Trench Bolts and Magic

Chapter 171 Ludendorff, where are my reinforcements?!

"What's wrong, Captain?"

Captain Leo's adjutant, a young lieutenant, rode closer.

"nothing."

Leo shook his head, forcing himself to refocus on the task at hand.

Under the orders of Colonel Molière, commander of the 4th Cuirassier Regiment, they were to maneuver from the southeast of the city along the Sambre River. This was a classic cavalry tactic, using mobility to bypass the enemy's front and launch attacks or reconnaissance from their weak flanks and rear.

For some reason, Leo felt that this decision was somewhat too rash.

The words of the civilians who fled the city, especially the retired veteran, lingered in his mind.

"More than a dozen heavy machine guns"—this is definitely not the firepower that a company or platoon-level unit could possess.

On the outskirts of the city, behind the window of a three-story house, Morin slowly lowered the binoculars in his hand.

On the system map, the six red troop markers representing the Gallic cavalry squadrons were rapidly moving from the fields outside the city towards the southeast of Charlerois South—the defensive position of the 3rd Training Assault Company.

"That's a classic cavalry flanking maneuver."

Morin muttered to himself.

"The Third Cavalry Division, First Cavalry Regiment, Army of the Gallic Republic"

"Three squadrons of dragoons and three squadrons of cuirassiers? This suddenly feels like I'm playing Napoleon: Total War."

The Gallic cavalry had made quite a commotion, so Morin still dared not be careless in the slightest.

He immediately dispatched a messenger to take a truck to the 3rd Company's position in the southeast as quickly as possible to report the enemy situation.

The speed of the Radiant Crystal trucks is still faster than that of a large-scale cavalry movement, not to mention that they can travel on roads within the city, while the enemy would need to make a wide detour from outside the city.

After doing all this, he left a few soldiers from the 1st Company to continue observing from the third-floor windows, while he turned and went downstairs.

As soon as I got to the first floor, I ran into Manstein, who was about to leave.

"Battalion Commander, most of the residents in the city who were willing to leave have been evacuated," Manstein reported to him. "The rest are mostly elderly people who are reluctant to leave their homeland, and they refuse to go no matter how we try to persuade them."

The two walked outside while talking.

A truck was slowly driving down the street, with huge white banners hanging on both sides of the truck bed, bearing a line of large characters written in bold Gaulish.

"The city is about to become a war zone. For your safety and that of your family, we recommend that you temporarily leave the city for refuge!"

Charleroi is located in the Gaulish-speaking region of the United Kingdom of Flanders, and the residents here mostly speak Gaulish, which was something Morin specifically instructed.

Although this was a foreign land, Morin and his companions had little interaction with the local residents.

However, on Manstein's advice of 'humanitarianism', the training battalion still managed to disperse the local residents—since the action had already been taken, they couldn't control whether the other party left or not.

"Gallic cavalry have been spotted outside the city."

As the truck drove away, Morin turned to Manstein and said:

"Judging from the size of the force, it was just the vanguard, but this shows that the Gauls already knew that Charleroi had fallen."

"If the commander in charge of this area on the other side is in his right mind, he should already be mobilizing troops to drive us out."

Manstein's expression immediately turned serious.

"So what do we do next? Should we evacuate outside the city to organize a defense, or hold the city?"

He paused, his tone revealing a deep worry.

"According to the enemy situation report issued by the General Staff before the battle, the Gauls' Fifth Army is deployed opposite us. Its strength should be between eighteen and twenty divisions, with cavalry, artillery and even armored knights of the Knights Templar."

"We only have one battalion now. Even with the newly arrived field artillery battalion, we're afraid we'll be no match for the main Gaulish army group."

He didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning was already clear.

Faced with Manstein's concerns, Morin sighed helplessly.

"Of course I understand, but the problem is... our orders are to hold this position and wait for the main force."

At this point, Maureen couldn't help but recall the scene when she first woke up this morning.

At that time, the messengers sent out yesterday finally returned, but what followed them was not the main force of the 'Ludendorff Battle Group' that he had been eagerly anticipating, but a 75mm field artillery battalion.

When Morin saw the dusty artillerymen, and combined with the strange move on the system map where the 'Ludendorff Combat Group' had left the Liège fortress complex and suddenly made a sharp turn towards Namur, his heart skipped a beat.

The message brought back by the messenger completely shattered his hopes.

Ludendorff ordered the training battalion to hold Charleroi for at least three days.

As for why the situation took such a sharp turn for the worse, Morin pieced together the whole story through the messenger's fragmented descriptions and the supplementary information in the "Intelligence" tab.

After they captured the Leri fortress complex in one fell swoop by relying on an airborne raid, the main force of the Second Army Group, which was responsible for besieging the Namur fortress complex, also wanted to repeat the same trick.

They deployed two armored airships, preparing for another 'speedrun through the fortress' feat. Unfortunately, the army group lacked mages capable of casting Featherfall, and the airship captains adamantly refused to allow their beloved crew members to parachute in as assault troops, so the plan had to be abandoned.

However, General Bilo was still not giving up. He ordered two armored airships to cooperate and forcefully break through the defenses at night, just as they had done during the Battle of Liège, hoping to destroy the Namur fortress complex's 'anti-air magic device' and magic center.

The plan was ultimately successful, but at the cost of the L28 armored airship being damaged by anti-aircraft fire and having to withdraw from the subsequent battle.

Worse still, although the fortress's air defense and energy systems were destroyed, the garrison's command center remained intact, and the various fortresses continued to put up a stubborn resistance. Namur did not descend into chaos like Liège.

Just as the main force of the Second Army was tied up outside the Namur fortress complex, and it would take at least one or two days to capture the fortress complex, even worse news came.

The enemy's 5th Infantry Division, which was intended as a reserve force of the United Kingdom of Flanders, actually set out from Brussels, attempting to travel south by rail to reinforce Namur.

In order to break through the tough Namur as quickly as possible and to protect the flank of the main force of the army group, General Bilo had to send men to catch up with the already departed Ludendorff battle group and order them to turn around immediately to block the southward advance of the 5th Flanders Division.

It was at this critical juncture that Ludendorff received a request for support from the Training Assault Battalion.

This future 'famous sauce' is in a dilemma.

That very night, he took a few guards and rode directly back to the Second Army Headquarters to explain the situation to General Bilo in person.

General Bilo was also conflicted.

His first reaction was to order the training assault battalion to withdraw, but he soon realized that Charleroi's strategic location was far too important.

If the bridges over the Sambre River can be controlled, the Second Army's subsequent advance into Gaul will be infinitely smoother.

Moreover, according to military intelligence analysis, the main force of the Gallic Fifth Army is stationed in Ilson, and it would take at least two days to assemble there and march to Charleroi.

The only force capable of arriving so quickly could be their cavalry.
Ultimately, the army group commander decided to take another gamble.

He ordered Ludendorff to concentrate his main forces to intercept reinforcements from the United Kingdom of Flanders, allowing the main army group to capture Namur without any worries, thus clearing the way for subsequent offensives.

At the same time, the training assault battalion was ordered to hold Charleroi and delay the Gauls' advance.

In an effort to increase his chances of winning, he urgently requested reinforcements from the Third Army, which was advancing towards Dinant in the southeast, hoping they could send troops to assist him.

General Max von Hausen of the Third Army was quite agreeable.

Especially after learning that the 'First Training Assault Battalion of the Imperial Guard' had occupied the strategic location of Charleroi, they immediately dispatched the First Imperial Guard Cavalry Division to rush to their aid.

The problem is, this also takes time.

Morin only knew the general development of the situation; he was unaware of the negotiations between these superiors, nor of how much effort Ludendorff had made in the process.
So all he wanted to say to this fat general was:
"Ludendorff, where are my reinforcements?!"

Southeast of Charleroi, Captain Leo led his dragoons to the starting position after a swift flanking maneuver by horses.

Soon, Captain Lafontaine, who was in charge of maneuvering along the river, left with his squadron of cavalry.

After the remaining two dragoon squadrons advanced slowly for a distance, Captain Leo suddenly raised his right hand.

"Stop!"

The entire dragoon squadron immediately came to a halt.

The warhorses pawed restlessly and snorted, while the cavalrymen gripped their Bettier carbines tightly, vigilantly observing their surroundings.

Not far ahead lies the edge of Charleroi.

Several low stone houses are scattered along both sides of the road, forming a small village.

The entire village was eerily quiet; not a single person could be seen, and no sound could be heard except for the rustling of the wind blowing across the fields.

It's so quiet.

"Lieutenant, send a squad ahead to scout."

Leo whispered an order to his adjutant beside him.

"Yes, Captain!"

A cavalry sergeant immediately led ten dragoons, observed for a moment, and then spurred their horses forward. Their carbines were already off safety and ready to fire at any moment.

Leo led the rest of his men to hide temporarily in a grove of trees by the roadside, waiting for news from the reconnaissance team.

He glanced back at his left flank once more.

Colonel Molière and his cuirassiers, about 500 meters away, dismounted and concealed themselves in a wheat field, advancing at a leisurely pace.

The colonel seemed very confident about the operation. On the march before the troops were divided, he was even chatting and laughing with his adjutant, as if it were just a relaxed armed parade.

This blind optimism only intensified Leo's unease.

Just then, a series of crisp gunshots rang out from the village ahead!

It was the sound of Bertil's carbine firing!
Captain Leo's heart sank.

"Enemy attack! Everyone dismount! Prepare for battle!"

(End of this chapter)