Once the agreement with Prince Elliot was finalized, the entire Elena entered the fast lane of preparation. In addition to the 2nd Militia Division defending the Johor Bahru Pass and the 1st Militia Division garrisoning the Los Angeles Pass, Gastens decided to devote all two of his advanced combat brigades, including the Guerrilla Brigade of Berrancil and Ivan's Production Brigade, as the main force for the attack on the Republic of Negro. After confirming that Eliot's troops had begun to withdraw from the Johor Bahru Pass, Gastens personally led the 1st Brigade with Bellanchier in charge of the 1st Brigade and Ivan in charge of the 2nd Brigade, a full 6,000 men, fully equipped with the Brave 1, Thundering 1 and Loshan 1, and capable of skirmishing the tactics of the skirmish, the most advanced army in the world, left the Loksan Pass and entered the vast plains of Enspen Province.

Their target was the steam artillery of the Neglo Republic.

"Boss, is that Elliot really credible? What if he tricks us into leaving, ambushes us halfway, or waits for us to leave and starts attacking Elena? ”

Ivan is a big grinning character, and he will say everything he thinks of as soon as possible, ask it, and then rest assured. Gastens heard his question, glared at him, and didn't bother to answer. Berranchir smiled and gave the answer.

"Our current troops, production brigades and guerrilla brigades are together, there is no need to deploy formations, and the tactical flexibility of the straggler line is extremely high. Elliot couldn't beat it, he couldn't catch up with it, and he didn't dare to move. As for Elena, there is a steam machine gun position of the Luoshan Type 1 and the 2nd Militia Division that can skillfully use platoon gun tactics, and they cannot enter the Johor Son Pass. As for the Luoshan crossing, there is a detour, and our intelligence network will also find out their movements, so don't worry. ”

"That's right, it's as simple as I thought", Ivan nodded, and started another topic, "Head, the enemy's army is not far from us, and we really only shoot artillery and not people this time?" ”

"It's not that you don't hit people, you don't mainly hit people", Gastens still attaches great importance to this issue. Before going to war, he must clearly explain the idea and goal of the battle, so that the two capable generals will not be able to carry out the battle effectively.

"The most crucial point in this war is to fight the weak with the strong, and attack it to save it. Why was the Neglo Republic able to fight all the way from the Principality of Rylin this time, and the Western Theater of Operations lost its armor and armor, and it was not because of their steam cannons? This weapon is relatively powerful, but the weakness is also obvious, it is difficult to move, and it is extremely easy to damage. If we can destroy their steam cannons, then it will be equivalent to pulling out the teeth of tigers, and no matter how large their army is, we will not be afraid. ”

"Then why don't you kill more people along the way? There are so many of them, kill more people, and we can fight later? Ivan's still obsessed with killing. After all, anyone who has used the Thundering 1 and Luoshan 1 types that are so convenient and easy to use will be tempted to feel the refreshing pleasure of killing people brought by this weapon.

"The Thundering Type 1 and the Luoshan Type 1 are powerful, but they also have shortcomings," Gastens said earnestly. The new weapons he created greatly reduced the difficulty of the revolution, but also made his troops dependent on weapons. He must be persuaded in many ways to avoid this psychological influence on the revolution.

"Downside?"

"Won't it?"

This time, Ivan and Bellanchir spoke in unison. It was the first time for the two of them to hear this statement, and they immediately became nervous. If there is a flaw in a weapon they both trust and like, it is better to know sooner.

"What do you think? What's the problem with Thundering 1 and Luoshan 1? Gastens wanted his comrades to think more and be more independent, so he didn't give an answer at the first time.

"Shooting at a wide interval?" , what Ivan said is indeed a problem. Because of the use of high-pressure cylinders, after a period of continuous firing, the pressure of the high-pressure cylinders is insufficient, and both weapons need to be inflated for a while. Although this time is not long, it will also lead to a fire vacuum, and the feeling of sudden dumb fire is really unpleasant.

"Expensive, complicated production?" Berlanchel was thinking about production. The production of these two weapons is far more complicated than the previous Type 27, and the factory is busy with three shifts, and the output has not improved for a long time. If I had to say that these two weapons had shortcomings, it would be only this.

"Yes and no", Gastens smiled and gave the answer.

"Of these two weapons, the biggest drawback is the bullet," he said, taking off one of the magazines on his body and showing it to his two comrades. In the slender magazine, iron bullets are neatly arranged, like soldiers in a line.

"With such magazines, combined with the weight of steam rifles, backpacks, and other equipment, a soldier can carry a maximum of ten. If you fire at full power, ten magazines won't even last half an hour of firing. The problem is also more serious because of the larger magazine of the Luoshan 1. Our troops went out to fight, and the first half hour was when we were at our strongest. Once half an hour has passed, and the bullets are almost finished, or have already been fired, there is no essential difference between us and the enemy, and we may even have to fight with a broadsword. At that time, the disadvantage of our small number of people will be completely exposed, understand? ”

Hearing Gastens' words, both Ivan and Berlanchir fell into deep thought. The advantage of one's own firepower, from the perspective proposed by Gastens, from the point of view of protracted war, suddenly became a disadvantage. The two of them had fought before, and Berrancier had fought a little longer, and knew the importance of ammunition. Ivan mainly fights defensive battles, and the supply of ammunition is very smooth, so he really didn't care about this. Now that Gastens has brought it up, both of them are aware of the seriousness of the problem.

"Head, so if we're going to attack, or we're going to fight the enemy head-on, we'd better end the fight before we run out of bullets, right?"

"Well, that's it," Gastens nodded with satisfaction, "Our army is at its strongest in the first half hour of the attack. If you save a few bullets, this period of strength can be extended for a while. But in any case, it won't last long. Although we can easily destroy the enemy's resistance during the period of our firepower, you must have this string in your heart, you must know that your strength cannot last for a long time, and you must know how to let go when you are short of ammunition. After all, every one of our soldiers is a comrade of our revolution and the seed of the future revolution. ”

"Understood."

"Knowing the boss, don't worry!"

The two of them responded in unison. Gastens saw that the two of them understood what they meant, and began to assign tasks again. Their tactics are simple. One is to find the enemy's large forces, which is not difficult. The march of more than 200,000 men in the province of Ensten could not be hidden. The second is to look for opportunities to attack the enemy's steam artillery, destroy those cannons, and then evacuate. As long as this can be done, with the Luoshan type, no matter how many enemies there are, Elena will have the confidence and courage to defend it.

"But, sir, we said we were fighting together, but didn't that kid Elliot send troops? Let's rush forward and take the lead, isn't it too much of a loss? ”

Ivan and Berlanchier both knew the contents of the agreement between Elena and Eliot. The two have always been a little incomprehensible about the fact that this agreement should be led by Elena at the beginning, and it was raised at the council, and Gastens explained it at the time. Now because they have time to be alone, the two of them have brought it up again, wanting to listen to the boss's explanation again.

"Fight the Neglo Republic, there is an alliance with Eliot, we will fight. Without an alliance with Elliot, we will fight too. So, whether to fight or not, it's not about Elliot, it's about ourselves. Now he has come to the door and promised us a lot of benefits to do something we were going to do, don't you think, it's a good deal? Moreover, by fighting the Negru Republic, we can also further improve Elena's image as a strong army, enhance our deterrence, and increase our voice, understand? ”

"Understood."

"Got it!"

The two of them agreed simply. But looking at their expressions, Gastens didn't know if they really understood. Either way, though, this battle must be fought.

Knowing this, that's enough.

————————————

A day after leaving Elena, Gastens was updated on the enemy's movements from the intelligence network. They had approached the western outskirts of the city of Entebraus, less than a day's way from the city of Moon, to which Elena belonged.

Now that the enemy's position has been determined, Elena's troops have also entered a state of engagement. Because the enemy had to transport steam cannons, the most convenient way was the road connecting the city with the city. And their movement speed is also limited by the steam cannon. Gastens and Ivan and Berlanchir carefully studied the map and found a good ambush spot. It was at the middle end of the road connecting the cities of Entebraus and Moon, on two hills next to each other. The locals call these two hills Rufeng Hill, which means simple and direct. The work of connecting the two cities passes through the junction of two hills, creating a terrain that is high on both sides and low in the middle, just right for ambushes.

After a simple agreement, Gastens and Ivan and Berlanchil came to an agreement. Their troops will be placed in a sparse bush on the eastern side of Rufeng Mountain, where the road has just left the most dangerous section and the enemy may breathe a sigh of relief. At that time, after the enemy had tensed his nerves and passed through the Rufeng Mountain, the troops of Berlanchel and Ivan would cut off the enemy's waist and attack the Chinese army directly, destroy the steam artillery, and then evacuate. In the whole course of the battle, we emphasized the word "fast", and we must make full use of our own firepower superiority, move forward quickly, and get things done with the minimum casualties.

The tactics are laid out, and the rest is operation. Because there was no need to set up a formation beforehand, Elena's army had a natural advantage in ambushes. They just need to hide themselves in the bushes, listen to the command, jump out of the bushes, tilt bullets at the enemy, open the gap, rush in to destroy the steam cannon, and then evacuate. Ivan and Berlanchell put down the tactics layer by layer, ensuring that all the grassroots commanders and most of the soldiers knew their own combat ideas, and entered the ambush position.

The ambush didn't take long for the army of the Negru Republic to appear in Gastens' field of vision. More than 200,000 queues crowded the otherwise spacious road. Moreover, because there were so many of them, the soldiers who did not need to escort the steam cannons even marched in the fields on both sides of the road, step by step, and did not know how many crops were trampled on.

Of course, at this time, no one cares about the crops. Ivan's production brigade was on the left, and Berranch's guerrilla brigade was on the right, and they patiently let the enemy's front soldiers go, and waited until the Chinese troops guarding the steam cannons appeared in the attack range, and then sounded the horn of the attack.

The moment the horn sounded, the marching troops of the Negru Republic slammed into a column, and the attacked part stopped, while the soldiers were still advancing before and after the attacked part. For a time, at the point of attack, there was a noticeable confusion in the ranks of the enemy. Immediately afterward, the soldiers of the Neglo Republic found themselves in a hail of bullets. The longer range, the sudden burst of attacks, and the rain of bullets knocked down the layer of Qi Brush on the periphery of the team at once. Moreover, as the attacks of the production brigades and guerrilla brigades continued, the second and third layers of the Chinese army were melting and disappearing like ice cream in the sun.

"So far, so good."

Gastens did not rush to the front line this time, but watched from a hidden place. In order to enhance the fighting quality and awareness of the two comrades, after completing the explanation before the war, the specific combat mode was decided by the two comrades themselves. Only when Gastens felt the need to withdraw his troops would he exercise his authority to take back the troops he had sent out.

From Gastens position, it was clear that the enemy's meandering ranks had stalled due to their own attack. In the middle of the ranks, the thick formation was rapidly weakening, and their own soldiers were already not far from those steam cannons.

"As long as we can destroy the steam cannon, we can win!"

Gastens accidentally said what he was saying in his heart, only to find that no one around him noticed him. Everyone was busy, observing, watching to see if this disparity in numbers would be able to achieve the desired goal.

Perhaps the power of the new weapons was really too great, or perhaps the enemy was not in combat mode on the march. At the same time that soldiers began to be sent on the front and rear sides of this long snake to try to support the center. The Knife Brigade and the Guerrilla Brigade have already cut off two-thirds of the enemy's defenses. At where Gastens was, their gunfire could still be heard, sudden, and non-stop.

Soon, the soldiers of the partisan brigade and the production brigade came into contact with the outermost steam cannons. Elena's soldiers activated the metallurgical pyroxene that had been prepared in advance and threw it into the cylinders of the steam cannons, or the cylinders of the high-pressure cylinders. Immediately afterwards, the soldiers who had been surrounded by the steam cannon withdrew one after another. After a while, the ultra-high temperature metallurgical pyroxene melted the cylinders, destroying the key components of the steam cannon.

So far, it's been all the way!