Albiang will win.

This is the general opinion of human society, and the government is correct, and it seems to be very correct from the perspective of the comparison of strength.

6 artillery reinforced infantry regiments, 4 light cavalry regiments and 3 squadrons of lancers, plus two squadrons of floating gunboats, totaling 27,000 men, 10 floating gunboats and 204 cannons - the orcs could not stand a chance in the face of such a strong lineup. The glorious Albion Army will defeat and destroy the Duchy army stationed in Riga, and then advance towards St. Petersburg......

Although the royal navy suspended its plan to march directly to St. Petersburg by sea because of "bad sea conditions", people still believed that Albion would go to victory.

It's as simple as using 27,000 heavily armed and well-supported Albion soldiers against a few thousand orcs who are still stuck in the age of cold weapons, and it's like squeezing an ant, and no one can doubt the inevitable victory.

"Gentlemen, despite some minor setbacks, the glorious army of Albion will continue its march until we have conquered St. Petersburg and brought the Tsar in a cage back to the Rundinium exhibition. ”

Rear Admiral Edward Parkinson summed it up with some intoxication as the Army officers in the officers' cafeteria of the 80-gun battleship HMS Tonnant gave a standing ovation, and the Commander of the Expeditionary Force glanced at the biographers on the side, and the corners of Rear Admiral Parkinson's mouth curled up when he saw their serious work.

For the Major General, this was the main theme of the expedition - to make the Albiang Army famous. And among the glorious army generals, he is the most shining one, like a bright light in the night. No one will ever question that his general's epaulettes were obtained by virtue of his status as brother-in-law of the Duke of Wellington. As for defeating the orcs and rescuing those who have been "looking south for years" from the infidels...... It's just a very simple little thing.

"Tomorrow we will ascend to the territory of the principality and leave the footprints of the warriors of Albion in the fortress of Riga. ”

With another round of applause, the Major General's statement will become a reality, and everyone is confident and has no doubt about it.

- Except for those who know the strength of the Duchy Army and the cards of the Albions.

"Major General Edward Parkinson has the advantage of 27,000 men compared to 13,000 in our army. On the artillery side. Their 204 cannons against our 132 cannons. However, in order to advance quickly, they carried 12-pounder field guns and Congreve rockets, and the floating gunboats carried 16-pounder guns and 8-inch mortars. We have here 38 small 6-pounder guns, 16 12-pounder field guns. 16 280mm heavy mortars. 20 24-pounder fortress guns. 18 32-pounder fortress guns, 20 of the latest 190pod (1 pod to 16 kg) fortified guns, and most importantly. The enemy commander, Major General Edward Parkinson, was not clear about what was actually happening here. ”

Lieutenant General Alexei Alekseevich Brusilov glanced at Fritz Tóth, chief engineering adviser sent by V.E., nodded to Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolayevich Romanov Nikolas, who was in the governor's seat in the conference room, and stepped aside.

A month ago, on this seat sat another imperial prince, Prince Alexei Alekseev, who was known to be a nobleman with many shortcomings, such as cowardice, stupidity, incompetence, greed, and stubbornness, who was more wasteful than Count Kuropatkin, who was stationed in the Brest fortress. There was a move to assign a general to each thousand-man detachment, and St. Petersburg had to consult St. Petersburg to make a decision, and he was able to climb to this position only because he was the illegitimate son of the Tsar.

Thanks to this extra-large scrap firewood, the defense of the Riga region was even more fragile than that of the Brest Fortress, and the defense system of the entire Riga region was in tatters, the artillery ordered was not in place for a long time, and the shells were thousands of miles away. The most absurd thing is that one-third of the garrison actually had no weapons at all, and many soldiers only had bricks and kitchen knives in their hands, and it would be good if they could even get kitchen knives! Because even kitchen knives have become "scarce materials," many thousand-strong troops report that they do not even have 250 kitchen knives in their hands. According to the Lieutenant General Brusilov, the director of the fortress, in his own assessment, once the human army comes ashore to attack, it is likely that there will be a situation in which "humans use artillery shells, and the principality uses meat bullets."

The situation did not improve until a month ago, when a nobleman of blood, stature, and intelligence surpassed Alekseev in Riga and became the new governor, and the fortress was immediately transformed.

For a long time, senior officers and staff members of the Principality Army relied mainly on their background, political background, and social circle in St. Petersburg, rather than on military literacy and actual combat ability. Riga was the hardest hit area of this phenomenon, which directly hindered the progress of the construction of the fortress.

After the Grand Duke took office as governor, the first thing he did was to call all the senior executives and reprimand, remove all the officers who were not up to his job on the spot, and promote a group of middle- and lower-level officers with outstanding ability in the firing line, so that these capable but unwilling officers could do their best to improve the combat effectiveness of the fortress.

As a young man, he fought under the old Grand Duke Nicholas, not only gave the new governor a tough and demanding personality, but also gave him a wealth of research on military engineering and troop training. In addition to personally paying close attention to the training of troops and repeatedly urging St. Petersburg to speed up the delivery of guns and ammunition, the Grand Duke also specifically requested that the V.E company send professional engineers to guide the construction of the fortress's defense system.

It was unprecedented, but it turned out to be the right decision. In just one month, although the fortress has not yet reached the level of "never falling", it has at least achieved "impregnable", which can be called a miracle in the history of military engineering.

In one month, more than 100,000 laborers of different ethnicities and hundreds of Behemoths spread throughout Riga, working day and night like industrious ants to build the fortifications around the Riga fortress - including a core position, two high grounds, and a trench with a total length of nearly 80 kilometers, connected by seven communication trenches. The trenches are designed to be meandering and are usually 2.8 meters wide and 2.4 meters deep, with some sections reaching a depth of 3.8 meters. Hundreds of firing bunkers, shelters and artillery positions reinforced and camouflaged with logs with a diameter of more than 100 mm were arranged. Fences and horses were set up in front of the first trench and between the two trenches, sprinkled with square nails, many traps dug up, carefully camouflaged surfaces, bamboo sticks coated with dung or traps at the bottom, and various jumping mines and anti-infantry mines......

There is no shortage of labor in the principality, and the "Gulag Islands" and the slave market have "bipedal animals" that can work, and even if they die for one or two thousand, they will not feel distressed. But the first time such a large-scale and complex defense system is built, according to the most optimistic estimates, it will take at least half a year. However, under the management of the personnel dispatched by V.E, it only took one month to roughly take shape, and people have to sigh that this group of profiteers is indeed reliable.

Toth was also quite satisfied with the results of his work, and with the construction of the Siegfried Line, and Alfheim had accumulated a great deal of experience in the effective use of labor, it was only time to re-examine what had already been proven. Although there was a hint of regret that he had not been able to complete the fortress completely, his work ended there.

"Mr. Toth. ”

Grand Duke Nikolai, who had been silent, raised his chin, and his voice seemed to come from the bottom of the well, buzzing.

"Thank you very much for your company's assistance, your work is over, and the next step is the stage for the warriors to express their appearance, and the scribes should not linger in such a dangerous place. ”

"It is a misfortune that I have not been able to witness the courage of His Highness and all of you, and I have always been taken care of and wish the Principality military prosperity and prosperity. ”

With an impeccable bow, the Thoths quickly disappeared from the Grand Duke's presence, replaced by Leto Forbeck, who was dressed in the uniform of the Duchy Army.

"The uniform fits well, Mr. Advisor. ”

The Grand Duke smiled kindly, and then quickly transformed into an unmistakably rigid face.

"How are the young men of the Forces nouvelles?"

"They are on standby, Your Highness. ”

Stand upright, lean on your legs, and answer clearly and loudly. The excellent performance of the advisor pleased the Grand Duke, but it was not limited to that.

Although, according to them, the training was not yet complete, in the Grand Duke's opinion, the young men were already more capable and strong than any unit he had ever seen, and they were only one step away from the true elite.

The part of the new army that is still lacking cannot be found on the training grounds, and only a bloody war can turn them into real men.

"Good!"

Grand Duke Nikolai stood up from his seat and made a chopping motion with his thick arms.

"Tomorrow, we will defeat the hairless monkeys, defeat them, kill them, and finally collect the scalps of the hairless monkeys - it's as simple as that. (To be continued......)