Siliur's First General, Green Dragon Wings, Stag Death, Angel Dust...... These monikers all belonged to Dungar O'Brien I, Duke of Munster.

At the age of fourteen, Dungar I joined the Pope's crusade against the Holy City. However, just as he was leading Munster's army on an expedition to the Holy City, King Edney Wayne I of Deherbas launched a war of aggression against the Duchy of Munster. Although Edney Wayne I died in the middle of the war, his successor, Middlelets II, remained firmly in control. When Dungar returned to the territory with a heavily lost Munster army, he was confronted by the army of Dehbas, who were waiting for their work.

Even the young heroes of Dungar had to surrender to Middlelets II in such a situation. Ironically, Middlelets II was once Dungar's comrade-in-arms in the Crusaders, and it wasn't until he learned of the invasion of his realm that Dungar understood why Middleletus had left suddenly a few months earlier.

However, it is precisely because of this friendship that Midletus II has always been sorry for Dungal, and after the Duke of Namunster became a vassal, he has always treated Dungar preferentially, even if Dungar was imprisoned several times later, he has always been open and did not deprive Dungar of his territory and life.

Having lived through the dynasties of Midletus II, Edney Wayne II, and Bag I, Dungar led the army as the chief general of the Deherbas kingdom for many years, and he traveled across the continent, leaving his achievements and prestige on the Badajoz Peninsula, Orknis, Belgre, Pannonia, and Hadrian. Two of the most famous battles of his life were the battle of Causau against the Pannonian king Salamon "The Iron Bone", and the battle against Hadrian's Empire to capture Hadrian's capital of Iscontinium while defending against Hadrian's attack on Belgre.

After the death of Dungar I, the O'Brien family has been hereditary Duke of Munster and the Duchy of Munster, and even if there were several rebellions, they were not deprived of their power, and even in the national rebellion in the early days of the revolution, even if the O'Brien family took the lead in causing a rebellion, they still retained the title of Duke of Munster in the end, but they were cut off their territory like other rebel nobles. However, even so, the O'Brien family is still hugely influential, and in the western provinces, especially Munster, there are still many members of the O'Brien family who hold public positions in these places, such as Baron Yserle No. O'Brien, who now commands the Munster Bucks Corps, is the nephew of the current Duke of Munster.

The Munster army, famous for Dungar I, was as brave and good at fighting as their legendary heroes, and in the case of a sudden encounter, the Munster soldiers were not at all timid, but launched a fanatical charge, as if blood had aroused their belligerent nature.

Dawes's cavalry failed to effectively attack the flanks, and in the darkness of the night they could not see the enemy's full formation or judge the enemy's weak points, but plunged headlong into the sea of Munster's men. Although the initial charge inflicted considerable casualties on the Munster army, the cavalry trapped in the quagmire became rabbits with their legs tied, completely immobilized, and the Munster men's bayonets quickly tore them apart along with their mounts.

On the front, Dawes, who had lost control of the overall situation, could only retreat in embarrassment, but fortunately, there was the cover of night, and those wolf-like Munster soldiers did not see the gorgeous general's uniform he was wearing, otherwise he would definitely be the priority target of those berserkers.

The soldiers of the 75th Division were no match for the Munster at all, and while the line infantry was still forming their formation, the Munster soldiers had already rushed in front of them. Dawes didn't know whether to thank the night or curse the darkness, and with the cover of the night he was able to escape from the Munster people, but because of this darkness, when his scouts discovered the Munster people, the enemy troops were already too close, and the ranks of the 75th Division only fired two rounds before Munster rushed to him and dragged him into a white-knuckle battle.

Although the Southern Legion is the most numerous in the Empire, it is not the strongest in combat. Compared with the central provinces of the empire, which were originally stationed on the remains of the Franconian Empire, the Central Army that is now assisting in the defense of Silesia, and the standing corps of the western provinces, the Southern Army is a little less combative. Since the southern part of the empire was bordered by the Kingdom of León and the Republic of Bisaya as allies, the Southern Legion never regarded these allies as imaginary enemies. The pagan desert people on the other side of the sea have always been blocked by the empire's powerful navy on the red earth continent, so the southern legion has always been guarded against the rebellion of the southern princes, and with those outdated aristocratic armies as imaginary enemies, naturally there will not be too much pressure, and the combat effectiveness has not been high in the imperial standing army.

Originally, with the situation in the south, in case of a rebellion in the south, the first line of defense of the empire was the Southern Army, as a standing army directly under the central government, they had no obligations with the southern princes, and they were completely free from the control of Prince Pritun and others. However, due to the sudden death of the commander of the Southern Legion, Baron Fairfax, the Southern Legion was controlled by the Prince's faction, and the loyal dogs used by the empire to guard the caged wolves became ambitious wolves.

However, even if the southern princes were assisted by the Southern Army, the strength of the southern rebels still could not be compared with the empire, not only in terms of troops, but also in terms of combat effectiveness. Nicholas I's cabinet was always concerned with the struggle with Hadrian's empire, and was negligent in the south, and the legion was mixed up with many southern nobles, which eventually led to today's results. However, the equipment update of the Southern Army was relatively low in the standing army, and the training intensity was also insufficient, and once it was engaged with the main force of the Empire, the gap was quickly manifested.

The 75th Division, dragged into hand-to-hand combat, could not resist the Munster people, who had been martial since ancient times, and the array was quickly torn apart, and due to the escape of Commander Dawes, it did not take long for the soldiers who had lost the command and motivation of their commander to lose the courage to fight, and most of them began to flee.

Baron O'Brien stood on a small, slightly raised mound of earth and watched the enemy flee. This encounter ended in less than half an hour, with the victory of the Munster, although it was in the face of such a weak opponent, the victory was not something to be proud of, but this victory was the key to the rescue of Lanz Town, and the baron's mood couldn't help but be a little agitated, after all, this should be the first victory of the Empire in the face of the rebels, and it was of great significance to him and to the Empire.

The baron had just participated in the charge, but Mr. O'Brien, who had reached middle age, was not as strong as the young men, and he was stopped by the cavalry before he could rush to the first line. He regretted that his guards had kept him alive and that the baron had not been able to destroy even a single enemy.

"Take care of the prisoners, clean up the battlefield, and there's a battle waiting for us, boys!"

The baron stood on a small mound and shouted to the soldiers with pride. And the Munster who won the battle were also extremely excited, they liked to fight, preferred the victorious battle, and of course the favorite was the trophy after the victory. The cavalry of the 63rd Cavalry Division crashed into the Munster charge from the side and were crushed before they could do much to help, and their horses were naturally the best trophies of the victors.

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On the Weiting side, he didn't know about Dawes's collision with the Munster army, and still pinned his hopes on that special team. With this hope in mind, although he was anxious about the current situation of the battle, he still did not think that his plan would fail.

But others don't think so.

The artillery regiment of the 88th Division, after being taken care of by the enemy's heavy artillery fire, lost more than 10 artillery pieces, which was like cutting the flesh of Daladier's heart. The equipment of the Southern Army was so poor that among the 30,000 people led by Wei Ting, only his 88th Division had an artillery regiment and dozens of mortars, and now he had lost more than ten artillery pieces at once, how could he not be heartbroken.

However, although he felt sorry for his lost artillery, the artillery support could not be stopped, and after regrouping the position, the artillery regiment of the 88th Division braved the threat of enemy artillery fire and fired another salvo.

However, Connaught's army and the Imperial Capital garrison had arrived at Lanz several days earlier than the Southern Army, and the fortifications they had built were much stronger than the positions that Daladier had temporarily emphasized, and the artillery fire of the 88th Division did not inflict much damage on the northern bank. Although in the previous shelling, Dallas also analyzed the arrangement of the opponent's artillery and gave targeted concentrated artillery bombardment, but the effect was very small, and the enemy's artillery fire was still so fierce, but it was a little unbearable on its own side.

Daladier's command post was close to his artillery position, so he was not aware of the range of the enemy artillery, which was only due to the fortifications on the opposite side.

A shell fell on the perimeter of the Daladier command post, and the officers in the command post rushed to their stomachs. The improvised and rudimentary command post was shaken by this blow, and the entire building shook. A few shells had fallen near here before, and the splashed earth had already covered the command post with a brown coat, and from this shock, a lot of mud and sand also fell and hit Daladier's body.

A herald ran into the command post under artillery fire, and he had a lot of dirt on his body. "Report to the general, the 64th Division has requested our artillery support. ”

Daladier slapped the dirt on his body, spitting out the mud in his mouth and scolding: "Has Lao Tzu's artillery support stopped? Bastard, don't you really need money for shells!"

The herald, who was sprayed with spit on the face of the division commander, swallowed his saliva and said stubbornly: "The sixty-fourth division hopes that we can directly shell the machine gun fortress on the bridge. ”

"Hit that bridge directly?" Daladier glared at the poor soldier, "Bazin, bastard, didn't he hear the Legion Commander say before?

The herald lowered his head and left the command post again to reply to the 64th Division, and was probably exposed to the nameless fire of another division commander.

Although Daladier rejected the 64th Division's request for artillery support, he also understood the current casualties of the 64th Division, Bazin sent five companies to launch an offensive in succession, and failed to take even a single machine gun fortress, and Bazin, who had lost hundreds of men, was now as anxious as Daladier, who had lost more than a dozen guns.

"General, although the commander of the corps is not allowed to destroy the bridge, it is not a way to fight like this. If the troops can't break through the bridge, they won't be able to cross the river, and our artillery regiments will only continue to wear out. ”

The counselor's words silenced Daladier. If it was someone else's soldiers who were lost, then he would not be so distressed, but if his most valuable artillery regiment suffered heavy losses, it would be unacceptable to him.

"But if you shell that bridge, it's going to be hard to explain to the commander—" He hesitated.

"The Captain of the Legion of the Victorious Court is a new officer, and you have always had a close friendship with him, and the Legion Commander will not blame you too much. Moreover, in the current situation, I think the corps commander will not be so scruples anymore, after all, only if we win, we can use that bridge, right?"

"Alright then!" Daladis thought about it for a while, and finally made up his mind, "Let's ask the Legion Commander first." If he doesn't agree, we'll say it's a mistake. ”

Daladier is a sleek man, and he still wants to leave a way out for himself.

When Vittin saw the herald sent by Daladier, he immediately guessed what Daladier was asking him for. But at this time, he couldn't care so much, no matter how good Daladier's relationship with Bazin suddenly was, or he was worried that the 88th Division would be too damaged as the second batch of troops to go into battle next, Wei Ting didn't plan to care. What he longed for most now was to take the bridge down.

Daladier, who had the consent of the corps commander, did not hesitate to order the artillery regiment to aim at the machine-gun fortress on the bridge. After the artillerymen calibrated the angle and distance, dozens of hideous mortars roared again. But this time the shells were no longer flying across the river, but directly towards the bridge.

This time the shelling had a good effect, and the fire on the bridge was suddenly very small. Stepping on the wreckage of the bridge, the 64th Division finally got a chance to prove itself and took the bridge down in one go.

Although the first line of defense was lost, Viscount Jericho and General Cecil were not much anxious. They didn't expect the bridge to hold back the enemy's attack for long, or even for so long, and it was already beyond their success to inflict so much damage on the enemy. In their original assumption, the enemy should have shelled the bridge as soon as they came up.

"Alas—what a pity for the good boys on the bridge. General Cecil slapped his thigh and sighed, "But it took more than an hour for the first line of defense on the other side, and I think they will only be crying in front of the second line tonight." ”

The town of Lantz was originally cut off by the Lanz River on the south and north banks, so the narrow town streets on this side of the bridge have now been fortified like a wall to prevent the enemy from penetrating through the bridge. And this line of defense is stronger, after all, the machine gun fortress on the bridge is built on the bridge, and the position on the north bank is protruding outward, and it is not as good as the defense capability on the north bank when it is attacked by artillery fire.

"Don't be careless yet. Viscount Jericho didn't have the same rich expression as General Cecil, he still had a serious look, "The enemy is limited by the terrain, and the attack on that bridge can only be carried out by company by company, and the forces on the other side still have an advantage. ”

General Cecil also nodded in agreement, the bridge was captured, and it was the defenders on the north bank who were at a disadvantage, especially since they did not know where the main force led by Prince Pridon was.

"Thanks to the more than 100 new mortars you brought here, otherwise we would have to bear more pressure. ”

When the old general said this, there was a bit of envy in his eyes, even jealousy. This time, the imperial capital garrison led by Viscount Jericho is equipped with hundreds of new steel Hobarton rifled guns, this kind of artillery produced by the Hobarton company has a caliber of 280 mm, a barrel length of 11.2 meters, a weight of 44 tons, an elevation angle of up to 30 degrees, an effective firing range of 19760 meters, and the shells can penetrate 65.8 mm of steel plates within 3000 meters, and can fire 1-2 shells per minute. Compared with the old guns commonly installed in the current Imperial Standing Army, the new Hobarton rifled guns have higher projectile stability and longer range, and the Lanz River is not wide enough, and the enemy's positions are deployed along the river, almost all of which are within the range of hundreds of guns.

Viscount Jericho didn't have any complacent, he knew very clearly that the Imperial Capital Garrison could have these equipment beyond the standing army, completely thanks to the blessing of the Ministry of the Interior. Although the Ministry of the Interior is nominally only a supervisory body, and it seems that it is only subordinate to some secret police forces, in reality the number and weapons of these units are unimaginable to outsiders. If the Emperor is unable to effectively control the Minister of the Interior, Beria, then the Ministry of the Interior will be a lingering nightmare for the Empire.

Thinking of the current relationship between the two princes, Viscount Jericho was faintly worried. When he first defected to Wood, he thought that Wood would recommend him to work in the Ministry of Justice, but he did not expect to end up in the Ministry of the Interior. Around that time, Wood had already thought about installing some men in the Ministry of the Interior for Crown Prince Alexander.

General Cecil saw the Viscount's frowning appearance, thinking that he was worried about the battle situation, smiled and patted him on the shoulder and said: "Okay, you should also be happy, although we have lost the first line of defense, it is still impossible for the other party to easily occupy Lanz Town." After tonight, Munster's troops are almost time to arrive, and it will be us who will have the upper hand then. ”

Viscount Jericho nodded slowly. Although he was not worried that he would not be able to hold his position tonight, he also did not intend to tell the old general his own thoughts.

The troops on the south bank continued to launch round after round of offensive against the defense line of Lanz Town, but the north bank of the river was more tightly defended than on the bridge, and although the casualties of the 88th Division were not as great as when they attacked the bridge, they did not make any progress after more than an hour.

The time gradually came to three o'clock in the morning, and the main force of the North Bank Front was held by the Connaught army, compared with the imperial capital garrison, these soldiers had a stronger will to fight, and they also relied on their positions well, and did not let the enemy achieve any more results.

And at this point in time, both sides got a piece of news that would decide the outcome of the battle.

The Munster army, led by Baron Isere Noe O'Brien, had arrived at Lantestown after defeating Dawes's Einsatzgruppen.