The 1st Division's plan received more support from President Russell and the Military Council, and the 2nd Division was officially reduced to a feint and interdiction force.

In order to concentrate its forces on the siege of Athlone, the United Irish Federation mobilized almost all the forces in the base area. The county brigade and the district squad were mobilized. These fighters will be responsible for the task of encircling Athlone and part of the second division, posing as the main force.

Just like the later generations of the Ping'an Grad Siege Battle, the number of the county brigade and district squad that were concentrated was counted, and the second division commander O'Hara almost really moved the idea of attacking Athlone, because ...... Because I really didn't expect that there could be so many people in the county brigade and district team!

Yes, the county brigades and district squadrons of the two major base areas in Ireland are now concentrated, and there is an additional division of fifty or sixty thousand men. Coupled with the more than 40,000 men and horses of the second division, it seems that it is completely possible to storm Athlone.

But O'Hara resisted the impulse, first of all because of discipline, and since the Military Council of the United Irish Union had made the decision to feint, he would not arbitrarily change it. Unless the British, stationed in Athlone, have their own problems.

Secondly, it is also because O'Hara knows that although the number of county brigades and district squads is quite large, there is a significant gap between their training level and equipment level and that of the main force. Their level of equipment is just close to the recognized ineffective "security forces", and the level of training is even inferior to that of the "security forces". Of course, with their fearless courage and determination to fight to the end, they may be able to beat those "security forces," but if they want to attack those strong fortifications, although they do not have the courage to sacrifice and the determination to fight to the end, they will definitely not be able to do so. But that's not enough.

Now that the plan had been decided, the Irish Independence Army sprang into action.

Edward Stamford, a swamp warfare expert, was now a colonel for his exploits in the battle against the Irish, and his regiment was being deployed in Athlone. Now, the United Kingdom has completely turned against the rebels, telling them to prepare for defense immediately, and the rebels will soon attack Athlone.

Colonel Edward Stamford knew that the Duke of Norfolk was trying to get as many troops as possible from home, but the British were now at a disadvantage in Ireland until reinforcements arrived. The Irish will surely take advantage of this opportunity and try to seize the time difference and lay siege to Athlone in an attempt to destroy this most important stronghold, and thus completely destroy this crucial railway.

In order to lure the Irish to besiege Athlone, it took a lot of effort from above. First of all, the garrison of this stronghold could not be too many, too many, and the Irish would not attack it without the possibility of conquering it before the British moved in a big way. Then the Duke of Norfolk's idea of using this stronghold to attract the Irish, and then quickly transferring the main forces by rail, for a decisive battle of the main forces, and destroying the main forces of the Irish Independence Army in such a big battle, could not be realized, then even if more troops were brought in, it would only be a repetition of the old story, the army of the United Kingdom, constantly losing blood in small and dense small battles after another, and the war seemed to never have an end.

But if the number of troops stationed there is too small, in case it really can't hold and is eaten by the Irish, it will be a big loss, and the war will be even more difficult to fight later.

In the end, after careful discussion, the British felt that relying on the defense of the "Bonaparte with the golden shield" model, plus about 6,000 real British troops, they should still be able to hold on, and hold out until the large forces arrived. And the number of six thousand people did not really scare the Irish into attacking.

Early that morning, Colonel Edward Stamford woke up early. He got out of bed, pulled back the curtains, and looked out the window.

It was still early, the sun had not yet risen, and the earth was covered with a dark cyan mist. This is also a common occurrence during this season, and sometimes the fog does not disperse until noon after it has risen. Such weather was obviously not good for the defenses, and the attackers, relying on the cover of the fog, were likely to sneak up and then send a pillbox into the sky at once with explosives packs and blasters.

Colonel Edward Stamford immediately became nervous, and he immediately put on his military uniform, went out, took a few guards, and went to the front.

By the time Colonel Edward Stamford reached the fortifications at the front, the sun had risen by the time, but the fog had become thicker, and the visibility had even dropped to less than thirty meters.

"Is there any movement?" , Colonel Edward Stamford asked Battalion Commander Richard, who was on duty at this time.

"I don't know, I can't see anything. Someone heard what seemed to be a little movement on the other side of the minefield. But don't know what? Maybe it's people, but it could be something else, like a rabbit or something. We fired a few shots blindly in that direction, but we didn't know what the effect was. ”

"Is there a reaction from our military dogs?" , Colonel Edward Stamford asked again.

"There are some reactions, but if it's a rabbit, they react just as well. Last time there was a dog that ran into a minefield with a rabbit and ......" Richard shook his head.

"Hell," said Colonel Edward Stamford, "the fog is so great today that it may not be clear for a while, so be careful and be vigilant, and don't let the Irish sneak the explosives under your noses." ”

"Where is it so easy for them to get in such a big minefield out there?" Battalion Commander Richard shook his head, but he looked at Colonel Edward Stamford's face and added, "Of course, we'll be on guard." ”

"Tom, I guess they'll be doing something in the next two days, and you can't afford to take it seriously." , said Colonel Edward Stamford.

"Yes, yes, Commander, don't worry, I sleep with one eye open."

While they were talking, a group of Irish Independence Army fighters had taken advantage of the fog to come to a minefield at the front of the British line.

Unlike the inefficient probe demining of the British sappers, the Irish sappers had the most advanced French mine detectors in their hands. This kind of thing, which uses the principle of electromagnetic induction, can clearly sense metal objects buried in the ground, and I don't know where it is clever compared to the stupid metal probes that the British sappers poke around.

Whenever a mine was detected, the Irish sappers would stop and pull out a long metal probe to further pinpoint the location of the mines before carefully digging them out. Under the cover of the dense fog, the sappers quickly carved out a safe passage through the minefield.

Immediately afterwards, the soldiers with explosives bags and blasting canisters crossed the minefield and began to approach the British fortress.