Conquer Europe from the West

Chapter 158 Reorganization
The muffled gunfire rang out in several camps, but for most of the Imperial soldiers, it was actually a good thing.

Inside the headquarters of the First Army.

Some officers, who had not yet gotten used to the smell of blood and had never seen an exploded brain, covered their mouths and rushed out of the command post, while the rest pretended not to have seen anything and went about their work.

Leningkamp remained expressionless, his deep eyes glancing between the sand table and the map beside him, before finally looking at the photographs taken from the sky by the reconnaissance plane.

He was pondering the Imperial Army's ideas, because the recent battles were clearly different from their previous fighting style.

The current organizational structure of the unit is not really a problem; it's just that the center is too far forward while the flanks are too far back compared to other units.

But this is actually quite normal. In fact, if it weren't for the fact that the troops were currently on a mission to capture Insterburg, this formation would have actually ensured the safety of the troops and the stability of the defensive line.

The only problem was that the Empire launched two attacks in just three days.

One attack was launched against the 27th Army, which was located at the very center of the battle line. This attack put the 27th Army in a difficult situation where it could not advance forward.

The second attack was today's attack on the flanks of the First and Fourth Armies.

Considering the time lag in the launch of the attack, this is enough to show that the enemy faced by the Fourth Army was not the main force of the Empire. This can also be seen from the fact that the Fourth Army is still able to organize troops to launch a counterattack even now.

Therefore, the empire's main offensive direction will inevitably be the First Army's direction.

For Camp Lening, this is actually not a problem.

The First Army was a force with rich combat experience. Most of its officers were soldiers who had participated in formal battles on the front lines. They were assigned to positions closest to the railway and were confident enough to fight against forces that far outnumbered them.

However, the news coming from the First Army was not so pleasant.

Almost none of the Cossack cavalry sent to the front lines returned, and the rear command headquarters is now being attacked by Imperial airships, leaving the entire army in a state of inability to fight normally.

Even though the First Army still had a certain number of troops in the rear that could be used for defense, Leningkamp did not think that the First Army's current situation warranted sending troops with some morale to the front to their deaths.

It's time to withdraw the troops to preserve our strength.

Inside the military tent, Leningkamp closed his eyes and finally spoke after a moment.

"Lieutenant Colonel Serebryakov," he called to one of his staff officers.

"Yes, Commander." A middle-aged man nearing 40 then appeared before him.

Leningkamp: "The 27th Corps' positions are too exposed. Make them retreat a few kilometers, starting with the units whose units have been broken up. By tonight, make them retreat to positions where the 12th and 17th Corps can directly cover their operations."

"We don't need to worry about the enemy in the Fourth Army. The Imperial Army doesn't dare to send large numbers of troops to our flanks. The fact that the Seventeenth Army hasn't engaged in direct combat with the Imperial Army so far is the best proof of that."

"Send someone to the 17th Army and draw a regiment from their reserve forces. Order them to arrive at the First Army's position within two days to replenish the First Army's losses today."

"But the 17th Army..."

Sherebryakov looked troubled, because he had had a lot of contact with the 17th Army before. He knew what kind of people they were, and he also knew that the 17th Army was far less obedient than the 1st Army.

Before Lieutenant Colonel Serebryakov could finish speaking, Leninkamp said directly, "If that idiot Alexei disagrees, then let him get out of here. There are obedient generals everywhere. I don't need a stupid donkey who doesn't obey orders."

After saying that, Leningkamp took a breath and said, "Afterwards, you will personally go to the 12th Army. They are the only unit we currently have that has not lost a lot of troops in the battle. The subsequent operations will need to be centered around the 12th Army."

“Should we move them forward?” Lieutenant Colonel Serebryakov blurted out instinctively, but regretted it the next second.

Seeing the lieutenant colonel's face gradually turn ashen, Leningkamp shook his head, pretending not to hear, and said instead, "Go find the 12th Army, then have them write a supply list and prepare for the general offensive against Insterburg."

Upon hearing this, almost all the officers immediately looked at Leningkamp.

"General offensive" is no simple term, especially when the main force is struggling to make any progress.

Therefore, several generals and colonels almost immediately walked towards Leningkamp. Although their expressions differed, they all clearly hoped that Leningkamp would pause his offensive.

But they all stopped immediately.

Because that's what Leningkamp said: "The offensive launched by the Empire today is extremely large, even larger than the previous offensive against the 27th Army's positions."

"This shows that they definitely want to achieve some goal with this offensive. The fighting on the Fourth Army side should be almost over, while the fighting on the First Army side may still continue."

"I believe that the Empire must have noticed the Second Phase's movements and wanted to divert its forces to intercept the Second Phase, which is advancing towards the Vistula River."

"Otherwise, we cannot explain why they only destroyed our positions instead of trying to continue committing troops to expand their gains after breaking through the front lines."

Having said that, Leningkamp didn't care about the officers' reactions and simply waved his hand, indicating that they could go to the General Staff.

The sensible officers immediately left the headquarters, leaving only a few junior officers to continuously revise the troop deployment and layout on the sand table based on real-time intelligence transmitted from the front lines.

After a long time.

As a report was sent to headquarters stating, "The Imperial Army has withdrawn, and the First Army has suffered over 60% casualties," Leningkamp rose from his desk, casting his gaze upon the small black dot receding into the distance on the horizon, muttering to himself.

"Was it specially modified into an airship for attacking ground troops?"

----------------

Later.

Insterburg, the former headquarters of the Eighth Army.

It is difficult for anyone to assess the outcome of this operation on the front lines.

For Renne, the fact that the Ninth Army's cavalry had actually lost more than a third of its men was obviously not a good thing. Similarly, General von Morgan was also very regretful that he had taken the 1st Cavalry Division and only given Renne the 8th Cavalry Brigade.

But General Baker of the Ninth Army Cavalry said: "No one expected that the Imperial Cossack cavalry would be in the First Army's position, and as things stand now, it is already a remarkable achievement that we have managed to retain two-thirds of our forces after facing more than four thousand Cossack cavalry."

Armies across Europe have experienced the terror of the Cossack cavalry. They possessed the strongest cavalry, the best commanders, and had successfully annihilated far larger Falland cavalry units in several major battles against Falland.

This caused most cavalrymen to instinctively panic at the mere mention of the word "Cossack." But since that battle, the cavalry of the Empire, especially the Ninth and Eighth Armies, were no longer afraid of Cossack cavalry.

There was no particular reason; it was simply that the rifle was discovered to have an inherent ability to kill cavalry.

Moreover, even if they couldn't win on the ground...

General Baker sat at the dining table, which was covered with documents, and turned to look at the sky outside the window.

The massive Z331 was hovering not far away. Although the three 40mm rotary howitzers below it were not visible, the three heavy machine guns on its sides were still visible.

"This is really good stuff."

He sighed instinctively.

"There will be more to come."

Raine didn't mince words, simply adding, "The modification work on the second one is also complete. If all goes well, we'll have four of these airships within two months."

His words immediately surprised General Baker, but the veteran's subsequent remarks left Ryan at a loss for words.

His tone was calm, but his voice carried a complex emotion: "Cavalry has now been eliminated by airships."

Rein didn't speak, nor did General von Morgan. The two exchanged a glance and then pretended not to have heard General Baker's words.

It was at this moment that Brinkman, with a bandage on his left arm, rushed into the headquarters with a messenger.

“Colonel.” She looked first at Ryan, then at von Morgan and Baker, and nodded in acknowledgment: “General.”

This made General Baker from the Ninth Army very uncomfortable, as he had never encountered a junior officer who would not salute him.

But he immediately noticed that Ryan and von Morgan seemed to nod in return, so he quickly followed suit and nodded as well.

Brinkman noticed his expression and, after a moment's hesitation, saluted him. At the same time, he had a messenger hand him a telegram, saying, "Commander Hindenburg has sent a telegram. They have annihilated the main force of the Second Army and are now rushing back to reinforce!"

"So fast?"

Raine, who never expected things to develop so quickly, immediately grabbed the telegram and read the entire text with Von Morgan.

The actual content is much more than what's on paper.

The most important issue was the devastating defeat of the Imperial Second Army, with a large number of troops trapped in the Masurian Lakes area and unable to move, necessitating the dispatch of soldiers for rescue.

There was also the story of Samsonov, the commander of the Second Army of the Imperial State, who attempted suicide by shooting himself but was unexpectedly saved by a diamond ring on his body.

Then there is the current situation of the Eighth Group Army.

The First Army of the Eighth Army suffered heavy losses in the battle, so it could only set off after completing its preparations. The Seventeenth and Twentieth Armies did not suffer heavy losses, but they detached three regiments to gather the routed troops of the Second Army, so although they could return, it would still take some time.

The First Reserve Army, on the other hand, suffered no losses whatsoever, and so it set off back to Insterburg immediately before the telegram was sent.

At the current pace, they should all arrive in Insterburg by noon the following day at the earliest.

The 17th and 20th Armies, on the other hand, will be able to return to Insterburg by noon the day after tomorrow.

"This is great news!"

General von Morgan said almost immediately, "In this way, we can completely disregard the threats from the rear and put all our forces into the front lines!"

General Baker, who was standing nearby, also said after reading the report: "There are still quite a few troops in the Ninth Army that can go to the front lines. Our railway can mobilize two divisions to Insterburg today!"

Before Ryan could even speak, he saw General Shell walk briskly away from the headquarters and rush towards the communications company's outpost not far away.

Should we stop him?

Brinkman saw through Renn's thoughts: "The communications company is still setting up new telephone lines, so the telegram won't be sent out anytime soon."

"Forget it."

Ryan, who had originally wanted to stop General Baker, shook his head: "Let the Ninth Army come. As a supplement to the First Army, it's quite adequate."

He didn't actually want the soldiers of the Ninth Army to come to the front lines to participate in the battle against the Imperial First Army, because the Ninth Army had already committed three regiments to this operation. If two more divisions were to be committed, then Rein would owe General Pritwitz an even greater favor.

Unfortunately, his men were all reserves, which made it even less worthwhile.

But now that the First Army can't return, Ryan knows that even if he stops General Baker now, he can't guarantee that Hindenburg and Ludendorff won't call up the troops from Episode IX.

In other words, since the outcome is the same anyway, it's better to gather the troops sooner rather than later, just in case.

only……

He looked at the huge map hanging in mid-air to the side.

Countless red dots are moving backward from the position of the Imperial Twenty-Seventh Army, and in the direction of the Seventeenth and Twelfth Armies, many troops can also be seen moving around.

It appears that the First Army is undergoing reorganization and has begun preparations for the next battle.

This is not a good thing.

The current garrison in Insterburg numbers 18,000 men, and even including the cavalry, it's at most 23,000.

Considering that there are still many wounded soldiers in the army who need to be treated, the actual number of troops available may only be about two-thirds.

If the Imperial First Army reorganizes within two days and attempts to launch an attack, then with the forces Rein currently has, it's clear that he won't be able to stop these guys from the First Army...

"Hopefully Ludendorff and the others can hurry up..."

(End of this chapter)