Volume 1: The Rise of Elanhill Chapter 0076 Stalemate
"It's not a good idea to keep fighting like this..." Wagron looked at Chris who came all the way south from Seris City with the damage report in his hand, and said worriedly, "Our field troops have suffered a great loss."
Two days had passed since the Battle of Maritsa, when Bourjois sent a telegram with the news of their great victory. The entire anti-aircraft artillery unit, together with the main infantry regiment, slaughtered 11 dragons at the cost of 192 deaths and 33 injuries.
This record was quite brilliant. It proved that the dragon knight troops from the Holy Demon Empire who came to participate in the exhibition were unable to directly shake the main force of Ailan Hill and the key defense cities with tight deployment.
However, the remaining dragoons subsequently attacked another garrison infantry regiment, wiping out both infantry battalions of that regiment at the cost of only two dragoons and two dragons.
Including the two battalions of the 16th Regiment, Ireland Hill's field troops had lost more than 2,400 people - four battalions were completely wiped out, without even any wounded. This number was a bit unbearable.
In the past, Ailan Hill's victories were achieved without any casualties or with only a few casualties. But this victory was completely different. The war was not over yet, but the casualties were already in the thousands.
If we take into account the losses in ammunition, the figures would be even more horrific: more than 1,700 rifles alone have been lost, and 20 of the 75-gun infantry guns equipped with the field artillery have been destroyed - the losses are mainly concentrated in the garrison troops, which basically have no decent anti-aircraft firepower.
"The anti-aircraft artillery is still not enough..." Chris couldn't help but sigh. He went south with the Guards Regiment to prepare for a decisive battle with the Dragon Knights of the Holy Demon Empire, but the opponent immediately changed its tactics after suffering a bloody head injury in Marica.
Under the premise that they could not attack large cities, the enemy commander decisively began to attack the field forces of Ailan Hill, causing the field forces of Ailan Hill to suffer huge losses. The war has now evolved from a quick victory to a guerrilla war of mutual consumption.
"The losses of the Grassland Empire are even greater than ours. They are usually responsible for searching for enemy troops in the wild, so the losses they provide are simply unbearable to look at." Wagron pulled out another report and said with embarrassment: "This time we have to provide almost double the commission."
"About 7,000 grassland cavalry were slaughtered by the dragon knights without any harm. Compared with our garrison regiment, the dragon knights seemed to prefer attacking these grassland cavalry who had no ability to fight back." Wagron said with a wry smile.
He pointed to the numbers on the report and said, "If they fight our garrison regiment head-on, they will have to sacrifice one or even two dragons, but if they fight the grassland cavalry, they don't have to pay any price."
"Obviously, they regard the cavalry of the Prairie Empire as our people. They are venting their hatred and are just killing one-sidedly." Chris looked at the loss report provided by the Prairie Empire and smiled bitterly.
This report was sent in two days ago, and the number must be still rising. After all, the speed of the dragon is faster than that of the grassland cavalry. They can't run away, and they can't fight back - when facing the dragon knight, the cavalry, who are good at mobility, really have no power to fight back.
Now he could only hope that these dragon knights would use up their magic power and retreat on their own, or that he would accidentally run into the main force of Ailan Hill and be killed. However, both of these situations would take time, and he couldn't be impatient now.
"According to the situation, there is definitely no danger in Naru City. According to the information provided by the intelligence, the other side only has a few dragons left, and they will not easily take the risk of attacking our big cities." Wagron felt that some troops could be transferred from Naru City.
Unlike modern air forces, the use of dragon troops is more flexible. For example, the range of these dragons is unmatched by modern air forces: modern air forces rely on airports and are limited by their own fuel, so they can only fight within the combat radius.
But these dragon riders are different. As long as they are ruthless enough to massacre villages or towns and feed their dragons with livestock or civilians, they can continue fighting and even go deep behind enemy lines.
They do not need to rely on airports for landing, and their endurance can be replenished behind enemy lines, which gives them an almost unlimited combat radius: as long as they want, they can fight alone and kill all the way to the city of Seris.
However, because he was hit on the head and bleeding in Maritsa, the possibility of the opponent's direct attack on Seris was infinitely reduced.
"The Alante Empire's army heading north seems to have slowed down its advance. They should be waiting for the Holy Demon Empire's ground forces... I'd better go south as planned!" Chris didn't have any good way to deal with the elusive dragon knights.
The enemy just looted the village and massacred civilians. Chris didn't have any good ideas for attacking the second-line garrison of Elan Hill, which had no air defense capabilities - relying on his infantry to chase those dragon knights, unless he was crazy .
The only thing they could do now was to go south with the anger of being harassed by the dragon knights to fight the Alante Empire troops that could not escape. As long as they destroyed the Alante Empire troops heading north, the dragon knights would have no foundation.
"You continue to guard Naaru. No matter what, Naaru must not be lost." Chris looked at Wagron and ordered.
Wagron is the only person in the military who knows the most about modern warfare. Chris has stored some theories of World War I and World War II in the knowledge magic ball and poured them into Wagron's brain. Combined with his experience in battlefield command, he is now a more powerful battlefield commander than Chris.
Of course, when it comes to knowledge about future weapons, Wagron knows nothing. Chris has left himself a hand in commanding ability, and also because of the storage capacity limit of the knowledge magic ball.
He couldn't put all the complicated war command skills into the knowledge magic ball. After all, modern warfare is a system with a huge content. Chris didn't have that many knowledge magic balls to squander on one of his subordinates.
"Your Majesty, why don't you let me go to the front line..." Wageron suggested. He knew that it was more dangerous in the wild now. Those dragon knights didn't have the courage to attack the city, so it was very likely that they would attack the field troops.
"No need! Although the anti-aircraft guns I took away are not as many as those on the walls of Naru, it is not a small number! My regiment has strengthened its anti-aircraft guns, and the troops led by General Wilkes also have a sufficient number of anti-aircraft guns. Counting the reinforcements of the garrison regiment... 22 anti-aircraft guns are definitely enough to give those dragons a hard time." Chris was confident in his defense.
If the other side's dragon knights really want to attack his main force, then it is possible to solve these rampant dragon knight troops once and for all. What he is afraid of is not that they will come, but that they will not be fooled and come to cause trouble for the main force of the Guards.
"I feel relieved with Wilkes following us." Wagron felt that Wilkes was a very good general. At least he could distinguish the important from the unimportant at the critical moment and protect Chris's retreat.
In addition, the 3rd Reserve Division led by Wilkes has 3 regiments of troops, plus Chris's Guards Regiment, a total of 4 regiments, more than 9,000 soldiers. If they want to defeat the nearly 10,000 troops of Ailan Hill, it is estimated that a few dragon knights do not have the strength to do so.
Judging from the report of the field garrison, as long as they shrink their forces and concentrate their troops, the dragon knights will be reluctant to engage in direct combat. The huge losses occurred when the troops were dispersed, which is one of the reasons why there were no more losses in the past two days.
"After joining the local garrison, we can gather at least 12,000 troops. This number is quite safe, with about 120 field guns and more than 20 anti-aircraft guns..." Chris calculated the troops in his hands and said to Wageron: "Facing the Alante Empire, our chances of winning are still quite good."
"I'm afraid that among the Alante Empire's northward army, there are ground troops from the Holy Demon Empire... If there are magicians or Warcraft cavalry, things may not be smooth..." Wageron said.
"Judging from the troubles that the Dragon Knights have caused us, these troops of the Holy Demon Empire are not simple." Because the Dragon Knights have caused him a lot of trouble, Wageron is worried that the ground forces of the Holy Demon Empire will also cause unnecessary trouble to Chris.
"I will park the troops on the side of Maritza. The Alante Empire will definitely attack Maritza, so we just need to wait here." Chris said with a smile.
His plan was to wait for the enemy to make the first move in Maritsa. As long as the enemy attacked the city wall, he would approach the battlefield from the flank, attack the Alante Empire troops that were attacking the city, and wipe out this Alante army.
This was a very complete combat plan. In order to completely annihilate the main force of the Alante Empire, he assembled three main regiments, five nearby garrison regiments, and two garrison regiments that had suffered heavy losses, a total of 10 regiments (minus the four battalions that were annihilated).
With more than 20,000 Ailan Hill grenadiers, more than 180 field artillery pieces, and a city as support, their military strength was very strong. What they faced was more than 150,000 elite troops from the Alante Empire and an unknown number of ground troops from the Holy Demon Empire.
On paper, the two sides had a huge disparity in strength, but their combat effectiveness was about the same: the Alante Empire had a numerical advantage, but their combat effectiveness was limited. Ailan Hill's troops were strong, but it was impossible to judge how strong the Holy Demon Empire's ground forces were.
