January 20th, 11:00 AM.
The fierce winds that raged yesterday have subsided considerably, but the bombardment has not lessened in the slightest. The sky remains overcast, and the shelling that began at around 5 a.m. has continued unabated until now.
The shells bombarded the Golts' second defensive line indiscriminately, landing everywhere. The continuous explosions almost turned the Golts' positions into scorched earth, and on this scorched earth, thick smoke almost blocked out the sky. The Golts soldiers in the fortress could only see a hundred or two hundred meters around them.
The thick smoke intensified the darkness of the sky. In fact, by this point, many soldiers could not tell whether it was day or night, because the entire sky was dark and the flashes from the explosions on the ground were constantly stinging their eyes.
The acrid smoke, the flashes of explosions, and the deafening noise around them confused the soldiers' minds and numbed their senses. The battle had been going on for almost 24 hours, but many soldiers didn't feel the passage of time. The only thing they could truly feel was the intense fear brought on by the shelling.
Inside the operations command center.
The bottle of spirits on the table had long been finished. Brewster had a high alcohol tolerance and wouldn't become drowsy after drinking a bottle of spirits. On the contrary, a moderate amount of spirits could keep him awake.
Since waking up at five o'clock yesterday morning, Brewster has not closed his eyes for thirty hours. Although he is in the rear, the sound of exploding shells is also stimulating his brain.
During those thirty hours, the information coming from the front lines increased his pressure. Before the second shelling began, he was still a little sleepy, but when the enemy's second attack started, that sleepiness disappeared. He didn't even need strong liquor to wake him up.
The more lucid Brewster became, the paler his face appeared. Beads of sweat slowly trickled down his temples, and his entire face was covered in fine beads of sweat, except for his eyes, which were frighteningly red.
Around 5 o'clock, he asked Jacob to count the casualties of the troops withdrawing from the first line of defense, but the enemy did not give him this opportunity. The ensuing artillery bombardment immediately put the second line of defense on the defensive. In order to prevent the enemy from taking advantage of the firepower suppression to advance, the troops guarding the second line of defense were immediately put into combat. However, in essence, they were just enduring bombing.
However, having learned from the collapse of the first line of defense, even if the people inside the second line of defense were bombed, they needed to race against time to dig deeper trenches and fill sandbags to block the gaps. These hasty remedial measures were definitely not a particularly rational approach at this moment, but this was not because there were any flaws in the prior defensive deployment.
In fact, the second line of defense already had a network of anti-artillery trenches. It was only after the first line of defense was breached that Brewster realized that the trenches were not deep enough, the sandbags were not numerous enough, and the barbed wire was not sturdy enough. Of course, the bigger reason was that the enemy fired too many shells, which caused too much damage.
The defenses we had previously laid out were simply insufficient to withstand the overwhelming firepower for several days and nights.
But that's precisely why it's even more important to take remedial measures, otherwise the second position will only be bombed into ruins, and the enemy will take advantage of the situation to launch an attack. He cannot accept that the second line of defense will be breached again.
"Sir! The enemy's offensive is too fierce, and our defenses are about to collapse!" Jacob shouted frantically to Brewster as he ran into the command room with the communications soldier.
Upon hearing this, sweat dripped down Brewster's chin. He slammed his fist against the wall and roared:
"Even if the fortifications are gone, there are still people! No matter what kind of attack they launch this time, stop them!"
"Never retreat!!!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Jacob gritted his teeth and said, "Yes, sir!"
Brewster then roared again:
"Carter!"
"Yes, sir!" Commander Carter of the 39th Cavalry Division roared.
"Prepare for battle! If the Yan Kingdom launches an attack, lead your troops to flank their offensive lines and disrupt their formation!"
"The second line of defense will be the core of this battle! I will not allow our positions to be breached again!"
"Yes, sir!" Carter replied solemnly and immediately left the operations command center.
Meanwhile, Zoyer, who also commanded a cavalry division, was still in the command room. After Carter left, he asked in a deep voice:
"Sir, should we commit all our forces to the second line of defense now?"
The reason for this question is that in the original battle plan, Carter's cavalry division was supposed to be a reserve force. If the enemy's attack faltered, he would lead the cavalry division to launch a counterattack. If the enemy's attack was fierce, his troops were supposed to hold the core of the base for a final defensive battle.
In response to Zoyer's question, Brewster said coldly, "After capturing our first position, these bastards are trying to take advantage of the situation and crush all our defenses with a fierce attack. I will not let their plan succeed!"
"Although they are fighting fiercely now, we suffered heavy casualties in the previous positional battles, but they certainly didn't suffer any less! I don't believe they dare to continue their offensive like this, disregarding casualties!"
"The Yan people want to force us to retreat, to abandon our position once again, just like we abandoned the first line of defense? Hmph! Don't even think about it! If they want to fight, we'll fight them to the bitter end!"
"I want to see if these bastards really don't care about casualties!"
After he finished speaking, Zoe nodded silently, but he was extremely uneasy because the casualties on his side were rising rapidly. Although the number of dead could not be counted yet, it was estimated that tens of thousands of people had already died.
Brewster, who was gritting his teeth and vowing to fight to the end, was also uneasy. In past battles, he had experienced heavy casualties on his side, but this time was different. The enemy's attack was indeed too fierce, and the shells alone were enough to make people anxious.
He couldn't understand why the Yan people, who had only arrived in his country twenty days ago, would bring so much ammunition. The enemy soldiers' fearless fighting spirit was also too troublesome. He could only hope that the enemy was currently making a desperate gamble, and that this was all the troops they had.
——
Inside the Yan Army's main camp.
"Your Majesty, progress is going smoothly. Except for the bunkers and fortresses in the middle that cannot be destroyed, the enemy's second line of defense has been reduced to ruins."
A communications soldier returning from the front brought Qin Ze the latest battle situation, and Qin Ze immediately gave a deep order:
"Alright, launch an attack and quickly capture the enemy's positions. Once this defensive line is breached, the enemy's stronghold will be completely exposed. At that time, we can raze it to the ground with artillery shells!"
Following the issuance of the order, shortly after noon, the Yan Army launched a full-scale attack on the Gorte Army's positions.
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