"Advance!" A platoon leader of the White Lion Legion pulled out his sword and roared. He commanded his soldiers to push the shield carriages and charge forward with sandbags filled with mud on their shoulders.
The second prince had commanded the White Lion Legion to attack the defensive line in Fleetwood province for six days and five nights. Unfortunately, the White Lion Legion had lost nearly ten thousand men, but they still couldn't break through the defensive line. This wasn't to say that the second prince's command wasn't good, but that the three remaining duchies in the central region had realized that this defensive line was related to their survival. Even though they had suffered two to three times the casualties of the White Lion Legion in the past three days and four nights, they still persevered …
The rumbling sound of war drums echoed throughout the battlefield. The soldiers of the White Lion Legion pushed the huge shield carriages to the trench in front of them, blocking the crossbow bolts from the defensive line. The soldiers carrying the sandbags threw the sandbags into the trench under the cover of the shield carriages, then turned around and ran back. Soon, the trench in front of them was filled up. A few White Lion Legion soldiers dragged wooden planks to the front of the shield carriages and placed the planks on the ground. The trench was finally breached.
During this process, only four soldiers were hit by crossbow bolts. One died and three were injured. They were all dragged away for treatment. The soldier who died had already stopped breathing. Unfortunately, he had been hit by a crossbow bolt from the left eye and the arrowhead had penetrated deep into his brain. The only fortunate thing was that he didn't die in any pain. He almost died on the spot.
After filling up the trench, none of the soldiers had a happy smile on their faces. Only exhaustion and numbness could be seen. This was because there were countless other trenches that needed to be breached in front of this one. Looking into the distance, it was filled with dense trenches. This was the defensive position set up in the province of Frivolo. It was also the reason why the White Lion Legion under the command of the Second Prince had only advanced three to four miles after six days and five nights of attack.
"I suspect that there are still trenches being dug behind this defensive line while we are attacking," Duke Kenneth said to Laurist, who was watching the battle.
This was an outcome that no one had expected. After conquering the Sabaji Duchy, Laurist allowed the armed forces of the Northern Four Families Alliance and the two legions of the Fisablon Family to rest and reorganize for nearly a month while they awaited the arrival of the second prince. However, he did not expect that in just over a month, the Flondor Duchy had actually laid out their defensive line in such a manner. They had dug countless trenches to form a boundless net. It was only after the attack that the Second Prince realized how difficult it was to break through the defensive line.
It was easy to break the thread, but difficult to break the net. This was obvious. In his previous life, Laurist had heard a saying: War was the best way to learn. The defensive formation in front of them was proof of this point. Never in the history of the Galentian Wars had there been such defensive positions and methods. Basically, all defensive battles were carried out using castles and fortresses. When their forces were at a disadvantage, even if they set up a defensive position, it would only be to dig one or two trenches, build an earth wall, and reasonably use long-range weapons to deal damage to the attacking enemy.
However, when the Norton Family's catapults, chariots, and steel ballistae appeared out of nowhere, not only did the castles and fortresses become targets, but even ordinary defensive positions could not withstand the attacks of the catapults. Back then, when the Flying Tiger Army swept through the Andinac Kingdom and helped the Second Prince ascend the throne, this point was clear.
Three years ago, in the battle of the Southern Province, Laurist used a combination of trenches and arrow towers to perfectly restrain the light cavalry tactics of the Fisablon Family. In the field, they used catapults to crush the attack of 70,000 elite infantry of the four central duchies, obtaining a great victory and suppressing the Fisablon Family back to the Eastern Barren Province.
However, they did not expect that the battle would bring about such a huge change in the four central duchies. The second prince originally thought that with the powerful combat power of the White Lion Army and the fifty catapults he had obtained from Laurist, it would be easy to tear a hole in the defensive line formed by the trenches and earth walls. However, he did not expect that behind the trenches and earth walls were endless trenches and low earth walls. When everyone realized this, they almost collapsed. What kind of war was this …
On the first day of the attack, there were only a thousand garrisons in front of them. They collapsed when fifty boulders the size of human heads bombarded their positions. They only fired a few dozen crossbow bolts before disappearing without a trace. The White Lion Army filled in fourteen trenches and broke through twenty-one earth walls. In front of them was a flat field. Of course, the results were zero, because the enemy had fled.
On the second day, they continued to attack, but after advancing two hundred meters, they found that there was another trench and earth wall in front of them. This time, the garrison troops were much braver. They resisted the bombardment of the catapults for a long time. With the cover of the trenches and earth walls, they used crossbow bolts to cause dozens of casualties to the White Lion Army. They also paid the price of more than two hundred casualties.
It took the White Lion Army two days to fill in a few passages in the trench area. They continued to attack, and after another two or three hundred meters of flat ground, they found dozens of trenches and earth walls in front of them. Everyone was furious. What was the meaning of this? There were only a few thousand garrison troops, and the resistance was not very fierce. It was just that the attackers kept filling in the trenches, and the defenders kept digging. What kind of war was this?
The second prince finally lost his cool and gave an order that made him regret his decision. He ordered the soldiers of the White Lion Army to stop pushing the shield carts to fill in the trenches, and instead, to build bridges over the trenches with wooden planks. Speed was the most important thing in war, and it was only right to occupy the trench area as soon as possible. As a result, the White Lion Army sent out a Sword and Shield Division to attack. Faced with thousands of soldiers guarding the trench area, they quickly wiped out the enemy and continued to advance.
However, the trench area was particularly large. When the figure of the Sword and Shield Division soldier disappeared in front of everyone's eyes, they suddenly heard shouts and sounds of battle in the distance. The second prince was as anxious as an ant in an iron pot. Because there were trenches everywhere, the cavalry could not go forward to provide support. The second prince had no choice but to send people to investigate, but he did not expect that the number of people he sent would soon be killed by arrows shot from the trenches. Although he could send more people to provide support, no one would be able to return to report the news except for the sounds of killing coming from afar.
Everyone present was astute. It was obvious that they had fallen into a trap. But the problem was that in addition to the three remaining divisions of the White Lion Army, there were also the two heavy armor divisions of the Kenneth Family and the two light infantry divisions of Count Şahin. Although the total number of troops attacking the four central duchies was as high as 300,000, most of them were cavalry. Looking at the battlefield full of trenches and mud walls, Laurist and the others looked at each other in dismay. They could not dismount the cavalry and become infantry to provide support, could they?
The problem was that the Sword and Shield Division of the White Lion Army was attacking too quickly and fiercely. They had run so far that they could not be seen with the naked eye. The second prince did not expect such a situation to occur. Since he could not grasp the situation of the battlefield, it could be said that he had lost half the battle. Now, he had to decide whether or not he should send all the infantrymen he had into the battlefield to support them with all his might.
This decision was not easy to make. The Grand Duke of Vorendor had long known that the second prince was going to break through here. This line of defense was guarded by a total of five corps of nearly 200,000 soldiers. Based on the situation a few days ago, the Grand Duke of Vorendor could fully mobilize his troops to the front. The attacking Sword and Shield Division was likely to run into a trap and be surrounded. They could then use this surrounded Sword and Shield Division to lure the second prince to send in reinforcements. They could then use their numbers to annihilate the 100,000 infantry under the second prince's command. The remaining cavalry could only stare blankly at this line of defense.
The second prince and Laurist discussed for a long time and finally decided to send all the heavy armor divisions as reinforcements. The most important thing was to figure out the situation at the front and what exactly had happened. In the end, just as they were about to send out their troops, the Sword and Shield Division retreated. Their situation was somewhat miserable. Less than 3,000 of the 10,000 soldiers had returned. Furthermore, their regiment commander and four platoon leaders had all died on the battlefield. Among the 2,000 soldiers that returned, the two highest-ranking ones were the two platoon leaders. One was seriously injured, while the other was slightly injured.
The attack was too smooth. After crushing the resistance of the thousand-man garrison, in the following attacks, the Sword and Shield Corps encountered mostly thousand-man garrison forces. They could not resist the assault of the Sword and Shield Corps at all. Groups of garrison forces were annihilated, and the Sword and Shield Corps who were attacking were in high spirits. They advanced forward bravely and unknowingly advanced more than two miles. Then, they found that in front of them, there were three fully equipped elite infantry corps of the three duchies waiting for their arrival.
This time, the Sword and Shield Legion discovered that they were already an arrow at the end of its flight. Under the pincer attack of the three elite infantry regiments of the three central duchies, they suffered a heavy blow and suffered heavy losses. Fortunately, the trenches and mud walls all over the ground became a barrier for them to resist. Under the command of the legion commander, they defended while retreating.
However, they did not expect that the trenches and earthen walls were not only used for defense. Another Frendo Dukedom's infantry regiment quickly moved along the trenches and under the cover of the earthen walls, blocking their path of retreat. The Sword and Shield Division that persisted in resisting collapsed when they saw that their retreat was blocked. The regiment commander and a few platoon leaders fought with all their might and finally killed a bloody path, allowing the soldiers to quickly escape. However, they were surrounded by the swarming enemies. Not long after, the cheers of the enemies could be heard. Then, a few heads were raised high by the enemies. The remaining soldiers then gave up on the idea of rescuing and retreated …
This defeat was like a huge slap to the Second Prince's face. The Second Prince, who originally thought that it would be easy to break through this defense line, woke up and asked everyone for a plan. However, no one had any good ideas at this time. Regardless of whether it was the experienced Grand Duke Fisablun or the quick-witted Laurist, they were all out of ideas. No one could say how to attack.
In fact, Laurist was even more shocked. No one was a fool. This defense line of the four central duchies was practically a trench war. According to the secret report sent by the family intelligence investigator hidden in the city of Pedra in the Principality of Forrendo, the Grand Duke of Forrendo had mobilized almost all the people in the Principality to dig countless trenches and build countless earthen walls within a hundred miles from the defensive line in the province of Forrendo to the city of Pedra in the province of Perori. Even three intelligence investigators were conscripted to dig trenches for more than twenty days. As a result, the secret report was delivered so late …
Laurist cursed angrily. It was obvious that these trenches and mud walls were meant to deal with the Norton Family's war chariots, steel crossbows, and catapults. These two long-range weapons were rendered useless. Without any defensive facilities protruding from the ground, the long-range weapons lost their targets. The war chariots and steel crossbows had no targets to fire at, and the catapults could only smash the mud walls and trenches if they wanted to. The defending troops were like rats scurrying around in the trenches. If the attackers were impatient to fill in the trenches and flatten the mud walls, it would be easy to advance rashly. The outcome that awaited them would be the same as the Sword and Shield Division of the White Lion Legion.
The Second Prince was also well aware of this. In the next three days, he could only fill in the trenches step by step and open up a path of attack. But unexpectedly, the trenches that were filled in during the day were dug up by the enemy's garrison at night. The next day, the morale of the White Lion Legion's soldiers plummeted when they saw that they had to fill in the trenches again. At this time, the enemy's garrison also became active. From time to time, they would fire arrows from the trenches, causing many casualties to the White Lion Legion.
Now, the attacking Andenak Kingdom was in a dilemma. The trenches were filled in during the day and dug up at night. The soldiers that were sent to guard the trenches were harassed and attacked at night. As a result, they suffered more losses at night than during the day. The soldiers that were sent to hunt fell into a trap. They could easily lose their way or be lured into an ambush, resulting in heavy casualties. After attacking for five days and four nights, they had only advanced less than a kilometer. Everyone was in despair.
"What kind of war is this? I'd rather fight against all the armed forces of the three central duchies, even if the enemy's military strength is ten times that of ours. But what's the point of dealing with trenches and mud walls every day? Even the soldiers are cursing and swearing. Morale is dropping fast, "the Second Prince complained to Laurist.
Laurist gave the Second Prince the final blow. He took out a secret report from Pedero and handed it to the Second Prince. The Second Prince took a look at it suspiciously. When he saw that the secret report mentioned that trenches and mud walls had been built for hundreds of kilometers, he was dumbfounded. After a long while, the Second Prince jumped up with an agitated expression. "Is the Duke of Fulundor crazy? He actually dug trenches in the entire duchy. Does he still want to farm and harvest food … "
But the Second Prince immediately understood that if he did not do this, the Duke of Fulundor would not be able to stop the cavalry's assault. Digging trenches and mud walls in half of the duchy would at least delay the offensive forces on his side. He still had half of the duchy's land to farm. If he did not have enough food, he could go to the Handa Duchy to buy or borrow from them. If the frontline could not stop them, the Duchy of Fulundor would not have to worry about food supply. If he fell into the hands of the Second Prince, he might not even be able to keep his life. Everyone knew that the Second Prince hated the four Dukes the most.
"Blow the horn. Retreat to camp," the Second Prince ordered the guards around him dejectedly. There was no need to do any useless work now. He shuddered at the thought of the hundreds of kilometers of trenches and mud walls waiting to be filled and flattened. It seemed that he had to think of another way to attack the three duchies.
The post-war statistics showed that in order to resist the Andinac Kingdom's army, the Grand Duke of Forendo mobilized nearly a million people in the entire duchy. They spent more than three months digging 431 trenches, each two to three meters deep, in the 83-mile stretch from the capital of the province of Perona to the province of Friede. The trenches were all connected. They used the excavated soil to build more than a thousand mud walls that were no more than one to one and a half meters high, creating a natural moat that was easy to attack and difficult to defend. It was hailed as a miracle in the history of war and was recorded in the history of war on the Galinthea Continent.
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