Conquer Europe from the West

Chapter 147 Target—The Flanking Force of the Empire

Not long after Leningcamp's orders were passed down, François began to lead his First Army to the southern front.

Rennes knew that it would take at least a full day for the First Army to completely withdraw from the front lines, so he did not disturb François.

But he didn't do nothing.

Around that same night, just as the First Army headquarters was about to withdraw from the battlefield, Renne had Brinkman send an MP-14 submachine gun as a gift to François.

This made François extremely happy, but he was soon overwhelmed by the fallen soldiers in Rennes's army and the matter of returning the gifts.

Then his adjutant remembered that Ryan had lit his cigarette earlier and suggested that a machine gun platoon could be left to Ryan temporarily as compensation for not being able to protect the soldiers of the Second Battalion.

François thought about it for a long time before nodding in agreement.

However, he didn't leave behind a machine gun platoon; instead, he sent Ryan three heavy machine guns and a Ford sedan for his own use.

He had heard that the Second Battalion of Rennes had no intention of equipping its troops with heavy weapons in order to ensure the speed of marching.

Just then, his men were about to withdraw from the battlefield, and many of their belongings were difficult or impossible to take with them. The area around Lake Masurie was not suitable for deploying heavy machine guns on a large scale, so he simply left them with Rein.

However, his plan was actually quite sound.

Because Rennes really does lack heavy machine guns and cars.

This is mainly because the current Imperial Army trucks all have wooden wheels covered with a layer of rubber. Their driving stability and passability are only theoretical; once they leave paved roads, their true capabilities are immediately revealed.

The Ford cars left by François were among the few models that used pneumatic tires and hydraulic shock absorbers.

Compared to trucks, this thing is faster, has better maneuverability, and offers a better riding experience.

The only problem is.

"Where do you find a Type A car these days?"

Sitting in the Ford sedan given to him by François, Renne watched somewhat awkwardly as Brinkman excitedly flipped the power window switch, his gaze fixed on the distant sky amidst the flickering lights.

Then he heard Brinkman and the Second Battalion Commander's excited voices: "This is a brand new vehicle that was only finalized before the start of the war this year! There are probably less than ten of them in the whole country. Even His Majesty the Emperor couldn't bear to buy them!"

Renn wasn't sure whether he should flatter the two of them or change the subject, so he could only awkwardly say, "Well, he's quite generous..."

However, he soon realized how he should handle the Type A car.

Compared to the Opel sedans and Mercedes-Benz cars currently being provided to the front lines by the command, the biggest difference between the Type A car that François sent was that it did not have a roof and had two rows of seats of the same height in the front and back.

This design might not seem special, but Ryan thought it would be better to mount the heavy machine gun that was given to him directly on the passenger seat or the back seat.

In this way, the previously lacking heavy machine gun firepower was guaranteed, and because the vehicle had good shock absorption equipment, it could still fire to a certain extent even while moving.

Considering that the troops would be operating alongside cavalry units, such modifications would obviously provide significant assistance to the frontline troops.

Just do it.

Ryan immediately got out of the car and said to Brinkman, "Go and find the guy who welds machine gun mounts for motorcycles, and have him weld a heavy machine gun mount onto the passenger seat or the back seat of this vehicle."

Brinkman was used to this kind of thing, so she immediately took the order and ran away.

The second battalion commander looked at the precious Type A vehicle with a regretful expression, and returned to his battalion command post with a few glances back.

Soon, evening arrived.

The First Reserve Army acted much faster than Rennes had anticipated.

Although it was called a reserve force, only their 36th Reserve Division was actually present.

However, when combined with the Third Reserve Division under General von Morgan, it barely met the organizational requirements of a corps-level unit.

At this moment, inside the Insterburg front command post.

As Raine watched the Z331 airship, which had completed its resupply and was beginning to ascend into the sky, he lifted the tent flap and crawled inside: "How is the First Army's withdrawal operation going?"

His appearance and voice immediately drew the attention of everyone in the command post.

Brinkman, who had been waiting inside, quickly grabbed a document and handed it to Rein: "The last unit of the First Army began withdrawing from the battlefield two hours ago, and it is expected to take another hour to withdraw from the front line."

"One hour?"

Ryan glanced at his watch: "Then they're going to miss tonight's train."

Brinkman: "They are soldiers from the 34th Infantry Regiment, who were originally scheduled to return to Insterburg tonight for rest."

"Oh, Frederick's men."

Rein immediately remembered Frederick's earlier message about having his troops cover the rear: "Then let them continue their retreat. It's late at night; there shouldn't be any problems."

As he spoke, he walked around to the side of the command post and looked at the aerial photographs that had just been developed. Currently, the total number of troops that could be mobilized at the front was no more than 20,000. Even if you include the Second Battalion and the assault company, that's less than 21,000 people, which is very few.

There was simply no opportunity to send out scouts to conduct reconnaissance.

Therefore, last night, Ryan spoke with Colonel Schmidt, hoping they could fly up and take some photos whenever they had free time, so as to help the ground troops confirm the movements of the Imperial Army.

Schmidt was clearly a seasoned veteran. As soon as it was light today, he took his ship to an altitude of over 3,000 meters. He used a makeshift machine gun to drive away the surrounding Imperial Army reconnaissance planes while taking a barrage of photos of the ground. He then washed the photos on the spot, which allowed him to deliver the large number of photos to the command post after landing.

However, when Raine arrived at the command post, Z331 had already taken off again, so the photos he saw were already confirmed to have specific locations, and he didn't need to identify the target himself.

"Even the First and Fourth Armies of the Empire have ceased their operations."

The first thing Ryan checked was the movements of the First and Fourth Armies, but just like the intelligence from a few days ago, neither of the two armies had left their posts.

Of course, the troops are in much better condition than they were a few days ago, which is obviously due to improved supplies.

“Yes,” Brinkman said from the side, in a voice that wouldn’t disturb the other officers.

"Captain Schmidt confirmed the exact locations of the First and Fourth Armies multiple times during his reconnaissance, and so far there are no signs that they are advancing."

"This is a good thing."

Ryan nodded: "How are the other units doing?"

"They're all pretty much the same."

Brinkman said, "But the number of personnel in the 27th Army has decreased, and the density of the firepower network on the front line is also declining. I don't know the specific reasons."

"Didn't they bring in replacements from the rear?"

"No."

Brinkman shook his head: "Colonel Schmidt has been observing for two days. The Empire has not replenished the 27th Army with personnel since the end of the war."

Looking at the photo Brinkman handed him, Ryan was momentarily filled with doubt.

"Something's wrong."

he thought.

In previous battles, the Empire's attack on the 27th Army had wiped out at least two or three regiments of their men. Although this was not the total number of soldiers killed, at least that many men had lost their fighting ability in the battle.

However, the Imperial Army has not immediately dispatched troops to fill the gap, and is even withdrawing soldiers, which is obviously abnormal.

After thinking for a while, Ryan decided to put the matter aside for the time being.

After all, they had already launched an attack on the 27th Army's position once before, so launching another attack now would certainly not have the same effect as last time.

Moreover, the previous attacks had given some Imperial Army soldiers valuable combat experience, and if it happened again, it might even be a case of more harm than good.

Based on Ryan's current thinking, he hopes to have his troops carry out a surprise attack on either the First or Fourth Army.

In short, the main force continued to launch a feint attack on the 27th Army, while the cavalry and mobile forces directly attacked the flanks to penetrate the enemy's positions.

This method may not be enough to destroy the enemy's fighting will, but it can make the Imperial Army misjudge the direction the Empire will attack next.

More importantly, the occasional attacks by the main force would mislead Leningkamp into believing that the Empire's main force was still in front of him, but after each attack, he would be unable to continue advancing and thus fail to expand his gains.

Given that the battle has already begun, all that Rein needs to do now is hold out until three days later.

During this process, he could launch two or three operations, the purpose of which was simply to deter the Imperial First Army from launching a frontal offensive at will.

This will also provide the best cover for friendly forces that are encircling the main force of the Imperial Second Army.

At the same time, General Morgan, commander of the 3rd Reserve Division, also stepped forward.

He looked at the map, said a few words to his colleague, and then aimed the artillery at the 17th Army, which was located south of the 27th Army.

"Colonel Frieger," he said, "we are prepared to begin artillery bombardment of the 17th Corps tonight."

"Your unit intends to launch an offensive against the 17th Army?"

Raine glanced at von Morgan and felt that doing so was somewhat dangerous.

But von Morgan immediately shook his head, denying Ryan's opinion.

He said, "We are not planning to attack."

"We are only prepared to use artillery to tie down the 17th Army. The troops we really want to attack are their 4th Army!"

(End of this chapter)