I Will Be The Crowned King

Vol 4 Chapter 159: Eye-opener!

Remember for a second【】

Although the soldiers of the advance army were not very willing, as the orders continued to be issued, they still began to gradually shrink the line of defense, allowing the enemy to occupy many peripheral nodes that the two sides had repeatedly competed for.

The army of the empire...especially the troops on the eastern front had actually been out of control. Since they launched a counter-offensive against Bernard's order, they could no longer get any effective orders, and they were even less aware of the actual situation on the battlefield. Instinctively fleeing for his life, he didn't even think about how to fight the advance army.

In fact, if only one infantry regiment was left to pull with the advance corps in front, and the remaining troop columns would attack the shelling point on the north side, the power of the artillery bombardment of the Black Reef Port line would be greatly weakened, and at the same time, it would directly threaten the flank of the advance corps.

As a result, they chose to arrange the three infantry regiments to form a compact offensive column, and attacked the advance army along the trenches on the position... Even without the artillery assist of Black Reef Harbor, Anson had sufficient confidence that the opponent would encounter King Clovis. In front of the flag, one-third of the bodies were dropped.

Of course, the advance army must have retreated long before that, and he would not fight this kind of battle that cut off the way back and was doomed to heavy casualties.

The reckless offensive made it difficult for the main imperial forces on the western front to provide any meaningful cover or support. The only thing they could do was to send cannon fodder to disperse and disrupt the defense line of the advance army; Aid was meaningless, too, as they slowly crumbled under crossfire.

The strength of the imperial soldiers and even the military system is undoubtedly demonstrated at this moment: although the command system has lost its meaning and morale has dropped sharply, it still maintains a high degree of organization, and the various columns and phalanxes with battalion and company units are still intact...even After the advance corps had retracted its defenses, some of the companies that were aware of this immediately launched a counter-offensive.

Compared with the vassal army, which was quickly defeated after being shelled, the gap between the two sides was a world of difference - although this gap not only did not reduce, but instead increased the casualties of the soldiers of the Eastern Front.

On the empty and smoke-filled battlefield, the crowded phalanx is almost an excellent "coordinate indicator" for artillery and skirmishers - aiming, firing, and closing your eyes can take a few lives.

Unable to see the enemy, the Imperial Line Privateers could only shoot in the direction from which the gunfire came, not hurting the skirmishers hiding in shallow trenches and bunkers at all.

But in fact, they only need to expand the troops and use skirmish lines to impact the shrinking advance army positions, which can greatly reduce the casualties caused by artillery and cold guns.

The officers of the Empire's Eastern Front Army were obviously aware of this problem, but they had nothing to do - unlike Clovis, the Empire did not have a tradition of "skirmishers". , whether they can get together again is a big problem.

Once an order like a full-line charge is issued, there is no turning back. Unless there is a last resort or there is an order from a superior, the officers are reluctant to let the troops die directly.

While these officers were still struggling to decide whether to give it a go and use their heads to push down the Clovis line of defense, the Colonial Minister made the final decision for them:

At 13:45, the imperial artillery position launched a second round of artillery coverage on the northern gap and the Black Reef Port defense line.

……………………

"Enemy fire strikes - everyone hides, hides!"

Almost at the same time that the fire was lit in the imperial artillery position, the defenders of the Black Reef Harbor had already noticed it and quickly reported it to gain time to prepare and respond.

But it is a pity that they are still a step late, because this round of artillery fire is aimed at them - more precisely, the artillery position of the Heijiao Port defense line.

Accompanied by a trembling shriek, the raindrop-like shells had already swept across the sky under the gaze of a pair of terrified eyes, and flew to the air above the Black Reef Harbor defense line.

"Come on!"

As soon as the words fell, the top floor of the bunker collapsed under the impact of solid bullets. Thousands of rubble fragments swept through every corner of the fortress like a storm, blasting a harsh sound like a volley of thousands of muskets.

Although the Black Reef Port is one of the rebel colonies that is well-prepared, it is obviously impossible to expect them to build an iron wall to resist the bombardment of artillery positions due to their strength and capital.

Soon, the watchtower, which was used as a fort, was already crumbling, shattered from the inside to the outside, and ashes disappeared, leaving only rubble everywhere and broken walls that smelled of burnt stench.

But this is just the beginning... After easily knocking out a handful of artillery batteries on the Black Reef Harbor defense line, the imperial artillery positions continued to send artillery fire to the north of the Black Reef Harbor defense line.

Cannonballs like raindrops fell from the sky, covering almost all the corners where the star ring flag fluttered on a blue background. The roar of the explosion was almost uninterrupted, and the billowing black smoke swallowed the entire line of defense at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Cough cough! The Ring of Order... Bernard Morwes, is he stimulated by something?"

After a few hard coughs, Alexei carefully got out of the trench fortifications, and muttered to himself while looking at the golden-red tail flames that continued to draw arcs from the dome.

The defense line of Black Reef Harbor is built on the hills as a natural barrier. The advantage of this is that it is condescending, and only needs very simple fortifications to allow the Black Reef Harbor militia to have a defense comparable to the imperial army... The disadvantage is that it faces surprise and A weak fortification is a mere target when it comes to artillery fire.

As for the existing line of defense, Anson is not ready to reinforce it—after all, Bernard is not a fool, and will allow himself to build fortifications while abiding by the three-day pact—he chose to build a second real line of defense directly behind the original line of defense .

^0^ One second to remember【】

Anson, who was not very good at defensive warfare, followed the hillside at the back of the hill and completely reproduced the outer positions of the fortress of Major General Ludwig during the battle of Eagle Point City.

Of course, it's the "Youth Edition".

The manpower to build the fortifications is 4,000 black reef port militiamen who have been converted into engineers, and the materials and tools are the waste of the bombed port area. As for the time...

No more, no less, or three full days.

So when the seemingly devastating rain of bullets retaliated, the entire Black Reef Port defenders had already retreated to the second line of defense, waiting patiently until the shelling ended or the enemy launched a general attack.

What was left to the imperial artillery bombardment was an empty defense line with only a few scouts left behind.

"And this... This doesn't look like it's about to run out of ammunition and food! Spent the shells here, what is he going to do next to capture the Black Reef Harbor - with a pile of heads?"

A stray bullet happened to land near the trench, and Alexei, who was covered in mud, had confusion written all over his face.

It's not just him, the officers of the surrounding Black Reef Port defenders were even more surprised than him, all staring at the artillery fire flying in the sky like petrification, and countless gorgeous flowers blooming on the ground.

Through the binoculars and the reports of the scouts, they were shocked to learn that in addition to the outer defense line of Black Reef Harbor, the northern gap that the advance army was guarding was also being bombarded by the imperial artillery, and the momentum was even greater.

The officers and members of the Black Reef Harbor, who originally thought that the night of the port was terrifying enough, were completely stunned by the empire's willingness to spend all their money... Especially the Senator Pushwood, looking at the defense line that was completely shrouded in gunpowder smoke, his face There was no trace of blood on it.

Confused, he turned his head and looked at Alexei beside him with trembling: "Sir... that... he, are they okay?"

"Ah, you mean the advance army?"

Alexey was stunned for a moment, and then waved his hand in a sudden realization: "Even if you have ten thousand hearts, this equivalent of shelling is nothing at all.

"Scared, startled?!"

"Yeah, don't look at the loudness, but they are basically solid bullets - as long as they are not hit directly, and there are enough solid bunkers to hide, such a covered artillery bombardment on a solid position can cause very limited damage. "

Alexey didn't look back, and answered Pushwood's question like a chat: "And the artillery on the opposite side is not very good, both are eight-pounder and twelve-pounder field guns. When the two armies confronted each other. Very powerful, but not so much in siege battles - with the Crown's sixty-eight-pound gun, two salvos could send them all to the sky!"

For the night of the Great Warehouse Incident, it was already a lingering shadow for him.

But in Pushwood's ears, it completely turned into the Clovis people's contempt for the strength of the empire: the army in front of them was nothing to them, and defeating or even destroying them was just a matter of course.

This raises another question: Are the Clovis, with such a terrorist force, really willing to fight for the independence of the Confederacy without expecting anything in return in order to expel the imperial power?

Slightly twitching his throat, the terrified Pushwood curled up in the trenches and shivered, almost suffocating.

"And... instead of worrying about being blasted into the sky by the Empire's artillery, it's better to think about what to do next."

Looking at the shelling that had gradually ceased, Alexei suddenly spoke.

Next...Pushwood shrank his neck sharply, desperately forcing his composure: "Yes, what will happen next?"

"That's why we built a second line of defense instead of strengthening the original position." Alexey sighed, his expression a bit ugly:

"Mr. Pushwood, I have one thing to trouble you."

"Please, please speak!"

"I'm going to rush to the western defense line with the main force of the Black Reef Port defenders later. You are responsible for leading 4,000 engineers to dig out the buried artillery from the ruins of the bunkers, and then take them back with the fastest speed. ."

"Remember, the faster the better, don't wait for the gunfire; if it's too late, destroy the artillery, and don't leave it in place anyway." Alexei's expression was unprecedentedly solemn: "I repeat, Qian Don't wait for the gun to go off."

"As soon as the gun rings, you can't run away!"

Looking at his almost murderous gaze, Pushwood nodded frantically, pursing his mouth tightly, not daring to speak.

………………

At fourteen o'clock, the shelling finally ended.

Under the choking strong smoke, the slightly red muzzle finally stopped roaring one after another; two consecutive rounds of shelling not only almost exhausted the inventory of the minister in charge, but also exhausted these war machines.

At least for a short period of time, they can no longer show their due power.

Although it failed to cause considerable damage to the enemy, it has also destroyed the most deadly northern fort of the Black Reef Port defenders, and the greatest threat to the Eastern Front has disappeared.

In other words, the gap occupied by the advance army has once again become an isolated island with no help on all sides; if they launch a full-scale offensive again, their best end is to be defeated and withdrawn to the Black Reef Harbor defense line.

But the imperial army, which is about to lose patience, is no longer ready to waste time on this small "murmur".

Sir Sadow on horseback was expressionless, quietly staring at the flag of the Clovis King Unicorn, which had long been damaged but still fluttered tenaciously on the gap.

Just ten minutes ago, he placed a cover east

^0^ One second to remember【】

The order for the retreat of the line army—three thousand ragged and unkempt vassals rushed to the advance army’s position after they had assembled.

These people are almost still alive, the last batch of vassals... There is no military flag, no organization, only four or five people can be allocated a rifle, and two people use a bayonet; the former fell, and the latter picked him up weapons continue to attack.

Obviously, this kind of "army" with extremely poor equipment, no organization and no morale, can't defeat the advance army at all; every ten for one with the Clovis is the blood of the empire, not to mention the recapture of the occupied one. position.

But Sir Sado doesn't care, he only needs to use these 3,000 men in exchange for the 3,000 freshmen on the Eastern Front to safely withdraw from the position. Casualties are additional surprises.

If these 3,000 soldiers and their officers who "disobeyed the military order" wanted to escape the military law, the only option was to take the lead in the next Black Reef Harbor siege~www.wuxiaspot.com~ with fearless morale and Paoze's Flesh, open the door to Black Cay Harbor for Lord Bernard Morwis.

Yes, no more sieges... If the Imperial army, which is almost out of ammunition, can't take Black Reef Harbor before nightfall, all they have to do is complete defeat.

Either conquer the Black Reef Harbor and turn the corner, or go back to Sail City in disarray, waiting to be attacked by liberal traitors and Clovisers.

For Bernard and the entire counterinsurgency army, it was a big gamble.

Now, it depends on whether the Clovis people on the opposite side are willing to accept it.

"Aleksey Dukasky... This name doesn't sound like a Clovis, but has the style of a wealthy family in the south of the empire." Sir Sado muttered to himself, subconsciously touching the saber's knife on his waist handle:

"I don't know if you really have the confidence to defeat us, or are you just bluffing and betting the lives of tens of thousands of people on the gambling table without realizing it?"

"Come on, let me open my eyes!"

Dear, this chapter is over, I wish you a happy reading! ^0^

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