Conquer Europe from the West

Chapter 142 For the Empire! LOS! LOS! LOS!
After arranging everything, Ryan then went to the First Army's front-line headquarters again.

This spot was conveniently located behind the artillery regiment's position, a high vantage point offering a panoramic view of most of the battlefield.

General François, commander of the First Army, and his staff spent the entire night re-simulating the battle on the sand table. They also adjusted most of the details with Ryan, which finally ensured that most of the soldiers could be evacuated from the battlefield without interference with the assault company's operational plan.

And not long after that, Raine's command ship also arrived.

That's right, it's the Z331 Wave-class airship that Rein had instructed Platoon Leader Schulz to bring from the capital.

In fact, Rein wanted to summon all four airships at once, but unfortunately, ships 2, 3, and 4 were undergoing firepower upgrades—they were upgrading their single 40mm rotary cannon to three.

Therefore, only the first ship, which has been refitted, is able to participate in this battle.

But that's enough.

After all, even just one airship would be enough for Renn to show the commanders of those imperial kingdoms what a battlefield with the fog of war completely removed would look like.

On the other hand, Brinkman's efficiency was very fast.

She and the men from the Second Battalion successfully secured ten light machine guns and ten heavy machine guns to the sidecars of the twenty sidecar motorcycles in just two hours.

The soldiers of the 2nd Battalion's machine gun company, excited to receive their new toys, circled around the artillery unit. They even tried out the marching firing squad mode without firing, only to be harshly taught a lesson by reality.

However, the suppressive force of stopping to fire is also very strong, especially when two motorcycles form a team to support each other, then almost no one can stop them.

Soon, it was six o'clock in the morning.

After bidding farewell to the staff officers of the First Army, Ryan, together with General François, who insisted on taking a ride on the airship to see how he planned to command the troops, and one of his adjutants, boarded the Z331 airship.

The appearance of the First Army Commander immediately flattered Captain Schmidt, who was only an Air Force Colonel, but he quickly realized that Rein's position was currently at the same level as the Army Group Commander, and he quickly felt relieved.

"Time is up."

Not long after boarding the ship, the adjutant reported to Rennes, François, and Schmidt, who were already standing at the front of the bridge.

The three exchanged a glance, and then heard the first cannon shot.

The 210mm heavy artillery was like a hammer of destruction, sending countless shells into the sky, while the 150mm howitzer fired shells with a flatter trajectory. In just an instant, a large number of fast-moving, bright dots appeared in the dark sky.

They shone brightly in the sky for a fleeting moment before completely merging into the deep blue expanse, leaving only the distinctive booming sound of them tearing through the air.

Inside the airship's anchorage.

As the shelling began, Z331 immediately released the anchor cables used to secure the hull, and then released three tons of ballast water, beginning to leap into the sky at a speed of more than twenty meters per second.

The sudden acceleration almost knocked François to the ground, but fortunately the airship quickly reduced its climb rate and eventually came to a stop at an altitude of one thousand meters.

This is just the right height for Rennes to see the entire front line, and it's also the highest height that the telephone line itself can currently support.

That's right, two telephones were installed on Z331 last night—this was at Ryan's request, as he didn't want to communicate with the Second Battalion on the ground using plaintext telegrams from the air.

That would be so stupid.

Moreover, it was impossible for François to actually hand over all command duties to his own staff.

At the same time, the shells from the first round of shelling also landed on the ground.

Rein instinctively opened the system map.

In an instant, the battlefield, which included the entire First Army and the Twenty-Seventh Army of the Empire, appeared clearly before his eyes.

The first round of shelling was not very accurate, with many shells landing behind the Imperial Army's lines.

From the zoomed-in view, Renn could see the Imperial soldiers laughing heartily after the artillery fire went astray.

Although he couldn't understand the royal language, he could understand their actions.

He even saw many of the Imperial Army officers laughing uproariously.

Immediately afterwards, François's adjutant shouted from the bridge:
"Report! The first round of shelling has been confirmed to have hit the rear of the Imperial Army's position with precision. Only a few shells have landed inside the position!"

"Not bad!"

François excitedly slapped the armrest in front of him: "Those idiots in the Empire are probably laughing at our terrible artillery skills right now!"

Ryan's lips curled into a smile: "But their smiles won't last long."

That's right, this round of shelling was deliberately misfired.

All the artillery pieces used high-explosive shells, and the target was not the Imperial Army's position, but the road behind the Imperial Army's position.

During last night's battle, Rennes and François discussed tactics to completely cut off the Imperial forces' mutual support and retreat routes.

The final conclusion was that the land behind the Imperial Army's positions had to be completely destroyed by high-frequency artillery bombardment.

The morning temperature is already below zero, and the moist soil in East Prussia is currently in a state close to permafrost.

Intense artillery bombardment can completely uproot these permafrost areas, turning previously walkable roads into rugged and difficult-to-land wastelands.

For the soldiers of the Imperial 27th Army, this would completely cut off their supplies and make it almost impossible for them to retreat smoothly to the rear.

What's even more critical is that the 27th Army was the frontline unit of the Imperial First Army Group, and no other unit was closer to the Eighth Army Group's defenses.

Therefore, if other troops wanted to come to the rescue from the rear, they would have to pass through that land that had already been ravaged by the Empire...

In an era without tanks or troop carriers, they would have had no chance of passing through this land.

Raine overlaid the map with the battlefield as seen from the air.

As the artillery positions were constantly adjusted, a considerable number of 210mm shells soon began to fall into the Imperial Army's makeshift trenches and defensive lines.

The red dots representing the 27th Army on the map began to decrease slowly, while more soldiers began to voluntarily crawl into the underground bunkers they had dug.

This reduced the casualties caused by the shelling, but the Imperial soldiers were not afraid.

On the contrary, they were even excitedly discussing when the shelling would stop. This was exactly what Renne and his men wanted.

The previous five brief artillery bombardments each lasted forty-five minutes before stopping. This peculiar bombardment method had made the Imperial soldiers accustomed to the bombardments stopping every now and then.

It's important to understand that wars at this time often involved bombarding targets with artillery for an entire day without stopping, or even if there were interruptions, the bombardment would still continue for several days.

Its fundamental purpose was to disrupt the enemy's morale and gradually numb their soldiers to the endless bombardment, so as to ensure that the troops could gain a morale and psychological advantage in the next charge.

To the current Imperial commanders and soldiers, the intermittent shelling orchestrated by Rennes and François seemed more like a pause in the barrage to make it appear as if the troops had more ammunition to fire for a longer period.

This is also why they get so excited.

After all, once the Empire runs out of ammunition, the Imperial forces can launch an attack under the cover of friendly artillery fire.

That's how the difference between offense and defense comes about.

Unfortunately, they miscalculated.

As the time approached the forty-five-minute mark, on the bridge of Z331, François excitedly gripped his binoculars, his knuckles turning slightly white.

"The fate of the empire hinges on this!"

He muttered to himself, his ears perked up, not missing a single sound of gunfire.

He was waiting for the artillery to cease fire.

Rennes understood François's thoughts, but he didn't use the binoculars; instead, he simply looked at the distant Imperial positions.

It didn't take long.

The vibrating air suddenly quieted down.

The time was up, and the shelling stopped.

"it's time."

François immediately grabbed the microphone: "This is the front-line command. I order the entire artillery regiment of the 1st Field Artillery Regiment to be equipped with smoke shells. Target—the 27th Army's position!"

Before he finished speaking, Renn clearly saw the artillerymen at his feet stop what they were doing and stuff some special projectiles into the breech.

But they did not fire.

Because they had to wait for François's orders.

In the bridge.

François quickly heard the voice from the other end. He immediately handed the microphone to Rennes, and the voice of the commander of the 1st Infantry Division came through: "Colonel Frigg, the 1st Field Artillery Regiment is fully prepared! We can lay out smoke at any time!"

The voice of the 2nd Infantry Division Commander followed immediately: "2nd Field Artillery Regiment, 305mm Skoda howitzers are ready to fire at any time!"

Renn nodded in satisfaction, but did not give the order immediately.

He was waiting, waiting for the Imperial soldiers to emerge from that bunker.

Immediately afterwards, some small red dots began to move.

The soldiers of the Empire realized that this bombardment was another standard 45-minute bombardment, and they all crawled out of their makeshift bunkers and began to mock the Empire's artillery.

Before long, most of the soldiers returned to the ground and began to enjoy the bitter air tainted by gunpowder smoke.

At this point, less than two minutes had passed since the shelling ended.

Renn took the microphone, glanced at François, and then spoke.

"This is Blue Star."

"The bear has emerged from its den; it's time to hunt."

A burst of white noise came through the phone.

After a while, the voice of the commander of the 2nd Infantry Division came from there.

"Long live the Empire for victory!"

next moment.

Six 305mm Skoda howitzers and twelve 210mm howitzers opened fire simultaneously.

Just three seconds later, the First Field Artillery Regiment, which had been completely equipped with smoke grenades, opened fire with all 36 of its cannons.

The sudden impact of the shells blasted the Imperial Army officers, who were still mocking the Imperial artillery, into pieces.

Those Imperial soldiers who thought they could be safe for a while were immediately stunned. Only a very few reacted and frantically tried to crawl back into their bunkers.

But the smoke bomb that exploded immediately blinded them.

The pungent smoke made it difficult for them to even breathe or open their eyes. Countless soldiers collapsed to the ground, covering their mouths and noses with their coats in an attempt to make themselves feel better.

But soon, some of the soldiers closest to the front line discovered something to their horror.

Right in front of their own position.

Less than twenty meters away, in the soil where countless deep craters had been blasted by artillery fire.

A series of red beams of light began to appear, piercing the sky.

Immediately afterwards, terrifying shouts and piercing whistles echoed throughout the battlefield.

"For the Empire!"

"LOS! LOS! LOS!"

(End of this chapter)