Conquer Europe from the West

Chapter 150, 105 Pomegranates! Full of energy!

Raine's orders were not delivered to the various units immediately.

The reason is that, compared to combat orders, orders concerning the logistics system always have a higher priority.

Especially now that the empire does not have an absolute military advantage.

Insterburg frontline military railway station.

The winds of late October set off relentlessly from the Empire, hurtling southwards and accelerating across the vast plains of East Prussia, carrying away all the heat it could.

Every corner of the train station was illuminated by electric lights, making it look like a transparent plastic toy. Soldiers coming and going wore brand-new uniforms and carried GW98s that shone brightly and were clearly carefully waxed and oiled.

They brazenly emerged from the train carriages and, under the command of their captain and staff, left the station, striding towards the front-line trenches facing the Imperial Twenty-Seventh Army.

On the platform.

Ryan took a small puff of his cigarette, flicked the still-embering butt onto the train tracks, and looked out towards the outermost edge of the platform.

In the darkness, fully armed Imperial soldiers were orderly boarding the train carriages, and would return to the station in two hours.

Exhaling the last puff of smoke, Ryan maintained his posture of surveying the troops and asked the man standing beside him, "When will the reinforcements be able to board the next train?"

"It will take at least an hour and a half, and at most two and a half hours."

Major Meyer, from the Ninth Army Logistics Support Unit, glanced at his notebook and casually remarked, "But we can't do that after dawn. There's no one at Railway Line 2. Maybe we can..."

Before he could finish speaking, Ryan interrupted him, saying, "After dawn, there's no need for anyone to come up."

"but……"

Major Meyer was taken aback, and his gaze toward the soldiers who were boarding the vehicles under the cover of darkness changed.

His mission was to create the illusion that troops were being urgently transferred from the rear to support the front in Insterburg by constantly transporting two groups of soldiers back and forth between Insterburg and Königsberg in the rear.

Insterburg currently has two railways: one leads directly to the front lines and was hastily built after the start of the war, and the other is a civilian railway in the city center.

Logically, at night, due to transportation reasons, the front-line railway would be used to facilitate the disembarkation and movement of soldiers. During the day, in order to alleviate supply pressure, soldiers would be allowed to disembark at Insterburg and then walk 15 kilometers to the front line.

This was the idea of ​​the General Staff, and also a smokescreen tactic that Major Meyer considered quite good.

But Renn didn't think so.

He struck another match, lit a new cigarette, and then said, "You don't really think those blind men in the Empire can see clearly what our soldiers are doing, even from dozens of kilometers away across an entire battlefield, do you?"

This immediately made Major Meyer realize what was happening.

Although the winds in East Prussia are strong and frequent, the weather around Insterburg has been quite smoggy and overcast due to the recent military standoff and shelling.

Major Meyer instinctively looked up at the sky.

Although the deep blue night sky was devoid of any starlight, the surging dark clouds that were almost touching the ground were clearly illuminated by the searchlights inside Insterburg.

The Z331 Wave-class airship maintained an altitude at which only its hull and part of its bridge were visible above the clouds, so searchlights would occasionally sweep across its location.

That unique silvery-white light appeared almost every few minutes, as if deliberately shown to the Imperial Army.

In comparison…

Major Meyer turned his gaze toward the Imperial Army's positions in the distance.

Two traditional airships are using cables to tether themselves to a mooring tower and are operating their thrusters at full power to maintain a relatively fixed position in the sky.

Meyer obviously couldn't see what the people inside were doing, but he could assure them with his own head that the people of the Empire were definitely using binoculars to observe everything happening in the train station.

However, this is based on the premise that it is at night and the station is exceptionally well-lit.

When daylight came, the artillerymen of the Empire and the Imperial Kingdom began to greet each other, and as the temperature rose, a continuous drizzle began to fall. Presumably, the Imperial Kingdom could only guess whether the Empire's train had arrived at the station by observing the changes in the color blocks.

"I am very sorry, it was my oversight, Colonel Friege."

Major Meyer lowered his head almost immediately, re-examining himself and the soldiers around him.

Ryan didn't care about such things; he had too many things to consider, and using train schedules to pretend to transport a large contingent was just one of them.

More importantly, he was waiting for an army.

That cavalry unit that the Eighth Army was so proud of.

In the ensuing battle, Rein will command his troops to launch an assault and encirclement operation against the First Army of the Imperial First Army Group.

This operation required soldiers and cavalry to travel by train, braving the Empire's attacks, for fifteen kilometers, and then immediately return on foot or horseback after completing the operation.

For the current Imperial forces, this is an extremely challenging operation.

But for the soldiers of the Second Battalion and the Assault Company, it was not an impossible operation.

Because of the railway tracks, there are very sturdy and stable dirt roads built around the railway, which allows Ryan to make full use of his forty trucks and twenty motorcycles.

The soldiers' conserved energy is enough for them to engage in a high-intensity battle that lasts for several hours, and the presence of the train also allows these soldiers to be immediately withdrawn from the battlefield after a failed attack.

"No, this has nothing to do with Major Meyer."

While thinking about the upcoming battle, Rein placed a step at Major Meyer's feet and offered him a cigarette.

Major Meyer accepted the cigarette, somewhat flattered, and then pulled out a brand new Zippo lighter and lit it.

This made Renn frown, wondering why everyone was using lighters. However, he still got down to business: "After all, we haven't developed to the point where we can annihilate the enemy from hundreds or even thousands of kilometers away. Open and aboveboard transportation will naturally become a focus of enemy surveillance, so it's normal for you to be worried."

"Let's start transporting troops by empty trains this morning, and then arrange for two shifts of soldiers to come in shifts tonight. But I don't think the Imperial Army will have a chance to scout by the day after tomorrow."

"Are they about to launch an attack?"

Meyer instinctively spoke, but immediately realized he had said the wrong thing: "Just pretend I didn't say anything."

“It doesn’t matter anymore, just relax.” Ryan didn’t look at Major Meyer because he could already hear the sound of horses’ hooves.

As all the soldiers on the train in front of them left the platform, the train from behind gradually moved forward, accompanied by the muffled or crisp sound of hooves coming from the carriages behind.

"Yes……"

Major Meyer's voice turned somewhat somber; Rein's words had clearly not reassured him.

Some weak footsteps reached Renne's ears, and a moment later they appeared on the adjacent platform.

Ryan continued to watch the train in front of him, and finally waited until the side door of the freight car was pushed open.

The air, thick with the stench of livestock, was instantly dispersed by the howling cold wind. The officers and lieutenants leading their horses soothed their beloved steeds while intentionally or unintentionally glancing at the platform to the side.

One of the leading sergeants immediately spotted the imperial sword hanging at Rein's waist.

"Excuse me!"

Upon seeing this, Ryan quickly handed the reins to a colleague standing nearby, then trotted up to him, saluting and calling out, "Are you Colonel Ryan Freig?"

"Put your hands down first."

Rein immediately pressed the young sergeant's hand down, then looked at everyone in the carriage: "This is the front line. You don't need to salute anyone here!"

The sergeant looked clearly hesitant, muttering to himself, "But..."

Seeing this, Brinkman, who had been standing in the corner, immediately stepped forward: "This is an order issued by the colonel after the start of the war. His Majesty the Emperor also agreed to this approach, but it has not yet been implemented in all troops."

The sergeant looked at Brinkman with a puzzled expression: "Who are you?"

"My adjutant studied cavalry at the military academy, so he's your senior."

Ryan made up some nonsense without batting an eye, but it pleased him greatly.

The mobile artillerymen, who had previously held considerable resentment towards Brinkman, immediately straightened their expressions and postures. Even the sergeant holding the two reins instinctively straightened his back, looking respectful.

This made Brinkman's gaze towards Rein much more complicated, but fortunately, the military academy did indeed offer cavalry courses, so she wasn't worried about being exposed.

Raine then said, "Soldiers, state your names, unit numbers, and the current strength and organization of your mobile artillery."

"Yes!"

The sergeant immediately straightened his back and put his hands behind his back: "Report, Braun Fisher, rank sergeant, belongs to the Ninth Army, 3rd Cavalry Division, 11th Lancer Regiment, serving as platoon leader of the 6th Mobile Artillery Battalion."

"The entire team consists of 45 people, 16 horses, and four 105mm howitzers, all of which are now in place!"

"Yes, very energetic."

Ryan then patted the young man on the shoulder and turned to look inside the carriage.

The front carriage was crammed with ten people, two horses, and a 105mm howitzer.

The carriages behind were all similar, but there were also separate carriages for transporting horses and separate carriages for transporting ammunition.

Major Meyer had already sent men to unload supplies as soon as the carriage doors opened. The 105mm howitzer was indeed formidable; just dragging it out of the carriage took him a lot of effort.

Considering that the largest caliber cannon under Rein's command was only a 77mm field gun, the appearance of the 105mm cannon's muzzle and barrel alone was enough for Rein to understand that its power was far superior to the 77mm cannons he had.

These guns were even different from the 105mm guns he saw in the Vosges Mountains in episode 7. Episode 7 was still using the old 105mm guns from thirty years ago, with only average range and power. But the 105mm guns in episode 9 were all equipped with hydraulic muzzle brakes and auxiliary loading devices. The fixed support, which was less than two meters long, was enough to illustrate the advantage of this gun in mobile deployment operations.

"So……"

Sergeant Fisher glanced at Ryan's hand on his shoulder: "What is our mission?"

To ensure that the intelligence would not be leaked, Rein did not explain the details of the operation in his phone call to General Pritwitz, the commander-in-chief of the ninth episode, when he borrowed troops. Fortunately, the other party lent him troops out of respect for Rein; otherwise, Rein would not have known how he would have replenished the manpower of the mobile artillery.

But now that the troops have arrived at the front lines, there is no longer any need to hide it.

Therefore, Ryan said directly, "It's nothing, it's not a big deal, there's no need to worry."

“Then specifically…” Fisher’s expression immediately became somewhat serious. Pritwitz and his staff in the headquarters also liked to say this, so he almost reflexively thought that Rein’s mission would be difficult.

Raine replied in a very relaxed tone.

"Your mission is to cooperate with my troops and take the train to the front line after tomorrow evening. After moving twelve kilometers, you will launch an attack on the right flank of the Imperial First Army Group, that is, the First Army's position."

"Compared to other units, this is already a very easy task."

"Is that so... "

Fisher immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Seeing that he had no objections, Ryan immediately patted him on the back and, together with Brinkman and the logistics personnel, escorted him and the others to the road leading to the camp for rest.

Only Brinkman understood what was hidden beneath Ryan's facade, so she kept a straight face the whole time, looking like she didn't know whether to say anything or not.

Only after the truck had towed the group of young men and their horses to the camp did Brinkman look at Ryan and ask, "Aren't you afraid of incurring divine retribution for saying that?"

Ryan looked completely innocent: "What are you talking about? I'm not lying. Their mission is much easier compared to the Second Battalion and the Assault Company."

Brinkman's face darkened: "If dragging a field howitzer weighing several tons in front of tens of thousands of troops to carry out an artillery mission is considered easy, then I really can't think of any difficult mission..."

As she spoke, she turned her gaze to Major Meyer standing to the side.

The Imperial Major, who was over forty years old, was busy directing his engineers to drag the field guns to a controlled area on the side. He would have to do the same thing three more times.

She belatedly realized that Ryan had to repeat what she had just said three times...

Thinking about the upcoming operation, Brinkman felt his head spin, and he instinctively made the sign of the cross, muttering to himself, "I hope General Pritwitz won't hold a grudge against us for this."

(End of this chapter)