Episode 149 Krafte War – Overwhelm (1)
Nancy, capital of eastern Francia Lorraine.
I touched my forehead with my hand and quickened my pace.
It was truly worth seeing the faces of the people who boasted that they were enough.
Thanks to this, the capital’s armory burned down spectacularly, and at least 50% of the equipment for the 30,000 reserve troops to be trained in the capital was lost.
what? Because of a possible threat, the Navy or some other top company cannot help with the Army’s work?
Together with Christine, I overthrew the entire water supply facility of a belatedly cooperative military, and several enemy spies were discovered.
But there’s no way that all the spies who were already hiding could have been found.
I just sigh and feel really tired.
I entered the revolutionary army headquarters in Nancy with a tired body.
“Welcome, His Excellency the Marquis de Lafayette!”
A gathering of all commanders, including Northern Army Commander Louis Desget and Southern Army Commander Damien de Mirbeau.
Everyone seemed very nervous, as if they had sensed that my mood would not be good due to the order to strengthen security that had already been given to me.
“Have you checked each unit?”
“ancient!”
“Of course, Marquis Gak-”
Damien, who was about to speak at length alone, was stung and closed his mouth.
…Yeah, but you still have some sense.
I sighed softly and went to my seat and sat down.
“Let’s begin.”
“Your Excellency the Old Marquis!”
Alexandre Werther, Chief of the Revolutionary Army’s General Staff, stepped forward.
“The Krafte army is currently dividing the army into three and advancing.”
Well, after all, around 200,000 troops is quite a large number to cram into one place.
Aside from the fact that deployment to the front line is not feasible, the concentration of large troops due to supply issues also creates various problems.
We had already divided the army into several, so I expected that to happen…
“The army commanded by Prince Heinrich is 60,000 strong, and they are referring to it as the Southern Army. And the army commanded by General Gerhardt is again referred to as the Northern Army, numbering 60,000. Lastly, the remaining 80,000….”
“The King of the Central Army will personally command it.”
“Yes, Your Excellency Marquis.”
“So what are the expectations for the offensive? “There must have been enough discussion among the commanders who gathered in advance, right?”
Werther, Desais, and Mirbeau looked at each other, nodded, and spoke in one voice.
“The main attack will be in the direction of Lorraine.”
“hmm.”
“Seeing as they have a large number of troops and have divided the units into three instead of two, the intention may be to press Metz and the Moselle Plain at the same time and, if necessary, pass through the forest area and press up to the Verdun fortress.”
Certainly, in general terms, this would be the case, but in that case, the battle would actually be fought on the same battlefield chosen by Archduke Leopold of the Germanian Empire.
The problem is whether the great king is such a predictable figure in such a general category. It is true that the border between Francia and the Empire itself was narrow from the beginning, so attack routes were limited…
I looked at Damien de Mirbeau and asked.
“Are the preparations for the southern Alsace defense line sufficient? “We have to take into account the possibility that the enemy’s main attack will be concentrated.”
First of all, judging from the name given by the enemies, it is assumed that the one that Damien will be dealing with is Prince Heinrich’s southern army…
Damien also answered with confidence, perhaps thinking that he was at least not dealing with a great king.
“Of course, Your Excellency the Marquis! As the Alsace area is defended along the Rhine River, we will defend it thoroughly through the ‘Mirbeau Line’, which is more thoroughly prepared than the one that was hastily built during the war with the Germanic Empire!”
…A sour expression is formed.
As if I’m not the only one who thinks like that, many of the generals have sad faces.
What defense line can he confidently attach his name to?…
I looked at Damien with a distraught face.
Can I trust and entrust this person?
Well, in the war against the empire, the tactic of openly digging trenches and hiding along the river to defend yourself worked quite well… didn’t it?
“I’m telling you this out of curiosity, but the opponent is not the Imperial Army, but the Krafte Army. “Never let down your guard and do your best.”
“Is it possible, Your Excellency the Marquis de Lafayette? Please trust this ‘master of defense’ Damien de Mirbeau!”
I narrowed my eyes and looked at Damien, who shamelessly said such things with his own mouth.
…I’m already feeling skeptical that I trusted a guy like that and entrusted Christine’s beloved Louis to him.
Surprisingly, Christine agreed.
It wasn’t because I was overestimating that guy, it was because I thought, ‘No matter what happens, I think I will try to save Lewis and my life.’
I sighed softly and opened my mouth.
“Okay, then let’s draw up a defense plan based on the premise that the great king and the main attack will be concentrated in the direction of Lorraine, and prepare for quick reinforcements even if the main attack is focused on Alsace in case of emergency.”
okay. Still, the effectiveness of that trench line has been proven to some extent, and it is true that Damien’s defensive battle record is excellent, even if humans are a bit unreliable.
Even if the offensive is concentrated in Alsace, Damien will likely hold out until reinforcements arrive.
* * *
And a few days later, at dawn.
The Alsace frontline is just about to dawn.
‘Mirbosun’ ambitiously prepared by Damien de Mirbeau.
The revolutionary army, who were yawning and on guard duty, could not contain their astonishment when they saw the group approaching through the fog.
“Oh, what is that!”
“Huh! Enemy attack! Enemy attack!”
An urgent cry rang out, and the soldiers who had been sleeping soundly woke up, panting, and what they saw was a wave of black uniforms approaching, covering the horizon.
“What, what? The Chasseurs said they weren’t around even during the day yesterday!”
Giselle Darby, who also rushed to the side of Damien de Mirbeau, who was startled when he woke up, said.
“It looks like they kept their distance and then marched overnight.”
“That crazy number of troops will march out of formation and continue the battle across the river? “Is that okay?”
Giselle Darby muttered lowly as she looked through the telescope at the Krafte army, which was mechanically approaching from across the river without showing signs of fatigue.
“…I guess Krafte-kun will do.”
“Hey, anyway, Mirbosun is strong! If we take cover and block the river, we can stop it-”
Before Damien could finish his words, gunshots rang out.
“Everyone take cover in the trenches! “Please stop wasting shells on those idiots!”
The revolutionary army naturally hid in the trenches and expected the shells to pass overhead.
however.
Instead of the sound of a cannonball cutting through the air, I began to hear a roar that was slowly but surely getting closer.
“what?”
Without realizing it, I looked up at the sky and saw the revolutionary army.
The shells were falling in a parabola above their heads.
“What is that-”
Before the revolutionary army could figure out what it was, a shell flew over their heads and exploded, scattering sparks and fragments.
“Uuuuuuuuu-!”
“Aaaah! “My arm, my arm!”
The explosive shells fired by the Krafte army’s howitzers exploded on the heads of the soldiers hiding in Damien’s trench line, which had merely dug deep into the ground, devastating them.
“A crazy howitzer?”
Damien was shocked.
This does not mean that the revolutionary army did not develop howitzers.
An experimental howitzer was developed and tested several times for the purpose of killing in field or siege warfare.
However, unlike regular cannons that can be fired directly, it is a cannon that requires the essence of ballistics, so it was concluded that it would be difficult to hit it properly unless you were a truly skilled artilleryman.
However, they are pouring a lot of the artillery fire from the howitzers onto Damien’s trench lines, killing the soldiers.
“They just shot the cannon after eating. They’re not crazy people!”
“What should I do, Your Excellency?”
“Hold on! “You can’t kill all the soldiers with just howitzers anyway!”
No matter how much it flies or crawls, it is a weapon that ultimately shoots at random and explodes above the head with a pre-operated fuse.
We are helpless against shells exploding precisely on top of the trench, and casualties are actually increasing, but not many shells are fired that accurately, and even if they miss a little, the protection of the trench is effective to some extent.
“Send a messenger to the main station and hold out until reinforcements arrive! “It’s possible if you’re next to a river!”
“…Your Excellency the Count?”
Damien, who was talking urgently, accepted the telescope given by Giselle Davie and looked in the direction she pointed with her hand.
And I could see Krafte carrying something long and thick.
“What is that again?”
“…It looks like a pre-built pontoon bridge. Perhaps they planned to cross the Rhine River by surprise from the beginning…”
“Fuck you. What can they do if they cross the bridge and are exposed to gunfire? Deliver it to Kazel! “Tell them to protect the river no matter what!”
“All right!”
“Ah, send the Aquitaine lieutenant too! “He’s a wizard, so tell him to destroy the pontoon bridge or whatever!”
“four!”
When Damien glanced at Giselle running and giving instructions to the messengers, he raised the telescope with an anxious look on his face, but then became scared.
The flag of an eagle holding a royal scepter is fluttering in the distance behind enemy lines.
“Shit…”
When Damien saw that, he trembled in shock and fear and muttered softly.
“Why is the Great King here?”
…
_
_
At the same time, the shell exploded, scattering sparks and fragments that shook the magic barrier that Lewis had spread.
“Thank you, wizard, no, lieutenant.”
After nodding to the confused soldier, Lewis started running again.
“The war situation is so messed up.”
Sergeant Durant, running behind, said.
That’s how Lewis sees it, too.
The explosive bomb fired from the howitzer did not have the destructive power or accuracy to wipe out all the soldiers in the trench as Damien had thought.
But ‘Mirboseon’.
The trench ship that Damien had boasted about in the war against the Empire cannot properly protect them, and the psychological impact of seeing a new weapon for the first time is having a greater impact than expected.
The soldiers looked intimidating at first glance, and some looked with horror at the rapidly approaching wave of black uniforms, or some were crouching in the trenches and shaking.
“Ready to fire, ready to fire! How long are you going to crouch in the trench? That doesn’t mean your head won’t fly off! Get your guns! Aim at the enemy!”
Passing by the scene where the sergeants were shouting and urging the soldiers, Louis approached General Peter de Casel.
“General Kazel! This is Lieutenant Louis Dakiten! “We have come as reinforcements by order of His Excellency Commander Mirbo!”
“Ah, high-ranking wizard! Okay, you came at just the right time. Enemies will have to take considerable damage while crossing the river. Anyway, our soldiers in the trenches-”
Kazel’s words were cut off by an explosion of gunfire.
“What kind of idiot is this that fires before it even gets within range!”
“Oh no, General!”
“What isn’t it?”
“They are enemies! “The enemy is shooting!”
“What?”
At that moment, gunshots were heard again in the distance, and the soldier who was pointing his gun in the trench with only his head exposed fell into the trench with a thud.
“omg…!”
Both Lewis and Kazel flagged down the sight of blood flowing from between the soldier’s eyebrows.
Meanwhile, Sergeant Durand, who stuck his head out of the trench, took a look and said.
“It’s Shutchen.”
“What what?”
“It has a certain reputation in the empire, but it is a skirmisher operated by the Krafte army. “With a gun engraved with rifling or something, you can shoot more accurately at a greater distance than the line infantry.”
At that moment, a magical barrier flashed in front of Sergeant Durand and made a ting sound, blocking the bullet.
“Like this.”
Both Kazel and Luis were speechless as they saw Sergeant Durang smiling and bending down again.
Lewis, too, raised his head while wearing a magical barrier and could see enemy soldiers on the other side of the river lowering their posture and firing with proper aim at a distance where it was difficult to expect a hit with the line infantry’s fire.
When the enemy begins to cross the river, the soldiers who put their heads above the trenches to stop them with a volley of fire are shot down one by one by the enemy’s skirmishers.
Even so, the soldiers, who had been intimidated by the howitzer’s bombardment, were hiding in the trenches and shaking, unable to even think of showing their heads, let alone firing a salvo.
The majesty of the Krafte army, which drove in the revolutionary army in the trench line with the bombardment of howitzers and sniping from shootens, and approached with great strides while carrying a pontoon bridge.
Peter de Casel, who saw the scene, spat out with a pale face.
“…Crazy war machines. How can we stop something like that?”
