Conquer Europe from the West

Chapter 156 Artillery Fire Descends from the Sky
after an hour.

The warhorse collapsed to the ground, and the keeper, without even having time to feel sorry for it, immediately grabbed several large buckets of water and poured them over the horse.

After a while, steam began to rise from the horses. The second battalion commander squatted down beside them, patted the horse's neck briefly, then grabbed a bicycle and rushed towards the airship camp not far away.

Is Colonel Schmidt here?

Before even reaching the mooring tower, the second battalion commander spotted one of Colonel Schmidt's communications officers: "Colonel Frieger orders Z331 to set sail immediately!"

"The colonel is on the bridge!"

The communications officer quickly grabbed the stack of documents in his hands and rushed towards the mooring tower with the second battalion commander.

Their actions were clearly observed by the first mate on the bridge.

"Why did they come back?"

The first mate frowned, looking at the messenger who was supposed to be delivering a message and the second battalion commander who should have been at the front line. He then turned to Schmidt and said, "Colonel, the second battalion commander is back."

"Are you about to launch an attack on the front lines?"

Without a second thought, Schmidt said, "Colonel Frieger always likes to use this method to send his men to the rear in special circumstances."

"Then why is it the battalion commander of the second battalion?"

The first mate asked in confusion, because he didn't know what the connection was between the two.

In response, Schmidt gestured to the first mate to release the ship from mooring, while simultaneously using a hydraulic system to raise his seat to the center of the bridge. His eyes scanned the area at the front and on both sides like radar, and he said, "If it is Lord Brinkman's daughter returning, it means the front line has collapsed, and we must organize a defense immediately."

"?" The first mate was still puzzled.

Seeing this, Schmidt could only shake his head and say speechlessly, "The fact that the battalion commander of the Second Battalion was able to return shows that the front-line troops alone are enough to control the entire battlefield. Think about it, important mid-to-high-level commanders returned on horseback, but the highest-ranking commander of the troops was nowhere to be seen, nor were there any guards."

"Oh, so that means the front lines won't need him for the time being, right?"

The first mate then belatedly realized: "But if it's a lady from the Lord's family, it means the front lines are likely to collapse, and Colonel Frieg sent her back to ensure her safety."

"As for the battalion commander of the second battalion, he will definitely be going back, so he will be sent..."

"What nonsense are you spouting, you brat!"

Schmidt quickly stopped his first mate: "Lieutenant Brinkman is only with her because she's his adjutant. Meeting her is like meeting a colonel, so that's why it's her. You can't just spout nonsense on the ship, can you? What if the lord hears you?"

Schmidt's words silenced the first mate, and Z331 completed the cable retrieval at that moment, beginning to lower the communications officer and the second battalion commander, who had arrived at the bottom of the ship, into the cabin below the landing gear and gangway.

As soon as he entered the cabin, the Second Battalion Commander slammed the pen that every commander in the unit received from Ryan—a symbol of authority—on the control panel inside the bridge, and shouted, "The cavalry units at the front need air support. This is Colonel Friege's order."

"Cavalry?"

Colonel Schmidt sat in the suspended captain's seat, his binoculars casting his gaze toward a distance of more than ten kilometers.

As the airship gradually increased in altitude, he first saw the friendly forces behind him, which were filled with the corpses of horses and cavalrymen and had already organized a defensive formation in the Imperial Army's position. Only then did he see further into the distance the cavalry units that were constantly fighting against the Imperial Army.

The cavalrymen's movements lacked the agility and speed that cavalrymen should have; from a distance, they appeared quite exhausted.

This prompted Schmidt to immediately glance at his watch, only to find that the minute hand had already reset.

This means the entire battle has lasted for more than one hour and twenty minutes.

Both the soldiers and the warhorses had reached their physical limits.

Without the slightest hesitation, Schmidt immediately ordered: "All ships, fourth combat speed, heading 026, Z331, proceed to the direction of the Imperial First Army's position to support the retreat of friendly forces!"

Before he finished speaking, the first mate had already finished repeating what he had said.

The propellers on both sides of the airship then emitted a deafening roar, propelling the Z331 forward amidst the roar of the engines.

In the distance, inside the frontline operations staff of the First Army under the First Army Group of the Imperial State.

As a force composed entirely of infantry divisions, the frontline operations staff of the First Army should consist entirely of staff officers and liaisons from its various infantry divisions, as well as some from different corps.

Surprisingly, besides the staff officers and liaisons who should have been there, there were also five or six cavalry officers in cavalry uniforms and black cloaks in the First Army's command post.

They were commanders from a cavalry brigade.

As the first Cossack cavalrymen to enter the Imperial territory and extremely familiar with the terrain of East Prussia, these officers and their soldiers never returned to the rear, more than eighty kilometers away, after being forced to return from the front lines due to supply problems and set up camp at the First Army's location to reorganize their troops.

The main reason for this was that the cavalry had to travel 160 kilometers round trip, which took a full week just to get there.

Given how rapidly the situation on the front lines was changing, they dared not waste so much precious time.

But it was precisely because of their existence that the generals of the First Army made the decision to reduce the number of troops at the front.

This decision, however, saved the First Army's life at that moment.

Inside the staff headquarters, the generals and staff officers of the First Army anxiously watched the sand table in front of them. Every now and then, someone would climb up the watchtower next to them and use binoculars to confirm the battle taking place several kilometers away.

Although the Cossack cavalry were struggling due to insufficient manpower, they were able to deal with the Imperial cavalry attack that suddenly appeared from the flanks with relative ease thanks to the support of a large number of infantry from the First Army.

Even though the main defensive line had not sent any messages back for some time, they knew very well that with the Empire having already deployed such a large number of cavalry to the flanks, it was absolutely impossible for them to have enough infantry to quickly break through the several kilometers of road from the front to the rear and launch an attack on the First Army's rear.

At that moment, a cavalry officer, who was not tall but had two deep scars on his face, stood up abruptly after meeting his adjutant and said in a deep voice, "The Imperial cavalry is less than half gone."

"So fast?"

The commander of the First Army looked anxious, but his tone was one of delight.

He was a veteran who fought alongside Zhilinsky in the Russo-Japanese War. Although he was unable to defeat the enemy, he still gained a lot of experience.

But those were ultimately experiences with infantry. He was still very wary of the Imperial cavalry, and the Imperial army that had suddenly routed the 27th Army last time.

Therefore, when the 27th Army was hit with PTSD a few days earlier, he almost immediately thought of the Cossack cavalry who were temporarily stationed with his troops.

The tactics provided by the enemy were to divide the battle line into three sections: front, middle, and rear. A small number of troops were deployed in the front section as an early warning zone, while a large number of cavalry were deployed in the middle section to immediately charge and provide support to the front if the front was attacked.

Behind them were artillery and command posts, along with a large number of infantry, who were deployed flexibly to meet defensive requirements.

For the First Army, which lacked firearms and ammunition, this plan was very much to the corps commander's liking. And now, the tactics introduced by the Cossack cavalry were indeed successfully implemented.

The senior officer from the Cossack cavalry then said, "The battle has lasted for about 90 minutes. Even the best warhorses and soldiers should be exhausted and unable to fight by now, right?"

In reality, most Cossack cavalrymen were not good at frontal charges. As nomadic cavalry, they were better at roaming the battlefield and launching attacks from the flanks by nature. Such long-distance operations would quickly exhaust the horses' stamina and make it difficult for the riders to fight for long periods of time.

But precisely because of this, the longer the battle drags on, the more passive the imperial cavalry will become.

They expended a lot of physical and mental energy just moving forward, not to mention having to return after the battle.

A colonel standing nearby immediately said, "That's right, but our cavalry is also nearing its limit."

As he spoke, he looked at the commander of the First Army: "General, it is now your troops' turn to strike."

"Our infantry divisions are ready."

Without hesitation, the commander of the First Army stood up immediately: "The 22nd Infantry Division, prepare to attack the Imperial cavalry."

"Today, we must make those imperial pigs grovel at the feet of our empire."

Without further ado, the liaison officers from the 22nd Infantry Division immediately saluted and left the staff headquarters, galloping towards their unit's location.

The corps commander's order was delivered to the headquarters of the 85th, 86th and 87th infantry regiments within three minutes. The 22nd Artillery Brigade under its command also turned its guns around and launched reconnaissance balloons, which had not been used before to provide artillery guidance, into the air.

Under the gloomy sky, soldiers in khaki and gray uniforms began to leave their positions at the command of their superiors, and after completing their formation, they strode towards the battlefield three kilometers away, which had become a mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood.

The soldiers held their rifles upright in front of them, the black bayonets reflecting no light in the weather.

The nearly 20,000-strong army marched across the land of East Prussia in the early winter, looking from a distance like groups of moving farmland.

Yes, it's farmland.

"The Imperial Army has begun its advance."

On the bridge of Z331, Colonel Schmidt, who had the best view, put down his binoculars and looked at the second battalion commander standing beside him: "Did Colonel Frieger mention our combat mission?"

His question startled the second battalion commander.

The experienced veteran racked his brains for half a minute before saying hesitantly, "The colonel only said that the battle would be handed over to your ship..."

"He said to hand the battle over to Colonel Schmidt, right?" the first mate chimed in, his tone now tinged with a hint of wistfulness. "Colonel Frieger isn't the type to give specific orders."

The second battalion commander looked puzzled, and then he heard the first mate's explanation.

"This means Colonel Friege wants to pin the credit on us."

Colonel Schmidt stroked his chin with his hand, which was covered in a brand-new white glove, and smiled: "In that case, we can't let the Imperial First Army get away with this."

"What is the target of the attack?" the first mate asked with a smile.

Suddenly, the gunner's voice came from the side: "Let's try it out with the Imperial Army's artillery first. It would be best if we could detonate their ammunition."

"Isn't that too cruel? After all, the Empire's cannons are all small caliber."

The first mate looked toward the megaphone and said, "I think it would be better to start with the infantry regiments, since their formation is quite impressive."

But before he could finish speaking, Colonel Schmidt interrupted him.

"We won't get anywhere by continuing like this! Let's stop talking and try it out with the nearest unit first."

As he said this, Colonel Schmidt could already picture the gunner's excited expression on the lower deck.

Z331 returned to the shipyard immediately after the Battle of Verdun for modernization.

The modifications were minimal, primarily upgrading the existing firepower from one 40mm rotary howitzer to three, covering the ship's front and port sides respectively.

Meanwhile, the firepower has also been upgraded on the mid-deck of the Wave-class aircraft carrier, which used to be the cargo hold or crew cabin.

A total of six heavy machine guns were evenly arranged on both sides of the mid-deck to provide threatening firepower against Imperial fighters or airships.

It's fair to say that compared to the Inspur class a month ago, the Inspur class now resembles an aerial hedgehog.

All of this firepower is now under the command of the original howitzer gunner.

Therefore, Colonel Schmidt didn't even need to think to guess what the gunner's expression would be.

Meanwhile, the helmsman at the front shouted, "Report! The rain clouds ahead are low, affecting visibility. Should we descend?"

"What is the current altitude?" Colonel Schmidt asked.

"2100!"

"Let's lower it to 1400."

The first mate immediately replied, "Let the machine guns join the battle, no problem, Colonel."

Let's do it this way.

Colonel Schmidt immediately nodded and said, "Z331, from now on, descend to an altitude of 1400 meters and carry out the operation to cover the retreat of friendly cavalry units."

"Communicator, prepare the red No. 6 signal flare to notify friendly forces to prepare for withdrawal! Next, prepare the green No. 2 signal flare to notify rear troops to be ready to support friendly forces at any time."

The first mate then repeated the order.

But at that moment, Z331 had already plunged into the rain clouds.

A few seconds later.

With the roar of the engines, the dark clouds shattered by the massive ship surged in all directions.

The Imperial Army soldiers instinctively looked up at the sky.

But all they saw was a giant green beast spewing forth flames.

(End of this chapter)