Trench Bolts and Magic

Chapter 177 If I had several regiments, would I be like this?
Morin realized that although he had knowledge and systematic assistance that were ahead of his time, he still lacked a lot of practical command experience.

As for experience, the only way to gain it is through fighting more battles; there are no shortcuts.

Upon hearing Morin's suggestion to equip the guard unit with trucks, Kleist's eyes lit up: "That's a great idea! This will make our guard unit much safer!"

"It's more than just safety."

Manstein's eyes also gleamed with excitement; he was clearly thinking about things more deeply.

"Battalion Commander, if we equip the guard units with trucks, it means we can extend our perimeter further outward!"

Morin gave him an approving look.

This is exactly what he thought deep down.

The main reason he was unwilling to abandon the outer perimeter and retreat all his troops into the city to fight street battles was his cheat code—the system map.

The system map has a limited area, so it must use forward reconnaissance units to 'illuminate' the fog of war on the map.

The wider the perimeter of the perimeter, the broader his field of vision and the more comprehensive his understanding of the battlefield situation.

If he simply retreats into the city, he becomes blind and deaf, passively waiting for the enemy to come to his door, and the advantage of the system map will be completely lost.

This is absolutely unacceptable to him.

Previously, he dared not spread the cordon too far, for fear that the sent-out guard units would not be able to return—just like today.

However, if a truck is provided, this problem is easily solved.

"It's settled then." Morin made a decisive decision. "Order each company to immediately draw trucks from the supply train to equip all the guard teams sent out of the city with vehicles!"

"Yes!"

The trio discussed defensive operations for a while, and then quickly discovered a new problem.

That is, how should the training battalion respond if the Gauls cross the river from other directions?

Everyone's eyes fell on the Sambre River, which meanders through Charleroi, on the map.

They had always subconsciously regarded the Sambur River as a natural barrier, believing that the enemy could only launch an attack from the south of the city, that is, from the south bank of the river.

But war is never a multiple-choice question.

The city of Charleroi stretches for five or six kilometers from west to east.

With such a small force, the training assault battalion was already stretched thin just to hold the front and flanks of the southern district, making it impossible to include the entire Sambur River bank within its defensive perimeter.

As Kleist stated, the Gauls were fully capable of rapidly constructing pontoon bridges using their engineering corps in sections of the river far from the city.

Once their main force reaches the north bank via the pontoon bridge, they can easily bypass the strong defenses of the southern city of Charleroi and launch an attack from the east and west sides of the north city.

At that time, the training assault battalion will face a desperate situation of being attacked from both sides.

What's worse, the field artillery battalion that had just made a great contribution had its position set up on a high ground outside the north city.

While this position could provide effective fire support for the defense of the southern city, it also completely exposed the city to the outside world.

If the Gauls successfully crossed the river, the artillery battalion would have no choice but to either enter the city or retreat.

Once the artillery positions are gone, the training assault battalion will lose its only source of fire support.

"Cross the river from another location"

Morin stared at the winding Sambre River on the map, his brows furrowed tightly.

He has too few troops.

A battalion of soldiers was already stretched thin defending the southern city of Charleroi; to further divide them to defend the long banks of the Sambre River would be utterly absurd.

"The area we can extend our control beyond the city is extremely limited."

Morin couldn't help but sigh, his voice filled with a deep sense of helplessness.

Even without the enemy's numerous swift cavalrymen watching from the outside, the training assault battalion, with its limited strength, could only operate within the range of the field artillery battalion's fire support outside the city to ensure its own safety.

The idea of ​​taking the initiative to stop the Gauls from building a pontoon bridge a few kilometers or even a dozen kilometers away on the river was simply wishful thinking.

A long silence fell over the command center. The three men scratched their heads for a long time, but still couldn't come up with an effective solution.

Ultimately, they came to a disheartening conclusion: there was no solution.

Or, to put it another way, given the current situation of the instructors, they were completely incapable of preventing the Gauls from crossing the river by pontoon bridge from other directions.

"Taking a tan!"

Morin slammed his fist on the table, making a dull thud.

"If I had several regiments under my command, would I be like this?!"

His complaints, filled with resentment and frustration, also revealed the core of the problem.

Ultimately, the problem stems from insufficient troop strength.

If he had several complete infantry regiments under his command, he could easily detach mobile forces to conduct mobile defenses along the north bank of the river, ready to destroy any pontoon bridges the enemy might erect. But now, he only has one battalion.

Hearing Morin's complaints, Kleist and Manstein both laughed, trying to make the best of a bad situation.

Just as the atmosphere was becoming increasingly oppressive, Manstein, who had been silently contemplating, suddenly spoke.

"Battalion Commander, I think we might be being a bit too pessimistic."

Both Morin and Kleist looked at him, wanting to hear what insights the young operations staff officer had to offer.

“We have always been thinking about this from our own perspective, but if we look at it from the perspective of the Gauls, the situation may not be so bad.”

Manstein walked up to the map, picked up a red and blue pencil, and drew several arrows on it.

"First, we need to clarify what the Gauls' current strategic goals are."

"According to the General Staff's assessment, the main force of the Fifth Gallic Army is concentrated in Ilson, and their primary task is to prevent our right-wing forces from penetrating into the heart of Gaul."

"Charleroi, and the Sambre River where it is located, are natural barriers that prevent us from going south."

He used the red tip of his pencil to heavily tap Charleroi's spot.

"Therefore, from the perspective of the Gallic commander, his task was not to cross the Samble River and attack northward, but to do everything possible to rely on the Samble River to block us and prevent us from crossing the river."

"If they risk transferring a large number of troops to the north bank of the river, and if our main Saxon force suddenly arrives, then these Gallic troops who have crossed the river will be fighting with their backs to the river, and there is a huge risk that they will be surrounded and annihilated by us on the riverbank."

“No clear-headed commander would take such a risk with his precious troops under these circumstances.”

Manstein's analysis was clear, logical, and rigorous, like a ray of light that instantly dispelled the fog in the minds of Morin and Kleist.

They had been stuck in the mindset of "the enemy is strong and we are weak," but they overlooked the fact that the enemy also faced strategic limitations and risks.

"So you mean the Gauls' most rational and safest choice was not to cross the river."

As Morin followed his train of thought, his eyes grew brighter and brighter.

“That’s right.” Manstein nodded firmly.

"They will concentrate all their forces and spare no expense to capture Charlerois, which we have occupied, and then blow up all the bridges in the city!"

"In this way, they can turn the Sambur River into an impregnable defensive line, firmly keeping our main force on the north bank of the river."

"By then, they can calmly mobilize their forces, build strong defensive fortifications along the riverbank, and turn this battle into a positional war of attrition that is advantageous to them."

After listening to Manstein's analysis, both Morin and Kleist breathed a long sigh of relief.

While this does not mean the danger is over, at least the focus of the entire battlefield will return to the city of Charleroi itself.

"In other words, the most intense battles to come will take place in the southern city of Charleroi, and around the three bridges connecting the north and south of the city."

Morin's finger slowly traced the icons of the three bridges on the map.

These three bridges will become the focus of the struggle between the two sides, and will inevitably become meat grinders that devour countless lives.

The pressure remains immense.

But at least the operational objectives have become clear and specific.

Hold the southern city, protect the bridges, and hold out until reinforcements arrive.
That's all they have to do next.

With the Gauls' main attack direction identified, the subsequent defensive deployment had a clear objective.

Morin took a deep breath and began to take stock of the troops at his disposal.

Currently, all the forces he can mobilize are the 1st Training Assault Battalion of the Imperial Guard, plus a 77mm field artillery battalion that has just arrived and is still desperately firing its firing tables.

The battalion commander of that field artillery battalion had just reported to him over the phone that the artillerymen had begun intensive range finding and calculations to prepare firing tables for subsequent artillery fire.

According to the artillery battalion commander, once the basic firing tables are established, their fire support will become faster and more accurate.

However, Morin also knew that once the battle entered the brutal urban street fighting phase, the effectiveness of artillery would be greatly limited.

They were more likely used to suppress enemy forces attempting to outflank the city, or to provide fire support for enemy forces gathering outside the city.

The real deciding factor was the infantry fighting their way through the city inch by inch.

When fully staffed, the training assault battalion, excluding non-combat units such as the battalion headquarters, communications platoon, and supply platoon, mainly consists of four infantry companies and a fire support unit equipped with 12 MG08 heavy machine guns.

Each infantry company, excluding the company headquarters and logistics personnel, has 240 combat personnel.

The heavy machine gun team of the fire support squad has a total of 60 men.

In total, the entire battalion has 1120 combat personnel.

Including the battalion headquarters, company headquarters, and logistics personnel, the total number of personnel in the entire battalion is close to 1300.

This doesn't even include the truck drivers in the supply convoy.

This is a reinforced battalion configuration, far exceeding the ordinary infantry battalion of the Saxon Empire Army in both personnel quality and firepower.

(End of this chapter)