However, the next offensive did not start today, because reinforcements from the 3rd Guards Regiment came up.

Faced with the Italian force growing from 500 to nearly 3,000, Menelic II, who led the army, suspended the attack. He needs more heavy firepower to do it, and the previous artillery performance was too poor, and he also needs to be rectified. In addition, he also needs to send troops to pin down other directions, and the enemy will inevitably threaten him from the flanks.

He also had a mission to fence up the enemies of Marat, but Emperor Johannes IV could help with this mission.

At the time when Menelik II appeared in front of the enemies of Marat with his troops, Johannes IV, as emperor, with a main force of 110,000, was passing twenty kilometers west of Marat.

It's unusually barren and uninhabited, but there is a small stream known locally as Natamu. Although it can't provide enough water for its own army, with the existence of several dark rivers, it can barely allow the army to get enough water.

Johannes IV, as emperor, sat in a cart drawn by four horses and acted with the army. And the heralds who come and go from time to time allow him to get the latest news.

"Your Majesty, General Wärtsilä, has taken the guard post of Caleta."

"Got it."

As soon as Johannes IV finished speaking, he drew a circle with charcoal on a parchment map, and the location of the circle was a sentry called Caleta.

"Your Majesty, His Highness Menelik has surrounded Marat with an army."

"Got it."

"Your Majesty......"

The constant news gave Johannes IV the latest control over the war situation.

And none of these news made His Majesty the Emperor show any expression fluctuations, and he always had a serious expression.

However, this continued until the evening, when the herald came to report that the stronghold of Moncarle had been pulled out, and his expression finally changed. Because on the parchment map, within fifty kilometers of the Mara, there are no more Italian strongholds.

'The first phase is already done and we will have to see how Menelik performs and how Italy reacts.

The performance of the Lord of Shoa is not yet visible, but he has a chance to see the reaction of Italy.

Mendeferra is located between Adiquara and Asmara, and it takes less than two days to get to both places. Of course, the fact that it was able to arrive at the two places so quickly was also thanks to the previous road construction army. But now the army has long stopped building roads, and only the recruited natives and engineers are left.

The town, located between the two towns, is currently chosen by Simeone as his temporary headquarters. Because it allows him to get closer to the front line without giving up control of logistics, it's a great place to get the best of both worlds.

When the news of the Abyssinians' attack on Marat arrived, Simeone was immediately refreshed. The opportunity he had been waiting for finally came.

"It seems that this Johannes IV can't sit still."

After seeing the news of Marat's siege, Simeone was still in the mood to laugh at the chief of staff beside him.

Major General Bartlett glanced at the telegram and spoke. "The offensive of the Sultans put this Johannes IV in a difficult position. If they don't take the initiative, they are waiting for death, and they can only play a game. ”

Faced with the chief of staff's explanation, Simeone immediately said with a serious expression. "It was all self-inflicted, and if it weren't for his arrogant and ignorant actions against the Eritrean garrison, there would have been such a result. He must suffer the consequences of our anger. ”

The commanders of the two expeditionary forces were not at all worried about Major General Wagman in Marat, and they could still have the heart to ridicule the Abyssinian emperor.

To be so reassuring to them, in addition to Major General Wagman's 8,000 troops, there is also the reason why he has sufficient supplies. There is enough ammunition for two months, and enough food and grass for three months, so since there is no shortage of ammunition and food, there is nothing to worry about.

Since there is no need to worry about relieving the advance team of Major General Wagman, Simone and the others are more concerned about another issue, how to seize the enemy's main force and not let it run away.

"Now we need to think about how to catch the main force of Abyssinia, don't let them run away, I don't want to start a pursuit on the plateau."

"So what are you going to do?"

Faced with the chief of staff's inquiry, Simeone looked at the map in front of him and was inspired, so he spoke. "I have an idea."

"What do you think?"

Simeone pointed to the map in front of him and said, "Marat is surrounded, and it is clear that that Johannes IV wants us to send reinforcements. He must have been watching our every move from a corner, and considering that the Abyssinians were more familiar with the environment than we were, we needed to be a little more prepared. ”

Simeone's words, Chief of Staff Bartlett very much agreed, although they were not worried about the safety of Major General Wagman's advance team, but their main task was to defeat Johannes IV and make the Abyssinians surrender, so what to do was to be carefully considered.

"So what do we do?"

The chief's inquiry made the corners of Simeone's mouth curle. "I think so, if we press it with all our hands, it's safe and we can get out of the Marat, but we might let Johannes IV run away. So my thinking is that there must be reinforcements, but the strength should not be too strong or too weak, and it is better to control the number of people to about 10,000. ”

Simeone's words made Bartlette feel a little dangerous. "10,000 people, isn't that a little less? The number of enemies has reached 1670,000, and these 10,000 people are going to reinforce it, is it too dangerous, you must know that this is a state of marching, not like Mara has a strong position to defend. ”

The words of Chief of Staff Bartlett were very reasonable, because the troops were not in combat condition on the march, which was very dangerous in the event of a surprise attack by the enemy. Although the soldiers all had their own rifles, the army's vital support firepower could not be in combat readiness.

Moreover, the ravines along the way from Adiquala to Mara were crisscrossed, which further lengthened the queue of the troops and slowed down their reaction time. It can be said that if Bartret had commanded the Abyssinian army to besiege Marat, he would have been sorry for what he had learned if he had not attacked this reinforcement. That's why he voiced his concerns.

"I've taken that into account what you said. To this end, I intend to strengthen this reinforcement in terms of firepower, so that it has enough firepower to block a possible surprise attack by the enemy. ”

Faced with Simeone's words, Bartlett was a little curious. "What equipment are you going to strengthen for them, artillery can't quickly counterattack, rifles are enough, machine guns need preparation time?"

Simeone replied with a smile at Bartlett's words. "It's the Maxim machine gun, but it's the Maxim mounted on the carriage."

I'm in a good mood