The federal fighters that flew over the battlefield in groups basically adopted the "egret livery", that is, the fuselage wings and tails were all white, and the engine parts were painted black. ~With ~ Dream ~ Small ~ Say ~ щ ~ Suimеng ~ Lā highly uniform coating, usually means that the manufacture and use of this equipment has entered the stage of mass and large-scale.

This is good news, absolutely good news, for the Union Army, which is in an unfavorable situation.

In the midst of the simple-looking white warhawks, Weiss suddenly saw a red fuselage with white wings, which passed low in the vicinity, and the pilot seemed to be watching the plane while watching the ground.

Is that him?

Nicolas Lebold, a long-lost name.

Weiss couldn't help but look up and wave, but unfortunately the pilot didn't notice the tiny figure on the ground.

There are hundreds of planes, and there is only one of them in this kind of paint, and it should be that the leader of the long plane has not to run. The silhouette of the flying cap and the gray scarf is plausible, not enough to identify the person, but it can be determined that the former friend has grown into an eagle soaring in the sky, and he is still far from the step of the Tiger Roaring Mountain Forest.

Soon, Weiss saw three green smoke clouds appear in the position where the Corps Headquarters was located, which was the scene of a special flare being fired, which should have been some kind of pre-agreed signal. Suddenly, a biplane in "egret livery" landed along the green smoke ball. Only about five minutes later, it took off again, heading for the front line.

Is it carrying the people of the corps headquarters to do aerial reconnaissance in order to intuitively understand the situation on the battlefield? Could it be that General Kaysen himself stepped in? With his character, it seems that he will not make Rommel-like moves. After all, airplanes are still a new thing in people's minds, and their stability is not as reliable as flying warships.

After almost a cup of tea, the plane flew back and landed again at the Corps Headquarters, and a moment later it took off again. Now that you have gained a perspective overlooking the battlefield through air-ground coordination, you will definitely have a deeper understanding of the battlefield situation. Weiss thought General Kaisen would call him soon, but this thought clearly overestimated his position and role. From early morning until noon, the telephone at the battalion headquarters did not ring. There were constant movements of troops around the perimeter of the defense area, and there were still exchanges of fire in a little farther away, only here they seemed to have been forgotten, and they had neither received orders from their superiors nor been harassed by the enemy, but the officers and men were not idle, and they continued to strengthen the fortifications, and as far as possible they had found weapons and ammunition to deploy to their positions. In addition, Weiss convened a meeting of officers and noncommissioned officers of each company at the head of the battalion to get to know each other and actively understand the situation of the troops, and second, to instill in them the mentality that the temporary units are also combat collectives and that only close coordination can confront a strong enemy. After the pre-dawn battle, the morale of the troops was effectively improved at least at the officer and non-commissioned officer levels, except for the wounded who could not be properly resolved, the situation of the companies was more optimistic, and the size of the troops was even slightly expanded—several units that had lost contact with their superiors entered the defense zone and temporarily joined the ranks of the 1st Field Battalion. Some of these troops were captured by the enemy, some were attacked by the enemy in the process of rushing to the front line, and they urgently needed to rest and replenish, and the 1st Field Battalion had nothing else, which could provide them with a place to rest and recuperate.

In addition, it was almost noon when Major Hozesen sent 20 scouts. Wei Si was like a treasure, and they formed 10 reconnaissance patrols with the elite soldiers selected by the 1st company in the ratio of 2 pairs, and sent them to the periphery of the defense area to deploy vigilance and reconnaissance. Although the combat planes of the Federation Army have mastered the air supremacy of the battlefield and, under ideal conditions, can achieve uninterrupted coverage during the day, Weiss cannot expect them to detect the movements of enemy ground forces and intercept and interfere in time. Therefore, ground vigilance and reconnaissance are still indispensable.

At noon, Weiss invited the newly recruited officers to lunch in the bunker of the headquarters with ammunition boxes and improvised tables. Towards the end, a call came from the Corps Command.

On the other end of the line, General Kayson's voice was hoarse and deep.

"Young man, your instincts have unfortunately come true—our path is indeed the enemy's main attack. Judging by the situation from aerial reconnaissance, the Normans threw in at least three corps of troops, and their infantry had already reached Hoventis, and before dusk they would reach our lines. Speaking of our defensive line, it is very unfortunate that the enemy broke through five breaches last night, and most of the front-line troops suffered heavy losses, even if we forcibly launched a counterattack, the most optimistic estimate would only be able to fill two or three gaps, and the Norman troops who broke through into our defense area combined were estimated to have two divisions, and they were scattered in many places, echoing each other, so that we could not smoothly send reinforcements and ammunition to the front line. I have reported the situation to Admiral Faros and am currently awaiting his decision. ”

Weiss noticed that General Casen used the word "unfortunate" twice, indicating that his mentality was pessimistic.

It's not a good thing to be cowardly before you fight. The Normans invested three corps, and on the side of the Union Army, the left troops, including the 9th Corps, also had three corps, which were not only based on the advantages of the home field, but also had backup to be expected, coupled with the results of the whole equipment battle during this period of time, it may not be able to withstand the offensive of the Norman army.

Without waiting for Weiss to express these thoughts, General Casen said: "We have just contacted the 129th Reserve Division, they were attacked by the Norman army last night, the troops were scattered, about 2,000 men are moving towards your defense area, the command is Colonel Malettier, and when they arrive, the 1st Field Battalion will be combined with them to form the 1st Field Regiment, with Colonel Malettir as the commander. By the way, he's an old senior at your Baseton Military Academy. ”

Seniors, when the war situation is not bad, the friendship of the same school is hello, I am hello, everyone, but when the war situation is bad or even life and death, who will take care of this? Moreover, the position of the commander of this defense zone has only been sitting for a long time, and he has to give way to a senior officer, and this matter is placed on ordinary people, and it is inevitable that they will feel lost and depressed, Wei Siyi is not here, and compared with the past experience, this kind of "grievance" is not a matter at all, and it is directly indifferent.

"I understand, General." He responded, "I will definitely cooperate with Colonel Maletier in the handover of defense." ”

General Kaysen said: "Young man, now you have two choices, one is to continue to serve as the commander of the 1st Field Battalion, and the other is to come to the corps headquarters and be my staff adjutant. ”

Is this an invitation? With this in mind, why didn't you keep yourself at the Corps Headquarters in the first place? In just a few days, you have to move between the reconnaissance battalion, the field battalion, and the corps headquarters, so that you can make your resume richer? Meow a yarn!

"Although the situation is not very optimistic, I willingly stayed, stayed here, and led the 1st Field Battalion to overcome all kinds of difficulties. We may seem to others as an inconspicuous bunch of hodgepodge, but if the enemy underestimates us, we will surely make them regret it in their bowels! Weiss said this categorically.

The other person on the phone hesitated: "Are you sure?" Acting Captain Clumber Haysen? ”

Weiss turned his head sideways and looked at the officers sitting at the simple table: "Sure, of course!" ”

The voice on the phone changed his mood: "Okay! I respect your decision and can give you some help in any way I can, such as a field medical detachment. ”

If General Kaisen hadn't taken the initiative, Weiss would have made such and such a request, and he thanked him repeatedly: "Field medical detachment? That's great! Thank you so much! This is what we need most now! ”

"I'll have the guard regiment send a car to escort the medical detachment over." General Kaysen agreed, and then added, "I have adopted the radio silence strategy you proposed earlier. However, in order to liaise with the troops, I had the communications battalion set up two mobile radio stations, but the results were not very good. At present, staff officers are allowed to fly to the higher command headquarters for important military intelligence reports, and as for the communication with the divisional headquarters, they can only rely on field telephones. ”

"There's no way around it," Weiss said. ”

On the other side of the phone, General Kaysen muttered: "Admiral Faros told me that reinforcements have departed, and I am optimistic that they will arrive on the battlefield tomorrow morning or noon." Under his full coordination, the aviation forces are doing their best to weaken the enemy's units, and judging by the current situation, this effort has indeed paid good results. We should have another afternoon to prepare, and tonight will be the key to the success or failure of the battle! ”

Weiss didn't listen to the last advice and blessings, but estimated in his heart: That's right, tonight, it will be a-for-tat battle between the two sides, and whoever can hold out to the end is crucial not only for this battle, but also for the follow-up process of this war. If the aviation units of the Federal Army can participate in the war, it will be a great help to the ground forces, and this valuable support will come?

When Weiss put down the phone and turned to walk back to the table, the officers spontaneously stepped forward and threw him envious and respectful glances.

Weiss walked to the table and let out a sigh: "Guys, General Kaisen has brought us some good news, and at the same time, some reminders...... We can't count on reinforcements to turn the tide of the battle until noon tomorrow, we have to rely on ourselves, as we did last night! In addition, General Kaysen wanted me to be able to go to the Corps Headquarters and serve as his assistant, but in the current situation, I would rather fight side by side with everyone than stay at the headquarters and be in a hurry. ”

The officers looked at each other, with a mixture of surprise and bewilderment, as well as admiration and approval in their eyes.

Weiss held up the teacup next to his plate: "Ladies and gentlemen, this is the first time we have fought side by side, and it is a great honor to meet you all in the trenches. Today, we replace wine with tea to respect our indomitable free will, our singing and crying war years, and our fearless fighting soul! ”

The officers raised their glasses, and one of them took the lead: "It is a great honor for us to fight side by side with you. Here, under your command, we will fight bravely and never back down! ”