As usual, the artillery cavalry, who had spread out in formation in front of the two armies, fired the first bullets at the enemy's iron shield line. The bullets carried a kinetic energy far beyond that of the steam rifles, and they rained down on the iron shields, making a crisp sound. But after the rain, the iron shield is still hard, and the defense line is still solid.

"It's fucking bad!"

Gastens scolded, realizing the problem. The enemy's iron shields are obviously made for their own hand cannon cavalry, and the shape is a large thick iron plate, and the reverse side is estimated to be equipped with handles to facilitate handling. From the point of view of processing process, this kind of defense device is more time-saving and labor-saving than the plate armor of armored gunners, and the cost must not be high. The Republic of Neglo is also an iron-rich country with no shortage of resources. If this kind of thing is quickly spread in the enemy's army, Ankenrein will completely lose the ability to counter.

However, it is not without its drawbacks......

Gastens was still thinking about it, and the order to shoot the second time had already been given. Only then did he realize that he was too worried about the enemy's line of defense and had not yet reloaded. He had to pick up his gun and keep pace with his comrades, but his attention was already focused on the enemy's iron shield.

The second round of bullets rained down again, but the enemy's iron shield was still indestructible, and Gastens could hear sporadic screams and groans, which should have been hit by a few unlucky bullets shot through the gap, and although this kind of hit gave some psychological comfort to the 3rd Guards Division, it could not change the tide of battle. Gastens soon realized that he had to make a change if this continued.

"Change the copper bullet! Advance !! ”

A new order was given, and Gastens took out a copper bullet of the same caliber but one size smaller from his right rear pocket on his horseback, put the muzzle of the hand cannon upward, and loaded it into the chamber. The range of this copper bullet is only about 100 meters, but the penetration is greater, and it is a weapon originally used by the artillery cavalry to break through the enemy's armored defenses. However, it was later discovered that the lead bullet was enough to penetrate the enemy's armor, and this kind of copper bullet never came in handy.

The 3rd Guards Division, standing in four columns, began to move forward by order of the commander. They pressed the distance to about 100 meters, lined up again, and threw a third round of bullets at the enemy. This time, their attack worked, and the enemy's iron shields shook significantly, and several of them were even knocked down at one point. However, this was not the same result that Gastens and even the commander of the 3rd Guards Division had expected. The thickness of the enemy's iron shield was noticeably thicker than expected, and for the first time since the entry into the battlefield, the pistolmen encountered an enemy who could restrain them.

"Mobility! This kind of thing has no mobility! We have to run! ”

Gastens spoke his thoughts, but on the battlefield where the rotation was fired, his words were distracted by the sound of gunfire and the sound of steam depressurization, and could not reach farther. However, the commander of the 3rd Guards Division was clearly aware of the problem. The rounds stopped after two rounds, and the enemy array remained silent, with no intention of counterattacking.

"They're waiting for us to come into range."

Erica standing next to Gastens? Russell babbled, and Gastens glanced at him, and before he could speak, he heard a new order.

"Turn! March! ”

The commander of the army and Gastens thought together, and the 3rd Guards Division began to turn in the gap between the two armies, and then left the area where the battle was about to take place. As he ran, Gastens turned his head to look at his own soldiers behind him, the improved Welsh II steam rifles in their hands, which were also the same weapons of the enemy, and the battle that was about to ensue was likely to turn into a one-sided slaughter.

However, the engagement between the Sixth Army and the enemy was obviously not within the scope of Prince Eliot's thinking, and the 3rd Guards Division followed the enemy's line of defense to the north and north, hoping to find the end of this line of defense. But their run came to an abrupt end in front of an unknown river. The enemy's line of defense terminated by the river, blocking the last way around which the 3rd Guards Division had passed.

"We can still go south!"

Erica? Russell was out of breath, and although it didn't take much physical strength to run on horseback, he knew that his comrades were being slaughtered behind him, and no one could be calm.

"It's too late, the rear is already engaged, and unless we go around from the rear of the battle line, we won't be able to find a breakthrough before the battle is over."

Gastens sighed softly. Now that the enemy's iron shield front has become a fortified city, and they have become a blocked army, there seems to be no good way to break through.

——————————

By nightfall, the two armies had broken out of contact, and the first battle of the Sunset Campaign ended with Ankenrey returning from futility on his side. The commander of the 6th Army decisively got out of contact after realizing that the contact battle was too disadvantageous to his side. However, due to this, the Sixth Army's plan to move eastward was also interrupted.

"The enemy only has two corps and four divisions, and the longest stretch of the front is only about three kilometers, even if the north of the front is a river, we can't break through, but there should be a breakthrough in the south of the front, right?"

"The latest reconnaissance report shows that the southern part of the enemy's defensive front is a hill with dense forests. It is not yet known how to continue south around the hills, but it should be possible to get through. Our map shows that the terrain is still predominantly plain. ”

"Then wave your army south and go around?"

"It will not work to go around, we have not inflicted effective casualties on the enemy, and when we get around, there will always be pursuers behind the buttocks, and when we surround the two armies of the enemy attacking the Tulucas Line, we ourselves will be surrounded by the enemy from the rear. And now our logistics have been cut off, and the army's stock of grain is only three days' stock, and the pressure is very high. ”

"So we have to find a breakthrough in three days!"

"First bypass, then attack the enemy's defenders from the flank, destroying them."

"That's an idea, but the enemy won't be indifferent."

"There is no way to have the best of both worlds, either break through the flanks and make contact with the rear, or counterattack the army behind our ass in pursuit of effective killing. Time is limited, so choose one! ”

Chief of Staff Navlay's words rudely interrupted the discussion, and finally, under the orders of Prince Eliot, the Sixth Army decided to turn around and attack the pursuing army behind it, trying to defeat the pursuing army and then move south to bypass the enemy line.

————————

The transformation of the entire legion is not so easy, the front team becomes the rear team, the rear team becomes the front team, and the command system and the herald system have to be adjusted accordingly. By the next morning, the Sixth Army had turned westward, counter-attacking the enemy behind it.

This time, the Iron Shield equipment that Prince Eliot and Dieter were worried about did not appear on the enemy's pursuing line, and it seemed that the production of that kind of thing had not kept up. The 6th Army Corps still used the old tactics, cutting through the phalanx of legionnaires and the cavalry of the 3rd Guards Division, and fought with the enemy. However, perhaps aware of the importance of isolating the Sixth Army from the Tulucas Line, the enemy's will to fight was very tenacious. Their 17th, 19th, and 21st armies held their ground as if they were dying, and began a long corpsion-level salvo and engagement with the Sixth Army. Elliot's 3rd Guards Division, having completed the task of breaking through the enemy's armored spear arrays on the front, had to constantly support the flanks to prevent the collapse of their own lines and storm the enemy's lines. The slave soldiers and regular soldiers of the Sixth Regiment also fought to the death under the supervision of the gendarmerie.

"They won't mess around with such a beating......"

Gastens turned the hot steam cannon upside down, reached out and pulled out the lead bullet from behind him, and loaded it into the muzzle upside down. His arm was a little sore from the long hours of operation, and his ears were ringing from the noise of the steam hand cannon, but even so, his reloaded arm was still stable.

"At this point, it's up to who can't hold it first."

Erica? Russell rode to a halt beside Gastens, his movements like Gastens, reloading and firing. Opposite them, enemy armored spearmen lined up in neat arrays and advanced to the sound of air whistles. It was as if they were not facing a cavalry with a range far superior to their own, but a well-cooked and delicious meal, or a beautiful woman who had stripped off and waited for her luck.

The battle continued, and four divisions of the Sixth Army were bogged down in the battlefield and could not be relieved. The 2nd Division, which served as a reserve, had also been put into the battlefield, and many of the soldiers' steam backpacks had been boiled dry, so they had to rush into the battlefield with their scimitars held high. The formation of queuing for shooting also collapsed several times, and gradually, the entire battlefield tended to enter a melee.

"At this point, the orders of senior officers can no longer be effectively conveyed, and the victory or defeat is seen by the commander at the company level."

Gastens was no stranger to this chaotic situation, which had arisen countless times in his previous life during the Great War. Each time, it was a major battle with heavy casualties.

"My hand cannon is broken."

Erica? Russell's tone was not without frustration. Battles in which you can casually hit the enemy like this without worrying about the enemy's counterattack are rare before the appearance of the pistol cavalry. Neither Gastens nor Erica herself did not think that the enemy would allow this situation to continue.

"Do you have any new hand cannons for the logistics team?"

"It's been a long time since then."

"I don't have enough water."

Gastens kicked his spare tank with his heel, making a loud clattering sound. Unlike regular steam rifles, which only have one water tank, the steam hand cannon consumes a lot of water and is loaded by horses, each with two cylinders and four tanks. According to the normal design, this equipment can support about four hours of moderate-intensity combat, but now the use of hand cannons of the 3rd Guards Division has exceeded the design threshold in terms of strength and time.

"A lot of people don't have enough water, and we're about to lose our combat effectiveness."

"The enemy's steam rifle is out of water, right?"

"Yes, but they also seem to have a strong will to fight in close combat."

Gastens used up the last bit of steam in the cylinder, and finally heard the drumbeat of the enemy's retreat. He pushed the hot steam cannon to his side, turned his horse's head, and rode towards the flag of the 3rd Guards Division.

After a long tug-of-war, the Sixth Army finally achieved a small victory.

————————

"The casualty rate is more than 20 percent, the casualty rate is more than 30 percent, and now the five divisions of the Sixth Army are participating in the battle, and after these battles, the team of more than 60,000 people at the time of departure, excluding those who fled, died, and wounded, only 40,000 people can fight, and there are still problems with logistics, although they won, they still face many problems."

After the war, Chief of Staff Navlai reported the number of casualties and the basic situation of the battle as usual, and Prince Eliot and Dieter stood in the staff room of the Sixth Army Corps, their expressions were not at all relaxed after the victory.

"Today, the 3rd Guards Division performed well and played a great role in diverting the enemy, and the enemy's three armies suffered no less losses than ours. Their 17th and 19th armies were our old rivals, and the 21st army was the defenders of Edfeiburg, which was considered a new addition. Although there is no clear data, there are artillery cavalry pressing the formation today, and their life is not better. ”

Dieter added on the side that he was also a chief of staff before, and he had his own judgment on the battle situation.

"The priority is logistics. This battle basically crippled the army behind, and they should not take the initiative to fight next. We will reconnoiter tomorrow, and if we can, we will go south along the enemy's iron shield defense line to find a way to break through, and if the logistics are cut off, we will not have much time. ”

Eliot presented his initial idea, which was largely agreed upon, and the details began. Gastens was doing what he could, but he was already worried about the enemy's shield.

If the enemy is equipped with enough defensive equipment, which is simple to produce and quick to manufacture, how does Anken Rein plan to deal with it?

The staff meeting ended in a somewhat oppressive atmosphere. Gastens returned to the camp and asked about the extent of the damage to the equipment of the cavalry with their cannons. After this battle, there were more than 700 steam hand cannons that could not be repaired, and there were only more than 7,000 steam hand cannons left in the 3rd Guards Division that could be used in a battle, and the attrition rate was close to 30% if the 1,000 units were replenished halfway. And the bigger problem is that they don't carry enough ammunition.

The lead bullet of the steam hand cannon is different from the Type 27 rifle, and the lead bullet of the Welsh II steam rifle is different and is specially made. Since the 3rd Guards Division set out, it has only received one major supply after the Battle of Eternal Green, and the amount of ammunition carried by everyone has been consumed during this time, and there is not much left. If this kind of battle were fought again at the intensity of today's use, the 3rd Guards Division would have withdrawn from the battle sequence due to lack of ammunition.

These problems were well known to Gastens, as were the staff officers of the 3rd Guards Division, and although the Sixth Army had won all the way, it was on the verge of running out of ammunition and food, and in their rear, the Tulucas Line did not have advanced weapons such as steam hand cannons, and the battle was even more tragic in the face of armored gunmen. If this continues, the course of the one-year war will become even more encouraging.

Not long after Gastens fell asleep with worries about the future, worse news came from the front.

The enemy again launched a late-night raid, firing at close range and dropping a lot of those steam bombs into their camp. Those bombs would explode one or two every once in a while, and although the number of casualties caused was not large, it had a great impact on the mental state of the soldiers.

"These bitches raised ......"

Erica? Russell scolded, and Gastens complained a few words after him, but he couldn't find a good way. The front-line soldiers are destined to search for those bombs overnight tonight, and it is estimated that they will not be able to sleep well.

Tomorrow will be even more difficult.

With this in mind, Gastens wrapped his blanket tightly and fell asleep to the occasional explosion.