"Humphrey!"
As soon as Xia Liyan let out a grief-stricken cry, a second lieutenant next to him grabbed him and pulled him to the left. Immediately afterward, behind where Xia Liyan had been, two privates who were running fell to the ground with a thud.
"Sir, the enemy's guns and cannons have a much longer range than ours!" There was no time to grieve for Humphrey's death. The lieutenant bent down, holding a round shield in front of Xia Liyan, and shouted urgently to him.
Xia Liyan had not yet fully recovered from Humphrey's death. He simply could not understand how the enemy could penetrate the crowd and accurately aim at Humphrey's forehead, killing him with a single shot, even though he was at the rear of the column.
Longer range? That's certainly true; enemy artillery fire has proven their artillery has a longer range. But have rifles reached that level as well? How can they maintain such high accuracy while possessing such a long range?
He looked ahead, but saw no enemy ranks in a linear formation. Instead, their ranks were chaotic, with infantrymen standing haphazardly here and there, holding rifles, looking more like a disorganized mob. Seeing this, Humphrey roared angrily:
"Pay attention to tactical maneuvers! Close the distance and counter-attack!"
In fact, he no longer needs to issue tactical orders. The privates are already very familiar with the tactics and are currently organizing their ranks to march forward.
However, the shells overhead would always fall suddenly at some point in the advance, causing the column to be cut off. And now, the enemy has begun to launch ground fire, and the threat posed by these incoming bullets is no less than that of those exploding shells.
These bullets always managed to hit the advancing privates with pinpoint accuracy. While not every shot hit, the high precision of their aim still horrified the privates. In past battles, they had never encountered such overwhelming firepower from their opponents, and now the enemy was doing it without any organized volley fire – it was simply unbelievable.
Even in the face of overwhelming firepower, the privates charged forward fearlessly. In the past, the Delta Federation's rigorous training had already turned them into war machines born for battle.
On the other side, the Flame Soldiers did not rashly choose to engage the Federation soldiers in a head-on firefight. They occupied a more advantageous position, and in order to prepare for this battle, they had already set up the battlefield, which is now the defensive fortifications.
The bunkers, made of piled-up rocks and sandbags, were arranged in a staggered manner on this high point of the terrain. Using these bunkers, the Yan soldiers methodically aimed their bullets at the bodies of the Federation soldiers, striving to maximize the damage caused by the bullets. This was no longer the case of suppressing the enemy with concentrated firepower as in the past, but rather a precise strike against the enemy.
All this is thanks to the comprehensive upgrade of firearms. The muskets used in the past have been replaced. The new firearms are now rifling, which greatly increases their accuracy. In addition, their loading speed is far faster than that of the old firearms. Some of the firearms used by the soldiers can even be loaded with five bullets at once using a magazine, which means that they can fire five bullets in a row after one reload!
The loading speed was significantly improved, and the all-metal conical brass bullets fired were even more devastating, easily piercing through a wooden board a finger wide.
At this moment, the Federation soldiers who were trying to close the distance and launch a volley were like moving human targets in their eyes. The Federation soldiers were advancing continuously with linear tactics. Their effective attack method was for everyone to fire their guns at once and rely on dense offensives to strike. However, today, this method of fighting has completely exposed its drawbacks.
Ignoring the smoke and the constant explosions, the Flame Soldiers held their breath, aimed at the vital points of the Federation soldiers, and steadily fired each bullet!
In a short time, the first two rows of federal soldiers suffered heavy casualties, with most of them killed by bullets. The fallen bodies were even arranged in a particularly neat manner, as if they were lining up to be killed.
Meanwhile, the artillery bombardment launched from the high ground of the Yanbing was mostly aimed at the rear of the Federation soldiers. On the high earthen mounds, field heavy artillery, under the control of the gunners, fired large-caliber shells at the Goths' gunners.
Unlike the infantry who advanced in a horizontal line, the Gothic artillerymen were positioned in a hollow square formation, surrounded by advancing infantry. The gunners, carrying their cannons, were in the center. This formation was intended to counter artillery fire, and the hollow array minimized the damage caused by artillery bombardment.
This hollow square formation has indeed proven its effectiveness in past battles. However, the heavy artillery they are facing now consists of explosive shells. If solid shells land in the target area, they will not cause too many casualties as long as they do not hit their artillery. But the explosive shells, whether they land on their artillery or not, will explode instantly as soon as they hit the ground!
The destructive power of the explosion spreads in all directions, so just a dozen shells landing in the hollow array can wipe out the gunners, the artillery, and even the infantry further away!
As heavy artillery shells rained down, the ammunition trucks in the hollow formation were also affected by the explosions, resulting in powerful explosions in multiple square formations!
Gradually, the smoke from the burning gunpowder filled the entire southern beach, accompanied by flames scattered everywhere. The golden sand, which had been like an oilcloth an hour ago, had now been completely altered, with countless craters of all sizes and human remains scattered all over the place. In addition to the thick, pungent smell of gunpowder, there was also a burnt smell in the air.
The advancing Federation soldiers continued their desperate counterattack. The front-line infantry knelt on one knee, firing their rifles at the Yanbing positions ahead, while the second rank behind them also fired.
While this volley firing method could create a dense barrage of fire, it also resulted in massive casualties. The opposing Flame Soldiers aimed and fired at them in a scattering pattern, and within just a few rounds, the first two horizontal rows of soldiers were almost entirely wiped out.
The Federation infantrymen behind them quickly filled the gaps, but they were soon killed. Finally, after suffering heavy casualties, the Goths realized that their linear tactics had completely failed. Not only were they unable to defeat the enemy, they were practically waiting to be slaughtered by the Flame Soldiers.
They finally changed the way they queued.
"Forget everything else! Charge straight into their positions!" Xia Liyang, covered in filth from dodging artillery fire, shouted at the top of his lungs.
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