At present, on the northern front, where progress is fastest, our frontline trenches are almost connected to the enemy's trenches, and two trench battles have even broken out between the enemy and us.
Although we suffered greater casualties, we repelled the enemy's counterattack. On the other three fronts, although we were under greater pressure, under the supervision of the three leaders, we were still making considerable progress. Once we can fully connect with the enemy trenches, we will be able to draw the enemy, who have long-range firepower advantages, into close combat where our army excels..."
The current situation is the most advantageous for the Alliance since the start of the war. The joint meeting of generals even seriously discussed the plan of further expanding the communication trenches, deploying more troops at once, and using human wave tactics to directly overwhelm the enemy...
"Where is the Duke of Yan?"
Lin Hai looked around but did not find the Dragon Hill.
"Since the counterattack began, Duke Yan has been on the front lines. The troops there are a lot of different numbers, most of them are from the Great Liang Empire, so he's needed to hold the line."
"Mr. Lin, what happened?"
Just as Lin Hai was about to speak, Xia Junao, who had heard the news, rushed in like a gust of wind. As someone who was used to being an emperor, Xia Junao had a keen sense that ordinary people did not have. To him, the fact that "Mr. Lin" suddenly became so anxious must mean that something big had happened.
"There's no time to explain. Hurry and order the front lines to retreat. The trenches have been dug anyway. At worst, we can just attack along them later. Send someone back first. Oh, Brother Jun Ao, you personally order Duke Yan to come back, otherwise he might not listen to me."
Lin Hai said anxiously.
"?"
“!”
The first person to ask questions was Cheng Guorong. As a family member, he was in a better position to say many things.
"Principal, the situation is very good now..."
"What do you know? There will be a sea of dead bodies soon! Follow the order!"
Lin Hai yelled directly at Cheng Guorong.
"This... Principal, order us to retreat immediately, but with so many people on the front lines, it will take time to withdraw."
Yes, a large army retreat doesn't just mean turning on the radio and yelling, "Brothers, let's retreat!" In fact, for most armies, attacking is much easier than retreating. Historically, there are many armies that were able to attack with flying colors but were simply crushed by the enemy during retreat. So what Cheng Guorong said wasn't an excuse, but a fact.
"How many people do we have on the front lines? Those who have entered the crater, um... I'm asking about the total number of people on all four sides of the battlefield."
"I can give you a rough estimate. We originally deployed four criminal battalions, but after losing a significant number, we sent reinforcements from the rear. Then, as their trenches moved forward, we sent in engineers and support troops. This time, your special operation was successful, and we launched an unprecedented offensive. As our positions continued to move forward, we sent in even more reinforcements..."
"Speak of numbers."
"Excluding those already lost, we have approximately 1.2 million troops on the front lines, half of which are the main force trained before the war, and the other half are mobilized militia."
"In the reserve position behind the crater?"
"According to a ratio of at least one to three, there are still 3.6 million troops on standby in the rear. Of course, most of them are militia."
Cheng Guorong paused and added, "In fact, there may be more troops in the rear. After all, our total force is extremely large, and we also need a garrison closer to the battlefield."
"Give the order. Let the team closest to the crater retreat first, and take as many people as possible. Let Duke Yan return first, and let Han Qinhu coordinate the retreat. Pass this order to the other three heads of state, and tell them that I will explain it to them later."
"Yes, sir. I'll go right away..."
"Urgent news from the front!"
Before Cheng Guorong could finish his words, a telegraph operator rushed in, waving a telegram that had just been translated.
"read!"
"Frontline Command reports that the enemy has begun a large-scale artillery attack on our forces. Their bombardment has exceeded the originally designated range, and their shells haven't exploded violently, only a few muffled thuds. Scouts have been dispatched to collect shrapnel and prepare to send it to the rear for analysis."
"Don't they have any more shells?"
"We only destroyed most of it, there should be some left..."
"What's the bombardment range?"
"Maybe they used the spare cannon, or maybe they cut the welded gun mount. Anyway, it took them long enough to mess around."
"What happens if the shells don't explode?"
"Who knows? Could it be expired? Do things like artillery shells have expiration dates?"
The joint meeting of military generals immediately fell into discussion, and all the generals started talking at once.
However, Cheng Guorong and Xia Junao, who had been paying attention to Lin Hai, noticed that Lin Hai's expression was not right. The former even brought a chair to Lin Hai and asked the already staggering Lin Hai to sit down and talk quickly.
"headmaster?"
"You still remember the biological weapons I told you about?"
"I remember, but they haven't used it in a long time. They even prefer to fight us hand-to-hand..."
"It now appears that LKN93 has been preparing this all along. Initially, it was a clearance issue; he was worried I would use it to stop him. Later, it turned out to be a manpower issue. We were outnumbered on the front lines, and their use of such shells would not be as effective as possible."
"And now?"
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