Munitions Empire-Chapter 756 : 715 in a single line formation

Outside Xicong City, Qian Jinhang stood on a high ground, peering through his binoculars at the thick smoke billowing from the distant city.

Behind him stood a row of officers, including some photographers who had accompanied the military. The atmosphere was quite good, with everyone chatting and laughing as if celebrating their troops' glorious victory in entering the urban area.

Indeed, it was a great victory. After the loss of more than ten thousand men, the Dahua Empire's military had finally broken into the urban area of Xicong, engaging in a brutal and bloody street battle with the Tang Army.

Despite the ferocity of the Tang Army's artillery and their heroic battle, the Dahua military still managed to achieve a phased victory regardless of the cost.

Although much time was wasted during the Battle of Li Family Village, in the Battle of Xicong, the Dahua military seemed to have made up a lot of ground.

Time appeared to be on Dahua's side once again, as the Tang Army was clearly on its last legs, and everything was progressing according to the planned timetable.

However, there was also plenty of bad news, such as Qian Jinhang's troops suffering too great a loss to maintain this kind of relentless offensive momentum.

If it weren't for the continuous reinforcements and the constant offensive combat state, Qian Jinhang's troops would probably have collapsed long ago.

The troops suffered massive losses, and replenishment of ammunition became difficult as they moved further away from supply stations, and the bad weather didn't help either, causing the morale of the Dahua military to begin to wane.

"We've consumed too much ammunition, and the new recruits aren't up to par in fighting strength..." After putting down the binoculars, Qian Jinhang complained to an officer standing behind him.

"Don't worry, General! Reinforcements have already arrived at Li Family Village, two divisions! You'll be able to continue the offensive soon," said that officer nonchalantly, looking down at the mud on his military boots.

This man was a Prince, a brother of Emperor Zhao Kai, born of the same father and mother. Assertively helping Zhao Kai fight for the throne, he earned a deep trust from the Emperor.

Zhao Chen was not concerned about the loss of two to three thousand men each day; he was more concerned about the mud on his expensive leather boots.

"Prince, although there are a million troops on the southern front, deploying over four hundred thousand directly in front of Xicong in such an extended line formation always feels a bit risky," Qian Jinhang said with a worried look, hoping that the Prince in front of him would remind his elder brother on the throne not to micromanage any further.

The current military plan to attack Tang Country was drafted under the interference of the Emperor, who was clueless about these matters. Everything seemed reasonable, yet it was full of wishful thinking.

The plan was assured that Tang Country would be demoralized by disasters, that the weather in Tang Country would continue to be poor, that Tang Country would fall into a disadvantage due to fighting on three fronts, and that the Dahua Empire would definitely emerge as the final victor.

But Qian Jinhang, a frontline general, knew that Tang Country was not as weak as the Dahua Empire had initially imagined, and the execution of the assault plan greatly differed from the original expectations.

The original plan was to send 200 to 300 thousand men to break into Xicong, defeat the Tang Army, then move eastward to attack Sishui. The plan was to push the frontline near Sishui, solidifying their position with the terrain advantage, and threatening Tongcheng to force Tang Country to capitulate.

However, because the Tang Army's resistance was very successful, the Dahua side had to concentrate more troops to break through the Tang Army's defense.

As a result, there were perhaps too many Dahua troops in the direction of Xicong— a full half-million! Almost half of the Dahua forces amassed near Xicong.

What's more deadly is that this might not be the final number. As the war progressed, to quickly resolve Xicong and then attack Sishui to the east, Zhao Kai ordered troops to be pulled from various places, preparing to increase the force in the direction of Xicong to between 700,000 and 800,000!

Such a large force required a logistical support system that the original plan was not prepared to accommodate.

So, reinforcing troops isn't necessarily a good thing, at least not until the supply issue is resolved.

As the war went on, the Dahua Empire's frontline troops clearly felt that their artillery support was no longer as intense as in the first few days of the conflict.

The shells fired became fewer and of smaller caliber, making the Dahua offensive increasingly weak. If it weren't for the street battles in recent days, these issues would be even more apparent.

It was difficult, after all, to transport a 300mm caliber shell to the frontline, much more difficult than delivering two 150mm caliber shells.

To supply food for hundreds of thousands and ammunition for individual soldiers, not to mention new troop reinforcements, the already fragile logistical supply system of the Dahua troops had been overburdened for many days.

If it weren't for the good quality and plenty of railways within Tang Country, the advancing Dahua Empire's forces might have already collapsed.

"If you can take down Xicong quickly, these problems won't be problems anymore," Prince Zhao Chen lifted his head, looking towards the distant city under the clouds, spewing black smoke, and said.

The rain had just stopped, and the air was still filled with a moist scent; the distant city finally began to emit smoke, all of which was exhilarating to the senses.

"I heard the rain in the southern part has lessened quite a bit; how are things on Chu Country's side?" Qian Jinhang, not wanting to bring up his own offensive, thus changed the subject.

He really didn't want to say much, the opposing commander was said to be a general named Tagg, an officer from under the Nobility Fisheo of Northern Ridge in the Leite Empire.

But afterwards, he followed Tang Mo, always keeping a low profile. However, Qian Jinhang, having faced Tagg, found that he could unequivocally be called a renowned general of this era.

The other's tactics and stratagems weren't fierce but instead gave off a feeling of being standard and by-the-book. All the plans and movements seemed to have a traceable logic, yet when combined, they always seemed to form the optimal solution.

This Tagg's style of moving and deploying troops was so steady that it made Qian Jinhang panic—it was the crushing reality of seeing everything yet being unable to shake off the chains.

Each time, Qian Jinhang could roughly guess what Tagg planned to do, but he was unable to stop it, nor could he take any countermeasures. In the end, he could only act out the play according to Tagg's script. He could even foresee the end that Tagg had prepared for him.

This was also why Qian Jinhang was concerned about the security of his flanks: he felt that Tagg was preparing to encircle him. In the north, another Tang Country commander, Redman, with his Armored Corps, was the deadly blade Tagg held over Qian Jinhang's head.

Once the rains ceased and the weather improved, and Tang Country recovered, with the cover of the Air Force, if Redman's Troops launched a swift attack southwards, Qian Jinhang's forces could really end up surrounded near Xicong.

By then, hundreds of thousands of troops could be annihilated, and the southern region of the Dahua Empire would find itself in very precarious circumstances.

Actually, the Dahua Empire was not unprepared; the 200,000 elite troops borrowed from Qin Country were meant to fill the defensive gaps.

However, due to bad weather and transport capacity issues, these troops from Qin Country were still en route, and it would take some more time for them to reach the designated positions.

This chapter is updated by freēwēbnovel.com.

During this period, whether the rain in Tang Country would stop was a question of metaphysics.

If the heavens blessed the Dahua Empire by causing the rain in Tang Country to continue, then the Dahua Empire indeed had a hope of winning this war.

But if the weather followed objective laws, and the rain in Tang Country naturally stopped after falling so long, then the Dahua Empire might fall into a passive situation.

The situation was just that, but as a person directly involved, Qian Jinhang felt it all more acutely than others.

"Counting on Chu Country? Don't overthink it. If they can hold off a portion of Tang Country's forces, that's enough. If it really comes to a fight, they'll probably be asking us for support," Zhao Chen dismissively offered his assessment.

To be honest, as a Prince, Zhao Chen had quite the foresight. He was much stronger than those second-generation officials who merely coasted through life but somehow still had to maintain his image as a profligate, a kind of "affectionate" tribute to his older brother.

"No matter what, please have Han Zhiyuan hold the northern line... don't let anything go wrong." Qian Jinhang heard the sound of shells whizzing overhead; their artillery had started bombarding the city before them again.

Despite the dampness, despite the soaked ground, still the shells lifted huge plumes of smoke. From a distance, the entirety of Xicong seemed to be enveloped under the Dahua Empire's overwhelming firepower.

The ground was trembling slightly, and the thunderous booms echoed in the distance. Another battle was unfolding in the city amid the roar of explosions, marking the beginning of a fierce fight.

Qian Jinhang couldn't see any of this, he only saw the new plumes of black smoke raised by the shells in the market area of Xicong; he didn't know how many Soldiers had emerged from the ruins, taking steps toward the enemy.

Meanwhile, on the other side of Xicong, Tagg was also observing from a distance this city, which was destined to be abandoned as bait according to his plan.

It was already one-third in ruins, and in the foreseeable future, it would probably all become ruins, leaving nothing whatsoever.

After the war, it would be rebuilt; a brand new city would rise from the rubble. As a hub city for the oil pipeline, it would become wealthier and even more splendid.

But for now, the suffering of the city couldn't be lessened by the slightest, the Tang Army soldiers stationed in this city, nearly devoid of civilians, would have to hold off the Dahua forces for a month within what had become a fortress!

"Send another division into Xicong! Let it be the 28th Infantry Division! Remember, don't fire too ferociously; we don't want to scare off the enemy! We should seem weaker, act the part, and draw in the enemy as much as possible!" Tagg didn't turn around as he instructed the adjutant behind him.

"Yes, General!" The adjutant saluted smartly and then grabbed the telephone receiver from the desk: "Hello? Connect me to the headquarters of the 28th Infantry Division."