It was just past four in the morning.
The Golgar army was advancing in an orderly fashion. Due to their large numbers, they formed a multi-line battle formation, with each line divided into 4 to 8 columns. The infantry occupied the most important central position, while the cavalry were on the flanks. The lines were spaced 80 to 100 meters apart, and the artillery was positioned between the lines.
Because the artillery was heavy and slow, the soldiers' pace was not fast. The cavalry did not serve as a strike force, but rather as a protector of the infantry in the center line. Therefore, they did not try to advance first, but instead firmly guarded the two flanks of the line and advanced side by side.
Considering that the second support force, led by Lieutenant General Harbor, had only arrived hastily that evening and had not had much time to rest, the 46th Division, led by Lierte, was at the forefront of the entire army. They would act as the main attackers and launch a frontal offensive against the enemy.
Following closely behind was the 53rd Division led by Klein, followed by the various divisions of the Second Support Army. At the very end was the 27th Division commanded by Lieutenant General Harbor. Unlike the other divisions, the 27th Division had an extremely long line. Lieutenant General Harbor hoped to launch an encirclement and annihilation of the Yan Army towards the end of the battle, so he ordered his soldiers to stretch the battle line to maximize the elimination of the enemy.
Now, the 46th Division, which was at the forefront of the army, had arrived at the original location of the Yan Army, but did not see any trace of the Yan Army. Lierte knew that this was because the Yan Army had launched a more intense artillery bombardment on the factory at 2:30, and now they should be launching an attack on the factory under the cover of artillery fire.
He didn't think much of it, but instead ordered the army to speed up. The more fiercely the Yan army attacked the factory, the more effective it would be to take advantage of the situation and attack them from the rear.
Of course, Lierte was not without doubts. He believed that the Yan Army should have left a force to guard the rear, knowing that there was danger there. However, they did not. Under the current circumstances, he could only assume that the Yan Army had reached a dead end and had chosen to gamble everything by using all its forces to attack the Macedonian military factory in order to achieve a quick breakthrough.
The advance continued, but the sound of artillery fire gradually thinned out. Lierte thought that the enemy must have run out of ammunition and that the infantry was now making a breakthrough.
With this in mind, Li Geer led his army forward, intending to launch a fierce attack once the enemy came into view, since the enemy could not be seen at this moment.
However, only a moment later...
"Bang bang bang!"
Without warning, a burst of intense artillery fire suddenly erupted from the front.
As Rigel was still leading his army forward, the moment the cannon fire sounded, he froze. As soon as he looked up, he saw countless black dots appearing in the silvery night sky.
Those were shells fired from the front. They came from a great distance, so far that Riegl hadn't even seen the enemy before the shells were already falling from the sky.
A bead of cold sweat quietly slid down Ligel's temple.
"Enemy attack!!! Beware of artillery fire!"
Almost the instant the cannon fire began, dozens of shouts erupted from the front-line ranks.
Along with the roar came the sound of cannonballs hitting the ground.
"Boom boom boom!"
In an instant, the incoming shells exploded upon landing, but the explosions did not occur in the front line of the formation; instead, they were concentrated in the rear of the 46th Division.
Almost instantly, the rear section of the 46th Division led by Riegl and the front section of the 53rd Division led by Klein became targets of artillery bombardment.
This sudden turn of events was completely unexpected by Li Geer, who had always believed that the Yan Army should be conducting a breakthrough operation on the outskirts of the Macedonian military factory.
"Boom boom boom!"
One explosion after another rang out behind them. Although the shelling was located behind the 46th Division, the entire 46th Division was in complete chaos.
Attacked from the rear, the soldiers at the front should have continued their advance, but now everyone was at a loss, in a state of panic. Rigl, his face ashen, shouted:
"Charge! Close the distance quickly! Eliminate them!"
The bugle call to charge rang out amidst the artillery fire. Rigel decided to continue advancing. So what if the enemy was prepared? Tonight, the hundreds of thousands of troops he led were prepared to fight to the death and annihilate the enemy completely.
Now that we've reached this point, we have no choice but to act. Even if there are casualties, as long as we close the distance and launch a fierce attack, we can still wipe out the enemy!
As Riegl led the 46th Division in its charge, its rear was being subjected to heavy artillery fire.
"Beware of artillery fire! Evacuate immediately!"
Lieutenant Colonel Miner of the 53rd Division was shouting at the top of his lungs, but the shells falling around him from time to time completely drowned out his voice.
Several infantry columns were broken up by the shelling, and the number of soldiers dying in the explosions was rising rapidly, while the advancing artillery vehicles were being destroyed one after another.
To prepare for tonight's battle, the ranks were much denser than before, because this was not an open area, and the enemy's shelling had caused terrible casualties.
Unfortunately, this was right at the center of the first round of shelling.
Miner shouted anxiously as he dodged the cannonballs, but his warhorse became unruly and just kept spinning in place. Miner gripped the reins tightly, trying to control the horse, when suddenly several panicked shouts rang out beside him.
"General Klein has fallen from his horse!!!"
Upon hearing the urgent shouts, Miner belatedly realized what was happening.
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