The Xia Imperial Army began a full-scale offensive, and President Gomez was not as incompetent as everyone thought, but quickly redeployed and sent a guard army to the western defense line, which not only strengthened the defense of the western defense line, but also served as a supervising army to supervise the army on the western front. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

All the officers of the Guard Corps are from the original Presidential Guard, completely loyal to the President, and there is absolutely no possibility of rebellion.

The president also knew the importance of San Cristobal, and if it were to be occupied, the Xia Empire would be able to bypass the Mérida Mountains and drive long from the south into their hinterland, leaving Venezuela in no danger, and if that were to do so, they would not be a match for the Xia Empire's army.

The commander of the Western Front ordered the entire inhabitants of San Cristobal to evacuate, and all garrisons must live and die with their positions.

Lieutenant General Cao Jiachuan's step-by-step strategy did not achieve the desired results.

In the whole mountainous area, Venezuela has built a large number of secret fortresses on the mountains on both sides of the valley floor, many of which are based on the original natural caves on the mountains, and from the outside, if they do not get closer, or even if the other side does not fire, they will not be discovered at all, and it is impossible for airships to carpet bomb the entire mountainous area, even if they carry out carpet bombing, they cannot destroy all their fortresses.

At the top of the mountainous area, part of the anti-aircraft machine guns and anti-aircraft guns were also secretly arranged, which were specially designed to deal with the airships of the Xia Empire.

Every time the Xia Empire's army took a closer step, it was fiercely blocked by the Venezuelan army.

With fewer troops, the Venezuelan army will only return fire with a small portion of the fortress; If a large force is sent to charge, the fortresses on all sides will open fire in unison, destroying the living force of the Xia Empire's army; The airship was at a high altitude and did not dare to reduce the flight altitude, and the power of bombing in the mountains was limited by the terrain, and the effect was very unsatisfactory.

The mountains were densely wooded, and there were thorns and shrubs, and Cao Jiachuan did not dare to send troops into the mountains and forests to search.

Small units were sent to stealthily stealthily carry mortars, and the remaining troops made a feint on the front, and the artillery was ready to fire, reinforcing the front line at any time, and shelling the enemy's exposed fortresses.

Helplessly, Cao Jiachuan was disappointed, the mortar did not work against the enemy's fortifications, and after being exposed, it would immediately attract attacks from other fortresses, and it would be quickly annihilated; The mountain artillery and howitzers equipped by the Xia Empire, although the technology is advanced, the range and rate of fire are much stronger than those of the Venezuelan army, but in the state of attacking from the back, they are far inferior to the condescending enemy.

The enemy's numerous crossfirepower and ubiquitous traps made the Xia Empire's army suffer heavy losses every step forward.

In the face of the enemy's tight defenses and heavy artillery fire, as well as the ubiquitous secret fortresses, no amount of troops sent up could help, only to increase casualties.

After three consecutive days of attacking, a battalion of Praetorian Guards, a regiment of Wehrmacht and a regiment of Japanese mercenaries were disabled, and other units had a certain number of casualties, and the army advanced less than 200 meters, Cao Jiachuan ordered the troops to suspend the offensive.

After careful consideration, Lieutenant General Cao Jiachuan prepared to send 1 cavalry division and 1 brigade of Japanese mercenaries to raid the northern border cities of Opaolo and La Rafurria, and occupy Santa Barbara and El Bihia, so as to achieve the goal of encircling San Cristobal from the flank.

After Chen Yifeng learned of the situation encountered by the 2nd Route Army, he quickly approved Cao Jiachuan's plan to outflank the enemy from the northern foot of the Merida Mountains.

The news of the cessation of the offensive by the Xia Imperial army made the Venezuelan defenders very excited. And President Gomez realized the feasibility of relying on favorable terrain for defense, and ordered all troops to shrink, establish a defensive line based on the entire coastal mountain range of Merida, and abandon the northwest coastal hills and plains, where the defense is too difficult to withstand the fierce attack of the Xia Empire's artillery fire, and under the condition that they have no advantage, the possibility of being able to hold it is too small, rather than this, it is better to withdraw to the mountains and hold on.

President Gomez's timely retreat allowed him to preserve his troops intact, and took advantage of the Xia Empire's troop adjustment to improve the defense facilities and establish a solid defense line by relying on the advantageous terrain.

At the same time, he also promoted Lieutenant General Miroslav Nedavar, commander-in-chief of the Western Front, to the commander-in-chief of the Northwest Front, and promoted his rank to general, taking full responsibility for the defense of the Mérida Mountains-Coastal Mountains defensive line, giving full play to his experience in successfully blocking the offensive of the Xia Empire's army on the Western Front relying on fortresses and terrain.

Living up to expectations, Colonel-General Miroslav Nedawar continued to strengthen the defenses of the Elbasia Pass and the Valera Pass on the Western Front, which had entered the Merida Mountains from the north.

In Baquisimeto and San Felipe, numerous fortresses were built on the Western Front.

In full accordance with the President's instructions, Colonel-General Miroslav Nedavar abandoned his position on the hilly plains of the northwestern periphery and relied on the steep terrain of the mountains to make the entire northwestern front impregnable.

And the northern front, starting from Moron and Puerto Cabello, all the way to the port of Cumana, all close to the coastal mountains, they had already built numerous forts in the dangerous places of the mountains, and the entire port was within the coverage of the battery artillery, so that even if the Xia Imperial army occupied the port, it did not dare to attack from these ports.

In other areas, only a small number of alert troops were arranged, and those places were either steep mountains and plateaus, and it was still difficult for the Xia Empire's army to pass, let alone logistics and supplies; Then there are swamps and dense river networks, which are not at all suitable for large troops.

When the news of Venezuela's comprehensive contraction of the front reached Chen Yifeng, he was not much surprised, in the face of the powerful military power of the Xia Empire, it was normal for the opponent to shrink the front.

According to the situation of the troops in his hands, Chen Yifeng immediately made the latest deployment of the troops, fully took over the northwest coastal areas abandoned by Venezuela, gradually narrowed the encirclement of Venezuela, and was able to provide material supplies for the troops from the sea, reducing the logistical pressure.

At present, there are four regular troops in his hands, among which the First Army, which was adapted from the troops directly under the General Staff of the Northern Theater of Operations, is stationed in Bogotá, Colombia, and maintains order throughout Colombia; The 2nd Army, which was reorganized from the troops directly under the General Staff of the Southwest Theater of Operations, is confronting the Venezuelan army in San Cristobal; The 3rd Army, supported by Zhang Wei, was originally used as a reserve, but was now urgently transferred to northwestern Venezuela to receive the empty space left behind by the enemy's retreat.

The 4th Army, expanded by the Defence Force of the Guyana Region 3, is stationed on the south-eastern front with the United States of Venezuela and is preparing to occupy the lower Olinoco River with the Navy.

There are also 8 brigades of Japanese mercenaries, 3 cavalry divisions and 2 corps garrisons, as well as 300,000 mixed-race mercenaries who are mainly responsible for logistics and maintaining the security of communication lines.

The Xia Empire's offensive was blocked, and the two sides began to arrange their troops, and the war was temporarily deadlocked.