In early June 848, the tide of battle in Anken Rein quietly changed. On the Western Front, Paul Chung stopped all offensive probing and moved on the defensive. On the Eastern Front, Prince Eliot's Third Guards Army and the First Army and Sixth Army Corps of the Western Theater, which were still loyal to the emperor, were holding on to Auredry, and they also lost their willingness to attack. As for Prince Wenfeng, after experiencing this period of growth, he was finally able to fight the defensive battle well, although he lost the Zidai Plain, but in the defensive process of Neusam, he fought well with the third adopted son Karim Ronin on the opposite side. On the whole, although the two battles on the Eastern and Western Fronts in the early stage eliminated the troops equipped with new weapons, so that Ankenrein lost the will to attack, but both Ronninger and Negru were also injured by these two battles, and the pace of the attack gradually slowed down.

It was against this background that the 3rd Army Corps of the Western Theater of Operations, with a total of 60,000 men from six divisions, and the 1st Division of the 3rd Guards Army and the 1st Army Corps of the Western Theater, totaling 70,000 men, advanced to Enspan Province from the east and west. The big nobles of Enspen Province had almost fled when Gastens promoted the land reform, and this time most of the people who got the news were small and medium-sized nobles, and those who could run were also trying their best to flee. Even Yarrow Ross, the governor of Enspen, went to Roseville on the pretext of leaving Inspan behind him.

"The situation is grim......"

In the operational command room of the Elena Production Brigade Headquarters, Gastens looked at the sand table in front of him, and his tone was not relaxed. Ivan Zink and the company commanders of the original production regiment stood beside him, also looking at the sand table.

"From the exact information we have obtained so far, the number of troops sent by the east and west has exceeded 130,000, and the ratio of our troops has reached 13 to 1, even if you add the new peasants who have been mobilized for the second time in Enspan Province, this ratio is still about 6 to 1, and the gap between the forces is huge."

Zink, who was in charge of intelligence work, emphasized the disparity in the strength of the two sides, "Judging from the previous Battle of Fort Curtiss and the Battle of Thorn Hills, our main force equipped with the Valiant rifle, the production brigade, can deal with the enemy with about three divisions at most, and any more, it will lose its combat effectiveness." ”

"The situation of the Sharp Knife Regiment is better, because of the existence of a large-scale killing weapon like the Luoshan Type 1, if a regiment of the Sharp Knife Regiment is used to defend in a suitable terrain, it can basically fight against two or three divisions, or even more, as long as the ammunition is replenished."

The head of the Sharp Knife Regiment, Bellanchier Warren, introduced the state of the Sharp Knife Regiment.

"In this way, all our forces are already very difficult to deal with one enemy in the west or east, and if two enemies attack at the same time......"

Bimbo Bobruv frowned. Although it was a military meeting, because this incident and the next response determined Elena's future, almost all the heads and minds gathered in this small combat headquarters.

"Can the factory produce more Luoshan 1? That weapon is a weapon against a grouped enemy. ”

Berrancier threw the subject to Gulasco.

"We've done our best, but we still have to protect the Thunder One and the Valiant rifle, all three weapons are urgently needed right now. Moreover, the production of the Luoshan 1 type is more difficult, and now one body a day is already the limit. ”

"We already have almost fifty Luoshan Type 1, and the ammunition is also sufficient, all of which are given to the Sharp Knife Regiment, making the Sharp Knife Regiment the core of our next tactics."

Gastens spoke his mind, he looked at Bimpo Bobruf, "You have to do a little bit of trouble with security, and beyond the plain of Elena, we may have to give up the ongoing management. All the information of the peasants and the land who participated in the division of the land was transported back to Elena and kept for it, and when the war was won, we had to ask for the land back according to the map and return it to the peasant brothers. ”

"Understood." Bimbo Bobruv nodded.

"We must continue to do counter-reconnaissance work, and now the situation is grim. Some of the wall grass may have defected before, but you guys keep an eye on me and don't have any problems. There is no Huai Rou policy during the special period, and if you find a problem that may be an enemy spy, you should kill it, and don't hesitate. Gastens turned to Sink Warren again.

"You can rest assured that there will be no problems in this regard." Shinke Warren is full of confidence.

"'Fluorite' will continue to do it, focusing on the war that is about to break out. Then, when we win, we can release the newspaper publicly, so let's look forward to it. ”

"Definitely."

Daisy nodded, but her expression was still not easy. Although Gastens has already begun to arrange the work, lay out the response plan. But the core combat idea, he has not yet said.

"Head", Ivan couldn't hold back, "how to fight this battle, you haven't said it yet." ”

"I know, I'll say it right away", Gastens nodded at everyone, finding that everyone was staring at him after Ivan's question, knowing that this question was everyone's top concern. He smiled and offered his own thoughts.

"In this operation, we have to change our thinking, everyone has been fighting positional warfare before, and the two sides of large-scale battles set up formations to approach each other, and then shoot hand-to-hand to determine the winner. This method of warfare was possible and effective in the era of steam rifles. But for our Valiant rifles and Thunder I, it is already obsolete ", the words of Gastens attracted everyone's full attention. Everyone knows that at the present time, only Gastens will be able to find a strategy against an overwhelming enemy.

"So it's a skirmisher?" As the head of the production regiment, Berlanchell has studied more and knows more about the tactics of the skirmishers. He boldly interjected, wanting to see if his thoughts were consistent with those of the leader.

"Or so to speak," Gastens nodded at Bellanch, "but not a position-based skirmish like Elliot or Paul Chung. That's not flexible enough. What I want to do is to abandon the guerrilla warfare of the position, turn our soldiers and troops into daggers hidden by the assassins in their sleeves, find the right opportunity, launch a surprise attack, achieve the goal, and retreat immediately. Do not give the enemy a chance to gather and form a formation. ”

"Abandoning the position......", Ivan thought for a moment, "so we are not going to defend the newly developed land in the province of Enspan?" Will that affect the willingness of the new peasants to fight? ”

"It's not that it doesn't guard, it's just that it guards in a different way," said Gastens, "the land is dead, and the people are alive." As long as we can annihilate the enemy's living forces to the maximum extent possible, and deprive them of the ability to attack, we will be able to achieve de facto independence for the province of Enspan. Moreover, the most suitable combat mode for our new weapons is also the guerrilla warfare method of rapid mobility and hit-and-go. Only in this way will we be able to concentrate our limited forces and deal a fatal blow to the enemy in places they do not expect. ”

"But, head, we have never practiced the so-called guerrilla warfare you mentioned, and if we start a war rashly and are not familiar with the tactics, will there be problems?"

Ivan raised his hand and asked, "Moreover, if we have the Luoshan type, we don't have to be afraid of the enemy at all to defend our position." The firepower output of the Luoshan 1 is very strong, and if the enemy rushes up in a line to shoot and kill, we can completely slaughter the enemy. ”

"The biggest problem with positional warfare is that it is easy to be surrounded, even if we have a weapon like Luoshan I, but if we are surrounded, the enemy will attack regardless of sacrifice, a regiment of 1,000 people, no matter what, will not be able to defeat tens of thousands of people, and you don't have so many bullets", Gastens has long been thinking about how to defend Enspan Province after his intentions are exposed, and he has already made a calculation in his heart, "If you use guerrilla warfare, the degree of freedom is all on our side." When to fight, who to fight, and to what extent we fight, we have the final say. As long as enough obstacles are placed in the enemy's march to prevent them from attacking the Elena Plains, our core area, victory in this anti-burial campaign can be guaranteed. ”

Although they still didn't quite understand what Gastens said, those present had a strong belief in Gastens. They discussed guerrilla tactics for a long time, and on the basis of trust, they roughly understood the essence of guerrilla tactics.

"This is an article I wrote, called "On Guerrilla Warfare", you can read it in the next two days, and if there is anything you don't understand, come and ask me. From now on, Elena will be in full combat readiness. By winning this battle, we will be able to win the space for Elena's development in the next five years! ”

Gastens finally cheered everyone up and ended the meeting. The big war is approaching, and Elena has a lot to prepare, and everyone is nervous. With Elena's regular army of less than 15,000 men and a second-line new peasant army of less than 20,000 men, how could they resist the attack of 130,000 men?

At this moment, although no one doubted the final victory of the path they chose, in the face of this unprecedented enemy, everyone's hearts were a little apprehensive.

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On June 13, 848, the 3rd Army of the Western Theater, loyal to the commander of the Western Theater, Paul Chung, crossed the defense zone of the 5th Army and set foot on the land of Enspen Province. In the eyes of those who don't know the inside story, it is not incomprehensible that the Third Legion, which was originally responsible for defending the defense line of Thorn Hills, has returned to the territory of Ankenrein. But in the eyes of those who know the inside story or know some military affairs, they will definitely drop their jaws when they see the Third Legion carefully entering Anken Rein's own territory with a wartime marching lineup.

When did the army of one's own country enter the territory of one's own country, when did it need to be so careful?

"Send two corps to fight a production brigade?" Skye Hamm, the commander of the Third Legion, sat in his carriage and played with the Rubik's Cube in his hand a little bored. This is a relatively popular toy in the Neglo Republic, and the Third Legion, which has been stationed in the Thorny Hills for a long time, has also come into contact with this interesting little thing.

"This production brigade is not ordinary", Chief of Staff Manny Castil sat by the window of the carriage, looking out the window, "Gastens was once an acquaintance of Prince Eliot. The weapons used in the assault regiment established by the Commander are also said to have been provided by this place. If we can take Elena, we will be able to get the production capacity of that weapon, and we will not be invincible in the future? ”

"That's just as well," Skye Hamm nodded, "I still like the easier task than the tin cans." ”

"This time our focus is not on Elena," Manny Casdir reminded, "and with Elena's military power, both we and the other side will be able to crush them. What we have to do is how to coordinate the interests of the other side to ensure that we can get everything we want. ”

"I know that the design drawings and factories must be guaranteed to be available", Skye Hamm waved his hand impatiently, "I said little Manny, you don't have to talk about these things over and over again, I said before the departure that the commander said that my ears are going to be calloused, and now I finally come out, you still have to say?" ”

"It's good that the general knows, so I won't talk about it later."

Manny Casdir smiled and fell silent. The two looked out the window together. Shaoqing, Skye Hamm sighed.

"The view of peace, it's so nice—"

"Bang bang bang-"

Almost before Skye could finish his exclamation, an unfamiliar voice came from the front of the line. Skye Hamm had never heard the voice, but he was keenly aware that something must have happened ahead. He sat up straight, lifted the curtain of the carriage, and found his communications officer, Daniel Juric.

"Go and ask what's going on!"

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At the same time that the troops of the Third Army entered the territory of the province of Enspan, Gastens, with the entire Knife Regiment and all the top echelons of the army, laid an ambush at a junction through the forest that the forward troops of the Third Army must pass. Although it is located on the plains, it is densely forested, making it easy to hide your whereabouts and escape. Gastens arranged his regiments of sharp knives on both sides of the road, and more than forty Los Angeles steam machine guns, twenty of which he placed on each side, formed a triangle of firepower, an absolute death zone.

"Time is tight, guerrilla warfare and ambush warfare, I will only demonstrate to you once, and then everyone will disperse to fight, you must learn this lesson well, understand?"

Gastens, wearing a camouflage hat made of twigs on his head and green camouflage on his face, lay at the position of the observation posts at the front line on both sides of the road, and whispered to the officers beside him. Although it is extremely dangerous here compared to the rear, and his life may be in danger at any time, the old team of Gastens is from the death squad, and he doesn't care about this kind of thing.

"Head, don't worry, we will definitely learn hard!"

Ivan lay beside Gastens, still holding a small notebook in his hand, and he nodded as he took notes with the tip of a pencil. The other major generals are in about the same state as him, and everyone is remembering them by heart. After all, this is the foundation of the battle for Elena to follow.

"It's coming, it's coming!"

Flags and processions were seen on the road. It was the troops of the 1st Division of the 3rd Army Corps, they were in battle marching formation, the soldiers on the front line and on the sides, the steam backpacks were running at full capacity, ready to be excited.

"When is it going to hit?"

Sink Warren asked in a low voice next to him, although he was in charge of intelligence. But he was also very curious about such a thing as guerrilla warfare, so he followed Gastens to the front.

"Wait, the Third Army is 60,000 men, and the 1st Division has 10,000 men. We're going to try to get rid of them from one to two thousand. So, you see, when about two regiments passed, we opened fire. ”

Gastens gave the order in a low voice, and the generals carried it out. After a while, the person in charge of counting came up.

"It's been two regiments in the past!"

"Shoot!"