It was three in the morning.
"Sir! The Sulich Fortress has fallen; the Yan Kingdom has seized it!"
The communications soldier reported to Brewster, who was standing at the table with his fists clenched tightly and his face ashen. Everyone else in the command room had long faces.
Sulich Fortress is the most important part of the base's first line of defense. It is located in the middle of the 18-kilometer-long defensive line and is where a large number of troops are stationed, making it the center of defense.
Half an hour earlier, news had come that the fortress on the left side of the Sulich Fortress had been breached. The Yan Kingdom soldiers who stormed the position had inflicted heavy casualties on their own troops. Now that even the most important Sulich Fortress had been breached, it was clear that the first line of defense had essentially collapsed.
Brewster anticipated a fierce offensive at the outset, so he deployed six divisions to defend the first line of defense, which was half the base's strength. He believed this would be enough to hold the line firmly, and that if the enemy's offensive faltered, they could even launch a counterattack at the opportune moment.
But what happened next shocked him. The enemy's offensive was indeed fierce, but in addition to being fierce, it was also exceptionally persistent. They never seemed to get tired!
Starting around noon, the enemy launched a large-scale artillery bombardment. Brewster estimated that thousands of artillery pieces were firing simultaneously. Under such high-density fire, the enemy's ammunition would be consumed rapidly. He guessed that it would only last for two or three hours at most before the enemy would deploy infantry divisions for an assault.
However, who could have imagined that the bombardment would last for more than nine hours, with at least 100,000 shells falling on the position? Brewster had never experienced such a high-intensity bombardment before.
Even inside the base, he could feel the ground shaking; the earth seemed to tremble, all because of the enemy's fierce firepower.
At this moment, upon learning of the fall of Sulich Fortress, Brewster knew that the first line of defense could no longer be maintained.
His face twitched slightly as he said:
"Order to abandon the first position, cease all engagements with the enemy, and retreat to the second line of defense!"
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone in the command room was taken aback, because in previous battles, Brewster had never given up his position so easily. Even when the defensive line collapsed, he always ordered his soldiers to keep fighting the enemy in a tug-of-war.
Staff Officer Jacob immediately said urgently, "Sir, we can't just give up the first line of defense so easily, we should..."
Before he could finish speaking, Brewster raised his hand to interrupt:
"Without fortifications, our casualties will only increase rapidly."
"The first position is important, but we can only give it up for now and let those damned Yan people enjoy a little victory first."
"Now that the Yan Kingdom has captured the first position, I think it's time for them to stop their offensive. This attack has lasted too long. They won't continue their attack after capturing the stronghold. We need to catch our breath. We will take back the first position next!"
Upon hearing this, Jacob sighed inwardly. Although it was indeed true, the fact that the first line of defense was being forced to be vacated so quickly was a complete departure from the initial defensive plan.
The casualties among the soldiers were truly horrifying. The battle was so intense that no one had ever experienced such a brutal and bloody fight to the death.
The enemy's artillery bombardment was already fierce enough, but that was an advantage brought by the weapons. However, apart from the weapons, the enemy's fighting spirit was also terrifying. In the attack around their own fortresses, they seemed to not care about their own lives at all. No matter how much they paid, they were willing to do it. Judging from the current situation, their casualties would definitely not be small.
Thinking of this, Jacob couldn't help but look at Brewster. Before the battle began, he had said that the next battle would be a contest of who could last until the end, and now, the will shown by the enemy was enough to be terrifying.
The messenger left the operations room with Brewster's orders, while Brewster silently picked up a bottle of liquor from the table, uncorked it, and took a large gulp of the strong liquor.
The battle wasn't over yet; he needed alcohol to stimulate his brain and keep himself sufficiently sober.
Now, he only hopes that the enemy will take the first position and then stop their attack temporarily.
——
"Quickly! Retreat! Retreat!!"
After Brewster's order was relayed to the front lines, the Golt soldiers who were still fighting the Yan army immediately began to evacuate. The six divisions originally stationed there had suffered half their casualties after nine hours of artillery bombardment and six hours of positional warfare. The ground around the fortress, riddled with holes from the bombing, was now littered with corpses.
The Gortian soldiers hastily retreated to the second position, and the Yan army that had attacked the first position did not pursue them, because the two positions were not close to each other, and they could not carry out a deep pursuit before the artillery battalion had all arrived at the first position.
Meanwhile, the artillery battalion was advancing toward the first position. During the advance, the shelling ended, which finally allowed Brewster, who was in the base, to breathe a sigh of relief.
Wait until after 5 a.m.
The troops that withdrew from the first position have basically returned to the second line of defense. After a night of fighting, what they need most now is rest. Fortunately, there are troops guarding the second line of defense.
In the command center, looking at Brewster whose eyes were bloodshot, Jacob said in a deep voice:
"Sir, the enemy has occupied our first position and is now in a state of rest. I think you should also take a rest."
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