Chapter 365: A Tragic Battle
Facts have proved that Lieutenant General Thomas does have the ability to become a famous general.
His psychological quality was so strong that Yang Ming couldn't help but give him a thumbs up.
No one can win a war that is unexpected, and this is especially true in interstellar space wars between countries with similar technological capabilities.
Of course, neither could Lieutenant General Thomas.
Yang Ming couldn't understand why the Guell Alliance and the Free United States joined the war so suddenly and directly, and who gave them the motivation to act against their own national interests.
A war of this scale involves many off-field factors.
The Sherman Empire had already dealt with these off-field factors, and used both soft and hard tactics against the other two major powers that were most likely to change the balance of power between the Empire and the New Federation, to ensure that they would not send reinforcements to the New Federation.
Apart from the main factor that the two families wanted to reap the benefits, the most important secondary factor was the powerful military deterrent of the Sherman Empire.
None of them knew how much power the Sherman Empire had hidden.
But the history of the Milky Way has shown that the Sherman Empire's military only controls the empire's conventional forces, and the empire possesses extremely powerful "unconventional" combat power.
This powerful deterrent force is the source of confidence for the Imperial Military, and also the source of fear for the Free United States and the Guel Alliance.
But now...
The two powerful countries that could have enjoyed the "fruits of war" and further sucked the blood of the New Federation and its younger brothers in the camp, regardless of the possible retaliation from the empire later, suddenly sent troops, entered the main battlefield, and directly joined the ranks to fight against the empire!
This greatly boosted the morale of the New Federation.
This also made the empire extremely angry, but they could do nothing about it.
Although he was angry, the situation on the battlefield suddenly reversed, and Lieutenant General Thomas immediately made the most sensible decision.
The entire army, in combat groups, immediately implemented the third retreat plan and retreated.
Among them, the first, third and fourth battle groups outputted full firepower, exerted direct pressure on the New Federation fleet and attacked the effective forces of the New Federation fleet.
The Second and Fifth Battle Groups carried out conservative fire attacks on the left and right wings, and during the retreat, they gathered towards the central area and launched a second round of fierce fire attacks on the New Federation fleet that was pursuing them head-on.
Lieutenant General Thomas's tactical intentions were clear.
Now that the situation has reversed, the New Federation will certainly not be willing to let the Empire's expeditionary fleet retreat calmly, and the former will inevitably move forward to engage.
The empire will target this psychological gap next!
Vice Admiral Thomas ordered the Imperial fleet not to attack the reinforcements but only the main force, fighting and retreating, and protecting each other.
Only by eliminating the New Federation's effective forces can we continue to take the initiative in subsequent battlefields!
Yang Ming kept thinking beside him.
Vice Admiral Thomas's move was very risky. He was betting that the reinforcements from the Guell Alliance and the Free United States were just paper tigers and would not really come up to fight the Imperial Fleet to the death.
If the bet is right, this retreat will be a strategic shift, and the losses of the New Federation will be greater than those of the Empire.
If the bet goes wrong, the casualties of the Imperial Fleet will be 30 to 50 percent higher than those of a direct retreat.
The safety of the entire army depends on one person. Under such tremendous pressure, Lieutenant General Thomas gave up his "conservatism", rolled up his sleeves, and made a big gamble with the other three of the four major gangsters in the galaxy.
He won the bet.
The Guell Fleet and the Free United Fleet arrived in a hurry. Although they looked fierce, they were actually only fierce because they were outside the range of the Imperial ships.
If they really have to fight a life-and-death battle with the Imperial Fleet, one of the two fleets must cut off the retreat of the Empire's five major battle groups and sacrifice itself in exchange for a severe blow to the Empire's military strength.
In fact, the fleets of these two companies were only attacking the flanks of the Imperial fleet, trying to increase their paper record, and had no interest in intercepting the Imperial battle fleet.
On the other hand, the commander of the New Federation was eager to kill the enemy and was anxious to keep the Empire's main fleet in this starry sky, so he ordered an all-out attack.
This is exactly what Lieutenant General Thomas wants!
Yang Ming was surprised to see:
The empire, which should have been defeated, began to retreat in an orderly manner;
The Imperial fleet poured all its firepower into the front, causing chaos in the battle line of the surging New Federation warships;
The two fleets on the left and right sides that were supposed to charge the Empire's battle formation were just chasing a small part of the Empire's flanks and covering them with full firepower...
When Yang Ming looked at Lieutenant General Thomas' back again, he suddenly felt that this ordinary human being who could be easily crushed to death by him seemed to have the power of a giant shaped charge bomb brewing in his head.
There's something.
"Thomas!"
An old general appeared on the side screen.
"The New Federation warships are hot on our heels. We must make a choice. We will charge the enemy to cover the rest of the warships and allow them to retreat calmly! We will return the enemy's casualties tenfold!"
"I'm sorry, teacher. Please allow me to reject your proposal."
Lieutenant General Thomas raised his head slightly:
“If they want to fight, then we will fight to the end!
"There is no need to cut off one's own arm at this moment. Our army will inflict more casualties on the enemy with losses of less than 20%!
"Imperial soldiers never abandon their comrades!
"General, please follow the commander-in-chief's orders! Your troops must follow the range I have designated and form a number twelve formation for cross-cover!"
"yes!"
The old general shouted with all his might, and the image suddenly disappeared.
Yang Ming saw from behind that Lieutenant General Thomas's fist was slightly clenched and then continuously unclenched.
Obviously, the pressure on this lieutenant general has reached a critical point.
A series of instructions kept coming out of Lieutenant General Thomas's mouth, and dozens of messengers around him could hardly keep up with his pace.
The five major battle groups of the Empire were performing a mobile warfare in deep space that was like the movements of a stage play. With abundant firepower and solid defense, the New Federation fleet that was attacking head-on was losing ships at a rate that was clearly faster than that of the Empire's main fleet!
The Imperial warships were slowly retreating, gradually changing from being semi-surrounded to only having to face a fan-shaped enemy fleet.
Just at this moment, the situation on the battlefield changed again.
The reinforcements from the Guell Alliance and the Free United States on the left and right wings seemed to have received strong orders from above. The two reinforcements suddenly launched a fierce attack. A total of five dreadnoughts opened fire at full force, tearing a gap in the left and right wing fleets of the Empire!
Vice Admiral Thomas cursed, but he still gave orders calmly, and the ships began to retreat rapidly.
Yang Ming stood at the back with his arms folded.
He could actually do a few small things at this time, such as calling on the imperial soldiers to fight bravely, which could increase the empire's combat effectiveness by one or two percent.
He didn't know how he got to this point, but his prestige among the ordinary soldiers of the empire was even stronger than his appeal in the imperial society.
He gave a speech, then boarded one or two of the enemy ships, which would reduce a lot of pressure on the Imperial fleet.
But he couldn't do that.
First, the imperial military did not make any clear demands on him.
Second, it would be in his own interest if the empire lost a large number of ships and its military strength was weakened.
Yang Ming's feelings are complicated now.
On the one hand, he was infected by the current atmosphere of a life-and-death battle, and the imperial soldier element named Handon in his bones was already burning; on the other hand, he had to remain rational and restrained, thinking about how to make the situation move in a direction that was more in line with his own interests.
In fact, letting the Empire's fleet fight to the death with the other three is a good opportunity to weaken the Empire's four major powers...
Yang Ming narrowed his eyes slightly, and the thoughts in his heart gradually became active.
Sudden!
With a slight ding sound, the instruments all over the command flagship suddenly froze.
In the blink of an eye, a slender figure appeared in front of Lieutenant General Thomas, and the entire operating interface of the command desk showed obvious changes.
Become more concise.
The girl who suddenly appeared was obviously a realistic projection, and Yang Ming was very familiar with her.
She had two ponytails and was wrapped in a fitted white metallic garment. The collar around her neck was slightly conspicuous.
Is this...reason?
"Complete takeover."
Her voice echoed around her, and she raised her right hand and pointed it at the porthole in front.
Yang Ming seemed to see that from the command system of this battleship, the entire imperial battleship fleet was covered by silver-white light waves.
Li turned his head and looked at Lieutenant General Thomas.
She glanced at Yang Ming with her lifeless eyes, without any emotion, nor the agility of Lu.
“Please set strategic goals.”
"Our fleet retreated to the rear area with minimal casualties, repelled the enemy, and inflicted sufficient casualties on the New Federation fleet."
“Confirmed.”
Li turned around and slowly raised his right hand. The spots of light emanating from his fingertips were accurate instructions.
Almost instantly, the entire Imperial battle group became a whole, and every operator on every ship received an instruction specific to which button to press every three seconds on average.
The Imperial battleship fleet, which was originally a little messy on the edges, completed self-restraint in less than two minutes.
The Imperial battleships were still retreating, but the retreat became more ferocious.
Because of the retreat formation, the effective firepower utilization rate, which was originally only 75% at most, has now soared to 90%.
The New Federation now has no choice but to charge forward.
The friendly forces coming to support from both sides seemed to have entered a state of life-and-death battle.
The Imperial fleet began to abandon some ships that had lost their tactical value in an orderly manner, and the swarms of drones that had been released previously began to appear and disappear mysteriously in the vast battlefield.
A tragic deep space collision has begun.
Yang Ming stared at Li's back quietly without saying a word for a long time.
…
The empire lost.
To be precise, the Empire was about to lose in this great battle to the sudden disappearance of the Guel Alliance and the Free United States.
Of the four great powers in the galaxy, even if the other three joined forces, even if they were as powerful as the Empire, they would not be able to win this war of 'passive lack of preparation'.
Four of the twelve stars originally occupied were lost.
Fortunately, this fierce battle only lasted more than two hours.
The fierce battle came to an end when the reinforcements from the four major powers arrived at the edge of the battlefield.
The reinforcements from the New Federation constitute most of the defensive forces of Minte City. Fleets from various regions are gathering towards Minte City to fill the huge defensive gaps in the rear.
The Free United States and the Guell Alliance mobilized several battleship regiments and threw them to the edge of this star meat grinder.
However, when they saw the imperial reinforcements, they took the initiative to retreat.
Nothing else, the imperial reinforcements are just a little scary.
The military provided support with two complete battle groups, carrying three new models of dreadnoughts.
A fleet of warships of the nobles' private soldiers appeared on the right wing of the reinforcements. Although most of the ships were of miscellaneous brands and their combat power was insufficient, the number of ships above 300 meters exceeded 5,000.
The warships of the Empire's vassal states appeared on the left wing of the reinforcements. It was a motley crowd, but the number of ships was over three thousand.
The worst thing was that behind these reinforcements, a group of black warships appeared, like ghosts from ancient times, quietly staring at the enemies of the empire.
That is the real 'Levi' fleet.
Although the number is small, only more than a thousand ships, it is enough to express the empire's firm determination to fight this war to the end.
After the previous fierce battle, the Empire and the New Federation suffered heavy losses. After the reinforcements from both sides arrived, they did not have enough confidence in defeating each other, so they retreated tacitly.
But the empire did lose.
Mainly, the Imperial Army withdrew its defenses to prepare for subsequent attacks from the three powerful countries, and the New Federation took the opportunity to recapture four administrative stars.
In terms of losses of ships and soldiers, the two sides were actually evenly matched.
A quarter of the ships in the five major fleet groups were directly destroyed, and another 30% of the ships needed to be repaired. Four of the twelve dreadnoughts turned into cosmic dust, and two needed to be pulled back for major repairs.
Losing a quarter of the ships is equivalent to losing a quarter of the troops. The lifeboats and escape pods on the ships are completely useless in a war of this intensity.
The shield ships and supply ships suffered the most serious losses, and the firepower ships suffered more damage.
The New Federation was in a worse situation. Two of its main fleet regiments lost their numbers and structures. Although they had the advantage in terms of total numbers when the war began, they ultimately suffered the loss of 7,000 warships.
The good news is that most of the lost ships are from the miscellaneous forces and old ships that were "mothballed and restarted".
The bad news is that they don't have many ships that need repairing, and the amount of losses is roughly equal to the amount destroyed.
The Confederation of Güell and the Free United States each lost hundreds of ships and paid nearly tens of millions of soldiers.
As soon as the battle ended, the Internet world of the Milky Way was in an uproar.
The general trend of public opinion is:
[The Empire was defeated honorably by fighting one against three, while the New Federation suffered heavy losses due to its large numbers.]
Of course, this excitement did not affect the political confrontation between the stars. The empire's military and foreign ministries began to become active, and a large number of voices questioning the government authorities emerged in the Guel Alliance and the Free United States.
Why did they go to war?
Since they had decided to join the war, why couldn't they completely wipe out the Empire's expeditionary fleet, resulting in a lose-lose situation?
Now the Empire has regarded the two countries as enemies. If the New Federation loses this war, then the two countries will inevitably face the Empire's invincible fleet...
There are many more examples like this.
Half of the Milky Way was in chaos.
…
Flagship of the Imperial fleet.
Projections of a group of generals appeared in various places on the bridge, standing quietly with their military caps in hand, while low mourning music played beside them, mourning the imperial soldiers who turned into cosmic dust in this battle.
After the memorial service, Lieutenant General Thomas convened a military summary meeting without any delay.
At the meeting, the commanders of each battle group conducted a brief self-examination and summarized the shortcomings of the fleet in various aspects before the Imperial Guard system took over the battle.
Yang Ming listened to the whole thing, and what impressed him most was the "professionalism" of the imperial army.
In human wars, the higher the technological content, the less impact the soldiers' own beliefs and morale will have on the war situation.
The fighting power of the imperial army is truly terrifying.
"Hanton, what do you think?"
Lieutenant General Thomas suddenly called out his name. Yang Ming was not afraid. He pondered for a few seconds and sighed slowly: "The army is not responsible for this war."
Several generals sighed.
Yang Ming said seriously:
"It's not you who need to review. I was watching the entire battle, and I saw the precision of your command and the bravery of our soldiers.
“The question is, why did the Guerre Confederation and the Free United States suddenly join the battle?
"It can be seen that they were not well prepared at the beginning, and their will to fight was not firm. The number of ships they brought was not exaggerated. It seemed that they made a decision in a hurry, rather than having a premeditated plan with the New Federation.
"When the battle was in the middle, why did the two families start to attack fiercely regardless of casualties? This is somewhat unreasonable and too abnormal."
An old general sighed and said, "It has already happened. We must prepare for the worst and confront the other three powers with the strength of one country."
"Our military's conventional combat power has been severely damaged this time. Thirty percent of our ships need repairs and maintenance. In the next three months, our manpower will be significantly insufficient."
"Yes, the collusion between the three of them not only puts tremendous pressure on our expedition, but also poses a greater threat to the entire empire. The local defense forces need support, and the emergency forces in each region also need to occupy a lot of resources."
"Are we going to give up these eight administrative stars? If the other party takes away the four administrative stars, there will inevitably be a series of negative impacts on the plundering order, and we will be absolutely passive in terms of public opinion."
General Thomas said, "We are only discussing military matters. Everyone should be prepared for a surprise attack from the other side and wait for orders from above."
"The Levi Fleet was activated earlier. Did you see it?"
The generals fell silent.
Yang Ming asked: "Is there anything taboo about this?"
"There is no taboo," Lieutenant General Thomas said solemnly, "Don't worry about them. We will fight at our own pace. If it weren't for the Imperial Guard system, we wouldn't be able to defend any of the twelve administrative stars this time. The meeting is adjourned."
Imperial guard.
The back of the girl with ponytail appeared in front of Yang Ming's eyes.
Although this comparison is somewhat superficial, but... my own little Lu is still more beautiful.
