Chapter 446: Battle of Ipre (Additional 9)
Late November of the 314th year of the New God Calendar.
The small town of Ypres in the southwest of the Bonaparte Empire.
When the Battle of the Marne ended, the war between the Allied Forces and the Empire entered a stalemate.
On one side, the field artillery fired shells that plowed the land, destroying everything in sight.
On the other side were various area-destructive magics and more extraordinary warriors, using the elemental power of earth, fire, wind and water to destroy the positions over and over again.
As a result, both sides turned to digging trenches.
Although trenches cannot withstand all damage, the hidden soldiers can defend their positions in the subsequent hand-to-hand combat.
Then, both sides suddenly realized that no matter who wanted to attack the other side's position head-on, they would have to pay an extremely painful price.
This is a huge loss that no one wants to bear, and they are also afraid that it will become a horrific battlefield like the Marne River.
So, both sides began to try to take a detour and attack each other's flanks.
So, they built trenches along the way, fought mobile warfare, and finally headed straight for the Silver Sea.
This was called Operation 'Run to the Coast'.
Of course, in the penultimate month of the 314th year of the New Divine Calendar, the Empire finally discovered another weakness of the coalition forces.
That is the expeditionary force from the Kingdom of Sardinia!
To be precise, the reinforcements from the Kingdom of Sardinia can be divided into two parts.
One of them is the navy, which played an extremely important role in the previous war.
Whether it was transporting troops and supplies or fighting in naval battles, it can be said that they made great contributions and did not show any cowardice in battle.
The navy of the Kingdom of Sardinia was proud. Although it struggled hard against the ironclad ships, it never retreated.
But the army, which was said to have 100,000 troops but actually had only 30,000, really embarrassed the Queen of Sardinia.
They were running away almost from beginning to end, so fast that even the military leaders in the country couldn't figure out their location.
The leading General French's distrust of the Bonaparte Empire was almost written on his face, and he was not willing to fight for them at all.
Even when faced with the Queen's questioning, he gave an explanation.
He believed that the situation on the battlefield changed rapidly and arrangements should be made according to the actual situation.
Until the Battle of the Marne, this so-called expeditionary force did not demonstrate much combat effectiveness.
That is why the Empire believes that this is the best breakthrough point.
And the small town of Ypres came into their sight.
The town of Ypres, located on the southwest coast of the empire, is an ancient and historic port town.
From the very beginning of the village, there were only about ten households that made a living by fishing.
Later, with the increase in maritime trade, the town gradually developed and its population grew, becoming a medium-sized port town.
There is no way. The Bonaparte Empire has a long coastline and there are too many places suitable for ports. This place is not special.
The only thing worth mentioning is the cathedral called 'Cross'.
Cross Cathedral has existed for more than five hundred years since records began, and there have even been many cases of divine blessings.
Therefore, the residents here are all devout believers of the Lord of Light.
Of course, after the war began, this place became extremely special.
The reason is that the Kingdom of Sardinia chose this place and used it as a dedicated port. A large amount of supplies and soldiers were landed here and then transported to the front line.
That is why a huge amount of supplies are stored here.
Food, clothing, armor, wine, medicine, as well as magic cannons, guns and sufficient ammunition.
As for the ones guarding this place, of course, it is the elite of the Sardinia Kingdom Expeditionary Force, the renowned Knights of the Round Table.
However, that night, fog suddenly rose on the sea.
A light mist spread, covering the coastline and obscuring the view from the lookout tower.
In the mist, and hidden by the sound of the crashing waves, imperial soldiers were rapidly approaching with the magic of "underwater breathing".
Sometimes they moved forward quickly, sometimes they stopped, and sometimes they waited for news. When they were close to the shore, they waited quietly.
Until under the moonlight, a shadow seemed to flash across the observation deck.
The guarding soldiers seemed to have sensed something and wanted to shout a warning, but their throats were cut and only blood gurgled out.
Then the illumination lights seemed to flicker, and the Imperial soldiers began to move again.
They walked up the riverbank, climbed the stairs, entered the town, and readied their weapons...
So, after a while, the quiet town was thrown into complete chaos.
The sounds of gunfire, shouting, and explosions, mixed with the wails of the dying, roars, and cries, threw the quiet town into complete chaos.
There were also billowing flames and rising black smoke, which set countless buildings on fire.
The most tragic one is the Cross Cathedral.
This 500-year-old building did not seem to have good fire protection facilities. During the exchange of fire, a grenade was thrown into it.
Then a huge hole appeared in the stone wall, and tongues of flames burst out, setting the tablecloth and curtains on fire.
Soon, the place was completely engulfed in flames. The awakened priests tried their best to rescue, but the situation was too chaotic and the fire was too big to put out.
The bishop of this church, shrouded in milky white holy light, roared angrily.
But no one paid any attention to him!
If it is the powerful who intentionally sabotage, then the Lord of Light and his believers will tell them what it means to have divine power like a prison.
But in war, it is normal to have occasional impacts!
The ordinary soldiers certainly did not do it on purpose, and even the Church of the Sun God could not hold them accountable.
Therefore, no matter how much the bishop roared, it would be of no avail, and he could not take the initiative to intervene in the fight.
Of course, apart from this incompetent and furious bishop, the town is not short of strong people.
The fighting spirit of the third-level extraordinary strong man shines above the town, and the turbulent elemental power gathers into magic.
In the higher void, the aura of a fourth-level strong man radiates throughout the entire field.
However, as an elite assault team, the Empire also has no shortage of strong men, each of whom is bursting with fighting spirit and fighting for their lives.
And, most importantly, they dared to fight to their heart's content, but the strong men of the Kingdom of Sardinia did not dare to do so.
Because, the muzzles of guns sticking out from those dark corners might kill them with just one shot when they are not paying attention.
The battle did not last long, only about an hour, and the town of Ypres changed hands.
As the night passed, more imperial soldiers gathered here. They used the town as their stronghold and built a tight defense line.
As it turned out, their choice was correct.
Because when the news spread, the Sardinian expeditionary force went crazy.
This is their most important supply line and transit station, without a doubt. Cutting it off would mean the expeditionary force would be deprived of supplies.
So, the first to arrive were the warships on the Silver Sea.
More than ten three-track warships roared over, and the magic cannons on the bow opened fire from a long distance. Amid the roar, the shells fell like rain.
This is the disadvantage of the seaside town. It is almost defenseless within the range of the magic cannon.
Of course, there were also coastal defense artillery in the town of Ypres, which were deployed by the expeditionary force, and the imperial soldiers also began to fight back.
But the gap in numbers was too great, the effect was poor, and the fort was destroyed in a short while.
But the delay also allowed the Imperial Ironclad to arrive.
The Emden charged forward despite the magical defense field, and with its guns firing at full power, it forced the Sardinian warship to retreat.
However, the Kingdom of Sardinia may not have a strong army and its combat capability is mediocre, but its navy is really strong and it has many warships.
The sound of wailing horns was heard from all directions, and countless warships were surrounding the enemy.
It looked like they had almost no intention of giving the Emden any chance to leave.
On the other hand, the Empire really couldn't squeeze out a second ironclad ship.
However, the empire also has means to make up for it.
A buzzing sound was heard, and at the end of the sky, a flash of red lightning quickly approached the battlefield. The Red Baron was coming.
And he brought with him an entire fleet of magical aircraft.
Then, everyone saw the magic aircraft whizzing past, and the bullets fired from the six-barreled Gatling gun plowed two scars on the ship.
Wherever they passed, naval soldiers fell like wheat being cut.
Of course, the Sardinian Navy was also trying hard to fight back. They raised the muzzles of their guns and fired special shotgun shells.
The shell explodes in mid-air, sending countless fragments flying, intending to cause widespread casualties.
This is a special artillery shell made by the coalition forces. After all, in war, everyone will try their best to kill the enemy.
This is also their original creation, the Empire does not have it!
You ask why not?
Because the Empire didn't need it. They had special surface-to-air anti-aircraft guns with fast and accurate firing rates, and didn't need these shells that relied purely on luck.
It has to be said that the participation of the Imperial Air Force put the Sardinian Navy in a passive position.
They lack effective ground-to-air attack means, and even if extraordinary strong men take action, it will be a drop in the bucket.
But on land, the expeditionary force of the Kingdom of Sardinia finally arrived.
The Knights of the Round Table at the head began to charge like crazy. Although their formation was relatively loose, each of them was filled with fighting spirit.
Those who acted as the vanguard were actually all extraordinary knights.
Not to mention, in order to ensure the smooth progress of their charge, the expeditionary force's mage corps began to unleash large-scale firepower.
Wind blade tornado, earthquake wave, fire rain, breath of the sky, mass electric shock spell...
Various area magic spells were cast out as if they were free, suppressing the artillery corps so much that they couldn't raise their heads, and the shells they fired were even blown off course.
It was these magic spells and the charge of the extraordinary knights that allowed the subsequent expeditionary soldiers to enter the town and start brutal street fighting.
However, what was unexpected was that, as if they were really anxious, this time, the expeditionary force sent out legions of magic energy.
A group of soldiers, either holding Maxim magic heavy machine guns or using a rifle that fired shotgun shells, suppressed the imperial soldiers so much that they couldn't even raise their heads.
If heavy machine guns are known for their rate of fire and power, then this rifle is a crudely made product.
The weapon itself is very crude and has a short range, only about thirty to fifty meters, not to mention the shooting accuracy.
But you can't withstand his many bullets!
After a shot was fired, the area within thirty or forty meters ahead was filled with densely packed tiny lead bullets.
Although the imperial soldiers were brave, they were hit head-on by these "spray guns" and died miserably with blood splattering everywhere.
For a time, the empire was losing ground!
(End of this chapter)
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