Trench Bolts and Magic

Chapter 160: All-front attack
As the Meuse battle group launched its full-scale offensive, Bagchon, Evène, and Frelon...
One fortress after another, which was once thought to require heavy artillery to breach, were so easily captured by Saxon soldiers.

When the officers of the follow-up troops entered the empty fortresses, they were all shocked by the sight before them.

The facilities inside the fortress were intact, the warehouses were full of ammunition and supplies, and there was even unfinished dinner on the table in the canteen.

Everything indicates that the Flanders defenders chose to abandon their positions in a state of extreme haste and chaos.

Soon, Ludendorff also received reports from various attacking forces.

A common situation caught his attention.

In the three abandoned fortresses, all the magical equipment had become completely inoperable.

The magical energy supply from within Liège appears to have been completely cut off.

"Magic center," Ludendorff murmured unconsciously.

He suddenly raised his head and looked in the direction of Liège, his eyes flashing with an astonishing light.

Could it be that the young captain and his 20-man commando team not only destroyed the command post, but also took down the magic center?
Ludendorff's heart began to pound uncontrollably.

He had originally thought that if Morin and his commando team could accomplish one or two of the three main objectives, and create enough chaos inside the fortress to facilitate the main force's attack, that would already be considered an overachievement of their mission.

But now it seems the situation is even crazier than he anticipated?
After all, judging from the sketches provided by the military intelligence department, the location of the 'large anti-aircraft magic device' was in the same building as the fortress command post.

Taking down the command center is essentially equivalent to taking down this air defense unit that could pose a threat to armored airships.

Now, in addition, the magic center is also suspected of malfunctioning.
This almost proves that Morin and his commando team accomplished all three objectives in less than three hours, completely destroying the central core of the Liege fortress complex!
"My God, is this the God of War?"

Ludendorff couldn't help but sigh, feeling his breathing quicken.

The victory was so glorious that it felt almost unreal to him.

"Quickly! Get the radio station to try and contact our armored airship!"

Ludendorff suddenly realized something and immediately gave an order to his communications officer:

"Tell them that the threat over Liege may have been eliminated, and let them return to the fight!"

"Yes, General!"

After giving the order, Ludendorff stood still, letting the cold night wind blow against his slightly chubby cheeks.

The image of the young captain kept appearing in his mind.

Although he and some of his colleagues in the General Staff had previously been quite supportive of the novel tactical concept of 'assault operations', they were also very curious about teaching the assault battalion combat capabilities.

However, there were still quite a few conservative officers in the General Staff who privately said that it was nothing more than "His Highness the Crown Prince's expensive toy".

Some people even believe that His Highness the Crown Prince's involvement in the army is somewhat presumptuous.
But tonight's battle made Ludendorff understand completely.

The training commando battalion, and that Captain Morin, are definitely not some 'toy troops'.

They are truly sharp blades that can pierce the enemy's heart and deliver a fatal blow!

Ludendorff felt that his mind was suddenly filled with many novel tactical ideas because of tonight's unprecedented airborne operation.

He felt that this young captain, with his audacious, almost insane actions, had opened a door to a new world for himself and for the entire Saxon army.

However, for now, he still needs to focus on the current battle command.

Using the three captured fortresses as strongholds, the various attacking forces of the Meuse River battle group have formed a line and launched a tidal wave of attacks on Liège.

Among this wave of attacks, the fastest to act was the Training Assault Battalion led by Kleist.

Unbeknownst to many, the training assault battalion, which had become the spearhead of the entire battle group, was like a whirlwind sweeping across the land, rapidly advancing towards the core area of ​​Liege City at an incredible speed.

For the past three months, he has been doing 20-kilometer combat physical training, 5-kilometer armed cross-country running, and 400-meter obstacle course every day.
These tedious and nauseating basic training exercises are finally showing their true value.

The soldiers of the training assault battalion were already physically superior to ordinary Imperial soldiers.

This powerful physical strength also became the source of their confidence to launch continuous attacks and tirelessly charge forward.

At this moment, all the officers of the assault battalion, including Kleist, finally understood the phrase that Morin always said: "Physical fitness is the foundation of all tactics."

This statement may sound somewhat hollow on the training ground, but on the battlefield of blood and fire, it becomes an irrefutable truth.

This further solidified Kleist's belief that the battalion commander was a god of war sent from heaven.

So no matter what, even at great cost, we must rush into Liege and rescue the battalion commander and the assault team!

The straight-line distance from Baxon Fortress to Liège is approximately five to six kilometers.

Under Kleist's leadership, the entire battalion's attack formation was spread out widely.

Organized in platoons, maintaining a longitudinal distance of approximately 500 meters, they took turns providing cover and continued their advance. Although they encountered several groups of Flanders defenders who had retreated from the fortress and attempted to organize resistance, the battles usually ended within minutes.

Faced with the unbridled automatic firepower of the training assault battalion, these scattered resistance efforts were utterly ineffective.

They were basically routed shortly after engaging the enemy, and then easily captured by friendly forces that followed.

Finally, fifty-two minutes after the start of the general offensive, the main force of the training assault battalion had reached the edge of Liege.

This speed even made the friendly forces that hadn't caught up yet a little worried.

Aren't these lunatics afraid of being surrounded by the enemy if they act too rashly?
At this point, the unit at the forefront was reorganized into the 1st Company.

Acting Company Commander Klaus led the main force of his company to meet up with the forward guard unit, and immediately called several soldiers in charge of reconnaissance to his side.

"What's the situation in the city?"

Klaus asked in a low voice, his burly body lying in a crater created by a shell, observing the somewhat desolate urban area ahead through binoculars.

"Acting Company Commander, the city's defenses are very weak."

A young corporal answered, panting heavily:

"We got closer and took a look. There was only about a platoon of soldiers on the street ahead. They only had some makeshift bunkers made of sandbags, and they didn't seem to have any fighting spirit at all."

"Only one platoon?"

Klaus frowned. This was completely different from the intense street fighting he had anticipated—he had initially prepared for a 'Seville-style street battle'.

“Yes!” another scout added, “and we saw them moving ammunition boxes and other supplies back, it looked like they were preparing to retreat!”

Preparing to retreat?

Klaus had a sudden realization; he immediately understood that the team couldn't wait any longer!
After a moment's thought, he immediately made a decision: the 1st Company must launch an attack before the friendly forces behind them could catch up.

While the enemy is still establishing a foothold, seize this area to open a passage for subsequent troops to enter Liege!

"Commander!"

Klaus shouted to one of the soldiers beside him:
"Immediately notify the battalion headquarters and the 2nd Company behind them, tell them that the 1st Company is to launch the attack first! Request that they coordinate with them upon arrival!"

"Yes, sir!" The messenger accepted the order and turned to run back.

After giving the order, Klaus climbed out of the shell crater and made an attack gesture to his three platoon leaders.

"Second platoon, flank from the left. Third platoon, stand by here. First platoon, follow me and attack from the front! Light machine gun teams of each platoon, find high ground and prepare to provide fire support! Get up there and wait for my order to fire!"

"Yes!"

The three platoon leaders immediately accepted the order and, with their respective soldiers, stealthily made their way towards the urban area ahead.

The veterans of the 1st Company moved with practiced ease, and once they entered the city, it was as if they had come home.

Using the buildings and ruins along the street as cover, they quickly advanced to within 100 meters of the enemy position discovered by the sentry squad.

Several machine gun squads quickly occupied the second floors and rooftops of several surrounding buildings, set up their bipods, and aimed their guns at the unsuspecting Liege fortress garrison soldiers on the street.

Just as the scouts had said, the Liege fortress garrison was indeed frantically preparing to retreat on the streets.

Almost all the soldiers were loading ammunition boxes and supplies onto a wagon, and the platoon commander didn't even have anyone keep watch around.

So they had no idea that a large wave of death was already targeting them.

Klaus watched all of this coldly from behind a low wall.

He pulled a brass whistle from his pocket, took a deep breath, and then blew it sharply!
"Beep——!"

A sharp whistle shattered the tranquility of the night sky.

Almost at the same time the whistle blew, several light machine gun teams that were already ready pulled the triggers simultaneously!
"Da da da da da!"

The ear-piercing gunshots instantly tore through the air, and several fiery whips lashed out from different directions toward the center of the street.

The Flanders soldiers who were carrying supplies were swept to the ground in droves before they even had time to react.

The defenders who hadn't been killed in the first wave of fire were stunned by the sudden attack. They panicked and lay on the ground or huddled behind sandbag bunkers, haphazardly pulling their guns out of their cover and firing back in the direction from which the guns were coming.

But their resistance seemed so futile under the suppression of the 1st Company's automatic fire.

"Go! Go! Quickly eliminate this enemy force!"

(End of this chapter)