When Anken Rein finally launched a counterattack, it was already around 4 p.m. The army from the Alonte Empire was mentally exhausted after an early morning assault across the river and a day's assault. Their chariots, lying on their grounds, had run out of water and lost power. And those who are replenished in the rear still have a certain combat effectiveness. However, such a force is obviously not enough to see against the Anken Rein army, which is eager for revenge and has a more robust and advanced Behemoth tank.

"Attack, attack!"

Gleason Warren stood on the high point of the entrenched line, observing the situation ahead. Although they only have eleven Behemoth tanks, they can easily destroy enemy tanks that have been damaged by their operational mechanisms and are stuck in the areas where the two sides are engaged. The crew members of those tanks did not dare to leave the vehicles, and as soon as they left the protection of the armored vehicles, they were immediately killed by snipers who were staring at the battlefield. So, with almost no effort, Anken Rein's troops captured the thirty or so Hunter tanks and their crews.

Domhnal Byrne, commander of the Fourth Regiment of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, stood beside Gleason and smiled as he watched his comrades command the battle. He had not been familiar with the situation for a long time, and there was no tradition of holding command within the Ankenrein army. Coupled with the fact that Gleason's command in a disadvantaged situation was not a big problem, Domhnall Byrne also wanted to see the potential of his companion. After all, what Anken Rein lacks most now is experienced and high-ranking officers who can fight.

Ankenrein's army was still advancing, and Gulasco tried to organize a counterattack. But his troops were too tired, and his armored forces, although large in number, were not of sufficient quality and could not win in the confrontation. While they still aimed at the Behemoth's tracked attack, paralyzing six of the eleven tanks, they themselves were destroyed by nearly thirty. Moreover, the behemoths that had been destroyed by the tracks did not lose their combat effectiveness, and the Ankenrein infantry who attacked with them used these tanks, which had been turned into fixed batteries, as a base to completely regain the permanent defensive line.

And when the battle came to this point, the night of Ankenrein fell. Neither side is good at night fighting. As a result, the two sides entered a temporary truce as the Abandonment of the offensive and the holding of their positions by Ankenrein's troops.

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Soldiers can rest, machinery can be maintained, but commanders have very little rest time in wartime. In the faint darkness of the night, Domhnall and Gleason were combing through the course of today's battle.

"Now that the matter is largely clear, the armored forces in the rear of the enemy have landed from Kurmaster near the Far Eastern Cape, a half-abandoned seaport belonging to the domain of Pierre Toledano, Grand Duke of Glacier Bay. After we took over Ambour, we didn't have time to completely clean up the city of hostile forces. ”

Domhnar Byrne pointed to a spot on the map and continued, "Their armored unit, codenamed the 117th Panzer Corps, has divided three hundred tanks into two parts, and two hundred of them have landed from Kulmaster and lurked on the side of the road to ambush our behemoth warband. Because they were marching inland, they lacked sentry guards and were caught off guard by the enemy. It was precisely because of this surprise attack of theirs that our permanent defensive line did not have enough armored troops to defend it, and it was almost broken by enemy tanks. ”

"It should still be suggested that the rear make a steam cannon that can fight tanks, just use the armor-piercing shells used on the behemoth, so that we don't lose too much without the escort of armored troops."

Gleason concluded, "Also, I think we should keep going on the offensive tonight. The Behemoth Warband has been trained in night vision. I also received information that the 2nd Mechanized Division, stationed in Ronninger, was already coming towards us, day and night, and would be there tomorrow morning. ”

"You mean, we're going to fight a relay battle, drain the enemy's energy tonight, and let the 2nd Mechanized Combat Division harvest tomorrow, right?"

Hearing Gleason's advice, Domhnall Byrne admired him even more. One of the important abilities of a good commander is to think about the entire battle situation, not just his own troops.

"What about the more than 100 tanks they have circulating in our hinterland, it's also a big problem."

Domhnall Byrne took up the idea of teaching Gleason and asked a new question.

"Give our 3rd and 4th divisions to the tanks left in place by the Behemoth Warband. Their hunters are slow and can't go far, and as long as our Behemoth Tanks regain their mobility, it's their time to die. ”

"Good, good", Domhnall Byrne nodded, "That's it!" ”

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When Gukohein was woken up in the middle of the night, he could already hear the sound of enemy machine guns. The firepower superiority of Ankenrein's forces was especially evident during the attack. Although the 9th Army and the 10th Army resisted desperately, and gave full play to their advantages as the elite troops of the Alonte Empire. But as the enemy's behemoth roared and rushed into position, the great will to resist vanished after the front was easily and devastatingly destroyed. The armies of the Alonte Empire began to retreat uncontrollably, and immediately afterwards, the retreat turned into a rout.

"hold me steady!!!"

Gu Kohein was a little angry, he didn't expect his soldiers to be so soft. Look at Anken Rein's army, when there are no tanks on the position, they can calmly stop their own attack through trenches and flank attacks. But their own soldiers, even though they have tanks more than twice as large as the enemy, still don't have the courage to fight the monster.

"A bunch of soft eggs!"

Gu Kehai scolded fiercely, and the officers and soldiers who retreated with him were silent. Whether it's a soft egg or a deserter, rushing to your death in the face of an enemy they know they can't fight against is not a smart decision in their eyes.

The pursuit lasted almost two hours and ended with Ankenrey coming to a halt due to the halt of the attacking forces. Gukohain gathered the remnants of his army near the glacier, and now less than 40,000 of the 60,000 men who had attacked at the beginning remained, and less than 20 of the 100 tanks and slaughterers who crossed the river were intact. The only thing that made Gukohain happy was that the pontoon bridge was still there.

"General, what should we do, do you want to retreat?"

The chief of staff of the 9th Army, Jet Yupe, stood where he could see the pontoon bridge over the glacier and asked softly about Gukohain beside him. He wondered how he would deal with the current situation when the supposedly undefeated Iron Edge was once again crushed in front of Anken Rein.

"It's the officer, our officer sacrificed too much!"

Gukohain was still immersed in his own thoughts. He always felt that his troops did not behave like the most elite troops of the Aronte Empire in battle. After all, the problem of a one-touch collapse in wartime is clearly not the embodiment of a well-trained and battle-tested force. However, after all, he is a famous iron blade, and he quickly found the answer. Although the enemy's sniper unit does not have a strong sense of presence, the large number of killed and wounded grassroots officers obviously affects the combat effectiveness and cohesion of this army. It's just that he can't think of a better way to deal with the enemy's snipers now.

"General, what should we do, do we want to cross the river?"

Jet Yuppe didn't know what Gukohain was thinking, he only knew that as time passed, their hopes of survival became less and less. Now, it is unrealistic to expect Colin Ridley, who is deep in the heart of the enemy's army, to help, and it can be seen from the enemy's rapid and decisive attack that the strategy designed by General Gukohain to divide his troops into two ways and attack the front attack should have failed.

"Oh, retreat", Gukohain finally came out of his mind on how to deal with enemy snipers, he glanced at the pontoon bridge in front of him and made up his mind.

"When the interruption continues, there will be a big problem, notify it, withdraw the troops immediately, and take advantage of the fact that the enemy has not launched an attack! Also, take care to maintain order and don't cause panic! ”

Gu Kehein's worries were obviously superfluous, although the remnants of more than 30,000 soldiers had lost many of their own junior officers, but the basic military discipline of retreat was still well maintained. Moreover, because the pontoon bridge was built to ensure the passage of tanks, the efficiency when passing through personnel and troops was not low. By the early morning of the next day, when the enemy's mechanized forces reappeared, Gukohain's troops had already retreated for the most part.

"Defend, fortify the front! Continue the retreat!!! ”

Gukohain knew that his most critical time had come. A good general should not only know how to fight a winning battle, but also know how to preserve his strength when he is at a disadvantage. Now that the act of crossing the river and retreating has been discovered by the enemy, it is the most dangerous time for his army, and if he is in chaos at this time, then he will completely lose the battle.

Anken Rein didn't think much about it, they just started attacking according to the original plan. The soldiers who attacked last night have begun to rest. The mechanized combat division that took over the attack had a long journey, but its fighting spirit was strong. And their firepower is also greater than that of the infantry. Plus the cooperation of the Behemoth Warband. Relying on the last five tanks, they almost destroyed the enemy's armored defensive front.

"It's almost!"

Gleason was a little disappointed, and he saw the whole offensive process in his binoculars. Your tank was destroyed by the enemy and became a mobile battery, which could still suppress the enemy, but lost the backbone of the advance. If this continues, you will have to watch the enemy cross the river.

"Let's charge!"

Domnar Byrne reminded that "although the enemy still has a dozen tanks at his disposal, he has lost his fighting spirit and continues to charge, which is not a big problem." ”

Gleason hesitated, it was not a cost-effective idea to launch an attack on enemy armored forces without the protection of armored forces. He thought about it, but still rejected the Legion Commander's proposal.

"I don't think it's appropriate to do this, it's too much sacrifice."

"You can't be afraid of sacrifice as a general, do you want to tell the leader that we could have caught the enemy's general, but let him run?"

Gleason was silent, and after a while, he made up his mind.

"Liaise with the 2nd Mechanized Combat Division, we will use infantry to cooperate with their advance and squeeze the enemy to the river!"

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Gukohain crouched behind a shield at the head of the pontoon bridge, looking anxiously into the distance. Although the blocking battle ahead failed, it bought them about an hour. Now, although there are signs of disorder on the pontoon, he has sent more than 30,000 people across the bridge, and the rest is less than 8,000.

"Keep on the defensive! Persistence is victory! ”

Gukohain shouted loudly, and the heralds ran out of cover and tried to pass the order out, but they were directly planted upside down. So Gukohain knew that they were being targeted by enemy snipers. He cursed and sent the last three heralds around him.

"Why don't we let the chariot units pass first?"

Jett Yupe was a little curious, these chariots were the emperor's treasure. In this attack on Ankenrein, the emperor handed over almost all of his family wealth to Gukohain. If he knew that Gukohain had lost more than half of his tanks, he wouldn't know how to be angry.

"Without tanks, we simply cannot organize the crossing of the river, and when the time comes, not only will the tanks not be able to cross, but our soldiers will also die here."

Gu Kohein still sees things very thoroughly, the armored forces are the last backbone of their own side, let the backbone run away first, then the three most elite group armies of the empire can survive 10,000 people, which is a great luck.

"I see, let's withdraw."

Jett Yupe made another request, and now the situation at the docks was a little out of control, and many soldiers were squeezed into the water, shivering from the cold. Some didn't even get out and died in the river. Now that they've done their best, it's time to think about themselves.

"I see, let's go."

Gukohain took one last look at the enemy's armored forces in the distance and sighed softly. In its opinion, whether it was the enemy's fearless soldiers, or the thick-skinned tanks, or these troops attacking in huge armored trucks, he could think of a way to deal with each of them alone. But when Ankenrein brought these factors together, he found himself out of control.

"Retreat !!!"

This was what Jett Yuppey was waiting for, and he gave the order in a categorical tone, and then stepped onto the pontoon bridge with Gukohein. And behind them, the forces behind the palace have completely collapsed.

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"Well, shall we go over?"

A day later, Ivan Warren, the head of Elena's military unit, stood next to the glacier, looked at the wreckage of the severed pontoon bridge, and whispered to Domhnor Byrne beside him.

"I think it's okay," Domhnall Byrne said in a tough voice, "I haven't settled accounts with them yet." ”

"That's good," Ivan Warren nodded, "I'm here with the orders of the leader, Domnar Byrne, and I hereby order you and the Fifth Legion to launch a river crossing at the same time, and the Third and Fourth Behemoth Warbands will fully cooperate with you." This is a battle of revenge and shame, and I hope you don't let us down! ”

"Don't worry! Mission completion guaranteed! ”

Domhnall Byrne saluted, his eyes excited. Behind him, the river of glaciers that has not been closed all year round flows quietly and coldly.