Conquer Europe from the West

Chapter 154 Cossack Cavalry

The Imperial First Army reacted much faster than the Twenty-Seventh Army and the Fourth Army.

Shortly after the mobile artillery began bombarding the Imperial Army's positions, the soldiers of the First Army were all in combat readiness.

The loose troop deployment also meant that the soldiers on the front lines were almost impossible to be bombarded and thrown into chaos like the 27th, 17th, or even the 4th Army.

However, the assault company soldiers still managed to break into the Imperial Army's lines without incident.

Faced with the MP-14 submachine gun, which boasts a rate of fire and firepower comparable to a machine gun, the Imperial First Army's defenses crumbled almost instantly.

But Brinkman still sensed something was amiss.

Although the assault company's attack was very effective and successfully tore apart the Imperial Army's defenses, it did not reduce the Imperial Army's resistance much.

Almost instinctively, she pulled down the red sunglasses that had been modified to resemble windproof sunglasses and looked into the thick white fog ahead.

The infantry of the Imperial First Army, organized by squad, would occasionally peek out from the trenches, throw a few grenades, and then immediately retreat back into the trenches, never to show their faces again.

Many other troops, after throwing their grenades in response to the sound, immediately moved in other directions without any intention of stopping.

Is it because of the military?

Sensing something was amiss, Brinkman frowned, pulled out his signal pistol, and gestured for the two three-man teams to move backward, preparing to use the Empire's machine guns to build their own machine gun positions.

Immediately afterwards, she fired two signal flares flashing green into the sky, ordering her troops not to attack in the direction indicated by the flares, while looking at Ryan, who was less than a few horse lengths away from her: "Colonel, it seems that the First Army has already set up a counterattack line!"

"It's not a big problem!"

Raine held a double-barreled shotgun that looked much like an old-fashioned handgun, firing wildly at the trenches to the side before riding up to Brinkman's side: "The First Army is not those idiots from the Twenty-Seventh and Seventeenth Armies. They are the main force of the First Army Group. Otherwise, the Empire would not have entrusted them with the task of guarding the flanks and launching attacks on the railway system."

With that, Rein reached out and ripped off the transmitter of the Honor Communication device on Brinkman's back: "Fire the beam anywhere, and then the farther away the better!"

"Yes!"

Brinkman immediately pulled on the reins and steered his horse to the side and back.

The troops that had previously obeyed her orders immediately followed Rein, clearing out the enemy troops in the surrounding trenches in rhythm with him.

However, there were not many troops appearing in front of them.

The troops, with the second platoon of the assault company at their core, moved along the trenches dug by the First Army at almost a sprint, but they encountered only one-third of the resistance they had expected.

This gave the soldiers in the second platoon a very strange illusion, as if they were just running along the trenches instead of fighting.

But Renn did not ask them to slow down.

This puzzled the second platoon leader who was leading his troops to the front line. In his view, if they had moved more than a few hundred meters in the trenches at the front line and had not seen much resistance, it should generally be assumed that the enemy had withdrawn or that the enemy had not held the front line at all.

He unconsciously began to look at Raine and his comrades around him.

Beyond the lenses of the yellow, etched gas mask lay a vast expanse of white. Each time Rennes' warhorse passed in front of him, it made a clattering sound, much like woodworking.

Around him, his soldiers remained on high alert, observing the four axes. He could confirm their status by observing the expansion and contraction of their soft leather gas masks—a skill every soldier and officer should possess.

at last.

As the second platoon moved a full kilometer toward the easternmost edge of the battle line, and as groups of Ninth Army infantrymen began to emerge behind them, advancing through thick smoke, Ryan reined in his horse.

The restless horses stood on the high mounds of earth, occasionally kicking up the soil with their hooves. The second platoon leader could even see the steam rising from the horses in the already freezing air.

"Colonel."

He instinctively pulled out his signal pistol and fired an orange flare into the sky, signaling that the troops were about to continue their advance. At the same time, he ran breathlessly to Ryan's side.

The smoke shells fired by the 105mm howitzers of the mobile artillery could produce smoke for more than 180 seconds, and the smoke shells in their hands were enough to keep the Imperial First Army's positions shrouded in white smoke for a full hour.

Therefore, the second platoon leader was not worried that the Imperial Army would rush up the moment the smoke cleared; he was more worried that he would fall into the Imperial Army's encirclement: "Something's not right with these Imperial First Army soldiers!"

"Yes, I've found it."

Raine pulled on the reins, and the horse turned left and right, but always kept its eyes on the rear of the Imperial Army's position.

This puzzled the second platoon leader.

Because he had already seen from the sky the signal flares fired by the Second Battalion, which was leading the attack on the central part of the Imperial Army's defensive line, as well as the Ninth Army Group.

The honor communication beam that Lieutenant Brinkman had just activated stood somewhat crookedly on the left side of the center of the battlefield. Although she couldn't hear the sound of horses' hooves, she was certain that she was still alive—if the operator died, the beam would also disappear.

Further away, the sounds of machine gun fire could be heard.

The Imperial Army's Hotchkiss machine guns were far less crisp and melodious than the Empire's MG series, but their slow and muffled sound was enough to terrify most people.

It was at this moment that the second platoon leader suddenly discovered something.

Why can't he hear the machine gun?

In the last battle, the positions of the 27th Army of the Empire were almost completely filled with the sound of machine guns.

Almost all the assault company soldiers, as well as the Imperial machine gunners, were desperately trying to get their bullets into the enemy's brains and bodies, but on this front line belonging to the Imperial First Army, very few machine gun shots were heard.

Moreover, the cavalry that were supposed to cover the troops' attack were nowhere to be seen.

According to the initial plan, the cavalry should have reached the front line by now, and at least half of the troops should have completed their combat missions and begun to move to the rear.

Something is wrong, so wrong.

It was at this moment that Renn spoke up.

"Attention everyone, the Imperial Army is coming."

He looked at the map that covered almost the entire First Army front, and with that peculiar God's-eye view, gazed into the distance, separated from him by more than a dozen layers of thick smoke.

On that frozen land, covered in frost, stood a large contingent of Imperial cavalry.

They wore a distinctive black top hat and uniforms that were far more luxurious than those of ordinary Imperial Army soldiers, and carried gleaming, slender curved swords in their hands.

"what?"

The second platoon leader didn't understand why Ryan would suddenly say something like that, but he immediately prepared for battle.

The soldiers in the second platoon also dispersed, with those carrying submachine guns entering the trenches to stand ready, while those with only P08 and GW98 rifles lay down on the spot and found cover to hide themselves, looking in the direction that Rein was looking.

"Flag gun, blue."

Rein kept looking into the distance, quickly reloading his shotgun and saying, "Three shots in a row. Get the artillery in the rear to reload with grenades. The cavalry division's attack has been intercepted. Now it's just us."

"What?" The second platoon leader was shocked, but his hands did not stop.

He quickly changed his ammunition and looked toward the forefront of the Imperial front.

Three blue signal flares were launched into deep space, and the next moment, the bombardment ceased.

All troops immediately stopped what they were doing, and the beam of honor communication was cut off.

The location where several company commanders and the commanders led by Brinkman were located was suddenly hit by a bright red light, like a flashbang.

Further away, a bright flash of light immediately attracted the attention of the Imperial Army.

The fully armed Cossack cavalrymen stood scattered across the vast plain, looking toward the location of their enemy.

This was not impossible, because the red light was so intense that even through the thick smoke, they could still see the source of the red light and the Imperial soldiers standing in the vast white fog, holding rifles, submachine guns, pistols, and shovels.

"Has it been discovered?"

A Cossack cavalry lieutenant of the Empire gripped the reins of his beloved horse, the long sword in his hand reflecting a dazzling light.

A faint blue light shone around him, illuminating his Cossack cavalry uniform and giving his large black hat a mysterious glow.

"But they can't hold out for long."

A Cossack cavalry commander nearby said with a smile.

His long beard, like a hook, pointed high into the sky, and his face was beaming with a confident smile.

“Those guys in the Empire can’t stand up to us,” he said. “How long will it take for the smoke to clear?”

"Less than thirty seconds."

The lieutenant who had spoken earlier said, "It will be soon; we must seize the opportunity."

But before he could finish speaking, the Cossack cavalryman with the huge beard raised his saber above his head and shouted.

"For the Tsar! Hurrah!"

All of a sudden.

The same sound echoed throughout the entire battlefield.

A deafening roar instantly filled the battlefield as nearly a thousand warhorses charged simultaneously.

These cavalrymen and their warhorses were almost touching their comrades, forming several long lines along the battlefield that stretched for several kilometers, rushing at extremely high speed toward the vast white fog that was still illuminated by red light.

But before they could rush into the white mist, clusters of small black dots fell from the sky.

"Caught up!"

Behind them, the commander of the self-propelled truck artillery unit wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, looking at the smoke in front of him that had been completely dispersed by the shells from the 77mm and 105mm artillery, his face still showing shock.

However, this did not stop the Cossack cavalry who had already launched their charge.

The warhorses charged onto the battlefield as if they were about to crush the earth, tearing clear paths through the vast white fog.

They charged toward the brightest part of the battlefield, their sabers already poised to strike.

Even when some were blown to pieces by the cannonballs falling from the sky, and even when the mournful cries of horses rang out behind them, nothing could stop their charge.

As the most important cavalry unit of the Imperial Army's First Army Group, they had to make up for all the deficiencies when the frontline defenses were insufficient to stop the Imperial Army's charge.

And across from them.

Raine gripped his whistle, looked at the white mist ahead, and listened to the sound of horses' hooves gradually turning into a thunderous march. He spoke slowly.

"The Empire's Cossack cavalry are coming!"

"Everyone retreat slowly!! Prioritize the supply of ammunition for submachine guns!"

No sooner had the words been spoken than a chestnut-haired warhorse burst forth from the white mist.

It flew over the mound at an extremely high speed, its 500-kilogram body seemingly floating in the sky as if it were not subject to gravity, and then fell to the ground at an extremely slow speed.

The cavalrymen on horseback spotted Renn immediately.

"Big stuff!"

His eyes blazed with fury, and he swung his saber, slicing through the white mist.

But what awaited him was a shotgun that Ryan had prepared beforehand.

A single slug easily tore through the Cossack officer's jeweled shield, and the subsequent shrapnel blasted him and his horse into a flying mass of blood, which fell limply to the ground, splashing water everywhere.

same moment.

The surrounding soldiers also saw the cavalry following closely behind.

The MP-14's muzzle then spewed out merciless fire, the 9mm bullets like the Grim Reaper's scythe, swiftly and efficiently reaping all the cavalrymen trying to find prey in the white fog.

Meanwhile, the soldiers wielding long spears threw all the grenades they had into the smoke ahead, attempting to intercept the cavalry that had not yet charged forward.

The second platoon leader fired his P-08 at several Cossack cavalrymen who were trying to approach him, while simultaneously pulling out his whistle and blowing the retreat whistle with Renn.

The soldiers in the second platoon quickly retreated and began to take turns providing cover for their comrades who had not yet retreated.

Other directions of the battlefield.

Without the slightest hesitation, the Imperial soldiers who had already occupied the front-line trenches began to retreat rapidly at the relay-like whistles of their officers, quickly escaping the smoke's coverage.

The Cossack cavalrymen keenly sensed the Imperial army's retreat, but the smoke obscured their view of the situation.

But their warhorses wouldn't allow them to stop at such a precious moment.

These sharp-witted horses, already spurred on by the massive charge and the constant explosions of cannons hitting the ground, dared not stop and charged madly toward the front.

Finally, as they carried their riders, they burst out of the dissipating white fog at a speed of sixty kilometers per hour.

Only then did the Cossack cavalrymen realize with horror.

The imperial soldiers were waiting for him outside the white mist, fully armed.

(End of this chapter)