Chapter 326 05.0325: "Mediating Disputes"

Meeting the commander of the First Brigade, who was in charge of commanding the spearhead of the attack, the British officers also politely greeted their colleague who was also from Britain.

In comparison, the Mordians' response seemed less respectful.

They simply responded with a standard military salute, their faces stern, their brows furrowed, as if they were filled with deep hatred and resentment.

"Please allow me to introduce you to Captain Horatio Cochrane, Chief of Aviation Department of the flagship of the 25th Squadron of the Gothic Fleet of the Imperial Navy.

The two people behind him were Lieutenant Archie Cuthbert Collingwood of the Aviation Department, and alternate officer Louise Tavella, who served as Captain Horatio's secretary and chief of the guard.

These distinguished guests will serve as fleet liaison officers for our Southern Front, especially the Spearhead Brigade."

The Imperial Navy officer, wearing a distinctive uniform, pinched the brim of his navy bicorne hat and saluted everyone, and the officers present saluted back one after another.

While the Mordians looked down upon all other Astra Militarum units equally, the Imperial Navy was quite different, and although they returned the salute with a straight face, they did not show the same antipathy as they did to the Britons.

To the Astra Militarum, the Imperial Navy officers were "outsiders to be kept at a distance" and "tactical plug-ins that could only be encountered but not sought after", so there was no need to offend them.

Faced with such an awkward atmosphere, Horatio, a naval officer, raised his eyebrows helplessly.

After all, in his opinion, the Mordian Guards smelled of the old Stars and Stripes, while the Britons smelled of the old Union Jack.

It would be strange if these two Astra Militarum Legions, with their own unique uniforms and very different styles of doing things, could get along well with each other.

After all, not everyone can cooperate harmoniously with various troops like "Cadian Lubricant".

"The current battle plan of the Southern Front is mainly to advance along Highway 54 as far as possible before the snow melts.

We Britons will serve as the backbone of this battle line that stretches for hundreds of kilometers, and the Mordians will be in charge of our flanks." A British officer spoke first and briefly introduced the outline of the plan.

"Why should we guard your flanks?" Upon hearing this, a lieutenant colonel of the Modian Iron Guard immediately questioned:

"Let you guys conduct mechanized assaults in the front, while we stay in the trenches at the back and eat your exhaust?"

"That's the duty of your light infantry battalion. We won't lend you trucks. We need them ourselves. You can blame your general for not arranging a mechanized regiment on the southern front."

Lieutenant Colonel Cotton of the 1st Royal Armoured Regiment of Britain snorted coldly, unmoved. Apparently, similar arguments had happened more than once.

Horatio looked at the tactical sand table in front of him, which reflected the officers planning the battalion battle line at the staff headquarters.

All the British battalions in front of us belong to different regiments, and the core emphasis is on the combination of meat and vegetables.

[Do the British use battalions as divisions on the Blue Planet? That's why each battalion is so large.]
Horatio used a data pad to retrieve the data of the British Astra Militarum from the Ministry of the Interior, and the retrieved information quickly verified his conjecture.

British battalions were generally larger in size; the 79st Battalion of the 8000th Armored Reconnaissance Regiment under Lieutenant Colonel Wellesley alone had a strength of more than combat personnel.

During the non-mobilization period, a British regiment consisted of only one combat battalion.

Once mobilized, battalions will be drawn from the mother star county regiment and assigned to the regiment to serve as reserve battalions. The original reserve battalions will be issued heavy weapons and vehicles and transformed into combat battalions.

This also led to an unwritten rule in the British Regiment: when referring to a certain regiment, unless otherwise specified, it refers to the First Battalion of the regiment.

The county regiment is a unified organization in which all soldiers recruited from a county (a British hive or mainland administrative region) are trained, such as the 'West Kent County Regiment' and the 'Oxfordshire Regiment'.

"Gentlemen, I think that unobtained military merit and honor should give way to victory. After victory, the commander-in-chief of the campaign will naturally judge everyone's contribution fairly."

Seeing that the two sides started arguing again, Horatio stepped in to mediate.

"Sir, you are a naval officer. How to fight this ground war is our responsibility. We are obviously more professional in this regard." A Modian lieutenant colonel reminded. As an aggressive Modian, this statement was obviously very tactful. He obviously did not want to cause trouble with the navy.

“Yes, that is of course your responsibility, but as the fleet liaison officer, I am an advisor to the corps.

I have the final say over air supremacy and air support for the entire southern front." Horatio replied bluntly:

"Then I think you should take air support into consideration and choose the best option again?"

"Gentlemen," Lieutenant Colonel Wellesley said tactfully.
"You have discussed the battle line allocation for a long time, and there is still no conclusion. What harm can there be in listening to the fleet liaison officer's opinion?"

The Mordian snorted coldly, took a step back, and said in a voice that was neither too loud nor too soft: "I want to see what reliable land warfare advice the navy can give."

Louise frowned and was about to take a step forward to retort from a Cadian tactical perspective, but Horatio signaled her to stop and let him handle it.

Horatio pretended not to hear the other party's complaint and cleared his throat:
"In the early stages of the infiltration operation, our Navy's Hell Snipers used ground monitoring systems and hacked into the enemy's command network to map the terrain data for a distance of 1,500 kilometers."

Horatio took the datapad from Collingwood and inserted it into the reader of the holographic sandbox.

Soon, the simple projection sand table that originally only had a few contour lines became vivid, and detailed data filled in a large number of unknown areas. The terrain and landforms ahead were clearly visible, which made people suddenly enlightened.

At the same time, several terrain changes were corrected on the Astra Militarum's survey map, which was from an unknown year more than a hundred years ago when Far was still under the control of the Empire.

These places have become lakes for breeding strange fish. If they still follow the map from a hundred years ago, the marching Astra Militarum would probably step on the accelerator and rush onto the icy lake, staring blankly at the changed terrain.

Judging from the amount of heat radiation brought by the two stars today, it won’t be long before the troops marching on the surface of the ice lake fall into the ice cracks and become food for the strange fish.

"At present, the enemy's anti-aircraft firepower has been almost completely eliminated in the more than 1,500-kilometer area we are in. Our aviation team can fully exert its power as if it were in an empty space. Therefore, I suggest that the battalion's battle line be set up mainly based on the terrain advantage."

Horatio pointed to the uneven surface and mapped the road:
"The light infantry battalion lacks vehicles. Since the early battles are mainly based on rapid advancement, the 20-kilometer battle width around the traffic line should be left to the mechanized troops or line infantry battalions. Hilly areas are obviously more suitable for the mobility of light infantry.

I know that you Modians are reluctant to attack the flanks, mainly because you are worried that the supply lines are too long, the light infantry will have difficulty in maneuvering, the military stations will be difficult to defend, and it will be difficult to replenish troops.

But don't worry, I will arrange for Valkyrie fighters to conduct low-altitude cruises to provide security for your supply lines, and I can directly use Avis landing craft and Valkyrie to airlift supplies and combat reinforcements to you."

Then he looked at the officers of the British regiment and said:

"According to my previous understanding, the British Regiment has a high level of motorization. The width of the horizontal battle line of the traffic line is 45 kilometers. The British First Brigade can be responsible for a 15-kilometer-long battle line from the center to the two wings. The infantry will be responsible for a 15-30 kilometer-long battle line behind the two wings of the First Brigade, and will connect the battle line with the Mordians to cover the entire battle line."

Horatio proposed a compromise plan that could both allay the concerns of the Modians and conform to the British's overall strategic plan on the general front.

The minority of the Mordians shut up at this moment, gathered together and whispered for a while in their native language.

After a long while, one of the lieutenant colonels stepped out and said, "If the transport aircraft can guarantee the transportation of supplies and reinforcements for the light infantry battalion, then we accept your proposal."

"I am the chief officer of the aviation department of the flagship of the Gothic 25th Squadron." Horatio said calmly. This title was enough to show how much say he had in air power.

The Modians said no more. After they saluted, they walked out of the staff office and began to arrange their troops.

Soon after, other officers from the British Regiment also walked out.

"Now, Lieutenant Colonel John Moore of the 88th Infantry Regiment and Lieutenant Colonel Stapleton Cotton of the 1st Royal Armored Regiment, please stay." Lieutenant Colonel Wellesley called out amid the slightly noisy sound of military boots.

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(End of this chapter)