"McCotter really played a good game."

Elliot? Prince Gibson at the headquarters of the Sixth Army gave Hugo, the marshal of the Eastern Front of the Neglo Republic, in a tone that was not too late to meet? McCorteger commented. Acting Commander of the Sixth Legion, Dieter? Schubert stood beside him, sweating profusely.

"Your Royal Highness, if the enemy has really destroyed our front in Scat Province and has advanced to Tulucas, then we must turn around and form a flanking attack with the Second and Third Legions against the enemy's new forces, only in this way can we solve the danger of Tulucas!" Vincent, Chief of Staff of the 3rd Guards Division? Navle stood on the other side of the map, with sincere words.

"U-turn? Abandoning Fort Edphi again? And then retreat again without a fight at Green Pine Mountain? I, Eliot, have come here to defeat the battle and surrender? ", Elliot? Gibson stopped and glared at Navley.

"Your Royal Highness, please calm your anger", Vincent? Navre, a veteran of the army whom His Majesty the Emperor had appointed to wipe Eliot's ass before his departure, must change Eliot's mind, "If we want to win, we can't let the enemy do what he wants." Judging from the current situation, the reason why we fought so hard in that battle on the Eternal Green Plain was probably due to the enemy's delaying strategy. The latest scout news shows that since we entered the Eternal Green Plains, the news from Scat Province has been cut off, presumably at that time McKoteg has launched an attack on the Fourth Legion, in order to prevent us from receiving the news, change the strategy, on the one hand to block the news, on the other hand to start a head-on duel with us, with the intention of holding us back. On the second day, at the Battle of Fort Edelphi, they fought and retreated, clearly intent on luring the enemy deeper, stretching and cutting off our connection with the rear, so that their new forces could attack the Tulucas Line. Your Highness, if we continue to hold on to Green Pine Mountain, or continue to attack, we will fall into the trap of the enemy! Not only are we likely to be surrounded and left alone, but the 2nd and 3rd Legions of Tulucas may also be routed! By that time, there will be no troops available in the entire western part of Ankenrein! Not only will we lose Tulucas, but we may also allow the enemy to invade our own territory, which is a great mistake! ”

"But if we give up Green Pine Mountain, if we give up Fort Edphi, we won't have a chance to come back here this year! When the depths of winter come, all military operations must be stopped. And by next spring, our first-mover advantage will have long since run out, and by that time, what will we do? "Elliot is also a man of ideas, and his concerns are just as legitimate. Navre bowed deeply to Elliot again, insisting on his opinion.

"His Royal Highness the Prince, lose your pawn and protect the car! Lose Fort Edphi, and we'll have at least Tulucas, the five great cities of a Duchy! The area is no smaller than these two provinces! But if we continue—"

"Enough!" , Elliot flicked his sleeves angrily and looked at the silent staff officers in front of him, "I want to hear different opinions!" ”

The staff officers from the 6th Army Corps were silent, as were the staff officers from the 3rd Guards Division. Now that His Royal Highness the Prince is angry, who dares to take the initiative to touch his moldy head?

"His Royal Highness", a clear voice sounded, and everyone's eyes were focused on Gastens's face. Could this war layman, who didn't even have the status of a nobleman and relied purely on a weapon design, really dare to speak on such an important occasion?

"You say."

Prince Eliot was in a hurry, and he looked at Gastens and added.

"That's not good, don't want that major of yours!"

Gastens bowed respectfully, and his face was already full of confidence when he got up, "Your Highness, before giving my thoughts, I have a question, the total number of troops that the enemy could put into Anta Province before was only five armies, 100,000 people. Among them, the 17th, 19th and 21st armies fought with us and suffered heavy losses. The 18th and 20th armies were still facing off with the First Army, and the latest situation was that there were skirmishes between the two sides, with limited casualties. In Scat Province, they were defended by the 12th, 13th, 14th, 16th, and 17th armies. From what I know about the army numbering principle of the Negro Republic, the armies with the prefix 1 and 2 are responsible for the defense of the Eastern Front, and their vital forces on the Eastern Front have basically been invested in the early defensive war. So, where did the new 6 armies of the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 8th, and 9th come from? ”

"They are the army of the Southern Front Command of the Negro Republic", Elliot really knew the answer to Gastens question, he glanced at Gastens angrily and cursed.

"Don't sell it, let it go if you have a fart."

"Now that the enemy has drawn the defensive forces on the southern front, this shows two things", Gastens gave up the previous idea of attracting attention by asking questions, and began to talk flat, "One is that the southern front of the Neglo Republic is empty, and on their southern flank are Loren Robles and the Third Republic of Fern, is it possible for us to start from these two countries, pull them into the water, and help us share the pressure, is a line of thought." ”

"It's not the time yet, say your second point."

"Second, since they have begun to transfer troops from the southern front, it means that their military strength on the eastern front is already very tight. After all, our numerical superiority is here, and we have recently fought two more major battles, and the attrition inflicted on the enemy is only a little more. In this case, I judge that the army they can come up with to fight against us has all been put on the bright side. ”

"We're the same, the Western Theater is basically out of soldiers, everyone is half a pound and eight taels", Elliot frowned, and thought down Gastens as he spoke, "You mean to say that the enemy is empty?" If we can destroy the enemy's army that is now at war with us, can we revive this game? ”

"Your Highness is wise", Gastens bowed deeply, "Now that the main forces of the enemy are being used to sneak up on Tulucas from Scat Province, I venture to guess that their main task in Anta Province must be to defend and hold us back at the same time. This strategy was supposed to keep us near the evergreen steppe, but we had an extra trump card that the enemy hadn't thought of, the Hand Artillery Cavalry Division. This greatly increased the enemy's casualties, and destroyed their desire to confine us to the Evergreen Meadows, so they had to abandon Fort Edphi in the hope that we would divide our forces and trap us in the Green Pine Mountains if our total strength decreased. When the dust settles and we are alone, we come back, clench our fists, and eat us completely. ”

"We put a division in Edphi, but the 3rd Guards Division is still there, and there are basically no losses, how can they have the confidence to hold us back with these forces?" Vincent, Chief of Staff of the 3rd Guards Division? "If the enemy had only so many men, they should be able to recognize that they could not hold us back, let alone surround us," Navle chimed in. ”

"So they won't take the initiative to attack!" , Gastens finally said his first judgment, "Your Highness, I think that the enemy is now empty of troops, and the main task is to hold us back and prevent us from supporting the Tulucas Line. So they will not take the initiative and will even place more forces in our rear. All you have to do is send two cavalry to scout, and you should get a concrete result. ”

"This one can be tried, but do you support a U-turn or a continuation of the attack?" Elliot never forgot the reason why Gastens dared to speak in front of everyone.

"Your Highness, I think our top priority now is to attack the enemy and save it! They are short of men, and they don't have the means to deal with our artillery cavalry, and if they engage in a large army battle with us, as they did in the previous two times, they will surely suffer heavy casualties. By that time, their forces will certainly not be enough to interfere with our operations. Therefore, I suggest that we first reconnoiter the enemy's disposition, and then pick up the thickest part of their disposition and stab it in, killing and wounding their living forces, and if possible, destroying their effective army in Anta Province. Once this goal is achieved, we will have absolute freedom of action in Anta Province, whether it is to continue to the west, threatening their inland provinces, or to turn east, and flank the enemy's new forces with the Second and Third Legions. ”

"That makes sense," Eliot nodded, turning his head and instructing the troops on the matter of reconnaissance, and then chatted with the staff officers about more details. Navre saw that Gastens had skillfully persuaded His Royal Highness, and the pressure on his heart was a little less. He quickly regained his professional acumen and began to study the enemy's possible defensive tactics on the map.

By noon, the news of the reconnaissance of the front line returned, and the enemy had already formed a defensive line in their rear, and the military flags seemed to be the 17th and 18th armies. And the flags of the 17th, 19th, and 21st armies appeared on the front line at the same time.

"What about the First Legion? How dare they release the 18th Army? The enemy's 18th and 20th armies were originally opposed to the first legion, but now the first legion is not holding on, and a corps is released, and Prince Eliot wants to go crazy again.

"Your Royal Highness, this means that the First Legion has begun to retreat to the Tulucas Line!" , Navre reminded softly.

"They retreated from us—", Prince Elliot was about to say why we didn't know about their retreat, but suddenly he thought of the answer, "They blocked our information and scouts!" ”

"Yes, Your Royal Highness, after all, we have penetrated deep into enemy territory, even if there are no enemy troops behind us or around us, but those people are eyes. They want to block our messages, it's not difficult. ”

"So we don't know what the rear is like now, and we can't even figure out the reality of the enemy!"

Elliot was just about to curse a few more words, when a new strategy suddenly came to mind. He walked briskly to the map, reaching out to the enemy lines behind him.

"If we turn around and go backwards and make a desperate attitude to return to the Tulucas line, their two armies alone will not be able to stop us. The three armies now guarding ahead of us will certainly press forward. If we kill the horse pistol when the enemy is pressing, will we be able to take it by surprise? ”

Both Navre and Dieter were silent. The two looked at each other, and Navre spoke. "His Royal Highness the Prince's idea is very good, such an unprepared attack on the enemy should be able to destroy a large number of the enemy's living forces. The formation of the large army in pursuit was very loose, and if we had prepared well in advance, we should have been able to play a good casualty ratio. ”

"Then it's decided!"

Elliot clapped his hands and decided on his next course of action.

——————————

After entering the Green Pine Hill position for most of the day, Gastens' Ankenruin army began to turn back and approach the enemy's makeshift defensive line.

"It is said that they only have two armies, and one may still be full. How could less than 40,000 people stop us? ”

On horseback in the pre-war array, Captain Staff Erika? Russell was chatting with Gastens.

"We are also a tired army, and the advantage is not obvious. However, with our artillery cavalry here, it shouldn't be a big problem to deal with these people. Now it depends on whether His Highness's strategy can work, if the enemy really changes formation to pursue us, we can turn the tide of the battle through counter-killing, even if they do not pursue us, but maintain a cautious combat formation to compress our defensive space, we can also break through the enemy's rear defense line, and form an internal and external attack with the Tulucas defense line. His Royal Highness the Prince's plan ensures that basically no matter how the enemy responds, we will have the advantage to take advantage of. ”

Gastens felt that his view of the situation was clear. Erica agrees. The main argument between the two now is when the enemy will leave the Green Pine Mountain line. Still, as the proverb goes, even a magister can't predict the future.

Seeing that Ankenrein's army turned around, the three armies of the Negru Republic that had built a defensive line at Green Pine Hill did not turn into a marching formation. They cautiously used the battle formation to advance slowly, clearly intending to compress the strategic space of the Sixth Legion. And in front of the 6th Army Corps, the 17th and 18th armies were already gaining momentum. His Royal Highness Prince Eliot's strategy did not work, and the enemy was still fighting at his own pace, one step at a time, calm and composed.

On the third day of leaving Fort Edphi, the Sixth Army once again fought a regimental offensive and defensive battle on the enemy's rear line - the Battle of Sunset.

The battle was named Sunset because Prince Eliot was uncharacteristically able to complete the formation and launch an attack in the afternoon and evening. As in the previous two campaigns, the Sixth Army sent four divisions as combat fronts, leaving the Fifth Division as a reserve. And Prince Eliot's Third Guards Division still plays the role of a battlefield cleaver.

"Bang bang—"

The drums sounded, and the platoon line of the 6th Army Corps began to advance to the beat of drums. The Negru army on the opposite side did not advance in sync, they just hid in silence behind the newly constructed breastwork, waiting for the enemy to come into range.

"Click-"

The 3rd Guards Division cut into the battlefield with ease when the distance between the two sides was less than 400 meters. But just as they had finished their battle formation and began to turn their heads to prepare for a volley, they found that the enemy had erected a row of two-meter-high iron shields in front of the breastwork. The edge of the iron shield is rough, and at first glance it looks like a rush to work. In the middle of the iron shield, there is a narrow observation hole. A lock is installed between the two iron shields, and when locked, the gunners in the rear row can extend the barrel from the junction of the two shields and shoot.

Seeing those iron shielded Gastens's scalp tingling, he immediately realized that this was a new trick of the enemy against their pistol cavalry. But now that the queue had been unfolded, and the drums on the battlefield were deafening, Gastens had no time to change the decision of the upper echelons, he could only aim at a shield and wait for the order to shoot. However, no matter how much he tried to comfort himself, the iron shields that stood behind the breastwork always made him feel a little uneasy.

The winter wind blew across Gastens' cheeks, bringing with it the command to shoot. He pulled the trigger as ordered. Countless lead bullets left the chamber of the gun at this moment and flew towards the enemy's defensive formation, like desperate warriors, rushing towards their destined enemy.