Ministry of the Army to form a new legion.
"Also, after the battle at the border, the remnants of Reddragon haven't received any supplies and can't be rebuilt.
So, you can give the supplies to Reddragon and Griffon instead. That way, the royal guard won't be the only force in the kingdom. "
Bolonik and Birkin nodded. They'd received quite a lot of news from Whitestag recently. For example, the ministry of the army was preparing to use their last stockpile of equipment and supplies to reorganize the royal guard.
The remnants of Reddragon that retreated from the border battle had been unable to get any reinforcements and might even be disbanded.
As it turned out, even if it was an old aristocratic family, there were still factions within, and there were conflicts among them …
"By the way, I forgot one thing," Claude said, "If you encounter any provocation, you have to fight back fiercely. There's no need to hold back.
Some people will mistake your patience and consideration of the big picture for cowardice. They'll take advantage of you and climb over your heads to disgust you. "