As a result of the Battle of Bessel, the American forces in the Shenandoah River area were suddenly deprived of their sharp sword power. Arthur. MacArthur relied only on the regular infantry in his hands, and was simply unable to break through the line of defense of the expeditionary force head-on. Especially after more and more Chinese airships rushed to the Shenandoah area.

Liu Xian frequently asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to have private and informal contacts with the United States and Britain. The attitude of these two countries is softening.

As a result, more than 20 officers of the expeditionary force at and above the rank of lieutenant general knew one thing -- if Lao Mei was beaten up again, the war that had lasted for two years would be over!

However, with the current strength of the expeditionary force, it is impossible to organize a large-scale counteroffensive. There are a lot of six or seven hundred thousand troops, and after being scattered on the defense line of more than 1,000 miles, it is very ordinary. In addition, the positions of the expeditionary force are all positions of great depth, and the small-scale ones also have four or five complete lines of defense lines, which are more than ten or twenty miles long before and after, and there will be six or seven more solid and tight positions in key areas, which are thirty or forty miles in front and back.

The number of troops required is enormous.

There are 6,700,000 troops in the Northern Theater, but the reserve army only has the Praetorian Guard, two mechanized divisions and a cavalry brigade, 150,000 people! How to rely on this little force to fight a large-scale counterattack, at most, it is to pierce Lao Mei with an awl once.

"Just let them know it hurts!" After the U.S. offensive lasted for half a month, it fell silent, and Liu Xian also made a decision. Efforts were made to raise half of the Praetorian Guard, one mechanized division, and one mixed division, with a total strength of 100,000.

The counterattack unfolded at Winchester, West Virginia. It is the emptiest point where the US military deploys its troops.

Thousands of shells exploded on the positions, the scorching heat drove away the cold of early winter, and the trenches were scorchingly hot. Dry, there is hardly a hint of wind in the air. Only the strong smell of gunpowder smoke mixed with a slight smell of gasoline was solidifying.

The railroad to Washington between the positions had been blown beyond recognition by shells, and even the roadbed had been blown into sections. Sleepers and rails were scattered on both sides of the roadbed, not a single tree was in sight, and the yellow weeds had already been burned by the fire caused by the shells. In the rear of the position, pack horses pulling baggage carts walked forward vigorously with their heads buried in the sound of whips.

The gunfire and artillery on the flank positions continued, but it didn't sound as intense as it had been in the morning.

This is next to the train station on the outskirts of Winchester, where neither Chinese and American forces wanted to let the other take control of the station, and there were many fierce battles here. You fight for me, the train station changes hands many times. But now, if it weren't for the fact that a sign for the train station could still be found in the ruins, no one would have believed that it was once a large railway station. It's in ruins!

The American troops on the opposite side were organizing a retreat, because in the morning, the right flank position of the American army had been broken through by the armored units of the expeditionary force; At the same time, an expeditionary force infantry from the left flank position had also cut into the American defensive line, and if it did not retreat, the garrison of the opposing American position would be encircled by the expeditionary force.

The sun sets by 10 minutes. The American garrison in the frontal position retreated due east, and the infantry of the expeditionary force followed closely behind to attack the American position and make the necessary pursuit of the retreating American garrison. Although there was no heavy damage, there was no total annihilation. But at least the retreating American troops gave up their intention to hold on layer by layer, ran all the way east along the railway line, and retreated to the Martinsburg defense line.

After confirming that the withdrawal of the US troops was not to lure the enemy deeper. The mechanized and armored units of the expeditionary force marched rapidly to the east.

Naturally, I didn't take advantage of it. The retreat of the American troops was very methodical, and it was really not a hasty retreat. Everything on the position was removed. The warehouses open one by one are empty and can run mice. Some of the abandoned and damaged baggage wagons were almost empty overnight. When the American troops retreated, they took everything they could take from the baggage wagons, even the rigging of the horses.

This is not a good sign. This shows that the U.S. military has been prepared for retreat for a long time, and it is not possible to empty the entire material reserves of the land requisitioned in one day. The U.S. troops, while retreating, even blocked all the wells behind the positions.

Behind the Martinsburg line at the moment,

A train carrying fuel and ammunition arrived at the railway station, unloading not only the fuel and ammunition of the armored corps, but also a batch of steel cans, all painted with skull patterns; Some of the heavy mortar shells that arrived with the truck also had the same skull pattern painted on them, and the green ammunition boxes led to white skulls, which made it feel strange and eerie to look at. In addition to this, there are some strange masks that look somewhat like pig faces. But those who have insight know that this is a gas mask!

It has been half a year since poison gas appeared on the battlefield, and it would be a joke if Europe and the United States could not come up with a gas mask with their science and technology.

Escorting this batch of special ammunition is a very special unit, each of them is wearing a green rubber coat, with a pig's face mask, the appearance is strange and eye-catching, along the way has aroused the strong curiosity of countless American soldiers, even the stationmaster of the train station can't help but ask the commander of the unit what these special ammunition and soldiers are, but the other party is tight-lipped.

Since it is 'highly confidential', of course, half of the people don't know that it exists, so they have dispelled the idea of 'getting to the bottom of it'. Only the top brass of the US military knows who exactly this special ammunition is.

In half a year, Europe not only invented gas masks, but also gas bombs.

In the afternoon of the next day, the expeditionary force chased the tail of the retreating American troops to Martinsburg. Immediately, the cannon fire was incessant. The tense atmosphere became solemn and oppressive.

Song Zuoxian's headquarters then moved to the front line, and at this moment he was walking around in front of the map with a gloomy face.

Americans don't behave very differently, but there is always a hint of eccentricity. Let him be a little unsure!

Song Zuoxian did not dare to take risks, the troops in his hands were not only the most elite 100,000 people in the expeditionary force, but also the largest mobile force that could be mobilized in the Northern Theater now. Once frustrated, the emperor's plan will be ruined. Song Zuo didn't dare to be careless at all.

However, without putting in more forces, it will not be easy to break through the Martinsburg defence. If Martinsburg cannot be broken through, Song Zuoxian's task will not be completed. This is an even bigger puzzle. The expeditionary force launched a counterattack, just to tie the old beauty, and now you haven't even broken Martinsburg, which means that the oily skin hasn't been broken, this is a fart.

After the airship unit suppressed the US airship, the expeditionary force also sent a group of airborne troops and special forces to the rear of the US army, but they were able to make a little mess for the US army, such as cutting off railway transportation and attacking logistics convoys.

Under such circumstances, it is urgently necessary for a large number of troops to cooperate in a frontal offensive and put a heavy pressure on the US troops, which will make the US troops feel even more panicked and panicked.

I don't know how long it took, Song Zuo stopped first, his eyes fixed on the map, and then he realized that the shelling outside seemed to have stopped.

"When did the shelling of the US military stop?" Song Zuo first asked a staff officer beside him.

"It stopped five minutes ago." The staff officer replied cautiously.

"Commander, should our army launch a counterattack? Let the Americans see how powerful the Imperial Expeditionary Force is! Another staff officer suggested at this point.

"Don't move for the time being!" Song Zuo hadn't made up his mind yet.

However, many of his staff officers advised him to strike back immediately. After two years of war in North America, the expeditionary force is really arrogant. The shelling by the Americans gave them the feeling of being whiskered.

However, before Song Zuoxian could explain his taboo to the staff officers, a field phone at the headquarters suddenly rang, and a staff officer hurriedly went to answer the phone, and from the microphone came the hoarse shouts of a certain commander on the front line.

"Americans...... United States...... Gas shells were fired! …… The position medicine is lost! ”

Although he sat far away from the field telephone, Song Zuoxian still heard the shouts of the front-line commander clearly, so he picked up the high-powered telescope on the conference table, walked out of the anti-artillery bunker on the side slope, climbed the dirt slope at the top of the bunker, raised the telescope, and looked at the position to the east.

In the easterly direction, on the front-line position, the artillery fire has stopped, but there is not only black gunpowder smoke wafting on the position, but also a kind of yellow-green smoke that Song Zuoxian is familiar with.

"Poison gas! The Americans are gassing! "At the moment of life and death, and it is this kind of moment that there is no way to stop, many people shouted hysterically, and military discipline was left behind at this moment.

Gas masks are needed for gas gas, and the expeditionary force for this thing does not have universal equipment at all. The officers knew that there was such a method of warfare as poison gas warfare, but for the first time they really faced poison gas warfare, it was impossible to say in their hearts that they were not nervous.

Many people are dizzy, extremely uncomfortable in their lungs, and their breathing is becoming more and more difficult. The entire frontline was in a state of panic.

The U.S. military then launched a saturation bombardment on the front-line positions of the expeditionary force!

"War is really a gold-eating beast." U.S. Army Commander N.A. Myers sighed. More than 10,000 shells were fired in just the thirty minutes of covered shelling organized in front of us, and a shell of 30 pounds is more than 300,000 pounds. And that's not even counting the shells and the round of poison gas bombs that were released before, and the total investment has been thrown out of half a million pounds.

And the effect of such a sum of money is there, N.A. Myers has not yet been able to see. It is hoped that this poison gas bomb will teach the Chinese a hard lesson. In the past six months, the US military has been plagued by poison gas bombs by China's airship units, and now it is the turn of the Chinese themselves to taste the taste of being poisoned. (To be continued......)